Chapter 266: 266 We are the same

The morning was far quieter and more peaceful than usual.

As Ian descended the stairs, he saw his party members already gathered in the first-floor dining area.

“Good morning…”

Hearing someone coming down the stairs, the members turned their gaze and greeted Ian.

Ian gave a casual wave and sat in front of the three, who occupied a central spot in the otherwise empty dining hall.

The restaurant was devoid of any other customers. Even the innkeeper, who should have been at their post, was nowhere to be seen.

Yesterday was the first day after the monster invasion ended. Since it was essentially a night of celebration, everyone likely drank until dawn and passed out.

Ian had planned to talk over breakfast as usual, but looking at the situation, it seemed things would remain this way not just through breakfast, but until lunch.

Ian eventually looked at his members across the empty table. Mika looked incredibly exhausted, as if she had been badgered all night by the two she shared a room with.

When Mika made eye contact with Ian, her face flushed slightly, and she quickly looked away. Rin and Tanya, sitting on either side of her, also averted their eyes awkwardly.

“…”

Mika, who had wanted to hide last night’s events out of embarrassment, had ultimately been caught by the other two and forced to confess everything. Thanks to that, Rin and Tanya had heard a detailed, step-by-step account of exactly what had happened in that room.

The faces of Rin and Tanya also turned a deep shade of red as they avoided Ian’s gaze.

“…Mika. How are you feeling?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”

Mika lifted her head and answered Ian’s question. Thinking back on it now, it was quite an embarrassing ordeal… but the “treatment method” had not been a lie; her physical condition had returned completely to normal.

In fact, she felt even more energetic than before. Recalling last night’s events for a split second, Mika suppressed the rising wave of shyness and spoke.

“Um… I don’t think I got to say this properly yesterday. Thank you.”

Mika gave a polite bow, and before Ian could even respond, she declared with a serious face,

“I’ll be sure to pay back the money!”

“Pay back? For what?”

“Huh? For the treatment costs, of course…”

Did they… talk about money yesterday? Ian expressed his confusion as he recalled yesterday’s conversation, while Mika tilted her head, looking puzzled as if the answer was obvious.

“Since you lifted the curse, Captain… I should pay for the treatment, right?”

She had heard how much money it would cost to treat such a curse. Since Ian had provided the treatment on credit, it was only natural to pay a corresponding fee. That was Mika’s common sense… and she had already asked Rin and Tanya to lend her the money.

Only then did Ian realize what she meant, and he waved his hand dismissively. Unless money was being created out of thin air, there was no point. Even if he took money from Mika, it would just be returning the wages he was supposed to pay her. Ian would then naturally have to reinvest that back into Mika anyway.

“Forget it. I just did it because it would be a hassle if Mika suddenly had to leave the group.”

“Ah, I see…”

At Ian’s nonchalant explanation, Mika asked with a flustered face,

“So, if I’m not here… would it be a problem?”

“Of course.”

“Then, yes… I’ll work, I’ll work my hardest.”

Mika’s face grew redder as she fiddled with the hem of her robe, and she nodded quietly. With that short conversation with Mika over, Ian brought up the main topic to the group.

“There won’t be any requests for a while.”

“None at all?”

“Right. There might be things like city restoration work… but you guys aren’t interested in that, are you?”

Now was a time when all resources were focused on rebuilding the city. Since there wouldn’t be any monsters left near the city, there wouldn’t be any standard expedition missions for a while either. The mercenary group was effectively on forced leave.

“So, we’re going to take a break from work during that time.”

Hearing Ian’s words, everyone finally felt their tension melt away. They had been too preoccupied with Mika’s situation yesterday to realize it, but the feeling that the grueling monster invasion was finally over was only now sinking in. It was the mercenary group’s first long-term vacation.

***

Several days had passed since the vacation began. During that time, the three members of Ian’s mercenary group…

All slept as if they were dead. Training, studying, practicing, memorizing, special drills, education… To prepare for the monster invasion, everyone had maintained such a schedule without a single day of rest. As if trying to make up for all that lost sleep, the three relaxed members spent their time just sleeping and lounging in bed.

…And then, early one morning.

Perhaps because she had been sleeping too much lately, Rin woke up much earlier than usual. Even when she closed her eyes to go back to sleep, it wouldn’t come, so Rin eventually got up quietly and went outside.

“…Captain?”

As Rin came down the stairs yawning, she saw Ian’s back as he was heading out of the inn. He was a person who rarely went out unless there was a specific reason… It was an early morning with nothing to do anyway. Overcome by curiosity, Rin followed slightly behind Ian as he stepped out of the inn.

***

Ian looked down at Labyrinth from a park on a hill. Being a massive city, it couldn’t be taken in with a single glance, but it was a place where one could at least get a decent view of the Labyrinth’s landscape.

“Captain.”

“Rin?”

Hearing the familiar voice calling him, Ian turned his head. Rin had already approached his side.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I saw you leaving this morning.”

Rin held out some food she had bought from a stall on her way there. Since he hadn’t expected Rin to follow him, Ian took it with a dazed expression. Rin, who had followed him thinking there might be something interesting going on, looked around at the ordinary park and asked him,

“What are you doing here?”

“I just… came out for a bit.”

In other words… he was taking a walk. Rin made a truly fed-up expression.

“Geez, Captain, why are all your hobbies like this? You should try having some real fun.”

Coming out early on a day off just to look down at the scenery from a park. It’s not like he’s some noble lady… Ian just gave a quiet laugh. In truth, it was because Ian didn’t find much amusement in local entertainment like the arenas or theaters, but to Rin, he must have seemed like a strange person.

Rin stood beside Ian, looking down at the streets below the hill. Along the main road faintly visible in the distance, carts were transporting monster corpses.

“Whoa. Isn’t that a Minotaur?”

“Looks like it.”

Rin pointed at a particularly massive shape among them. Dozens of people were working together to pull the cart. Just looking at the numerous monster corpses passing through the streets made it clear how fierce the battle had been.

The slimes in the sewers were scary enough, but to think such massive monsters had swarmed the outside. Rin still couldn’t understand how they had even managed to block those slimes.

Rin stole a glance at Ian’s face beside her. No matter how she looked at it, he seemed to have something on his mind. She didn’t know if listening to the Captain’s worries would actually help, but Rin decided to speak up first anyway.

“What are you thinking about?”

“…I was thinking about how we can stop the invasions.”

“Aren’t we stopping them well enough now?”

Ian looked at Rin and hesitated for a moment. Would it be better to tell her? It would be a sudden story for Rin, but if he considered her a member who would be with him from now on, it might be better for her to know in advance. After a moment’s thought, Ian spoke.

“Rin. How much do you know about the Labyrinth?”

“That thing over there?”

Rin pointed toward the area outside the Labyrinth’s walls where the actual Labyrinth was located. It was a place every citizen in the city advised not to approach, and sometimes, just looking at it gave an eerie, unpleasant sensation. It was also the reason this city, Labyrinth, had been built.

“Monsters come out of there. Isn’t it just… a place where monsters keep appearing?”

This was the extent of the knowledge ordinary people had about the Labyrinth. In fact, there was no need to know more than that. However, what Ian was about to say was something ordinary people didn’t know…

A story about the deeper parts of the Labyrinth.

“There is a beast beneath the Labyrinth.”

“A beast?”

Rin glanced at the monster corpses scattered throughout the city. A beast… of course there would be. Seeing Rin’s reaction, Ian shook his head.

“Not a common monster like those… it’s a far more dangerous monster.”

“Like a dragon or a Demon King?”

“…Something like that.”

Even as he said it, Ian wondered why he was revealing this to Rin. What would change by telling an ordinary D-rank mercenary? Perhaps he just wanted to say it to someone. Smoke rose in the distance. It was a mass funeral for the mercenaries who had died in this battle. It was merely a formal procedure to dispose of the bodies within the city, but even so, a mercenary who could receive this much had died quite gracefully.

…Looking at such a scene, Ian wondered if fewer people would have died if he had stepped forward more proactively. At the same time, he felt a sense of frustration at why he was in a position where he had to worry about such things. He, who was just an ordinary person.

An ordinary person who had simply played a game for a long time. He didn’t know why he had to struggle alone with these thoughts, trying to save the world. It was just a targetless, purposeless dissatisfaction.

“If that thing wakes up, probably… a lot of people will die. Maybe everyone here.”

Rin looked down at the city. If anyone else had said it, she would have thought it was nonsense, but for some reason, she felt inclined to believe Ian. It was a terrifying story, but in Rin’s heart, a vague certainty grew… that this was a story that would truly happen someday.

“Are you going to stop it, Captain?”

“I have to. If I don’t, we’ll die too.”

A Demon King-like being resurrects. And the Captain stops it to save the world. …It sounds just like the stories in the novels I read back home.

Rin took a bite of the bread she was holding and was silent for a moment… before speaking to Ian.

“Captain. I left my village simply because being a mercenary looked cool. When I read about it in novels, going on adventures and saving the world seemed so grand.”

Childish, right? Rin murmured with a slightly embarrassed face. However, the profession of a mercenary she had actually started was not what she had imagined. A mercenary’s life was not a dream, but reality. Having been thrown into reality, Rin had naturally forgotten the dreams she couldn’t achieve.

“In a way, you and I became mercenaries for the same reason.”

“…?”

“Since we both became mercenaries because we want to save the world, we’re the same.”

“…Sure. Let’s go with that.”

Beside the somewhat exasperated Ian, Rin chuckled.

“I can save the world if I’m by your side, right? Let’s work hard together.”

Going on an adventure and saving the world… it’s easy to say, but she had no idea how to actually do it. If it was Ian, he surely had a plan. And if they saved the world, the reward would be huge. Rin subtly extended her hand toward Ian.

Well. He wondered if she could still say this after knowing exactly what kind of dangerous things were in that place. Still, having someone who would listen to him was not a bad feeling. Ian reached out and bumped his fist against Rin’s.

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