“I’m not into country bumpkins…especially the poisoned variety.” “You’ve got a point. Usin’ her now would only make you sick.” Karan could only lay there as she heard their vulgar conversation. The voices grew smaller until she was left truly alone. It was just her and the pot snake’s carcass and total silence. Wait… Someone… Save me… There was no one to hear Karan’s cry. A whole day passed. Hmm…? Karan jolted awake. Her body creaked, and her joints ached, but the torturous pain and heat of the poison were gone. “Where am I?” Karan looked around. The room was empty except for her and the corpse of the pot snake. It could hardly be called a corpse anymore. It was only the pitiful remains of the pot snake after all the sellable materials such as its skin and fangs were taken. “That…wasn’t a dream…” Karan was devastated. The joy of surviving was nothing next to the sadness of being betrayed by her comrades. Karan even thought it might have been easier if she just died without knowing what actually happened and what didn’t. All she had left now was her life. “Oh, I wonder…” Karan reached into her chest pocket and pulled something out. “Yep, the amulet is broken…” When Karan left the village, her father—the chief of the dragonian people—gave her a few treasures. The first was the Dragonbone Sword. It was no ordinary sword. It was forged from an alloy of dragonsteel—a mineral found in dragon claws and bones—and iron. It was very sturdy and could be enhanced by the fire dragon’s divine protection. Karan couldn’t use her special move Fire Dragon Slash without it. The second was an amulet called the anti-poison amulet. It was a single-use magic item that activated a strong antitoxin and healing spell when you were in mortal danger as long as you were wearing it. While there were some strong poisons that the anti-poison amulet couldn’t cure, it could handle almost any naturally occurring poison. It took a while for the healing process to complete, but it was undoubtedly an extremely useful item. It was the reason Karan survived. “I can’t believe it took me less than a year to use…” She felt guilty toward her parents. That thought reminded her of her most important treasure, and the blood drained from her face. It was called a dragon king gem. It wasn’t just a jewel; it was also a magic item that was important to all dragonians. There was a legend that the dragonian who served the hero gave their master a gem. A tradition was formed imitating that legend wherein a dragonian would give a gem full of mana to a person they acknowledged as worthy of it. The person who received the gem would be blessed with the divine protection that was bestowed upon the dragonians. It was a powerful magic item that allowed other races to wield the strength of a dragon. That wasn’t all—it was also used as a dowry when a dragonian woman married. A person worthy of being labeled the hero by the dragonians hadn’t appeared for centuries, so the tradition of serving the hero was little more than a lost ideal. Now the gems were more important for finding a marriage partner. The type of gem used didn’t matter. A diamond or a polished pebble would work all the same. However, Karan was the daughter of the chief, and it would make the entire dragonian race look bad if she used something cheap. The chief’s gem was a brilliant ruby larger than any other gem possessed by the dragonian race, and it was filled with a year’s worth of the chief’s mana. It was the highest quality dragon king gem in existence. It was currently stored in her party’s safe at the inn. “Oh no!” Karan had entrusted her possessions to her companions…though she couldn’t call them that anymore. She hadn’t told anyone about the dragon king gem, but it wouldn’t have been surprising if they had heard that all dragonian women were given one. There weren’t a lot of dragonians left, but there were many who distinguished themselves during the war. An adventurer likely would have heard about dragon king gems at some point. “I—I need to hurry!” Karan suppressed her feelings of heartbreak and stood up. Withstanding the loneliness of venturing through a dungeon alone, she began to walk. It took Karan three days to escape from the labyrinth and another week to return to Labyrinth City. The trip took five times as long as the journey to the bottom of the labyrinth, mostly because she had to move carefully to avoid fighting monsters on her own. “Huh?! Aren’t you Callios’s friend?!” The innkeeper of the inn that White Heron had made their base was shocked to see Karan. “Is Callios here?!” Karan asked. “No, he already left. He said you, uh…died in a labyrinth…” “He lied.” “…Apparently.” The innkeeper nodded, and Karan hung her head miserably. The innkeeper said that this was an old trick. There have long been adventurers who turned to thievery when a party argued over how to split up treasure or when a companion possessed a valuable item. That was why it was preached that adventurers should be like family. Occasionally, a person became an adventurer who didn’t give a damn about that and had a disposition to turn to larceny. “A-anyway, where are my possessions?! They—” “Callios and the other two took them. He said he was going to return them to your home. But…” The innkeeper didn’t need to finish his sentence for Karan to understand. There was no way an adventurer who would betray a companion would have been telling the truth. “I’ll report this to the Adventurers Guild, but he’s probably an experienced fraudster. He won’t be easy to catch… Ah, ma’am! Please wait!” Karan left without letting the innkeeper finish. He had helped her when she was in trouble. He had adventured through labyrinths with her. He had put a hand on her shoulder when she needed his help. Was it all…? “Was it all a lie, Callios…?” Just then, Karan noticed something in her pocket. It was the swan pendant, the symbol how he saved her. She was going to give it to him along with a set of matching items as a present when she became able to support herself. She’d wanted to buy it in secret even though he told her not to go shopping on her own. “I don’t want this anymore!” Karan tried to throw it, but she couldn’t. She knew it was all a lie, but a part of her wanted to cling to those memories. Why was she so weak? Feeling disappointed in herself and overcome with despair, she began to sob. “…God dammit, god dammit!” It suddenly began to rain. Labyrinth City’s weather was fickle in the spring. Heavy rain could strike without warning, and today was one of those unlucky days. People vanished from the streets as stalls set up in the vicinity of the inn slowly closed one by one. Karan was glad for the rain—no one saw her cry like a little girl. Karan felt saddened again after searching the places that Callios frequented. Nobody knew where he went—or anything about him at all. There was no sign of his collaborators, either. She was always met with one of two responses when she asked about him: People would either look at her with pity for being fooled, or they would chase her away to avoid being wrapped up in any trouble. She had no idea where her former companions had gone. Thinking logically, it was most likely that they left Labyrinth City. Selling her dragon king gem would net them enough money to retire from adventuring altogether. Even if they were still in Labyrinth City, it had a population in the hundreds of thousands. Karan knew little of the world, and it was very unlikely she would be able to find Callios. The realization caused Karan’s heart to break, filling her with despair…and a great desire to eat. Labyrinth City was loud and dirty, unlike the dragonian village, and there was a lot Karan could not bring herself to like about it. Despite that, there was one thing she had grown fond of. “I should get some food…” She liked how you could eat food from a variety of cultures and races. She had relied on Callios for inn preparations and food until now, so she had never decided on what to eat herself. There were some silver and copper coins in her wallet. Karan wasn’t good at math, but she figured it would last her a week and thought she might as well use it to eat whatever she wanted. There was one problem. She could buy food from street stalls and carts, but she was hesitant to enter a restaurant alone. Karan was surprisingly self-conscious. She was afraid that if she entered a restaurant alone as a dragonian woman and a novice adventurer, she would become a laughingstock. There was also the possibility of someone tricking her when she paid for the meal. But Karan still wanted to eat. A mouthwatering smell wafted from the restaurant she was standing in front of. The sun hadn’t set yet, and customer traffic was slow. If she was going in, now was the time. Would they take her order, though? She was paying for leaving so much in life to her former party members. From now on, she would have to manage meals and lodging all by herself. Just when her feelings of helplessness threatened to overwhelm her heart once again, someone addressed her from behind. “Excuse me. Can you let me pass?” “Hmm? Y-yeah…” It was a male adventurer with short black hair. He was a middle-aged man with a robust physique. He was alone, but he walked into the restaurant without a care in the world. “One ginger pork combo, please,” he ordered. “Yes, sir,” an employee responded. He enjoyed a meal on his own without a care for what anyone thought. Karan found him weird, but she also admired him for his boldness. She noticed the people around him begin to whisper excitedly. “Hey, isn’t that guy…?” “Yeah, there’s no doubt! He’s that S-rank adventurer, Solo Diner Fifs!” Solo Diner Fifs was a mighty warrior who wielded a katana, a sword from the southern region, and was skilled with magic. He had traveled across many lands and was very knowledgeable of the world. He also acted alone, ignoring the common belief that adventurers had to form a party. The Labyrinth City Adventurers Guild normally forbade adventurers from acting solo. Challenging a labyrinth alone was a death wish unless you possessed exceptional strength. The only people who could venture in alone were members of an advanced party—B rank or above—who received the special permission from the guild’s top brass. Receiving that permission was an honor of the highest degree. Fifs was a famous adventurer who had been given that honor, and he was eating alone right in front of her. The Adventurers Guild managed adventurers in party units, so even solo adventurers needed a party name. He decided to use his nickname Solo Diner as his, so everyone called him Solo Diner Fifs. “S-so cool!” Karan muttered to herself. Her heart lit up with hope—maybe eating alone wouldn’t make her look like a loser. It also occurred to her that ordering the same food as him would make it difficult for the restaurant to rip her off. Thinking that, she opened the front door and sat boldly at the counter, just like she saw Fifs do through the window. “Welcome,” the employee said, handing her a menu. Karan had difficulty reading, so she repeated Fifs’s words. “One ginger pork combo, please.” The food hit the spot for the exhausted Karan. From that day on, Karan began to follow Fifs around. She entered the same restaurants as him and ordered the same food. Skewered mutton. The meat was a little smelly, and the spices were so extraordinarily spicy she felt like each bite was going to set her mouth on fire, but the rustic and energizing flavor satisfied her. Shrimp and mushrooms simmered in oil. The taste was just as explosive as the skewered mutton, but in a totally different way. The rich oil blended the taste of the sea with the taste of the mountains, and just one shrimp was surprisingly filling. She was helping herself to seconds and thirds of the baguettes that came with the soup in no time. Beef-and-beet stew. It had a gentle taste despite its bright-red color. Karan figured that, had she been human, every spoonful of this stew would have reminded her of her mother. It had that type of nostalgic taste. A deep-fried mackerel sandwich with vinegar sauce. Karan normally didn’t like blueback fish. She had eaten river shrimp and freshwater crab before, but she had never seen fish from the ocean until she came to Labyrinth City. The deep-fried mackerel sandwich was so good that it made her forget all about her dislike of blueback fish. The crispy surface, the soft texture on the inside, and the rich taste were captivating. Every type of food she ate was shockingly good. Even better, no one treated Karan cruelly for her dirty clothing. There was an explanation for that—Fifs was only choosing restaurants that were welcoming to adventurers and outsiders. He was aware that Karan was following him and copying his orders. Normally, tailing an adventurer was a good way to get yelled at. But Karan looked so happy as she savored the food. Fifs lost all desire to tell her off when he saw that, and he intentionally went to restaurants that wouldn’t treat her cruelly. That said, he didn’t feel like taking her under his wing and showing her the ropes in Labyrinth City. He wouldn’t even form a party, and there was no way he was willing to help someone for free. Other adventurers were rivals and enemies. Fifs thought it would be a bad idea to teach her you could expect charity from others. Letting her imitate him, however, was no problem at all. Karan enjoyed the food without noticing his kindness. She followed him when he abruptly entered a secondhand clothing store as well, thinking there might be something worth checking out inside. “I believe it’s time for a new coat! I can’t enter a nice restaurant lookin’ this filthy!” Fifs said exaggeratedly for all to hear. Even then, Karan didn’t think for a second that he had caught on to her. Just like Fifs wanted, though, she realized she needed to pay attention to her clothes, so she bought a jacket. It was secondhand and a little damaged, but it wasn’t dirty. She actually liked the damage because it gave the jacket its own charm, and it didn’t look shabby at all when she wore it with her armor. Fifs had taught Karan the joy of eating alone without speaking a word to her. She was basically his apprentice. Still, that lifestyle couldn’t last forever. Fifs was touring the restaurants of Labyrinth City as part of his vacation, and once he finished, he was going to begin exploring labyrinths again. Karan was also about to run out of money. Vaguely recalling something she heard while working as an adventurer, Karan decided to go to the Newbies Adventurers Guild. All she remembered was that it was a good place for beginners to form a party; she had no idea what to do once she got there. She had zero experience finding jobs at a guild or inviting other adventurers to join her. She had left everything to her former comrades, or rather, they had shut her down every time she tried to help, telling her to “leave these chores to us and stay ready for battle.” Thinking back, they weren’t being kind to her. She now realized, to keep her in their party, they prevented her from learning how to work alone as an adventurer. She felt suspicious of everyone in the guild as a result. She was convinced that all the people who approached her with a smile were trying to deceive her. No one felt worthy of her trust unless they acted alone like Fifs. “Hey, dragonian lady, you wanna join…? Eek?!” a man began in a sugary tone before cowering when she glared at him. Dragonians were intimidating even under normal circumstances. Experienced dragonian warriors made weaker monsters flee with just a look. Karan had just learned firsthand that there were truly bad people in the world, putting her in a mood that increased her intimidation factor to a level these novice adventurers could not handle. Karan needed to recruit companions and resume work as an adventurer. She would run out of money otherwise. Fighting was her only talent, meaning there was no other work available to her. She had no choice, but she couldn’t get over the fear that everyone who approached her was trying to take advantage of her. In the end, Karan was unable to accept any invitations, and she couldn’t bring herself to approach anyone else, either. The closing time for Newbies arrived, and the adventurers all headed to a neighboring bar. Karan had eaten there once before. The food was terrible, but it was apparently tradition for novice adventurers to eat and drink there after forming a party. Karan decided to eat there, too. At least it was cheap. Deciding she needed to put aside her gourmet standards, she placed an order. The food was as bad as expected. She would have been able to put up with it if that was the only problem, but the embarrassment and hatred she felt toward herself robbed her of any ability to enjoy the meal. The merriment of the novice adventurers around her only exacerbated those feelings. A group of adventurers meeting for the first time were eating and drinking happily at the next table over. They shared a toast to their new friendships and their adventures to come. She was sure their alcohol and barley porridge probably tasted great to them as they shared hopeful words like “I’m looking forward to working with you all” and “I trust you guys.” No matter how bad the food was, it tasted good if your heart is filled with hope. Now that Karan thought about it, her admiration for Fifs as she imitated him amplified the taste of the food she ate. She wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything with how miserable she felt now. What was the point of trusting others? They would just let you down. There was no way she could ever trust anyone who used that word. People like Callios. The image of his handsome face and blond hair flashed in the back of her mind, causing her to seethe with anger. Why did you betray me? I trusted you. The unhappy thoughts swirling in her heart emerged from her mouth in a spontaneous shout. ““““I’ll never trust anyone again!””””
Chapter 8
16 min read