Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)
Volume 1 - Ch 4.01

Player Name: Kaga Michio

Character Information & Equipment:

Class: Villager Lv3, Hero Lv1, Thief Lv3

Accessory: Ring of Determination, Sandals, Bandit Bandana

The day was still young. If the main roads in this town are designed in such a way that they are heading directly to the north, south, east and west, then the sun has moved slightly over the west towards the south. So it should be a little over noon, if Im not mistaken?

Now that Ive gotten back onto the main road, the first place I will try to visit will be the Explorers Guild which is in that second building to the right, according to the information I have obtained from Alan the Slave Merchant.

So that confirms that he wasnt lying: there really is such a Job as an Explorer. Just to be sure I used Identify on that one hot chick in the building and it showed me that she was a Lv17 Explorer, just like the receptionist-looking guy behind the counter.

Okay, now for the most important part: do I really have to join the Explorers Guild to become an Explorer myself? Also, I was expecting the inside of the building to look more like a tavern, or the medieval equivalent of an office building, but if I were to draw any comparisons, then Id have to say it looked like a primitive post office, wooden tables, counters and mailbox next to the guilds main entrance included. Several townspeople were already inside, apparently doing business with the guilds staff, because I heard sentences such as Ill take that, then, Sold or So how much is this going to cost me? being used. If that is any indication, then I guess this place can also buy items off of you and made it possible for you to purchase whatever it is they are offering. But I am not interested in those, not for now at least.

First of all, Ill need to do some information gathering. Listening to the people around me in hopes of catching something interesting, I headed over to what I assumed to be an information board with multiple pieces of parchment stuck to it.

Well, shit. I cant read any of those strange letters.

Something is definitely written there, but I dont know what that is, which is strange since the Bandits Intelligence Cards were written in kanji, so why are the letters here different? Is the Explorers Guild special or were the Intelligence Cards special?

Excuse me sir, is there a problem? Do you need assistance with anything?

A soft voice called out to me from behind my back. When I turned around, I learned It belonged to a young girl who looked roughly the same age as me. She was a Lv2 Explorer and was dressed in the same receptionist outfit as the guy behind the counter.

Uhm, yes. Actually, Im sorry to bother you but I cant read any of those.

I said apologetically while pointing at the message board.

Of course sir. If thats the case then I can read the information you want for 16 Nar.

I see. A substitute reader, huh? In a world in which the literacy rate is quite low and the ability to read is a privilege reserved mostly for those of noble birth who could afford to learn it, such an institution might actually be a quite lucrative business. And the price seemed to be pretty reasonable, but that is just my own opinion, that is to say a layman who doesnt know the actual value of this worlds currency and the average hourly payment rate.

Then please do so.

I took the backpack off my back and got the necessary amount of money out of the drawstring bag.

I wonder if 16 Nar is the standard price, or the one that has already been affected by my 30% discount skill? Because my intuition was telling me that the former was the case here.

Please follow after me.

She took the pieces of paper out of the board and we made our way to one of the tables. On the way, she passed the payment on to the receptionist dude. So I assume hes responsible for handling all the money that comes from the transactions with the people who want to read the information despite not being able to read themselves? That might be wise from the guilds perspective, but I hope that guy leaves all the money here when he finishes his shift. After all, if we assume that the Explorers Guild earns a lot from substitute reading alone, then the caretaker of said money would make a perfect target for a robbery.

Money, huh?

It pained me a little that I had to spend some money so soon after steeling myself to save as much of it as possible, but if its for the purpose of getting as much information about this world as I can, then I will take every little piece of info I can get my hands on, as long as it will lead me to making lots of money in no time.

On a totally unrelated side note, that girl is as pretty as Roxanne is, at least when we talk about facial features. If were talking about boobs, then hers were hidden under the uniform she was wearing, but at the very least the visible bulges confirmed that she was not as flat as a cutting board. But she was still inferior to Roxanne, who was an absolute bombshell all across the board!

All right , I can translate as many things as you want, as long as itll be in the time it takes for the sand in this sand watch to finish falling. Is that alright with you?

She then procured a small hourglass out of her pocket and showed it to me, probably so that I wouldnt try to accuse her of cheating on time. But I feel like I should point out that even for a pocket hourglass, the midsection was surprisingly narrow. I wonder how much time it will take for the sand to fall from one section to the other? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Maybe 15 at best? Either way, I should get this lady to read as many documents as she can for me. In other words, be as precise with your questions and demands as you can.

Okay, I understand.

Then I presume we can start the countdown?

Yes, please do.

She then placed the hourglass on the table and turned it upside down, beginning the sifting of the sand inside.

So, what exactly do you want to know, Mr. Customer?

She asked me. What I want to know is wait, actually, I dont even know what I want to know, because I have no idea what is written on those pieces of paper. I asked her to read them for me precisely because I wanted to know that! So I guess well start with that and then branch out to the specifics.

What is written in this document right here?

Those are the general information about the newly-discovered Labyrinth, The Labyrinth of Cooratar. The current exploration progress is 11 levels. The first level is inhabited primarily by Needlewoods, level 2 is the domain of Nave Olives, the third one

I dont get a single word of what shes saying to me. Like, I hear those words, but none of them is clicking with me. All I know is that shes probably talking about monsters prowling each level of the Labyrinths dungeon.

What about the intel on the Labyrinths deepest depths?

She takes all the papers and searches through them in order.

Well it looks like no one has reached the deepest level yet, therefore we dont have any information on it yet. Im sorry.

After all that searching, all she had for me was a disappointing answer. But I kinda expected it, since the Labyrinth was apparently discovered only a few days ago. Of course no one would have reached all the way to its end in such a short amount of time.

And the other papers? What are they about?

The ones over here contain the details of jobs for an Explorer.

Another piece of knowledge which was imparted to me by Alan the Slave Merchant was that the Guilds generally did not offer quests and jobs to outsiders, and that they might replace it difficult to recruit Party members, but he also said that the guilds are always open for accepting new members into their ranks. But for the time being I would like to avoid making any decisions that may or may not have an impact on the rest of my days spent here. Before I commit myself to one guild or the other, Ill have to carefully consider all of the options available to me to ensure that I wont pick the worst possible one on the worst possible conditions. Kinda like with job hunting back on earth, but with more dire consequences.