Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 39
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 39: A Happy Labyrinth Where All Worries Can Be Forgotten
The long-awaited day of a cheerful, carefree labyrinth expedition had arrived.
Before heading to the labyrinth, I first stopped by the Jewel Master Guild headquarters to check on how the custom-made item was coming along.
“Ah, perfect timing!”
Tabirek, the guildmaster of the Jewel Master Guild, greeted me heartily, slapping his chest, and brought out a modest box.
“It’s done. A masterpiece with my soul poured into it!”
There were two surprising elements in what he’d said.
“It’s already finished? And it’s masterpiece-grade?”
If the craftsman possessed such outstanding skill, the Jewel Master Guild should have already become famous as a major guild.
Could he have bought it from some renowned explorer instead?
Noticing my reasonable suspicion, Tabirek shook his head firmly.
“As I was making it, suddenly Solmiran bestowed upon me a burning inspiration in my head and hands, you see?”
“Hmm. That’s a rather typical boast coming from a dwarf, if I’m being honest.”
“Kha! Just take a look at it yourself. Frankly, I can’t believe it either!”
I accepted the box and carefully lifted the lid.
Inside, a golden spiritual robe lay folded neatly.
Masterpiece — Radiant Faith
Communication with divinity becomes fluid. You shall no longer suffer from the oracles of wise deities or other wretched evil gods. Moreover, it contains an intrinsic spatial pocket for storing objects. I thought he was just a common dwarf, yet he created something like this?
“Well, what do you think?”
“Certainly… it is a masterpiece.”
The evil god’s voice would no longer inflict spiritual harm.
Honestly, it exceeded my expectations.
“It seems Solmiran truly did grant you inspiration?”
“Indeed! The one who bears the sun seems to favor me, or perhaps she’s taking an interest in you instead.”
It wasn’t unreasonable for the sun goddess and the goddess of craftsmanship to take notice of me….
Yet it made more sense to think that Tabirek possessed greater potential than I’d initially credited.
It seemed I would need to maintain our friendly relations going forward.
If I kept building this connection, perhaps he could steadily churn out masterpiece-grade items on demand.
After draping the Radiant Faith around my neck, I looked at Tabirek and thumped my chest in return.
“Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.”
“Thanks? That’s what I should be saying. Please come visit again. I’ll craft another masterpiece for you next time.”
We exchanged warm farewells and left the Jewel Master Guild headquarters.
“Are we heading out now?”
— I’m a little nervous.
…….
Outside, my expedition team was waiting.
After exchanging glances with my companions, I set off.
“Let’s go. Let’s become an expedition team with a bright future—one that conquered a C-rank labyrinth with just three members.”
***
“There’s quite a line.”
Pendrick, standing on tiptoe to observe the queue of expedition teams waiting to enter the labyrinth, smiled faintly.
“Well, I’ve heard that Pleasure City is a place people go for fun rather than rewards. Though I’ve never been there myself.”
I nodded lightly while forcibly pressing a warm, appetizing-looking lizard skewer I’d just bought from the market into Rosalia’s hand.
“Strictly speaking, the reward is the fun itself. There are no monsters in that labyrinth—only entertainment.”
Pleasure City.
Currently ranked E-tier.
As a labyrinth set in some grand city, it boasted virtually every type of dopamine-stimulating facility that existed in the world.
It was hardly an exaggeration to call it a labyrinth you visited purely to eat, play, and enjoy yourself.
“But what are the conquest conditions?”
Pendrick munched on the potato skewer I’d handed him, squinting slightly.
“Now that I think about it, I’ve only heard that it’s a fun place, but I’ve never heard anyone explain how to actually conquer it.”
“Want to know why, friend?”
A goblin explorer standing ahead of us suddenly turned around and spoke up.
Meddlesome goblin Mek (goblin, 25 years old). I trust you know what the surname “Invisible” means. Get friendly enough to extract some wealth and steal rare items.
“Because Pleasure City’s official conquest condition is itself a Hidden Piece—a labyrinth without a fixed path.”
Though it was an abrupt attempt at false familiarity paired with feigned acquaintance, Pendrick, possessing overwhelming sociability, showed no confusion whatsoever.
“Ah? So it’s what they call a ‘Dungeon’?”
A labyrinth that has never been conquered is also referred to by the designation “Dungeon.”
This was why the name of the final labyrinth was Nightmare Dungeon.
“That’s right. A dungeon.”
“If the clearing condition is a Hidden Piece, how do we escape?”
“The Pleasure City is one of the rare Labyrinths where you can leave without meeting the conditions.”
“Ah, so that’s why…!”
“That said, entry is only possible once every ten days, but the point is you won’t get trapped inside. So even though even the great Labyrinth Management Bureau hasn’t the faintest idea how to clear it, it’s rated E-rank.”
Whether thanks to the apt questions and sharp reactions, the goblin spoke freely and even volunteered information no one had asked for.
“I came here for the glory of being the first to clear the Pleasure City.”
“That would certainly be a tremendous honor, clearing a Dungeon for the first time.”
“Exactly!”
The goblin grinned and clenched his fists.
“Mark my words—I’ll become famous as the first to successfully navigate an uncleared Dungeon!”
So this wasn’t mere entertainment. He’d come seeking glory.
That was unfortunate.
I had no intention whatsoever of handing over the honor of first conquest.
“I’m suddenly brimming with enthusiasm!”
“Good luck to you, friend. I’m Mek.”
“I’m Pendrick. Do your best, Mek!”
While Pendrick and the goblin exchanged pleasantries, the long queue dwindled rapidly, and our turn to enter drew near.
I took in the sight of countless explorers filing into the building.
An inn with a shimmering, spectral form.
The entrance to the Pleasure City, a Labyrinth whose doors opened only one day every ten days.
“Next ten, please enter.”
At the staff member’s signal, we and the other explorers surged in.
The first floor of the inn was just a tavern.
It didn’t look ordinary, though—the tables and chairs swayed slowly like shadows.
“Hm… I thought entering the inn would mean entering the Labyrinth, but it seems not?”
“We need to go to a guest room first.”
We headed up to the second floor and entered one of the open rooms at random.
Save for how it seemed ready to fade away, shifting lightly here and there, the room was much like any other inn guest room.
“Now, we do this.”
I threw myself onto the bed and tapped the spots on either side.
“How about we all lie down side by side?”
Exploration parties entering the Pleasure City must be exactly three people.
Not because of the Labyrinth’s mechanics, but simply because the bed was cramped.
“If you just keep your eyes closed, you’ll enter the Labyrinth.”
“This feels a bit odd.”
……
Three grown adults lying on a bed together had a peculiar charm—like embarking on a picnic to nowhere I’d been before.
We counted to three in unison, and the moment we closed our eyes simultaneously.
“We’re here.”
Suddenly, the three of us stood in the room without a sound.
The room looked exactly as before.
Just an unremarkable, ordinary inn guest room.
But there was one crucial difference: the interior had changed from a shimmering, spectral design to plain, dull décor.
“Oh, how spectacular!”
Pendrick pulled back the curtains and let out an audible laugh at what lay beyond the window.
I, too, gazed through the glass at the cityscape—my first time seeing it in person, thrilled by the sight.
Tall, slender buildings stretched skyward, and lavish signage in a riot of colors delighted the eye.
It was a city teeming with vitality, overflowing with life.
《E-rank Labyrinth – Pleasure City》
《Though the clearing condition remains unknown, death poses no threat whatsoever, which is why it’s classified as E-rank. It’s simply known as a place to enjoy oneself, but surely you know of the secrets it hides. Uncover the truth and delight the wise one!》
I’d decided to satisfy what wasn’t even being asked.
Ridni always suffered from an unquenchable thirst for fresh knowledge.
Because of that, she demanded of her faithful that they actively seek out new truths they had never known before in their religious practice.
Uncovering Hidden Pieces was perhaps the act most suited to the wise one’s desire.
Tap.
Rosalia, who had pressed my head down to see the view outside the window more clearly, tapped the back of my head lightly.
It was a signal to go outside.
“Right, since we’re here, shall we take a look around the city first?”
And so the Moon Exploration Team’s first survey began with a walk.
Turning back after stepping outside, I saw a building rising as if it would pierce the sky itself.
The exterior looked more like a hotel than an inn.
Pendrick, having come from the Eastern Continent where development lagged considerably, was startled by the sheer size of the building alone—but was doubly astonished when he later learned that the inn we’d departed from was on the smaller side.
“It feels like we’ve arrived on some fourth continent entirely. And there are really so many people…”
The streets teemed not only with adventurers but also with NPCs known as Phantoms of the Labyrinth.
The Eye of Truth Penetration was flooding my vision with information so rapidly that a sudden migraine seized me.
“Captain, what era is this place actually in? Everything feels oddly unfamiliar.”
When Pendrick posed the question, Rosalia’s ears perked up with curiosity as well.
I closed my right eye to signal the skill to stop displaying information, then opened my mouth.
“The landscape this Labyrinth shows us is from one thousand years in the future.”
A Labyrinth is realized by mirroring a specific location that exists in the past, present, or future.
And.
The Pleasure City existed a full thousand years hence.
“A thousand years…”
……
The two expedition members fell silent, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the scale.
– The fact that future scenery has been implemented probably isn’t the crucial point.
The composure of Astremia’s ego sword alone cut through the moment.
– What matters is determining which possible future this is. Wouldn’t you agree?
“Precisely. Your intellect shines as brilliantly as your blade-spirit.”
– Of course.
When Astremia accepted the flattery as literal truth, Pendrick grinned foolishly and bobbed his head in repeated agreement.
……
Rosalia, who had been walking beside her lover, swiftly moved to my side and shook her head.
– A Labyrinth set in the future unravels one thread from among many possible strands of possibility, doesn’t it?
“Exactly. There are futures where technology has advanced to such extraordinary heights, and futures where the Valterian Empire failed to unify all the continents. There are even futures where the genders of actual historical figures have been wholesale reversed.”
– Then… we cannot say with certainty that this Labyrinth’s appearance is our future.
“That’s precisely it.”
I offered her praise as keen as the glint of a polished blade and surveyed the city anew.
Every element of the urban landscape existed solely for the happiness and joy of its inhabitants—a paradise.
A dream city where every face in the flowing crowds overflowed with smiles of delight.
Enter this Labyrinth, and you forget every worry and concern until you leave.
That is, until you uncover the hidden truth beneath.
“Before we begin the real conquest, there is one important matter to attend to first.”
By the time our conversation had wound down, we’d walked steadily enough to arrive at our destination.
Near the central plaza of the city.
A structure of breathtaking magnificence.
A temple.
《Temple of the Lonely Silence Order》
The authorization I obtained from the Holy Knight Valentin—to enter a Dungeon unrelated to my commission—was for the sake of coming here.
The master of this temple is a deity of tremendous refinement.
The Watcher of Lonely Silence.
An evil god of darkening twilight and cyclical death.
Reria.
“Reria, I come as your small flame, yearning to swallow solitude and sink into darkness.”
The third evil god I would serve awaits me here.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————