Chapter 6. Farewell (2)
Quite some time had passed since Master came home drunk that night. In the meantime, her complexion had grown even worse. What on earth had she heard during that time? I was dying to know, but I couldn't bring myself to ask her directly. Every day, she'd stumble in reeking of booze, her face twisted in agony, wearing an expression of desolate sorrow that was hard to put into words.
And then, one such day arrived.
"Rike, could we talk for a moment?"
It seemed the moment I'd been waiting for had finally come. I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded in agreement to her proposal. And the very next words out of her mouth were:
"It looks like I have to go somewhere because of family matters."
"Family matters... you mean..."
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you that much."
I nodded at her words.
"Then, how long will it be...?"
Her eyebrows twitched at my question. She hemmed and hawed for a bit, let out a deep sigh, and finally answered.
"Yeah. There's no point hiding it anyway."
Judging by the way she said it, this was something seriously grave.
"If things go wrong, I might never be able to come back here in my lifetime."
I nodded heavily. I'd had my suspicions, but to hear it confirmed like this...
Master must have found my reaction too heartbreaking to bear, because she tried to offer some comfort.
"Well, don't worry too much. They're calling me now that things have stabilized somewhat, so what you're thinking won't happen."
"Really?"
"Probably...?"
She didn't sound convinced herself, so there was no way I could relax hearing that.
Anyway, after listening to her, I pondered for a moment before nodding in acceptance. From the way she'd reacted coming home drunk, it didn't seem like this was something she wanted. And there was no way to stop it anyway.
Still, on the off chance, I had to ask.
"Could I... come with you?"
She shook her head firmly.
"I can't take you to a place where even my life isn't guaranteed."
If her life was at risk, there was no arguing about me tagging along. So I accepted it.
Seeing me like that, Master looked truly apologetic. And as I watched her expression, I spoke up.
"In that case, I should do what I've always wanted to do."
"What you've always wanted?"
"Yes." I took a deep breath and told her.
"I'm going to Labyrinth City."
"Wh-what?!"
At the mention of Labyrinth City, Master's eyes went wide—not just shocked, but outright horrified.
"Do you even know what that means?!"
Of course I did. Going to Labyrinth City meant throwing half your life away. The labyrinth drew in countless people, just as vast as the city itself, and spat out just as many corpses. That's why it had another name:
City Built Upon Death
"I know full well."
I'd never been there myself, but from what I'd seen in Let's Explore the Reversed World Labyrinth!, it wasn't some romantic adventurer's paradise like in other novels. One monster wave was all it took to shred mercenaries on the outskirts. Dope-fiend adventurers dropped dead by the dozens every day in the city. And inside the labyrinth? Not just low-rankers—even high-rank adventurers bit the dust regularly.
It was a place truly built on piles of corpses, and the name fit perfectly.
For a master to hear her disciple was heading there? Of course she'd worry.
But I was resolute.
"I have things I need to do. Even you can't stop me, Master."
She tried persuading me over and over that this was a terrible choice, but with my goals set firm, she had no choice but to relent.
"...Fine. If that's your decision, I have to respect it."
With that acceptance, she added:
"Since it's come to this, let me at least introduce you to someone who can help."
She took out a sheet of parchment from her room, wrote some elegant script on it, and handed it to me.
"Wh-what's this?"
"Take it to Witch's Leaf in the commercial district of Labyrinth City. They'll provide all sorts of conveniences."
"Master..."
I looked at her with gratitude, and she chuckled softly.
"Believing in your disciple's choice is part of being a master, after all."
She then told me the date she'd be leaving.
"Three days from now."
"Yeah."
Three days—short if short, long if long.
I nodded and said I'd leave around the same time.
"I'll talk to some merchants for you, then. Time it with their departure."
Graciously, she introduced me to merchants heading to Labyrinth City.
As we talked over various things, she suddenly said:
"How about we have a little farewell party, just the two of us?"
"A farewell party?"
Her sudden suggestion caught me off guard, but once she explained, it made sense.
"Yeah. A prayer for us to meet again—and preparation in case we don't."
I nodded in agreement. I'd been thinking we should do something small before parting anyway, so her proposing it first was a relief.
I accepted, and she beamed, saying she'd prepare right away. Watching her, I tried to shake off the bittersweet worry gnawing at me.
We'd talked some brighter topics, but it was obvious we were both heading into life-or-death challenges. I couldn't just smile happily.
No—if it were just me off to the labyrinth, I'd have felt a twinge of guilt toward Master and moved on casually. But with her life on the line too? I was worried sick.
I hadn't said it out loud, but we'd lived practically like a married couple. I'd grown deeply attached, and we'd gotten that close. Of course I'd worry. But what could I do? I'd learned that every farewell comes with a reunion.
So all I could do was pray fervently that both Master and I reached our goals safely.
Two days after setting the farewell party date with Master, we gathered simple drinks and food for our modest send-off. She handled most of the booze; I did the cooking. True to our roles, even "simple" turned into a bountiful spread.
Well, it was a special occasion. I splurged on ingredients we never touched otherwise.
"Cheers~!"
"Cheers!"
We clinked glasses and dove in. How much later, after downing drink after drink:
"M-Master... you know I'm really, really sorry, right?"
"Yeeeah..."
We pounded the booze until our noses burned crooked.
"Rike ♥ Thish... breash... sho gooood ♥♥"
I chugged an insane amount I'd barely touched even in my past life.
When I came to after blacking out:
*Squish ♥*
"M-Master?!"
"Mmm... Rike, you perv... love these tits so much..."
"N-no, they are great, but... is this sleep-talking?"
I was lying in bed with Master. Both of us stark naked. Kiss marks on her neck were the cherry on top.
My head spun at the sight, but the chaos wasn't over.
"W-wait, what time is it?! Shit! The carriage leaves soon!"
Realizing departure was imminent, I grabbed nearby clothes and my pre-packed bags, bolting from the house.
Incredibly, amid the panic, I didn't forget the letter I'd written for Master.
Master,
Please tell me what happened the night before when we meet again.
— Rike
No time to ask in person, so I added that last line. Hope she understands.
I was dying to know myself.
Anyway, leaving her naked form behind, I sprinted and barely caught the merchants' carriage just before they rolled out.
"You're cutting it close with departure time..."
I got a mild scolding, but whatever.
As I watched the village—where I'd bonded with Master for years—fade into the distance, I murmured:
"Master, I hope we meet again."
And just like that, I was finally off to my goal: Labyrinth City.