I Became a Slave Collector in the Labyrinth City

Outside, it was late afternoon.
The sky just before sunset.

The air was cool, and the blowing wind seemed to announce that this was not the labyrinth.
The victims of the Great Shift gathered outside the labyrinth had also been somewhat sorted out.

The patients would have been moved to the aid station.
The corpses would have been sent to the temple too.

The adventurers who had been sitting in despair at the labyrinth entrance were almost gone.
They must have gone to the guild or entered the labyrinth again.

‘Judging by the lack of pain in my body…’

It seems I didn’t go through mana adaptation.
Since Rohan and Hachi took down most of the monsters, I didn’t have a chance to gain experience points except for killing a few on the 4th floor.

“Kugh..!!!”

Just then, Erika, who was next to me, clutched her chest and sat down.

“Ah, it hurts. It hurts. My body.. Kuugh…!”

“Erika, it’s mana adaptation, so don’t be too surprised. Everyone experiences this. Calm down.”

“Ah.. yeah.. okay..”

Because I had anticipated this, I was able to immediately grab her shoulders and calm Erika, who was about to convulse.
Even if you’re aware that you’re going through mana adaptation, experiencing it directly is another matter.

Especially in cases like this where people have come out after struggling between life and death, they sometimes have seizures at the fact that there are still unknown situations even after leaving the labyrinth.

At such times, it’s better to reassure them quickly.
If someone tells you it’s nothing to worry about, your mind becomes more at ease than you’d think.

Come to think of it, the young lady was surprised and flustered too.

I wonder how it was for Rien.
I suddenly became curious.

“Rien, wasn’t your first mana adaptation surprising?”

“Me…? I was.. Well. I was surprised, but I didn’t have time to be surprised…”

As expected of a mage-class character for whom meditation is routine.
Her mental strength is on par with a monk’s.

Rien says she woke up alone in an underground tomb and was rescued while being chased by the dead.
She even said her arm was cut by a skeleton at that time.

In that state, she went through mana adaptation as soon as she came out, gained an ability, and entered the labyrinth again. To save me and the young lady.

Then, after rescuing me and the young lady, she immediately started the rescue of Rika and Erika.
It’s no ordinary mental strength.

She almost broke down in the middle, but she entered a semi-awakened state with the sole thought of saving her companions.

To be honest, while Rien herself is sick of the labyrinth, her talent itself was overwhelming.
You can tell just by the fact that she survived consecutively in the labyrinth where she was thrown to die.

She is a person suitable for the labyrinth.

“Hmm…. I’m starting to hurt too…”

It seems Rien went through mana adaptation too.
She must have gained quite a bit of experience from going down to the 4th floor as a level 1.

There was no change in me, Rohan, and Hachi.
Rohan and Hachi didn’t go through mana adaptation even though they took down the master of the 4th floor together.

It must mean they’re in a state where they can no longer go through mana adaptation with upper-level monsters.

“Uaah….!!!”

Erika, who was going through mana adaptation, suddenly clutched her head.
A headache. This means she gained an ability.

“Congratulations, Erika.”

“Some-something entered my head.”

“You’ve gained an ability.”

“I’m envious.”

“An ability from your first labyrinth excursion. You’re lucky.”

Hachi and Rohan, who were watching from the side, chimed in.
Gaining an ability from your first labyrinth excursion is quite lucky.

Not everyone gains an ability from the start.
You can tell just by looking at the young lady.

She too was on her first labyrinth excursion, but she didn’t gain an ability.
I even went through mana adaptation quite late.
Because I entered as a porter, I hardly had any chances to fight monsters.

Anyway, Rien and Erika, who gained abilities on their first labyrinth excursion, were quite lucky cases.

“Hey! Are you survivors?”

The guards watching the labyrinth entrance ran towards us.

“We can provide first aid here if you’re injured.”

“If you have difficulty moving, we can call an escort team to transport you to the aid station.”

An older-looking guard and a man who looked like a newcomer asked if there were any patients.

‘I’m still okay, but Rien and Erika…’

Rien’s arm had a wound that hadn’t fully healed yet.
Although we applied medicine and wrapped it in bandages, blood was still seeping through.
She should probably receive proper holy incantation.

In Erika’s case, she didn’t seem to have any physical wounds, but she was mentally quite strained.
She seems to be doing quite well now, but she looked like she needed rest.

“I think I need to go to the aid station.”

“Same here.”

“Then let’s all go to the aid station together.”

Rohan and Hachi were quite badly injured.
Both of them fought too hard.

Especially Rohan, who rampaged at the vanguard, didn’t look good.

“Since there doesn’t seem to be anyone who has difficulty moving, we’ll return to our posts.”

“Thank you.”

When the guards judged that there was no one they needed to take over, they returned to their original positions.

For now, there are roughly three things we need to do immediately.
First, take Rien and Erika to the aid station.
Second, go to the young lady’s lodging and report the situation.
Third, take Rika’s corpse to the cathedral with the young lady.

Besides that, we need to go to the Adventurers’ Guild to pass on information related to the Great Shift, and hand over the adventurers’ corpses acquired in the labyrinth.

Also, before entering the underground city tomorrow, I need to discuss with Rohan about when and where to meet, and hand over the monster corpses we caught in the labyrinth to the guild.

Lastly, I need to receive the success fee for this request from the young lady.

‘Busy. So busy.’

It’s not good to postpone work.
It’s better to handle all the tasks you can do at once.

“Let’s go to the aid station first.”

While moving to the aid station, I spoke to Rohan about when we would enter the underground city.
After all, I agreed to go into the underground city with them in exchange for helping with this rescue operation.

“Originally, I was planning to go in right away tomorrow, but I’ve changed my mind. It’s crazy to enter the underground city with just me and Hachi.”

“Right.”

Of course.
Surely this guy wasn’t thinking of going in with just the three of us?

Obviously, we need to find more companions to go in together.

“Let’s take time to prepare tomorrow. We’ll recruit people to go in together too. We should enter after making more thorough preparations.”

“Sounds good. I’ll put up a recruitment notice at the guild later.”

“You’ll do it directly?”

“Yes. If I write that we’re taking a porter with a spatial pocket.. quite a few people will probably gather. Besides Rohan, there should be quite a few people who want to find companions they left behind.”

“Certainly…”

Some time has passed since the Great Shift swept through the labyrinth city.
Adventurers who have come to their senses will start labyrinth excursions again.

There could be various reasons.
It could be to find dead companions.
Or it could be to gain advantages by entering the renewed labyrinth first after the Great Shift.
Of course, there will be more people leaving the labyrinth city than entering the labyrinth again.

There will be a vacancy of mid-level or novice adventurers except for high-level adventurers.
Unless there’s a new influx, the labyrinth city’s economy will be in recession for a while.

The vacancy of mid-level or novice adventurers. For those who don’t plan to leave the labyrinth city, this is no different from an opportunity to earn a lot of money.

Anyway, going back to recruiting companions…

‘While Rohan and Hachi are strong and reliable companions, the darkness of the underground city is too thick for two vanguards to handle.’

I’m outside the main force.
Since I’m extremely focused on support, I shouldn’t be counted as someone who can fight.

Therefore, I want to add at least two backline fighters and one priest to the team.
Only then can we roam the underground city somewhat stably.

“It might be good to form a conquest team. Since I have a spatial pocket, there won’t be any problems with supplies.”

I can carry enough supplies to feed however many people enter.
So forming a regular conquest team to enter would probably increase the survival rate.

“Certainly, forming a conquest team would increase stability. Let’s talk about that part at the guild tomorrow. Forming a conquest team isn’t something we can decide just among ourselves. The scale is too big.”

Rohan is right.
A conquest team is almost like a ‘private army’.

A armed group stronger than the city guard.
If adventurers form a conquest team on their own, the higher-ups in the city won’t like it.

‘If we form a labyrinth conquest team without involving the Adventurers’ Guild, there will surely be sanctions or suppression. Though we don’t have the money to form such a large conquest team in the first place.’

The emergence of a group of superhumans with abilities is a disaster in itself from the perspective of those running the city.
We might even be accused of rebellion and have a few people dragged away, tortured, and beheaded.

It’s scary just imagining it.
And for that scale, it’s better to receive support from the guild or join a conquest team created by the guild.

“Yes. Let’s talk about that separately at the guild tomorrow. And we’ll deal with the White Evil’s corpse tomorrow too.”

“Good.”

As we coordinated our schedule, we soon arrived at the aid station.

Afterwards, Rohan and Hachi went into a separate intensive care room, and Rien and Erika entered the examination room.

“I’ll go report to the young lady first. Please receive treatment and come back.”

“Okay.. Thanks, porter.”

“Thank you for saving us.”

Leaving the two at the aid station, I immediately headed towards the lodging where the young lady would be.
The young lady is probably waiting for news of us with bated breath.

She must be very anxious.
It’s better to deliver the news quickly.

…..I also need to talk about Rika.

“It’s a luxury inn.”

Being a noble, she seems to be staying at quite an expensive place.
The neighborhood itself was a place where quite well-off people come.

Well, for a team composed of women, it’s better to stay in a neighborhood with good security.
It’s not like they’re short on money anyway.

“What brings you here?”

The inn’s receptionist looked at me with sharp eyes.

My current appearance was quite dirty.
Covered in blood and dust, you could say.
Of course they’d be wary when an outsider like that just walked in.

“I’m here to see the young lady. Here, this.”

I slightly showed the Lionel family seal I had received from the young lady as proof of contract.
Immediately, the counter man’s expression changed.
It seems he had already heard something from the young lady.

“Ah! Are you the young lady’s porter?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll relay the message right away. Could you please wait in the first floor reception room for now?”

“Sure.”

I was guided to the first floor reception room.
It’s my first time entering a luxury inn.

To be honest, with the money it takes to stay at such a luxury inn, it would be more beneficial to just buy survival items.
It’s not like I’m some noble child with a name value. A porter can just eat and sleep adequately at a modest lodging.

“Wow, they even serve coffee.”

To keep me from getting bored while waiting, they provided free coffee and cookies.
As I was sweeping the free sugar cubes and cookies into my inventory, the young lady soon entered the reception room.

“Porter! You’re safe!”

“Yes. I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion, but I’m safe.”

“Thank goodness.. I was so worried.. when you didn’t come up..”

The young lady immediately ran and hugged me as soon as she saw me.

Oh my, I must smell quite bad right now.
It could have been unpleasant with the mixture of sweat and blood smell, but the young lady hugged me and expressed her joy as if it didn’t bother her at all.

She’s quite a rough young lady in her expressions.
It must mean she was that glad to see me.
There can’t be any other emotions, probably.

“But what about the others? D-don’t tell me.”

Soon, the young lady sat down opposite me after separating from me, and only then did she look for where the other companions had gone.

“Rien and Erika are safe. They should be receiving treatment at the aid station now.”

“Phew. Thank goodness.. Huh? Only Rien and Erika? What about Rika..?”

“I rushed here to talk about that part.”

The young lady’s expression visibly darkened.
She seemed to have intuited what I was about to say.

“Rika died on the 4th floor of the sewer area in the upper part of the labyrinth.”

“….Ah.”

The young lady, upon hearing the news of Rika’s death, covered her face with her hands and bowed her head deeply.
She must be feeling a mix of emotions.

Rika didn’t enter the labyrinth of her own will.
She suffered misfortune after going along with the young lady’s stubbornness.

Of course, she can be revived through the elixir of resurrection.
She would come back to life.

But.

From a ‘noble perspective’, that is, from the young lady’s point of view, it was no different from social death.

In noble society, resurrection meant the corruption of the soul.

While in the labyrinth city, resurrection is something anyone can do if they have money.
Outside the labyrinth city, resurrection is an act of forcibly dragging out and humiliating the dead.

Especially for conservative and old-fashioned noble groups, resurrection was something even harder to accept.
And you can understand why the elixir of resurrection has such a bad perception just by looking at the title competitions among noble children or the royal succession battles among royal family members.

Think about it. It would be troublesome if a political opponent who was painstakingly assassinated through intrigue is revived through resurrection.
It meant that if you’re someone who can’t even protect yourself and will die, you should just step back from the stage.

From the moment the crowds find out that you’ve been resurrected, you no longer get a chance to make political statements.
If you don’t like that, it meant you shouldn’t die.

And the moment resurrection is accepted, the position of not only the Holy Kingdom but also the temple would become too large.
Isn’t this the reason why both the royalist and noble factions of the kingdom strongly oppose resurrection?
If the temple’s power becomes too great, it becomes troublesome in many ways. It feels like everyone is keeping them in check.

Of course, the labyrinth city, where the interests of ‘various groups’ are entangled, is using the elixir of resurrection without any regard for the evaluation of outside nobles.

Anyway, Rika, being a knight, might not be able to return to her own family, let alone find a husband, the moment she’s resurrected.
If Rika’s family is a noble knight family and conservative, it would be fair to say that Rika’s identity is now tied to the labyrinth city.

“So Rika… is dead.”

“Her damage state is good, so we can revive her. What would you like to do, young lady?”

“I…”

The young lady would want to save Rika.
But Rika might not want to be resurrected.

“I’ll resurrect her. I’ll deal with the aftermath.”

“Alright. Then let’s go to the cathedral right away.”

“Okay.. Hey, porter, aren’t you tired? Is it okay to keep moving around?”

“I prefer to finish all my tasks and then sleep with peace of mind.”

“Okay. Then let’s go right away.”

I headed to the cathedral with the young lady.
I’ll just confirm Rika’s resurrection and then go to the lodging to pass out.