CHAPTER 1

The Summit of District Eight

Part I: The Caseworker’s Shock

District Eight of the Labyrinth Country—the first district visited by those who had been newly reincarnated.

We had found our way to the hidden fourth floor in the beginner labyrinth, the Field of Dawn, and somehow managed to make it out without any serious injuries. We climbed up the long stairs that led from the first floor of the labyrinth back to town, noticing the moment we stepped out that the sun had moved significantly from where it had been when we entered. It was now evening. We crossed the square and headed westward to the Guild.

“Aaaah, I forgot how niiice fresh air is. The labyrinth is as bright and vast as it is out here, but it just feels different, you know,” said Misaki happily with a big stretch. I still didn’t know her full name. Her Gambler job had a lot of luck-based skills, and it was thanks to those skills of hers that we’d been able to find the hidden floor in the labyrinth in the first place.

“Mmm… Aaah, you’re right; it really does feel nice,” Igarashi agreed, extending her limbs, too. “Only the fourth floor really felt like a true labyrinth. It was definitely more claustrophobic.” She was my manager in my previous life, where we worked at the same company, and now a member of the party with me as the leader. When we were first reincarnated, she’d been wearing a knit sweater and skirt, but now, her brown hair fell in soft waves around the Ladies’ Armor she was wearing for her Valkyrie job. The armor was primarily white with a wide opening in the chest, which sort of stood out when she stretched. I had a hard time peeling my eyes away from her accentuated assets.

“Atobe, what’re you staring at so intently?” she asked.

“Oh, uh, don’t mind me. I was just thinking how glad I was we got out without getting hurt.”

“I know… It’s all thanks to you that we were able to defeat such a powerful monster,” said Suzuna with a gentle smile. She was a childhood friend of Misaki’s, and her job was Shrine Maiden. She looked like a traditional Japanese beauty with her straight, jet-black hair and rocked her special Labyrinth Country–version Shrine Maiden outfit.

We had encountered a Named Monster, so called because they had a set name, on the fourth floor of the labyrinth. It was a Giant Eagle-Headed Warrior, a very powerful enemy that could hit the entire party with multi-target attacks. We somehow managed to beat it because everyone worked so well together.

“……”

“You did a great job, Theresia. Thank you,” I added. Theresia was a lizardman girl, a former mercenary who’d basically been my first companion here. She nodded readily when I expressed my gratitude, and the rest of the party smiled, too.

Lizardman was a misleading title; she wasn’t some lizard-human hybrid. In fact, she really just looked like a girl in a lizard costume, except that she couldn’t shed her equipment… That was one of the limitations of being a demi-human. Theresia’s job was Rogue, and she served as the party’s midguard, capable of both attack and evasion. She’d been helping me out ever since I first arrived here post-reincarnation.

“Arihito, are you sure you’re okay? That last skill you used took a lot of magic, didn’t it?” asked a concerned Elitia, a Swordswoman with a much higher level than the rest of the party. Certain circumstances, though, had led her to equip a cursed weapon, changing her job to Cursed Blade. She was a petite girl with golden hair separated into two pigtails, and she looked like she might have originally come from northern Europe. It made her look cute and sweet, but when it came to battle, she was our single most powerful attacker, capable of racking up huge amounts of damage.

Then there was me, the rearguard, a job that let me support these five girls from behind. After getting reincarnated, I had written rearguard down as my preferred job, and I was accepted just like that. I’m not sure if it was because I chose it, or if I was suited for it, but the job had helped my party climb the ranks faster than any other novice. The higher the rank, the better the quality of life, which meant that you didn’t have to worry about your livelihood while you were also worrying about the risk of running into a strong monster out on an expedition.

“…Maybe this is just me, but when I’m up against an enemy with Arihito and he…calls out encouragement from behind, I feel really energized. You should keep that up,” Elitia said to me.

“You’re gonna make me blush if you keep saying stuff like that… But yeah, it’s important to encourage one another.” Calling out to my party members in battle was actually just my way of signaling that I was about to activate one of my skills, like Morale Support. But thinking about it, I guess I really did yell a lot during battle.

There wasn’t a single monster in the labyrinths that you could let your guard down with. We needed to win every fight we found ourselves in and continue to seek without getting seriously injured—to achieve our goals.

For starters, we needed to turn Theresia back to her human form. She’d been resurrected as a demi-human after losing her life in the labyrinth.

Another was to make our way to the labyrinth in District Five, where Elitia’s friend had been attacked and captured by monsters. We didn’t know if her friend was dead or alive, but we were going to try and save her.

“Hee-hee, Arihito’s kinda cute when he blushes. Don’cha think, Suzu?” asked Misaki.

“M-Misaki… That’s not something I can just answer…,” replied Suzuna.

“Looks like Atobe’s not used to being complimented… Uh, I wonder if that’s because I wasn’t the kind of manager who praised my employees…,” said Igarashi.

“N-no, that’s not it. I think it’s just part of my natural disposition.”

Igarashi seemed a little apologetic at having remembered her time as my nightmarish manager. I had already moved on from it. I didn’t know if she’d thought about how hard she had been on me in our previous life and was trying to change her ways, but ever since we were reincarnated and formed a party together, she’d been so nice to me that I could barely recognize her.

“……”

“…Th-thanks. You were complimenting me, weren’t you?” I asked Theresia, who’d reached up and patted me gently on the head. She couldn’t speak because she was a demi-human, but she could communicate in this manner… That said, I felt really awkward being pet by a girl who, based on her height, I could only guess was in her midteens.

We managed to make it to the Guild before they closed for the day. I waited until Louisa was done helping some other Seekers before she and I headed to the same special room where we’d talked yesterday. I told the girls they could do whatever they wanted while I reported, so they were outside the Guild hanging around until I finished. Apparently, it was the leader’s job to report, but I guess we were just going to keep doing it like this regardless. I didn’t mind at all either way; I found reporting to be one of the more enjoyable parts of seeking.

“Sorry, I might not smell the freshest. We just came back from the labyrinth,” I said apologetically.

“What are you talking about? Sweat’s proof of a Seeker’s hard work, yes?” she replied cheerfully. I might be the type of guy who’s easily swayed by women, but even if I weren’t, I’d still turn to mush at a smile like hers.

“…L-Louisa, what are you doing?” I stammered as she came unexpectedly close to me. Maybe she was checking if I actually smelled since I was acting weird about it, but it was a little forward of her. Plus, I was flustered by how smoothly she’d managed to close the distance between us.

“Ha-ha… It’s not enough to offend me, Mr. Atobe. You just smell like yourself.” Louisa covered her mouth with her work folder and giggled. She wasn’t acting like a caseworker; she seemed more like a good friend who felt comfortable letting her guard down around me.

I get the impression that she isn’t normally open with people, but she’s obviously less guarded with me since we started working together… I have to be careful about how I act…

“Would you mind excusing me for a moment? You can wait in the room while I go prepare some tea… Or perhaps would you like something stronger?” she asked.

“Uh… W-well, it’s still light out… Would you share a drink with me, Louisa?”

“Would that be all right? Well, actually, a simple meal should be enough for me. It’s bad for your health to drink every day.” She seemed the type who’d like to drink every night if she could. Anyway, the Guild was pretty daring to serve alcohol to reporting Seekers.

“…I don’t offer just anyone alcohol, by the way. Just for you, Mr. Atobe.”

“O-oh. Ha-ha-ha…”

She’d probably get annoyed if I just said I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I was pretty frustrated with myself for not being able to come up with a more tactful response.

I watched Louisa walk away to go prepare some tea, the soft material of her skirt clinging to her butt and emphasizing her curves. There was no safe place for me to look. The first day I met her, she’d struck me as so prim and proper, but my impression of her had changed quite a bit. I had to admit, I was happy to keep working hard to improve because it seemed like the better I did, the more she liked me.

I drank the iced herbal tea that Louisa brought and took a short rest before showing her my license. She pulled out her monocle, placed a hand on her chest, and took a deep breath before staring intently at the display.

“Let’s take a look, then,” she said.

“……”

Louisa used her monocle to read the display, getting only to the second line, where she stopped and stared. It must’ve been the uncharted territory that got her… How should I jolt her out of this?

“…Louisa?”

“Eeeek?!” she shrieked and jumped in response, her chest jiggling so violently that it seemed about to pop out from her shirt’s neckline. She was still shaken for a moment, but her face suddenly turned red—and she started fixing her hair, though there wasn’t a single strand out of place, adjusted her shirt’s neckline, and looked at me after clearing her throat.

“…I—I do apologize. I seem to have a breakdown every time I read your reports… You must be tired of it by now.”

“Not at all… Even we were surprised ourselves. It seems like a lot of pieces just fell in place to make something entirely unexpected happen. Misaki’s incredibly good luck played a large part.”

“Ms. Misaki… She’s the one who selected the Gambler job, correct? Her caseworker was originally one of my junior colleagues. Apparently, she desperately tried to write badger gamer as her job in the beginning. Quite unheard of for one so young.”

It was the right decision to let Misaki join the party. If she hadn’t met us, she most likely would have used her womanly wiles to make her way in the world. Having actually taken the time to speak with her, I’d learned that she was surprisingly innocent. She may look like a bit of a wild child, but deep down, Misaki was really quite earnest.

“Um… Mr. Atobe, are you…? Does a woman’s age particularly bother you?”

“Age? No, I can’t say I really care about that.”

“…Oh, good.”

“Hmm? Louisa, what did you just…?”

“I think I’ve found some motivation to work even harder,” she chirped, ignoring my question… Her smile just then was perhaps the prettiest I’d seen on her since we met. But I couldn’t just keep getting pulled off track like this.

I wondered if I could talk to her about the Hidden God we had found in the labyrinth. My license display showed we’d awakened ???, so I would likely need to explain that to Louisa. Well, I’d just start from the top and work my way down. Louisa should understand if I could explain everything clearly.

“Louisa, about where it says not evaluated…”

“Yes, I was quite surprised myself… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that. It means that no person who achieved that particular result has ever returned to the Guild.”

“Is that what it means? …Is it Guild policy for information regarding the discovery of uncharted territory to belong to the Guild as well as the Seeker?”

“No, anything discussed in this room will remain between you and me. Any report I make to the higher-ups in the Guild is only done with the Seeker’s approval. The last thing the Guild wants is to ruin its relationship with excellent Seekers, so there is no policy that requires us to force information from a Seeker.”

I guess, in other words, the Guild pretty much let Seekers do what they wanted, which I could sort of understand. The higher-ups couldn’t coerce the Seekers to do something if they were actually weaker than the high-ranking Seekers. Still, my party was just getting started, so it wouldn’t have been impossible for them to make us cough up the details to follow some regulation.

So the reason they don’t…must be, more than anything, that they want to encourage Seekers to gain experience and get stronger. But still…

“…I know what you’re thinking,” said Louisa. “The current policy means the Guild will be unable to restrain the higher-ranking Seekers should they go out of control. Everyone has considered that possibility, which would lead to the disruption of order in the Labyrinth Country.”

“But that hasn’t happened. Does that mean every single high-ranked Seeker is hard-working and honest?”

“I wouldn’t quite go that far. However, the more gifted Seekers who scale the ranks tend to prioritize exploring the labyrinths over influencing others. One reason for that is…the Secret Gods. I never would have thought you might come by one at such an early stage but find one you did—and even received their protection.”

So Louisa did know about the Hidden Gods, but she didn’t know that one had been sleeping on a concealed floor in the Field of Dawn. She likely didn’t know the finer details surrounding the Hidden Gods, either. Her shock would make sense, assuming the Guild informed its employees about the gods’ existence and nothing more.

“Mr. Atobe, I will tell you everything I know. The Founder of the Labyrinth Country created the teleportation gates to the various ‘forgotten labyrinths’ within the city’s walls for seeking purposes. In other words, the country itself was established after the labyrinth entrances were gathered inside the city walls.”

“…Why gather the labyrinths? Doesn’t the fact that they were forgotten imply that they aren’t of any value?”

“That’s not the case. There are many mysteries regarding the labyrinths. Monsters and obstacles were put in place to prevent people discovering the treasures hidden deep within. Only the wisest and most powerful Seekers can unlock the secrets… However, there are many labyrinths where all those who have entered have died, and therefore, they’ve been abandoned. Even now, entrances to forgotten labyrinths are added under everyone’s nose. And that can be attributed to people who still travel outside the city walls to continue to uphold the Founder’s wishes, even though the Founder is no longer with us.”

While they left exploring the labyrinth to the Seekers entirely, they continued to gather entrances…calling on the souls of the dead from other worlds, reincarnating them, and forcing them to become Seekers to seek in the labyrinths. If this “Founder” was capable of all that, then they likely had power rivaling the Hidden Gods, maybe even more. They might not be around anymore, but they definitely existed in the early days of the Labyrinth Country.

“I’m only relaying the message I got when I became an employee of the Guild, not from personal experience… This is more like an explanation you might find in a textbook,” said Louisa.

“No, that’s perfectly fine. These Secret Gods seem to have become an object of worship within the Labyrinth Country. Can you tell me why that is?”

“Because they are entities that provide protection to the Seekers. I have also heard that there is a certain amount of hostility between the gods themselves… But thankfully, there have been no fights between Seekers in District Eight because there are so few Seekers who have received that protection.”

“In District Eight… Meaning there are fights in the higher districts between parties who have received protection from the Hidden Gods?”

“Unfortunately, yes. The Hidden Gods are deserving of our worship, but they are also sacred beings whose wrath you should not incur. In the event that two gods must fight, the Guild sanctions a location and intervenes if necessary. This is all to preserve the Labyrinth Country as it is.”

I could just about imagine how fierce the battles between Hidden Gods could get based on Louisa’s explanation. The country seemed to view the events as threats to the nation in the same way as accidents that might occur from someone attempting to open a treasure chest. Hopefully, we could avoid running into a god hostile to Ariadne, although I’d have to think of a way to prevent any actual combat from occurring if we did happen to encounter one.

“Now I understand that seeking out the gods is the greatest goal of a Seeker. Obviously, my abilities are limited, but I’ll take extra caution in order to prevent anything terrible happening to the Labyrinth Country,” I said.

“I’m grateful to hear you say that. I will do everything I can to gather more information on the topic from the Guild, as you request. The Guild receives a report whenever anyone who has a contract with a god is causing a disturbance, so I will be able to provide you with advance notice.”

She always works so hard to help me, I thought. I imagined her opinions would hold more weight in the Guild as her reputation increased as well.

“Louisa, as our caseworker, does it also work in your favor if we continue to produce good results?”

“Y-yes… A caseworker receives a promotion if a party leader they are assigned to advances to a higher district.”

“In that case, I’ll have to make sure we keep working hard. I want to make sure you never regret being assigned to our party. I have to repay you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“That makes me very happy to hear.” Louisa smiled, her cheeks tinged pink. The lighting made her red lips look so supple and alluring…but I couldn’t keep staring or my karma would go up.

“…I don’t think your karma will go up now,” she told me.

“Uh…?”

“N-never mind… It’s nothing. I’m getting too ahead of myself… I’ll exercise restraint tonight and just cook for myself at home. I’ll never be able to face your party if I don’t.”

“Oh… Okay, I’ll invite you some other time. Anyway, about this not evaluated part…”

“I will write a report about this section and investigate. I imagine your contribution points will be incredibly high after that, so it’s likely you’ll be able to move to District Seven without taking the test. How does that sound?”

No way I could turn down a free pass. Still, I was curious what the test entailed. I might be interested anyway, as long as it wasn’t dangerous.

“I’m a little curious about what’s on the test. Am I not allowed to know the contents unless I take it?” I asked.

“The test involves entering one of the labyrinths in District Eight and retrieving specific items or defeating monsters. The specified labyrinth changes each time the test is given, so unfortunately, I cannot tell you the specifics ahead of time…”

“No, that’s all right. I’ll have to discuss it with the party, but I think we might actually take it.”

“Understood. Should you choose to take the test, it will be administered in two days. Please give me your final request to participate by the end of the day tomorrow.”

I was curious how many contribution points I’d get for the four unevaluated items, but I was more focused on District Seven, since we’d be moving up there soon.

The next thing I needed to do was to go drop the things we collected off at the Dissection Center. I decided to ask the Carriers to take the things we sent to our storage unit to the Dissection Center for us, then meet everyone at our usual gathering point: the square in front of the Guild.

Part II: Guard Dog

Once I finished my report to Louisa, I did my best to hold back my urge to see what new skills I could learn, instead deciding to wait until I got back home to take a good look. I didn’t know how much information about my skills would spread if someone happened to sneak a peek while I was using my license and saw my skill list. Plus, I was starving; I wanted to meet back up with everyone and grab a bite to eat—but I saw some trouble going down as soon as I walked out of the Guild.

Aren’t those…Falma’s kids and their silver hound…? Did they get caught up in some sort of trouble?

“Your dumb mutt ran into me on purpose. How’re you gonna make up for that?”

The speaker was a guy with shaved lines in his hair. He looked like the kind of thug you’d see covered in tattoos. Seemed he was trying to start something with the silver hound.

The huge dog with silvery fur was standing in front of the children, Eyck and Plum, and glaring back. No bystanders were trying to intervene and break things up—probably because the guy looked likely to blow up on anyone who did.

“Hey, hold up. I know these kids,” I called out.

“Huh? Well, ain’t that perfect. This stupid mutt got its damn hair on my leather shoes. You can pay for the damage… Three gold, and I’ll forget the whole thing,” he replied.

Did he target the kids to try and shake them down for money? What a lowlife.

He most likely decided the amount to demand when he saw me. Three gold wasn’t an astronomical fee, and I guessed he could only be level 2 or maybe even 3. But I was just a rearguard; my role was to support allies. Personally, I didn’t have much strength to speak of. I probably wouldn’t come out unscathed from a one-on-one fight with someone near my level. There was also the problem of accruing karma; I couldn’t imagine getting out of this without a fight.

“…Could I speak with the children for a moment?” I asked.

“Heh, you plannin’ on squeezing some cash from these kids, too? Makes no difference to me how I get paid, but I’m a busy man. Make it quick,” he replied.

I got the impression that your karma would go up if you made threats, but the man had played things well so that the silver hound had hit him first.

“Oh…! You came to our house that one time,” said Eyck.

“Cion didn’t run into anybody! That man was about to bump into Eyck, and Cion just—,” started Plum.

“Shut up, you little snot! My license shows your mutt attacked me!” shouted the man.

“Eep…!”

My conscience wouldn’t let me just walk away from an adult trying to pull a fast one on some children.

But if we fight here in the middle of the street, my karma’ll go up, and the guards will come and arrest me… How should I handle this?

Cion, the silver hound, remained alert and was still staring at the man. I imagined she was probably stronger in a fight than a low-level Seeker, considering she was used to being the children’s guard dog—that, and the fact she stood an impressive six feet tall.

“…Eyck, Plum. Think I could borrow Cion for a little bit?” I asked.

“Uh… L-lend? How do I…?” stammered Eyck.

“Um, o-okay… Eyck, look! The thing you got from Mommy!” said Plum as she reached into the back pocket of Eyck’s shorts and pulled out a license. Cion and I hid the kids from view as Eyck pulled up the party list.

All right, that worked. I think we’re ready.

“…Hmm? What’re you mumblin’ about? Trying to get the dog to cover you? How pathetic,” said the man. He also seemed to be a reincarnate like me, but he’d done nothing but make me dislike him, so I couldn’t say I felt any kinship with him.

I needed to get him to come at us first… I wasn’t very good at being openly mean, but I tried to choose my words to provoke him.

“Cion’s done nothing wrong. Apologize to the kids, and I’ll let it slide this time.”

“You’re actin’ real high-and-mighty… I gave you a chance. Even if I attack that dog once, I won’t get any karma for it. You know what that means?”

“So you’re gonna hurt a dog? Even if the karma on your license doesn’t go up, you think the people who see that are just going to let it go?” I said.

“Karma decides everything. You can’t do nothin’ to me just standin’ there like an idiot!” The man pulled out a knife and went after Cion. Would karma even out if he tried to kill Cion, despite only being run into by him? As hard as it was to understand, he must’ve been planning to use Cion as an example to threaten us, since Cion was bound by karma and couldn’t defend herself.

I put Eyck and Plum behind me, trying to reassure them, since they were both trembling.

“Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be all right. Cion isn’t going to get hurt.”

“Huh?!”

I could hear a cry of surprise as the man’s knife bounced back before it touched Cion, who had stepped in front of me.

“I—I must be seeing things… It’s just a dog; it doesn’t have anyone in its party who can use support magic…,” said an onlooker.

“Maybe it’s not what it looks like?”

“Is that dog super strong?”

“Urgh… S-say whatever you want; this is all your fault!” shouted the man before shifting his attention to me.

But as soon as he tried to go around Cion and attack me, Cion reacted quickly and put herself between me and the man to cover me.

“Agh… I didn’t do nothin’! He just jumped in front of me all of a sudden!” cried the man in a panic. Cion wasn’t hurt, but since she jumped in front of me, she ended up taking the man’s attack. Even with no damage, the man’s karma went up when he tried to attack…which meant that we could return a single attack. Cion slowly turned to stare at the man, who seemed to misinterpret the gaze as a threat and gripped his knife tighter.

“—Get him, Cion!” I shouted.

“Gah?!”

It happened in the blink of an eye. Cion swung her large, fluffy tail at the speed of lightning, smacking the man right in the side of the head, the impact enough to send the man flying. The man landed headfirst with a crash in a garbage can on the side of the street and lay there immobile. That was finally enough to draw over some armored guards. The karma should’ve been evened out with that, but the guards mercilessly picked up the garbage can the man was in and carried it away.

“…Waaaahhh…!!” Plum came rushing toward me, wailing.

“I’m s-so glad…you guys are okay…” Eyck himself was doing everything he could to hold back his tears, delighted to see us unharmed.

“You were brave, Eyck,” I told him. “You’re a good big brother… You did great.”

“Gh…gah…waaaaaaahh!”

He must have been on the edge of breakdown, because the moment I patted his head, he burst into tears and wrapped his arms around my legs. No surprise, considering they were so young and had just been through something scary.

“…Geez, Atobe. You’re lucky that dog is strong. You shouldn’t be so reckless,” chided Igarashi. We usually met up nearby, so she must have heard the ruckus and come over. Sounded like she saw Cion and I fight together, too.

“She’s such a brave, strong dog. She helped me pluck up a bit of courage, too,” I replied. Cion was still monitoring the area as she tried to continue to protect us. I thought about all the people who’d just watched the situation unfold and hadn’t tried to step in and help, but in the end, them not getting involved meant that fewer people were hurt. The man named Jack just panicked, not knowing what to do—I guess scammers weren’t the most levelheaded bunch.

“Hic… You were so cool, big bro…”

I was kinda relieved that Plum called me big bro as opposed to mister, even though it meant Eyck and I shared the same title.

The two seemed to understand somehow that I had helped Cion out. They didn’t know that I’d done it with my rearguard skills; all they knew was that I’d protected them somehow.

“Thank you. I’ll tell Mommy that you saved us.”

“Just tell her Cion protected you. Don’t worry about the rest,” I replied. I didn’t want them to worry about the possibility that the man would come back for revenge. Even better, hopefully the man would just forget everything that happened. Hey, totally plausible, since Cion’s Tail Counter knocked him out completely.

Once Eyck and Plum had finally dried their tears, Cion came over and sat down in front of me.

“…Awoo.”

“…Wh-what’s up? That was a cute bark for such a big dog,” I said.

“I think she likes you. Dogs act really submissive toward people they approve of,” said Igarashi.

“She says she wants you to pet her. Cion begs people she likes to give her pats,” added Plum.

“You wanna pet her, too, miss? Cion’s a good girl; she won’t mind,” offered Eyck. The excitement on Igarashi’s face was plain as day, so even the kids noticed. She looked at me as if to ask if it really was all right, and I replied with a smile and a nod.

“…She’s so fluffy. It makes me think of the doggy my parents had… I wonder how he’s doing now,” she cooed, stroking Cion’s fur with hands that seemed accustomed to petting dogs. Cion seemed to enjoy it, but she also looked at me like she was hoping I’d pet her, too.

Even at almost six feet tall, she’s still got those puppy-dog eyes… She may be big, but she seems to like being pampered.

“Ah… K-Kyouka! What are you doing, getting distracted by a dog? Weren’t you going to go meet up with Arihito?” asked Elitia suddenly.

“Ellie, Arihito’s right here,” said Suzuna.

“Hey-o, Arihito! Wooooow, look at this giant pupper! She’s so big that it’s a bit scary… But I still kinda want to stick my face in that fluff!” exclaimed Misaki. Both she and Suzuna also seemed to like dogs, since they both started to pet Cion with Eyck and Plum’s permission. Theresia held back, hiding behind me for a bit, but Cion was so well-behaved that she eventually gathered her courage and reached a hand out to pat Cion on the head.

“……”

“Oh, good, you’re not totally terrified by dogs, then,” I said to her. However, it didn’t seem like she’d completely overcome her fears; Theresia went back to hiding behind me after petting Cion for a moment. Eyck and Plum smiled in amusement, their tears from a moment before now a thing of the past.

“Right… Shall we take the children home?” I said.

“You think that’ll be okay?” asked Igarashi.

“Yaaay! Big sis is coming along, too!” cried Plum.

“Wh-what the heck? She seems to really like me all of a sudden,” said Igarashi, confused as Plum clung to her. I suddenly remembered something Falma had said as I watched the two of them.

“Falma said something once about how she admired Valkyries… Maybe Plum feels the same,” I said.

“Big sis is so cool! I wanna be a big, strong woman someday!” exclaimed Plum.

“…You don’t want to be a Swordswoman? Maybe I just don’t come off as mature enough,” said Elitia enviously.

“Ellie, don’t get yourself down,” Suzuna consoled her. “You’re an amazing Swordswoman.” At level 9, Elitia was very easily the strongest person in our party, but she was still as sensitive as you would expect from someone her age.

Anyway… Incredible that Cion is so skilled. A guard dog, huh…

Cion was still in my party. I decided to return her once we got to Falma’s house. I looked at her as she walked by my side, and I had to admit, I really wanted a dog like her.

Part III: Parents and Children

When we arrived at Falma’s shop, Eyck and Plum rushed into their mother’s arms as she came out to meet us.

“Goodness… What happened, you two?” she asked.

“Um, ummm… A bad man tried to be mean to Cion, but that guy saved us!” said Eyck excitedly. As she crouched down to talk to him, her apron stretched across her ample chest. Obviously, a mother is gonna dote on her child, but I had to avert my eyes for a little bit.

“Mr. Atobe, thank you so much. I’m the one who should be protecting the children, but you went to such trouble…,” Falma started.

“It’s all right. I’m just glad I happened to be passing by at the time. I couldn’t let someone steal a kid’s allowance.”

“Thank you, Mr. Atobe! I have a present for you!” said Plum as she tried to give me a piece of candy she had clutched in her tiny hand. I wasn’t sure if I should accept it, but Igarashi pulled a bit of candy from her pouch and handed it to Plum in exchange.

“Are you sure? Thank you, big sis!” said Plum.

“I like sweet things, too. I hope you like this one.” Igarashi bent down to stroke Plum’s hair. The street Falma’s shop was on was peaceful, and everyone seemed to be smiling.

“People shouldn’t be doing such awful things in town where they can rack up karma… But I suppose there are a few who will find some sort of loophole,” said Falma.

“Cion was trying to protect Eyck and Plum when she ran into that poor excuse for a man. She really is a brave dog,” I said.

“…Woof!” She seemed to recognize she was being praised. Falma’s eyes grew large at the sight.

“My… Has Cion grown fond of someone else? Silver hounds aren’t supposed to open up to anyone but their master, but it seems like she likes you, Mr. Atobe.”

“’Cause Cion knows he protected us,” said Eyck.

“Mr. Atobe’s so cool! Just being with him, it’s like there’s some sorta magic that—”

“P-Plum, shhh. Can we keep that our little secret?” interrupted Igarashi.

“Why?” asked Plum.

“Arihito gets embarrassed reeeally easily. If you compliment him, he blushes and runs away,” Misaki hastily explained.

“Really? Okeydoke, I’ll keep it a secret!” I mean, I understood why Plum wanted to mention my role as a rearguard, and I didn’t think word would get out even if she did say it. But whatever.

Cion had likely become so attached to me because I’d supported her. Looks like I’d proved that support increased Trust Levels even while outside the labyrinth, even though my license only showed that the fight between us and Jack had happened.

“I’m so very sorry; the children just get so curious about everything,” said Falma.

“No need to apologize,” I replied. “Actually, Falma, I was wondering if you might know of a place where I could meet a guard dog like Cion.”

“Have you taken a liking to Cion as well? Ha-ha… And you—Ms. Igarashi, was it? You seem to love dogs yourself,” said Falma.

“Yes, I used to have a dog… Atobe, are you thinking of getting a dog like Cion?”

“Whoa, are you getting a dog just for Kyouka?” asked Misaki.

“Oh… C-congratulations. I can tell that you two have been really close since before you met us if you’re thinking of owning a dog together,” said Suzuna.

“N-no, it’s not like that. Igarashi was my manager before, so I’m just like her employee.” I tried to explain things, but that only seemed to anger Igarashi. She had said before that it was almost like she’d become the employee now, so maybe I should have respected that? I still didn’t understand women.

“And I thought that we’d started to build a more trusting relationship now that we’re in a party… I guess nothing’s really changed from before we were reincarnated, if you still feel that way,” said Igarashi.

“Th-that’s not true. We’re a party; we work together, and I can rely on you and…”

“Ha-ha… Mr. Atobe, you do seem to be such a serious soul,” chuckled Falma, stroking her children’s heads. “From where I stand, it looks like the entire party has a strong bond, including Ms. Igarashi. Sometimes, I wish I could experience adventures with such friends… Although, I’m quite content with my current life.”

While she was talking, Cion seemed to react to something in the shop’s entrance. What came out was a silver hound that was significantly bigger than Cion.

“Falma, you have two dogs?”

“Yes, this is Cion’s mom. Cion’s only two years old, and look at how big she is,” replied Falma. The mom dog had a scar over one eye and gave off an impression you would expect from the massive war dogs of old, but when she saw Cion, she went over to her and started licking her and cleaning her fur.

“She was away for a little while helping the Guild and just came home today.”

“Did she? I imagine it must be comforting to have two strong dogs in your home,” I commented.

“Indeed it is. I don’t think it’s particularly unsafe here, but there’s always someone with ill intentions… Oh, Cion…!” Cion had left her mom to walk over to me and stare at me. It looked like she was waiting for some sort of command…but she wasn’t my dog, so I couldn’t really order her around.

“Mr. Atobe, if you like, would you want to try taking Cion with you the next time you go on a seeking expedition?” offered Falma.

“Ah… Would that be all right? She would certainly help us out a lot…”

“Cion’s father also works as a guard dog. I think Cion gets bored being stuck in town all the time, so I’d love for her to be able to experience seeking at least once… She’s never been attached to anyone but us, so I had been planning to let her go with Eyck when she’s old enough to seek. But Cion’s gotten quite attached to you, too, so if it wouldn’t be too much trouble…”

If Cion came along with us, the party’s defense would become even stronger, since she could use Covering. I did feel a little uncomfortable using Falma’s dog as a shield…but we shouldn’t encounter too many difficult battles if it was only labyrinths in District Eight.

“What do you think? If you’re not comfortable doing it…,” started Falma.

“No, I’m actually worried about the opposite. Cion would help us so much… Would you like to come seek with us?” I asked Cion, holding out my hand. She lifted one heavy paw to shake, trying not to scratch me with her nails. Her paw pads were surprisingly squishy.

That means Theresia will have to be around her. But I think I can use my skills to make Trust Levels increase even for relationships that wouldn’t normally improve. Since neither of them can talk, it’ll depend on how we do things, but here’s hoping they’ll get along eventually.

“Would you mind petting Cion? She loves it,” said Falma.

“Yeah, sure… Do you like this?” I said as I stroked Cion’s head. She started to move and then flopped on the ground, rolling over to show her fluffy belly.

“She looks so blissed out… Arihito, you sure you weren’t a dog breeder or something in your past life?” asked Misaki.

“You’re right… She’s so cute. A gentle giant,” said Suzuna.

“See, Atobe, you don’t have to be so intimidated by her,” added Igarashi.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve petted a dog… I think I’m getting used to it, though. What’s wrong, Elitia?” Elitia was sneaking glances in our direction every so often. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak.

“…Can I pet him, too?” she asked.

“Of course. Theresia, you wanna try petting him again?” Theresia would have to get used to Cion, too, if Cion was going to join our party. She seemed to understand that, so she came over with Elitia, and they both reached out to touch Cion’s soft belly.

“……”

“Cion seems to like that,” commented Falma. “She isn’t wary around demi-humans, so you have nothing to worry about.” Theresia nodded back. Elitia was silently absorbed in stroking Cion’s tummy—it looked like my party had a lot of animal lovers.

Part IV: The Dissection Center

Falma invited us to stay for dinner, but since I still wanted to make it to the Dissection Center in time, unfortunately, I had to decline. I decided I should try to take her up on the offer some other time while we were still in District Eight.

“Ah, Mr. Arihito. You’ve got quite a few companions with you,” noted Rikerton when we walked in.

“Yeah, I’m lucky that I keep finding new friends. Seeking is going well, too.”

“Just a short while ago, I received a delivery of materials from your storage unit. The joint dissection of Juggernaut is also complete, so I can give you the report for that and let Melissa dissect the new materials.”

Just then, Melissa came out from the back of the shop dressed casually in a shirt and shorts with a yet-unsoiled apron over her clothes.

“…The Carriers just delivered your monsters—Gaze Hounds and a Plane Eater. Can I dissect them?” she asked.

“Yes please. Sorry I didn’t get anything rarer,” I replied.

“They’re rare enough. Be better if they were Named, but Plane Eaters aren’t common.” She walked over to a table that had the monsters laid out on top, tied a rope around the Plane Eater’s foot, and hoisted it up.

“…It’s fresh, since you caught it today,” she said, licking her lips in a way that was almost inappropriately seductive for a girl her age, and picked up a butcher’s knife.

“—Hah!”

She made one swing. Just with that, the Plane Eater’s body was sliced open. It was followed with a series of small, fast strokes, and the parts—the materials from the Plane Eater—started to fall onto the table. There was less blood flying about than I would have expected. I felt like I was watching a master of their craft.

“I guess people do really eat chameleon meat, too…?”

“It’s considered one of the finest meats of all the monsters in the Field of Dawn. Some of it is used in cuisine… You almost never see a Named one captured, but the meat on those is on par with the finest cut of beef on the market. The stronger the monster, the tastier its meat,” explained Rikerton.

“R-really…? But I bet no one would eat Juggernaut meat, though, right?” I asked.

“We don’t, no, but its large hunks of meat can be used as bait to distract dragon-type monsters. Different breeds have different eating habits, but the dragons in the Sleeping Marshes prey on anything. Even a level-three party can just about take down one if they prepare large amounts of bait to lure it in.”

Monster meat could be used as bait to lure other monsters… I guess even the labyrinths had their own food chain. Now I understood why Cotton Balls were so hostile toward us: We preyed on them.

“When you say just about, you mean some parties lose, right? I wonder what happens to them…,” said Misaki.

“Eighty percent of novice Seekers remain in District Eight after one year. Fifteen percent never make it back from an expedition,” replied Rikerton. “That percentage decreases the higher you go in the districts. Even if they aren’t completely annihilated, promising Seekers dying or coming back as demi-humans are an everyday occurrence. So very unfortunate…” He closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if in prayer, but once he opened his eyes again, he’d returned to a gentle smile. “Although, I have heard there’s a way to return demi-humans to their previous form. I believe the labyrinths hold the hopes left behind by the Seekers.”

“I believe the same. I decided I would do everything it took to return her to her human self when she joined my party,” I said. Rikerton looked at Theresia, who didn’t seem to understand why she was being stared at. However, she returned his gaze, and he suddenly looked very serious.

“I may have worded things as if it had nothing to do with me, but in reality, I have been searching for a way to return a demi-human to their previous state for a very long time.”

“Rikerton… What do you…?” I asked.

“My wife lost her life in the labyrinth once. She came back as a demi-human.”

He had told me that he’d gone on adventures with his wife when they were young.

Yet, I hadn’t seen a sign of his wife… And this was why.

“My wife died in a labyrinth in District Seven. She was discovered a month later by a search party, having turned into a demi-human. She was pregnant with Melissa at the time. I only realized after living with my wife as a demi-human for three months.”

“…That must have been so hard. And your wife…?” I said.

“She’s traveling with an acquaintance’s party. She has to travel with skilled Seekers and climb the ranks in order to find a way to return to being human. She’s become an even better fighter after turning into a demi-human. I’d just hold her back.”

“So that’s why you’ve been raising Melissa apart from your wife…,” I said, and Rikerton nodded. Melissa didn’t seem to notice our conversation. She had sliced open the Plane Eater’s abdomen and was retrieving something shiny from inside.

“Melissa’s never had much interest in things most kids like. The only thing she’s ever shown a passion for was my job—dissecting monsters. She must have been born with the talent, since her skills have already surpassed mine. Every once in a while, we’ll go in the labyrinth to keep our levels up. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but she ends up protecting me instead of the other way around.”

Children could inherit skills, so Melissa had inherited Rikerton’s skills and developed them while she was still a child.

“The thing is, lately, I’ve been thinking that it’s about time Melissa starts thinking about becoming independent. I think it’s a waste of her youth for her to sit here helping me out with the shop, just waiting for the occasional rare monster to come in… How about you, Mr. Arihito? How do you feel about adolescence?”

“Uh… W-well, I can’t say I had much of an adolescence, I guess, but I suppose I did do some things when I was young.”

“Arihito, were you ever a troublemaker?” asked Misaki. “You sometimes get suuuper intense, like when we’re all in a tight spot.”

“I…guess he does. But I think it’s just because he has a strong heart…,” amended Suzuna.

“He’s just really brave. It doesn’t even have anything to do with his level… He’s just a gutsy type of person,” said Elitia.

“That’s true, but I also feel like he’s just old for his age… Sometimes, he’s practically like a big brother to me,” said Igarashi.

“R-really…?” I’d never led an incredible life like everyone seemed to think of me. I worked a few different part-time jobs and got some life experience, before I decided to put everything I had into studying to live a decent life. People had always told me that I was pretty down-to-earth, so I guess that was just part of my personality.

“Um… Rikerton, it sounds like you want Melissa to be able to make the most of her adolescence, yes?” asked Igarashi, her cheeks turning a little pink from saying this all out loud.

“I do,” he replied, looking at Melissa. “Though, I bet if I try to act like her dad, she’ll tell me I’m being overbearing.”

“…No I wouldn’t,” said Melissa.

“Ah… Melissa, you heard that? Sorry, did we distract you?” asked Rikerton. Melissa had come over to us carrying what looked like a magic stone she’d gotten from the Plane Eater. Her eyes made her look like she was half-asleep, but there was a shine in them as she looked at the stone that revealed a fascination for monster parts.

“The Plane Eater had a camouflage stone. You can blend into surroundings if you equip it. A great find,” she commented.

“Wow… That’s amazing,” I said.

“Blending into your surroundings, huh. That sounds like active camouflage. I remember that from before I was reincarnated,” said Rikerton. So apparently, Rikerton was a first-generation reincarnate. Melissa, as a second-generation, didn’t seem to recognize the phrase active camouflage, because she just looked confused. “Ah, don’t worry about it. I think a fellow man like Mr. Arihito will know what I’m talking about. Active camouflage is something of a man’s fantasy.”

“Ha-ha, you’re right. But if I just blatantly equip it…,” I started.

“What are you talking about, Atobe? Of course you’re going to use it. As our rearguard, you can’t have too many ways of keeping enemies off our tail,” said Igarashi.

“Even if you do use it in battle, you can’t go crazy with it. The stone gives the skill Active Stealth, but it consumes a lot of magic,” explained Melissa.

In other words, constantly blending into the background would rapidly drain your magic. On the other hand, you could essentially turn invisible by expending this energy… But I wasn’t the only one who could benefit from avoiding enemies’ attacks or disappearing, so I decided to think more about who to give the camouflage stone to.

“Well, no waaay Arihito would use it for something pervy,” joked Misaki.

“…A-Arihito would never do anything like that. Honestly, Misaki…,” groaned Suzuna.

“…Besides, we’re in no position to talk where that’s concerned. Or did you already forget, Misaki?” asked Elitia.

“Erk… Look, I—I have no idea what you’re talking about! Everyone was just doing this and that while Arihito was fast asleep…”

“Uh… Misaki, what are you talking about?” I asked on a whim, but everyone looked like they’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. It seemed to imply I’d heard something I shouldn’t have… Were they saying that everyone did something to me while I was sleeping? I looked at Igarashi. She wasn’t normally one to get flustered, but she certainly was now. She looked at all the others as if begging them to help her, but they all avoided her gaze. She seemed to realize there was no escaping, so she cleared her throat and tried to regain control of her facial expressions. I was actually a tiny bit disappointed that, because she wasn’t wearing that knit sweater anymore, her chest didn’t get pushed up in the same way when she crossed her arms.

“D-don’t jump to conclusions, Atobe. You were sleeping, and your blanket fell off. We just put it back on you. Nothing else happened.”

“Y-yeah. You wouldn’t think we’d do something weird to you, would you?” said Misaki with a light touch to my upper arm. I started to wonder if they’d casually touched me like that… No, that was absurd.

“Did I look stupid while I was sleeping? That’s the only thing I wouldn’t want.”

“Uh, um… You were sleeping peacefully. You didn’t look stupid, and you don’t really seem to toss and turn a lot…,” said Suzuna.

“T-totally. You sleep like a log, and you’re suuuper quiet. Not like my dad, who snores like a freight train,” continued Misaki. Actually, along with Misaki, Suzuna had let something slip, but I didn’t dare point it out. They saw how I slept, which meant it was a fact that, at the very least, they had all been watching me.

“A-anyway… Back to Melissa. Would you perhaps like to join us on a seeking expedition?” I asked.

“Sure. If someone could take me along when they need a Dissector from time to time,” she said. She had been listening closely to the whole conversation I had with Rikerton. If she was on board with the idea, then I didn’t think Rikerton needed to worry about her not wanting to do as he suggested.

“Oooh… Looks like I just stumbled across someone who could be a vanguard for the second party I’m in charge of!” said Misaki.

“Misaki, you can’t just randomly assign people like that. Depending on how strong Melissa is, we could just add her to the first party. Swap you out for her,” I said.

“Heeey! Although, actually, I’ve been thinking it’s about time I take a break. I can warm the bench for you guys! Seeeriously, seeking’s just stress on top of stress on top of stress. I think I’m aging twice as fast as normal.”

“Oh, s-stop it with the superstitious talk, would you? …But… You know, if we keep seeking, one day, we might find something that restores youth,” said Igarashi. She seemed interested in the possibility. It did seem feasible that there was something like that, but I wondered. I had the impression that anything could happen in the Labyrinth Country.

“I’ve heard rumors that certain monster meats have anti-aging effects,” said Elitia. “Obviously, it’d be too easy if it were your normal monster, and I guess it doesn’t do anything if you’re under a certain age anyway.”

“So there really is something… Good news for you, Igarashi.”

“Hmph… You don’t have to act like I need it because I’m the oldest girl in the group!”

“Arihito, what age for a girl is a complete no-go for you?” asked Misaki.

“Um… I’ve never really thought about it, I guess. I suppose the most important thing is if you mesh well with someone… Wait, what am I saying?!” The way I phrased it almost made me sound like I was admitting that I’d never actually dated a girl. Thankfully, the party didn’t pick up on that and just took my words at face value.

“I get the impression that you always have good relationships, Mr. Arihito,” added Rikerton. “You already… Oops, I think I might be overstepping my bounds here.”

“Rikerton, you make it sound like… We’re just—” Igarashi tried to say something but ended up fumbling for words.

“Anyway, let’s talk about the materials,” interrupted Rikerton. “I’ll go through the uses for each one. There were seven Gaze Hounds, and we found two gaze stones on them. You can attach them to a weapon to enable a special Stun attack, or you can use them on armor to improve its capabilities.”

“Those sound good. I’ll have to think about whose equipment I want them added to, though,” I replied.

“Understood. The fur can be used for mops and such—what would you like done with them? They do have a slight flame resistance, so they could be made into defensive equipment…”

Apparently, Gaze Hound fur had flame resistance, but their pelts were quite heavy and weak to lightning-based attacks. I decided not to use them and instead sold them.

The gaze stones were tiny, ebony-colored magic stones that formed in the Gaze Hounds’ eyes and could be easily added to a weapon.

“I’d also like to use this ore and rune to improve our equipment, if possible,” I added.

“Ah, it would be best for you to visit a smith, then. But this rune… Normally, they’re made by compressing multiple magic stones, but surprisingly, this one appears to be naturally occurring,” observed Rikerton with curiosity as he looked at the character that appeared in the middle of the stone. It seemed he’d seen runes before. “…The ring I gave my wife had a natural rune in it as well. Here in the Labyrinth Country, they’re also used as high-class gemstones. Take good care of it.”

“Thanks for the advice.” I decided to take the materials to a smith instead of having them do the modifications here in the Dissection Center. I’d do that tomorrow morning. Now we needed to talk about the Plane Eater materials.

“Plane Eater meat is in high demand, so I can offer you fifty gold pieces to purchase the meat alone. Otherwise, I could process the meat into jerky or other long-lasting foodstuffs,” continued Rikerton.

“We’ll sell half and process the other half, if that’s all right,” I said.

“Of course. We have one skin from the Plane Eater, which can be made into one piece of armor.”

“Okay. Could I have you work it into Theresia’s equipment? She would find it the best to use.”

“All right, shall I make some gloves, then? I’ll need some time to work on it, but they should be ready tomorrow.”

“Please,” I responded. We didn’t return with many materials this time, so we were able to settle things quickly. Or so I thought.

“Right, next, we will discuss the materials from Juggernaut. I can offer you three thousand five hundred gold if you sell all but a portion. That’s the amount the Guild set,” continued Rikerton.

“I don’t have anywhere to put that much. Could I use that for future work with you?”

“That’s perfectly fine. I arranged for the parts that could be used as weapons to be sent here… But it will take some time until they’re delivered from where Juggernaut was dissected. I believe it should arrive tomorrow.”

“Thank you for taking care of that.”

I didn’t expect we’d be able to suddenly get something as powerful as some physical attack-immune armor, but I was excited at the prospect of getting a weapon made from Juggernaut. I didn’t mind at all about having to pay. If we could dissect, then we could keep all the profits to ourselves, but that’d take our own time and effort anyway.

“…Can I join you tomorrow?” Melissa asked me.

“Yeah, I’ll come meet you. We’ll probably go into a labyrinth, so make sure you’re ready.”

“Okay. Nice to meet you all… I’m Melissa. I can perform autopsies and dissections.” She timidly bowed to the rest of the party, although the butcher’s knife still in hand made her seem a little menacing. Regardless, we were able to add one of the jobs that I’d been hoping for: a Dissector.

I wondered what kind of skills Melissa could use for seeking and in battle. She had long, wavy silvery hair and well-proportioned features, making her look like a porcelain doll. She suddenly realized she still had the bare butcher’s knife, so she placed it in its case and smiled.

Part V: Room Assignments

Our new lodgings were in a place called the Lady Ollerus Mansion. As the name implied, it was a house built by a female adventurer for her to spend her retirement years in. Lady Ollerus lost her husband and all her companions in an infamous labyrinth in District Four known as the Corridor of Failure. She continued to seek in the labyrinths until she was elderly in hopes of having her revenge and didn’t retire until she was so covered in injuries that she could no longer walk.

A maid named Millais came out to greet us when we arrived, and she told us a lot as she showed us to our room. As we were climbing the stairs to the second floor, she stopped us on the landing, where there hung a beautiful shield, and told us its story almost like she was our tour guide.

“This is the shield that Lady Ollerus used. It is known as the Kite Shield of the Queen’s Knight +8. Very few people are capable of using it due to its heft, but it is a very strong shield and also has value as a piece of art,” explained Millais. The shield was so big that it was more than large enough to cover an entire adult’s body. Apparently, Lady Ollerus was a vanguard, even though she was a woman.

“What was Lady Ollerus’s job?” asked Igarashi.

“She was not a reincarnate but rather from a clan who worked as guards for the royal family. Her job was Royal Order Knight,” replied Millais.

“I didn’t know there was a job like that… I was thinking she would be a Shield Knight or something,” said Igarashi. I had imagined the same thing as her. But even though she was a Royal Order Knight, her party had been stopped in its tracks in District Four. And then there’s the royalty of the Labyrinth Country. They were one of the forces in this country other than the reincarnates. Someday, we’d probably run into them… Though, that was a long way down the line.

“Is maid a job?” I asked.

“Yes, it is,” Millais replied briskly. “Most of us change jobs to become Maids, but there are those who selected Maid as their job when they were reincarnated. There are quite a few skills that are useful during seeking, and there is a surprisingly wide range of equipment to choose from. There are, however, some skills that you can only use when you are wearing a Maid uniform.” She was mild-mannered, her soft brown hair pulled back in a loose braid. But the way she spoke gave me the impression she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Did you also seek in the past?” I asked Millais.

“I still do occasionally, though I have never left District Eight. I sometimes seek with my coworkers or people living in the mansion who have done a lot for me.”

So there were those kinds of Seekers out there, too. I’d learned from the people I’d met that, other than retirees, there were essentially two roles in the Labyrinth Country: Seekers and Seeker support.

The mansion was separated into two wings that branched off from the entrance hall. Our room was on the second floor of the right wing. Millais unlocked the door to our room, provided me with a key, and then showed us into the suite.

“I made the beds in advance—will six be enough?” she asked.

“Ah, yes, it will. Although, it’d be nice if I could have a separate room, since I’m the only man.”

“Oh… I do apologize. I failed to take that into consideration… I prepared beds in three of the rooms, two beds to each. I will set up a bed in the unused room,” said Millais in a fluster as she headed toward the bedroom. Supposedly, she would take pillows and sheets there for me, though I felt bad for making her do the extra work.

“Arihito, it’s not a big deal if we’re just sleeping, right?” said Misaki.

“Uh… I guess, and it’s more work for Millais… Sorry, Millais, please don’t worry about what I said. The rooms are fine as they are.”

“As you wish. I will bring your dinner up to your room at dinnertime. If you need absolutely anything, please just ring that bell to call me. I will be able to hear it no matter where I am.” Millais bowed once and left the suite.

Misaki waved as she left, then grabbed a memo pad and pen that was provided and started writing something.

“…? Misaki, what are you writing?” I asked.

“In times like this, we need the fairest way of deciding, riiight? Ta-daaa, time for a lottery!”

“H-hey… Don’t draw a heart around my name!” I protested.

“Why nooot? No matter how you look at it, you’re basically the prize.” I wondered if I should just take that as innocent affection… But then I saw the amusement on Misaki’s face, and I had a feeling she was messing with me.

“All right, I guess everyone else should write their own name… There,” said Suzuna.

“Hey, Kyouka, no peeking! I know you wanna share a room with Arihito, but so does everyone else,” chided Misaki.

“……”

Theresia was the person who reacted the most obviously to Misaki’s remarks; her lizard mask began to gradually turn red. We played rock, paper, scissors to decide who would pull names, and the five girls carefully shuffled up the names. In the end, it turned out I would be sharing a room with Suzuna, though I felt weird saying that she’d “won.”

“Suzu, you sure that sharing a room with Arihito won’t make you too nervous to sleep?” asked Misaki. “Wanna switch with me?”

“N-no… I’ll be fine. Arihito, I want to be of more help to everyone as a rearguard, so would you mind if I asked for your advice later?”

“If you say so, Suzuna… We can trust you to be a gentleman, right, Atobe?” said Igarashi.

“Igarashi… Don’t look at me like that.” No one seemed too upset about the room assignment results, since we did it by lottery, but Igarashi did warn me… It wasn’t without reason, since men in our previous world did tend to prefer young girls. I probably couldn’t convince them that wasn’t the case with me, but I wanted to at least prove I was closer to a toothless wolf…or a sheep even.

“…Since we’ll be staying in this suite for more than one night, I think it would be a good idea if we rotate. I also would like to get Arihito’s advice on something,” proposed Elitia. We decided to go with Elitia’s suggestion that we only use three of the four rooms in the suite and then swap who sleeps where every night.

“Thank you for agreeing to help me tonight, Arihito,” said Suzuna.

“Oh, no problem… What’s wrong, Theresia?” I asked.

“……”

Theresia was staring at us and seemed to be thinking something as she sat on the couch in the living room.

“Oh… Theresia, don’t worry about it. I’m used to your lizard mask by now… Though, I guess it might surprise me if you pop up in the middle of the night,” said Igarashi.

“I’m totally fine with it, tooo!” added Misaki. “Actually, since you’re all smooth and cool to the touch, I think I’d like to share a bed with you when it gets too hot to sleep in the summer… Hey, don’t gooo! Running away just makes me wanna chase you!” Theresia must have been picturing Misaki using her as a body pillow, and she attempted to protect herself from such a fate. I was suddenly curious if the Labyrinth Country had all four seasons or not, but before I could ask Elitia, Igarashi saw something in the middle of the room.

“Hmm… Atobe, do you think this thing is an air conditioner?”

It was a rounded object made of dark metal that had a blue button and a red button, which looked like magic stones. Elitia seemed to know how to operate it and pressed the blue button, and cool air started to flow out from the vent-like holes on the surface.

“Once you get above a certain rank, most of the housing has magic-operated temperature control apparatuses. You have to charge this filler stone here with magic in order for it to work… We have to limit our use, since we don’t have a magic user in our group,” explained Elitia.

It took time to recover magic. You couldn’t recover all the magic you used during a day of seeking unless you spent a night sleeping in good accommodation. There was no way our party had all the jobs and skills that we’d need. It wasn’t a season that we would need to use air-conditioning, but we’d need to find a way to solve our lack of magic once we were in the middle of a sweltering summer.

Part VI: Skill Levels

After finalizing room assignments, we decided to get changed, then hold a party meeting until it was time for dinner. Everyone’s level went up, so I wanted to double-check their skills. Everyone brought their license and flipped to the skills page. There were different reactions to what each person saw, but even Elitia’s eyes shone with excitement when she saw her new skills… Though, I couldn’t say that her expression was entirely happy. There was a lot of risk with any of her Cursed Blade skills.

I’ll start with my skills… Whoa, I finally got it!

I was finally able to start taking the second step up in the support-type skills. As far as I could see, the amount of support given would change depending on my own abilities.

Since it says your weapon’s attack, there’s a chance that it’ll add attributes and special effects from whatever weapon I have equipped. It’d be worth using instead of Attack Support 1 if my damage exceeds eleven.

If these skills overwrote my existing ones, I wouldn’t be able to use Attack Support 1 and Defense Support 1 anymore. And if my attack or defense was below 11 points, then my support capabilities would be temporarily reduced. But since my damage increased as we grew stronger, it would be a bigger increase to add my attack than to add the set 11 damage. The current number of attacks our entire party could do in one go was near 20, making an 80-point difference in damage between the current 11 x 20 and the potential, let’s say, 15 x 20.

I wasn’t sure if it was too early to take them… And both Attack Support 2 and Defense Support 2 were equally important.

“Atobe, would you mind taking a look at my skills? I was hoping you could help me choose which to take…,” said Igarashi.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment there. Sure, I can take a look. Elitia, so skills level up, too?”

“You can acquire level-two skills now? Congratulations, but keep in mind that the number of skill points necessary to acquire a skill is the same as the skill’s level,” she said. That made sense. I wondered if the number of skill points you got per level increased, since we’d be using more skill points now. If so, we could even get four or five points per level.

If I assumed that the more skill points a skill required, the stronger it was, then it would be safe to take Attack Support 2. On the other hand, the support wouldn’t be useful at all if we increased the number of attacks that had a certain attribute, but that attribute wasn’t effective at all… But then I realized something.

…Right… The set damage is effective, but if we could Poison the enemy…!

If we could somehow make it possible to use status effects other than Poison, then the whole party could inflict status effects on the enemy regardless of their own equipment.

The other one I was interested in was Magic Support 1, but that would likely be most useful when we added a magic-using job to the party. Its effects overlapped with magic recovery, too, so there were a lot of instances where it would be useful. The only thing it’d be really applicable to right now, though, was Igarashi’s Thunderbolt, so we didn’t need it at the moment.

Outside Assist seemed like it could be an interesting skill based on how it was used. Then again, Evasion Support 1 seemed good, but our current defenses were fairly strong, so I decided to hold off on that one.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Igarashi.”

“It’s okay. So these are the skills I can take…” She was wearing her knit sweater and skirt, so she looked just like she did when we’d been reincarnated. Maybe they weren’t used to the feel of the clothes in the Labyrinth Country, because both Misaki and Suzuna had also changed into the clothes they’d been wearing when they reincarnated.

“Piercing Strike looks good, doesn’t it? I also think Force Target would be useful in a lot of different situations,” I offered. “The main strategy would be combining it with Decoy.”

“Yeah… That’s true. You probably don’t think that Snow Country Skin is necessary…,” said Igarashi.

“Hey, why do you get a skill that makes you prettier?! That’s so coool! I want something like that,” said Misaki.

“I don’t think you can change jobs from Gambler to Valkyrie. You could possibly change from Shrine Maiden to Valkyrie, though,” said Elitia. Misaki slumped her shoulders in disappointment.

“Snow Country Skin… What a lovely name…,” said Suzuna. She also seemed interested, but since she and Misaki were the youngest in the group, their youthful skin already looked glowing and supple.

Elitia’s skin was also soft and fair since she was from northern Europe, but she had dark circles underneath her eyes. Perhaps she was often tired from wielding the cursed blade. I used to have the worst bags under my eyes from work before, but my face had gotten a lot livelier since reincarnating. I’m sure it helped that seeking was such good exercise, and I didn’t have much stress these days.

“Right… I don’t think Piercing Strike is absolutely necessary since you have my support damage, so how about you try taking Snow Country Skin?” I suggested.

“Huh? …Are you sure? I shouldn’t take it just for my own benefit…”

“If I thought something else was absolutely necessary for seeking, then I’d ask you to take it. I do want you to take Force Target, but there’s nothing else that I think we absolutely need right now… I don’t think it’s right to ask you not to take a skill that you really want to take,” I explained.

“…It’ll be really useful if we run into an enemy that inflicts the Frozen status. Um… All right, I’ll take Force Target and Snow Country Skin, then,” said Igarashi, using her license to acquire the skills while everyone watched. And then: “…Did anything change? I knew it. It’s not the kind of change that’s super obvious.”

“Uh, I mean… You sorta look overall more like a Valkyrie or something…?” said Misaki.

“Yeah… You still look like yourself, but you seem to have more of a presence,” I said.

“You’re just trying to make me feel better. I knew it was stupid to think it’d just make me prettier… Guess that taught me a lesson.”

“Why don’t you look for yourself? I think it’s best if you see it with your own eyes,” suggested Elitia, and Igarashi went doubtfully to the dressing room.

“…It makes me think of a Valkyrie standing on a battlefield, snow gently falling around her. That’s the kind of impression that I get from Snow Country Skin,” said Suzuna. I agreed—Igarashi was already a beautiful woman, so the skill made her feel even more like a real Valkyrie or added an allure only warrior women had.

Igarashi came back looking disappointed, but from where I was sitting, her skin did look like it’d gotten brighter and clearer.

“It really hasn’t changed much at all… What do you think, Atobe?”

“Uh, um… I think maybe there wasn’t much of a change, since you were already so beautiful.”

“Well, I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but it’s not as big a change as I was hoping for. I’ll just have to hope the Frozen prevention is good… From now on, I’m letting you choose all my skills, Atobe.” The skill was effective, yet she was unable to see it herself. Maybe changes in attractiveness were something only those around you could see. The one effect she did seem happy with was the immunity to Frozen, and its usefulness would become apparent when we needed it.

According to the explanation for Force Target, it might be possible for Igarashi to force attacks on an enemy, which seemed incredibly powerful, but maybe she didn’t receive a skill that useful at only level 3. We needed to test it on some weak enemies… Though, I felt bad watching my friends beat up a poor little Cotton Ball.

“…Arihito, I’m sure you’re not excited about looking at the skills for my job, but…could you take a look later if you don’t mind?” asked Elitia.

“I’m absolutely excited! I bet I’ll be blown away if I look at your skills.”

“R-really…? I mean, if you’re not opposed, then I’d like you to know my skills since you’re the leader. I’m a little tired now, though, so I think I’m going to go nap for a bit.”

“Okay, I’ll wake you up when it’s dinnertime. Sleep well, Ellie,” said Suzuna. Elitia said good-bye and waved before heading to her room. The room assignments were me and Suzuna, Igarashi and Theresia, and Misaki and Elitia.

“Aren’t you getting tired, too, Arihito? I can get your advice another day if you are, you know,” said Misaki.

“I’m going to go over my skills tonight with Arihito, so you could talk with him now,” suggested Suzuna.

“You sure? What skills do you think would be good?” Misaki asked me.

“All right… It’s easier if you sit next to me. Well, maybe not that close.”

“Ooh, you’re blushing. I mean, there is an age difference between us, but it’s not like you’re twice as old as me. So does this mean you actually see me like that?” said Misaki.

“You say I’m not twice as old, but a five- or ten-year difference is still a pretty big one…”

“Whaaat? But age doesn’t matter since we were reincarnated,” protested Misaki.

“M-Misaki… You need to respect Arihito’s feelings. We’re still like children to him…,” said Suzuna, though that’s not really what I meant. I was actually just kind of happy that Misaki didn’t see me as an old fart.

“Misaki, I know you’re the age where you’re interested in that kind of thing, but I think it’s wrong of you to tease a genuinely honest person like Atobe.”

“I wasn’t thinking of anything bad; I was just trying to say that he didn’t need to be so worried about being close to me like that. Don’t you get it?” said Misaki.

“Uh… M-Misaki, even Theresia is staring at you,” said Suzuna.

“……”

Theresia was still sitting at the table and staring at Misaki. Her gaze felt somehow intense, so Misaki scooted over to put an appropriate distance between us.

“Um, anyway, so these are my skiiills,” said Misaki.

“Look at you separating yourself properly. You know, it’s good to know how to read the room,” noted Igarashi.

“Kyouka, you’re acting like you can have everything for yourself just because you got prettier,” said Misaki.

“Wha—?! I am not! Atobe, I’m going to go have a look at the mansion’s courtyard. You take care of the kids here.”

“O-okay… Have fun,” I said, and she stood from her seat and left. The heels of her boots clicked, and there was something bewitching about her figure as she walked away. Maybe it was because she took Snow Country Skin.

“…She is sooo gorgeous. How about you just tell her straight out, Arihito?” said Misaki.

“Even if I did tell her directly…she was known for being a beauty in our old company, too, so she was the most popular among the guys at work. I was her direct subordinate, though, so I never thought about anything romantic between us…” Well, I had, but only in the very beginning. I had thought that being an employee of a beautiful woman, something might just happen…but now I knew I was just being an idiot for thinking that.

“Arihito, this might be a little too pushy of me, but I think you should go with Kyouka. There are other parties staying in this mansion, and I think she needs a man to escort her,” said Suzuna.

“Do you really think so?” I asked.

“Of course she does! Beautiful girls like her are always getting hit on when they don’t want it. She’s probably safe in the mansion, but what if a mysterious burglar breaks in or something?” said Misaki.

“M-Misaki… Why would you say that? What if someone really comes…?” said Suzuna.

Misaki, Suzuna, and even Theresia seemed to want me to go after Igarashi for some reason. I guess if they felt that strongly about it, I’d go, though I had no idea how to tell her I came to escort you.

Part VII: A Happy Home

Igarashi had said she was going to go look at the courtyard in the mansion, so I headed in that direction but was stopped by a man I didn’t know when I’d walked down the stairs into the entrance hall. He was young, maybe even my age, with short, blond hair and a pair of goggles on his head. He was wearing the highest quality clothing that I’d seen available in the clothes shops around here. Based on his outfit and the fact that he was in the mansion, I guessed he was probably one of the other residents.

“Hey, nice to meet you. My name’s Georg. I’m the leader of one of the parties staying here. Are you with the party that just moved in?” he asked.

“Yes, my name is Arihito Atobe. Pleasure to meet you; we’ll be staying here for a little while, I imagine.”

“Atobe, huh? Never seen you before. My party was ranked number one in District Eight, but then our rank dropped to number two out of the blue. I was wondering what kind of rising star had suddenly appeared; I really wanted to talk to you.”

“We somehow managed to get more contribution points than I expected, putting us in first place for the time being. Much of it was down to good luck.” Luck actually played a huge role in helping us beat Named Monster after Named Monster. We never would have found the giant warrior if it weren’t for Misaki’s and Suzuna’s skills, and luck was still on our side when it came to actually defeating it.

“Pretty humble for a guy who’s just scaled his way up the ranks. By the way, no need to be so formal with me. Looks like we’re around the same age,” said Georg.

“If you say so. One thing from me, then… Calling me Atobe sounds a bit stiff.”

Georg grinned. He seemed to agree.

“Arihito, then. I suppose your party’s got some really powerful people in it.”

“Most of us are actually newbies, but we do have one level-nine member. She’s definitely pulled the party up.” Georg seemed really interested when I said level 9. I got the sense that he was a good guy; he wasn’t even jealous of me for having outranked him.

“A level that high—you’re not talking about Elitia Centrale, are you?” asked Georg. “I heard she came down to District Eight. I’m surprised you even wanted her in your party.”

“We both happened to be in the labyrinth, and there was an opportunity to work together. Hope you don’t buy into any of the nasty rumors going around about her. She’s a very honest person and a good friend of ours.”

“Of course. I’ll let my party know, too… My party’s name is Polaris. What’s yours?”

I hadn’t actually thought about it. I didn’t realize it wasn’t just Elitia’s former party, the White Night Brigade, but each party that had their own name.

“I actually didn’t know it was normal to give your party a name. I’ll have to talk to my party about it later.”

Georg patted me on the shoulder with a grin. I wondered if he’d been injured in one of the labyrinths since he had what looked like a bandage over his nose. He had a similar build as me and gave off the impression of being a frank and honest guy. Seeing as his party had been first in District Eight until recently, I could safely assume he was a fairly strong person.

“By the way… I saw this gorgeous girl walk by a minute ago. She in your party?” he asked.

“Oh yeah. That’s Kyouka. I guess it’s not only Japanese people who think she’s pretty.”

“A beauty like that’s got to be a handful. In any case, what d’you say I show you a good place to have some fun as a token of our budding friendship? I’m sure you’ve made plenty of money to spend on that kinda thing, right?”

“Fun, huh… You’ve got places like that in the Labyrinth Country, too?” I asked. Georg didn’t say anything, but he just grinned in confirmation.

I was once invited a long time ago by some friends at my part-time job to a place like that, but I was saving up money at the time to get my certification, so I didn’t go. Not that I wasn’t interested in Georg’s offer, but I was sure the party wouldn’t react well if they found out. It could break down all the trust I’d built with them so far.

“Hey, only if you’re in the mood. If that mood happens to strike you, let me know. Like I said, I know a good place,” repeated Georg.

“Uh, yeah… If I get the chance.” It might be normal for Seekers in the Labyrinth Country to go together to the red-light district… If that was the case, I might someday end up going, but as of right now, it would be difficult to make it work. Actually, it was pretty much out of the question.

“Atobe, you know that guy? The two of you were chatting like old friends.” Igarashi suddenly spoke up.

“Erk… I-Igarashi. How long have you been listening?”

“I just got here, so I didn’t hear what you were talking about. I don’t really want to look around on my own, so would you mind coming with me?”

Georg picked up on the situation, flashed me a thumbs-up that only I could see, and then left the mansion.

“Atobe, I thought you were supposed to be talking with everyone else about their skills? You can’t just wander off, you know. You need to make sure you check them all over,” said Igarashi. She seemed happy for some reason. Maybe she was trying to imply that she was glad I followed her… That thought put me on edge.

“I decided to take a break for today and continue discussing skills another time,” I replied.

“Oh… Well, I guess you’ll talk with Suzuna later tonight.”

“I don’t think we’ll stay up too late; we’ll just be going over the most important stuff.”

In reality, I wasn’t sure what else I could talk to Suzuna about besides skills. I hoped there wouldn’t be too much of a generation gap between us that we couldn’t chat.

“Where in the mansion have you looked so far, Igarashi?”

“Just around out front a bit. Next, I was thinking of taking that exit to check out the courtyard.”

“All right, sounds good. Let’s go.”

I walked next to Igarashi, who was in her old clothes from before she reincarnated. We passed a Maid who smiled at the sight of the two of us. I think she might have misunderstood, but Igarashi didn’t seem to notice at all.

“The carpet in this hallway is so beautiful. Reminds me of a Persian rug. Are you interested in that sort of thing at all, Atobe?”

“Yeah, a little bit. We’ve started to make some money, so someday, I’d like to buy a permanent home for us, and we can decorate it however we like.”

“…When we do, can we get a pet? I promise I’ll do all the work to take care of it.”

“Of course. We’ll get your favorite kind of animal.”

It was much easier to talk with Igarashi than I ever thought it could be in our old world. As I thought about how easily she ran from hot to cold, I decided that times like these were also quite nice.

The dinner provided to us consisted of a white sauce–topped rice pilaf–type dish with crab, made using a Bubble Crab monster that lived in the marshes, and a seafood soup with Mud Shrimp.

“I would’ve thought that the crab would absorb some unpleasant mud flavors since it lives in the marsh, but it’s been prepped well,” I said.

“Mm, you’re right. I’ve never had seasonings like this, but it’s really quite nice,” added Igarashi.

The soft crab meat and plentiful cream sauce worked very well with the rice, which had been cooked with seasonings and spices. The food we ate before in the tavern was nice enough, but it was a more rustic cooking style. What the mansion offered was much more elegant. This style seemed to suit Igarashi’s tastes, because she was in a great mood. Suzuna didn’t seem picky about her food, but Misaki didn’t seem to be a huge fan of shrimp and so pushed her soup bowl toward Theresia, who was sitting next to her and munching away at her meal like always.

“Misaki, you’ll never grow if you’re so picky with your food,” scolded Elitia.

“Whaaat? But I’m already taller than you!” retorted Misaki.

“Urgh… My height varies from day to day. Today’s just one of my bad days!” replied Elitia. Meanwhile, she was picking out all of the fresh herbs in her soup—it looked like she didn’t really like them. She also didn’t seem to like some vegetables, because she’d very carefully picked out all the bell pepper–looking things from her salad.

“Ellie, do you not like vegetables? I’ll eat them if you won’t,” said Suzuna.

“Uh… No, it’s okay. I was planning on eating them all in one go afterward.”

“You’ll be less stressed if you only eat food you like. All sorts of different things will give you the nutrition you need.”

“…O-okay… Would you mind eating half of them, then?” said Elitia, a little embarrassed, perhaps because she’d just been reprimanding Misaki for the same thing, and took advantage of Suzuna’s kind nature. Suzuna couldn’t finish her pilaf, so she passed it over to Theresia. Demi-humans really could eat a lot—or perhaps that was just something particular to Theresia.

“…Mm…”

Mealtimes were some of the few instances Theresia, who was mute, made a sound that was as close to a voice as she probably could. Everyone noticed and was paying close attention to her in their surprise.

“Arihito, can Theresia communicate through writing?” wondered Elitia.

“I don’t think so. She can read and listen to people and understand the words, but she can’t express herself through words.”

“…I want to hear Theresia’s voice. It’s not like I can hear the voice of her soul with my skills,” said Suzuna. Even if Suzuna could use Spirit Detection to read Theresia’s emotions, it wouldn’t be the same as hearing it in her own voice.

“……”

Theresia looked at the food, then looked at Suzuna. After a moment, she gave a nod.

“Ah… Theresia, are you saying the food is good? I think so, too,” replied Suzuna.

“……”

If she could express her intentions, then even the strange-looking lizard mask wasn’t a hindrance to her communication. I was sure it wasn’t just me who felt that way.

“Oh right. Arihito, there’s a bathroom in the suite—do you wanna take a bath first?” asked Misaki.

“I can take one after everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with being the first to take a bath, but when I lived alone, I’d just take a quick shower in the morning anyway.”

“I’d probably do the same if I lived alone, since I always get light-headed taking hot baths. Suzu’s pretty good at not doing that, though,” said Misaki.

Misaki and Suzuna had been good enough friends that they were going on a ski trip together, so they probably took shared baths. It must have been nice to take a nice soak with your friends.

“Theresia, since we’re sharing a room, should we take a bath together? It’ll take a lot of time if all six of us go in separately,” suggested Igarashi.

“……”

“T-Theresia, you should go with her, since she’s offering anyway,” I urged, but she didn’t respond. I was nervous that she was about to shake her head, but she gave a tiny nod instead. I might have just been seeing things, but she looked a little sad. She was starting to eat more slowly, and even her lizard mask looked somehow upset. I wasn’t the only one who thought this, because Igarashi seemed concerned as she talked to her.

“Theresia, would you prefer to take a bath alone? That’s fine, too,” she guessed.

“……”

“That’s not it, then… Do you want to take a bath with someone other than me?” Suddenly, Theresia shot a glance in my direction. The eyes of her mask locked onto mine and didn’t look away.

“He’s always helping you out… Right, is that what you’re saying? I know you don’t mean anything by it, but I feel like washing a man’s back is just a liiittle too forward,” said Misaki.

“…I won’t stop you if Arihito says it’s all right,” added Elitia.

“W-well… Theresia’s the one who wants to do it,” argued Suzuna. Theresia was starting to turn red now that everyone’s attention was focused on her. Igarashi started to blush, too— It’d bring things full circle if I joined in.

“…I’ll be all alone if you two take a bath together…,” said Igarashi.

“Huh? …Is that what you were worried about?” I asked.

“O-obviously, I’m not exactly comfortable with a man and a woman taking a bath together, but Theresia seems sad. If she likes you that much, there’s really nothing I can do about it…”

The red in Theresia’s face started to slowly fade, and then she stared at Igarashi. Whatever emotions were behind her face were the subtle ones of a girl’s heart, and I just could not read them at all.

“Oh… I know! Theresia, wait for a moment. If I can get a bathing suit or something like that, then there won’t be anything strange if you two do bathe together,” suggested Igarashi.

“If we do that, too, then we can all take a bath together! And I’d get to play with Arihito in the bath—although I guess that’d be a little awkward. Even I have a sense of shame, believe it or not,” said Misaki. I actually thought it was quite normal to find bathing together awkward. I found it refreshing to hear Misaki say she was embarrassed by something, though, since she normally just said and did whatever she liked… Was it rude to think that?

“…I suppose I shouldn’t mention that we have swimsuit-like equipment, huh?” I said.

“B-body armor doesn’t count as swimwear! Besides, even if we did get a bathing suit, I feel like taking a bath together is a whole separate issue. You should make note of that, Arihito,” said Elitia.

“Y-yeah. I mean, we don’t have to go through all the trouble so we can take a bath together…,” I replied.

“Well, it’s a problem because Theresia’s sad. You don’t have the right to refuse, Atobe.”

Igarashi had way too much faith in the bathing suits. It didn’t really manner if she was in one or naked… It would work only to my benefit, even if I could technically see more in one than the other.

Anyway, we split into three groups for the day and decided that I would take my bath last, alone, and that way, I could take my time testing out the tub in the royal suite.

Part VIII: Night Consultation

This world had a variety of different bath styles. This royal suite had a standalone bathtub instead of one built into the room. There was a shower made by storing hot water in a barrel and turning a tap on to let it out. The water was lukewarm, but that was better than if it were too hot. It was more convenient than what we had in the previous suite, so I was perfectly happy.

I can’t help feeling the technology here is a little hit-or-miss even though there’re so many reincarnates… It wouldn’t be impossible to implement science and technology if a reincarnate did come along with the necessary skills, though.

I lay soaking in the tub with my thoughts. Being last meant I could stay as long as I wanted without having to worry about anyone getting in after me. I eventually got out and decided to leave the cleaning for the Maid tomorrow. The Maids had skills that made cleaning easier, so I imagined it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience for them.

I wasn’t normally the kind of person to take long baths, so I didn’t spend a whole lot of time soaking. Theresia had come out flushed red from her bath. I had felt bad for forgetting to tell Igarashi that Theresia wasn’t good with the heat. Thankfully, Igarashi had noticed quickly and splashed cool water on her to bring her temperature down.

Perhaps she wouldn’t get overheated as much once we turned her back into a human. Or perhaps her demi-human characteristics would remain to a degree. Either way, I was eager to find out how to get her back to her original form as quickly as possible.

If we go to the cathedral in District Four, we will find how to turn a demi-human back into a human…theoretically. Lady Ollerus, who built this mansion, and her party were forced to retire at a labyrinth in District Four. Exactly what kind of labyrinth is this Corridor of Failure that it could destroy a party who could use a shield that amazing…?

I wiped down my body and dried my hair as much as possible. I assumed I’d have to dry by hand, but there was actually a heat-blast shell present, which was a conch-like thing that blew warm air out of a hole. It wasn’t incredibly hot, but it could be used as a dryer.

They had been able to recreate a certain amount of modern appliances through the use of magic stones. This, too, was probably made by reincarnates who wanted a blow-dryer. I couldn’t be more grateful to the people who’d developed the black sphere, the “temperature control ball,” in the living room.

I went into the living room and stood nonchalantly behind Theresia while I chatted with Misaki, who didn’t seem tired at all. Standing there let me heal Theresia’s vitality; she lost a little bit when she got overheated. Temperature changes were a literal threat to life for a lizardman.

Theresia seemed to be feeling better, then went into the bedroom that Igarashi was in so that it was just me and Misaki in the living room.

“Phewww… We had a lot going on today, seriously. I still feel so worked up; I don’t think I can sleep!” said Misaki. It was she who led us to enter the hidden fourth floor of the Field of Dawn, defeat the Named Monster, and meet Ariadne… A lot did happen today. I felt like I needed to carefully take note of it all in my brain.

“Ellie’s already in bed. I’ll probably sleep fine. If not, I might go bug Suzu,” continued Misaki. Suzuna’s Purification spell calmed people down, so it would probably help her fall asleep. Even with me nearby, they’d probably be fine sleeping as two friends sharing a bed.

“Tomorrow, I’ll…be staying behind, won’t I?” asked Misaki.

“We’ll be at eight people with you, Melissa, and Cion, so you could still come,” I said. “I’d just be worried about you being the only person still at level two—your vitality will be lower.”

“Then I won’t do anything in battle. Could Melissa and I just follow behind? Like…a detached squad or something.”

Apparently, that was an option, too. My support worked as long as I was behind that person, so if the rear squad was engaged in battle, I could support them just by turning around. It would depend on how strong Melissa was, but it seemed like it would be a good idea to put some close-combat members in the back as well.

“Even if I join, the only thing I can do is increase your luck… So I guess if you want me to, I will. I don’t even have any other useful sorts of skills,” said Misaki, her expression upset as she pulled her license from her pajama pocket and showed me.

These available skills would be great in a casino… Though, I bet if there were a “dealer” job, their skills would be able to nullify these.

Russian Roulette 1 would probably not end up hitting an ally very often since the Gambler’s luck was good, but the risk was just too great. Lucky Guess 1 didn’t have any drawbacks. Misaki had already taken the skills that were obviously beneficial. We’d already been blessed thanks to her Increased Drop Rate and Child of Luck.

“Lucky Guess 1 looks good, but I don’t think it’s something you need to take immediately. How about you wait a level and see what skills you get then?” I suggested.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I want to really take advantage of my luck-improving skills. Make it so I can just walk around and find a giant pot of gold sitting on the ground,” she said.

“I dunno about a pot of gold, but you do have skills that can help you get stuff. It’s really neat to see everyone’s different skills.”

“Ha-ha! Well, I’m glad you have fun with it. All right, I think I’m off to my room. Niiight!”

“Good night.”

Hopefully, Misaki could acquire some skills that were useful for battle, but it seemed like Gambler was a job specialized in support skills related to luck and had a positive effect on the party. Thinking about it that way, it was pretty similar to my job.

I went back to my room and saw Suzuna with her bedside lamp on, sitting on her bed and looking at her license.

“You must be tired, Suzuna,” I said.

“Just a little. Would you mind taking a quick look at my skills?” she replied.

“Of course. Were you looking at them just now?”

“Yeah. I was trying to figure out which ones would be good to take, but I’m really not sure.”

I stood next to Suzuna, and she showed me her license before looking up at me and smiling.

“Um, you don’t have to stand. You can sit if you like. I’m the one asking you for help anyway,” she said.

“Oh, thanks.” I sat on her bed next to her. She handed me her license, which was currently open to her skills page.

“Ah, right… I remember you have both your Shrine Maiden skills and archery skills.”

“Archery Master seems good, and Medium is a skill that I always wanted before I was reincarnated but never would have been able to do… I sort of want to know what it’d be like.”

“The skill explanation mentions spirits, so I guess that means they really do exist here. Can you detect them, Suzuna? Is that something you can sense with Spirit Detection?”

“Yes. It was like that in the labyrinth last time… There were the spirits of Seekers who died in there before they accomplished their goal.”

If we could listen to the regrets of the people who died there…maybe we could learn some secrets about the labyrinth. Then we could get a different perspective from other Seekers and learn more about this place.

Archery Master 1 could be good, but I thought it was better to focus on increasing the number of attacks instead of the strength of each attack. Shooting two arrows at once or some sort of scatter shot weren’t normal archery skills, but it was entirely possible they existed here.

“All right. Since you want it, too, I think you should take Medium. Cleansing could be useful if we go into a labyrinth where the Holy attribute is really effective, but I don’t think it’s something you need to take right now.”

“Understood. Thank you, Arihito.”

“I think Archery Master is also a strong skill, but it’s not necessary at the moment since you’re in a party with me. The more important thing is increasing the number of attacks.”

“I’d get really strong if I got a skill that let me shoot multiple arrows at once.”

“I was thinking the same thing. I think we will be a very powerful party if we can get defensive skills in place, too, and not just offensive ones.”

We didn’t talk about skills as long as I’d anticipated. We ended the conversation when Suzuna stopped being so worried about her skills. Well, everyone else was probably already asleep; we should get some rest, too.

“Right… We’ll take care of some errands tomorrow and then take the day off,” I said.

“Okay. Good night, Arihito.” I went to my own bed, lay down on my back, closed my eyes, and tried to sleep.

I lay like that for a little while, but then I heard Suzuna moving in her bed.

“…Arihito, could we talk a little?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I don’t mind. Ask whatever you like.”

“Thank you. I’m not sure I can just ask this, but I thought since it was just the two of us… I just sort of wanted to know…”

“I don’t mind. I don’t really have anything to hide.”

“…I was wondering if you could tell me about what you were like before coming to the Labyrinth Country— Actually, no, just about yourself in general…”

She sounded really nervous, even though there wasn’t anything to be so hesitant about. I tried to decide what I should tell her, then ended up giving her a brief overview. I explained that I was an orphan with no close family and spoke about my time at work. After listening to me talk about my previous life, Suzuna then told me about how she went to an all-girls school and how she and Misaki had been together up until middle school, but that they’d gone to different high schools.

“A high school sophomore… I hate to say this, but you had practically your whole life ahead of you,” I said.

“I actually don’t think being reincarnated has been that bad. I was afraid at first, but sometimes, things happen, and you can’t stop them. That’s what I was thinking when I joined Ellie.”

She’d kept her cool even though she’d just lost her life and was able to decide that going with Elitia was a good option. It seemed like everyone was trying to make their own path after being reincarnated, instead of just going with the flow. Well, Misaki did start off on a dangerous path, though.

“But then I met you, and I realized something—I didn’t want to just go with the flow. I also wanted to make my own path and not just give in,” said Suzuna.

“Not give in, huh… I’ve only managed to keep it together when things got rough because you’re all here. I’m able to keep going down my own path because everyone else is headed in the same direction.”

“…That’s why everyone relies on you so easily. Because that’s the kind of person you are. I think it’s really amazing.”

“Y-you do…? Suzuna, you sure you’re not just overestimating me? I’m really nothing special.” Suzuna was staring at me intently. She realized she was leaning forward and clamped her hand over her mouth before rolling over until her back was facing me.

“…Please forget what I just said. I already know—I know I’m pushy and overbearing.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being open about how you feel. I’m not, so I’ve always admired those who are.”

Suzuna didn’t say anything for a little while. She carefully smoothed her glossy black hair, which had gotten messed up when she rolled over, then turned over on her back and glanced sideways at me.

“…Arihito, are you saying you’re not honest? I’m not sure that’s true.”

“W-well… You’ll probably be creeped out when I tell you this, but when I got on that bus, I thought, Wow, that girl’s super pretty. Then you caught my attention again at the Guild after we were reincarnated.”

“R-really? …I noticed you on the bus, too, but I thought you looked really tired… S-sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize. I was really tired. I was actually hoping to take a break while skiing, but I doubt it would have gone that well. I mean, I like to ski, but I’m pretty bad at it.”

Suzuna laughed. Thankfully, the mood had lightened.

“If we go to a labyrinth where there’s snow and it’s hard to get around, I’ll teach you how to ski,” she offered.

“It’d be fun if there really was a labyrinth like that… Actually, I’d be willing to bet there is. You can teach me then.”

“Yes… Good night, Arihito.”

Suzuna turned her back to me again. I stared at her back for some reason, but my eyelids started feeling heavy, and I was soon drifting off into sleep.

I feel like I’m…forgetting something… Must be imagining things…

I thought I saw a faint light in the dark room, but I had fallen asleep before I could really think about what it was. That night, I had a dream that someone came and slept in my bed with me. When I woke up the next morning, Suzuna had vanished from her bed. She was already dressed and up, waiting in the living room, but she mumbled and shrugged me off without giving a clear answer when I asked her why she’d gotten up so early.