Yunyun's eyes sparkled like twin mana crystals.
"gumin's Sensei defeated a Demon King Army general?! That's incredible!"
I can't fall behind!
"No! Please let beco your disciple too!"
Just then, gumin froze, as if rembering sothing.
She swallowed hard.
"Sensei… If you beat a Demon King general, there should've been a reward…"
Chishiya replied casually, "Yeah, there was a little sothing."
"…How much?"
gumin's voice trembled slightly.
"About 300 million."
gumin: "HOW MUCH?!"
Pffft—!!
Hyoizaburoo spit out his tea.
"Th-three hundred million?!"
He turned with wild urgency.
"Wife! Bring out the best tea we have!"
Yuiyui calmly stood up. "Dear, we only have one kind of tea."
Chishiya waved his hands. "Really, it's fine. No need."
"Actually, I brought so small gifts."
He reached into his inventory and placed down so high-end snacks and rare ingredients.
"Just a small gesture. Nothing fancy."
Kokko peeked over from the side.
"Whoa! Real food!"
"This isn't our usual watery porridge! This looks like food that actually fills your stomach!"
At that mont.
Hyoizaburoo's eyes glead as he turned to Chishiya and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Chishiya-san, you must stay here tonight."
"Adventurers probably don't have a fixed place to stay, right?"
"If you don't mind, you can live here permanently."
Chishiya: "…Uh…"
gumin pulled him aside quickly.
"Dad, what are you saying?! Sensei has his own mansion!"
"We've been living there!"
Hyoizaburoo froze. "A… mansion?!"
Yuiyui smiled. "Oh my. Well, either way, please stay for dinner tonight."
"We're very grateful for everything."
She turned toward Yunyun and Darkness.
"I'm sorry. We have a bit of family business today."
"So we won't be able to host you both tonight."
Yunyun, Darkness: "...???"
Getting kicked out… what is this??
Chishiya, watching gumin's family shower him with warmth and sudden hospitality, just kept waving his hands.
"Really, don't worry about it. I've got work to do anyway."
"I understand…"
Yuiyui gave a slightly disappointed smile.
"Well, at least stay for dinner."
———
Night fell.
Smoke drifted from the chimney of the wooden bungalow.
Dinner had ended.
Chishiya found himself stuck in the living room, trapped by both parents for after-dinner conversation.
gumin sat alone outside in the yard, gazing up at the stars.
Ever since she t Chishiya, everything had gotten better.
She couldn't help but smile.
"gumin…"
A voice called out behind her.
It was Yunyun and Darkness.
The two had been waiting outside for Chishiya to co out.
One wanted to beco his disciple.
The other wanted to thank him in person.
Yunyun stepped forward.
"gumin, I'm ready. Let's duel!"
gumin turned around with a smug little smirk.
"Hehehe~ Yunyun, I'm already level 20 now. You can't beat ."
Yunyun froze.
"When we parted, you were still level 6! How did you level up so fast?!"
gumin grinned wider.
"Heh. If you're that curious, I'll show you later."
"My training ground… is like hell."
"...H-Hell?"
Yunyun shrank back and gulped.
She'd been intimidated by gumin's usual chuunibyou phrasing.
gumin looked satisfied.
Then she admitted, "I'm kidding. It's actually a Labyrinth."
"Sensei took there to level up."
Yunyun let out a long sigh. "So it was a Labyrinth…"
Darkness, who'd been listening to their exchange, suddenly froze.
She touched her chin.
"Labyrinth… That sounds familiar…"
"A Labyrinth… Wait. A Labyrinth?!"
"D-Darkness? Are you okay?"
Yunyun jumped at her sudden outburst.
But Darkness didn't respond.
She bit her thumbnail, eyes narrowed.
"It can't be… The na matches that strange projection shop that's been appearing all over the place…"
"Don't tell Chishiya-san works for that company…"
"I an, the goods from that company are amazing… but it always gave off this shady, underground vibe…"
"If Chishiya-san is really employed by that boss… that's not good."
Yunyun looked worried. "Darkness, are you okay? You look pale…"
Darkness shook her head. "No… it's nothing…"
"We can't jump to conclusions. We need to confirm it with him directly."
———
Ten minutes later, Chishiya stepped out of the house, looking thoroughly drained.
What was that interrogation…
"Do you have a girlfriend?" "Anyone you like?" "Do you want us to introduce gumin to you properly?"
She's still a kid. At the very least, give her a few more years.
His type had always been the cool, quiet type anyway.
As soon as he stepped outside, the three girls looked over.
gumin was the first to speak.
"Sensei! Let's go back!"
"I didn't get to do anything exciting today!"
Chishiya pinched the bridge of his nose.
Please… stop phrasing it like that…
"Okay…"
Darkness: "Eh?!"
Sothing wasn't right.
But… she didn't say anything like that inside the house!
Yunyun didn't even flinch.
She was used to gumin phrasing her spellcasting in ways that were... frequently misunderstood.
Chishiya looked at both of them calmly.
Two status windows popped up in his mind.
---
[Crusader: Lalatina]
[Recruitable Employee]
Recruitnt Perks:
1. Knight's Body: Greatly enhances host's physical defense.
2. Kingdom Nobility: Increases profit margin by 25% when dealing with noble clients.
---
[Crimson Demon: Yunyun]
[Recruitable Employee]
Recruitnt Perks:
1. Crimson Demon Bond – Labyrinth's magic concentration 10% (stacks 10% with two bonded mbers)
2. Lone Wolf – Magic power 25% when fighting solo
---
Chishiya had noticed it earlier while he was still inside.
Both of them were recruitable.
And Yunyun's perks stacked perfectly with gumin's.
If both joined, he could boost the Labyrinth's magic concentration by 30% imdiately.
The only question was whether they'd actually agree.
Chishiya asked simply, "Would you two like to join ?"
"Eh?!"
Yunyun froze.
She'd been trying to find the courage to ask him about becoming his disciple…
She never expected him to offer first.
"Yes! Yes, please! Thank you so much!"
She bowed deeply.
Darkness also nodded seriously.
She still had her doubts about whether Chishiya worked for that shady-looking boss behind the Underground Labyrinth Enterprise.
She needed to get to the bottom of it.
This was soone Princess Iris was bound to et, after all. It had to be verified properly.
In her mind, the image of a greasy, sinister-looking middle-aged man ford.
It was now her personal belief that the boss of the Underground Labyrinth Enterprise looked exactly like that.
(To be continued.)
***
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