## Chapter 535 – 535. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
535. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated into the Baek Family
I arrived at the Belvat Labyrinth City two days later than planned.
It couldn’t be helped.
On the way here, I kept making eye contact with Yuria, and once our eyes met, I couldn’t just let it pass. We had sex every time we walked. It was the same in the villages we stopped at along the way. Although we were a bit late, I didn’t regret it.
Unlike ordinary territories, the Belvat Labyrinth City has no owner. While territories usually have a noble who governs them, in the case of labyrinth cities, the Adventurer’s Guild manages them.
The Adventurer’s Guild collects taxes and sends the taxes, excluding the set operating budget, to the royal family.
‘In the old days, none of the nobles wanted the labyrinth city, so the Adventurer’s Guild ended up becoming the owner.’
Now, the labyrinth city is stable, but it wasn’t like that in the past. Monsters frequently emerged from the labyrinth, and the nobles, not wanting to bear the damage, would return the labyrinth city if they received it or pass it on to someone else.
“It has a strange vitality, perhaps because there are no nobles.”
I can see adventurers wandering around. Their armor and weapons make them look like real-life hunters. Come to think of it, the jobs of adventurers and hunters were similar.
“Yes. But there are slaves.”
Following Yuria’s gaze, I saw sturdy slaves pulling a baggage cart on one side of the road. I could immediately tell they were slaves by the clothes they were wearing and the marks of shackles on their ankles.
“I guess they want to play the role of nobles with slaves.”
Slaves were everywhere, so it wasn’t unusual. Rather, the consumption of slaves was faster in the labyrinth city, for various reasons related to monsters.
“Master, shall we go straight into the labyrinth?”
“No. Let’s get a place to stay first and go into the labyrinth tomorrow.”
We didn’t come here just to conquer the labyrinth like ordinary people. We needed some preparation.
We booked the most luxurious hotel in the labyrinth city and headed to the Adventurer’s Guild.
I was hoping there would be a pretty female employee, but unfortunately, there were only male employees. I approached a staff member who seemed relatively free.
“Welcome. How may I help you?”
Yuria and I subtly showed him our ruby-rank adventurer identification badges. His body stiffened. We had slightly altered our faces using makeup techniques.
I looked older, and in Yuria’s case, she was wearing a dark robe that covered her face.
“I’m James, an adventurer from the north. My companion next to me is Yura, the same rank.”
“Welcome, Mr. James. Ms. Yura. I will inform the branch manager immediately.”
“There’s no need for that. We don’t have any business with the branch manager.”
“Th-then, what kind of business do you have…?”
He stammered. Those of ruby rank or higher were at least in the lower stages of Aura Expert.
“You’re too nervous. Relax. We don’t intend to make absurd demands of the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“If there’s anything I can help with, I will do my best.”
“We came to experience the Belvat Labyrinth. We will experience the Belvat Labyrinth to some extent and leave immediately. But there’s a problem. We don’t know the way through the labyrinth, and we don’t have detailed information about the Belvat Labyrinth.”
“I understand. Mr. James, you want a guide.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
The reason for seeking a guide was that we had no information about the labyrinth. It was much faster to get a guide than to gather information about the labyrinth ourselves.
“I will select a list of guide candidates by tomorrow. Is there anyone you want?”
“I don’t have any big expectations, just that they’re not incompetent.”
“Um… how much are you thinking of paying? Capable adventurers don’t work for low pay.”
The value of capable people was the same in reality and in this world.
“How much does it usually cost to hire a guide?”
“An ordinary guide asks for 500,000 Ner a day.”
“That’s expensive.”
“Only veteran adventurers can perform the role of a guide.”
“I’ll hire one for 30 million Ner for a week.”
“That’s… too much. With that much money, you could hire an entire adventurer party.”
“If they’re useful, that’s not bad either. I’ll come back at this time tomorrow.”
Yuria and I took a look around the labyrinth city and returned to our lodgings.
•••
The next day.
The Adventurer’s Guild was crowded with people, unlike yesterday. As soon as I entered the guild, their eyes were fixed on us.
“The employer has finally arrived.”
“They say they’re ruby-rank adventurers? They have an extraordinary presence.”
“I’ve lived in Belvat Labyrinth City for over 10 years! Guiding is my specialty! Please choose me!”
It was noisy all around. As I frowned, a guild employee approached me.
“S-sorry, Mr. James. Because word got out that it was a high-paying job… many adventurers have gathered.”
“It’s fine. It’s not a bad thing. I can just pick a useful one from among them. Does the guild have any unused rooms? I want to interview the adventurers separately.”
“Yes! There is an unused room. It’s a bit messy, so just 10 minutes! Please wait just 10 minutes!”
The Adventurer’s Guild employees moved quickly. If I didn’t have money and wasn’t ruby-ranked, I wouldn’t have received this kind of consideration.
First, adventurers below silver rank were eliminated without even being interviewed. Adventurers from gold rank and up were the real deal. No one was unaware of that fact.
There were no ruby-rank adventurers among those gathered, and all that remained were gold-rank adventurers.
“Please choose our Medri Travelers party. We have been to the lowest level of the Belvat Labyrinth.”
The lowest level of the Belvat Labyrinth was the 30th floor. Since the strategy was known, it was possible to go down with just a gold-rank party if they were well-prepared.
“The party name is Medri Travelers…? What does that mean?”
“All five of us are from a mountain village called Medri.”
I examined their appearance. They were all dark-skinned men. Was there any reason why I had to move with five sweaty men?
“I’m afraid not. There are too many of you.”
“What? Too many? We are all professional adventurers who have been conquering the Belvat Labyrinth for over three years! There are few parties that can conquer the labyrinth as safely as we can!”
“I’m not hiring a guide to conquer the labyrinth safely. We want a guide who can move as secretly and quickly as possible. About three people would be just right. Can you remove two of you?”
“That’s…”
The party leader couldn’t open his mouth.
Human relationships were sensitive. Human relationships could be broken by even the smallest thing. The most important thing for a party leader to be wary of was human relationships.
Three out of five.
Two would be left out.
If the commission was divided including the two who were left out, the three would be dissatisfied. Why are they getting a share of the commission when they didn’t do anything?
On the other hand, if the two who were left out were not given a share of the commission, they would feel abandoned by the party.
I could see it. The party members were already looking at each other.
In the end, the leader sighed.
“…We’ll give up this time.”
“Leader! It’s 30 million Ner!”
“It’s money we can earn in a few months. Adventurers shouldn’t just look at money.”
The leader comforted the party members who were complaining and went out of the room. I interviewed other adventurers as well, but there were few that I liked.
Until they came in.
“Hello~”
“We’re the Bainrad sisters!”
They were identical twin sisters. They were beautiful women in their mid-twenties with light brown hair, white skin, and red lips. Judging by the light leather armor, daggers, and bows they wore, they seemed to be rangers specializing in scouting or exploration.
Their names were Helly and Kelly. They claimed that they had been living here for five years and knew every path in the Belvat Labyrinth.
Helly was the older sister, and Kelly was the younger.
“You know all the paths in the dungeon…? Please don’t exaggerate. This is a very important job for us.”
“It’s important to us too. It’s a job worth 30 million Ner, so we wouldn’t lie.”
“We’re not strong in combat. But we’re confident that we’re much better than other adventurers at finding paths and removing traps.”
Would the taste of identical twins’ vaginas be the same?
I nodded, thinking that.
The guide I wanted was someone who knew the paths in the labyrinth very well. Two people were just right, and they even had the rarity of being twin beauties. There was no reason to refuse.
‘If I say they’re hired right away, they’ll think it’s strange.’
After asking various questions, I said they were hired.
“Ms. Helly. Ms. Kelly. I look forward to working with you.”
“You can speak casually. You’re a ruby-rank adventurer.”
“Please be comfortable. That’s more comfortable for me.”
Among adventurers, rank was equivalent to class.
“I will. We’ll start at 10 a.m. tomorrow and go until 7 p.m. I plan to experience the labyrinth. The goal is to explore the labyrinth itself rather than hunt monsters.”
“Are you going to do that all week?”
Helly, the older sister, asked. I shook my head.
“For the first four days, we’ll focus on exploring the upper and middle levels, and for the remaining three days, we’ll live in the dungeon and explore the lower levels.”
“That sounds like a dangerous schedule. But you’re both ruby-ranked, right? We’ll trust you both.”
Kelly, the younger sister, said firmly. The younger sister was more trustworthy than the older sister.
We talked for a while and then parted ways.
Immediately after, a guild employee approached me.
“Mr. James. The Bainrad sisters have a bad reputation among adventurers.”
“A bad reputation? For what reason?”
“They’ve betrayed parties before. And… there are rumors that they’re involved with criminal activities.”
“Was their skill also a lie?”
“No. Their skill is definitely gold-ranked. They’re also first-class as guides.”
“Then it doesn’t matter. I chose them based on their pathfinding skills. Let’s go, Yura.”
“Yes.”
•••
We entered the Belvat Labyrinth.
It was a place full of rocks and the stench of blood. Hundreds of monsters were born and died there every day.
“Honestly, I can’t understand you, Mr. James. Why would you spend so much money to experience the labyrinth…? Is there something in this labyrinth?”
Helly said. I secretly scanned her body. B-cup breasts. As expected of an adventurer, her body was firm and outstanding. Her buttocks, wrapped in leather pants, looked moderately large and firm.
“The experience of the labyrinth helps with growth. And we are adventurers. Our goal is to experience all the labyrinths on the continent.”
“That’s a goal that not just anyone can have. By the way, Ms. Yura doesn’t say much… What kind of relationship do you two have? Are you lovers?”
“Something like that.”
As with most labyrinths, the deeper you go, the higher the level of monsters.
In the case of the first floor, there were often monsters weaker than goblins.
“The monsters on the first floor are floating slimes. As the name suggests, they are floating slimes. If you aim for the core properly, they are easy to kill.”
“I want to explore every corner of the first floor. Is there a hidden space or something?”
“There are no hidden spaces or traps from the first to the fifth floor.”
“Is that so?”
We went down to the sixth floor in four hours. Since the goal was not to hunt monsters and conquer the labyrinth, the speed was bound to be fast.
In a certain space on the sixth floor, Yuria sent me a telepathic message that only I could hear.
-…Master. I found it. It’s on the ceiling.
Without Helly and Kelly noticing, I raised my head. It was a round, dome-shaped ceiling, 4 meters high. There was a graffiti-like sentence on the wall next to it.
‘That’s the first sentence.’
One of the seven sentences that had to be found in this labyrinth.
‘I can’t just find it. I have to activate it.’
The way to activate the sentence was easy. Touch the sentence and inject mana.
“Helly. Kelly. I have something to say for a moment.”
While I was drawing their attention, Yuria used magic to jump to the ceiling and activate the sentence.
It was a smooth success.
