An actual quest storyline…
Since Yujin wasn’t all that familiar with the game Labyrinth Academy, he was genuinely surprised by Han-cheol’s words.
A quest… in this place that had already become another reality… Yujin suddenly wondered if the quest Han-cheol mentioned might actually exist here.
“By the way, I’m a bit surprised. I heard you vanished after pulling one over on the Mage Association, and now here you are, suddenly working with an academy professor.”
At that point, Hugo shifted the subject. Yujin snapped out of his thoughts and responded to Hugo.
“Haha, well, after that incident, I was scouted… and somehow ended up being appointed as a professor at the academy. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to let you know.”
“Wait, you became a professor?”
But it wasn’t Hugo’s party that reacted to that. It was Han-cheol. And Yujin suddenly realized.
Oh, right. Come to think of it, I never told the squad leader that I became a professor.
Yujin quickly explained.
“Yes. I assume you’ve already heard that I established the field of space-time magic… Because of that, the academy had been keeping an eye on me and decided to scout me. I must’ve forgotten to mention it.”
“What the…”
Han-cheol looked as though he didn’t even know where to begin. Yujin spoke to him via telepathy.
[Sorry for telling you just now. It sort of happened that way.]
Sort of happened?? You’re talking like you found a coin on the street or something!
[Well, it’s not that big of a deal, right? Didn’t you at least hear that I developed space-time magic when you got news about me?]
I mean, yeah, but that sounded so unreal I didn’t quite believe it… But this is real???
Han-cheol looked somewhat confused, but on the other hand, Hugo’s party seemed to accept it rather easily.
“A professor at the academy… I can see why the academy would want to recruit someone like you. Still, it’s a bit surprising that you accepted, Mr. Yujin.”
“I was simply curious. The opportunity came up, and I had no real reason to turn it down.”
Yujin shrugged in response to Hugo’s comment. At that moment, Crom made a somewhat unexpected remark.
“Speaking of being a professor… That female professor who was walking around with you earlier actually came looking for us.”
“?!”
At those words, Mirien flinched and turned sharply toward Crom. Yujin glanced at her briefly, just for a moment, then turned to Crom and asked,
“Are you referring to Professor Reina Sahart?”
“Ah, yeah, that was her name.”
“Hmm… I thought she said she’d be stepping away for a bit, but I guess she came to see you all… Did she say anything?”
“Not really? Seemed like she had a one-on-one chat with that pointy-eared girl, away from the rest of us. I don’t know what they talked about.”
“Is that so?”
Mirien shot Crom a furious glare as if she wanted to punch him right then and there, but Crom seemed completely oblivious to the look she was giving him.
Of course, she couldn’t keep glaring for long. The moment Crom spoke, the eyes of everyone present, including Yujin, turned toward her.
Yujin spoke.
“Are you perhaps acquainted with Professor Sahart on a personal level?”
He asked with the same unreadable, smiling expression as always, and Mirien froze. Her face went pale as she was struck speechless.
Wh-What do I do? Is he suspecting me right now?
No matter how she looked at it, he definitely was. He was suspicious of her; there was no doubt about it.
In that instant, the memory of being blackmailed by Yujin after she had first tried to blackmail him flashed through her mind. She struggled to force herself to speak.
“W-Well, that is…”
“Alright~ Food’s here! Talking’s great and all, but let’s eat first!”
Just then, a savior appeared. Right on time.
Mary, the owner of the inn, appeared before the group, carrying food.
When she set the dishes on the table, Hugo clapped his hands and spoke.
“Why don’t we eat first, just like Aunt Mary suggested? I was getting a bit hungry anyway.”
“Oh, sounds good.”
Crom agreed immediately with an indifferent expression and Yujin also nodded.
“Let’s do that. Mr. Han-cheol, you should eat, too. The food here is quite excellent.”
“Uh… right.”
Still dazed by the fact that Yujin had developed space-time magic and even become a professor at the Academy, Han-cheol nodded and picked up his utensils.
Mirien felt somewhat relieved… but now that Yujin had begun to suspect her, she feared her safety might be in danger.
And so, for Mirien, the meal continued in uncomfortable silence…
***
After various conversations, the discussion with Hugo’s party did not last long once the meal ended.
Yujin had only stepped away briefly, so he couldn’t stay much longer, and Hugo’s group had just come out of the labyrinth and were exhausted.
Before long, they exchanged farewells and parted ways.
“It was a pleasure meeting you today, Mr. Yujin.”
“Likewise, Mr. Hugo. Let’s meet again sometime.”
“Haha, of course.”
“Don’t forget about me! And stop by our dwarven workshop sometime soon!”
“Of course, Mr. Crom. You too, Miss Mirien…take care.”
“…Yes.”
With that, Yujin finished his conversation with Hugo’s party, and Hugo turned to Han-cheol one last time.
“And Mr. Han-cheol, thank you for everything in the labyrinth. I’ll bring your share of the reward soon.”
“Ah, understood. More than that, I was just glad to be part of it.”
“Haha, I’m glad to hear that. Well then, we really should get going.”
And so, Hugo’s party departed, leaving only Yujin and Han-cheol behind. Han-cheol let out a sigh.
“Geez, now it really feels like something big has passed.”
“Well, we managed to get through it somehow. By the way, what do you plan to do now, Squad leader? Setting aside our deal, you’ll have to find a way to live here on your own.”
“That’s true. Still, the best option would probably be to keep going in and out of the labyrinth. I started to get a feel for it around the 10th floor, and with my current skills, I think I could manage the mid-levels if I form a party.”
“Is that so?”
Since Yujin was still a newbie at the Labyrinth Academy, he didn’t know much about the mid-levels. But Han-cheol was different.
“Believe it or not, in the game, I was so bored that I did nothing but grind through quests. I’m what you’d call stagnant water. I know exactly what the mid-levels are like, so my judgment is based on solid experience. You can trust it.”
“If that’s the case, then it sounds like you’ll be fine.”
One way or another, Han-cheol was an A-rank Awakened and a veteran who had served as a guild raid leader for a long time. Having led teams for so long, he had excellent judgment and a solid sense of self-awareness.
On top of that, since he clearly had accurate information about the mid-levels, his judgment seemed trustworthy enough.
“Of course, I’ll need to form a proper party… but I guess it’d be hard to ask you, huh? I mean, you’re an academy professor now.”
Now that he had come to terms with the fact that Yujin was an academy professor, Han-cheol said this with a hint of regret. Yujin simply shrugged.
“It can’t be helped. I might be able to join occasionally if you call on me, but staying on as a regular party member would be difficult.”
“Yeah, I figured… No, but seriously, how did you end up becoming an academy professor anyway?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I was scouted.”
“And you just up and accepted it, huh… Well, whatever. In any case, the fact that you became an academy professor does make things easier in some ways.”
“Hmm? What do you mean? Easier how?”
At that, Yujin tilted his head in confusion, and Han-cheol responded as if it should’ve been obvious.
“What do you mean, of course it’s because of the main story. The academy storyline that plays out early on at the Labyrinth Academy is super important, right?”
“……”
Come to think of it, the game did seem to have a main storyline. The problem was that Yujin always skipped the story and spent all his time diving into the labyrinth, so he didn’t really know much about it.
Han-cheol seemed to pick up on that, and a strange expression crossed his face.
“You didn’t watch the story at all, did you?”
“I barely watched it, to be honest.”
“……”
At those words, Han-cheol fell silent for a moment, staring blankly before closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“No, yeah… this is exactly the kind of guy you are. Now that I think about it, I should’ve known back when you never once brought up the game’s story.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that you did anything wrong. I’m just… momentarily at a loss for words, seeing the consequences of a story-skipper right in front of me.”
“……”
When Yujin went quiet, Han-cheol continued in a somewhat lighter tone.
“Labyrinth Academy really is a roguelike game where you mostly run the labyrinths, but there are also outside quests like the one I mentioned, and there’s a main storyline too. And that main story? It’s seriously important. If you mess it up, it can lead to the destruction of humanity.”
For something said so casually, the content was incredibly serious.
Yujin asked,
“…It’s really that bad?”
“Yeah, it’s that bad. The destruction actually gets reflected in the game. NPCs and people all die and disappear, and they don’t show up in the game anymore. When that happens, you have to start all over from the beginning.”
“Well, that’s just…”
Thinking back on how he’d been living so carefree, completely unaware that destruction was drawing near, Yujin felt a strange mix of emotions. He asked,
“So then, what should I do first? As I said earlier, I honestly don’t know anything about the main story.”
At those words, Han-cheol stroked his chin for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, before he spoke.
“First… do you happen to know Elicia, the princess of the Arcedium Empire? If you don’t, this explanation is going to get a lot longer.”
“…I do know her.”
Of course he did. She was under his care as her personal doctor, and more than that, she was a girl who seemed to harbor something like romantic feelings for him.
When he answered that, Han-cheol nodded and said,
“That’s a relief. Then let me ask. Are you also aware that the princess is being slowly corrupted by a demon?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s why the dark mages are targeting her. Before long, they’ll launch a terrorist attack on the academy and try to kidnap her during the chaos. So first, we need to prepare for that—”
“Ah, about that…”
Yujin spoke up, feeling like he couldn’t just let that part slide.
“Actually, I already sent Her Highness the Princess back to the Empire.”
“…What?”
At those words, Han-cheol blinked blankly and stared at Yujin.
And Yujin could only give a vague, sheepish smile.
A long silence followed.
“…What the hell have you been doing?!”
Han-cheol clutched his head and let out a cry of despair.
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