Suzuki's ultimate goal was entirely pragmatic: to clear the 100th floor as fast as possible.
By clearing the abyss, Suzuki would gain access to one of the most uniquely broken abilities in the entire world: [Ancient Creation Magic].
In the original plot, it was this specific magic that transformed Hajime Nagumo from a weak, terrified Synergist into an overpowered protagonist capable of conquering the world. If it wasn't for this ancient magic, Nagumo would have undoubtedly starved to death or been eaten by monsters in the dark.
More importantly, Suzuki had to admit that Creation Magic was fundamentally overpowered to the point of absurdity. It allowed a high school boy to casually forge modern tactical firearms, motorcycles, highly complex submarines, and even orbital laser satellites in a medieval fantasy world.
If Suzuki, with a deeply optimized [Manager] AI and virtually infinite mana, acquired that magic? He honestly wasn't sure how to accurately describe the economic and military implications. It would be an absolute industrial monopoly.
Still, before he could claim the magic, he had to deal with the ancient entity currently staring up at him with heavy, deeply devoted crimson eyes.
"To tell you the absolute truth," Suzuki started, leaning slightly against the cold stone wall, "I already have women waiting for me on the surface."
"I don't mind," Yue replied instantly, without a single fraction of hesitation.
"...You should probably think about that for more than a second, you know?"
"I don't mind any of that," she repeated, her voice soft but terrifyingly firm.
Yue truly didn't care whether Suzuki had other lovers. She had been trapped alone in the suffocating darkness for three hundred years.
Could a normal human even begin to comprehend that level of isolation? Trapped in a pitch-black box, entirely unable to move, unable to eat, and unable to die. Her mind had been constantly, agonizingly tormented by the terrifying thought that her existence would continue like that for eternity. It would have been a thousand times more merciful to just die, but her vampiric immortality made suicide biologically impossible.
And then, this man stepped into her hell. He casually shattered her unbreakable restraints, annihilated a monster that terrified her, fed her divine blood, and wrapped her in beautiful, warm clothes. In Yue's mind, he wasn't just a savior; he was her entire universe now.
"Well," Suzuki sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't necessarily mind continuing whatever this relationship is, but we should probably sit down and actually talk first. We barely know each other."
"Yeah..." Yue nodded, her eyes flashing with deep curiosity.
She was desperate to know everything about him. How did he become so strong? Where did he come from? How did he acquire blood that tasted like divine nectar?
Yue fully expected them to sit down on the cold, hard bedrock of the cavern, perhaps building a small, pathetic bonfire from monster bones to talk in the dark.
"What are you doing sitting on the floor?"
Suzuki had already walked several feet away. He had casually opened a glowing, modern wooden door directly into the empty space of the cavern wall.
"While the clothes I just crafted for you do possess a passive auto-cleaning function, it's still highly unsanitary to sit on the toxic dirt down here," Suzuki noted dryly.
"Ah... oh..."
Yue blinked in absolute confusion, staring at the glowing doorway.
"Come inside," Suzuki gestured, welcoming her into his [Subspace Penthouse]. "It might not be much compared to a royal palace, but let's talk while we eat some real food. And honestly, it would probably be good for your mental health to take a proper bath first."
While cleanliness and comfort were considered meaningless luxuries to desperate adventurers struggling to survive in a dungeon, Suzuki possessed the corporate capital to enforce absolute luxury anywhere.
Without a single doubt in her mind, Yue stepped through the doorway. The moment her boots touched the plush, heated hardwood floors of the Tokyo-style apartment, the heavy, suffocating air of the labyrinth vanished. She took a deep breath of the perfectly climate-controlled air.
"I am never leaving you, no matter what," Yue stated firmly, looking up at him. "I am entirely yours."
"..."
"...How about you go take that bath first?" Suzuki sighed, rubbing his temples as the heroine practically tried to throw herself into his arms again.
A few minutes later, Yue sat entirely submerged in the massive, deep soaking tub. She didn't want to get out. She just sat there in an absolute daze, feeling the incredibly warm, perfectly clean water soothe her deeply traumatized muscles. The air smelled of expensive, imported citrus bath salts.
...How is this even possible?
Where exactly were they? Just twenty feet away was the 100th floor of the Great Orcus Labyrinth, the most hostile, toxic, and lethal environment in all of Tortus—a place where absolute death was guaranteed for anyone foolish enough to enter.
Yet, somehow, she was currently taking a hot, fragrant bubble bath?
Let's just stop thinking, Yue decided, sinking deeper into the warm water until it bubbled over her nose.
She didn't know how long she luxuriated in the comfort. She was ancient royalty; her early life had been vastly more pampered than the majority of the world's population. Yet, even compared to her peak life as a princess three centuries ago, this modern bathtub and this impossible penthouse were vastly superior to anything she had ever experienced.
She absolutely never wanted to leave!
Humming a soft, incredibly happy tune, she ran her small palms over her clean, pale skin, playfully splashing the warm water.
Eventually, she knew she couldn't make Suzuki wait forever. Stepping out of the bath, she dried off and slipped into the incredibly soft, oversized loungewear he had left for her. She felt happier and safer than she had in three centuries.
But as she walked out of the pristine bathroom and into the massive, open-concept living area, she was immediately greeted by an overwhelmingly delicious, deeply savory aroma.
"Huh?"
Yue froze in surprise. "What... what are you cooking?"
The thought of an overpowered assassin—a man who had just casually executed a massive Labyrinth Guardian with a single flick of a dagger—standing in a modern kitchen wearing an apron and actively cooking was incredibly jarring.
"Is it really that weird?" Suzuki asked, looking at her over his shoulder with a deadpan expression.
"No~!" Yue shook her head quickly, a beautiful, genuinely gentle smile breaking across her face.
She practically skipped into the kitchen, leaning over the marble counter to observe him curiously. "What exactly are you making?"
The rich, savory scent of simmering broth and spices was utterly intoxicating, making her shrunken stomach growl aggressively.
In the original timeline, Yue completely avoided eating the grotesque, heavily spiced, toxic monster meat that Nagumo was forced to cook just to survive. She had stubbornly stuck to her vampiric diet, relying entirely on sucking Nagumo's blood for sustenance.
But this time, because she was with Suzuki, the reality was vastly different. Suzuki was currently cooking an incredibly decent, Earth-grade dish that she had never seen before. She practically couldn't wait to taste it.
Has human culinary development really advanced this much in the past 300 years? Yue wondered, her crimson eyes wide.
She had been sealed for centuries, so her knowledge of the outside world was entirely frozen in time. But when she compared the heavily salted, crude medieval rations her royal chefs used to prepare to the visual and aromatic perfection of what Suzuki was currently doing... the difference was astronomical.
Everything about this man was just absolutely perfect. His calm demeanor, his overwhelming strength, the divine taste of his immortal blood, and... that incredibly heavy, dangerous part of his body she had accidentally brushed against earlier~!
Yup. Staying with Suzuki was the greatest decision of her long life. She didn't have to get dirty, she didn't have to eat radioactive monster meat, and she didn't have to suffer in the dark. With Suzuki, her life was vastly superior to anything she had experienced as a princess. The sheer, overwhelming comfort of the modern world would bring a medieval peasant to tears, and it was entirely melting Yue's heart.
"It's a sausage pot-au-feu," Suzuki explained calmly, stirring the simmering broth. "I also just finished baking some fresh bread over here."
"Wow..."
Yue had absolutely no idea what "pot-au-feu" was. But when she looked at the thick, fluffy, pristine white bread exuding a gentle, buttery aroma on the cutting board, her stomach rumbled violently again.
"But, can a vampire actually eat human food?" Suzuki asked, raising a teasing eyebrow. "If your biology rejects it, I can just eat all of this myself."
"No! I will eat it! I can definitely eat it!" Yue pouted, slamming her small hands on the counter.
"Good, then."
"...You are a bully."
Watching the highly amused, corporate smirk form on his handsome face, Yue knew perfectly well she was being teased. Seeking immediate revenge, she quickly slipped around the kitchen island and threw her arms around him from behind, hugging his waist tightly.
As she hugged him, her small, incredibly naughty hands intentionally slipped downward, brushing highly suggestively against a very specific, dangerous area of his trousers.
"...Don't touch that," Suzuki warned, his voice dropping an octave as he swiftly caught her wrists, stopping her hands before she could go any further. "It's dangerous."
"It was just an accident~," Yue giggled softly, pressing her cheek against his broad back.
"...Liar."
They stood there for a moment, the quiet bubbling of the stew filling the warm kitchen.
"Suzuki," Yue murmured softly. "Has the world really changed this much since my time?"
"Well, how was the world during your time?" Suzuki asked, genuinely curious about the historical lore.
"Hmm..."
Yue spent the next ten minutes explaining the socio-political landscape of Tortus three hundred years ago. As Suzuki listened while plating their food, his expression grew increasingly weird and slightly annoyed. He couldn't comprehend why the people in this world were so incredibly lazy and unimaginative. Despite possessing a literal magic system and class-based "Skills," their technology and societal structures had completely stagnated for centuries.
"No," Suzuki finally answered as he set a steaming bowl of stew in front of her. "There is virtually no difference between the world during your era and the world right now."
"Huh? Then..." Yue blinked, entirely confused, looking around the impossible luxury of the modern penthouse.
"Then, how could I possibly cook this food and own a room like this?" Suzuki finished her thought, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Yeah..."
"It's simple," Suzuki said, looking directly into her crimson eyes. "Because I am not from this world."
"..."
Yue's eyes widened in absolute shock.
For their true introduction, Suzuki decided it was best to start the storyto from the very beginning.