Chapter 36: I’ll Hear It From Her Directly
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: I’ll Hear It From Her Directly
I was momentarily flustered by the Tower Lord’s sudden question about whether I had a woman.
Or perhaps it was because the tea she had served me tasted so utterly foul.
‘It’s bitter, sour, and salty.’
It was a bizarre tea. How could it possibly taste like this?
“Hey. You okay?”
“Cough, cough. Yes. I’m fine.”
I pulled a handkerchief from my inventory and wiped my mouth.
The Tower Lord watched me with an expression of intense curiosity. She brought up the previous topic once more.
“So, do you have a woman?”
Why on earth was she asking that? It was hard to tell what her goal was, but I figured it was best to tell the truth.
“Yes. I do.”
“Someone already snatched you up, then. It’s not that rotten bitch Moira, is it?”
“What? No. I’m, well… married women aren’t really my thing.”
“Not your thing? You don’t like married women?”
“Yes. The age gap is a bit much, too…”
“Age gap? Hmm. How old are you?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Twenty-four? What… so you’re an adult. Hmm. It’s hard to gauge the age of Easterners. Hmmm. Twenty-four. Does age really matter?”
“Pardon? Well, I’m in my twenties, so someone in their forties is a bit… you know.”
In this world, where people marry and have children relatively early, a twenty-year age gap was practically a parent-child difference. Of course, I knew some people were into that—people with mommy fetishes or those obsessed with maternal love.
But personally, I preferred someone younger over someone older. I’d take a spring chicken over an old hen any day.
When I voiced my thoughts, the Tower Lord stared at me with a look of pure shock. For someone who looked so cold and chic, she was surprisingly expressive.
“Hah. That’s a very narrow-minded way of thinking. Adventurers don’t age like normal people. Once you go through mana adaptation, aging slows down. Physically, they’re basically still twenty. Their minds are mature and refined, but their bodies are soft and supple… that kind of state. Like wine. The more it ages, the higher the price. Understand?”
“Uh… sure. Okay.”
“Tch. What a lukewarm reaction. Damned pedophiles.”
“Hey! I’m not a pedophile!”
I couldn’t believe I was being called a crazy pedophile just for liking women in their twenties. I felt like I was losing my mind. Why were all the women in this town like this? Every single one of them seemed to have a screw loose.
Was it because of mana adaptation? Did it rot their brains?
“Fine. Just take out the mutant corpses you brought.”
“Yes, ma’am…”
I felt a bit drained, but I was glad we could finally get to the point. I just wanted to hand over the bodies and get paid. If I kept getting swept up in the Tower Lord’s pace, she’d never stop teasing me.
“Hmm. A Warlock and a Slugger. It’s exactly as described in Monster Dismantling Savoring. This one’s the Warlock, and this one’s the Slugger, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Did you happen to find a High Orc Lord?”
“No. I didn’t see one, but the adventurer I was with said the High Orcs were moving more systematically than usual.”
“Then there’s definitely a Lord. Any word on mutants being found in other sections?”
“I haven’t heard anything, but I expect there are.”
“We should assume the difficulty has increased exponentially, then.”
The Tower Lord pulled out a notebook and began scribbling something down.
“Hmm. Has anyone gone down to the 6th floor?”
“Not as far as I know. I heard even the Gold Badge adventurers only went as far as the Underground City.”
“So no one knows what it’s like below the Underground City. What about the Platinum Badges?”
“I haven’t heard a word about them.”
“Hmm. Well, most Platinum Badges are Labyrinth Assimilators anyway… Alright, I get it. The Underground City is high-risk. Below that, there’s a lack of information. Hmm.”
The difficulty had certainly spiked to the point where even Silver Badges struggled in the Underground City. Naturally, it would only get harder further down. The environment itself might have completely changed.
“First, regarding the purchase of the corpses. They haven’t rotted, you brought the whole bodies, and they’re fresh. Right, I think this much should suffice for payment. Check it.”
Mabel pulled a leather pouch from between her cleavage and handed it to me. It was still warm.
“Seven gold for the Slugger seems fair. And twelve gold for the Warlock. I’ll throw in one more to make it twenty gold. How’s that?”
Neither corpse was rotten. Since they were the first mutant corpses brought in, the price was set high.
I couldn't believe I could earn twenty gold just by selling two corpses. It was incredible. Selling just two monsters earned me enough to buy a slave.
Since I could keep the full amount for the Warlock, I’d effectively earned twelve gold for myself. I had more than enough to buy a slave now. If the Young Lady gave me a separate reward, I might even be able to recruit two.
“Wait, before we finish. There’s a request I’d like to make.”
“A request? What is it?”
“If you happen to go down to the Underground City again, check if there are any more of them that can be reasoned with.”
“You mean ones that can talk.”
“Yes. If my hypothesis is correct, there might be others like the High Orc Warlock—beings capable of communicating with humans. It seems the Labyrinth is learning from adventurers.”
The Tower Lord had formed the same hypothesis as I had. The theory that the Labyrinth was learning from adventurers.
Judging by the way the difficulty was rising and how the monsters were moving as if they were hunting adventurers in return, the Labyrinth was clearly wary of outside intruders. The Great Upheaval was likely a sort of Labyrinth update. It was absorbing data on adventurers and gradually growing.
“Oh, and about that Subspace Pocket of yours.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like to run a few experiments. Can you spare some time?”
“Right now?”
“If you’re busy, tomorrow is fine. If you participate in the experiments, I’ll give you a Magic Tower entry pass and a reward.”
I wasn’t sure what kind of experiments they were, but the offer of an entry pass and a reward was tempting. The Magic Tower restricted indiscriminate access to outsiders, so obtaining a pass meant being recognized by the Tower.
Furthermore, the Magic Tower housed the most brilliant magical tool creators in the Labyrinth City. This could be an opportunity to build connections with them and obtain high-quality magical tools.
“Alright.”
“Good. Then… let’s see. Wednesday. Come find me whenever you have time on Wednesdays.”
“What time should I come?”
“Whenever you want. Wednesdays are a bit less busy. I’ll probably be sleeping all day, so just wake me up when you get here.”
“Uh… okay.”
“Ask Male for the entry pass on your way out. Well then, see you.”
“I’ll be back on Wednesday.”
I bowed to the Tower Lord and stepped out of the room.
“You’re out!”
“Ah, Mr. Male.”
“Here is your entry pass.”
“Wait, how did you get this ready so fast?”
Male handed me the pass the moment I stepped out. Was this guy eavesdropping on my conversation with the Tower Lord?
“I can take a hint. This is a Grade 1 pass. It grants access to the top floors of the Magic Tower and allows you to enter the research wing freely.”
It was the highest grade of pass that could be given to an outsider. It was also the only pass that allowed entry into the research wing. Giving me such a high-level pass meant I would be coming close to the Magic Tower’s secrets. It was a sign that I needed to keep my mouth shut.
“Mr. Sion.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sure a smart man like you understands that by accepting this pass, you are now aligned with our Magic Tower.”
“…I suppose so.”
“It would be quite troublesome for us if you were to go around leaking what you see and hear inside.”
“Understood.”
“The Tower Lord is a bit clumsy with these things. That’s why I manage information leaks very strictly. You understand, right, Mr. Sion?”
Shadows flickered. In an instant, the hallway was dyed in darkness. Eyes gleamed from within the shadows.
‘Crazy bastard. What kind of magic is this… an Ability?’
The young mage’s magic was chilling. It was a display of force and a warning. A warning not to slander the Magic Tower or leak internal information.
“It’s not a serious threat or anything. Just a reminder for us both to be careful.”
Male smiled and dispelled the shadows. The atmosphere brightened again. It was exactly as he said—a warning, nothing more.
Since I had obtained a Grade 1 pass, this was something I had to endure. I had accepted it knowing this would happen.
“Let’s get along well from now on.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
I shook hands with Male. The boy mage with large, nerd-like glasses. He wore a harmless-looking smile, but in terms of skill, he was likely on par with a Gold Badge adventurer.
At this point, I even doubted if he was actually as young as he looked. As Mabel said, those who frequently underwent mana adaptation while young aged slowly. Perhaps this young-looking mage had been a famous adventurer in his prime.
The Labyrinth City was full of hidden powerhouses. Like a Platinum Badge who ran a weapon shop after retiring, or a mysterious, unidentified hole-in-the-wall shopkeeper.
“Whew.”
Coming out of the Magic Tower, I felt like I could finally breathe. The air in the research wing was too heavy, cramped, and stagnant. Being underground, it felt like the ventilation was poor.
“Huh…? Porter?”
“Ms. Rien. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah… it has. I’m glad you made it back from the Labyrinth safely…”
I had been planning to visit the Young Lady anyway, and I ran into Rien as she was approaching the Magic Tower.
“Are you going to the Tower?”
“Yeah… I think I’ll be living in the Labyrinth City for a while… so I’m going to register as a mage in advance… What about you?”
“I had something to drop off. How is the Young Lady?”
“Well, about that…”
Rien hesitated before telling me what had happened yesterday.
“So, you’re saying you went all the way to the front of that house?”
“Yeah… Leah kept insisting we go… We were worried, so we went looking for you… but it wasn’t an inn.”
“Hah. Did you happen to hear any noises from inside?”
“Noises…?”
“It’s nothing. I should go see the Young Lady.”
“Yeah… she really missed you. Oh, and… Leah is probably alone right now… Rika went to train, and Erika is doing volunteer work at the temple… I-I probably won’t be back until evening either…”
Rien was acting strangely hesitant. What was it? Why couldn’t she meet my eyes?
“Is there something you want to say to me?”
“Huh..? Oh, no… it’s just… that house you went to yesterday… it’s the Guild Master’s daughter’s house… right?”
“You knew?”
“Well… I looked into it, and that’s what I found out…”
The fact that Yuria and I were in the same house late at night meant exactly what it sounded like. Rien watched my reaction as she continued.
“The Young Lady… she… really… li—”
“Rien.”
“Yes…?”
“Let’s stop there. I’ll hear about the Young Lady’s feelings from her directly.”
“Ah… sorry… it’s just… yeah.”
“I’ll be going then. Good luck with your business.”
“Yeah… sorry…”
Leaving me with another apology, Rien disappeared into the Magic Tower. I had no idea what she was so sorry for.
“Sigh.”
If Rien knew, it meant Lady Leah knew as well. I had planned on telling her anyway. It was just that she found out sooner than expected.
“Could you wait a moment, please?”
“Sure.”
I arrived at the high-end lodging where the Young Lady was staying. The clerk told me to wait in the parlor as usual while he called for her. I was busy helping myself to the free sugar cubes and cookies in the parlor when the Young Lady walked in.
“Hello, Porter.”
“Oh… hello?”
For some reason, her eyes were swollen. As if she had been crying until just a moment ago.