Chapter 3
“Y-you... You want me to wear this...?”
A pink-toned sailor uniform...
No, maybe it’d be more accurate to call it a magical girl outfit.
Why on earth did a world like this have clothes like that? Then again, it was technically an outfit for mage-type classes.
The fact that a world that looked like a game actually existed was already absurd enough.
Anyway, among the clothes Seonghyeon had appraised at the shop, this outfit was pretty good value—and, more importantly, it was cute.
Suyeon had nearly fainted when Seonghyeon picked out the magical girl outfit, but she couldn’t really argue with him when he could freely wield both money and her slave mark.
In other words...
Suyeon felt absolutely miserable wearing the magical girl outfit.
She clutched her skirt with one hand and the curtain with the other, looking at Seonghyeon resentfully.
“This is insane... The hem’s so short and floaty, it feels like I’m not wearing anything underneath.”
“Great. Looks good. You’re cute.”
“Hey! This is crazy... I’ve never worn anything like this before. If you want to be technical, this is cross-dressing, right? Isn’t it gross to see a guy wearing something like this?”
“...I dunno.”
It wasn’t as if Seonghyeon had some particular fetish for dressing his friend up as a girl.
If Suyeon’s face still looked like it used to, he would’ve picked out a robe instead of an outfit like that.
But Suyeon now... No matter what was inside, wasn’t she a lovely elf girl on the outside?
So he could dress her in something cute.
“You’re cute now, and you’re my slave, too.”
“Th-that’s... true. Seonghyeon, can you put that mark away while we talk?”
“If you get it, then come on. How long are you going to keep hugging that curtain?”
“Haa... Fine.”
Suyeon steeled herself against her embarrassment, let go of the curtain, and stepped out in front of Seonghyeon.
Her thighs were plainly visible beneath the skirt, and Seonghyeon felt his heart stir before he could stop it.
That’s my friend.
That’s Suyeon.
That’s a man.
And she’s easy on the eyes.
Repeating those paradoxical thoughts to himself, the exact opposite of what he’d just said, Seonghyeon finished paying.
“Aaaah...”
“Why are you groaning? We need to head to the dungeon now.”
“It’s just... this... the skirt keeps fluttering around.”
“That’s what it’s supposed to do.”
“It really feels like I’m not wearing anything. Look.”
“I’m not interested in seeing yours.”
“[You crazy bastard!]”
Suyeon cursed in Elvish in a fit of anger, but then she remembered her situation and shot Seonghyeon a sidelong glance.
Fortunately, Seonghyeon didn’t seem to understand her.
But Seonghyeon was only pretending not to.
Whatever Suyeon had just said, there was no way he could miss what she meant from her tone of voice.
Still, seeing how scared Suyeon was made him feel a little guilty.
He put aside the lewd thoughts he’d had just moments ago and took a cloak from his bag.
“Here. If you wear this, at least your backside will be covered, right?”
“You shouldn’t have bought it in the first place... sir.”
“I won’t use the mark. Just come along. And when you keep speaking in that language, people stare. Maybe that’s why it feels even more awkward.”
“Will... you teach me the human language? Sir.”
An elf slave and a human were walking down the street, constantly speaking in some strange language, so people were staring at them oddly.
On top of that, she was an elf whose beauty couldn’t be hidden, even though she was skin and bones.
Her Charm was still 9, even with the gauntness debuff knocking it down by 2.
Maybe the game-like system was why these thoughts kept popping into Seonghyeon’s head.
“Well, for now, ‘yes’ is ‘aishe,’ and ‘no’ is ‘aiu.’ ‘Thank you’ is ‘eseltirana.’ That much should be enough.”
“<Th-thank you.>”
Suyeon hesitated, speaking in a lisp with an Elvish accent, and Seonghyeon felt his nose twitch.
If this really were the world of a game or a comic book, he might’ve had a nosebleed right then and there.
The human and Elvish languages had completely different pronunciations, so Suyeon couldn’t help sounding like she had an Elvish accent.
“Ahem... Well, never mind. Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Leaving Suyeon to trail after him with her awkward, hesitant steps, Seonghyeon headed toward the dungeon in the center of the city.
Suyeon couldn’t keep up with his stride and was panting, but she didn’t complain at all.
Since Suyeon didn’t say anything, Seonghyeon assumed she was fine and kept going until they reached the dungeon.
**
Seonghyeon and Suyeon arrived at the dungeon entrance.
The dungeon in the center of the city, also known as the Labyrinth, wasn’t a tower rising into the sky. It was a huge hole leading underground.
The sight of the street vendors, mercenaries, and adventurers gathered in front of it was quite impressive.
The entrance was guarded by city dungeon officials, but they weren’t dressed like guards or combatants. They looked more like tour guides.
Seonghyeon walked over as casually as ever, while Suyeon followed him, sweating profusely.
“Here. Two people going in.”
“Two people, including that elf slave behind you?”
“Yes.”
“Slaves don’t count toward the headcount. You only need to register one person.”
If Suyeon had heard that while arriving late, panting with her hands on her knees and not even noticing her skirt had ridden up, she would’ve been in a very bad mood.
Fortunately, she couldn’t speak the human language.
“I see. I didn’t know that.”
“The slave injury insurance forms are over here. If you want to hire a porter, the porters’ guild is over there. You come here often enough that I’m sure you know the rest, so I’ll leave it at that.”
“Thank you.”
As if she understood what Seonghyeon had said, Suyeon bowed to the attendant and offered her thanks.
“Th-thank you!”
“What a polite slave. What made you buy one, though?”
“Ah, ha-ha. I had my reasons.”
“That elf slave doesn’t look fit to work as a porter, but it’s not my place to interfere in your business. Are you only signing her up for the slave injury insurance?”
“Yes. We’re only going to the surface levels today, so I’m not bringing a porter.”
“All right, understood. Good luck, adventurer!”
With the attendant’s blessing, the two of them entered the dungeon.
As soon as they passed through the entrance, the dungeon’s damp air mingled faintly with the smoky scent of the torches embedded in the walls.
There were also plenty of skeletons scattered across the floor, as if to scare off cowards, but they were just set dressing.
“It’s like a haunted house.”
“Careful. Those might get up and come alive as skeletons.”
“Come on, I’m not scared of that.”
“Chicken?”
“Not scared.”
“Yeah, not scared. We’ll see.”
“...I can’t say that for sure.”
As soon as an elf and a human passed through the dungeon entrance, the path split in two.
The surface levels were frequented by lots of adventurers, and Seonghyeon had been through here countless times.
But he hadn’t leveled up in a beginner hunting ground like this. Since he was a Cleric, he’d been carried through by various parties instead.
“The surface levels are mostly filled with fungi-type and plant-type monsters.”
“This is so... seriously... like a game.”
Only then did Seonghyeon turn around.
Suyeon looked seriously out of breath. Seonghyeon had only just realized how hard his friend had struggled to keep up, so he stopped walking.
When Seonghyeon stopped, Suyeon, who had been half-jogging, tried to stop too, but momentum sent her crashing into his legs.
Suyeon toppled over with a thud, then gave a little laugh, dusted off the skirt over her backside, and stood up as if nothing had happened.
“You should’ve told me if you were tired.”
“I’m... not... tired.”
“Good grief. You said your Stamina was 3, right? I’m sorry I didn’t account for your stamina. But with those tiny legs, I didn’t expect you to have been running to keep up.”
“Hah, hah... Fuck. You used to be shorter than me. How tall are you?”
“175.”
“Rounded up?”
“Good grief, you’re not even 140 now, are you?”
“Yeah~ There’s no measuring tape here. I used to be 178~”
Watching Suyeon brag about a body she didn’t have anymore, crouched on the floor with a flushed face and panting...
Seonghyeon gave her a pitying look, laid a mat down beside her, and tossed her another one.
“Sit on that. Even on the surface levels, bugs are nasty.”
“...Thanks.”
“And read the book you bought earlier.”
“I used up all my energy keeping up with you. Can’t I rest for a bit?”
“Can you use any magic?”
“Magic... ma... Oh, I’m a mage?”
“Yeah, a Sorcerer.”
“Right. Give it here. I’ll study it and learn some spells... Hey, what language is this?”
Suyeon chuckled and opened the Fireball book Seonghyeon had handed her, as if it were nothing, but her face slowly grew tense.
Just because the two of them could talk in Korean didn’t mean the spellbook was written in Korean.
“...Shit, I’m screwed. I can’t read this. I don’t know any magic.”
“Hey, when I first came to this world, I could at least use something like Purification, you know? You’re really a Sorcerer, but you don’t have a single basic spell? Sorcerers are supposed to be born with magic.”
“Well, I didn’t even know about status windows or anything... I just thought it’d be some kind of fantasy world.”
“You’re dead weight.”
“...Sorry.”
Suyeon’s spirits sank at the words ‘dead weight,’ and she buried her face in her knees.
Seeing his friend like that made Seonghyeon feel sorry for her, but now that they’d entered the dungeon, they couldn’t just leave without bringing back at least something valuable.
They needed food to get by, too.
“Can’t be helped. Just watch me fight. You’ll still count as part of the party, so you’ll gain experience.”
“I’m dead weight... Is that really okay? Can’t I just rest here?”
“Rest? You’ll get beaten to death by some monster that spawns at random. I’m not going to blame you for not pulling your weight, so don’t get so depressed. That’s right—you’re a Sorcerer, so you need to build up your mental fortitude, too. Just think of this as getting used to things and come along.”
“Mental fortitude... Got it.”
Suyeon looked noticeably apologetic toward Seonghyeon as he tried to encourage her.
Just as Seonghyeon said, there was no way they could turn back now.