Chapter 125

When Foxes Smoked

“Caleb…… I thought you were dead.”

The Yoho tribe’s shoulders trembled. Her eight tails swayed gently in the wind.

“Because Bipa and Mugol told me so.”

Hyedam’s voice was choked up, making her pronunciation slightly slurred.

Instead, she leaned her forehead against my chest while shooting a sharp glare at Bipa and Mugol once.

“We really thought he was dead.”

Mugol protested as if wronged.

Come to think of it, when I first met Bipa and Mugol, the first thing they said to me was ‘Caleb? You were alive!’.

“It couldn’t be helped.”

Bipa continued with shocking words.

“Who would imagine surviving after meeting the Labyrinth Master?”

What now?

Met whom? The Labyrinth Master?

No. How is it that every time I have a conversation with these guys, the back of my head throbs.

“Right. We barely escaped too.”

So does that mean I met the Labyrinth Master together with these guys during my X-life days living in Windham?

No. But I became a slave on charges of murdering Hyedam, right?

But why does the Labyrinth Master appear in between all that?

Wait a minute.

‘Possessor village and interlayer lords and living sacrifices and the Labyrinth Master.’

It seems like there might be some connections between them.

Dalstream said that White Lion was a king who ruled some ancient kingdom in the distant past.

And he offered up all the land, wealth, and people of his kingdom to the labyrinth, and in return received the power of the god that the labyrinth had devoured.

And the kingdom that became sacrifices at that time became the inter-floor village. In White Lion’s case, the 9.5th floor.

But Bipa and Mugol are stacking up possessors in the possessor village, right?

They called that living sacrifices, right?

And they’ve met the Labyrinth Master before? What did they do when they met?

‘They’ll offer the sacrifices stacked on the 3.5th floor, so give us divine power or something……?’

Suddenly chills run down my spine.

Are these guys coveting the position of inter-floor lord?

I might have been in the middle of an absurdly insane plan.

And now I’ve entered right into the center of it.

“Later we found out that after escaping from the Labyrinth Master, you took your fox orb and went to court to confess that you killed me.”

Bipa said.

“Ah.”

Hyedam nodded.

“I see. The orb returned to me.”

She opened her mouth slightly. Her red tongue wriggled. And like rolling candy, she showed the white, sparkling fox orb making clacking sounds.

“It’s originally that kind of object.”

Hyedam coquettishly brushed back her hair.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

A brief awkward silence flows.

“But Hyedam, did you put on makeup?”

Bipa asked, narrowing his eyes.

Hyedam was embarrassed.

“Of, of course. It’s been so long since we met…….”

She grabbed my hand and pulled.

“Now you guys go home. Get lost back to Windham.”

While waving her hand at Bipa and Mugol.

***

I had divided my response methods into several stages depending on how much hostility Hyedam had toward me.

If I feel considerable hostility as soon as we meet, I’ll use it immediately.

If it seems like my identity will be exposed during conversation or if the atmosphere turns dangerous, I’ll use it.

What is it?

‘Stair Scroll.’

During the war with White Lion, I told Backstab to bring me two stair scrolls.

To evacuate Dalstream and me using Yernil’s magic catalyst if necessary.

But Backstab only brought one.

When I asked later, the reason was absurd.

‘I brought two, but I was worried about losing them during combat, so I put one in my pocket and stuck one in my belt.’

He took out the scroll from his pocket.

‘But from when the lion bastard broke my arm and Yernil collapsed, I wasn’t thinking straight either.’

Indeed, Backstab was an excellent adventurer but still had a slightly clumsy taste, not having experienced the abyss yet.

He forgot one scroll because it was his first time seeing inter-floor monsters and an archmage putting on a magic show while party members’ lives hung in the balance.

That’s now in my pocket.

If necessary, I can tear it and jump to the stairs in front of the monument.

Of course, they’ll chase me. Then next…….

“But Caleb, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Hyedam, who had entered the small house, sat across from me at the dining table and kept grinning. Looking directly into my eyes.

“Didn’t you want to see me?”

“…….”

Let me try being smooth.

“It doesn’t feel real, meeting after so long.”

And honestly speaking, it doesn’t feel real because of her appearance either. Even in the game settings, the Yoho tribe was famous for outstanding beauty, so I had prepared my mind to some degree, but meeting her in person, I really understand what it means to have your soul stolen.

“Oh, right. Wait just a moment.”

Even the old abandoned house in the inter-floor village looked like a place where people live after being repaired.

The oven works too.

Hyedam took out a loaf of bread baked with fox fire.

And she also moved pre-made pasta from the pan to a plate.

“The ingredients here are a bit lacking…….”

She set the food on the table while feeling embarrassed.

“But you liked the pasta I make. Right?”

“It’s delicious.”

Taking a bite with my fork, I recall a movie I saw long ago.

Catch Me If You Can.

A movie based on the memoir of Frank William Abagnale Jr., a legendary con artist.

That con artist pretended to be a french teacher at the school he transferred to and taught classes for a week.

Later, he bought a pilot uniform and wore it, acting as a co-pilot and even flew planes.

After fleeing to another area to avoid FBI pursuit, he forged a medical degree and got hired at a hospital as a doctor, even seeing patients.

It seems that a human with very smart brains, eloquence, and acting ability can pull off such bold fraud.

I, of course, can’t do that.

What I’m dealing with isn’t workplace colleagues I’ve known briefly, but a former lover who knows the original me very well.

“Caleb…… How have you been all this time?”

The more we talk, the more strange I’ll seem to her.

Nevertheless, there’s something that can somewhat fill that gap.

“I became a slave at the Magic University and fell into the labyrinth.”

The fact that I killed Hyedam and became a slave on that charge, going through all kinds of life-threatening situations until now.

Even an ordinary person’s personality could change.

“……So only Yernil the Elf and I remained. And…….”

The stories I tell are about things after I was possessed.

The story of Yernil almost dying by stepping on a trap.

The story of meeting the bald slave team and fighting.

The story of meeting Virtanen’s party and catching the Venomic Spider.

The story of fighting exit boss Backstab .

The story of going to find the 1.5th floor.

The story of Paladin Bernard’s party appearing and bringing the Sanctuary Manager.

The story of barely escaping but going back in because of dying Aimus.

Hijikata’s party I met on the 3rd floor.

Antonelli and the monster wave.

The story of solving the monument’s cipher and activating 10th-tier magic.

The story of meeting Rilwid and fighting Ingelram.

The steel mill where the Golden Golem and Blacksmith appeared simultaneously.

I tell all of those things with slight embellishments, leaving out only the hourglass setting.

“……Recently, the Soren Labyrinth erupted and I died fighting. Fortunately, Soul Preservation was applied.”

Let’s not talk about the past that we both would know in detail at all.

It should usually be Hyedam who opens her mouth about the past.

“If Yernil had found my corpse even a little later, I would have…….”

I’m a human who became somewhat cynical after experiencing the hellish Labyrinth and the hell-flavored Soren.

I maintain that concept.

Even if I seem a little strange, that’s because of the labyrinth…….

“Huh?”

An unexpected situation that even I, who started this, didn’t anticipate occurred.

‘Tears are coming.’

Suddenly tears well up and flow uncontrollably.

No matter how much I try to wipe them away and calm down.

“Why is this…….”

The tears flowed before I felt the overwhelming emotion. Understanding the reason came after.

This is because I ended up reflecting on what kind of hell I’ve walked through since falling into this crazy game.

Things I forgot while being desperate to survive.

The opportunity to lament my situation to someone, the opportunity to gain someone’s sympathy, the opportunity to be comforted by someone.

I was lacking those things.

But people need such things.

Apart from practical problem-solving, I need someone to talk about the difficulties I face mentally and form empathy together.

Sitting in front of a fox woman I’ve never seen before, laying out my story like a sinner confessing to a priest, emotions overwhelm me.

Surprisingly, I was sincere right now.

Even though I left out the hourglass matter, so it couldn’t be called 100% truth.

And in a story that actually started from my inner intention to prevent the sense of alienation she might feel toward me.

And the stair scroll clutched tightly in my hand.

After finishing this story, I’ll listen to her story as much as I need to, and before it gets dangerous, I’m holding the scroll in my pocket ready to tear it at any moment to escape.

Nevertheless, this woman who naively falls for my fraud and looks at me with genuine concern, her lake-like spiritual eyes and.

“Caleb…….”

Finally, the tears that well up glistening in those eyes make me feel like the foundation of my mind is collapsing.

Suddenly, it feels like all the hardships I’ve endured over the years are pouring down at once like a thunderstorm.

“Sorry…….”

Hyedam squeezed my hand tightly.

“I’m sorry. For not being able to protect you…….”

I feel guilty.

I’m sorry. I’m actually not Caleb.

But the modern person inside me who I forcibly killed and eliminated over the years wanted to hear words like this.

“You must have been through so much alone all this time……?”

Who would have thought I’d actually receive comfort here?

I tried to calm down while wiping away tears.

“Caleb. Do you remember when we first met?”

Hyedam started telling old stories to change the atmosphere.

“Show me. I want to see.”

I was aiming for this too.

An 8th-tail Yoho tribe member would have such magic.

“Come here.”

Hyedam embraced me. And smack, she planted a kiss.

Actually, there’s no need to do it this way.

I could smell the pungent and sweet scent of tobacco and cosmetics.

Clack.

The fox orb rolls into my mouth.

‘Memory Transfer.’

It’s one of the 7th-tier secret arts of Yoho tribe shamans.

***

Soyul, who lives in Soren, was once almost hunted by marauders too. Because the Yoho tribe’s tails and fox orbs are treated as luxury items among the wealthy and sell for high prices.

So can you imagine what a village where Yoho tribe members gather to live would be like?

In the great mountain range extending north from Windham, a small village where Yoho tribe members huddle together to live.

‘Fox Pass.’

Naturally, this place has been invaded by countless marauders, but it’s still fine.

Because the strongest individual among all Yoho tribe members of the generation holds the guardian position and protects the village.

“Is this the last one?”

Especially, this guardian is the strongest in history.

A shaman with as many as eight tails.

Hyedam had killed all 26 invaders.

Except for just one.

“You…….”

She blinked her beautiful blue eyes like a spiritual lake.

“You don’t seem like a marauder, what are you?”

That man was too scrawny to be called a marauder.

And his gaunt body, poor equipment and resigned expression, exhausted appearance.

Terrible combat ability.

Such a human is usually a passerby who got caught and kidnapped by chance while marauder groups were attacking Fox Pass.

A prisoner they’ll sell for an appropriate ransom somewhere in the west.

Looking at his pretty face, he’ll probably be sold as a male prostitute.

“What’s your name?”

“……Caleb.”

That’s how the two first met.

Hyedam didn’t kill him.

She didn’t release him either.

“Take this guy to the village.”

She just threw him in front of her subordinates.

“What should we use him for?”

“My long pipe is too long.”

Hyedam received about a 1-meter-long pipe from her adjutant.

“Just have him light fires and such.”

In Fox Pass, the length of pipes is a symbol of status.

The longer it is, the harder it is to light alone, so a servant is needed.

“You, work in my mansion starting today.”

Hyedam took that man to her house.