Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 070

Living Like That (4)

I don’t care whether Kate lives or dies. Even if she suddenly passed away one day, I wouldn’t give it much thought.

It’s only natural. She’s someone unrelated to me. She’s from a completely different world.

But.

[ Emergency Quest: Debut Team Damage Crisis ]■ A promising debut team is in danger of being damaged.■ If not recovered, ID Seol Ha-woon’s regression will end.■ Upon success, you will receive a new reward.

The moment she dies, my regression ends. I’ll return to that gloomy future again.

Not the mage Seol Ha-woon, but a limping hikikomori rice-eating parasite… Wait. These words are way too violent, aren’t they?

That’s not all.

I didn’t know Percival was such a precious person to Kate. I didn’t know they had built such a deep relationship of trust that it took root in her unconscious.

If Percival was the only being who could heal the inflammation and pus-like stress that had unknowingly accumulated in Kate’s inner self.

Then I bear some responsibility too.

“…This is complicated.”

Beep. Beep. The ominous sound flowing from the ECG monitor. I looked at Kate sleeping on the bed. In her unconscious state, she was quietly dying.

How can I possibly drag this person, who considers death to be happiness, out of the Labyrinth?

I have absolutely no idea.

Don’t die, I’ll shoot if you die. That’s about all I can think of.

Kate is fed up with life. A serious condition she herself doesn’t recognize is eating away at her heart.

The Hailford family I know is extremely peculiar and vicious. Kate’s mother and father are quite ruthless people too. Just the horror stories I heard about them from Percival during military service would be enough to make several people faint.

People who mistake themselves for nobility, for the chosen ones, are extremely tiresome. They demand near-insane dignity not only from themselves but from their children as well.

Percival was the complete opposite of that.

Far from formality, he was someone who simply loved his family, someone who loved as if a lifetime of love wouldn’t be enough time to love them.

I think I roughly understand why Percival was Kate’s ‘only respite.’

Thanks to this unconscious state, I also learned why she chose the nickname ‘Kate’ instead of her real name ‘Catherine.’

Because Percival called Catherine ‘Kate.’

“…A reason to live.”

Unfortunately, she has no reason to live right now.

Because this Labyrinth is offering her own happiness—a peaceful death.

“…”

I thought about myself for a moment.

What is my reason for living without dying?

Not a single family member remains, the one guy I had as a friend left this world, and I even got discharged from the military I thought would be my lifelong career.

Why didn’t the pre-regression hikikomori Seol Ha-woon, who was holed up in his room just playing games, commit suicide?

Just because he was afraid of death?

If that were the case, he wouldn’t have applied for the Special Forces either.

Just because it felt wasteful?

Because the life my only friend so desperately wanted, the tomorrow that countless people who died before my eyes desired, felt too precious to waste…

“…No.”

I don’t live because of them.

The purpose of my life is because there’s still unfinished business. Because that matter hasn’t been resolved.

Because there’s still revenge left to be taken for them.

Beep— Beep—

I looked at Kate breathing raggedly. The ECG’s beeping and her breathing sounds were roughly similar.

“…Ms. Kate.”

I once had this thought.

What makes people live might be love or happiness, but the opposite also exists. Anger and hatred can certainly become fuel that burns people up.

“Please wake up for a moment.”

I’ve set the direction.

Now, I just need to move forward.

“…”

Kate opened her eyes. Finding me, she smiled faintly and looked out the window.

“You don’t need to nurse me anymore.”

The bleak winter, the last leaf hanging at the tip of a tree branch.

I irritably drew the curtain. Kate turned her gaze to me and murmured quietly.

“I told you before, didn’t I? People always die someday.”

I know. If your unconscious, the happiness your heart deeply desires, is this kind of death, then I have no particular reason to stop you.

However.

“It’s rather natural. Just peacefully—”

“I have something to tell you.”

I cut off her words.

“Regarding Colonel Percival, there’s something I’ve been investigating all this time.”

Suddenly, I pose a question to myself. It’s a doubt I still haven’t found an answer to.

Was Colonel Percival truly a good person?

To Kate, he naturally would be.

“…Uncle Percival?”

“Yes. I was absorbed in the investigation even before coming here.”

Percival died before Kate became an adult.

“…?”

Kate looked at me with a puzzled expression. I held out a document envelope to her.

My mental projection, documents containing my thoughts, would be inside.

“Colonel Percival died in the Sahara Desert Labyrinth in the past.”

Colonel Percival was a failure as a commander. He was too emotional a person. Without the Hailford halo, he probably wouldn’t have even made colonel.

He was someone unsuited for military life from the start.

“…I know that too.”

Kate didn’t try to open the envelope.

I continued speaking.

“He was recorded as dying during Labyrinth exploration, but.”

Percival actually died in the Labyrinth. They couldn’t even recover his body. The Labyrinth disappeared while holding him in its embrace.

“The truth is different.”

I gestured toward the envelope again. Kate’s brow furrowed slightly. An expression she had never shown once in this unconscious state.

“…Different, you say?”

“Yes.”

Now, I will convey a certain past to her. I will cast bait into her unconscious.

“He was murdered by a colleague.”

Kate let out a loud breath. Without realizing it, she gripped the blanket. For the first time, a sharp light appeared in her eyes.

She asked back in a trembling voice.

“…By whom?”

I caught my breath for a moment.

The courage to be hated. I don’t even need to muster such a thing. It’s something I did, and something I must bear.

“It’s someone the family head knows too.”

Anger burns using hatred as firewood, and hatred needs a target.

Even Kate, who had seemed so solid, had wounds. The empty hole carved in her chest was vivid.

“During the Labyrinth conquest, I was under Colonel Percival’s command.”

Her unconscious seemed unable to fill that void, craving the happiness called death.

Wounds heal when cauterized with fire.

“UDT, Black Team member.”

Crumble. Debris falls from the ceiling. It’s a sign that she’s awakening from her unconscious state.

“I’m Seol Ha-woon.”

Kate’s eyes opened wide. At the same time, the entire Hailford Estate shook. Cracks carved through space. Debris came crashing down through the gaps.

The backdrop of the unconscious had collapsed.

* * *

‘…Hey, Old Sport!’

A distinctly deep and masculine voice echoes from memories of the past. The kind of voice a wild horse might have if it could speak.

‘Yes, Captain.’

Percival. He was a magnificent man. Though incompetent as a commander, he was one of the strongest in the military, both a good man and a villain. Despite being raised more preciously than anyone, he took meticulous care of his subordinates, yet dealt cruelly with those who opposed him.

He was someone who couldn’t be judged by just one aspect.

‘Skipping the company dinner again today?’

‘Yes.’

‘How boring… But you know, when I look at you, I’m reminded of my younger days.’

He was sincere about his faction. He took care of people within his boundaries to an almost excessive degree. He called his subordinates family and treated them warmly, and some regarded him like an actual father.

He wanted me to become one of those children.

‘Captain. You’re still plenty young now.’

‘Haha! Such flattery.’

Percival was a clean-cut handsome man in his late twenties. At least that’s how he appeared on the surface. No one saw him as being in his mid-forties. He probably enjoyed it too. If he wanted to look older, he would have grown a beard.

‘The desert stars are bright as always. Ha-woon! Come here.’

Then he patted the spot next to him. I stood still and stared at him.

I disliked how he treated me like a child, but whenever I hesitated, he used a technique that was impossible to defend against.

‘…If my child had lived, he would be around your age now.’

I had no choice but to approach and sit down. He quickly put his arm around my shoulders. This kind of physical contact was particularly frequent with me alone. He didn’t hesitate even in front of others. It was both an expression of his favor and a sign that he would share his authority with me.

‘Ha-woon.’

‘Yes.’

‘The other idiots in this field don’t know you. They’re afraid of you, calling you a hunting dog. They don’t even try to get close. They say things like getting chills when they see you, or that your inner thoughts are completely unreadable. They just spout such nonsense.’

I silently looked up at the stars in the night sky. At times like this, I just needed to listen.

‘But I’ve seen your depths. I’ve seen that transparency of yours. That’s why I specifically requested you for the military. Did we meet during the Wisconsin Labyrinth?’

‘Yes. Our first meeting was at the lake.’

‘Right. You remember after all. From that moment, I wanted to become your superior.’

He collected people like gathering cards. Among them, I was treated like a fairly high-rarity Pokémon. I had been under quite a few superiors, but had never shown loyalty to any of them.

‘Let’s do well this time too.’

‘…Yes.’

Usually the military doesn’t participate in Labyrinths. Especially the Korean Military, whose reason for existence is national defense.

However, UDT Black Team sometimes operated like mercenaries for specific families. Hailford in particular had made underwater contracts with the military.

The operating and operational costs of the Black Team were astronomical. Even I had spent tens of billions in ‘unprocessable expenses’ just tracking one person.

It was an impossible amount for the state to bear alone, and paradoxically meant that a profit-generating model had been completed within the military.

‘So, Old Sport. If this Labyrinth goes well too, I’d like to transfer you under my command.’

‘…My skills are lacking.’

‘Being modest again? Where else would you find a soldier like you? Or are you dissatisfied with Hailford?’

I shook my head.

‘It’s because there’s still unfinished business here.’

Then Percival’s expression also sank low.

‘You’re talking about your comrade.’

I didn’t answer. Since Percival was someone who knew the pain of loss, there was no further persuasion.

‘When that matter is finished, you can come find me again.’

However, he didn’t give up until the end.

‘Well then, Old Sport. Did you receive the information about this Labyrinth?’

‘Yes. I received the briefing.’

‘Give me a briefing. I had a bit to drink yesterday. Hahaha.’

To him laughing heartily, I said.

‘This Labyrinth is said to be a space that recreates Earth.’

‘…Recreates Earth?’

‘Yes.’

Percival raised his eyebrows, requesting a detailed explanation.

I answered as usual.

‘It’s a parallel world.’

A parallel world.

Another Earth.

It would be the Labyrinth that became our last.

…Everyone’s life in this world is somewhat crumpled. There’s no life like pretty origami. No matter how well you live, you don’t accidentally create a paper crane. You just get crumpled like newspaper on the street.

So, it should be left crumpled. Even if you unfold crumpled paper, the creases remain.

If you try to remove even those creases, your entire life might tear apart.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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