Chapter 41
Jeong Yushin returned to the inn and immediately confronted Darmong.
“What?!”
Darmong shouted in shock.
“It isn't certain.”
“‘Darkness,’ the law governing the lower floors of the labyrinth, drives people insane. Didn't you see that happen to Dean, the boy from Kaal's party who first joined us? Why didn't you tell me?”
At Darmong's grave tone, Jeong Yushin scratched his head.
“I didn't realize it was that important. Since I hadn't gone insane, I thought Lady Karin had misunderstood.”
“Phew.”
“Don't worry too much. It seems Ashur went to the Mage Tower to investigate my condition.”
“I see. Ashur is a long-lived person who has held the position of Sword Master for a long time. Few people in the city can match his keen eye, so he must have judged your condition accurately. Do as he said.”
“Yes.”
Despite the worried look in Darmong's eyes, Jeong Yushin felt little anxiety.
That was because the pouch Karin had left him contained no fewer than five gold coins and fifty silver coins.
He also had the twenty-six silver coins he had saved.
Altogether, he had accumulated the considerable sum of five gold coins and seventy-six silver coins.
He had spent one gold coin on the imprint-suppressing ring.
And although he had spent thirty silver coins registering with the Swordsmanship Guild, he still had four gold coins and forty-six silver coins left.
Of course, he still had to pay the inn rent, food expenses, and orphan academy tuition, but they were not particularly high expenses.
Since Ashur had told him not to enter the labyrinth for the time being, he planned to buckle down, train at the Swordsmanship Guild, and learn to read and write at the temple.
Even if madness lurked in his mind, Jeong Yushin's heart was at peace.
That was because he had plenty of money and people he got along with around him.
He had obtained one godawful imprint, but he had also acquired a fairly good one and leveled up at the same time.
Thinking about it carefully, life in the labyrinth city wasn't so bad.
It was just then.
Clatter!!
A cat beastkin opened the inn door and entered.
“Darmong! A letter came.”
The cat beastkin took a rolled-up piece of parchment from a bag and handed it to Darmong.
Darmong rose from his seat and accepted the letter.
“Who is it from?”
“Your wife.”
Jeong Yushin's eyes widened.
“You had a wife?!”
“Yeah. I have a daughter too.”
“Huh.”
So he was married.
And he even had a daughter.
If he got the chance, Jeong Yushin wanted to meet them.
Darmong grinned broadly as he broke the seal.
Darmong had been reading the letter with a smile, but his mouth suddenly fell open.
His lips trembled, and his eyes widened dramatically.
His hands began to tremble like aspen leaves, and the letter slipped to the floor.
“W-what is this...”
“What’s wrong?”
“M-my wife is pregnant...”
“You’re having a second child? That’s wonderful news. Congratulations.”
“What the hell are you talking about!! I’ve been here the entire time!!”
Darmong suddenly shouted.
???
‘An affair.’
The single word flashed through Jeong Yushin's mind.
Jeong Yushin stared blankly at Darmong.
Darmong paced restlessly from side to side, then suddenly charged into the kitchen.
Crash!!
Clatter!!
The sounds of kitchenware flying and breaking rang out.
Darmong returned in less than a minute.
He was holding an iron bar two meters long.
It was exactly as long as he was tall.
Clatter!!
The inn door opened.
“Darmong, I’m here.”
Karin entered.
“Lady Karin, I’m sorry. I don’t have time to talk right now.”
Darmong spoke urgently.
Confusion appeared on Karin's face.
“Why?”
“My wife... Ngh!”
Darmong started to speak, then twisted his face and stopped.
“What about your wife?”
Karin asked.
“She had an affair.”
Jeong Yushin answered in his place.
“Ghk!”
Darmong bent over and trembled as though he were coughing up blood.
“Really? Are you going back to your homeland? Then what will happen to the inn?”
Darmong fidgeted anxiously, tore at his hair, then looked at Jeong Yushin.
“Ska, would it be all right if I left it to you? I don’t mind if it operates at a loss, but please don’t burn it down.”
“Yes, leave it to me. I’ll protect it. And if I have anything to consult you about or any questions while running the inn, I’ll send you a letter.”
“Understood. Lady Karin, I’ll be going first.”
Darmong bowed to Karin, then ran out.
Whooosh!!!
“Aaaah!!!”
“Whoa! Get out of the way!”
He must have been running incredibly fast, because a gust of wind rose and horrified shouts rang through the street.
Karin looked outside the inn, then came back in.
“Hmm. Darmong's village is far away. It should take about three months round trip.”
Karin said this with her arms crossed.
“It’s that far away? Is there any reason to raise a child so far from here?”
“From what I hear, the labyrinth city isn’t a very good place to raise children.”
“So it wasn’t just an ordinary city after all...”
A city with Barbaroi certainly wasn't good for education.
“There must be a lot of strange people in this city.”
“What are you going to do, Lady Karin?”
“Why? You confidently asked me to leave it to you a moment ago. Are you scared now?”
Karin covered her mouth and giggled.
“Lady Karin.”
Randolph opened the inn door and entered.
Jeong Yushin met Randolph's eyes.
He was the beastkin who had slammed Jeong Yushin's head into the mud and rubbed it around when he had first been transferred to this other world.
“What is it?”
Karin asked with her arms crossed.
“Lady Ingrid is calling for you.”
At Randolph's words, Karin's expression hardened like stone.
“Mother? Why?”
“I don’t know. She says it’s urgent and wants you to come immediately.”
Karin frowned. She turned her head, glanced at Jeong Yushin, and spoke.
“I’ll be back, so behave yourself. My tribe is closer than Darmong’s. It should take about two months. Silva, stay here and help Ska.”
A white-furred wolf beastkin called Silva quietly entered and bowed.
“Yes, I understand.”
Karin left the inn with Randolph.
Darmong had left, and now Karin was gone as well.
The sudden turn of events left Jeong Yushin dazed.
Part of him was worried about the two of them.
But he had things to do.
He shook his head and pulled himself together.
‘First, let’s do what needs to be done.’
Jeong Yushin looked at Silva and held out his hand.
“Things are terribly hectic. I look forward to working with you. I’m Ska.”
“I’m Silva. Lady Karin has told me a great deal about you. I look forward to working with you.”
Silva smiled and shook Jeong Yushin's hand.
Jeong Yushin and Silva joined forces to put the inn in order.
They picked up the kitchenware scattered across the floor and checked the ingredients in the storeroom.
Jeong Yushin had no real experience running an inn, so Silva handled most of the work.
It was reassuring to watch Silva calmly and efficiently take care of everything assigned to them.
They had only just met, but he already liked this beastkin.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the labyrinth had opened again after a long time, and people had poured into it, leaving the inn quiet.
Jeong Yushin sat on a counter stool during his break and looked outside the inn.
As Ashur had suggested, he had planned to rest without entering the labyrinth, learn to read and write, and train his body, but circumstances made that difficult.
Darmong had told him to look after the inn even if it operated at a loss, but Jeong Yushin saw things differently.
Darmong had entrusted it to him.
Even setting aside the fact that the emergency had left Darmong no time to ask anyone else, Jeong Yushin wanted to repay the trust Darmong had shown him.
He thought it was all right if his training and studies were delayed a little.
Jeong Yushin rose from his seat. There was still a lot left to do.
Toward evening.
Explorers returning from the labyrinth began arriving at the inn one or two at a time.
Silva mainly handled the kitchen, while Jeong Yushin served the customers.
Silva's cooking was truly incredible.
Despite Darmong's absence, the people who stopped by the inn merely tilted their heads in confusion without asking any questions.
The regulars who came often made jokes as they watched Jeong Yushin carry out the food. They were people whose faces he had come to recognize from seeing them around.
“Is this the end of the world? A Barbaroi serving tables?”
“Huh. Barbaroi, did you put an aphrodisiac in the food? Tell me honestly.”
“Just eat. I didn’t cook it. It was made by Lady Karin’s subordinate.”
“Lady Karin? Isn’t she the daughter of the Beastkin Alliance representative? Where’s Darmong?”
“That’s right. Darmong had an urgent matter to attend to, so he’s away for a while.”
Jeong Yushin spoke as he wiped down a table.
He couldn’t exactly tell them that Darmong's wife had cheated on him and become pregnant, so he glossed over it.
“I see. It must have been awfully urgent. If the cook is one of Lady Karin’s subordinates, I can trust the cook. But be careful. My eyes are faster than your hands, so don’t try anything funny.”
“Have a drink and help raise the sales.”
“You’re quite the Darmong loyalist. All right.”
Seeing the regulars casually converse with a Barbaroi, the other customers felt reassured and ordered food and drinks.
Perhaps curiosity had overcome their fear.
Many customers asked all sorts of questions, but Jeong Yushin answered them sensibly.
“···Are you asking whether Barbaroi really lose all restraint whenever they see a hole? That isn’t true.”
“···Are you asking whether Barbaroi like rubbing their faces against the soft bellies of children? You’ve had too much to drink. Please leave.”
“···How big my dick is? Why the hell are you curious about that? Just get out.”
As the night deepened, the drunken customers staggered out of the inn one by one.
For a first attempt, they closed up rather neatly.
After seeing off the last customer, Jeong Yushin helped Silva clean up the kitchen.
“Mr. Ska, you worked very hard.”
Silva said this while wiping their face with a towel.
“Not at all. You worked much harder, Silva. Thank you.”
“I’m glad I could help. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Silva smiled, bid Jeong Yushin farewell, and went upstairs.
An inn without Darmong.
Sitting alone in the quiet inn, Jeong Yushin felt a strange loneliness well up inside him.
His thoughts were unsettled, so he went outside for a walk.
He strolled slowly through the park, then sat on an empty bench.
The early-summer night breeze brushed across his forehead.
As he sat quietly watching the fountain, he heard a rustling sound from behind the bench.
Jeong Yushin turned his head.
“Dieeeee!!”
A small child sprang out of the bushes and swung a knife.
Smack!
Jeong Yushin's hand moved swiftly. He caught the child's wrist and twisted it.
“Ngh!!”
The boy's face twisted as his wrist became completely immobilized.
“Who are you?”
“I’m avenging my father!! Barbaroi!!”
“Who’s your father?”
“Ditto Piglick!”
Looking closely at the child's face, Jeong Yushin saw that he resembled Ditto. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Your father tried to kill me. For money.”
He took the child's dagger and examined it closely.
It bore the mark of a slave hunter.
Fuck.
“Ghhh!!”
Seeing the child’s face contort in pain, Jeong Yushin released his wrist.
“Where did you get this?”
The child did not answer.
Jeong Yushin reached out and grabbed the child's collar.
“I asked where you got it!”
When he shouted, the child’s body went stiff.
Jeong Yushin glared at the silent child.
“Are your ears fucking clogged? I’ll tell you again. Your father tried to kill me. The people who gave him this dagger paid Ditto to kill me. You stupid brat. Was that paltry sum of money so important that you tried to kill someone?!”
“What do you know?!”
The child glared at him viciously.
“Do you know what it feels like to starve because you have no money? Do you know what it feels like to have your stomach stuck to your back?!”
The child continued.
“After my father died, m-my mother collapsed. My little siblings are crying because they’re hungry. What am I supposed to do?!”
“So you resort to killing people? You pathetic brat. How much were you paid?”
The child closed his mouth again.
Was he afraid that Jeong Yushin would take the money away?
Jeong Yushin asked again.
“How much were you paid?”
“F-fifty copper coins.”
“Fuck.”
Jeong Yushin released the child's collar.
He was such a small child that one hand could cover his entire face.
The children from the orphanage overlapped with him in Jeong Yushin's vision.
Jeong Yushin simply couldn't kill him.
“Come with me.”
“Why should I?”
“I’ll at least share some bread with you.”
“Don’t make me laugh!! Do you think I’ll fall for something like that?!”
“Then don’t follow me.”
Jeong Yushin turned around and walked toward the inn.
The child followed him little by little from a distance.
How desperate must his circumstances have been for him to follow his father’s killer?
Jeong Yushin bit his lip tightly.
‘You bastards.’
The moment Darmong and Karin disappeared, those slave hunters had made their move.
Even so, sending a child that young made them the worst of the worst.
Jeong Yushin entered the inn.
The child did not follow him inside.
He went into the kitchen, found a leather pouch, and filled it with bread. He also packed a bottle of wine and some cheese.
Something was missing.
He went upstairs, took out twenty silver coins, and put them in the pouch.
When he went back downstairs and opened the inn door, the child was standing there.
“Take this.”
The child accepted the heavy pouch and staggered under its weight.
“W-what is this?”
“I put in some money and food. Come back if it isn’t enough.”
“I’m not going to thank you.”
“Come back if it isn’t enough.”
Jeong Yushin repeated himself.
The child did not answer. He turned around and ran away.
“Phew.”
Jeong Yushin sighed and went upstairs.
He threw himself onto the bed and closed his eyes, but he couldn’t sleep.
His stomach churned.
The dark shadow of the labyrinth city was slowly revealing itself.