9. Introduction
At my refusal, Dismas actually smiled.
Think about it. If I had proposed it while keeping this structure in mind, of course I would refuse. The other side would have to do it anyway.
Even a lucky novice would find a sudden proposal suspicious. The only kind of person who would swallow it outright is a thoughtless novice who merely got lucky.
At the very least, I had proven I wasn't that kind of person, so I passed the first test.
"Then is there something you desire?"
At first glance, it looked like he was telling me to take whatever I wanted, but this was also a test. He was weighing not only my caliber and boldness, but also my vulnerabilities.
What if I asked him to provide an adventurer woman here? If I were provided a woman trapped by gambling debts, I could become stronger in an instant. But that would be the same as giving him the information that I need women.
Asking for too great a reward was the same. A fitting reward was a reward I had earned, but excessive favor ultimately returns as debt.
I was willing to hold Tia's leash, but I had no intention of letting Dismas hold mine.
The safest choice here was,
"There's nothing I particularly need. If you're willing to give something, I'll accept anything."
I put the ball in his court. Anything unnecessary or too small would look worse than giving nothing, while anything excessive would be something I could simply refuse.
At that choice, Dismas let out a hearty laugh, and Tia was fidgeting, unable to follow the flow of conversation. If she's this naive, I'll have no choice but to keep her with me for life.
"Then I shall write you a letter of recommendation."
Something unexpected came out. I had thought this would be the chance to actually see one of those magic items the other adventurers were chattering about at the Temple of the Travel God.
But I hid that reaction as much as possible and expressed my thanks.
"I'll accept it gratefully."
Dismas took paper from a servant, wrote something on it, and stamped it with his ring. Then, after placing the paper in his breast pocket, he said,
"Then stay the night."
"What about contacting my companions—"
"The servants will have relayed it."
He must have intended to put us up from the moment he served us the meal. I glanced at Tia, and since it didn't seem like a strange situation, I accepted.
But there was one thing Tia hadn't expected.
"Wh-why is there only one bed?!"
It was the host's consideration that neither of us had anticipated.
***
Kyrios Dismas. The word meant "ruler," and it was a title he had been called by for half his life.
Although his will to adventure had been broken by the trials he faced in the middle layers, after returning to the upper layer he became a member of the party that took over the position of guardian of the City of Light. A level 6 Rogue capable of putting an ordinary adventurer on the brink of death with a single strike. The highest-level man among those staying in the upper layer spoke wistfully.
"The labyrinth world is truly wonderful. Even as you age, your body doesn't ache."
Muttering so, he took a sip of wine.
"But seeing shining young people, I can't help but feel the indifference of time."
To Dismas, who was pouring himself a drink, a servant who had worked for him for a long time spoke up.
"Master, why did you bestow favor upon those people, upon people like them?"
Dismas quietly put the wine to his lips. As he drank, the servant continued.
"The proposal that outsider made ultimately accomplished nothing in reality, did it not? Whether the method he described will be effective hasn't even been verified yet."
The servant's words were cut off as the master set down his glass.
"Do you think I invested after seeing something like that?"
"Pardon? Then what did you see to make your decision?"
"It was an opportunity to buy the most expensive thing at the cheapest price."
It was something he always said.
The most expensive thing was not a glittering jewel or a supreme armament.
"People are the most expensive goods."
He declared that this guest was a rare gem sifted from ordinary stones.
"The courage not to lose composure before me, the wisdom to find a way forward without losing calm, and above all, the greed not to lose what is his."
Dismas counted on his fingers as he spoke.
"When such people are given a sword and wings, they become heroes."
Though I could not become one, Dismas added self-deprecatingly.
"Who would dare criticize you, Master?"
To the servant who said that, Dismas smiled.
"Let them. That's not what matters."
He drained the remaining glass and set it down.
"What matters is placing those who will become such heroes in my debt."
At least time is something even heroes cannot defy, the man said with a smile, and glancing at the moon risen in the sky, he asked.
Having said that, the man turned from the window and took a seat.
"A good gift has come to mind."
***
The room Dismas provided must have been well soundproofed. Tia let out moans all night, but no one said a word.
"What are you going to do if a child comes from this?"
"That? It's fine."
It wasn't groundless confidence. I could feel it instinctively. The Incubus Body I possessed could control whether pregnancy occurred.
After reassuring Tia like that, we entered the dining room. After the meal, we prepared to leave the mansion.
At the mansion's entrance, Dismas came out to see us off with a servant in tow. His gifts were the letter of recommendation written yesterday and a single sword. The sword was clearly no ordinary thing; it looked like a magic item.
"Go see the administrator of the Great Library."
A new figure had appeared. I naturally accepted the letter of recommendation and tucked it into my pocket, and strapped the sword to my waist.
"Understood."
Anyway, why a sword?
I don't even use a sword.
I could think of two possibilities. In Dismas's thinking, that I would someday use a sword. Or that it was a gift given with someone other than me in mind.
If it was the latter, that was reassuring, but if it was the former, it meant he had seen through the potential of my abilities. No matter how influential Dismas was in the city, that would be difficult.
Until I accepted the gifts and left the mansion, Dismas saw us off with a smile. Only after leaving the mansion did I let out a sigh of relief.
"What do you want to do, Tia?"
As a result of asking during the meal, she said she had contacted our class separately. We had agreed to join up after today's adventure.
We could go straight to the Temple of the Travel God after resupplying and set out on an adventure, but the letter of recommendation was on my mind.
"Wouldn't it be good to go to the Great Library?"
"Is that okay?"
"I'm thinking of looking for materials about the 2nd floor."
She added that normally only a few permitted people could access the library, but now that we had a letter of recommendation, we would be able to investigate. Fortunately, Tia knew the way to the Great Library, so we set off.
"Come to think of it, Tia. Do you know who the director of the Great Library is?"
"The greatest wizard in this city."
A wizard, then. So was I supposed to learn magic? But unlike a Wizard, a Sorcerer can only learn new magic through leveling up.
Then what would I gain by bringing the letter of recommendation? He wouldn't have given it without meaning.
Harboring such doubts, I arrived at the Great Library.
I had expected the Great Library to be an enormous building, but it wasn't as big as I thought. About the size of a neighborhood library building.
"You're not surprised."
"I come from a place with a lot of books."
"Being familiar with books is a good thing."
Tia approached the gatekeeper guarding the building.
"Show the seal, Do-hyeon."
Following her words, I showed the seal on the rolled-up letter of recommendation.
"A letter of recommendation from Lord Dismas, I see. Understood. I will contact the director."
One of the gatekeepers ran off with a surprised expression, and returned a short while later saying he would guide me.
"Then I'll be back, Big Sis Tia."
"I can never tell when that 'big sis' of yours is going to come out."
With that, Tia shook her head, and I entered the library interior under the librarian's guidance.
***
The place I arrived at following the gatekeeper's guidance was a solitary building standing alone against the backdrop of a wide open lot behind the library. When the gatekeeper entered, a voice rang out: "All right. Come in."
The door opened, and the place I entered was a mess.
All kinds of paper bundles were strewn across the floor, and the desk was covered with wooden cups filled with unidentifiable liquids.
The gatekeeper excused himself with an expression that said he had seen something he shouldn't have, and I stepped inside, barely finding empty spots on the floor to step on.
"Hello, Dismas's novice. A mage, are you?"
The one who greeted me there was a woman with pointed, vertical ears.
"Hello. My name is Seo Do-hyeon."
"Right. I'm Eira. Call me whatever you like."
I decided to call her Miss Eira for now. Meanwhile, Eira received the letter of recommendation, read it, and said,
"He says you're a novice with promise, so I should teach you well?"
Teach me, she says. Teach me what, exactly?
"Aha. You're an outsider, aren't you?"
Even at a glance, my school uniform made me stand out in this world.
She only noticed that now?
"I'm an outsider too."
With that, Eira tapped her ears and said,
"It's a race that doesn't exist in this Hellas region. Elves."
Apparently, Hellas was a region that attracted adventurers from outside.
Speaking like that, Eira poked my chest with her finger.
"You've been coasting on your Perk so far, haven't you?"
It was true. Other people had experienced threats to their lives, but I had never experienced such a thing.
"But the labyrinth is a garbage place, you see. Those who descend easily die easily."
Eira's expression as she said that was filled with regret.
"Though saying all this, I'm just a weak Wizard who's only been to the middle layers."
Most adventurers staying in the City of Light were said to be level 3. To reach the middle layers, you had to descend to the 5th floor of the labyrinth. Didn't that make her pretty impressive?
"So, there are two things I'm going to teach you."
Finally, the main point.
"The first is the attitude of an adventurer. Methodology for surviving a long time. The second is a Feat I learned while working as an adventurer."
"You can teach Feats?"
"What, didn't Rinos explain?"
When I asked who that was, she said it was the Western man who explained things to us when we first arrived here.
"Feats can be acquired through training."
Weren't Perks something other people didn't have?
"Blessings and Boons too—they're just hard to obtain, but obtaining them is possible. Graces too."
Apparently, even Eira didn't know about Authorities.
"Anyway, that's about what I can do for you."
Eira stopped speaking there.
"So, what can you do for me?"
"......Didn't I come here with a recommendation from Lord Dismas?"
"That's the minimum condition for meeting me. Do you know how precious my time is?"
In the creative works I'd seen, elves were a race with time to spare.
"Uh, then should I pay gold coins or something?"
"I have plenty of gold."
What was she getting at? At times like this, asking directly was fastest.
"Then what do you want?"
"Your Perk."
"Excuse me?"
"I swear by the God of Magic that I will not disclose it elsewhere or cause you harm. Tell me what your Perk is."
"......Why?"
"To add another treasure to my repository of knowledge. Is there any better reason?"
What Eira pointed to while saying "repository of knowledge" was none other than her own head. This elf. She didn't seem to be in her right mind.
***
『Affirmative. An oath to a god is absolute. There is no possibility of her breaking the oath.』
According to Mary's explanation, one who breaks an oath sworn to a god loses everything and is ruined. If she tried to use that to attack me, it would end up benefiting me instead.
But even with that oath, I had no reason to reveal all my abilities. So I tried to hide as much as possible, but,
"What could I possibly teach you without knowing your abilities?"
I thought she could at least teach fundamentals, but Eira's attitude was firm.
So I had no choice but to reveal only the minimum necessary parts.
"I can see 54m in darkness."
"Darkvision, is it? A good ability."
"And if certain conditions are met, I can share it with allies."
If I didn't say this much, I couldn't explain my party members and tactics. If I could only see through darkness alone, I'd just be a scout with good eyes, wouldn't I?
"Oh, really?"
Eira's eyes darted around as she said that.
"Then put it on me too."
Wait, if she knew what that meant, she wouldn't say that.
"Why? Is it something that harms you?"
"No, it's not that."
If I could sleep with a woman like Eira, it would benefit me too. I could obtain two abilities from her and raise one of my stats.
"It's not something I can put on just anyone."
"Then I just need to meet the conditions."
Eira said that and took a step toward me. I realized that with that assertiveness, ordinary words wouldn't dissuade her. I had no choice. There was nothing to do but tell the truth.
"As for that condition, it's sex."
At those words, Eira tilted her head for a moment, then,
"Really? Then we can just do it?"
She answered like that.