I Was Reborn as a Daddy in Another World

The Return - Part 1

Val and Katya's trip back to the surface was largely made in an exhausted silence. They travelled for two days and two nights with the party they'd rescued from the rampaging dire bull, now all but back to fighting form thanks to Val's surplus of healing items, following basically the same path they'd walked on their way down.

After they broke camp the morning after the fight, one of the party members, a tall man dressed in fur robes and an obscene number of bone necklaces had left the group to notify the Chaliciary guild of the fate of their party, transforming into a stag in a flash of light and sprinting off ahead of the others. The rest of the warriors were left to travel at a less supernatural pace.

Val's pack was weighed down with the spoils of the dire bull fight. A small selection of meat, bones, an enormous hide that, even rolled up and tucked in, hung to the ground and, most impressively, a set of gigantic shining black and silver metal horns lashed to his pack with leather straps, but the mood was not one of triumph. Katya had been quiet since the encounter. Mere minutes after she had dealt with the bull, bringing it down with no apparent effort, her wounds had reopened and she had to be healed with potions and spells alongside Val and the others.

Between Katya's natural reticence, Val's crushing disappointment at having lost a huge portion of his supplies to the fight with the bull and treating the rescued adventurers, as well as his forced reassessment of his ability to complete his solo mission to the bottom of the labyrinth, conversation was sparse. The newcomers were also quiet, suffering a kind of shell-shock after losing half their number, as well as a growing intimidation at seeing Katya all but one-shot a boss monster that nearly wiped them out.

At night, around the fire, Val heard the legend of the powerful descendant of the Ten Thousand Blades taking root in whispered exchanges, but he did not engage, choosing instead to sit away from the others to keep an eye on Katya. If she was aware of his presence, or the occasional glances he stole, she did not show it, spending the time each night until they slept simply staring out into the darkness, her eyes blank and her expression inscrutable.

She ate, slept and travelled away from the group, keeping her distance even during the short fights that occurred, though the battles with the monsters scattered across the early floors were quick and simple affairs with such a comparatively large party.

They reached Abyssia, the frontier town that had sprung up around the entrance to the labyrinth, on the morning of the third day. Val's disappointment at returning cut a sharp contrast to the relief in the worn faces of the adventurers they travelled with.

Val trailed behind the rest of the group, a little ahead of Katya, as they approached the gates.

"Val," Katya said, only loud enough for him to hear.

Val stopped and turned to find that Katya had ceased walking. He glanced back at the others, who continued onward, their conversation picking up as the exit came closer and closer.

He walked back to Katya.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

She didn't respond, instead looking past him, watching the others, avoiding eye contact as she had since the battle with the bull.

"Just, wait until..." she gestured to the rest of the group, for whom the gates of Abyssia had just been thrown open, and had broken ranks in their excitement.

Val approached Katya and stood next to her, joining her in watching the last of the relieved adventurers trickle through the gate and out of sight.

Katya took a deep breath.

"If -" she started, but fell silent mid-sentence.

A large group of royal guards, perhaps thirty of them, resplendent in their silver armour, spilled out of the town in tight formation. Their eyes were locked to Val and Katya, and they made a beeline for the pair, moving at a light jog, their boots striking the ground in unison.