CH 70

End of Labyrinth Exploration

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Exhausted from getting out of the maze, I fell asleep without even having dinner. I guess I went to bed too early because I woke up before sunrise. Well, there’s a lot to do today, so it’s not a problem that I woke up early.

“Yuta, are you awake?”

“Yeah. Good morning, Sylphy. I woke up because I went to bed too early last night.”

“Good morning. It’s not even sunrise yet, what are you going to do?”

“Well, let me see. I feel bad for causing trouble to this inn, so I was thinking of preparing some recipes from my hometown to apologize before breakfast.”

“Ah, that’s right. There are quite a few vacant rooms. It’s possible that you caused some trouble, so it might be a good idea to apologize.”

I can’t say for sure that I’m the reason for the vacant rooms, but there’s a high chance that I’m causing trouble. I have to apologize. I need to think of a menu that will attract customers.

Torque seems to like cooking a variety of dishes, so something that can be easily adapted would be good. Coal and other items can be easily replicated…

I need something that has a wide range of applications and good marketing potential… Something that doesn’t take too much effort would be better. I’ll write down the recipe on the paper and pen I bought at the miscellaneous store. Oh, writing utensils are difficult to use. The paper gets caught and the pen is hard to handle.

Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll do my best to write the recipe. After checking with Sylphy, I decided to make a simple tomato-based dish since there seems to be no ketchup or similar condiments.

First, I wrote down the recipe for ketchup and its derivatives: pizza sauce, pizza toast, spaghetti Napolitan, and meat sauce. These flavors are not available around here, so if they are accepted, customers will come. If it doesn’t work, I’ll have to come up with another idea.

After working hard to write the recipe and making multiple revisions, it was already time for breakfast. I don’t remember the exact measurements, so it was quite difficult.

“With this, I might be able to repay them a little. Sylphy, I’m going to breakfast, so come with me.”

“Hehe. I’m really looking forward to what kind of dishes they’ll make. If the menu that Yuta taught us becomes popular, let us try it too.”

“I think it’ll probably work out. If it goes well, I’ll have Torque make it and bring a lot back, so please be patient.”

“Okay, that’s enough. Shall we go?” Sylphy replied as we left the room and headed to the dining hall. How to deliver the recipe is also important. I shouldn’t say anything weird that would make them not accept it.

“Good morning, customers. By the way, your check-out time is today at noon. Would you like to extend your stay?”

Oh, that’s right. It might be too sudden to give them the recipe today and ask them to make a lot of it tonight. Well, it might be best for the inn if I just left, but honestly, I want the tomato sauce. It might be a hassle, but I’ll ask to extend my stay for just one night.

“Um, Martha-san. I have a favor to ask of Torque-san, so can I extend my stay for just one night?”

“Okay, I understand. I’ll take care of the procedures at the counter later. So, what do you need from my husband?”

She accepted the extension request normally. If I was responsible for the decrease in customers, they might want to refuse my extension request, but she didn’t even hint at that possibility. I wonder if it’s just my misunderstanding that I’m causing more vacant rooms.

“Well, there are a few dishes from my hometown that I want to eat, so I’ll be leaving the labyrinth city for a while starting tomorrow. I would like Torque-san to make them for me and bring them with me. Can you please ask him?”

“We would be happy to learn about new dishes. Should I call my husband?”

“No, it’s okay. This is the recipe. Since I’m not a professional cook, I would appreciate it if you could adjust the measurements by trial and error. If you could make extra ketchup, pizza sauce, and meat sauce from what is written here before tomorrow morning, I would be grateful.”

There’s almost no time, so it’s a bit of a rush, but the purpose is to deliver the recipe, so it’s not a problem. Based on Torque-san’s attitude, he’ll probably focus solely on the recipe once he receives it, so it should work out.

“Oh, that sounds interesting. I’ll give it to my husband after breakfast since it would interrupt our preparation if I give it to him now.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Hahaha. That’s good since breakfast is about to start. You might have missed the chance to taste my homemade cooking.”

I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“Why am I getting such a response that doesn’t match the context of my words? Did you not listen to me?” I wonder how I should respond. “Well, that’s… good,” I say in a normal tone and end the conversation. I’m troubled about what the right answer should have been. I have breakfast while pondering this, which consists of two skewers of roasted orc meat and rough bread, as usual, with a large portion.

I force down the meat for breakfast and head back to my room. I wonder what happened to eggs? Even if Japanese-style breakfast is not possible, I would be fine with scrambled eggs or an omelet for breakfast. “Now then, it’s still early in the morning, where should I go first?” I ponder, while petting Bell and the others who have come to greet me with enthusiasm.

“Yuta, what about the orphans?” Sylphy asks.

“Have you found them already?”

“Yes, I found two of them. There were other children with talent, but I excluded them because of their bad behavior. These two should be able to make a contract with the floating spirits right away. However, one of them has a younger sister.”

If I took care of them, it would be three people. I can’t just tell them to abandon their sister and come with us.

“This sister also has talent as a spirit mage. She just doesn’t have enough magic power at the moment, but I think it’s fine to raise her together since it won’t be a problem as she levels up… “

If that’s the case, there’s no problem. With power leveling, they should be able to make a contract right away.

“What are these children like?”

“Let’s see. The brother is around ten years old, and the sister is around eight years old. The other one is a girl around twelve years old.”

They are all around elementary school age. Well, they are orphans, so it’s reasonable for them to be that age. It seems that their behavior is not bad, so it should be fine.

“In that case, shall we go and scout those children?”

I wonder if it’s okay to get involved in someone’s life so easily, but I think it’s better than being in the slums. It should be fine, right?

Before leaving the inn, I inform Martha that the number of people may increase and arrange for an extension of the stay. Sylphy guides me to the slums, and… it’s scary. The houses become more and more dilapidated and look like ruins. Can children really live here?

“Hey, bro. What are you doing coming into a place like this? If you want to leave here safely, leave all your money behind. Oh, and your equipment and clothes too. I’ll spare your pants, though.”

As expected, people like this appear. Men with grinning faces appear one after another and surround me. I’ve become a fairly high level, but I still get tangled up like this. Doesn’t the aura that makes it difficult to approach even when standing still not come with leveling up?

“Say something! Gyah!”

Suddenly, he swings his sword at me, but it’s blocked by a wind wall. There’s no room for discussion.

“This guy’s a mage. Don’t let him chant!”

The men around me panic and try to close the distance, but they’re all blocked by the wind wall. Didn’t they see what happened to the first guy?

“Why can you cast spells in succession without chanting?!”

Ah, so he thought the wind wall was a one-time thing.

“Ah, this wall is impenetrable to you guys, so you might as well give up. I don’t want to fight, and I’ll leave as soon as I’m done with my business.”

“Hmph. What kind of business does a skilled mage have in this slum?”

He looks incredibly unhappy. Well, I guess it’s natural for him to be unhappy since I just walked into his territory and easily defeated him.

“I came to take on an apprentice.”

Oh, the men who attacked me earlier are now arguing about who will be my apprentice. I’m not going to take on someone who attacked me out of nowhere. Besides, I’m not even a mage.

“Wait a minute. I’ve already decided who to take on as an apprentice. It would be helpful if you could just open the way for me. You don’t want to get hurt unnecessarily, do you?”

“I want to be your disciple too.” They followed behind, saying, “I will definitely follow you.” It seems that being a magician is quite popular. I wonder what would happen if I said I am a spirit magician? I would not be happy if they just left normally, but it would be troublesome if they clung to me.

(Sylphy, can you stop them for me?)

“I understand. I’ll surround them with wind, so it’s okay.”

“I said wait,” someone shouted. I pretended not to hear and continued ahead. I was stopped twice more, but Sylphy trapped them with the wind without question. We arrived at a shabby house in the worst part of the slums, with only a few boards standing.

“This is it. The siblings are inside,” Sylphy said, nodding to me.

The house was even shabbier than I had imagined. I nodded to Sylphy and knocked on what seemed to be a door. A boy peeked out of the gap and quickly retreated.

“I understand you’re wary, but I am not a bad person, so can you at least hear me out?” I said, realizing how suspicious I sound. What should I do?

“If you want to talk, do it from there. Don’t get any closer,” the boy replied, extremely wary.

Okay, he’s very cautious.

“Then I’ll talk from here. I’m a spirit magician, but when I came to the Labyrinth City, I was looked down upon. I was so frustrated that I decided to train a spirit magician and show them up. I asked the spirits I contracted with to find a child who could become a spirit magician, and you were one of them. Would you like to try becoming a spirit magician?”

A long silence followed. Is it over?

“Can I become a spirit magician? Can I make a living doing it?” the boy asked, being realistic.

“Yes. People may dislike you, but I’ll take care of you until you can stand on your own. My spirit said that if you can communicate well, you can become independent quite quickly. So, don’t worry,” I replied.

He’s probably concerned about whether he can make a living in this environment.

“…,” he thought for a while. Should I give him a push?

“You might be anxious to hear that people dislike you, but I think you’ll be okay if you can demonstrate your abilities. At the very least, I can promise you a better life here than what you have now,” I said.

Wait, isn’t Death Land worse than this place? If he could eat his fill, this place would be better. Probably.

I waited for a long silence. What if everyone rejects me?

“Can you prove that it’s safe with you?” he asked, a difficult question. I have no intention of doing anything cruel, but proving it is difficult.