Chapter 189

Having had their curiosity thoroughly piqued, the three parties—who had been trading sharp, murderous glances just moments ago—temporarily forgot their mutual wariness and began exchanging whispers.

“Hey. Do you know who they are?”

“Shit, no. It’s my first time seeing that party.”

“Isn’t it rather strange that there isn’t a single familiar face among them?”

“With appearance like that and the skill to make it this far, there’s no way their names wouldn’t be known. Are they explicitly an outside party?”

“In the three months we’ve been staying in the labyrinth, a crazy party like that rolled in?”
“I recognize at least one of them. That woman riding on the back of that bizarre wolf, isn’t that Kate?”

“Oh, it really is. Is she acting as a guide?”

“But what’s up with that black-haired male bastard? Why is a piece of trash like that squeezed into a literal flower bed?”

“Probably a porter…”

And so forth.

I let out a hollow chuckle as I overheard the conversation flying back and forth.

Seriously… always with the porter nonsense.

How on earth are their repertoires so perfectly identical? Are they all connected via a shared consciousness or something?

Well, I had no intention of throwing a tantrum over it.

Though some pretty explicit, lecherous talk was being tossed around, it hadn’t crossed the absolute line—likely because they had women in their own parties—and above all, I was well aware the conversation wasn’t meant for our ears.

Strictly put, I was the strange one for acting like a human radar and eavesdropping on whispers from all the way across the lake.

So, as long as they didn’t initiate any foolish stunts like the blond bastard’s party from a few hours ago, I intended to moderately ignore it and laugh it off…

The problem was that I wasn’t the singular one capable of hearing their conversation.

Unpacking their gear, the women had sat down side by side along the bank to splash their feet in the water, but they soon knit their brows overtly at the conversation—read as casual chat, written as blatant sexual harassment—echoing from the opposite side of the lake.

“Ah… those bastards have filthy lips.”

“They figure we can’t hear them.”

“Do they assume that just because they are hard of hearing, others must be as well? At any rate, those flawed creatures…”

“Leo. What are they saying right now?”

“Mmm… it is explicitly not a pleasant conversation. For the sake of Master’s peace of mind, I highly recommend ignoring it at all costs.”

“Ah, whatever. Spill it quickly.”

“Sigh… To be frank, they are saying that… and that…”

“…Leo. Go bite them.”

“Could you perhaps employ a better phrasing like ‘kill them’ instead of ‘bite them’?”

And just like that, the topic of their conversation shifted toward the reaction of Go Geom-shin, who was bound to be hearing those words multiple times more clearly than they were.

While Sodin quickly set up a one-way sound-insulating barrier—allowing outside sounds to enter while blocking internal sounds from escaping—Chel pouted her lips.

“But… Orabeoni isn’t showing a single reaction.”

“I believe it is because he figures they aren’t worth giving a crap about. In reality, that is the case, after all.”

“Well, that’s true… but still, if his women are hearing things like that, isn’t it normal for a man to flare up in a fit of anger?”

At Sodin’s words, a sudden silence fell over the group.

The next split second, realizing the hidden intent behind her own words, Sodin’s face flushed red.

“Ah, u-um… well…”

“…No, well, what Sodin said isn’t wrong.”

“Exactly. Aren’t we already in a relationship? I’ve already k-k-kissed Orabeoni a, a few times, you know.”

“Is that something to brag about? Do you figure there’s anyone here who hasn’t done at least that much with Orabeoni?”

“…Though that was entirely through his avatars.”

“What is wrong with it being an avatar? Master has stated multiple times himself, has he not? That an avatar is ultimately his true self anyway.”

“I don’t know… to be perfectly frank, I harbor a bit of skepticism regarding that claim.”

“Why?”

“His reaction toward us is far too different compared to his avatars. The avatars react exactly as if they are in a relationship… but this main body over here is like a literal block of stone…”

“Wait, he isn’t exactly a block of stone, is he? The higher the exposure of our attire, the more Orabeoni’s level of attention sharply alters, you know.”

“No, not that. Romantically. The sweet, lovey-dovey stuff.”

“Ah… that’s true. If the avatars look at us with the gaze of a genuine lover… this main body gives off the feeling of staring at a pretty doll.”

“Exactly. So if those two are truly the identical entity, I feel like a reaction like that is a bit off… that sort of feeling, you get it?”

“I concurrently feel a bit of a gap between Master and Avatar Master.”

“Even if it’s just a tiny inkling, I wish the main body would adopt a slightly more lovey-dovey atmosphere…”

“It’s true that it’s a bit disappointing.”

It was right then.

Shia, who had been crunching on a nut thrown onto her lap from Hest’s knee, chimed into their conversation for the first time in a while.

“That is not the case.”

At her declaration, the women’s gazes gathered toward Shia simultaneously.

And for good reason—she was the self-proclaimed and universally recognized Grade 1 expert on Go Geom-shin, after all.

“According to what I heard from Sword God previously, the experience gained when synchronizing with an avatar isn’t a mere transfer of memories, but re-experiencing it entirely from the avatar’s standpoint in a flash of a split second. Meaning, from Sword God’s perspective, it is no different from having actually dated you all.”

“Ah…”

“No matter how much Sword God is a man who resembles an incarnation of pride itself, how could he undergo such an experience and remain entirely unaltered?”

“…Meaning?”

“Yes. Though you girls who lack a Sword God Certification License might not have noticed, he was deeply shaken during the process of recovering his avatars before stepping into the labyrinth. He appeared explicitly startled himself, as if he hadn’t anticipated it to be to this extent.”

“……!”

“……!!”

“……!!!”

“As proof, the gaze Sword God directs toward you is slightly altered from before. A faint inkling of warmth has settled into it, so to speak. Therefore, devote yourselves further. Ensure that Sword God doesn’t carry on lounging in the heavens and firmly plants his feet in this world.”

“D-Devote ourselves… how?”

“Do not sit satisfied with mere kisses or light skinship; execute all sorts of things aggressively. To the point where every time Sword God synchronizes, he feels too embarrassed to look you in the eye properly. Are you toddlers or something? Stopping at a mere kiss at this stage, tsk tsk…”

“Ugh…”

“Heheh…”

“W-Wow…”

“Mmm…”

At her words, embarrassed laughter rippled through the party.

It was because the revelation that their romance wasn’t limited to the avatars but was concurrently exerting a massive influence on the main body brought them no small amount of joy.

But that joy lasted only a brief moment before their expressions contorted once more.

The conversation among the adventurers across the lake hadn’t stopped at objectifying and sexually harassing them; it had finally escalated into an insult directed toward Sword God’s family.

“What did those bastards just say…?”

With their floating mood plunging straight to the absolute floor, a chilling murderous intent dripped from the group’s gazes as Chel drew her spear with a sharp shring.

“I was willing to turn a blind eye if it stopped at our expense… but they dare drag Orabeoni into it?”

“How dare those lawless creatures insult Master…”

“Leo. Go bite them.”

“Like I said, instead of ‘bite them,’ there are splendid expressions like ‘kill them’ or ‘tear them apart,’ so why…”

“At any rate, we can’t just ignore it at this stage. Who wants to go over with me and turn those vermin into fish food? You just need to escort me while I burn everything to ash.”

Right then, Kate—who had been entirely out of the loop and spaced out—snapped back to reality and desperately tried to restrain them.

“H-Hold on a moment, everyone. Are you seriously saying that you’re going to slaughter those guys just because they insulted Sword God?”

“If they dare say such garbage to Master, turning them into a pile of minced meat constitutes a natural death. Above all, they didn’t strictly insult Master; they concurrently defiled us.”

“Receptionist lady. By definition, a civilized person refers collectively to those who understand that defiling what is precious to another results in their head lid being cracked open. Isn’t instructing such ignorant ruffians to become civilized precisely the role of a mage leading the world forward?”

“Since you have a washcloth stuffed in your mouth despite being weak, you deserve to go die. How dare you toward Orabeoni…”

“Ugh, at any rate, Northern Continent girls—whether mages or blade-wielders—why are they all so uniquely barbaric and bellicose?”

“I am from the Western Continent, though.”

“Kelly, you are just a barbarian. Don’t worry, receptionist lady. Even if everyone says things like that, they probably don’t hold any actual intention to kill them. They’ll likely stop at simply slicing off and fracturing their limbs, you see.”

“I don’t comprehend how blowing off limbs inside the deep floors of a labyrinth is any different from killing them… No! Putting that aside! I don’t know what kind of things you heard, but the people in that party aren’t exactly that unhinged! Even if they are a bit rough, they pay their taxes well and refrain from executing robberies inside the labyrinth; they are an exceptionally normal party!”

“Those creatures are?”

“Yes, a caliber of that degree is genuinely right at the industry average, you know! Do you have any inkling how difficult it is to procure Platinum grade adventurers like Blasters or High Mages? If those fellows go die like that, our guild will genuinely descend into total chaos, I’m telling you!”

“That is…?”

“The guild’s personal problem, isn’t it?”

“We don’t exactly belong to the guild anyway.”

“Is there a necessity to give a crap about that?”

“Eeeek…!”

Flustered, Kate rapidly turned the gears in her mind. Before long, she mapped out a way to restrain these crazy psychos who had completely lost their wits over a man without much difficulty.

“No, wait. In the first place, the fact that Sword God is keeping his mouth tightly shut implies that he intends to let it slide, does it not? Is it truly fine for you all to go against his will as you please? I don’t figure Sword God would look upon that very favorably.”

At that, the women were instantly rendered mute.

While a flurry of bewilderment drifted across their faces, Disis, who had been lying flat on her back a slight distance away from them this whole time, let out a smirk.

“Why ponder over it? Isn’t the crux of the matter simply to egg those fellows on so they pick a fight first? If it reaches that point, even Sword God won’t say a single complaint.”

At that exact split second, exclamation marks popped up above the women’s heads.

“““Ah…”””

I don’t know what kind of absolute secrets they shared, but the party members who had been whispering continuous times behind that sound-insulating barrier suddenly advanced toward me, leaving strictly Shia and Disis behind.

Sensing something highly suspicious in their gazes, I flinched and attempted to step back, but they merely smirked and giggled at me with expressions packed to the brim with pure mischief.

The starter was Sodin.

“Master. Hand your outer coat over here.”

“Uh? What?”

Immediately after, Chel pulled a beach chair out of her spatial backpack, unfolded it, and firmly pressed me down into it.

“Master. Stop standing around so awkwardly and lie down comfortably right here.”

“No, why call me Master all of a sudden when you’re not even Hest?”

Following that, the members began executing things they never normally did, one by one.

“Master. Be quick on the uptake… ahhhn.”

“Grapes? Where on earth did you procure those?”

“Orabeoni… no, Master. It’s hot, isn’t it? I shall fan you right from your side.”

“No, why speak of heat in a chilly place like this? Besides, if it’s hot, you can just execute a magic spell; why fan me out of the blue…”

“Now, Master. Keep completely still exactly like that. I shall perform a massage for you.”

“No, like I said, what kind of absolute nonsense is this?”

“Ah, move your hands out of the way. I can’t undress him.”

“H-Hold on a moment. Hey, hey! Yielding a hundred times, I’ll let the massage slide! But why does a massage necessitate undressing?!”

“One cannot perform a massage over clothing, can they, Master?”

“Ah, seriously. Step aside. That’s strictly sexual harassment, not a massage, you know. Master, as a genuine maid, I shall show you what a true massage feels like. Wow, look at how firm these muscles are… slurp.”

“You perverted maid. Your drool is literally dropping right there, you know.”

Left utterly dumbfounded, I couldn’t even summon the strength to resist, completely swept up in a storm of service exactly like some textbook definition of a nouveau riche.

And occasionally, conversations packed with hidden meaning flew back and forth.

‘Is there a reaction?’

‘Yeah. He’s twitching continuous times, isn’t he?’

‘Shall we go a bit more radical?’

“Phew… I’ve been moving around so vigorously that it’s hot. We shall lighten our attire slightly as well.”

“Like hell a Blaster would find this hot…”

“Oh my, Master. Where do you think you’re touching…”

“I didn’t touch you, okay?!”

“I shall apply some aromatic oil for you.”

“That’s a mana potion, not aromatic oil…”

Ultimately, as a final resort, I signaled Kate with my eyes.

‘What is the meaning of this?’

“Ah, that’s… well, you see…”

And the exact split second she attempted to say a reply, the Saber-toothed Tiger bolted out from afar, bit Kate by her collar, and rapidly vanished into the corridor across the lake.

With a brief shriek of “Kyaaa!”, Kate drifted far away in a mere flash of an eye.

“…….”

And a brief moment later, right when their service was slowly escalating to the absolute extreme…

Splash! Thud, thud, thud! Splash!

On the opposite side of the lake, no less than eight men, their faces flushed bright red, received water-walking magic and came sprinting across the surface of the lake.

And only then, finally comprehending their true intention, a hollow chuckle escaped my lips.

“Hey, don’t tell me you girls…”

At my words, the women let out continuous, underhanded smirks, exactly as if they had mapped it out together.

Sodin whispered directly into my ear on behalf of the crowd.

“If that side picks a fight first, it’s fine to leave them half-dead, right? You won’t throw a tantrum, right?”

“Shit, why do I have to come all the way to a labyrinth just to witness a spectacle like this? My wife literally divorced me just a few days ago, you know?!”

That… is regrettable. Genuinely.

“Ladies, did you perhaps have your weaknesses captured by this bastard? Or are you receiving a daily wage? If it’s a question of coin, we possess a decent amount as well, so why don’t you hang out with us instead of that piece of trash?”

The daily wage is mainly given out by me, though.

“Hey, hey, let us experience a caliber of treatment like that too, will you? Hey, ladies! We are the identical type of men, so discriminating like this is bound to cause inconvenience, isn’t it? Let us join in a bit, too!”

Mmm. Even so, you are explicitly not the ‘identical’ type. Do you guys live without ever looking into a mirror?

“Wow… exactly what must a person execute to receive a caliber of treatment like this even inside a labyrinth?”

If you creatures hit transcendence and capture two Demon Kings, wouldn’t it be achievable for you as well? There are exactly two Demon Kings remaining, so why don’t you go exert some effort over there?

“Ha, shit. Some of us haven’t even properly touched a woman’s hand in about ten years… Watching this continuous times is seriously making a fire surge from inside my gut…”

Uh… I concur with that. If I were in your shoes and had this level of salt rubbed in my wounds, I would probably go home clutching a blade tonight.

However, our party members, who suffered from an absolute lack of empathy, did not bat a single eyelid even after hearing the heartbreaking tales of those pathetic men. Instead…

“Master? Does it feel refreshing?”

“Master. Please lean your head like this, more… against my chest, and rest comfortably…”

“Master. I shall attend to you tonight.”

“No, I can execute it multiple times better, so select me…”

Stop it, girls. Those fellows’ HP has already dipped into the negatives.

And ultimately, the anticipated catastrophe transpired.

“Ah, shit! If we’re saying words to you, at least turn your face to look at us!!”

Grab!

One of the men finally lost his temper and snatched Kelly by her shoulder as her back was turned.

“…Of all the people to grab, you had to grab her.”

Picturing the scene that would unfold following this, I quietly brought my hands together.

…May they rest in peace.