“Ugh… this is so gross…”
Alje was so utterly disgusted that Hans eventually changed direction, heading toward a nearby water source.
The labyrinth provided everything in abundance — water included.
Of course, whether that water was safe to drink, given how often it mingled with monster blood and poison, was a different story.
For monsters, it didn’t matter.
But humans?
They had to purify it several times before it was safe.
“I’m being considerate because it’s your first time, but don’t expect this kind of treatment in the future. Got it?”
“I got it… but still, they were bugs! Bugs!”
When would this girl finally develop the mindset needed to survive among the labyrinth’s people?
Hans found it amazing how Alje’s unchanging innocence could be endearing one moment — and then maddening the next when she whined like this.
Alje scrubbed her hands furiously in the poisoned water, rubbing so hard it looked like she might peel her own skin off.
It was dangerous — the toxins in the water could easily damage her flesh — but when she pulled her hands out of the clear pool, they were still perfectly unblemished, without a single scratch.
Hans scooped up some water himself.
Honestly, he couldn’t pretend it didn’t feel a bit gross…“What are you doing, old man?”
“Just getting a drink.”
“You’re gonna drink the water I just washed my hands in?!”
Alje’s overreaction made the whole thing feel even more unpleasant, but if you wanted to survive in the labyrinth, you had to get used to this kind of thing.
Hans mixed some witchweed powder into the water, stirred it a bit, and ran it through a simple purifier.
It still wasn’t what you’d call “clean,” but at least it wouldn’t kill him.
“Ugh… Old man, your tastes are seriously…”
“Shut up.”
Even after drinking the water, his thirst didn’t feel any less intense — if anything, the unpleasantness only grew.
He was hot, sweaty, and irritated… maybe it was time to cool off.
Hans gauged the size of the pool, then started taking off his clothes.
“Eek! What are you doing?!”
“Well, we found a water source, so I’m taking the chance to wash up.”
Scent was a beacon for the labyrinth’s more sensitive monsters.
A body tough enough to withstand poison was also resistant to disease, but hygiene wasn’t just a matter of comfort — it was survival.
Of course, you couldn’t expect to stay perfectly clean while wandering the labyrinth, so you had to seize opportunities like this whenever they arose.
“If you’re going to wash, do it now. We won’t find another water source for a few days.”
“A few days? You mean I won’t get to wash for days?! That’s insane!”
Seeing her horrified expression, Hans finally said what he’d been holding back this whole time.
“Adventure’s always like this.”
The idea of “going on an adventure” might sound glamorous and exciting in storybooks, but the reality was far grimmer — a life on the road was always dirty and uncomfortable.
And in the labyrinth, where there wasn’t even a proper road?
It was worse.
Alje seemed to finally grasp that, nodding reluctantly.
Her face stayed pouty, but at least she wasn’t complaining anymore.
Frankly, the way Hans treated her was already far better than how most rookies were handled.
She was important to him, and he planned to look after her… but following her whims at every turn was a different matter entirely.
Thankfully, Alje generally listened when it mattered.
“Fine, whatever.”
Hans tossed another handful of witchweed powder into the water.
The poison in the pool was just one manifestation of the labyrinth’s pervasive miasma — and a veteran hunter’s body was tough enough to withstand it.
And it wasn’t like he was taking all his clothes off, either — stripping completely in the middle of the labyrinth would be suicide.
After placing his sword safely on a nearby rock, Hans stepped into the pool.
It was more of a puddle than a proper spring, small enough to earn the label of “pool” at best.
But while it wasn’t particularly deep, the current was surprisingly swift.
As he splashed around, trying to wash off the grime, the sound of the water mixed with a faintly disturbing slithering noise.
“You—”
“Huh? What? You told me to wash, didn’t you?”
He had said that.
But obviously, he’d meant she should wait until he was finished first.
All that earlier embarrassment seemed to have vanished, because Alje had shed every last piece of clothing without a hint of hesitation.
Even the leather padding she wore over her chest had been removed — revealing not just her pale, bare skin, but the gaping, blood-oozing hole where her heart should have been.
She dipped her white, delicate foot into the water, only to yelp in pain.
“Ah! It stings!”
Maybe the witchweed’s monster-repelling properties were affecting her, too.
Then again, only weaker creatures were driven off by that stuff — and Alje was anything but weak.
Ignoring the discomfort, she plunged fully into the pool.
For Hans, the water rose to about his chest.
For Alje, it nearly reached her shoulders.
The clear, transparent water slowly turned crimson as the vivid red of her blood spread through it.
When that blood drifted close to Hans, his skin began to prickle and sting.
It was probably just his imagination.…At least, for now.
“You… really…”
“…Ugh, forget it.”
“What? Why’d you stop mid-sentence?!”
She was such an unpredictable girl.
Her way of thinking was so completely different from anyone Hans had ever met that trying to judge her by common sense or experience felt utterly useless.
And yet, that unpredictable nature was amusing in its own way.
If only they weren’t in this cursed labyrinth — if this weren’t a world where their lives were constantly threatened, where they had to abandon dignity just to survive.
If they were just ordinary people living outside.
“…Hey. Stop staring at my chest.”
“Are you seriously getting embarrassed now? I mean, more importantly—”
Hans cut off his train of thought at Alje’s grumbling.
And sure, he had been looking at her chest — but not for the reason that was making her blush.
“That wound… When’s it going to heal?”
For a monster — especially one as high-ranking as Alje — her regenerative abilities should have been remarkable.
The fact that she was walking around perfectly fine with no heart was already proof of her incredible vitality.
But the gaping hole where her heart should’ve been hadn’t changed at all since the moment they’d first met atop that hill of corpses.
The blood flowing from it never rotted or clotted — it remained fresh, as though it had just left her veins.
Alje’s face, which had been showing a mix of embarrassment and playful irritation, quickly grew calm.
The pale color of her cheeks was now tinged with a faint awkwardness — and something closer to hesitation.
“Oh, this? Time alone won’t heal it.”
“…Then…”
“Shouldn’t I be the one worrying about you? Just look at those scars of yours.”
She dodged the question, shifting the conversation’s focus instead.
Since Hans was still shirtless, his upper body was clearly visible under the labyrinth’s dim, pale light.
His muscular frame stood out — but even more eye-catching were the scars crisscrossing his skin like spiderwebs or thorny vines.
He had no miraculous healing powers like those of a saint, so the blades of men and the claws of monsters had left his body covered in countless marks — like someone had used him as a canvas for their violent scribbles.
“They’re proof that I survived.”
Or, as one of his more eloquent friends once put it — they were the medals of a rightful heir, hard-earned and well-deserved.
After all, not even those grievous wounds had managed to kill him.
“…But are you okay?”
“They’re all healed now. And besides — I probably won’t be getting any more scars like this in the future, right?”
“Huh?”
“Because if I get hurt… you’ll heal me, won’t you?”
It was an obvious thing to say.
But for Alje, it was enough.
“So you do need me, huh?”
“Well… yeah, I guess so.”
“…I see.”
The “bath” wasn’t anything particularly extravagant.
Hans simply washed off the grime, wrung the water out of his clothes, and stepped out of the spring.
The toxins in the water were starting to make his skin sting — it was about time to call it quits.
Meanwhile, Alje — who had initially been grimacing from the discomfort — now seemed perfectly content.
The girl remained submerged in the pale pink water, her delicate form relaxed and serene.
Her skin, so white and flawless, made it clear just how carefully she’d been protected and cherished throughout her life.
Despite her mature figure, she often looked younger than her age — likely because the innocence in her expressions mirrored that of a child.
Her body had grown up, but her heart had yet to face the trials that would truly help it mature.
But the expression on her face now was unlike anything she’d worn before.
Her brows furrowed deeply as though recalling something unpleasant — a stark contrast to her usual childishness.
She looked… like an adult.
“…You asked me earlier why this wound won’t heal.”
Despite the constant flow of the spring she was submerged in, the water around her was steadily, unmistakably turning crimson.
“It’s because I was pierced by a holy lance.”