Chapter 226 Misunderstanding
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Misunderstanding
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Western District of Labyrinth City.
In front of a shabby wooden house.
Kubo looked at Bendrick and then scratched his head.
"Why are you stuttering? Are you looking for someone?"
"I... am looking for my son."
Bendrick barely managed to reply.
Kubo narrowed his eyes and looked up at Bendrick.
"Hmm? Your son? Which son?"
"Iron Mask. By the way, who in the world are you?"
Kubo's face brightened.
"Oh! Are you Iron Mask's father? You should have said so sooner! Hey! Iron Mask! Come on out!"
Kubo shouted at the top of his lungs.
Bendrick's question had been ignored, but he let it go.
The important thing was to see his son, not to get answers from a naked dwarf.
"Father. What do you mean...?"
Iron Mask slowly walked out, then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Bendrick.
"..."
A silence fell between the father and son.
Iron Mask bowed his head.
"Father."
"...It's been a long time. How have you been?"
"I’ve been well. As you can see, I've made a good friend."
Bendrick's gaze fell on the naked dwarf.
"A good... friend?"
"My friend Kubo goes around naked because of his naturalist imprint. It's cold, so please come inside first."
"Alright."
Kubo smiled.
"You're Iron Mask's father?! You came at a great time! We were just having a party to celebrate clearing a floor!"
"Is that so?"
"Come on in!"
Kubo turned around and quickly went inside the building.
Bendrick stared blankly at the dwarf's wiggling buttocks, then staggered inside.
The female swordswoman gave a slight nod to Iron Mask and quietly went inside as well.
Only Jeong Yoo-shin and Iron Mask remained at the door.
Jeong Yoo-shin smiled.
"Brother, it's good to see you."
"Yeah. Have you been well?"
"Yes."
Iron Mask patted Jeong Yoo-shin's shoulder.
"I saw the duel in the central plaza. It was nerve-wracking to watch. I was really glad that you overcame it."
"Thank you."
"And I heard that you became the head of the small and medium-sized clan alliance. Congratulations. Come to think of it, these are all just things to congratulate you."
"Brother, it's cold. Let's go inside."
"Shall we?"
A voice full of laughter.
It was as if he could vaguely see the smiling man behind the mask.
Jeong Yoo-shin and Iron Mask entered the old cabin.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jeong Yoo-shin looked around.
Iron Mask's house was divided into two areas.
The large room was the living room and kitchen.
The small room was the bedroom.
There was a round table in the living room, and a rat beast-person, Mars, and a human mage in a robe were passed out drunk on it.
The mage's name was Karis.
He was a person who had joined Iron Mask's side while subjugating trolls in the Forest area.
By the way…
Did they have a huge party?
Leftover food and half-empty bottles of alcohol were rolling around on the table.
Bendrick was so shocked by his son's squalid living conditions that he was speechless for a while.
"..."
"You're Iron Mask's father? Have a drink."
The dwarf priest, Kubo, wiped a stained cup with his hand and poured a drink.
Bendrick shook his head.
"I had a few drinks on the way here. I'll just take the thought."
"You had a drink?"
Iron Mask asked as he sat down in a chair.
"I had a few drinks with Skar at the smithy."
Iron Mask smiled.
"That's not like you, Father."
Bendrick also smiled slightly.
"You're right. Before I knew it, I was squatting at a table and drinking in the daytime. The dwarven hard liquor is quite strong."
"..."
A strange silence fell between the father and son once again.
Jeong Yoo-shin realized that there was a private conversation to be had between the two.
"We'll leave you to it."
Jeong Yoo-shin was about to stand up, but Iron Mask raised his hand to stop him.
"No. Father, how about a short walk?"
"Sounds good."
The father and son stood up.
The female swordswoman who served as Bendrick’s guard was about to follow them, but Iron Mask shook his head.
"Please stay here for a moment."
Instead of answering, the female swordswoman looked at Bendrick.
Bendrick nodded silently.
The father and son left the cabin.
Jeong Yoo-shin sat back down in his chair.
He had wanted to say hello to his friends whom he hadn't seen in a long time, but they were all dead drunk.
Only Kubo was sober.
"You all had a lot to drink."
At Jeong Yoo-shin's words, Kubo grinned.
"We explored the Forest, Sewer, and Corridor areas. And without anyone getting hurt. It's something to celebrate."
"Is that so?"
"Skar, by the way, is it really true?"
Kubo asked.
"What?"
"That you took a monster with you in the Swamp area?"
"It's true. A Swamp Ghoul. I even gave him a name. Johnson."
Kubo clicked his tongue.
"How terrifying."
"Come to think of it, it's not something I'd particularly recommend. I had to pull out all of that monster's teeth, fingernails, and toenails, and then beat him up a few times. Just enough so he wouldn't die."
Kubo gulped.
If someone else had said this, he wouldn't have believed it, but…
The other party was Skar.
When they were subjugating the Forest Troll…
The man had poured oil on his arm, set it on fire, and swung his fist.
Neither the terrible pain nor the desperate situation could stop him.
Kubo knew that he was a man who would eventually crush his enemies and break through the labyrinth with a tenacity close to madness.
Jeong Yoo-shin thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.
The 'law' of the Swamp area was solitude.
If you were alone, you would go mad.
Iron Mask's party would also be entering the Swamp area soon, so he decided to give them some advice.
"The Swamp area is a region with extremely limited visibility. A thick red fog blankets everything. If you get separated from each other during a chaotic battle, there are two choices left."
"W-What are they?"
"Either you fight endlessly with monsters until you're exhausted to prevent the madness, or you find your party members by any means necessary."
The labyrinth was always similar.
When you fell into the worst situation, you always had to choose something.
Jeong Yoo-shin continued.
"Or you could take a small animal with you in case you get separated."
Kubo stroked his chin.
"That's a method I've been thinking about after hearing your story. In fact, other explorers consider it as a way to break the 'law' of solitude in the Swamp area."
"Breaking through the labyrinth with a small animal? There would be several problems with that, wouldn't there?"
"Definitely. What kind of animal to take? And could those animals survive until they reach the Swamp floor?"
"It's best for the party members to just stick together. I'm a bit of a special case."
"That's true. If it wasn't you, Skar, who would have come out of the Swamp area alone? You monster."
Jeong Yoo-shin and Kubo spent their time talking about the labyrinth.
Mars and Karis muttered a few words, but they were so drunk that they weren't in their right minds at the moment.
"Kubo, when are you thinking of entering the labyrinth again?"
At Jeong Yoo-shin's question, Kubo shrugged.
"We'll probably go after the summit meeting is over, right? Most of the other explorers are also staying in the city. No matter how neutral Labyrinth City is, if a war breaks out with the Empire, there are plenty of people who would rush over."
If a war breaks out with the Empire.
'What should I do?'
Could he continue to enter the labyrinth if that was the case?
Jeong Yoo-shin thought about it for a moment.
It was a problem with no easy answer.
He put it off.
"I'll have to enter the labyrinth after the summit meeting too. Although I have to make various preparations before that."
"By the way, how many floors are you planning to go to?"
"The 20th floor."
Kubo let out a dry laugh and then nodded.
"Skar, you terrifying bastard. You're clearing the labyrinth really fast. Good luck. Have you found your party members?"
"Not yet."
At that moment…
Creeeeak.
The door opened.
Bendrick and Iron Mask entered.
"Let's go."
At Bendrick's words, Jeong Yoo-shin and the female swordswoman stood up.
"Father, I'll see you later."
At Iron Mask's words, Bendrick froze stiff.
"...Alright. Take care of yourself."
Bendrick patted Iron Mask's shoulder, turned around, and left the house.
Jeong Yoo-shin also looked at Iron Mask as he followed him out.
"Brother, let's talk again later."
"Yeah. Come and visit when you have time."
Jeong Yoo-shin said goodbye to Iron Mask and Kubo and left the wooden house.
Under the brightly shining moonlight…
Jeong Yoo-shin and Bendrick walked the quiet streets.
The autumn night was deep and chilly.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn't ask Bendrick how he felt about the reunion.
How would a father feel after meeting his son who was dying of an incurable disease?
He could guess, but it was difficult to fully understand it.
"Skar, are you the eldest son?"
Was Bendrick's unexpected question.
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded.
"Yes."
"You must have received a lot of your father's love."
"Is that so?"
"It is. I remember when I first held Iron Mask. No, Evan."
Bendrick's eyes searched the empty air.
"He was so small, about the size of my fist. I swear, I never knew a baby could be so small. He was in my arms, and he stroked my cheek with a hand smaller than my pinky finger."
"..."
Ignoring Jeong Yoo-shin's silence, Bendrick continued.
"I can't put that moment into words. Should I say my heart was full, yet heavy? But the memory still comes back to me vividly."
Bendrick walked slowly with his hands behind his back, then he raised his head and looked to one side.
To a rock that soared high like a black tower.
It was the rock that symbolized the labyrinth, placed at its entrance.
"At that moment, I realized something. Before being a king, I was a father to a child."
"Didn't you have several sons?"
"That's right. But the eldest son is special. Because he's the first."
Special because he's the first.
Bendrick's words touched Jeong Yoo-shin’s heart.
"The labyrinth is a monster that feeds on people's wishes and desires. In the end, my son also got caught up in it."
Bendrick's voice was tinged with bitterness.
"Brother Iron Mask will do well. He'll get a good imprint, his illness will be cured, and then he'll return to the Lionel Kingdom."
"Hehehe."
Bendrick laughed and then shook his head.
It was a laugh like a cry, mixed with sorrow and hope.
"I drank a lot today. I'm not in my right mind right now."
"..."
Jeong Yoo-shin was silent.
To hear the king's inner thoughts.
It was strange. On the other hand, it made him think of his own father.
'Is he worried about me?'
He didn't know.
He was such a manly man, that he might even be busy making a second child right now.
Bendrick, who had been walking quietly for a long time, opened his mouth.
"The ones who were spying on you were the mages from the Mage Tower."
As expected.
It was predictable that the Malakai bastard wouldn't give up so easily.
"Just as Labyrinth City is in chaos, so is the Mage Tower after the previous Mage Tower Master went missing."
The Mage Tower Master went missing?
It was the first time Jeong Yoo-shin had heard of it.
When Jeong Yoo-shin and Bendrick entered the park…
The female swordswoman walking next to them leisurely tapped her scabbard.
Tap, tap.
Bendrick stopped walking and calmly looked around before speaking.
"Come out."
At that moment…
The space rippled, and then…
People in robes appeared.
There was one old mage who seemed to be the leader.
Besides the Malakai bastard, there were 10 other mages standing there.
The old mage knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
"It's been a long time, Your Majesty."
"Isn't it the Mage Tower's elder, Mathias? What is it?"
"I have come, braving rudeness, because I have one thing I want to ask that half-barbarian."
"Right now?"
"I felt that if not now, I might never get the chance."
The old mage replied while glancing at the ring on Jeong Yoo-shin's finger.
"Skar, if you don't want to answer, you don't have to."
Bendrick said.
"No. It's alright. Would you like to go on ahead?"
"No."
Bendrick seemed determined to stay.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the old mage.
"What's your question?"
"You, why did you not go mad? According to the Explorer's Guild's report, you should have been a wreck from the madness long ago."
"..."
Jeong Yoo-shin crossed his arms and looked up at the moon and stars in the sky.
Mathias, as if getting impatient, took a few more steps closer.
"Please tell me. I don't care about anything else, but I'm really curious about this."
Not only Bendrick, but also the female swordswoman turned her head and looked at Jeong Yoo-shin.
All eyes were focused on Jeong Yoo-shin.
The autumn wind blew and swept through Jeong Yoo-shin's jet-black hair.
The Mage Tower.
Was there a reason for them to seek him out now?
He thought that there must be a reason as to why the Mage Tower was so obsessed with the labyrinth's madness.
He didn't know what it was, but…
Various thoughts came and went in his mind.
Jeong Yoo-shin slowly opened his mouth.
"It seems like you are all mistaken... I'll ask you a question in return."
"..."
Someone gulped.
"Why do you think I haven't gone mad?"
"...!"
On a chilly autumn night…
As Jeong Yoo-shin's question echoed…
The jaws of the people gathered in the park dropped.
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T/N - Well, I think that was pretty obvious. The MC never did act completely sane, at least in my eyes.
Also, any bets as to why the Mage Tower is so obsessed with the MC? Mine is that someone important probably went mad, maybe even the old Tower Master himself.
Lastly, that talk with Kubo really showed just how ridiculous the MC’s feats are. Burning his arm and not going mad due to the pain. Being alone beyond the 10th floor of the labyrinth. This is despite the laws of ‘Pain’ and ‘Solitude’ respectively.