The immortal hero who thinks of the heroines as his daughters vs. heroines who want to make the hero understand them - Chap 5

“Oh?”

One day, while Linda was out for a stroll, she spotted something strange. It was something that seemed to be halfway between liquid and solid, wobbling around, moving at a rather leisurely pace.

Out of habit, she squashed it, and only then did a question come to mind.

“…Why is a monster outside of the labyrinth?”

When Rex was training his spirit power, Linda came running over, her feet pattering.

“Rex, something strange happened earlier.”

“Something strange?”

“You know the monsters that are often in the labyrinth? I saw one of them outside.”

The girl’s puzzled expression showed no sign of lying. However, the story was hard to believe, and he couldn’t help but question her.

“…Monsters have never come outside before, right?”

“Yes, the first time I met a monster, I was so scared I ran away. I was so paralyzed with fear that I was incredibly slow, but I managed to escape. At that moment, when I went outside, it was as if there was an invisible wall… something was… bumping into it….”

“That is…”

The mystery of the labyrinth deepened further. But what they needed to worry about now was how the monster had broken through the “something” at the entrance of the hole. It was fortunate that the monster that came out was weak, but if a stronger being or a large number of them emerged, it could become a significant threat.

“—No, was the monster Linda saw the only one?”

“Eh?”

“Were there no other monsters around?”

“Th-there probably weren’t, but… it should be fine, right? After all, the monsters are so weak that we can defeat them just by stepping on them…”

“That’s because we were prepared as youngsters! If there’s a surprise attack, or if an elderly person who has trouble moving is attacked, it could be life-threatening!”

“!”

At Rex’s words, Linda’s eyes widened as if she understood the gravity of the situation. She suddenly looked frantic and began to glance around.

“What should we do? Grandpa is missing.”

“The village chief? Isn’t he at home…?”

“I went home earlier, and Grandpa wasn’t there… Maybe he’s looking for me.”

“What did he say when he left the house!?”

He said, ‘I’ll take a look at the labyrinth while I’m out for a walk’…”

“We need to go now!”

Casting aside his usual calm demeanor, he grabbed Linda’s hand and started running. Even the usually composed Linda could not help but follow with a pale face in this situation.

When the two of them arrived at the labyrinth, they saw the village chief being attacked by a monster.

“Grandpa!”

With a scream-like voice, Linda struck the monster that was about to push him down, sending it flying. Rex shielded them with his back, facing the creature as it inched closer with a slow, grinding movement.

(Really… there are monsters outside)

He couldn’t hide his astonishment. Encounters with monsters were an everyday occurrence when he was in the Spirit Mountain, but since coming to this village, he had never seen them outside. That’s why he had believed in Linda’s common sense that “monsters cannot leave the labyrinth.”

Defeating the enemy in front of him was easy. As he always did, he could dispatch it as simply as crushing an ant. Rushing to the village chief’s side, he saw Linda clinging to the man, who had collapsed on the ground, crying.

Could it be, he had died—?

“How’s the village chief?”

“…It’s no good.”

“What…?”

“His chronic back problem. When he fell in terror at the sight of the monster, he was utterly beaten.”

“…That’s good… no, is it good?”

Though Rex breathed a sigh of relief knowing that there was no immediate threat to the chief’s life, he tilted his head at hearing the situation.

“He’s been farming on the edge this whole time… and now, it’s finally over.”

She shook her head sadly, her movements so intense that the village chief, cradled in her arms, groaned in pain.

“My… my back…”

“Hey, the village chief looks in pain.”

“How could this happen…! If only I hadn’t said I was going to the labyrinth!”

“Ugh!?”

“Ah.”

Unable to bear the emotion welling up from the depths of her heart, Linda hugged the village chief tightly. Her hand had been near his back, and after his face twisted in pain, he quietly lost consciousness.

“Grandfather!!”

The young girl’s wail echoed emptily into the sky…

◇

“So, what happened after that?”

“Grandfather’s getting on in years, so he said, ‘I’ve been thinking about retiring soon. This is a good opportunity.'”

“So Linda will take over as the village chief?”

“It seems that way.”

Two days had passed since the village chief’s back-breaking incident (his daughter dealt the final blow), and they were talking at the village chief’s house. Though he seemed beyond recovery, surprisingly, he revived a few hours later and is showing a desire to enjoy his second life.

“That’s good. The tomboy daughter will probably settle down when she becomes more responsible.”

“Temporarily, maybe. I don’t think I can handle being the village chief.”

Linda answered, her lips pursed, to Rex’s teasing smile. Since discovering the monster, there had been chaos and a huge commotion. The villagers were mobilized for a massive search in the area to ensure that nothing else had come out of the labyrinth. Fortunately, nothing was found except for the creature that attacked the village chief, but anxiety had spread among the villagers.

“We’ve put up a fence at the entrance to the labyrinth… but honestly, I’m still worried.”

She crossed her arms. To prevent the monster—named “slime” due to its mud-like nature—from venturing out again, a plan to build a wall around the labyrinth had been devised. Since a full wall couldn’t be completed immediately, a fence was used as a temporary measure, but it’s unlikely to be effective against the slime.

“They’re still keeping watch in shifts, I hear.”

“Yes. The monster—it was named slime, wasn’t it? Anyone can defeat a slime, and its movements are slow, so it’s not that much of a threat.”

The problem is:

“What if other monsters… appear…”

The common belief was that monsters couldn’t come out of the labyrinth. Now that this rule has been broken, the old wisdom can no longer be trusted. They have not seen any monsters other than slimes so far, but it’s unthinkable that new kinds of monsters won’t emerge from deeper within.

“…Rex.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m seriously considering conquering the labyrinth.”

A powerful resolve was in Linda’s eyes. She couldn’t allow an incident like the one with the village chief to happen again. This event may have ended with minor injuries, but there’s no telling when someone might lose their life.

If so, she must uncover the true nature of the labyrinth, which seems to go on forever, and nobody knows how far. If possible, destroy it. That’s the only way to ensure that there are no more victims like her grandfather.

She turned her eyes away from the fact that she herself was partly (if not mostly) responsible for what had happened, setting a goal that she didn’t know if she could achieve in her lifetime.

“Isn’t that a good idea? Well, it might be difficult with just the two of us.”

“I’ve thought about that. We’ll get help from others.”

“The villagers? But…”

Rex envisioned the faces of the village residents, most of whom were deeply wrinkled with age.

“You know what I’m getting at. You’re worried about the age of the villagers, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t exactly say that.”

“You want to say that old folks would be a burden against dangerous monsters, right?”

“I didn’t exactly say that either?”

“Then, listen! We’ll call people from outside the village to conquer the labyrinth!”

Linda declared, her face full of confidence, as if she was the greatest strategist ever. Rex, utterly convinced that she wasn’t listening, sarcastically applauded, his expression filled with disbelief. They were completely at odds.

“I hereby declare! We will expand the ranks of those who challenge the labyrinth—the adventurers—and establish an ‘Adventurers’ Guild’!”