Interior Tour - Labyrinth Day 73
I stopped by the desert village again today to check on the interior construction progress.
The cats who joined late were lower priority, so they hadn't gotten their interiors done yet. But the monsters who had been original villagers were top priority, and their homes were now fully finished.
"Let's start with the central house, then."
First up: the manager and assistant manager, Pharaoh Devil and Anubis Dragon's place. They were living together in one house—in other words, cohabiting.
I pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside. The interior matched the wooden exterior perfectly, emphasizing natural textures. In the center of the living room sat a sofa with soft curves, and in front of it, a solid wood table etched with subtle patterns. Under the warm glow of the lighting, bookshelves lined the walls, adding depth to the space.
"Hm. Not bad."
It had just the essentials, making the space feel spacious and comfortable. No flashiness at all—just refined beauty.
[We vaguely told Omega's minions about our tastes, and they perfectly decorated it just how we wanted. Those guys are seriously skilled.]
[Heh. After wandering as nomads, having a proper house feels... strange.]
Phara and Devil were sipping drinks on the sofa, chatting. From their expressions, they clearly loved their new home.
After touring Phara and Devil's place, I headed to the other assistant manager's house: Giant Caterpillar's. His was an open-air design with just a roof and no outer walls, so there wasn't much interior to speak of.
[Aberrerral! My house got even cooler!]
"...Congrats."
Huh? Did they do any work? I still couldn't tell. It didn't look much different from before.
I gave Caterpillar's place a quick once-over and moved on to Snake Head's house in the residential area.
Snake Head was waiting out front.
[Orororo! Come in!]
"'Scuse me."
Inside Snake Head's house, I slowly turned my head to take it all in. A massive L-shaped sofa dominated the living room, strewn with pillows and blankets in disarray. The floor was cushy like a mattress. The whole place felt like one giant bed, designed for ultimate comfort anywhere you lay.
Thick curtains blocked all external light from every window.
"This place feels gloomy... The curtains are to avoid disturbances while relaxing at home, right?"
[Orororo! Exactly!]
I felt like the gloomy vibe might rub off if I stayed longer, so I hurried out.
[Oro?! Look around more!]
"Sorry, busy."
Next: Mummy Skeleton's house. His stood out more than the others. From the carpet on the floor to the desk, sofa, bed, table, wallpaper—everything was dyed in sandy ochre tones.
[I wish for... sand...]
"Yeah, wish a lot."
I bailed quickly. Staying longer might give me issues.
Next, Lionheart's house. He'd gone for clean and tidy like Phara and Devil: standard leather sofa, solid wood furniture, bright walls, organized bookshelves. Lion skin portrait... where'd he get that?
Anyway, nothing noteworthy—just utterly ordinary. I skimmed and left.
[Leaving already without a full look? Is my house that bad...?
"Gotta check the others'. Not leaving early 'cause yours sucks—don't misunderstand."
Honestly, it did suck. Too bland. But I kept that to myself. Basic manners not to hurt feelings.
Then, next door: Sand Raven's—the first dumb one I tamed.
[Kak! This is my house!]
Dumb Sand Raven's interior overlapped with Snake Head's style. Not identical, but similar vibe? Dark tones: slate-gray walls, black leather sofa, black glass table. Dark theme lover like Snake Head, apparently.
Crows like shiny things, but nothing gleamed here. Guess being crow-shaped doesn't make it a real crow.
As the allies said, unlike Snake Head's gloomy dump, this exuded mystery and luxury. Maybe the scented candles placed artfully everywhere? Anyway, no discomfort lingering.
I continued touring the monsters' homes slowly. Plenty of other Sand Ravens and Cat Crabs, so no boredom. Even same species had wildly different tastes, like humans—fun to browse.
That's how I spent the whole day touring desert village interiors.
While Kang Geon toured the desert village, at the same time on Earth—
Sage Lunaris had left South Korea for China. Not by Earth's transport; she'd regained enough power for teleport magic. Opening portals to other worlds was still impossible, though.
Recently, while repairing the dimensional veil, she'd discovered Earth's wasn't naturally formed. Long ago, a guardian had installed it—and now weakened, causing the veil's collapse.
"...Definitely. The guardian's nearby."
Deep in a rugged, uninhabited mountain range, weaving through canyons, Sage tracked the veil's energy growing closer. She teleported relentlessly.
She arrived at a secret underground lab, hidden deep. Ironclad guards and high-tech security made the entrance an impenetrable fortress—but to Sage, mere paper walls.
Bursting through solid barriers via teleport, she emerged in the lab's heart.
"Who are you!"
"How did you get in here?!"
The startled researchers and guards panicked at her sudden appearance. Ignoring them, Sage eyed the lifeform on the lab table.
She knew instantly: this was Earth's protector against invasions, the one who'd erected the sturdy veil—the guardian.
A faint tremor crossed her eyes as she gazed at it.
"What the hell is this..."
The guardian was already dead.
"What have these crazy bastards done...?"
Sage intuited Earth's fate was sealed.