Chapter 70

The exterior of the labyrinth looks like a small ant hill made of earth.

It is a rather out-of-place structure in the middle of the city, but its presence in the center of the square is such that it disappears from view once you are over ten kilometers away.

The moment I stepped into the square, I looked up at the size of the earth mound covered in red leaves.

The Labyrinth of Menesmetro, commonly known as the Hot Spring Labyrinth.

Well, from the sign at the gate, it seems the Hot Spring Labyrinth is the official name.

"Really, it exists."

I couldn't help but step in and out of the square to confirm.

"It's interesting, isn't it? Hidden labyrinths are rare, and this is one of them."

Lord Arjitt said, patting my head over my hat.

"Ascending-type labyrinths are rare, but this one also has a descending type, making it even rarer."

Stalls were set up here and there in the square, and the smell of grilled meat wafted through the air.

"Grilled chicken?"

"No, it's probably fish. The bird-type monsters that come out of this labyrinth are strong and sell for high prices, so they're not sold at the stalls."

I saw someone passing by with what looked like a skewer of grilled meat.

"Fish?"

"It's fish, but the taste and the smell of the grilled meat are pork-like."

I recalled eating a fish that tasted like braised pork on the way here and nodded in understanding.

There was something else that caught my attention.

"Everyone seems to have just come out of the bath?"

Everyone except the stall owners looked unusually refreshed.

Some had towels draped over their shoulders, and others had damp hair.

"The people in the square now probably spent the night in the labyrinth and took a morning bath."

"Ah, Master Yui, it's fine to visit the labyrinth, but the Adventurer's Guild has some bad apples, so even if the women are strong, please don't go without us men, okay?"

I tilted my head at the words Schneel added beside Lord Arjitt.

"The guild and the labyrinth are separate?"

I thought they were in the same building.

"There's a guild's temporary buy-back office on the first floor of the labyrinth."

"Lord Yui, the name 'Hot Spring Labyrinth' isn't just for show."

The entrance and exit of the labyrinth had a large arched hole with stone bricks.

The entrance was so wide that five people could walk in side by side with ease, and there was no door.

Inside, it was dome-shaped, with water flowing like a pillar in the center.

The width was as expected from the outside, but directly in front, on either side of the water pillar, there were sliding doors with curtains for the women's and men's baths.

Further to the sides, there were more arched holes with stone bricks, and rooms like ticket gates were attached to the sides. People with spears stood guard, and I could see adventurers paying money to the people in the ticket gate-like rooms before entering.

"That's where the stairs to the deeper parts of the labyrinth are. The left side is the descending stairs."

"The doors with red and blue curtains lead to the hot springs. The red curtain is for women only, and the blue curtain is for men only."

Ah, it was in Japanese, or rather, in kanji. The curtains, could they be shimenawa? I went closer to look.

The elegant characters for the women's bath were written with a brush.