I Became a Slave Collector in the Labyrinth City

“You’ve brought six people. Are any of them close acquaintances or people you know?”

“I just transported them. I don’t know these people well. I have no obligation to pay for them.”

“I’ve entered the labyrinth with them as former party members, but I have no obligation to pay for them.”

“This woman here is my fiancée. I brought the rest out of duty. I have prepared the revival cost for this woman.”

“I understand. I hope there will be no further interference regarding the other five people, except for this woman. Do you agree?”

“Yes, I agree.”

“I agree.”

“I agree.”

“Good.”

At the words of the priest overseeing the revival ritual, the three of us swore.
Now these five people will have to repay the money on their own.

They’ll have to either contact relatives to get 100 gold,
or become mercenaries for the church and work until they repay the debt.
As a last resort, they could also become certified slaves.

“Then, I will proceed with the ritual. It will take about 2 hours, so if you want to wait, please wait on the first floor.”

“Alright.”

“Please take care of them.”

We greeted the priest and came up.

“So this is completely over. Thank you, Sion.”

“No. I just worked for what I received.”

“I see. Please convey my thanks to that young lady as well.”

“Yes.”

Rohan says he’ll thank the young lady too, since we moved with her money.

“By the way, do you really plan to leave the labyrinth city after reviving Catherine?”

“Hmm. We won’t leave right away. There are aftereffects of revival, they say. We’ll probably recuperate here for a while and then leave the labyrinth city around next spring.”

“I see.”

“Let’s have a drink sometime when you’re free.”

“Yes. Sounds good.”

Rohan looks unburdened.
He said he’d leave the labyrinth city around next spring.

‘I hope he can leave without any problems.’

If he doesn’t enter the labyrinth, there shouldn’t be any issues, right?
Most misfortunes and accidents happen inside the labyrinth.

“Well then, I’ll head to the magic tower. I need to hand over the corpses.”

“Alright. Take care.”

“See you next time.”

After greeting Rohan and Hachi, I came out of the temple.

The morning sunlight feels so nice.
Yuria went separately to report the details of what happened in the labyrinth to Moira.

I just need to go to the magic tower, hand over Warlock and Slugger’s corpses, and receive the money.
Unlike the dismantling shop, the magic tower’s purpose is research, so I should be able to receive payment right after handing over the corpses.

“Ah, that’s right.”

I should also visit the young lady.
I’m supposed to guide her party now.
She might be waiting for me.

Come to think of it, I should also talk about my relationship with Yuria.
It’s better to be clear about these things.

So she doesn’t develop any interest in a taken man.
I should prepare in advance.

Right?
She’s a noble young lady after all.
It would be a big problem if she developed feelings for a commoner porter who has a fiancée.

Though that probably won’t happen in the first place.
Geez, what am I worrying about? This is also self-consciousness.

“Ah, I should go to the hole-in-the-wall shop too.”

I thought I should ask about the activation of the spirit eye and about Shaka the great warrior.
There were almost no people who knew about Shaka at the guild or taverns.
He might be someone who died long ago.

I wanted to get information about him.

I thought it would be good to know something about him to better use the ability he left me.

‘I also need to register at the martial arts hall. I’m busy.’

The ability Shaka left behind, ‘Shaka’s Remnant’, is an ability that enhances warrior talent.
I can’t let such an amazing ability go to waste. Of course, I should increase my combat power from now on.

Judging by the state of the underground city after the great change, even porters would have to fight.
It’s no longer possible to compete just by carrying luggage.

To do my part, I need to fight hard and move hard.

‘And to go down to the 7th floor. I can’t just keep being protected.’

The 7th floor underground, Yuria’s target level.
To go down to the 7th floor beyond the underground city, I need to become at least a gold badge adventurer.
I, who don’t even have a silver badge yet, need to work my ass off to get a gold badge.

And I need to go through more mana adaptations.
My current level is 7. This isn’t enough to even enter the 7th floor.

‘I’ll need to become equal to the monsters of the Morning Sunlight party to barely set foot on the 7th floor.’

Lightning Stein and Black Flame Torius are skilled enough to tear apart 4th floor boss monsters alone and roam the underground city.

If I don’t step into the realm beyond human, I won’t be able to move forward.

‘If I want to focus on the labyrinth, I should probably buy a slave too.’

Having a slave would make daily life more relaxed.
It would be nice to have someone who could cook, do laundry, clean the house, and run all sorts of errands for me.

‘Yuria didn’t actively discourage buying a slave either.’

If I explain it well later, she might allow having a slave.
After all, Yuria is also an adventurer who lives as she pleases.

No, it doesn’t make sense to not even have drinking water in a house where people live.
I think this is a problem. Whether it’s a sex slave or a work slave, a slave is essential.

“I’ve arrived.”

While thinking about future plans as I walked, I arrived at the northern district of the labyrinth city where the magic tower is located.
This is the area where the entrance to the underground tomb is, and also where the representative slum of the labyrinth city is located.

I heard that many of the poor people living here are either addicted to drugs or recruited for clinical trials by the magic tower.

It seemed like it would only lead to an abyss if I dug deeper, so I decided to ignore it.
I have business at the magic tower, so I should just quickly visit the tower and return.

“Huh? Who are you?”

Since the magic tower is an area where non-magicians can’t enter freely, I waited at the entrance, and a boy wearing large glasses came out.

“I hunted new magic beasts in the underground city. I’m here to sell their corpses.”

“New magic beasts? Could it be magic beasts that appeared after the great change?”

“Yes. They’re high orc variants.”

“Ooh..! But where are the corpses?”

“They’re in my spatial pocket.”

“Ooh! A spatial pocket! Come, come in quickly!”

The magician boy with large glasses was very pleased to hear about the new magic beast corpses and guided me to the underground research area of the magic tower.

‘What is this smell?’

The underground research area was filled with the smell of unknown substances.
And mixed in was the smell of blood.

I couldn’t tell what kind of research was being conducted.
But it wasn’t a particularly pleasant place.

-Kieeeee!!!!

“Ugh! Wh-what is that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. They’re probably extracting testicles from wild goblins. It’s nothing. We are not conducting any illegal human experiments. Please refrain from any strange suspicions, conjectures, or spreading weird rumors.”

The boy spouts excuses as if someone had programmed his brain.
What is this? How much suspicion must they have received to be able to spit out such a long sentence without even breathing, without a single mistake?

“Hm? Male. Who’s that? A new test subj-”

“Ah, no! Test subject? Oh my, Lord, you misspoke. Test subject, as if. We absolutely do not conduct any illegal experiments on people!”

The boy magician has a fit, making excuses at the words of an old magician passing by.
He waved his hands, sweating profusely, insisting that absolutely no human experiments were taking place here.

What the hell.
No, what are they doing here?

It’s so suspicious.
It’s so suspicious that if I step in any further, I might become suspicious too.

It’s dangerous.
The magic tower is dangerous.
I don’t want to get deeply involved or entangled…

“Oh my. This must be a guest. I misspoke. I didn’t mean to say ‘test subject’. I meant to say ‘experiment volunteer’. Hahaha..”

The old magician immediately corrected his words.
He hummed a tune for no reason and quickly walked away from us.

“Hahaha. That person has always been a bit loose with his words. You know how it is. Magicians looking down on ordinary people. That’s all it is. It’s nothing strange. Come on, let’s go.”

“Uh.. yes. But how far are we going?”

“Hm? Ah. We’ll soon arrive at the workshop. You said you have a spatial pocket, right?”

“Um… yes. But why are you suddenly asking about that again…”

“Ah, I’m just curious. It’s my first time seeing one. A spatial pocket owner. I wonder… how much can it hold? Where exactly do the items go…? Can you take out items through walls? Hmm. I’m also curious about the effective range and capacity… How big of an item can it hold? Why does time freeze occur? It seems to be more than just a simple space magic…”

“Excuse me, Mr. Magician?”

“Oh my! I’m sorry. Satisfying curiosity is our job. I, I often get lost in thought. Come on, let’s continue.”

“Yes…”

This guy is dangerous too.
His eyes just now were strange.

Is this right?
Am I walking into a tiger’s den right now?

Why do I feel like I’m pushing my head into an alligator’s mouth?
Should I run away now?

But…

‘I’ve already come down to the 3rd basement floor.. Suddenly running away might be more suspicious.’

Even if the magicians of the magic tower are nerdy shut-ins who’ve given up on external activities, they’re still magicians.

If I run away and they misunderstand me as a thief and throw a fireball at me, I’ll become a roasted porter on the spot.

It feels awkward to run away on my own.
But it’s too scary to keep following.

“Don’t be nervous. Come on. We’ll arrive soon. Let’s go.”

“…”

His smile wasn’t very reassuring, but I had no choice.
For now, I continued to follow the boy deeper into the research area.

“Lady Mabel. We have a guest!”

A woman with blue hair and blue eyes lying on a sofa in the research lab.
She’s a beautiful woman with a very cold impression.

But Mabel.
I’ve heard that name somewhere.

“Hmm? Male? Who’s next to you?”

“A guest, a guest. He’s brought the corpse of a new high orc subspecies that appeared after the great change.”

Soon Mabel got up from the sofa and sat up with difficulty.
Judging by her messy hair… she hasn’t washed for days.

“The corpse?”

“He brought it in a spatial pocket.”

“A spatial pocket, huh.”

Could she possibly know me?
Maybe she does.

She’s probably…

“I’m Mabel. Nice to meet you, Sion.”

“Likewise, nice to meet you, Tower Master.”

We knew each other’s identities.
As soon as she heard I was a spatial pocket owner, she recalled the name Sion.
And I realized she was the tower master when I noticed she seemed to know me.

The tower master who stays cooped up in the magic tower and doesn’t come out.

Right, Moira had mentioned it before.
That she had explored the labyrinth with her a very long time ago.

“Have some tea for a moment.”

The tower master offered tea.
There’s no way I could refuse.

Guild Master Moira and Tower Master Mabel are practically at the top of the labyrinth city.
They may not have visible noble titles, but they are the actual power holders.

They have stronger voices than the nobles who take care of internal affairs in the labyrinth city.

“Male. Go back to your work.”

“Yes, Lady Mabel! Then I hope you have a good time!”

When the dismissal order came, the boy magician quickly ran out.
A space with just the two of us left.

Mabel stared at me for a while and then opened her mouth.

“Do you have a woman?”

“Pffft..!”

I ended up spitting out the tea I was drinking.