Chapter 50: The Reason to Grow Stronger
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: The Reason to Grow Stronger
“Good morning, Rika.”
“Ah, Porter. Did you get some sleep? Uh... your cheeks look pretty swollen.”
I had barely managed to escape the room.
The two of them had been nipping and sucking on my cheeks so much from both sides that they were puffed up like balloons. My face was covered in drool. It felt disgusting.
“There were... circumstances.”
“I see. What about the Young Lady and Yuria? Are they not up yet?”
“Yes. They’re still sleeping. I didn’t bother waking them. Should we just let them sleep?”
“Uh... is that okay?”
Waking the Young Lady was technically Rika’s job, but that room was currently a den of monsters. If she went in there and got caught by someone sleep-talking, she wouldn't be able to escape being used as a human body pillow.
I had barely made it out myself. It turned out Yuria and the Young Lady shared the same terrible habit of becoming aggressive sleepers when they’d been drinking.
“Well, it’s not like we have anything to do today anyway. Waking them up now would just drain our energy.”
“That’s true... I’ll give you that. Honestly, when those two are together... it’s a bit much.”
“Wait, are you really talking about the Young Lady behind her back like this? This is gossip. Is it okay to do that to your liege?”
“Hey! Don’t make me the only bad guy when you were the one who started it!”
“Hahahaha.”
She was a fun person to tease. Since she had such a stiff image, it actually made her easier to mess with. Perhaps because she had lived the life of a knight, her sense of hierarchy and order was well-ingrained. The moment she confirmed I was the Young Lady’s man, she had become strangely polite.
“Let’s head to the market together before those two wake up.”
“Together? Now?”
“Yeah. We’ll tell Olivia to watch the house. Let’s go buy some soup for the hangovers. It’ll be good to get some fresh air.”
“Not a bad idea. Let’s go.”
“Oh, and let’s stop by the Martial Arts Hall on the way and register together.”
“Oh! That sounds great!”
She looked genuinely delighted when I suggested going to the Martial Arts Hall to work out. As expected of a muscle-brained yet elegant knight. She seemed to love exercise.
“Olivia. Are you awake?”
“Yeees?”
At the sound of her name, Olivia came walking out, leaning against the wall. Judging by her messy hair and the drool marks on her face, she must have been sleeping like a log.
“We’re going out to buy some food. Watch the house while we’re gone. If anyone comes looking, just pretend no one’s home.”
“Um, can’t I... go with you?”
“No. It’s hard to take you along. See that sofa? Sit there. I’ll bring back some snacks.”
“Okay... I understand...”
She looked dejected, but she didn’t cling any further. She had been in a bad state yesterday, but after a warm meal and a comfortable place to sleep, she seemed to have regained some of her senses. Perhaps she found comfort in the fact that I, a fellow person from Earth, was here. I hoped she would stay stable like this.
“By the way, was that girl an old acquaintance? Or someone from your hometown?”
“Olivia?”
“Yes. It seems she’s blind.”
She was likely wondering why I would go out of my way to buy a girl who couldn't see. No sane person would buy a blind slave. It was a natural question to have. She might even suspect some foul intentions.
“She is from my hometown. And she knows quite a bit about the Labyrinth in her own way. That’s why I brought her.”
It was best to keep information about Olivia hidden as much as possible. Moreover, I couldn't tell Rika a secret I hadn't even shared with the Young Lady yet.
“I see. You seem to always help those in trouble.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Not really. Why would I help others? I only work as much as I’m paid. Didn't I keep my mouth shut about the Magic Tower’s experimental subjects just recently? If I truly wanted to help those in trouble, I’d still be rolling around in the mud with the Body Recovery Team for no money.
“Even if you deny it, that’s how it looks to me. No matter how much money or reward is offered, throwing yourself into danger like that isn't easy.”
She seemed to be talking about when I saved her. Well, I wasn't exactly in my right mind back then either. The reward the Young Lady promised—was it 20 gold per person? To be honest, looking back, it wasn't worth risking my life for. And yet, I had made up an excuse to dive back in and save them.
“You entered the Labyrinth to save Erika and me after the Labyrinth Eruption, when no one knew what state it was in. And that was after we had only known each other for half a day. You even went into debt with other adventurers to save us, and I heard you went through a lot in the Underground City. That’s not something just anyone can do.”
Rika seemed to be attaching a grand meaning to my actions. It was as if she were talking about a knight she admired. She was trying to revere and idolize what I did. If I were a man full of vanity, her words might have gone to my head. But I don't move based on justice or chivalry.
“I only moved for the money. If the Young Lady hadn't offered a reward, I would have abandoned you and Erika. Don’t thank me; thank the Young Lady.”
Rika nodded at my words.
“I am always grateful to the Young Lady. She is my benefactor. But the same goes for you. In the end, you were the one who saved me. If it weren't for you, Erika and I would have died.”
Why was she praising me so much? I wondered why she kept trying to raise her affinity with me.
“...No, Rika. What is it? What do you want? Why are you praising me like this?”
“Huh? I’m doing it because I want to praise you. Why?”
“No, it’s just that you’re suddenly talking me up so much, I thought you had some ulterior motive.”
“Hahaha. It’s nothing. Really.”
Rika looked off into the distance, as if picturing her future self.
“I feel like a great crisis will come at some point. I just have a feeling. When that time comes, please look after the Young Lady.”
“You’re her guardian knight, Rika.”
“I’m saying if. Just in case. If I ever become unable to protect her. That’s when I’m asking you. Of course, I’ll protect her until the day I die. But if there ever comes a time when my reach cannot save her... I want you to be the one to protect her.”
“Rika, don’t say such unsettling, useless things. Why are you talking like someone who’s about to die? Are you sick?”
“Hey, Porter! Do you have no sense of mood? I was finally setting the atmosphere to say something meaningful. What kind of reaction is that?”
“Ugh, that was so cheesy it gave me goosebumps. What do you mean, a moment when your reach won't save her? Just protect her yourself until the end. You just have to get stronger. You said you were going to, didn't you?”
“I have to. Honestly, when I felt the gap between myself and Yuria... I was mortified.”
Rika confessed her feelings from yesterday. When she had been so overwhelmed by Yuria’s intimidation that she almost drew her sword without her master’s permission—she said she felt dyingly ashamed. It was one of the few moments of true humiliation in her life.
“I’ve been thinking about getting stronger for a long time. There are people in our knight order who studied abroad in the Labyrinth City. Every time I was forced to my knees by their power, I wanted to come here too. I finally made it thanks to the Young Lady, but I’m still weak.”
Rika seemed fed up with her own helplessness. Her eyes were filled with a craving for power. I could feel her desire to grow stronger.
“Wait, there are people in your knight order who studied in the Labyrinth City?”
“Of course. It’s an open secret. There are probably many nobles from other countries training in this city under assumed names. Mana adaptation and Abilities are great blessings that are hard to obtain outside the Labyrinth City.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Mana adaptation and Abilities were like local specialties of the Labyrinth City. To have a similar experience outside, one would have to go to an inhuman demonic realm or an uncharted territory known as No Man's Land. Those places were essentially the Demon Realm. Forget mana adaptation; you’d just die of mana poisoning the moment you stepped inside.
“Anyway, I just wanted to ask you to look after the Young Lady. She told me yesterday that if you’re part of the Labyrinth raid, she feels like she’ll almost certainly make it out alive. Her trust in you is immense.”
“That’s...”
I had worked myself to the bone during the Labyrinth Eruption and eventually got her out alive. That experience seemed to have given Leah a deep trust in me.
“It’s not like I can save everyone every time.”
“Well, yesterday I went to the guild to gather information on Yuria and met an adventurer named Hachi. He said the same thing—that they would have been wiped out during this Labyrinth run if it weren't for you.”
“That was also just a coincidence.”
“I figured you’d say that, so I’ve been tracking your track record, Porter.”
“Wait, you did a background check on me? Is it okay to admit that so boldly?”
“It couldn't be helped. You’re the man the Young Lady is fond of. I had to know what kind of person you are.”
That was fair. In the end, Rika was the Young Lady’s guardian knight. To protect her in a place like the Labyrinth City, investigating the people around her was essential.
“Porter, do you know something?”
“What?”
“Ever since you obtained that Subspace Pocket, there have been almost no casualties in the parties you’ve belonged to. This has already moved beyond the realm of coincidence. Even this time, I only 'died' because of the variable known as the Labyrinth Eruption. If not for that, the Labyrinth run would have ended safely again.”
“Wait a minute, Rika. Don’t start deifying me. I just prepare a bit better than others...”
“Exactly. That’s the key point. The Subspace Pocket you have allows you to prepare any kind of item. An owner who has a bag with no capacity limit and spends his own money to pack it full of relief supplies—that alone drastically increases a party’s survival rate.”
She was right. Survival in the Labyrinth depended on how thoroughly one prepared.
“So, in the end, you’re asking me to stay as a member of the Young Lady’s party?”
“Yes. You probably intend to just help with the Upper Levels and then leave, but I want you to go all the way to the Underground City with us. I feel secure when you’re there.”
“I’m not signing an exclusive contract.”
“That doesn't matter. However, we don't intend to enter the Labyrinth without you. We’ll match your schedule. This is a commitment I got from the Young Lady. We don't enter the Labyrinth without the owner of the Subspace Pocket. I need your strength to protect her.”
It seemed Rika, rather than the Young Lady, was the one insisting they wouldn't enter the Labyrinth without me. Her role was to protect Leah. Her very reason for wanting to get stronger was to protect her. Therefore, she didn't want to take the risk of going in without me.
“Above all, the Young Lady intends to go to the end of the Labyrinth.”
“...The end of the Labyrinth?”
“Yes. She talks about it every night. That something there is calling to her.”
The end of the Labyrinth. At that end, the Labyrinth Lord would naturally be waiting. The Labyrinth Lord was calling Leah. Why? For what purpose? I didn't know. But it wasn't a good sign. There were occasionally cases like this—people drawn down by the pull of the Labyrinth. You could say it was similar to Labyrinth Assimilation.
“No one knows what’s at the end of the Labyrinth.”
“I know. Honestly, I don't want to go that far down either, but the Young Lady’s will is very firm.”
“You’re not asking me to go all the way down there with you, are you?”
“Couldn't you just go down with us and take a quick look?”
“No! Are you crazy?!”
I was willing to go down to the 7th Floor as Yuria wished. But below that? Asking me to go down to the bottom of the Abyss was crossing the line.
“Let’s stop talking about the Labyrinth. Let’s just buy the hangover soup.”
“Ah, I didn't bring my wallet.”
“It’s fine. I’ll buy. I wasn't planning on asking you to pay anyway.”
“I see. I’m sorry for always being the one treated.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just treat me next time.”
“I will. After we finish the next Labyrinth run, I’ll buy you a drink.”
“Deal.”
The hangover soup in this world was tomato-based. It was a slightly spicy, thin stew made by simmering tomatoes with chili peppers and meat. It felt like something you’d want to eat with rice, but since the concept of soup with rice was rare here, it was usually eaten by dipping bread into it.
“The Subspace Pocket really is convenient.”
“Right?”
I didn't have to worry about the smell of food leaking out. Even if I bought something with strong spices, I could go anywhere without people noticing.
“So this is the Martial Arts Hall.”
“It’s the most famous one in the Labyrinth City. If you pay the monthly fee, you can use the equipment as much as you want. If you pay for personal instruction, they’ll train you.”
It was essentially an isekai gym. You pay a monthly fee to use the equipment, and if you want PT, you can learn weapon techniques or combat skills from a trainer (a former adventurer). Truly, a Labyrinth City gym.
“You said you don't have money, right?”
“Well, that... I left my wallet behind...”
“I’ll pay your fee for this month.”
“Really? Sniff...! Thank you...!”
Rika already looked like her hands were itching to start lifting iron. The fee was about 10 silver a month, I think. I could afford that much. I had the money I received from the Young Lady, after all.
Rika only signed up to use the equipment. I, on the other hand, decided to take personal lessons. What Rika lacked was mana adaptation and an Ability, not technique. She didn't need personal training. But I did. I didn't know the first thing about handling a weapon. I knew how to grip a sword and swing it blindly, but I had no idea how to perform systematic movements with it. My slingshot skills were amazing, but that was about it.
“You’re applying for the Warrior attribute training, correct?”
“Yes. As a Warrior.”
“Understood. We happen to have one person available for Warrior training. Could you wait a moment?”
“Sure.”
The female staff member at the lobby arranged for a former adventurer. Since I had accepted Shaka’s Remnant, I figured walking the path of a Warrior was the right choice.
“I think that’s him.”
“Whoa...”
As Rika and I sat on the bench waiting for the instructor, a massive man soon approached us.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Gon, and I’ll be in charge of your training.”
He was a man with a bare chest covered in tattoos. A Barbarian warrior with skin so dark it looked tanned—Gon. He had become my teacher.