Wow, that got a bigger rise out of her than I thought it would. That was almost as dramatic as Fez’s reaction. I knew it sold for a high price on Tundra, but the herb I used for it grew like weeds all over Labyrinth #228, so I had trouble internalizing how special they really were. Maybe this was how farmers who grew high-quality crops and fruit felt.
“Is it that valuable?”
“Don’t ask me. I live and work on this side, so I wouldn’t know.”
Karumi wasn’t going to be any help with this one, it seemed.
“You bet your butt it’s valuable! Even Grade 8 potions are valuable, and the market is flooded with them. If it’s higher than Grade 8, it’s both powerful and scarce. That’s a premium product you’ve got right there!”
She was practically bouncing on her toes.
“Now wait just a darn minute. I heard there was a new labyrinth manager putting out the occasional high-level magic potion on Tundra a while back. That was you?”
“Yeah, must have been. I cashed out a few on Tundra a couple months ago.”
“What the heck were they thinking, making that place a battle-type labyrinth when they had such amazing materials available?! If you had a production and storage labyrinth, you could meet your quota in a few days with top-notch potions like that! Seriously, give me a break here. Bleh, whatever. Anyway, that’ll be more than enough to lure in your hunters.”
“Well, if you say so. Then I guess we’ll run with the plan.”
Seriously, they were that valuable?
“Now, what about a labyrinth guardian? You don’t have any personnel, do you?”
“What’s a guardian?”
“Uh, hello, you’re obviously gonna need a big scary boss at the end. Like, what if they made it through the labyrinth and found you? They’d kick your tail! That’s why you need a boss for them to fight at the end.”
“Is that how it works?”
I looked over at Karumi.
“...This should all have been written in the documentation you were supposed to receive.”
Karumi hunched her shoulders defensively.
“And unfortunately, there’s just the two of you here.”
Karumi seemed a little down about the sorry state of my labyrinth. After all, it wasn’t as though she’d helped me find Ann. I’d had to build my own family.
“So, sure, I need a guardian. But aside from me, the only person in the labyrinth is...”
I looked down at Ann, who had been quietly listening to the conversation while clutching my sleeve.
“What’s wrong, Aoi? Oh, um, I should say hi, shouldn’t I? Nice to meet you, Miss Suzu. I’m the manager’s... family? My name is Ann. I’m very happy to be with Aoi!”
Ann gave a little bow.
“Oh, hello there. Nice to meetcha. Just call me Suzu.”
“Okie dokie!”
“Aww, aren’t you just the cutest little thing?”
It seemed Ann’s natural charm had already won over Suzu. I could relate to that. So you could see why I objected so strongly to making Ann fight while I watched from the sidelines.
“We absolutely can’t make Ann the guardian.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.”
“Heck yeah. I’d be judging you so hard if you’d suggested it.”
I was glad Karumi, Suzu, and I were all on the same page.
“Okay, so tell me more about the expectations of a labyrinth guardian. What kind of training would they need?”
“The main thing is that they need to be capable of putting up a powerful defense. Physical strength is the most important qualification.”
Some of the villagers were crazy strong, but none of them were familiar with fighting, so they were all out of the question.
“They’ll need to be sturdy, too. If a hunter puts your guardian completely out of commission, the labyrinth is done for. You really need someone with good defense and a high vitality stat.”
So an offensive unit wouldn’t work. Made sense. If you thought about it like an RPG, when you were clearing out some dungeon, the boss would almost always be something tanky with a ton of HP.
“And most importantly, they need courage. Guardians usually fight at a disadvantage: one against a party. This isn’t a job for a coward. Even seasoned warriors can find it a bit much when the numbers are turned against them.”
Man, did I know anybody who could do this? The only one who came to mind was Fez, the ex-mercenary wolfman peddler, but he’d said he couldn’t take up the sword again.
“All right, guess I’ll add looking for a guardian to my to-do list, along with building up the labyrinth.”
“I can introduce you to some of the Daemon mercenaries I have connections with. They’re a bunch of pansies when you get right down to it, though, so I can’t exactly recommend them.”
“Thanks, Suzu. You’ve done a lot for me already. With your help, I know I’ll pull through this.”
I offered her a humble thanks, bowing my head. I was sure I wouldn’t have come up with this solution on my own, and I attached a lot of importance to thanking people who had helped me.
“Aw, shucks, it’s no big deal. I’m your mentor, right? Kind of what I’m here for, dude! And we’ve got a long road ahead of us, don’t forget.”
Suzu blushed and smiled, trying to play it off. Her reaction was different from Ann’s would have been, with her simple innocence, but it was sweet all the same.
“Just call me if you need anything. I’m here to look out for you, and don’t you forget it!”
And with that parting shot, she hung up.
“All right then. I’ve got to find an overseer for the construction, and that’s not going to be easy. Karumi, can I count on you to scout out the capable hunters and figure out some way to entice them here to challenge the labyrinth?”
“Yes, let me handle that. I know we’re asking a lot here, but I believe in you.”
Karumi offered me a little bow and summoned a door, then opened it and returned to her office.