Before heading straight to the tavern, there were a few things to take care of.
People might not care too much about him walking around in this state, but trying to enter a building was a different matter.
He needed to get new clothes and clean himself up.
Water was scarce, and the conditions were harsh—things that were taken for granted in daily life became quite troublesome in the labyrinth.
Still, this time, it was definitely worth the effort.
“~…”
Hans stood in front of the partition where Alje was, leisurely whistling as he waited.
In his hand, a dagger spun effortlessly, catching the light with its sharp edge.
The figures lingering nearby flinched at the glint.
Among them were not only scavengers but also a few hunters.
Even so, compared to Hans, they were all small fry.
“Damn flies… They always have a knack for sniffing things out.”
Muttering to himself, he flicked the dagger into the air and played with it for a while.
Then, noticing one of the figures creeping closer, he suddenly hurled the blade toward their feet.
“Scram.”
The group scattered in a panic.
Retrieving his dagger, Hans returned to his post in front of the partition.
He had lost count of how many times this had happened—it was too much of a hassle to keep track.
How long had he been waiting?
Soon, he heard the sound of a door opening behind him.
And then, the freshly cleaned girl stepped out from within.
“Uh, how do I look?”
“…..”
Alje asked, her face slightly flushed.
For a brief moment, Hans was at a loss for words.
Thinking back, the first time he met Alje was in a place where lifeless corpses were piled up, drained of all vitality.
Beneath them, the girl’s bare body had been soaked in blood.
And that hole in her chest—how could he forget?
The exposed, pulsating veins and the blood gushing from within had been vividly visible.
And yet, despite seeing all of that, Hans had thought she looked as beautiful as an angel without wings.
Now, with all those harrowing factors stripped away, the girl standing before him was breathtakingly stunning.
She was only wearing a loosely fitted leather outfit, something he had picked out with a rough estimate.
Her short, sleek black hair gleamed like an insect’s antennae.
Her amber eyes, though no longer glowing, still shimmered with an unusual hue.
Her gentle gaze and youthful face contrasted starkly with her mature physique.
As he became aware of lingering eyes converging on her, Hans snapped back to his senses.
“…Looks fine.”
“What? That’s it? You were totally staring, all dazed.”
“I was not.”
As they entered the city, Alje had initially kept a bit of distance, as if wary of her surroundings.
But now, as if that had all been a lie, she smiled warmly and clung close to him again.
It seemed she had finally sorted out the complicated feelings she’d had while looking around Heimvig.
Though ignorant in some ways, she appeared sharp enough to adapt quickly.
Now, it was Hans who had to get his own jumbled thoughts in order.
“Let’s go! I want to see more places.”
“Uh… yeah.”
Unlike how she had shrunk back when they first entered Heimvig, the girl was now eager and uninhibited.
In fact, this felt much closer to the real Alje—the way she had been since they first met.
The only difference was that things he had brushed off back at the Corpse Hill were now hitting him much harder.
Ironically, she had been completely naked then, while now she was at least properly dressed.
“By the way… your chest… I mean, you covered it properly, right?”
“Of course. You kept nagging about it, so I made sure. Want to check?”
“No thanks.”
“Just kidding~ As if I’d actually show you.”
Hearing Alje’s cheerful laughter, Hans let out a small, self-deprecating chuckle.
His reaction was almost like that of a clueless boy who didn’t know how to deal with women.
It was probably because he felt more at ease now.
Even though he had acted composed at the Corpse Hill, the truth was, the whole situation had been incredibly tense for him.
Only after securing a certain level of safety did Hans finally have enough peace of mind to focus on other things.
“Still, don’t forget to always be careful.”
“I tied it up tight. Don’t worry so much.”
Mimic beasts were monsters that had perfected the art of imitating humans.
But the wound on her chest—one that refused to heal—was something that couldn’t be hidden completely.
In the end, Hans’ solution was to place a layer of absorbent Inverted Octopus leather inside her undergarment.
If tightly secured to cover the exposed area, at least the blood wouldn’t seep through to her outer clothes.
Of course, there were drawbacks—like how the leather could only absorb so much blood before needing to be replaced, or the fact that Inverted Octopus leather was incredibly rare and expensive.
But those were problems for later.
With everything set, the two left the well and stepped back onto the streets.
“….”
Alje had walked out with her shoulders held high, brimming with confidence—only to shrink back again as the crowd thickened.
While she had adjusted to the stench and filth of Heimvig, it seemed she still needed more time to get used to people.
It was understandable.
Even Hans, who was currently locked in a silent staring contest with the onlookers, could feel the sharp, piercing gazes drilling into them.
In a place this wretched, anything beautiful inevitably drew attention.
The only reason they didn’t dare approach was that Hans stood beside Alje, exuding a menacing aura that made it clear she was under his protection.
Given the nature of the labyrinth city, this was less of a “bodyguard escorting a lady” situation and more of a “this one is mine, so don’t touch” kind of primitive display.
And in a place like this, such savage behavior was far more effective than any words could be.
Of course, no matter how threatening Hans acted, he couldn’t completely shake off the persistent stares clinging to them.
The Needle in the Haystack Following a familiar path, they soon arrived at his usual tavern.
Alje hesitated at the entrance, but Hans, unfazed, pulled her along and pushed the door open without hesitation.
As the door swung inward, an image flickered through Alje’s mind—of the lively, boisterous atmosphere that people usually associated with taverns.
Naturally, the taverns of the labyrinth city were nothing like that.
The first thing she noticed was the thick, hazy smoke seeping through the doorway, carrying a bizarre, pungent stench—something distinct from the flames used to burn monster dung, yet equally difficult to get used to.
Next came a sharp, irritable voice.
“Close the damn door! Tch, missed my shot.”
“Still alive, old man?”
But Hans, familiar with all of this, didn’t even flinch.
The smell didn’t make him grimace, and he remained as composed as ever.
As if entirely accustomed to the situation, Hans didn’t even wrinkle his nose at the stench.
Instead, he casually greeted the bartender.
With a firm tug, he pulled Alje inside, causing her to stumble forward.
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind them, trapping the girl inside.
The interior of the establishment resembled a tavern—at least in terms of the placement of tables and the counter.
But beyond that, it didn’t resemble a tavern at all.
Not in the slightest!
Even someone as inexperienced with the world as Alje could tell that this place was anything but an ordinary pub.
“That’s what I should be saying. You haven’t shown your face around here for days.”
“Well, it’s not like we have that close of a relationship, do we?”
It wasn’t that the tavern was empty.
In fact, there were far more patrons inside than one might expect from the outside.
However, most of them were slumped over their tables, lying motionless as if they were corpses.
Spilled drinks had seeped into the floorboards, leaving behind dark stains.
The wooden surfaces, long neglected, were rotting and gnawed away by pests.
Even the few who seemed relatively sober barely reacted to the conversation, flinching slightly at the voices but nothing more.
“It’s not just me. No one’s seen you around.”
“And besides…”
Despite the number of people present, the unsettling silence of the place created a deep sense of discomfort.
The moment she stepped inside, Alje felt it—an inexplicable, suffocating unease.
Despite the numerous people present, the eerie silence of the tavern created an inexplicable sense of unease.
The only sounds breaking the stillness were the voices of Hans and the old bartender the only one in the establishment who seemed fully conscious.
“…And bringing along such a cute little girl, too. She doesn’t look like a customer to me.”
“Ah, well, I can’t exactly leave her alone. Makes me uneasy.”
Yes, all his previous words had been just for show.
From the start, Hans had no intention of leaving Alje behind.
It wasn’t possessiveness—it was a purely rational decision.
The unavoidable fate of someone carrying treasure, so to speak.
If it were a real treasure, at least he could lock it away in a vault.
“The usual.”
“Sure. Dragon bile mixed with deathshade poison, one cup?”
A coin flew straight toward the old man’s face, only to be caught effortlessly by his wrinkled hand.
“Don’t mess with me, old man. You don’t have that much time left—you should try to enjoy what’s left.”
Their banter was both familiar and laced with a hint of menace.
Before long, a mug of beer—looking suspiciously like horse piss—was placed in front of Hans.
The quality was undoubtedly trash, but in the labyrinth city, even this was a luxury.
“And this?”
Ignoring the small white packet the bartender dangled in his hand, Hans simply took a swig of the lukewarm beer, letting it burn down his throat.
The taste was awful, but even this was something to be grateful for.
After downing the mug and setting it down with a loud thud, Alje, who had been sitting in an awkward posture, flinched in surprise.
“So.”
Even if Hans was crude, he hadn’t come all this way just to wet his throat with cheap beer.
His exhausted body craved rest, and exposing Alje to prying eyes too often wasn’t a good idea.
But before any of that, there was something more urgent to take care of.
“Give me the latest rumors. That’s what I’m paying for.”
“Huh? I thought the beer already covered the cost.”
“You’re joking, right? I’d sooner drink horse piss than pay for this swill.”
Survival took priority over indulgence.
Gathering intelligence was more important than satisfying desires.
He had been away from Heimvig for a while—who knew what kind of madness had unfolded in his absence?
If there was nothing significant, that was fine too.
The money would be wasted, but at least he could relax.
“Ahh, now that you mention it, I did hear something interesting.”
“What? Don’t drag it out—spill it already.”
The old man, having just tucked the coin under the counter, flashed a grin, revealing a gap where his teeth used to be.
“Some esteemed person is looking for a runaway bastard, or so they say.”