It was a stone building like the others nearby, stretching back to the second floor.
If there was one thing that set it apart, it was that it was several times larger than the other taverns.
And its location near Babel Square was undoubtedly ideal for attracting adventurers who wanted to eat and drink their fill after a day of fighting. It was prime real estate, without a doubt.
Without a powerful faction backing it, it would have been difficult to hold on to a place like this through money alone.
Perhaps that was also why this tavern dared to stay open after all the others had closed.
Either way, as long as I could get a meal, that was good enough.
But when Noah walked through the door, he saw a waitress clearing tables and sweeping the floor. There wasn't a single customer in the tavern.
Could he really be that unlucky?
"Um, adventurer?"
As Noah hesitated, a gentle voice came from behind him, and he slowly turned around.
She was a human girl wearing a tender-green jumper dress that fell below her knees, with a snow-white apron tied over it.
Her light-gray hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head, with a tail of hair hanging beneath it. Along with the lace hair tie, it made her look like a server at some restaurant.
Her face was fair and delicate, and her gray eyes, the same color as her hair, looked innocent and sweet.
"Um, adventurer, did you just come back from the Dungeon? You seem to be badly hurt. Did something happen?"
Noah looked the girl over twice. Instinct told him there was something odd about her gaze, but he didn't have the energy to think about it.
"Are you still open?"
"Ah! Of course! Though we may not have much food left. Adventurer, is there anything you'd like?"
With the gray-haired girl leading the way, Noah sat at a table by the window that hadn't yet been cleared away.
He opened the cloth pouch full of money and, without counting it, grabbed a large handful and put it on the table.
"Just pick something for me. Keep it light, though. No grilled meat; I want stew. And don't put any alcohol in the dishes. Also..."
Under the gray-haired girl's curious gaze, Noah fell silent for a moment and looked away.
"Do you have any desserts?"
The gray-haired girl turned to the waitresses, who were frantically shaking their heads and clasping their hands in a plea, and gave them an apologetic smile.
"Um, I think we still have a few servings of crème caramel and honey cake, as well as strawberry yogurt—"
Before the gray-haired girl could finish, Noah interrupted her.
"Bring out everything you have."
The gray-haired girl's eyes widened at once as she stared at the boy in front of her, uncertain.
"Eh? Everything? That's over ten servings!"
"Yeah, all of it. If I don't have enough money, I'll pay more."
Noah was firm. Though the gray-haired girl hesitated, she could only nod.
"All right, then. Would you like something to drink? Our red wine and mead are very popular. We also have a drink that's icy cold going down, but really strong once you've swallowed it..."
"Do you have anything else?"
"Well, we do still have some lemonade, tomato juice, mixed fruit juice, and Orbu Spring Water—"
"I'll have juice."
The gray-haired girl found herself sizing up the boy in front of her.
His pale face still had a boyish air about it, but he had to be at least sixteen or seventeen, right?
He was covered in blood and had a cold demeanor, yet he loved sweets and didn't drink...
How should she put it? He was unexpectedly kind of cute.
"Then please wait a moment, sir."
Pressing her lips together with effort, the gray-haired girl kept up her sweet smile and slowly withdrew.
Before long, they brought out a large pot of steaming cream stew, noodles coated in bright-red meat sauce, seven or eight other dishes, and some vegetable salad and desserts.
It was clearly more food than an ordinary person could eat, and Noah's tall, slender build gave no hint that he had a big appetite.
But adventurers ate a lot. A little more than usual was perfectly normal, and the girls had seen it all before.
Noah picked up the pale-green fruit juice and took a sip before setting it down. Then he took the Panacea out of his pocket.
Through the ornate, transparent bottle, he could see that two-thirds of the rainbow-colored liquid remained.
He'd used the other third in the Dungeon to heal his external wounds and restore a little magic. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have made it out of that hellhole.
As for why he didn't drink all of it to heal his internal injuries, there was another reason—
Noah opened the bottle with a grave expression. A heavy medicinal smell wafted out, almost making him throw up.
The potion was powerful and had a lovely color, but its taste was enough to turn anyone's stomach.
It wasn't just bitter. It was sour, salty, sweet, and even astringent. One sip made it feel as though his soul were about to leave his body.
He'd heard potions were deliberately made to taste awful so people wouldn't drink them for fun, like beverages... But Noah thought they were just being lazy!
Taking a deep breath, Noah tipped his head back and swallowed the rest of the potion in one gulp. Before his tongue could react, he grabbed his juice and gulped it down, washing the taste away.
After panting for a while, Noah finally relaxed and began eating in earnest.
In the tavern kitchen, the waitresses hid behind the door, peeking out at the lone customer in the dining room and "whispering" among themselves with giggles.
"Hey, did you see that? The way he drank the Panacea—just like a little kid."
"And he's already eaten three slices of cake and two puddings. How does it seem like he likes sweets more than a girl?"
"Oh my, cold on the outside, childish on the inside. Did he come to Orario from far away? I wonder if he often feels lonely and isolated at night... This boy feels so delicious, guhehe..."
"Hey, Syr, what do you think?"
The gray-haired girl had been staring at the solitary figure, and her companion suddenly turned the spotlight on her. Her eyes widened.
"Eh? What?"
"Come on, Syr, don't play dumb. You've been staring at him this whole time. Could it be...?"
"What are you talking about? Honestly! Get back to work, or Mia will come back and scold us!"
"Syr's just changing the subject!"
By the time Noah had eaten his fill, the plates on the table were stacked as high as he was sitting. As expected, he paid a lot more, leaving his money pouch half empty.
Still, he was quite pleased with the tavern's food, so the slightly high prices were acceptable. He even had some dishes packed to go.
"You've got quite an appetite, sir! Looks like I'll get a nice bonus!"
Her calculated little act, paired with her pretty features, didn't make her seem unpleasant. Instead, it inspired a helpless sort of fond indulgence.
Noah gave her a glance, then looked away.
"Is there anything like a library or archive in the city?"
At the question, the gray-haired girl gave Noah a long look before touching her pale finger to her lips, as though considering it.
"Well, as far as I know, the largest collection is probably Gnome's Great Library, run by the gnomes in the eastern part of the city! The gnomes are confident they can collect every book in the world!"
Having found his destination, Noah nodded and stood up.
"Then, thank you."
Watching the lonely figure of the silver-haired boy slowly disappear into the rainy night, the gray-haired girl couldn't help tilting her head.
Chapter 8: A Soul Filled with Darkness
Beyond the glass walls, the Labyrinth City was blurred by drizzle and cold mist.
Atop a tall tower, where the entire scene spread out before her, the silver-haired goddess blinked and rose from her seat, her purple eyes gazing into the distance.
Behind her, the Boar Warrior, towering like a great wall, stirred. "Lady Goddess?"
"Such a... complicated soul."
Even the goddess, who knew all yet possessed no power, was confused by what she saw.
Freya had seen the souls of countless people from the Lower World: some utterly ordinary, some full of greed, some magnificent and dazzling, some pure and unblemished, and others corrupt and deranged.
But this was the first time she'd seen the soul of that silver-haired boy.
Freya liked souls that were clean, pure, and radiant.
And what about the silver-haired boy's soul?
It wasn't pure, clean, or radiant at all.
If anything, the opposite was true. It was filled with the dark negatives of pain, despair, sorrow, murderous intent, and hatred.
To use an analogy, Freya liked new swords—bright and clear, with razor-sharp edges and gleaming blades.
But the silver-haired boy's soul was an old sword, battered by countless battles and massacres, pitted, dimmed by dust, and covered in bloodstains and rust.
Based on her experience with the countless souls she'd seen over the years, Freya's conclusion was that souls touched by darkness were mediocre, filthy, and unpleasant to look at.
But perhaps this was what one should expect from the people of the Lower World, brimming with endless possibilities.
Although the silver-haired boy's soul was steeped in all kinds of dark, negative feelings, it contained almost no base desires. That kept it from becoming chaotic or corrupted; instead, it was remarkably pure.
In other words, this person bore the heavy weight of slaughter, grief, and pain, yet almost none of his actions were driven by his own desires.
No lust for power.
No greed for wealth.
No lust.
Then, for whom did he kill? For whom did he grieve? For whom did he suffer?
Aside from a little appetite, she could see almost no personal desires in the silver-haired boy...
No, that wasn't right. It wasn't that he had none.
Noticing something unusual, Freya furrowed her brow and looked closer.
Hidden within the darkness of his soul was an exceptionally pure desire.
But what should she call it—arrogance, or rebellion?
What Freya sensed was a defiance that refused to yield to anyone, that would rather die than be bound, and that sought to surpass everything.
Just one look at it was enough. Its fierce fighting spirit, like flames and thunder, burned and stung Freya, forcing her to look away.
"Orario seems to be getting interesting..."
The goddess picked up a glass of red wine and took a slow sip, a hint of delight on her face.
After several days of continuous rain, the Labyrinth City of Orario finally welcomed clear skies. The gloomy mood brought on by the Dungeon's rampage and the Dark Faction's unrest had also eased considerably.
It was around noon when Noah emerged from the Gnome Grand Library in the eastern part of the city and wandered slowly down the street.
Over the past few days, Noah had browsed all kinds of historical records in the library and pieced together a rough outline of this world's history.
The Age of Monsters, when monsters roamed the continent and humanity huddled in the ancient royal capital...
The Age of Heroes, sparked by Argonaut, the so-called "Laughingstock," and carried forward by the Fianna Knights...
The Age of the Gods, when the gods descended, brought down the tower, bestowed Falna, and built Babel...
And the Three Great Quests of the world, two of which had been completed, while the last had destroyed the world's strongest adventurer group, leaving Orario plunged into the dark turmoil of the present...
If that system wanted him to save the world, it probably meant he had to defeat the Sky King, the One-Eyed Black Dragon, didn't it?
But that was still a long way off for Noah.
Besides, there was no need to agonize over it. It came down to killing the Black Dragon or being killed by it.
Before you continue