Chapter 51
Jeong Yushin immediately grabbed the scabbard of the longsword he had placed beside his head and drew the sword.
He leapt from the bed and landed on the floor.
“Who are you?”
There was no answer from beneath the bed.
“Come out before I split the bed in two. This is your final warning.”
Rustle.
A sound came from beneath the bed again.
Jeong Yushin tightened his grip on the sword.
Something cautiously poked its head out from beneath the bed.
Jeong Yushin’s eyes widened when he saw what it was.
“A rat?”
A dazed voice slipped out of his mouth on its own.
“Squeak.”
A chubby rat with white fur slowly crawled out.
“And I thought it was something serious. I got tense for nothing.”
Jeong Yushin lowered his sword and gave a hollow laugh, then his expression hardened.
“You’re human.”
“Squeak?”
The rat tilted its head.
“Well, well? You understand what I’m saying?”
Jeong Yushin quickly lunged forward and caught the rat.
“Squeak squeak!!”
The rat caught in Jeong Yushin’s hand struggled desperately.
“Stay still!”
He held the rat with one hand, rummaged through his luggage with the other, pulled out a rope, and tied the rat up tightly.
“Who sent you? Are you one of the underworld bastards?”
Jeong Yushin lowered his voice as much as possible.
“Squeak!”
The rat flailed its front paws and writhed.
“I said, who sent you!”
Boom!!!
“Innkeeper! Some of us are trying to sleep!”
The lodger in the next room pounded on the wall and shouted.
“Sorry.”
Jeong Yushin apologized, then glared at the rat again.
“I’ll interrogate you tomorrow. Make one more squeak and you’re dead.”
Jeong Yushin hung the rat from the ceiling and glared at it for a long while before closing his eyes.
The next morning.
Jeong Yushin called Tarman and Anne over and had them sit at the table.
“Uh... You mean this rat is a person?”
“Yes. Look closely. Doesn’t its behavior seem suspicious?”
Tarman scratched his head.
“I can’t tell.”
“Now that I look closely, it is kind of cute.”
Anne said this while resting her chin on both hands and looking at the rat.
Jeong Yushin folded his arms and glared at the rat sprawled on the table, tied up with rope.
To determine whether it was a person with the Rat Imprint or a real rat, he should go to the temple and have it checked.
But.
It would cost an entire silver coin.
Given the inn’s current financial difficulties, he did not want to waste money carelessly.
“For now, put it in a jar or pot and keep a close eye on it.”
“There’s a small cage in the storeroom.”
Jeong Yushin nodded at Anne’s words.
A cage for small animals.
Not bad.
“Then confine it there. Watch it carefully. If it does anything humanlike, tell me immediately.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Jeong Yushin rose from his seat. Whatever the circumstances, he had a mountain of things to do.
* * *
Two weeks passed.
The heat of early summer grew increasingly intense.
Jeong Yushin’s daily routine did not change.
After finishing his dawn exercises, he went to the orphanage to learn to read and write.
Around noon, he trained at the Swordsmanship Guild until he felt he might die, then collapsed into sleep in the evening. It was the same routine every day.
He thought this morning would pass much the same way.
While eating breakfast, Jeong Yushin turned his head.
Someone was standing by the inn’s door.
“Silva!”
Jeong Yushin sprang to his feet.
Silva looked quite haggard.
Jeong Yushin approached Silva.
“How are you feeling?”
Silva smiled faintly.
“The medicine gave me some trouble, but I’m much better. Lord Aldein helped me break free of the addiction.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Lord Ska.”
Silva called Jeong Yushin’s name with a serious look in his eyes.
“Yes.”
Jeong Yushin answered.
“I’m going to visit Lady Karin.”
“Now? Why don’t you rest a little before you go?”
Silva glanced at Anne and Tarman, then turned back to look at Jeong Yushin.
“Since you’re running the inn without any major incidents, you no longer need me. Besides, one of my assigned duties is to contact Lady Karin if your safety is ever threatened.”
“Couldn’t you contact her by letter?”
“I’m the messenger.”
The white wolf beastkin smiled.
So that was it.
“I understand. In that case, I won’t stop you. But please take care of yourself.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll see you later.”
Silva bowed his head and left the inn.
Jeong Yushin watched Silva’s retreating back as he walked away from the inn.
Karin was about two months away from here, so the round trip would take about four months.
He decided to wait patiently.
He knew nothing about any regions beyond the villages along the pilgrimage route and Labyrinth City. In other words, even if he left, there was nothing he could do.
He returned to the inn and sat at the table.
There was a small cage on the table.
A white rat was sprawled inside it.
When Anne placed pieces of chopped vegetables into the cage one at a time, the white rat took them with both paws and munched them down methodically.
“Well? Has it been acting a little human?”
“...It seems intelligent, but it doesn’t look human.”
Anne answered.
Jeong Yushin glared at the rat inside the cage. The rat did not even turn its head, focusing solely on eating.
“No matter how I look at it, it seems human.”
“If you really think so, it might not be a bad idea to go to the temple and have it checked.”
Tarman looked at Jeong Yushin with worried eyes.
Seeing him constantly wonder whether the rat was human, Tarman worried that his madness might be returning.
“I suppose I should. I’m going to develop a mental illness at this rate.”
After speaking to the rat every morning for nearly two weeks, he was about to develop a mental illness that he had not even had before.
He had tried to endure it because of the money, but there was no need to sacrifice his mental health just to be patient.
Jeong Yushin finished his meal, picked up the cage containing the rat, left the inn, and headed for the Earth Mother Goddess Temple.
He held up the cage to the receptionist at the Earth Mother Goddess Temple.
“I want to check whether this rat is a person.”
“I see.”
The temple receptionist looked at Jeong Yushin with pity and said,
“The fee for checking the Imprint is one silver coin.”
“Here you are.”
He paid and immediately went to a small room with a human male priest.
The male priest chanted a spell in front of the cage, but none of it registered in Jeong Yushin’s ears.
‘Is it a person or a rat? A rat or a person.’
Jeong Yushin continued glaring at the rat.
A small light shone from the male priest’s hand and enveloped the rat.
After a while.
The priest tilted his head.
“···No Imprint detected. It seems to be just a rat.”
The words struck Jeong Yushin like a bolt from the blue, and he staggered.
“Really?”
“Yes. It seems you were mistaken.”
Jeong Yushin staggered out of the room.
Trying to steady his reeling mind, he went outside the temple and squatted down.
He looked the rat in the eyes and pondered.
Perhaps the overlap of several different events had caused him to overreact.
Perhaps his nerves had grown sharp because running the inn was difficult and the Barbaroi were gradually revealing themselves.
Jeong Yushin closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, then slapped his cheeks.
Creeeeak.
He opened the cage.
“Go.”
The rat crawled out of the cage.
After eating so well for two weeks, its rump had grown plump.
The rat gave Jeong Yushin’s face a once-over, then slipped into the bushes.
“What am I doing?”
Jeong Yushin ran a hand through his hair, looked up at the sky, and entered the orphanage.
Diego taught today’s class as well.
He had not seen Mion for the past two weeks.
Now that things had reached this point, he felt a pang of conscience. He wondered whether he had pushed Mion too hard.
“Hoo.”
After finishing class at the orphanage, Jeong Yushin ate at the temple cafeteria, then approached the temple receptionist.
“Lord Ska, what else may I help you with? If you need counseling, I can call someone over separately.”
The temple receptionist spoke.
Perhaps because of what had happened that morning, the receptionist’s words had changed somewhat.
“I wrote a letter to Priest Mion, and I’d appreciate it if you could deliver it.”
It was a letter written in clumsy handwriting with a limited vocabulary.
He could only hope that his apology reached Mion.
“Certainly. Mion hasn’t been feeling well lately, so we’ve been quite worried too. Thank you.”
The temple receptionist said with a smile.
“Yes. Then.”
Jeong Yushin left the temple and ran to the Swordsmanship Guild.
“You look just like a man who’s been dumped by his girlfriend.”
Ashur said with a broad grin.
“No, I’m not.”
“Run with the sandbags on, as usual.”
“Yes.”
His body was gradually adapting to the increasingly difficult training.
His physique had grown even tougher since his third trip to the labyrinth, and it absorbed every kind of training like dry earth drinking water.
Clang!!!
Ashur and Jeong Yushin clashed swords.
Kaaang!!!
A contest of strength and technique.
Sparks flew from the training swords.
Ashur looked into Jeong Yushin’s eyes.
Chaaang!!!
Ashur twisted his sword downward. Jeong Yushin’s sword was forced down.
Thud!
His upper body was left completely open.
Ashur’s shoulder slammed into Jeong Yushin’s solar plexus.
“Kgh.”
Jeong Yushin staggered backward.
“Good.”
Ashur said while looking at Jeong Yushin, who had collapsed onto the floor.
“Can I enter the labyrinth now?”
Jeong Yushin asked while wiping the sweat running down his forehead.
“Train a little longer. But is there any reason you need to enter the labyrinth? Is there honey smeared in there or something?”
“I came to Labyrinth City, so I should enter the labyrinth. Besides, I need some money.”
Jeong Yushin spoke casually, brushing off Ashur’s question.
“Really? Then go to the Explorer’s Guild and find some work instead. There are plenty of things to do besides entering the labyrinth.”
“I want to enter the labyrinth.”
“You have to do it eventually anyway.”
“What does that mean?”
“Hoo, do I have to explain even this?”
Ashur ran a hand through his hair and continued.
“Listen carefully. For a novice explorer to rank up, completing city assignments is mandatory. I don’t know how many you have to complete. It was a long time ago, so my memory’s hazy.”
“Are there assignments besides labyrinth exploration?”
“Lots besides that. Didn’t the Explorer’s Guild tell you?”
“No?”
“I don’t know what’s going on at the Explorer’s Guild either. Go ask them. You understand the point even if I don’t spell it out, right?”
“Yes. I’ll go check.”
* * *
The next morning, Jeong Yushin went to the Explorer’s Guild branch.
It felt oddly awkward to make his way through crowds again.
It had been a long time since he had visited because of one thing or another.
He paused outside the Explorer’s Guild branch, caught his breath, and looked at the sign.
Not much had changed.
When he entered, people were swarming inside.
People carrying weapons.
People with backpacks, getting up from their seats alongside their party members.
There were even people who were obviously visiting Labyrinth City for the first time.
Jeong Yushin joined the line at the reception desk.
After waiting a while, it was Jeong Yushin’s turn.
“How may I help you?”
A dog beastkin said with a smile.
Jeong Yushin toyed with his ring for a moment before speaking.
“I heard there are assignments other than labyrinth exploration assignments.”
“Ah! I see.”
“I’m asking because I’m a novice explorer and didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”
The receptionist beside the dog beastkin then interjected.
“We had no choice because novice explorers disliked those assignments. Most preferred labyrinth exploration assignments. In particular, we had quite a few conflicts with novice explorers over this issue during the past few months.”
A few months ago—was that when novice explorers had begun flooding in?
The dog beastkin fidgeted with their fingers, looking helpless.
“I understand. Then please recommend an assignment I can do within the city.”
“Yes, just a moment, please.”
The dog beastkin rummaged through the stack of documents on the reception desk for a long while.
“Found it!”
The dog beastkin pulled out several sheets of paper and shouted.
‘So cute.’
Jeong Yushin rubbed at the corners of his mouth as they began to curl into a smile.
“Ahem. The current assignment is guard duty at the labyrinth entrance.”
“What does that involve? Wouldn’t the guards normally do it?”
“You know the magic circle in front of the labyrinth, right? You stand guard there. The guards cover it entirely during the day, but from evening until dawn, they select a few outsiders to stand watch.”
“Why?”
“···Maybe because they’re tired?”
The dog beastkin tilted their head as they answered.
Were they having outsiders take the night watch duty?
Jeong Yushin thought for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
“I’ll take that assignment.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The dog beastkin took Jeong Yushin’s explorer’s card, checked his name, and wrote it on the assignment form.
“You need to go to the guard post at the labyrinth entrance tomorrow night. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes. I know.”
Of course he did.
He had gone to the guard post once over the Dito incident.
Luke had threatened him there too.
Had he told him not to go around mentioning his disciple’s name?
It was difficult to understand why he had reacted so sensitively.
If he ran into Luke again, he would ask if he got the chance.
“Since you’re a novice explorer, the pay is twenty copper coins per day.”
A bit stingy.
If he worked for a full thirty-day month, he would receive six silver coins.
Wouldn’t it be better to work at the monster disassembly facility?
Jeong Yushin thought for a moment, then shook his head.
He had to do it anyway. It was also a condition for ranking up.
Ah!
There was one more thing he wanted to ask.
“Are there any conditions required for a novice explorer to advance to intermediate?”
“A novice explorer must satisfy two conditions to rank up: complete ten Guild assignments and reach the fifth floor.”
“Does it not matter as long as I reach it?”
“You must reach it with party members of the same rank. This is to prevent people from joining a high-rank party and taking the easy way to reach the fifth floor.”
“I understand.”
“The work starts tomorrow.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Jeong Yushin bowed and left the Explorer’s Guild, heading toward the western district.
Since he had taken the guard assignment, he planned to go to Boron’s smithy and buy equipment.
He also intended to check how Einhofer was doing while he was there.
The thought of spending the money he had carefully saved made his stomach ache.
How long had it taken him to save it?
Smack!!!
“Get a grip. Equipment is your life.”
Jeong Yushin slapped his own cheek and muttered.
He had been unable to enter the labyrinth for a while and had begun to feel stagnant.
As though he were stuck in place.
But today, the thought that he could move forward again, even if only a little,
made Jeong Yushin’s steps feel considerably lighter.