Chapter 312: An Ordinary Explorer - 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 312: An Ordinary Explorer - 3
“Ehehe... I’ve accepted the request.”
“Good work.”
“Um, but... since I didn’t know your name, I just listed you as ‘one other person’...”
Only then did Yoo Eon realize they hadn’t even introduced themselves. He opened his mouth to speak.
“What’s your name?”
“Me? Oh, I’m... Rita. Rita. I don’t have a last name, just Rita.”
“Right. Good to have you, Rita. You can just call me Aven.”
“Aven...! Understood!”
Fortunately, the broadcast screen didn’t include audio. The disaster of the entire nation learning the name ‘Aven’ didn’t occur, and even if there had been sound, it likely would have been drowned out by the noise of battle.
“What about breakfast?”
“Breakfast? Breakfast...? It’s morning now, isn’t it...?”
“I’m asking if you’ve eaten.”
Rita tapped her fist against her palm as if she’d just realized what he meant and nodded.
“Oh, break... fast... I don’t eat it...?”
“Uh... why?”
“Eating porridge first thing in the morning is a bit... much? I can just eat a biscuit once I get hungry inside the Labyrinth....”
“You could just eat something other than porridge, couldn’t you?”
“Pardon?”
Stunned by his ‘Marie Antoinette’ logic, Rita tilted her head and stared blankly at Yoo Eon.
“I saw some pretty cheap food over there.”
“Like what?”
“Rye bread, for instance.”
“The ones that cost five bronze coins? I eat those about once a month....”
“That... Ah, I see.”
The question ‘Are you really that broke?’ almost escaped his lips, but Yoo Eon swallowed it back. He expanded his senses to see if there was a quiet place to eat nearby, but from his perspective, none of the shops were up to par.
“For now... let’s head in.”
“Ah, yes!”
* * *
‘I guess that’s about right.’
He’d realized it. He’d gone from living in Korea (Calax), where the cost of living was lower than in America (Roanmarie), straight to Zimbabwe. They used dollars there too, anyway.
He considered asking how much the clothes she was wearing cost, but decided against it. What was the point? Even people in Zimbabwe managed to keep themselves clothed somehow.
“Do I walk too fast for you?”
“O-oh, no! I’ll keep up!”
“Don’t overexert yourself.”
As his energy sensing grew stronger, he’d gained the ability to tell a person’s physical condition at a glance. Since beasts were good at spotting wounded or sick prey, he figured it was a similar instinct. In that sense, Rita’s current condition was...
‘She looks like she’d die if she tripped.’
When the elderly have weak bones, a simple fall can lead to a fracture. Fortunately, Rita was so thin and light that she probably wouldn’t break anything, but her state was still alarmingly severe.
“Your body... Ah, never mind.”
“Yes?”
“Nothing. Let’s keep walking.”
He’d almost asked for her weight, but he swallowed that question too. It would be rude if she knew, and he suspected she probably didn’t even know herself.
“Sorry, Rita. I’m a bit hungry. Shall we have a meal?”
“Huh...? B-but we’re only on the 1st Floor.... Ah! It’s because of your Skill, isn’t it?! I’m sorry... I was being inconsiderate....”
In truth, there was no such thing as a trash-tier Skill that robbed you of your strength if you didn’t eat starting from the 1st Floor.
‘Wait, actually, there is.’
Come to think of it, he had the Combustion Acceleration Skill he’d taken from Rubica. Since he now had a justification for eating, it didn’t matter.
“Yeah, it’s because of the Skill.”
“It must be tough, even for a Gold-grade explorer....”
He’d noticed her pace was slow and her gait was a bit wobbly. When he suggested a break, a smile spread across her face. He’d been curious about the ‘biscuits’ she mentioned, so he watched to see what she would pull out.
—Rattle....
The standard for a poor explorer. From the bundle tied to her back, a white cotton cloth emerged. Inside was a brownish-yellow lump about the size of an adult’s fist.
“U-usually, I slice it before entering the Labyrinth... but I was a bit busy yesterday, so today I have to do it myself....”
“How do you usually slice it?”
“A meat slicer.... They let me use it if I ask. They charge for it, though.... I like it because it smells like meat after I cut it....”
“Ah.”
I sat down for the moment and watched what Rita was doing. It looked like a lump of flour dough that had been tossed into a kiln and baked; it was covered in charred black spots and was as hard as a brick.
“What are you doing?”
“Eh? Oh, this?”
Rita, who had been holding the baked lump—which could hardly be called a biscuit—to her mouth for a while, turned her head at my question.
“If I blow on it like this, the outside gets damp, so I can at least manage to bite into it. But... aren’t you going to eat anything, Aven?”
“Did you bring anything other than biscuits?”
“Ah...!”
In that instant, Rita’s heart sank. Normally, when a low-rank explorer accompanied a high-rank one, it was common sense for the junior to handle all the chores and support.
She had no professional etiquette. Realizing it was a major problem that she’d only brought food for herself, she put down the biscuit she’d been holding in her mouth and prostrated herself on the ground. She thought to herself how selfish she was, especially for someone of such a low rank.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t bring anything!”
“No, there’s no need for that.”
Leaving the prostrate Rita aside, I pulled out some simple cookware from my storage artifact. It was a simple meal that only required a frying pan and a few seasonings. Rather than the overly greasy Bear Fish, Wild Boar seemed like a better choice.
“Sit up properly. I’m going to start a fire.”
“A-a fire...?”
* * *
“T-this is unbelievable....”
“How does it taste?”
The medieval ages were the medieval ages. Once you fell below the level of wealth required to use the conveniences of magic, things were no different from a typical medieval setting. In Calax, Wild Boars that tasted good lived inside the Labyrinth.
However, in the early stages of the Mascena Labyrinth, Labyrinth Jackals were the primary inhabitants, and instead of Wild Boars, things like giant lizards supposedly appeared.
“It’s really... really delicious....”
“I’m glad.”
That meant meat only came from livestock. And even that had to be bought with a lot of money. There was a reason cities were built where Labyrinths were located. Everything that came out of a Labyrinth was wealth.
What poor people could afford was spoiled meat. Or they could eat rats, squirrels, or Labyrinth Jackals, which had the distinct gamey smell of canines. Occasionally there was bird meat, but those weren't easy to catch.
“Nom, nom....”
Watching her eat while wiping away tears and snot was quite pitiful. I’d always had negative feelings about donating to hungry children, but seeing someone eat like this right in front of me changed things.
In the first place, I ate food to experience the taste, not because I was hungry or lacked nutrition. I could just take useless parts from my stored muscles, bones, or organs, toss them into my gastric juices, and process them for nutrients.
But I didn’t really feel like eating Wild Boar myself.
“Hmm....”
When I let out a small hum while looking at Rita, she jumped in surprise and looked at me.
“Gasp... D-did I look really gross while eating...?”
“No, it’s not that....”
I didn’t know why she kept jumping to the worst conclusions, but I wasn’t thinking anything like that. If anything, it was nice to see her eating well, though seeing her eat from a bowl on the floor because there was no table was a bit much.
“Eat slowly, then let’s head out. I have something to ask you.”
“Yeth. I unnerthtand.”
* * *
“I heard there’s a unique Spirit Species on the 32nd Floor.”
“The 32nd Floor?!”
After finishing the meal and taking a short rest, we were right in front of the portal to the 2nd Floor.
“What’s the highest floor you’ve been to?”
“I-I’ve been to the 8th Floor.”
“So, a quarter of the way.”
Of course, since she’d already stated she was an Iron-grade explorer, I didn’t expect to get any high-level information. I hadn’t brought her along for information anyway; I’d come because I was invited to a quest party.
“The 32nd Floor is still uncleared.... The boss on the 30th Floor is a gatekeeper type, so you can’t go to the next floor without defeating it....”
This Labyrinth only had a short history of eighty years. Had she said there were two Cobalt Grades? There were bosses like the Megido Serpent that were located in places completely unrelated to the Labyrinth Portal, and then there were bosses like the Flame Puppets that you had to defeat or solve a gimmick for to move to the next floor.
“If there are two Cobalt Grades, shouldn’t the 30th Floor boss be manageable?”
“The White Star and the Red Star are rivals. You can pretty much assume those two will never be in the same party....”
“I see.”
That meant there was only one Cobalt-grade explorer per attempt. Assuming the rest were all Platinum Grades, a four-person party might find a 3rd Stratum boss a bit difficult.
The Irregular Megido Serpent was said to be beyond the 3rd Stratum level. Even Father wasn't quite at the Cobalt level, but it was impossible for him to face it alone.
And just as I’d undergone the Gold Grade suitability test in Roanmarie, high-rank explorers in small-to-medium Labyrinth cities tended to be slightly inflated compared to those of the same rank in Great Labyrinth cities.
“Ah, um... Aven.... You’re Gold Grade, right...? It’ll be difficult.... It’s not really my place to say this, but you’d need to be at least Platinum Grade....”
“Hmm.”
My plan had been to finish this quickly and come back alone, but she looked so pitiful that I’d fed her. I was even thinking of getting her some clothes to prepare for the coming winter.
“U-um... are you listening...? There are only base camps up to the 5th Floor. You won’t be able to last through the night....”
The population was small, but this was still a Labyrinth with a city attached. Since my constant scans were picking up people here and there, moving in a fighter jet form while creating sonic booms would be difficult.
“Rita.”
“Ye-yes?!”
“Have you ever slept inside the Labyrinth?”
“I-inside the Labyrinth...?”
Rita rolled her eyes for a moment before shaking her head.
“N-no....”
“I guess sleeping on the surface is more comfortable, right?”
“Wouldn’t it... be about the same...?”
“A bed... Ah, never mind. I see.”
“Huh...?”
I was going to ask if she slept in a bed, but for someone this poor, that would be nothing short of taunting.
And so, after much deliberation, I reached a conclusion.
“Spit out the meat, or keep a secret.”
“...Pardon?”
“Choose one.”
The question about sleeping in the Labyrinth.
The sudden mention of a bed.
Keeping a secret.
Rita, who had been stroking her stomach, glanced around nervously. Then, with a look of despair as if she were about to die, her body began to tremble.
“I-is it my body you’re after...?”
“What the hell.”