Published: August 10, 2026
In the inn's dining room early in the morning, Lizel thought as he drank his post-breakfast coffee.
Yesterday had been quite a valuable experience. He had seen an unexpected side of the younger Gill and Eleven—or perhaps it was not unexpected at all, if one considered them as children.
As for those two, it seemed the effects of having been young for so long inside the labyrinth still remained, at least a little.
"I'm starvin'...... Ah, morning, Leader."
"Good morning, Eleven. Welcome back."
"Mm, I'm back."
Fresh from the labyrinth and full of energy, Eleven, who had been out until just moments ago, returned to the inn.
He made a beeline for the old lady and then drifted, unsteady, straight into the kitchen.
"Meeaaals."
"Who are you calling a meal, you rotten snake brat!"
"OW!"
"Oh my."
And then he was duly smacked by the elder seated there.
Normally, Eleven would not speak to the old lady like that. In the first place, he would not barge into the kitchen so brazenly; at most, he would peek in from the doorway and call out.
So Lizel understood.
That was clearly the labyrinth's influence, the same as a child going, "Food, food," and heading toward the kitchen where their mother waited. In other words, he had simply gone to seek comfort without realizing it, unable to wait for his meal.
"I didn't mean it like that!"
"Then what exactly did you mean by it, huh?"
"Oh, it's fine. Eleven, you're hungry, aren't you?"
Still, Lizel chose to keep quiet for Eleven's dignity.
Though the old lady seemed to have guessed something. Not about the labyrinth itself, but about the neediness underneath.
Eleven himself had no awareness of it, so fortunately it seemed he had not noticed either.
"Ah...... that damn old bastard...... Oh, Leader, you heading out?"
"Yes, to the guild."
"Gonna take any requests?"
"If there's a good one. I want to read the Monster Compendium, so the request is more of a side errand."
"Ah, got it."
Once he finished his after-meal smoke and stood up, Eleven returned to the dining room.
He had been openly grumbling, but it seemed he also accepted his own fault. More than anything, he seemed somewhat unsatisfied with why he had made such a blunder in the first place.
"Are you going to sleep, Eleven?"
"Mhm. I'll sleep after I eat."
"Eat plenty and sleep plenty. Grow big and strong, all right?"
"I'm already big though. Huh, is it not enough?"
Lizel laughed at the puzzled Eleven and left the dining room.
The adventurers' guild was busiest in the early morning, just after dawn.
Lizel planned to look over the request sheets as well, but he had no intention of trying to snatch up the best request the moment the guild opened. Sometimes, browsing the requests the adventurers had passed over was enjoyable in its own way.
So, as usual, he arrived after the rush had already passed, though there still seemed to be a few late-arriving adventurers lingering about. Whether they had missed the better requests or simply lacked the motivation to get moving, the adventurers gathered before the quest board looked fairly relaxed.
Lizel too strolled up to the quest board at his own pace.
"Mor—ning."
"Good morning, Quattro."
Quattro was there in front of the quest board as well.
He had already been out of the room by the time Lizel woke up, so they exchanged morning greetings at this timing instead. Some of the surrounding adventurers looked at the two of them as if to say, "Oh, you're not staying at the same inn?" but Lizel and Quattro continued their conversation without paying it any mind.
"Did you decide on a request?"
"Mm."
Quattro pointed toward the reception desk.
There, a party of adventurers was in the middle of completing their paperwork. Quattro would likely be accompanying them today.
It was surprising that, despite leaving so early, he had not found a party until just now, but according to Gill, that was not unusual. Adventurer party recruitment was not about filling seats; it was about covering shortages, so depending on the role needed, even a highly capable person might not be able to join.