41. Jang Ryu-o's refund expedition
41. Jang Ryu-o's refund expedition
The time when Jang Ryu-o had just left.
Arin, intoxicated by the happy afterglow, gently waved her hand at Jang Ryu-o.
"Come back safe, darling."
"Yeah, I'll be back."
Arin thought while looking at Jang Ryu-o.
Now, I have no choice but to admit it.
I am his master, but I love that man so damn much.
Arin fondly stroked the liquid filling her belly and got up.
She felt a bit guilty about the message to Cheon Hwa-ryeong, but since he's so head over heels for me...
"Hehe♥"
Her mind brimming with leisure, Arin stood up on trembling thighs.
I heard men don't have that raging sex drive, but how the hell does he pound so ferociously.
No damage to her transcendent body, but it kept awakening that mind-floating sensation, which was a real hassle.
"Sigh, gotta pull myself together... Huh!"
Arin's expression flipped as she stretched languidly.
A resolute and ice-cold look.
The pride of a woman who wants to do so much for her beloved man.
He's out here living so damn diligently in that man's body, so as his master... n-no, as his future mate, I wanna support him to the max.
Such a waste to keep him cooped up in this cramped house.
If only he lacked talent...
"Time to change clothes..."
Arin shook off the sentiment in her head and donned her armor.
When she dresses like this, it's to enter the Labyrinth or...
"To grill the Gongnyeo."
To rough someone up.
Not actually beat them, just lay down some threats.
Sure, she owed the Duchy favors, but she'd paid 'em all back already.
No risk of blowback, so Arin kicked off the ground to pave her disciple's path.
-Tak! Hung...
She dashed, using the sky itself as her foothold.
Upon arriving at breakneck speed, Arin's eyes caught a servant stabbing his own neck and spraying blood.
-Uhahaha!
-Puk! Puhwaak!
"The hell?"
She had no clue what situation this was.
"Never heard the Gongnyeo had such a twisted hobby..."
The servants naturally panicked, and knights poured out from the mansion interior.
-Catch the spy... Damn!
-Crazy bastard...
-... Report to the young lady.
The knights ground their teeth and approached the corpse.
In that instant...
-Woong! Bubgle bubgle...
Light poured from the corpse as it started ballooning in size.
Flesh bubbling over like boiling meat, churning into a chaotic mess.
-Ddrdrdrdrk!
-Damn! Battle stations, everyone!
-Chang chang chang!
Arin silently eyed the Corpse Golem that only shows up on the 40th floor.
Arin figured she needed to pry her disciple away from the Gongnyeo.
The guts of the place looking like that? No way this was ordinary.
-Kuooo!
Arin raised both hands high and sighed at the Corpse Golem.
"Ha..."
She drew her sword, but no unsheathing ring.
Holding it vertically overhead, nothing emanated from Arin.
No internal energy, no aura—just trash-staring indifference.
Sunlight glinted briefly off the tip of her white blade.
Arin's high-held arm now pointed straight down.
-Kung!
The charging knights blinked at the halved Corpse Golem.
To them, it'd split clean in two without a single warning.
Arin slowly descended from atop the Corpse Golem, stepping down empty air like stairs, and spoke.
The Duchy knights gaped at the mystical, breathtaking sight.
"I'm here to see the Gongnyeo."
I tried my best to ignore the smooth skin texture lingering in my hand.
Took a deep breath, calming my chest as much as possible.
Any further and I might lose my shit, I thought.
"I'll splash some water."
Cheon Hwa-ryeong spoke in a subdued voice, unlike before.
"Yeah."
Like the crap you heard was just a hallucination.
-Chwaaak!
Just douse her like this...
"Wanna wipe?"
"Yeah."
I gripped the towel thick and patted her body dry.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong, face blank, spread her arms toward me.
"Carry me over."
Her tone had this weird chill.
I scooped her up as ordered and laid her on the bed.
Staring at empty space, Cheon Hwa-ryeong said,
"Yeah, that's it for today. Off you go."
"Huh? We barely did any Circulation of Qi?"
Cheon Hwa-ryeong fluttered her eyes shut then open, smirking.
"Why? Craving another round of what we just did?"
"Noona, didn't you call that training..."
"Puhahaha! Right, I asked if you want more of 'that training.'"
Her oddly emphasized laugh pissed me off.
"Ah, screw it! You want me gone for real? I was gonna whip up some food..."
"Not hungry. Beat it."
She mentioned fasting, so I double-checked out of worry.
"You sure you're good skipping a meal?"
"Kukukuk, once my energy cycles, I'll eat on my own. Go on, I need rest."
Fair enough—body's weak, and tons of crap had gone down.
'Can she even get up...'
"Beat it?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, got it."
Before opening the door to leave, Cheon Hwa-ryeong piped up.
"Come tomorrow too. Plenty to teach."
"...Okay."
Tomorrow's bullshit flashed in my head, but I shook it off and headed out.
"Snap out of it."
Once the Heavenly Demon Divine Art settles in, shitloads I wanna test.
I made for the Guild.
Check on the team, get those essences appraised at the church too.
Guild interior in total chaos, incidents stacking up.
"No word on that 10th-floor find?"
"Appraisal requested from the Magic Tower. But with the dungeon reset coming, evidence might vanish."
"Sigh... Told 'em to take it easy? If 10th-floor curveballs fuck up the mages, we can't handle the fallout?"
"Yes, back before midnight."
"Master... Reply from the Duchy estate's dragging."
"... Send one guy to check it out."
"Yes!"
"Master! Can't pin down Heavenly Demon or Arin-nim's place..."
"Ah, Meidel... Fetch me a pipe."
"F-First floor's no-smoking..."
"Ah! It's herbs! Just sniff!"
"Hiiik! Y-Yes!!!"
Guild Master Silvia handled business, dark circles dangling like ornaments.
Brass in meltdown—what about contractor schmucks like us?
Just dropping dead, that's what.
If it'd wrapped up clean, she'd grind hard, but no—random assholes crashed the party midway.
Cross-checked every adventurer's file: nada. Duchy's history too: squeaky clean.
Zilch. Silvia was beyond exasperated, straight-up clueless.
This mess? Couldn't survive without a quick hit.
Rifling papers, waiting on Meidel...
"M-Master!"
"Huh? Pissed enough already—why's your speech all... Ryu-o-nimmm!"
Meidel brought stress relief way better than any pipe.
Silvia snatched a form and bolted to Jang Ryu-o.
"Hell..."
"Thank god! You're alive!"
Silvia felt the boulder in her chest shatter with a bang.
Heavenly Demon visit? Problem. Arin? Problem too...
"Ryu-o-nim! Here!"
"Yes?"
"Please, just jot your address... Please..."
Looks healthy—check. Now snag that contact, and we're golden.
Adventurers skip addresses, but Jang Ryu-o got VIP treatment.
Already swept up in drama and vanished three times.
Hope it never happens again, but emergencies demand door-kicks.
Jang Ryu-o blinked at the paper shoved in his face.
"I navigate by memory, so no detailed address..."
"Ah..."
Gut punch... No, head spinning! But Silvia toughed it out.
"Seeing you safe is huge relief. Here for your master...?"
Arin squared away? Good enough.
Jang Ryu-o nodded with a grin.
"Master's in the loop too."
"Phew... Glad. Any... trouble from the Heavenly Demon?"
"...Yeah, personal stuff."
"Personal... Got it... You're fine, so I'll drop it."
Silvia sensed pushing more was a no-go.
Nodded at the lighter workload.
"Ah, Ryu-o-nim. Team vouched for your feats. Truly, insanely miraculous shit."
Jang Ryu-o's face lit up at Silvia's words.
"Whole team's safe! Ha, what a relief."
Silvia melted at his sweet heart.
Worries squad first, no bitching.
Handsome guys got attitudes? Bullshit.
Pretty face, pretty soul—so damn gentle...
"Master?"
Snapping from her Jang Ryu-o trance, Silvia cleared her throat and explained.
"Slurp! Ah, sorry. Ahem! Should pay rewards on the spot, but Duchy's still probing—sorry for the delay. And..."
Silvia beamed warmly.
"We reviewed your merits—bigger payout incoming."
"For real?"
His beaming face had her grinning back.
"Ryu-o-nim. Stuff no 10th-floor newbie pulls off."
"R-Really?"
"Led the whole crew through a Dungeon Break Labyrinth. Zero casualties. Solo'd the Orc Hero to boot. Labyrinth City history's first."
Even his slack-jawed gape looked adorable to Silvia.
Just gazing filled her up, like witnessing a light piercing the Labyrinth's gloom.
"Own that confidence. Labyrinth City's endlessly generous to miracle-workers."