Nigoru Hitomi de Nani wo Negau-Novel

The Adventurer’s Guild received a wide variety of requests, such as protecting logistics routes, subjugating dangerous targets, and guarding important people. The requests varied greatly depending on the region and location, giving each Adventurer’s Guild its own “color.” And the Adventurer’s Guild Belgana Branch, which had a labyrinth, had a quite special “color”.

The rulers of the labyrinth city, the Marquis Borgia family, opened the labyrinth without fully controlling it, weighing the private army that could be exhausted in the labyrinth and the monopoly of wealth. They managed to recruit workers from the surrounding area for the dangerous work of exploring the labyrinth.

The Belgana Adventurer’s Guild branch, which had a short history within the Adventurer’s Guilds, was actually subcontracted for the complicated management, maintenance and operation of the Labyrinth, where the laws of all things were twisted.

One of the many employees of such a guild was named Lisi, who had been born and raised in the Labyrinth City. While she was given the role of receptionist for the exploration of the Labyrinth, she was also busy preparing official ceremonies and events.

Among the incessant duties, the one that Lisi put her heart and soul into was assisting those who challenged the Labyrinth. Of course, as a non-combatant, she couldn’t help them directly. The weapon she possessed, after all, was information. She collected and managed a large amount of official and unofficial information obtained from adventurers. Then, she provided those who wanted to challenge the Labyrinth with information, filled with harmless fragments of truth and falsehood, that had been carefully checked.

Lisi believed that as long as she could save a life with a single piece of advice, it didn’t matter if her scolding was considered annoying. In addition to the temperament she was born with, a past incident was the main cause of this excessive behavior.

At that time, a most promising up-and-coming young party was annihilated. She told them that they would definitely reach the upper layers, but they suddenly disappeared once they tried to go from the mid-rank to high-rank floors. Although there were people who thought they would be the next conquerors as they proceeded deeper at an unusual pace, there was no one who tried to give advice to them.

It was probably the expectations from the surroundings that caused this promising party to proceed rashly. Actually, Lisi, who was in charge, felt uneasy somewhere in her heart. But at the same time, she was blocked by the feeling of not wanting to make unnecessary words that might get in the way of the party. And in the end, she was unable to give any advice, and the group faced a cruel tragedy.

They were unlucky… that was what everyone said, but Lisi denied it. If only she, or anyone, had tried to give them advice, even if only a little. If only she, had braved herself and honestly told them to be careful and not rush into anything, they might not have died. She could have been the one to prevent this tragedy, but she did not, no, she could not do anything. This regret for not even trying to do something made Lisi stop being just a bystander.

And now Lisi once again had a conflict in her heart. The reason was a new mercenary named Walm who had recently come to the Labyrinth City. He was of average appearance and height, but his worn equipment and especially his muddy eyes were something that those who had walked a straight flat “path” never had.

Above all, what struck Lisi the most was Walm’s eccentric way of diving the labyrinth. Although she offered all the information and advice she could, he continued to dive into the labyrinth alone. And, without partying, he reached the depths of the high-rank floors.

Unlike the party that was annihilated, Walm was alone. Even his personality and behavior were different. But whenever Lisi saw his back, she was reminded of the back of those she couldn’t save.

“I should’ve stopped him after all.”

Many people jumped into the labyrinth to chase fame and dreams. But Walm’s determination to diving into the labyrinth was in a different depth than those people. At first, Lisi thought he was someone who had lost his way and wanted to commit suicide. But then she learned that he had no intention of dying. Certainly, he had unparalleled abilities and an irrepressible will. Believing in those, he threw himself into the labyrinth to get what he desired. So how could she stop such a man? Did she even have the right to twist that will and take him to a safe zone? In any case, she felt uneasy.

After carelessly stroking the bracelet on her wrist, Lisi let out a small sigh.

“Lisi, you’re fidgeting.”

“…Wh-what are you talking about?”

It was another female receptionist named, Lavinia, who called out to Lisi. She said with an implication in her tone that was half concerned and half curious.

“You can’t take me for a fool. You received a gift from a man the other day, didn’t you?”

Lavinia was a reliable work colleague. She had a meticulous personality that was different from what one would expect based on her appearance. And although she led a laid-back life, she liked to chat and was very curious. In fact, she had quizzed Lisi in this manner more than once or twice.

“I don’t do favoritism you know? Just that, if there is a person who doesn’t come back after diving in alone for several days, then the guild staff should take care of it. That’s one of our duties as the management of the labyrinth… although I won’t deny that I received a gift.”

“Well, for some reason, people like you are surprisingly attracted to a no-no man. Thinking that if I don’t support him, he’ll become useless――I’m kidding, it’s just a joke, so don’t stare at me. But that Walm is a mercenary, isn’t he? How dangerous. I mean, you don’t usually stay in a labyrinth alone for days. How should I put it… he’s kind of decadent?”

Although there was a convincing aspect, Lisi wasn’t kind enough to forgive the words of the troublesome colleague.

“I can kind of agree with that, but… You sure talk a lot today. Have you been dumped by a man again?”

At these words, Lavinia, who clenched her teeth and let out a cursed sigh, was visibly distressed.

“Seriously!!! This side of you is not cute. Huff, I guess adventurers are a no-no for me. I mean, I love that body, which looks so functional and beautiful at the same time, but their tendency to cheat is just… like I said, do not look at me like that…”

In contrast to Lisi’s pitying and disdainful look, she never disliked the jokes and little conversations between her and Lavinia at work.

And just as always, Lisi continued to process the crowd, with such a desirable colleague with whom she could spend some time.

Such an unchanging peaceful daily life was brought to an end by the guards and healing magicians who flowed into the waiting room.

“I guess, something had happened?”

“That’s, the transfer room, and also, it’s the exit. Hey, wait! What happened?”

As Lavinia stopped the people streaming in, the guards thundered, seeming agitated.

“On the 30th floor, a group of “Manhunts” was spotted! Apparently, it was Faust’s party. That alone is hard to believe, but it seems that the mercenary who came recently killed two of his members while being seriously wounded, and sent the remaining three to retreat. I’m not kidding. The “Trimagitack” reported that after returning from the transfer room with two corpses.”

“Huh? Eh?”

Lisi was unable to process this information properly. Still, she kept trying and slowly processed it, and the more she understood, the more upset she became. Until now, many bad-behaved people who were exposed for manhunting in the labyrinth, ended up getting executed after their imprisonment. But to be told that Faust, who had been assigned as a tutor in the guild, was actually a manhunt… there was no way she could swallow this shocking information all at once. Even more, the target was Walm, whom she had sent into the labyrinth.

“Uh, umm, Walm is the mercenary who gave Lisi the bracelet, right? And Faust’s party, is a party of “Manhunts”…… so many things happened at once, that I can’t process it.”

“Yes, you’re right. But Lavi, I know one thing for sure: that person, he will die if left alone.”

Lisi didn’t know the truth. But if what the guard said was true… in short, if Walm didn’t dive into the labyrinth alone, he might not have been chosen as a target of these manhunts.

“Right. He seems to be a hardworking person who works better with someone who could limit him, like a leader. But that means that when he’s alone, he may work too hard and dies of overwork.”

Lisi completely agreed with Lavinia’s words. And decided to tell Walm the next time she met him. No matter how much she would regret it, if he died, everything would be too late. It was better to tell while there was still a chance.

“Next time I meet him, I’ll properly tell him.”

Lisi couldn’t tell whether the bitter expression on her face was because she was remembering something that had happened in the past, that she locked in the depths of her heart, or if it was because she was worried about Walm.

TN : Just some useless info, at first the author used the name Rabia, but, in Japanese it’s ラビア, and ラビア can be read as Labia, and sometimes ラビア was used to mention Female Genital, so the Author changed it to Lavinia