How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 69: The never-ending night

The fox beastman ran up and clung tightly to Jeong Yushin’s leg.

Jeong Yushin looked down at the little fox beastman, who was sticking to him like gum.

Ignoring the insane closeness of the little fox beastman, the inn hall was packed with people.

“...”

A cold silence settled in.

The guests' sharp stares pounded against Jeong Yushin.

This was dangerous. Perhaps even more so than when Oswald had been here.

He instinctively sensed the crisis.

From now on, he had to choose his words carefully.

Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Jeong Yushin calmly opened his mouth.

“Why am I your father?”

“Because you’re my daddy!”

The fox beastman declared this, then rubbed her face against Jeong Yushin’s thigh.

“...”

The declaration of an idiotic father.

The attempt at a senseless assassination.

Its effect was immediate.

The people gathered in the inn hall gasped in shock.

“Hah...!”

“What is this?”

“I heard he was a virgin, but was that not the case?”

“Could it be because he’s a father... and a forbidden relationship with his daughter?”

The crowd whispered.

Jeong Yushin’s body staggered slightly.

He barely held onto his dizzy mind and grabbed the fox beastman’s shoulder.

“Why are you suddenly calling me daddy?”

“Well... the boar uncle told me to call you that!”

The boar uncle?

It could only be that big-nosed guy.

‘What the hell?’

He thought this subordinate had good character, but to crack under this pressure?

It felt like a knife had been driven deep into his gut.

A vein bulged on Jeong Yushin’s forehead.

Seeing the fear in Jeong Yushin’s face, the little fox beastman began to cry. Tears welled up in her round eyes.

“Wiiiii. You’re my daddy, that’s all!”

‘Ha.’

His mind grew dizzy again.

He hadn’t even had a wedding, let alone slept with someone, but here he was, in a situation where the little fox beastman called him daddy.

To make things worse, the expressions of the people around him began to look more and more displeased.

Then.

“Skah!”

The inn’s door opened, and Big-Nose walked in.

He quickly sized up the situation, looking at Jeong Yushin and the fox beastman, and closed his mouth.

“Big-Nose, did you stick a knife in my back?”

Jeong Yushin growled.

Hearing Jeong Yushin’s voice, the little fox beastman clung even tighter to Jeong Yushin’s leg.

‘Ha.’

Jeong Yushin swallowed a breath.

The little fox beastman’s frail body was trembling.

Was she scared?

The anger that had surged suddenly dissipated.

Jeong Yushin raised his hand and gently patted the little fox beastman’s head.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not mad at you.”

The little fox beastman cautiously lifted her head. Tears and snot streaked down her face.

“...Really?”

“Yeah.”

Jeong Yushin turned his head and looked at Big-Nose.

“Big-Nose, go get a handkerchief and some fruit juice.”

“Yes.”

Big-Nose dashed to the kitchen.

Jeong Yushin patted the little fox beastman once more and glanced around.

Whether they trusted him or not, he met the eyes of each person and spoke.

“You regulars should know who I am, right? Those who know, know. Let’s put the speculation to rest and get back to your business.”

Once Jeong Yushin finished speaking, some people nodded, while others tilted their heads in confusion.

Perhaps reading something from Jeong Yushin’s calm tone and gaze, the people silently returned to their seats.

Big-Nose returned from the kitchen with a handkerchief and fruit juice.

Jeong Yushin took the handkerchief and gently wiped the little fox beastman’s face, then handed her the fruit juice.

“Go play with the slimes. Don’t worry. Sorry for scaring you.”

“Okay!”

The little fox beastman smiled brightly, as if she hadn’t been crying, and skipped away.

Jeong Yushin gestured for Big-Nose to follow him to the counter.

“Come. Let’s have a chat.”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yushin and Big-Nose sat at the counter.

“Tell me.”

“Yes.”

Big-Nose carefully opened his mouth.

About ten minutes later, Big-Nose finished speaking.

Jeong Yushin rubbed his temples.

He pieced the situation together.

The little fox beastman’s name was Luna.

When Jeong Yushin had been in the labyrinth, Luna had often come to the inn to perform.

With her lively personality and cute appearance, Luna was welcomed not only by the inn’s guests but also by Big-Nose, Tarman, and Anne.

One evening, Big-Nose had dropped Luna off at her home and met Luna’s mother.

Big-Nose had a brief chat with Luna’s mother.

And then, the truth was revealed.

The little fox beastman’s situation was far more serious than he’d imagined.

Jeong Yushin spoke.

“So, the father of that little fox beastman is missing in the labyrinth, and her mother has been bedridden for months due to illness?”

“Yes.”

“The father was a mid-level explorer, and it’s been eight years since he went missing... Is this something that happens often?”

“Occasionally.”

The taste in his mouth turned bitter.

So that was why Luna had come looking for work during the recruitment drive.

It was pitiful that, at her age, she was already looking for a job instead of enjoying herself.

“Then why is she calling me her dad? She said the boar told her to.”

“There’s a system in the Spirit Guild called godparenting.”

Godparent?

Like a godfather.

It’s essentially a system where someone becomes the guardian of a child.

Jeong Yushin had heard about it during his time at the orphanage, where the kids often talked about adoption and guardianship.

Big-Nose continued.

“It came up briefly during a conversation with Luna’s mother. Since the innkeeper is you, Skah, your name came up, and I think Luna overheard it from outside the door. I didn’t force her to say it.”

Jeong Yushin sighed deeply.

Now he had some idea of why the little fox beastman called him her father.

She probably didn’t think of him as her real father, but rather someone she could rely on.

At that moment, the little fox beastman approached.

“Uncle, daddy! Luna is going home now!”

The little fox beastman bowed deeply.

Looking at the jingling coin pouch, it seemed she had made quite a bit of money.

Jeong Yushin glanced out the window. It was late at night, and the street was dark. Even though it was the southern district, it didn’t seem safe for such a young child to be wandering around.

Jeong Yushin spoke.

“Big-Nose, take Luna home. It’s dark out.”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yushin watched as Big-Nose and Luna left the inn, hand in hand, and crossed his arms.

Was it right to interfere in someone else’s family matters?

‘It’s not like I have no problems of my own.’

Jeong Yushin sighed deeply.

“Skah!”

The inn door opened, and a group of people walked in.

It was his party.

The holy knight Soline, the big-nosed gnome Gellerheim, and the granny lover Pirion.

Jeong Yushin waved his hand.

The party came over.

“How’s your body?”

Soline asked.

“Thanks to your concern, I’m feeling better. Thanks. For now, sit at the table. I’ll treat, so let’s drink our fill tonight.”

Gellerheim’s face lit up brightly.

“The innkeeper knows how to treat people right.”

Jeong Yushin forced a smile.

“I’m not the innkeeper.”

“By the way, business seems to be going well.”

Pirion said, looking around.

“We’re managing somehow. Come, take a seat.”

Jeong Yushin stood up from the counter and led the party to the table.

Tarman, moving as fast as his feet could carry him, entered the kitchen.

“Anne! Please prepare some simple food.”

“Yes!”

Jeong Yushin left the kitchen and returned to the party with bottles of alcohol and glasses from the liquor shelf behind the counter.

“Oh! Dwarf wine? That’s quite bold.”

Gellerheim exclaimed.

“You serve in the clergy, so is drinking okay?”

“As long as I don’t make a fool of myself, it’s fine.”

Pirion spoke on Soline’s behalf.

He opened the wine and filled the party members’ glasses.

They drank a toast and began chatting. Most of it was about their time in the labyrinth.

“...I really thought I was going to die.”

“Soline carried you while swinging her sword with one hand. That was some serious willpower.”

Soline complained, and Gellerheim praised her.

“Ahem. So, what about the 5th Prince’s nurse?”

“Now isn’t the time to discuss that. There are too many people listening.”

Jeong Yushin cut off Pirion’s words sharply.

“Sorry, I was being careless.”

Pirion apologized.

“It’s fine.”

Jeong Yushin generously accepted Pirion’s mistake.

It was pitiful, really.

Seeing Pirion with his wrinkled face, unable to tell if something was a turd or paste, made Jeong Yushin feel sorry.

“Let’s talk about the distribution of the reward.”

Gellerheim interrupted.

“Let’s do that.”

Soline took out four silver pouches and placed them on the table.

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Hobgoblin hunting. A total of 40. 30 silver coins. The presence of a Hobgoblin Warrior meant the reward was higher, but it wasn’t as great as when they were with the crappy party.

From the looks of it, the reward they received back then was likely more for the information.

Magic stone collection. 15. 15 silver coins.

Altogether, they had 45 silver coins.

There were four party members, so that meant each person would receive 11 silver coins. The remaining reward would go to the elf cleric Pirion.

“When I collapsed, I heard you went to the relief station. How much did the treatment cost?”

“I helped the relief station staff treat you. Of course, I pitched in too. We managed to lower the cost a bit. It was around 2 silver coins, but we paid it.”

Soline answered Jeong Yushin’s question.

“I’ll repay the treatment cost.”

At Jeong Yushin’s words, Soline looked serious.

“Don’t. Skah, you saved our lives. Without you, we would all have died. This is our way of thanking you, so don’t worry about it.”

Soline smiled, and Pirion nodded in agreement.

Gellerheim seemed to have a different opinion, but he eventually nodded too.

“Right. 10 silver coins isn’t bad. With this, we can afford to take it easy for a while.”

Gellerheim’s words made the party laugh.

Each of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, as if considering what they wanted to do next.

“Alright! Let’s drink!”

Gellerheim shouted.

CLINK!

Jeong Yushin and the party clinked their glasses with smiles.

In the cheerful atmosphere, they joked and chatted.

Jeong Yushin went to the kitchen and brought back the food.

It was a barbecue dish made by boiling pork ribs and glazing them with seasoning.

Known as “pork ribs” in the common tongue.

Gellerheim’s eyes widened when he saw the mountain of pork ribs on the platter.

“You’re really serving this much?”

“Stop talking. Let’s eat.”

Soline tore off a piece of pork rib, popped it in her mouth, and her eyes widened.

“It’s delicious.”

“Eat up.”

As soon as Jeong Yushin finished speaking, the party members devoured the food and emptied their glasses.

‘Are they possessed by gluttony?’

Jeong Yushin chuckled, watching the party members devour the food silently and hurriedly.

As the pile of ribs diminished, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

“By the way, have you received any new marks? Or has anyone leveled up?”

Jeong Yushin asked.

“No one. We checked at the temple. And we don’t seem to have hunted enough monsters to level up.”

Pirion licked his finger, covered in seasoning, and answered.

Jeong Yushin nodded inwardly.

Leveling up wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

He had only leveled up twice after all the hardships.

And the marks...

‘I need to check on mine as well.’

He hadn’t felt any signs due to losing consciousness.

His body seemed fine, but he didn’t know what mark he had received.

It might be another negative mark.

No.

Jeong Yushin shook his head, shaking off the negative thoughts.

His limbs were fine, and his mind was intact, so there was no party collapse from a vicious negative mark. He should be grateful.

Time passed, and the guests left.

After sending Tarman and Anne home since their shifts were over, only Jeong Yushin’s party remained in the dimly lit, quiet inn hall.

Jeong Yushin cleared his throat and began explaining the events with Oswald.

When the brief explanation ended, the expressions of the party members turned serious.

“...So what should we do now?”

Gellerheim asked.

“...”

No one answered.

What should they do?

A heavy silence lingered.

“Currently, there are assassins in °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the labyrinth city. We don’t know how many, but judging by the 5th prince’s nurse being attacked, it’s safe to assume her identity has been exposed.”

“...Shouldn’t we go rescue her?”

Pirion asked.

Of course, the granny lover was still concerned.

“The nurse is in the blazing sun now. If we get too close, who knows what kind of trouble we’ll find. It’s dangerous, so we’ll have to wait and see for now. Honestly, I don’t even know what Oswald is thinking.”

The worst case scenario was that Oswald would send the 5th prince’s nurse here.

The even worse case was that Oswald would spill information about Jeong Yushin’s party to the assassins.

The crazy bastard could do anything.

In any case.

Assuming the worst...

The assassins would all gather, and he didn’t want innocent people getting hurt.

They couldn’t just rush in, nor could they idly stand by.

Jeong Yushin’s mind was a mess.

Lack of information only fueled his imagination.

‘Stay calm.’

Jeong Yushin shook his head and spoke.

“Let’s rest for now and meet in a few days. About three days should be enough?”

“That’s too short.”

Gellerheim said.

“How long does it usually take?”

“At least a week to recover from travel fatigue.”

The party nodded in agreement.

‘A week? Is that how long they need to rest?’

Suddenly, the party members looked like lazy good-for-nothings.

‘Am I the odd one here?’

“Alright, I understand. Then let’s meet in a week. Be careful, and let’s refrain from going out for now.”

The party members nodded, slowly getting up from their seats.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Here.”

Soline handed over the bag.

It was the bag the blindfolded man had been carrying.

“Inside the bag, I placed the magic stones Oswald gave.”

“Is that so? Let’s sell them and split the money.”

“There’s no need. You got them. We did nothing.”

Soline said seriously.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept.”

The party nodded in agreement.

After seeing the party members off, Jeong Yushin returned to the counter and sat down alone.

He passed the time in solitude.

After waiting a little longer, Big-Nose returned.

“Did you get her home safely?”

“Yes. Also, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Big-Nose scratched his head before speaking.

“Luna’s mother wants to meet you.”

Jeong Yushin placed a hand on his forehead.

Not only had he gained a virtual daughter, but now a virtual wife wanted to meet him.

Jeong Yushin made a reluctant expression.

“When?”

“Today, right away.”

“Ha...”

Jeong Yushin let out a long sigh.

The night was still not over.