21 – Familiar Faces #1
We had been visiting guilds for four days.
We still hadn’t joined a guild. There was a stronger feeling of aversion towards shapeshifters than I had expected.
The boy is with a shapeshifter.
That means the boy’s “Soul Protection” skill is quite impressive, doesn’t it? It’s such an easy problem that even newborn babies would be able to deduce it easily.
Nevertheless, the female adventurers refused to accept Suwoo’s membership. Wherever they went, they made it clear that they didn’t want him.
Just because he was a werewolf.
“So Suwoo has been enduring in a city like this?”
“…Except on the days when I meet my younger brother, I don’t have any close colleagues, so I feel quite lonely.”
Suwoo smiled bitterly as if recalling unpleasant memories.
“I’m not even a breed with severe ‘heat’. It’s tiring to be constantly compared to other breeds of werewolves.”
“Really? How bad can it be for other breeds of werewolves that you’re being rejected like this?”
“…They attack male children. Regardless of the werewolf’s own will…”
“…….”
Suwoo chuckled lightly.
“I’m not like that. When the time comes, my body just feels uncomfortable, but I can control it well enough. The White Tiger Tribe werewolves are different from other werewolves. You don’t have to worry.”
“I’m not worried. I trust you, Suwoo.”
I firmly held Suwoo’s hand.
“Enough already. Just because we’re adventurers, do we have to join a guild? There’s no law set by the Empire that says we have to. Let’s do it our way. We can show that we can succeed even without a guild.”
“Ray…”
For five days in the Labyrinth City, Labrynthys.
The two of us were together all day long. We didn’t even separate for a moment, just like in the labyrinth.
There was no reason for us to go our separate ways since we didn’t have anyone we knew in the city. We explored every nook and cranny.
As we spent more time together, trust gradually built up.
If asked who my closest person in this world is, without hesitation, I would say Suu. We have become so close.
“It’s delicious.”
The milk I receive from Suu every day has become an essential part of my daily life.
“…It makes me want to drink it more.”
In modern society, people don’t even drink milk when given. But here, I keep finding myself craving Suu’s milk.
Is it the instinct of wanting to grow taller as a man?
“It’s not my fault. It’s Suu’s fault.”
Whenever I say I want to drink it, Suu drops everything and quickly brings me milk. Unconsciously, I end up making requests to Suu that I don’t even realize.
So it’s Suu’s fault for making me into a bad kid.
“We can hit the jackpot, right?”
Wake up, breakfast, guild investigation, lunch, training, dinner, sleep.
In the repetitive daily routine, there is one small encounter. I’m not sure if it should be called a business meeting or just a casual chat, but it’s a bit ambiguous.
“Anna, you’re here again?”
Alchemist Anna.
Since receiving Suu’s blood a few days ago and making a recovery potion instead of a “heat suppression” potion, she has been coming and talking to me continuously.
“She says she has no money.”
I said with a sarcastic expression towards Anna, who appeared tonight without fail.
If she doesn’t give me money, I have no intention of accepting her proposal. It was an unusually cold response from me.
“I mean, he’s someone who even thinks negatively about blood donation.”
Once or twice is fine. But demanding blood donation excessively makes me feel a bit repulsed.
“I don’t have the money to pay right now. But if my business succeeds, I can give you a share, right?”
“How would I know if it will succeed or fail?”
“It’s a recovery potion! A potion, I tell you!”
Anna repeated the same words over and over again. It was a line she had memorized by now.
“Hiring a priest is expensive, and there are no explorer guilds with priests, so potions have incredible value, right? If we can supply them stably, we’ll be rich, won’t we?”
“What? Why are you saying the lines I’m supposed to say…”
“You keep coming and saying them all the time. I’ve memorized them already.”
“Then there’s no need for further explanation.”
Anyone would think they had entrusted their lives to a werewolf.
“Ray, I’m fine….”
Sue appealed to her own health.
“A stable source of income is essential for an explorer. Especially for guys, going into a labyrinth itself is a burden.”
“Our werewolf sister knows how to persuade.”
“…If it can help Ray, I can spill even more blood dozens of times.”
Despite Sue’s determined words, I still held a negative position.
“Sue gave me the decision-making power, didn’t she? No, I can’t. I’m against it.”
“Ray….”
Anna burst into tears.
“There might not be another chance next time. If I find another werewolf to secure blood, you’ll just have to watch us make money while sucking your thumb, right? Are you still not going to do it?”
“Yes, I won’t do it.”
I had already confirmed the effect of the potion. I had seen with my own eyes how quickly it healed minor injuries and bruises.
I wasn’t sure if it would work for severe cuts. Even the creator seemed uncertain about that.
“The performance is certain. The problem is efficiency.”
1 Kofi, 2 bottles.
So, the potion given to me meant that it was half the amount of Su’s Kofi. I don’t know how much two bottles of potion would sell for, but it was definitely an inefficient way to make money.
“No one would donate blood just to get bread.”
If they rewarded us with something better than bread every time we donated blood, then it would be a different story. But for now, I didn’t feel any merit in agreeing to Anna’s proposal.
If someone else took it from me, they took it. If such a situation arose, I could just lament my lack of foresight and cry in Su’s arms.
“I’ll come back. Wait for me.”
“…Yes.”
“I will never give up.”
“……”
Meeting Anna after dinner made me realize that the day was over.
The next morning, while having breakfast, I spoke.
“Now we really need to find a guild or recruit people.”
“…Are you planning to go down to the dungeon tomorrow?”
“Yes, we have to go down.”
Su looked at me with a worried expression.
“Wouldn’t it be better to take a break this time and aim for the next one? I received 1 gold from Anna, so I have enough for living expenses. It would be a disaster if we rushed in and got into an accident…”
“It’s not something you can live on for the rest of your life. You have to accumulate experience points in the labyrinth when you’re in good condition.”
I know it’s dangerous. It’s scary and I’m afraid.
But I couldn’t stop.
“I can’t afford to be complacent if I want to survive in the labyrinth city.”
If I settle for reality, nothing will work out.
A growing man, that’s me. I am a boy named Ray.
“The person we need right now is a guide.”
When I first entered the labyrinth, I wasn’t particularly useful.
Avoiding simple traps and progressing through exploration is as easy as having eyes, and all you have to do is move forward wherever your feet take you.
The important thing is when you escape from the labyrinth. When you find the exit portal on the 1st floor.
That’s when the guide’s strength comes into play.
“I don’t have any explorers trying to join because of me. How do we find a guide?”
“We have to find an explorer who seems willing to join.”
We just have to analyze the reasons why people avoid our party and find the answer.
From Noble mtl dot com
“It’s because of the beastmen, which makes it less stable.”
But they are stronger than the average party. They won’t lose against the same 3-person party.
Of course, they also mine mana stones faster. Explorers obsessed with money would find the beastmen party appealing.
“It’s a good suggestion, but it’s a little…”
“There’s nothing more precious than life, my dear.”
“If you want to go to the labyrinth, wouldn’t it be better to remove the beastmen and find someone else?”
I took it upon myself to speak up since it seemed like no one was listening when Swoo spoke. But even so, the reactions were mostly negative.
“I understand that you want to throw a party with the werewolves. I get it. But from the perspective of the adventurers, it’s unfair. It’s like interfering in your close relationship and making it dangerous.”
“First floor? Bringing the werewolves along while hunting on the first floor?”
“The darkness of the labyrinth is equally threatening on the first floor or the tenth floor. Don’t you understand what that means?”
I kept my mouth shut. I gave up on trying to persuade them with money.
“The only remaining option is to prove that we are somewhat stable…”
I didn’t want to do this, but I had no choice. If we wanted to enter the labyrinth tomorrow, we had no choice but to rely on familiar faces.
“Swoo, let’s go to the ‘Dictator’s Sword’ guild.”
“Are we really going to do that in the end?”
“I don’t want to go into more debt, but… I can’t think of a better solution.”
The guild where Brown and our other friends joined. It meant reaching out to the ‘Dictator’s Sword’ guild, where our sisters who had witnessed our stability were.
That was the best option in our situation.
We searched diligently for the path and arrived at the ‘Dictator’s Sword’ guild house. With a trembling heart, I opened the door and went inside.
It felt somewhat familiar since I had been here before with the conscription officer. I wondered if that was fortunate.
“Huh?”
As soon as we entered the guild house, someone pretended to know us. It was Rohen, the boy who had been conscripted with us. He waved at me.
“Ray? What’s going on?”
“Cough.”