Chapter 59

　　Chapter 59

　　“Labyrinth?”

　　The post transactions were settled . I was spending time leisurely in the Adventurer Guild when ‘If you have free time go capture the labyrinth!’, I was told as such by the stew uncle .

　　“Ah, have you not gone to the nearby labyrinth yet? In your case wouldn’t you be able to get to the lower layer?”

　　“Isn’t it dangerous to have a labyrinth near the town?”

　　“Mm? Ah, you are misunderstanding . It isn’t a labyrinth fortress (maze), but a labyrinth game (dungeon) . ”

　　When I heard the story, it seemed to be a kind of dungeon .

　　The labyrinth fortress (maze) was a strategic key point of the demons, the labyrinth game (dungeon) was said to have been made as a hobby by a dragon .

　　“Do dragons make labyrinths as a hobby?”

　　Dragons are much more long lived than human beings, but in recent years their population number has decreased .

　　There hasn’t been a newborn dragon in these past hundreds of years .

　　To make matters worse, a lot of the comparatively young dragons have degenerated into demons (became delinquents) and have been aging at an extreme rate in the blink of an eye, it seems .

　　Feeling the sense of imminent crisis, the dragons accepted humans as grooms or brides as a counter-measure .

　　However, even if it was temporary it was the mate of a dragon after all . It was unfit for a superficial person .

　　Therefore, it seems the labyrinth was used as a means to find capable humans .

　　The search for mates with the labyrinth gained some success .

　　When a child of a dragon was born, a new demi-human [Ryuujin] was created too .

　　Ryuujin have the strength of a dragon and the fertility of an average human, this demi-human had the best of both worlds .

　　The child who was born between ryuujin had a high possibility of being a dragon .

　　The labyrinth was something indispensable as a [Dating Service] for dragons now .

　　By the old dragons, the construction of the labyrinth was recommended to the young dragons . Few in number, the young dragons were raised spoilt with little amus.e.m.e.nts so they were engrossed in building labyrinths one after another .

　　Naturally, dragons prepared treasure chests (bait) to lure humans into the labyrinth game .

　　It might be possible to become the [Mate of a Dragon] if you break through to the lowest floor .

　　“It is said that you can marry a dragon, isn’t that great?”

　　I was asked that by that uncle who made a fiery speech . A newly married couple life with a lizard with wings, *shudder* . If it was such a hobby, I would rather spend the night at the [Cat & Dog] .

　　I heard about it later, but it seems that the shop can even prepare female orcs when it comes to living things that have the ability to communicate with humans .

　　Well, there aren’t any such perverted b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, but there seems to be mermaids and fishmen, too . The whole body of eel girls are very slippery on its own so it was a great independent lotion .

　　Well, since I have adorable women, it’s got nothing to do with me .

　　“Oi, Annihilation!?”

　　My consciousness seems to have flowed away momentarily . Maybe I’m tired?

　　“Your life alone is prolonged if you can pair with a dragon, you don’t get sick, and above all don’t you think the entire body of a dragon is a treasure?”

　　Having s.e.x with a dragon, there seems to be many privileges in various ways with just that . In addition, even one piece of a scale seems to sell for a large sum of money .

　　“In addition, they say that they become exactly the same as humans when doing it . ”

　　Indeed, I’m relieved then . Though, there is no such plan to do this with a dragon at all . (EN: You go on thinking that)

　　Immediately, I returned to the village to consult with my beloved women .

　　“Labyrinth, huh?”

　　The hand which moved with such devotion stopped to hear my story . There was handmade ice cream in that hand .

　　Recently, because I was able to make ice out of magic I made it as a trial, the taste was thin, but the ice cream was complete .

　　Ayla and co . seemed to like it and was eating it silently until just now .

　　“Is a labyrinth that labyrinth where it’s full of monsters?”

　　Ayla who was eating ice cream stopped her hand and asked a question .

　　I continued to explain because there was no sign of Zir’s hand stopping .

　　“Hmm, that? The labyrinth―”

　　[The labyrinths are the labyrinth fortress of demons and the labyrinth games of dragons . The labyrinth that owner is talking about is perhaps the labyrinth game . ]

　　The [Book of Wisdom] which insinuated itself into the conversation abruptly, does not understand even though I glared at it .

　　[When it is a labyrinth game, there is not much danger and it is a good source of income . I have also heard that there are times when there are unusual monsters . For a monster tamer, I judge that it is ideal for us . ]

　　After it said all the things it would like to say, my heart danced when there was additional information about rare monsters . It was my complete defeat .

　　Originally, I intended to go when I heard the story from that uncle .

　　“Hibiki-san, Do you intend to go?”

　　Latia in a maid uniform asked while eating ice cream .

　　“Are you going to the labyrinth? If so, then please take me . ”

　　Frey who had finished the visit with her ladys.h.i.+p was shrewdly eating ice cream .

　　This fellow has come here a lot recently . Sometimes she would stay the night causing the s.p.a.ce in the village to become somewhat cramped .

　　You even got the goblins to build you a residence . There is a maid, too .

　　“You, don’t you visit her ladys.h.i.+p? You can’t go and come back in a day . ”

　　“Is that so?”

　　That uncle taught me that the labyrinth was a place where it took about a full day in a wagon to get there .

　　And that’s just getting there . To capture a labyrinth to some extent, time will be necessary .

　　“Sorry, but Latia stay home to watch this fool of a person please . Also, you just have to deliver the white porcelain dishware . ”

　　It was fine even if I leave it to Latia in the case of the Alchemist Guild . Frank can trade with Latia without fear .

　　“Understood . ”

　　“Stupid there, if you are free than guard Latia . I will give you a reward if you be a good child . ”

　　“I’m not a child!!… By the way, what do I get?”

　　The preparations were complete with this . We will buy the necessary things afterwards in town and then leave here tomorrow .

　　“Master, wherefore art thee so eager?”

　　Zir who finished eating ice cream asked curiously . After all, this fellow was sharp .

　　“It’s nothing . I’m excited because a labyrinth is a man’s dream~”

　　“Ayla, doth thee not smelleth the scent of a mistress?”

　　My trustworthiness is 0?

　　“Let me see, I don’t know the scent . A woman, young?”

　　Immediately, when she said that, many eyes looked at me . I gave up and decided to explain .

　　For the start of the matter let’s return to the conversation at the Adventurer Guild .

　　When that uncle was telling the story about the labyrinth, a thin dirty child came near our table .

　　“Are you going to the labyrinth!?”

　　That child while looking at us with a desperate face asked such a thing .

　　“Sonny, what is it? What business do you have?”

　　When that uncle asked that, the child began to explain his circ.u.mstances bit by bit .

　　The older brother who went to the labyrinth two weeks ago hasn’t come home . He said he would return in one week but he has not come back .

　　“That is, your elder brother is…”

　　That uncle used ambiguous words . It wasn’t strange for such a thing to happen to adventurers including me .

　　For this reason, when you are alive and meet by chance, you will fool around .

　　“You’re wrong!! Nii-chan is alive!!”

　　He probably understood what that uncle was starting to say . The child cried and screamed in denial .

　　“Please!! Save nii-chan!! I even brought money!!”

　　Saying so the child put out a bag of silver coins and also a few coppers that were destroyed and had a ruggedness on the surface .

　　“This silver coin?”

　　The appearance was too different with the silver and copper coins . The copper coins are in a state that was not usable in many shops .

　　“Nii-chan said that if there are any problems to use this . ”

　　It was a reliable older brother indeed . No way, would he have ever expected this to be used in this kind of way .

　　“Sonny, this is not at all close enough?”

　　I’m disappointed he said as such .

　　Even if the surrounding people sympathized with you, there will not even be a guy who will receive this rescue request .

　　Adventurers do not do charitable work .

　　“N-no way . But, nii-chan is…”

　　“That’s right . As the amount is not enough so your brother will have to pay the full payment later . For now, I will get the deposit first . ”

　　As I said so, I picked up the rugged coins and put them away into my pocket .

　　“Eh, t-thank you, onii-chan!!”

　　“O-oi, Annihilation!? Is that ok!?”

　　“I wonder if I might be able to go to the lowest layer? Then this occasion is just earning pocket money . ”

　　Even I understand that I look like I’m showing off . So, I’ll keep it a secret from Ayla and the others .

　　“Sonny, what’s your name?”

　　“It’s not sonny, I’m Yakuu . ”

　　Apparently, it seemed that she was not a boy but a girl .

　　From Yakuu, I returned to the village immediately after inquiring about the characteristics and name of the older brother .

　　Well, anyway everyone was very pleased with the ice cream so I humored them and naturally began to talk .

　　“So it was like that . ”

　　I confessed everything that happened in town today .

　　“I see~ . It is an important matter as you have told us~ . ”

　　“Was thither a particular need to conceal it? Thou art declaring that we shall search f’r a person while we art exploring the labyrinth, no?”

　　“Master is so splendid . ”

　　“Yeah, it is a wonderful action . Well, I doubt if that is typical of Hibiki . ”

　　“Frey-san, Hibiki-san is gentle you know?”

　　Apparently, I seemed to have been thinking too much about it . It was generally a favourable opinion .

　　The labyrinth trip was decided by the majority . For the time being, I’ll hurry as much as possible because it was necessary to rescue the mentioned person .

　　For the labyrinth group trip, I went to town to buy a carriage for transportation .

　　Well, for some reason or another my companions have increased recently, if I always gave Ruby the luggage, it might seem unnatural .

　　In the future, the carriage will be convenient for Latia to shop in town . We will also go on expeditions in this way .

　　“Welcome . What kind of carriage would you like to purchase?”

　　“I want a carriage that can accommodate 5-6 people comfortably . ”

　　It might be convenient if there was a large wagon . I ordered with such a light hearted feeling .

　　What appeared was a wagon with a canopy attached which allowed monsters to pull it . It seems that it was able to allow many people to ride it at once .

　　“Aren’t you an adventurer? Neither the wilderness nor the forest can be crossed if it is not as st.u.r.dy as this . ”

　　Indeed, I decided to buy it .

　　I was told that I can buy monsters to pull the carriage at the Monster Tamer Guild, I left the carriage at the shop and went to the Monster Tamer Guild immediately .

　　When I consulted at the reception desk, generally for monsters to pull a carriage, I was cautioned to choose a monster that has previously pulled one before .

　　Certainly, I don’t know what kind of monster was cut out to pull that purchased carriage .

　　“Among these, the one that could pull the carriage that customer bought is this guy?”

　　A turtle monster called the Grand Turtle was introduced . Though it seems to be terribly slow, but it was positively faster than a horse .

　　It had a docile character and even if it was attacked by monsters, it can spend its time hiding in its sh.e.l.l . Unlike a horse, even if it was attacked by a demon it will defend itself with less time and effort .

　　“After that, it is up to whether the customer can subdue this monster . ”

　　For the time being, I approached it…

　　“Hand . ”

　　The Grand Turtle slowly moved to stand up, though it tried to deftly raise its forefoot and place it on my palm, the body slightly trembled because of the weight .

　　“I-I’m sorry . My bad . It’s already fine . ”

　　Is it my imagination that its face showed relief?

　　“You, do you want to become my child?”

　　It noded in a.s.sent .

　　“Then, please give this monster to me . ”

　　To that extent, the person showing me around who was gazing at me finally reacted and bowed .

　　“Y-yes . Thank you very much!!”

　　With this, horse (?) and wagon have been obtained .

　　We packed food, water, and necessary tools and left for the labyrinth .