Moon's Labyrinths

She spoke in a soprano tone, which was easy on the ears . Her voice was delicate, but there was an indomitable will behind it .

The three of them automatically turned to look at the owner of the voice .

A woman stood there . She had blond hair that reached her lower back, and it looked like that she had a hair of spun gold . Each strand was like the work of extensive workmanship . The hair looked beautiful as it swayed back and forth . Her large eyes were like blue lakes, and they remained unshaken . There was great power and will behind her eyes . Her skin was so pale that it looked like high quality marble . It made one wonder if just touching her skin would leave behind a smudge . Her outfit wasn’t fancy . She had worn a black pleats skirt and a white shirt . It was quite simple as the black and white created a harmony . She wasn’t voluptuous, but she wasn’t skinny either . Her clothes fit her body well .

Anyone would fall for her at first glance . Sungyoon, who hadn’t even backed down when threatened by Nicholas, took a step backwards . She was that beautiful .

However, her beauty couldn’t quell Nicholas’ rage .

“What the fuck?”

It really was his unlucky day . People who kept getting on his nerves kept showing up in front of him today . Nicholas was baffled .

“Hey, Miss! You said to stop . There is no way you were talking to me, right?”

“Of course, I was talking to you . Who else is making a scene right now?”

She didn’t back down an inch as she replied to Nicholas . He snorted . The floor crawling maggot had bared his teeth to him, and now another bitch was getting in his way .

“A blonde princess shows up after Prince Charming? When did Armstrong city go back to the Middle ages? Why is this place full of princes and princesses?”

Nicholas sneered .

“Look here, princess . You should know your place before you interrupt someone else’s business—”

However, Nicholas suddenly stopped speaking . His eyes widened when he got a good look at the woman who had dared to confront him . Soon, a sour expression appeared on his face . It seemed that he had finally recognized her . Even Nicholas couldn’t act rash against this woman . Her position wouldn’t allow it .

“Princess Grace . ”

Nicholas mumbled her name in a low voice .

When he looked beyond her, he realized more people had moved in around them . Several women surrounded her as if they were guarding her . Of course, these women weren’t looking at Nicholas with kind eyes .

‘Fuck . She really is the princess!’

In the end, Nicholas had to let Sungyoon go . Even if he discounted Grace, the women guarding her looked plenty strong . If he didn’t back down from the fight, things would get out of hand . If he dared to attack Grace, he couldn’t fix what followed . Nicholas was able to regain some of his rationality thanks to the meddling of Grace .

Nicholas let out a string of curses in a low voice, and he turned around . Of course, he didn’t forget to glare at Sungyoon before he left .

“Are you ok?”

Grace approached Sungyoon and Chelsea . Sungyoon looked a bit surprised as he looked at Grace .

‘I never expected to meet her . ’

Grace Elizabeth Victoria Taylor .

Most of the countries had turned to a republican form of government, so the title of princess was mostly found in the history books . However, even now some countries that still had a monarchy and noble titles existed . One of the prime examples was the United Kingdom, who had a constitutional monarchy .

Grace was the granddaughter of the current queen of the UK . She was very low in the right of succession, but she was a real princess .

“Thank you for your help, princess . ”

Sungyoon expressed his thanks . Chelsea had been taken aback, and she looked starstruck . She quickly followed Sungyoon’s example as she gave thanks .

“It is nothing . I just did what had to be done . ”

She spoke as if it was her duty to save the weak and expel the wicked . Her answer was overflowing with a sense of justice . Sungyoon inwardly nodded .

‘As expected, she enters the labyrinths to observe the spirit of noblesse oblige . I should have expected such an answer . ’

Her father was a 1st Gen Connector, and in turn, she was able to awaken as a Connector thanks to him . She had also volunteered to brave the dangers of the labyrinths for her country . She chose to gather moonstones like all the other Connectors . Her actions made her the epitome of noblesse oblige, and she became beloved by the citizens of the United Kingdom .

‘I’m sure the more practical reason had a bigger influence on her decision than the romantic reason . ’

She was a Connector, so she had the innate desire of wanting to come to the moon . However, a massive amount of money had to be spent if she wanted to live on the moon . Of course, she could scale back her living expenses to live on the moon, but she was part of the royal family . Moreover, she was the granddaughter of the current queen . She had to maintain a certain standard of living, since she had to worry about keeping up appearances .

However, she would receive incredible amounts of criticism if she used too much money to maintain the lifestyle she had on earth . The public opinion might turn, and it might ultimately lead to the abolition of monarchy .

In reality, Grace had to participate in the labyrinth raids as a Connector . It was inevitable for practical reasons .

Even if she had a practical reason for exploring the labyrinths, she received much more support as a member of the royal family compared to other Connectors . However, It was also true that she took on a lot of risk in exploring the labyrinths .

“Also, I’m not a princess . ”

“Understood . I’ll be careful here on out . ”

The title of princess was a title of affection given to her by the British citizens . She hadn’t received the official title of princess yet . In the first place, her parents refused to take on the title of nobility .

“Are you two a couple?”

It seemed she was interested in other people’s love affairs . Her eyes shone as she asked the question .

“No . ”

Sungyoon shook his head from side to side without much thought .

“Is she family or a close friend?”

“She is a friend . ”

“Amazing . You stood up to a frightening opponent for a friend . It must not have been easy . ”

“I do owe her a favor . ”

Sungyoon’s reply was very dry . One could tell from his words that he didn’t have much feelings towards Chelsea . If Nicholas had threatened a stranger unrelated to him, Sungyoon wouldn’t have gotten involved . He would have gone on his way .

However, Grace still thought highly of Sungyoon’s action .

“It is a world where people backstab you even after you help them out . You did a noble act . ”

Sungyoon shut his mouth . He had a hunch the princess’ opinion wouldn’t change no matter what he said . An image of what kind of person he was had already formed in her mind .

“I hope your sense of justice never changes . ”

She let out a pretty smile for the last time before she left .

As the situation resolved itself, the nearby onlookers started to disperse . It didn’t take long for the park to return to its normal state .

“Are you ok?”

Sungyoon asked Chelsea . By the look on her face, she looked bewildered and embarrassed . There was a slight hint of fear in there too .

“I . . . I’m fine . ”

She answered him, but she stumbled over her words . It seemed she wasn’t doing so well .

‘I guess it can’t be helped . ’

Sungyoon left her sitting on the bench for a moment, and he headed towards a nearby store . He could smell the fragrant smell of coffee tickling his nose . It was a modern cafe with a memorable interior design . As expected of a shop on the moon, the price on the menu was outrageous . However, Sungyoon worked up the nerve to buy two cups of coffee . After forming a party with TIm and Emily, he was able to acquire numerous moonstones . It was the reason why he was bold enough to buy the coffee . He was also paying back the favor to Chelsea, who had periodically brought him potatoes and sausages .

“Here . ”

Sungyoon pushed the cup towards Chelsea .

“Thank you . ”

Normally, Chelsea would have been happy about this treat, and she would have made a big deal out of this . However, it seemed Chelsea still couldn’t get over the shock from the previous incident .

Sungyoon didn’t say much as he quietly sat next to Chelsea . The two of them sipped their coffee amongst the loud noises of the park .

“I’m sorry . ”

When half of her cup became empty, Chelsea hesitatingly opened her mouth .

“What for?”

“You got unnecessarily pulled into this mess thanks to me . ”

Sungyoon thought for a brief moment .

“The man from earlier seemed to know you . Do you have some kind of prior relationship with him, Ms . Chelsea?”

“Not at all . I turned him down when he hit on me . ”

Chelsea started to speak slowly and quietly as she explained what had happened .

“Then you don’t have to apologize to me, Ms . Strobe . ”

He had seen Nicholas’ personality, and he had picked a fight with them in a one sided manner . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Chelsea bore no blame in this . Chelsea’s story merely reinforced this opinion .

“People with a trash personality like him act like trash . You and I are the victims . As a victim, you don’t have to apologize . ”

Sungyoon meant what he said . He had been on the other side of vicious attacks by trash people like him . There was no reason for Chelsea to apologize to him .

Did she feel the resoluteness behind his words? She no longer apologized .

“Still, I would like to say thank you . ”

Sungyoon had protected Chelsea from Nicholas, he didn’t reject her thanks .

The meeting with Chelsea came to an end . Chelsea still felt uneasy, so he walked her to the laboratory . When he returned to his room, he wished he would be able to see Shinhae in his dreams .

* * *

He had gotten involved in an incident yesterday, yet Sungyoon had entered the labyrinth on the next day . He had to acquire moonstones, and above all else, he needed Gems . He had no time to rest .

Puh-uh-uhk!

He swung his mace, and it easily blew away the head of the monster . The momentum of the monster’s charge remained, so its headless body took a couple steps before it fell to the ground . The momentum ran out after a couple steps .

Boom!

The monster fell to the floor .

‘As expected, there aren’t that many monsters now . ’

The Mana Stream was close at hand . Basically, this was when there were the least amount of monsters inside the Beginner’s labyrinth . Also, he was hunting by himself, so his efficiency suffered . Of course, it meant the speed at which he gathered the moonstones had slowed, and the probability of acquiring a Gem dropped too .

‘It can’t be helped . ’

Still, he planned on continuing the hunt until he reached the time limit .

“Huh?”

Sungyoon stalked through the passageway to hunt monsters once again when he came across something .

He came to a fork in the tunnel . This was nothing new . There were a lot of divergent paths in the labyrinth .

However, someone was standing in one of the tunnels .

He was wearing sturdy chain mail . He had a large shield and a frightening morning star . At a glance, one could tell that he didn’t belong in the Beginner’s labyrinth .

‘Is he a sentry?’

It seemed the sentry didn’t pay any attention to Sungyoon . He could clearly hear Sungyoon’s footsteps, yet he only looked forward . It was a full face helmet, so Sungyoon couldn’t see his face . However, the sentry probably had a very bored expression on his face .

‘No way . I guess they aren’t done cleaning up the labyrinth yet . ’

The Mana Stream was only a few days away, and the labyrinth would be re-filled with monsters . Despite this fact, high ranked Connectors had failed to completely clean up the Beginner’s labyrinth . He was new to this life, yet he found this to be odd .

However, he didn’t say anything unnecessary like Tim . In fact, he moved towards the other tunnel, so the sentry wouldn’t pay attention to him .

Even if the clean up of the labyrinth was not done, Sungyoon still had his own work to do .