Turning the Labyrinth into a Picnic
The labyrinth is originally a place that earns you money but is dangerous and requires a lot of preparation. But Beni… no, the existence of the shadow monster turned that same labyrinth into something as casual as a picnic.
“Good job~ Good job~”
I waved at her from a distance, cheering her on. Beni swung her arm in a clear “shut up” gesture. Even so, the way the corners of her mouth kept twitching told me she wasn’t entirely displeased.
The shadow that had sprouted from Beni stretched out long and stealthy, claiming the ground beneath the kobolds’ feet.
And then—
Crunch.
“Kogok!”
“Ko, kobol…!”
The kobolds were swallowed whole, as if they’d fallen into a swamp. No matter how many times I saw it, the sight never got old.
Soon after, the merciless sound of something being crushed echoed through the air. It was pretty grotesque.
But.
Pop.
When the byproducts tumbled out of the shadow that had returned to Beni’s feet, I burst out laughing.
“Whoa! Now I finally get why you two have been running a duo party without a baggage carrier all this time! It’s because Beni’s just that amazing!”
“H-hmph! Obviously. For someone of my level, this is only natural.”
Beni puffed out her chest and preened. I chuckled at the sight and stretched with a light groan.
“Up we go. Thanks to you, the finale was pretty relaxing. Shall we head back to the surface now?”
“S-surface?”
Beni, who had been clearing her throat with a smug little hum, froze. I nodded at her.
“I told you we’d stop here for today. You said you’d show me one last time, remember?”
Well, she said it was the last time, but she’d already shown off several more times after getting excited by my reactions.
“I wish Beni would dismantle every monster I kill for the rest of my life. Oh, and Lady Rydia will protect me forever, right? Right?”
“…Sigh.”
“Ugh… party breaker…”
I’d made sure to praise Rydia too so it wouldn’t seem like I was only hyping Beni, but for some reason she let out a deep sigh. Beni, who had looked so pleased a moment ago, now wore an expression of pure disgust.
Feeling a little slighted, she grumbled and took the lead.
“Hmph, hmph. Fine. I have Elly anyway?!”
While I pondered what kind of teasing material I could get out of Elly today and searched for the path, Beni shook her head and spoke up.
“You said we’d stop by my workshop once we left the labyrinth. Did you forget?”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, today had only been a taste of the second floor and a chance for them to see how I fought and how well I handled magic.
I slumped my shoulders and turned to Rydia with the most pitiful expression I could manage.
“Lady Rydia. Lady Rydia. It looks like I’m about to be kidnapped by an evil witch. You’re not going to help me?”
“I see. Then I’d better come along so this friendless witch doesn’t get completely taken in by a cheeky brat and shaken down for everything she’s worth.”
“That’s too much! All I want from Beni is an automatic farming system, money, magic, and the fun of teasing her!”
“W-we’re not friends, Rydia?! And Yona, anyone can tell you’re planning to wring me dry!”
Beni shrieked. The monster rising from her shadow clacked its sharp teeth in delight.
It seemed intelligent enough to understand every word and enjoy the conversation. Then again, the raw material for that shadow monster had been human. Whatever had happened in its past, high intelligence was only to be expected.
I nodded and focused my mind on the Unhesitating Pathfinding skill. The safe zone wasn’t far.
“…The second floor really is nice.”
Back on the surface through the safe zone’s monolith. After selling today’s loot and settling the contribution points, a decent amount of money came in.
Thirty-two silver.
It was a solid haul for a single quick run. Of course, most of that sum came not from the kobold byproducts but from the price of the pickaxe blades they’d been carrying. Even scrap iron was a material you could bring out of the labyrinth. It would be perfect for crafting gear for adventurers on the first and second floors.
I’d heard it was possible to raise the purity of labyrinth iron if one really put their mind to it, but… apparently it was more profitable to just spend a little extra and buy better materials than to waste all that effort increasing the concentration. People rarely bothered.
After all, on the third floor—just one level higher—alloys far harder than iron poured out in droves. Not to mention monster body parts, remnants of the War of the Fallen Gods, items imbued with divine authority, and so on. Iron from the labyrinth was useful, but hardly a premium item.
Anyway, I decided to save today’s earnings for gacha later. I slipped the coin pouch into my chest and asked Rydia,
“By the way, Lady Rydia. You’ve been focusing only on me lately, so it feels like you’ve barely earned anything from the labyrinth. Is that really okay? The request fee you got from Elly must have run out by now.”
Rydia was an extreme gear addict. Weapons, artifacts enchanted with every kind of magic, consumables—she always insisted on keeping everything at the absolute highest tier. Naturally, her expenses were equally enormous. That was also why, despite being a high-ranking adventurer, she didn’t have any proper base in Labyrinth City.
She earned a lot and spent a lot. So the fact that she’d been unable to earn anything for a while just to look after me made me worry she might have gone into debt.
At my question, Rydia gave a faint smile and nodded.
“…It’s fine. Now that Beni’s here too, I plan to occasionally head into the middle layers to earn some pocket money.”
“What? You didn’t even ask my opinion?”
“Then are you going to the deep layers?”
“…No. I have some things I need to look into, so I won’t be able to focus solely on the labyrinth. The middle layers are just right.”
Beni glanced at me as she spoke. The “things she needed to look into” were probably the reason the shadow monster had taken a liking to me, along with research to suppress the erosion that came from assimilating with shadows.
I nodded and moved to stand beside Beni. Or, more precisely, beside the monster that had been peeking only its eyes out from the shadow and staring at me for a while now.
“Anyway, I’ll follow Beni as promised. What about you, Lady Rydia? Want to come along?”
“No need. I have something to discuss with Senior Elly, so I’ll head to The Elf and the Silver Coin.”
Rydia shook her head, then turned to Beni.
“Beni. If you keep Yona too long, Senior Elly will get scary, so let him go after a reasonable amount of time.”
“I was planning to from the beginning. Today isn’t for doing anything serious—just some light investigation.”
“Good. And even if it’s you, Beni, touching Yona will cause big trouble.”
“I have no such intentions?!”
“Elly will get angry no matter who it is.”
“I really don’t have any intentions like that!”
Beni shouted and glared at me. After spending the last several minutes poking the shadow monster’s eyes, her angry pout looked impossibly cute.
While receiving Beni’s misunderstanding-filled resentment, I waved at Rydia.
“See you later, then.”
“Yeah.”
“And don’t be surprised when the mysterious video recording orb arrives.”
“…Huh?”
It seemed the Pan Continent didn’t have the concept of video letters. Rydia tilted her head in confusion. I chuckled once at her reaction before we parted ways.
I asked Beni, who was sighing while balancing atop the shadow monster’s tentacles like they were a tightrope.
“Shall we get going, then? Where’s your workshop, Beni?”
“Haa… If I take it out in the city, people get anxious or even report it in extreme cases, so I’ll put it away for now.”
So saying, Beni beckoned at the shadow monster.
“Go inside.”
-…….
“Hey, I said go inside for a second?”
-…….
“Oi! What are you going to do if I get caught again!”
-…Krrng.
The shadow monster whipped its head away with a sulky huff, as if it didn’t want to listen. I gently stroked its tentacles and coaxed,
“You did great. But can you stay inside until we get home?”
-…….
The shadow monster, which had been staring at me intently, sank back into the shadow like it was diving underwater. Beni’s eyes widened and she stammered.
“Y-you… How… How could you do this to me! It never listens to a single thing I say!”
Frustrated, she stomped her feet on top of the shadow. After venting for a good while, she finally huffed and took the lead.
“Follow me! It’s not that far from here, so we’ll arrive in no time!”
“Got it. By the way, can I buy a sandwich on the way? We just came up from the labyrinth and I want to fill my stomach a little.”
“…I’ll make one for you, so just come!”
“Oh. That sounds interesting. Let’s hurry!”
I stuck close to Beni’s back as we walked. After moving for some time, we arrived at a quiet street. It wasn’t lively enough to be the commercial district, yet it felt oddly different from the residential area.
“So this is the workshop district.”
“Yeah. Most of it is taken up by artisans from the Workshop Union, but there are workshops for independent adventurers like me tucked away in the corners.”
“Don’t other mages use the workshops here?”
“Most mages belong to the Magic Tower. Since they provide workshops inside the tower, there’s no reason to spend a fortune buying an entire house, is there?”
“…Does that mean your workshop is actually yours, Beni?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Unless it’s the Magic Tower, who would lend out a workshop… Ah, did you assume I didn’t have one just because Rydia doesn’t have a house?”
“Pretty much.”
“Could you not lump me together with Rydia? I manage mine properly!”
With that, Beni strode forward and stopped in front of a building of appropriate size.
“Here it is!”
“It’s not made of candy?”
“…Exactly what kind of fantasies do you have about mages?”
It was less about mages and more prejudice against witches. The pointy hat just suited her too well.
“Sigh. Anyway, come in. It’s a bit messy, but it should be tolerable.”
Clank.
The lock, glowing with a bluish light as if enchanted, opened, and Beni stepped inside. The moment I followed her in—
Whoosh—!
Shadows that filled my entire field of vision surged toward me.
“Kyaaaak!”
Save me, Yona!