CHAPTER 1

Starting in a New District

Part I: Those Who Forge Ahead and Those Who Fall Behind

The same purple-haired girl who had introduced us to the Labyrinth Country when we’d first been reincarnated now walked beside us as we continued down the pitch-black path leading from District Eight to District Seven. I looked at my license and saw that District Eight, which we had been in for less than a week since getting reincarnated, was shaped like a slice of a pizza, with the Labyrinth Country as the entire eight-slice pie. Or actually, maybe it was more like a donut—the Labyrinth Country’s central region didn’t have any information displayed other than GUILD-CONTROLLED ZONE. Perhaps that was where all the walls that divided the country came together.

It was only natural that we still had so much to learn. As I walked the path to District Seven, I felt a sensation similar to when we were teleported down the stairs into a labyrinth—

“…Your face tells me you’ve noticed something,” the purple-haired girl interrupted. “I could just hide it, but I don’t want you to suspect me of anything. So I’ll explain.”

“No, you don’t have to do that… I just felt like something was off,” I replied.

“Are you sure? That’s unfortunate. I’m just so happy you’ve all come this far, and I wanted to explain some things to you.” She was pretty cute but made some biting remarks. Maybe this wasn’t the right analogy, but it was almost like she was a clown in disguise.

“I was just asking Ellie if we’d teleported since it was so dark this whole time, but then, we saw a light up ahead and… Uh, wh-what’s the matter…?” Igarashi started to say, but the guide looked really annoyed, like she’d wanted to tell her, I was going to tell him myself.

“Haaah. Why are busty women always so insensitive? I bet all their energy is concentrated on maintaining the larger things, and there’s not enough left for the finer ones.”

“H-hey…! You were our guide when we got reincarnated, just like you were for Atobe, so why are you so nice to him but so rude to us…?”

“I’m not rude to all of you. Just you. I know all about your life before you were reincarnated. You’d always drop Arihito into the middle of projects because he was so good at what he did. If it were me, I’d have respected his own pace more…”

“Um, e-excuse me… No, actually, listen. Quit trying to mess with our party like that. Igarashi’s already apologized for what she’s done, and I’ve forgiven her.” I didn’t think she would have listened if I was more polite, so I spoke a bit more forcefully than usual. I thought I’d offend her, but she seemed amused and studied my face. I wasn’t particularly wary of her, but I felt trapped when she closed the distance between us.

“You’re so kind, Arihito,” she said. “As your guide, I sincerely hope you don’t lose that kindness here in the Labyrinth Country.”

“I-I’m not kind… You’re exaggerating a bit, don’t you think?”

“It’s no exaggeration. Kindness is about avoiding quarrels with others and wanting to protect your neighbors. Not everyone in the Labyrinth Country is like that. The more people there are, the more likely you are to meet someone who doesn’t think like you do… I just want you to stay who you are, even when that happens.” She faced forward, looking toward District Seven. It seemed to have a completely different atmosphere from that of District Eight—more oppressive. “I think we’ve chatted enough. I’ll let Louisa show you around District Seven.”

“Oh… Y-yes… Of course,” said Louisa.

“No need to be so nervous, Louisa. Compared with some others, I’m very much an ally of the Seekers.” The purple-haired guide looked younger than Louisa but didn’t address her with Ms. or a formal title. Louisa seemed hesitant to even open her mouth in front of her.

“Um… I know it’s rude to interrupt, but we’re just so curious, so we have to ask,” Misaki began.

“Who exactly are you…?” asked Suzuna. “You led us here and stayed with us until we got to District Seven. Why would you do that for us?”

“…You talk about Arihito like you’re friends—do you like him?” asked Elitia.

The purple-haired guide straightened her cap before answering the questions that the three girls flung at her in succession.

“Couldn’t you ask the same thing about anyone in the party? We simply wish to show our highest respect for the parties at the head of the pack. Keep advancing, rookies.”

“Before you go, can I ask one thing?” I said. “What’s your name? You seem to know about us, but we still don’t know much about you. I’d like to at least know your name.”

“Ha-ha… You’re not all that smooth when it comes to women, I see. That argument isn’t enough to sway me.” It seemed even getting her name would be difficult. Despite that, the more she tried to hide it, the more curious I became. “I suppose you can call me Yukari. It’s not my real name, but a fake one I’ve decided to use. How’s that?”

“But why do you need to use a fake—? No, I get it. We’ll just call you Yukari until we learn your real name.” The name unexpectedly sounded like it might be Japanese in origin, but it wasn’t totally unsuited to her. I couldn’t do anything about her holding the real information back, so I just needed to remember to call her Yukari for the time being.

“No need to worry about something like my name right now. I’ll give you a handsome reward if you meet my expectations and fly through District Seven the way you did in District Eight.”

“Looking forward to it… I’ll just leave it at that. Thanks for seeing us off.”

“You’re welcome. I do like how considerate and proper you are.”

“Wha—?”

Mysterious and cryptic to the very end, the girl who called herself Yukari turned and headed back to District Eight. There really must be a teleportation spell in the path, because she disappeared suddenly.

“……”

Theresia seemed anxious about Yukari, because she was turned around, staring back at where she’d disappeared, but I tapped her on the shoulder, and she finally faced forward.

“What was that about…? I mean, she knew how incredible Atobe is. Maybe the people in whatever public organization the Labyrinth Country has are expecting a lot from him?”

“Public organization… Do you mean people on the management side of things? Louisa, is there an organization like that? Like a government?” I asked.

“There isn’t a government per se, but there is a body that oversees all of the Labyrinth Country in place of a royal family,” explained Louisa. “The Administrative Department, which oversees the walls that divide the districts, is a legislative organization that also manages the Guild. Which means that lady was one of the people who helps govern the Labyrinth Country.”

Why would someone like that guide new reincarnates and also take a particular interest in us? Maybe there wasn’t anyone who could mentor them other than someone in the Labyrinth Country’s management. Regardless, Yukari didn’t seem likely to tell us anything about the Administrative Department as long as she was still treating us like rookies.

“I’ll lead you all to the Upper Guild in District Seven now,” said Louisa.

“An upper guild? …There are multiple Guild locations in District Seven?” I asked.

“Yes. District Seven has a particularly high population compared with the other districts. There are approximately ten thousand Seekers.”

“Ten thousand…?! That’s almost three times the size of District Eight. Does that mean there are also three Guilds in District Seven?” asked Igarashi, and Louisa replied with a nod. Just as Igarashi said, there were multiple Guilds, and we were going to be working out of the highest one.

“I’ll add that those ten thousand people are those who are continuing to work as Seekers in order to move up to the higher districts,” continued Louisa. “There are an additional forty-two thousand people staying in District Seven… If you don’t go on an expedition for a certain amount of time, your contribution points decrease. There are quite a few people who will then raise their contribution points slightly before letting them drop again over and over. Those people are counted in the total population of the Labyrinth Country, but they are not included in the ranking for District Seven.” Meaning we ranked 294 out of 10,000 active Seekers, but there were another 42,000 whose contribution points would fluctuate and were therefore excluded from the ranking.

“If there are forty-two thousand Seekers, then…is it really that difficult to move up to District Six?” I asked.

“It is. The monsters in the District Seven labyrinths are significantly stronger than in District Eight. Many people are unable to handle even one of the labyrinths in District Seven, so they commute to District Eight or find a way to make their living outside of seeking expeditions. If they continue like that, their rank stagnates, and they’re never able to make first rank in District Seven in order to move up to District Six.”

It was almost impossible to climb the ranks in District Seven if you had to go back to District Eight to make a living. If you couldn’t even make a living as a supporter, there was no way you could hope to make it to the higher districts, and you’d probably enter the labyrinths every once in a while to make some cash. I couldn’t blame anyone who did that; better to live a normal life than to push your luck and get killed.

Our first fight with the monsters here would likely let us know whether this district would be a harsh ordeal for us or not. Even if it did turn out to be a difficult battle, we’d have to find some way through it. We had to advance to the higher districts no matter what.

“Arihito, I’ve already advanced to District Five once before, so let me take down any monsters from the front lines. If you can analyze the enemy while I’m attacking, we shouldn’t end up stuck.”

“Thanks, Elitia. We’ll have to make sure we catch up to your level!”

We could live safely and happily in District Eight, but apparently, you couldn’t rent lodging here if you were already renting in District Seven. However, if you bought a house, you could have multiple bases in different districts. That said, the average Seeker wasn’t able to buy a house unless they’d opened a Black Box like we had.

The housing units in District Seven were taller than the ones in District Eight and built even closer together. The road leading to the Upper Guild was packed with people and lined with an inordinate number of adult entertainment shops, which clearly had no connection to seeking. I peered down one of the alleys branching off from the main road and saw a raunchy sign for one of them. I knew what kind of store it was but tried not to say anything stupid.

“Wooow, look at all the shiny signs everywhere! Arihito, is that one for a naughty store?” asked Misaki.

“Uh, I—I don’t really know… I guess it’s possible, b-but it’s not necessarily anything n-naughty…”

“Well… As it happens, the Administrative Department allows all sorts of shops, some for men, some for women. I’ve only been to District Seven once for training, though, so I don’t really know much about it,” explained Louisa calmly, despite her blushing cheeks. I thought it’d be better if they kept the entertainment district out of the center of town, but maybe the population here was just too dense to really make that feasible.

The area we were walking through appeared to be home to a lot of people who’d dropped out of the ranking, but not many in the crowd looked like Seekers. There were even people sitting outside the taverns, starting their drinking this early in the day.

“There are thirteen labyrinths in District Seven,” said Louisa. “These many labyrinths allows the district to support the large population on the goods from the labyrinths. Of course, they also purchase items from the other districts, given how many people reside here.”

“Thirteen labyrinths… So are they really crowded?” I asked. “Labyrinths are pretty big to begin with, but I feel like that’s too many people.”

“Yes. That’s why the Lower Guild issues numbered tickets, which allow entry to a fixed number of people at a time. They provide tickets for six of the thirteen labyrinths, and only a total of one thousand people can enter per day.”

In other words, if the people in the Lower Guild didn’t do very well, they wouldn’t be able to go into the labyrinths as much as they’d like. If they failed an expedition, they wouldn’t be able to level up, and it’d turn into a vicious cycle.

Well, that was probably better than risking death. We had our own goals of turning Theresia back into a human and saving Elitia’s friend, but plenty of people didn’t have things they wanted to accomplish. They had no reason to push themselves and risk death on expeditions just so they could climb the ranks. All reincarnates were forced to become Seekers, but we could all choose how exactly we went about seeking.

“Seekers are divided into those who forge ahead and those who fall behind,” said Elitia. “District Eight has a high proportion of the former, but you need more than the will to fight monsters to advance beyond District Seven.”

At that, I turned around to see the people filling the streets around the Lower Guild. I wouldn’t say their eyes looked as dull and empty as those of a dead fish, but none of them seemed full of life. They had no strong interest in trying their hand at the labyrinths; instead, they were focused on other things. They had found value in their lives in the Labyrinth Country. Would the day come when I’d break down and think of how I could live a simpler life?

My musings were interrupted when Igarashi cautiously whispered, so no one else could overhear, “We jumped up the ranks, so we’re starting off at the Upper Guild, right? If so, we need to take every advantage of that environment. I’m sure we’ll do great.”

“You’re right… I was just surprised at the number of people who’d given up. That’s out of the question for us,” I replied.

“Arihito, please don’t hesitate to come and talk to us if you’re ever feeling unsure,” Suzuna offered. “I want to do everything I can for you. If it’ll help you feel better, I’ll even do what Ariadne suggested—”

“Nooo, Suzuuu! If Arihito takes you seriously, you’re gonna be in real trouble… Ack, not you, too, Theresia! Curse youuu, Arihito!” cried Misaki.

“Listen to yourself, Misaki… Do you really think I’d do something like that?” I was pretty certain they all trusted me in that regard, so I was confident when I spoke, but for some reason, everyone looked at me funny.

“…You’ll all be nearly inseparable, living under one roof going forward. As the only man in your party, Mr. Atobe, don’t you think there would be certain, um…challenges?” Louisa asked me.

“…I’d be lying if I said it would be perfectly easy, but for better or for worse, I’m the party leader,” I replied.

“You see yourself as a leader first and a man second…? I admire your resolve, Atobe… O-okay then, I’ll do my best to be a Valkyrie before anything else, even a woman,” said Igarashi, balling her hands into fists as she offered me encouragement. That’s how we as a party formed our unbreakable, ironclad pact, which was something like a treaty banning any illicit sexual relationships.

I’m the only one the ban explicitly applies to, though… Besides, the girls don’t worry about me struggling with any “challenges”… Or do they? Maybe some of the younger girls do…

“……”

Theresia was staring at me while these ridiculous thoughts ran through my head. I looked at her, but Igarashi was able to figure out what she was trying to express faster than I could.

“Theresia’s fine as an exception. Even if she joins you in the bath, she knows you won’t get any weird ideas. You’re harmless.”

“Kyouka, you reaaally do know Arihito super well,” said Misaki.

“Er… N-no, not really… Atobe’s an honest person, so I just figured that was the case.” Honestly, I thought any man who felt absolutely nothing from a woman joining him for a bath was a problem in itself, but saying anything along those lines right now would surely backfire on me.

“I think it’s less that he’s harmless and more that he’s trustworthy,” corrected Louisa. “I wouldn’t even worry about drinking too much with him around.” Whichever was actually true, they didn’t feel the need to treat me as a potential threat. I’d have to work really hard to support them and make sure not to lose their trust… Actually, I needed to commit myself to the highest possible standards.

More importantly, though, how were we going to tackle District Seven?

We approached the street that the Middle Guild was on and saw people talking outside equipment stores, people buying portable food to take into a labyrinth, people haggling down prices at an expensive potion shop, and a lot of Seekers with the spark of ambition in their eyes. After continuing a short while, we could see the Upper Guild on the easternmost edge of District Seven. The first thing I wanted to do was see what the Seekers near our rank were like.

Part II: A New Encounter

The Upper Guild in District Seven took up multiple buildings. It was an attempt to prevent congestion, since it would be difficult to serve the number of Seekers here with one building. The building we’d be using was called Green Hall. As the name would suggest, its roof was painted green. Green Hall stood three stories tall, and every floor was divided into meeting rooms for Seekers and their caseworkers. We would be allowed to use the first floor. Parties ranked in the thousands used the second floor, while parties ranked in the two-thousands had to go up to the third floor—at least, that was the general rule, but a party could move between the various floors if they requested it.

“Good thing reception’s on the first floor. That way, we won’t have to bother moving around as much,” said Igarashi.

“Especially since Arihito always does the reports on his own. The quicker he can come home, the happier we are!” said Misaki.

“…Hmm? You’re not joking around? That’s rare,” I teased.

“Heeey, what’s that about? You think I always just say ridiculous things?”

“That’s the general impression I get, yeah. But maybe I’m wrong.”

“How dare you! …Oh, are you trying to hide your embarrassment? You are, aren’t you? You wouldn’t say that seriously.”

Perhaps we were so keyed up because we had just arrived in a new district, but it didn’t seem all that bad if it led to this sort of sweet connection.

She continued, “You’ll have to look after Suzu for me while I’m taking my break from seeking. In fact, I was hoping you’d get started on that right now.”

“It’d be nice if the party could have more than nine people. Ellie, is there a reason we can’t?” asked Igarashi.

“Any skills that work on your fellow party members won’t work on more than eight people at a time. The ninth person could just be in their own party—but I don’t think Arihito’s skills would work on them that way, either.”

I would have to use far too much magic to target a ninth person with Outside Assist, my skill that let me assist people outside the party. Anyone without my support would be at a significantly higher risk, so the safest move was to only go in the labyrinth with one party of eight. That wouldn’t apply if we managed to get more members and could form a second party, of course.

“…Well, that’s an option. We could consider going in as multiple parties. Louisa, did anyone do that in District Eight?” I asked. She seemed nervous in her new workplace but smiled happily when I spoke to her.

“Yes. Some people regularly go into the labyrinth with multiple parties—and not just to defeat powerful monsters like with Juggernaut. Larger groups like those often call themselves an ‘alliance’ or ‘brigade’ and act as an organization where Seekers help one another.”

Elitia had been a member of the White Night Brigade before. We could join a group like that, or we could always create our own. Including me, we were already up to nine members. Depending on the circumstances, we could grow even further.

“Beginning in District Seven, parties often band together on labyrinth expeditions in order to reduce any risks,” continued Louisa. “That doesn’t necessarily mean they always work together, but having another party to collaborate with in the same labyrinth can completely change the outcome.”

“A higher ranked party might ask for compensation for joining us, but we could probably team up with a party of a similar rank without having to worry about that sort of thing,” added Elitia. “But the higher you go in the districts, the more likely there’s going to be a clash of interests, and that makes it harder to build equal relationships.” Maybe that was why Elitia was unable to find any parties willing to help her save her friend. I had a hard time imagining belonging to a brigade that refused to help people. After all, that would instead force those people to find other parties that were willing to accept the risks involved.

It would definitely be encouraging to know there were parties that you could work with. I didn’t know if Polaris would be following us up the ranks, but I hoped we would meet other groups and build a friendly rapport.

So far, we haven’t managed to get much info out of other parties. If possible, we should recruit someone who’s good at negotiating and talking to people…

I suddenly looked at Louisa as the thought crossed my mind. I realized that as a Receptionist, she probably had a real knack for the art of conversation.

“Um… M-Mr. Atobe, if you have something serious to discuss with me, could we leave it until after work? My workplace here is still quite new to me.”

“Oh… N-no, that’s fine. Did I really look that serious?”

“Atobe, for a little while now, your eyes sometimes get this really sharp expression. Is that a skill or something?”

“Well, I have this skill called Hawk Eyes, so maybe that’s it… It must be pretty scary to see me glaring all the time. I’ll be more careful.” I didn’t know if it was because I was the only man in the group, but now that I was in an all-female party, my number one priority was gaining their trust. No matter how curious I was about Louisa’s skills, I couldn’t appear greedy.

“…Mr. Atobe, I am your party’s caseworker exclusively. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any requests of me.”

“Exclusively?” I repeated. “Oh, I guess that makes sense. You moved up with us from District Eight.”

“Yes, and I would like to continue doing so. The Guild has given me priority since you are such a promising group of new Seekers.” Did this priority mean her work overseeing us would be put first? That would be nice… There were so many people in District Seven that I could imagine waiting for anything would be a hassle.

“All right,” I said. “I won’t feel bad about asking you for help since you’re our exclusive caseworker. We’re still new to this, but I do understand the value of our time as Seekers.”

“That’s good to hear. Because I work with only your group, I am also allowed to use the same lodging as you. I could live with you if you have the space for one more person.”

“Oh, that sounds great. Then we could have evening meetings if we needed to.”

“Y-yes… I’m sure you’ll continue to be very busy, so please contact me whenever you need my assistance. I will add my contact information to your license.” That contact function might be the single most useful feature our licenses had, but not everyone could use it. You needed a special skill. “My job, Receptionist, gives me a number of communication-related skills. I can only contact parties I’ve registered. I haven’t registered any particular parties yet, so that shouldn’t be an issue now that I’m exclusively working with you.”

“Thank you very much. I’m really glad that we’ll be able to consult with you whenever we need to.”

“Y-yes… Me too… Even if it’s not work-related…,” said Louisa in such a low voice that I couldn’t really make out what she was saying. Maybe she was just trying to tell us she was happy to keep working together as Receptionist and Seekers.

“Hey, Kyouka, what do you think this Contact skill does?” asked Misaki. “Like, will they be able to chat constantly and have a secret relationship…?”

“U-um… Atobe just said consult. It’s fine—they’ll just be using it for work.”

“Your face doesn’t say you think it’ll be fine… Kyouka, if there’s something bothering you, then you should just speak up and say it,” said Elitia.

“E-Ellie, you’re the one who looks bothered…,” retorted Igarashi.

“Contact with Arihito… If I ask for Ariadne’s help, then…,” said Suzuna.

All the girls were talking secretly to one another. They were probably impressed by how handy this skill would be.

To be honest, though, I couldn’t believe the day would come when a girl actually asked me for my number… Although, it was just for work, so I shouldn’t read too much into it.

We entered Green Hall and waited in the lobby while Louisa prepared a room for us.

“There’s more people with strong-looking equipment than there was in District Eight… I wonder where I can buy a spear like that,” said Igarashi.

“The quality of goods sold here is better than what’s sold in District Eight, but it’s still not better than what you can find in chests or make from materials you get in the labyrinths,” replied Elitia. “It is nice, though, to be able to buy replacement gear if yours breaks… Oh, but if you get a silver weapon, you could probably buy a new one. It’s not a very hard material, but it’s good for dealing with ghost-type monsters.” Since she was the most experienced member of the group, we all listened to her explanation attentively. Her mention of materials made me realize something.

“Our Savior Ticket is made from a metal called crystium. Is that a metal that can be used for equipment? Not that we’d smelt it down.”

“Very few forges have a furnace that can handle crystium, but I’ve heard it’s a better material than the high mithril my equipment’s made from. It can be found in a certain number of ores, but there’s so little of it produced that it’s very valuable. It’s a bit wasteful to use it for equipment, so they use other, more widely available materials in the higher districts. There’s glowing gold and heaven steel… Obviously, those are valuable as well, though.” There were a number of metals more valuable than gold… Someday, I wanted to try out a slingshot or armor made of something like high mithril or better.

“Atobe, look… That big group of people over there—they seem like one of those party collectives we were talking about,” said Igarashi.

“You’re right, they do… Twenty-four people—that’s three parties.”

One of those people, a young man with gray hair, was talking to a group of girls standing in front of the notice board in the lobby.

“Kaede, are you still talking about finding other companions? Haven’t I told you that if you join our alliance, we’ll help bump you up to District Six?” he said.

“And I’ve told you that we’ll find our own partners to work with. It’s your fault that labyrinth’s first floor is taken up by all your people and we can’t get in,” replied the girl.

That girl with the long sword, plus those two others… They look like they could be Japanese. Haven’t seen too many Japanese people since coming to District Seven…

“Quit it, Kaede. Sorry about that; it’s just, we’ve decided to recruit on our own…,” said one of the other girls. The one called Kaede appeared tough, which gave her a mature air, but she actually seemed to be around Misaki and Suzuna’s age. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the long sword she carried made her look like a kendo practitioner. The girl who’d stepped in to mediate when the gray-haired man and Kaede seemed about to get into an argument had short hair. Her outfit was reminiscent of a martial arts uniform, and she wore hand and wrist protectors. I figured she must be a Martial Artist.

“The most efficient way for you to get contribution points is for you to join our alliance and help us defeat monsters on the first floor of the labyrinth. If Roland’s party passes the advancement test, they’ll move up, and the space will be open in the ranking here. Just repeat the process and…” It sounded like he was suggesting they gang up on any old monster that showed up. Sure, it was safer to attack first whenever possible, but this just seemed too efficient.

“I’m sure that method would work, but we have no way to compensate you for allowing us to participate,” said a third girl, gently mediating the conversation. She had sun-bronzed skin, and, well, I wasn’t sure how else to say this, but she basically wore bikini armor. I wondered if that was really enough protection. She looked like a former competitive swimmer or beach volleyball athlete.

The fourth and final girl wasn’t Japanese. She was young with very faintly blue-tinted silver hair and a leather case on her back in a very peculiar shape—Maybe it was some sort of club?

“Hey, that’s just how my boss operates. Nothing I can do about it. C’mon, what’s the harm in just joining me for drinks every once in a while if it means you’ll be able to move up to District Six?” said the gray-haired man.

“Hmph… Out of the question. You think we’re too stupid to see you’re just using your leader as an excuse to get your hands on every girl in District Seven?” said Kaede.

“S-stop, Kaede, we don’t want to cause trouble,” pleaded the short-haired girl.

“Ibuki… Ugh, it just pisses me off so much! They can’t just take over a labyrinth for themselves!” replied Kaede.

“We haven’t taken it over; we’re just being strategic. A Seeker will do anything to go up even one rank, right? We just prioritize efficiency—nothing wrong with that. All we’ve done is maybe make it a bit harder for other Seekers to hunt there.”

“Tsk… The hell are you saying? You completely shut all of us out of the hunting areas! Everyone wouldn’t have such a terrible time surviving if we could just hunt the crabs, but you—”

“You’re only angry ’cause you’re too weak. Weaklings only get in the way, taking up more of our time, even if they do repay us. Or do you disagree?”

“…This is ridiculous…!”

“I’m not trying to upset you. If you want to keep up the Seeker life, you can join our alliance for a little bit. But you’ll have to think long and hard about how to make it up to me for all this time you spent turning me down.”

That was about where I considering stepping in, but as the girl named Ibuki said, I had to be careful about causing trouble.

“Atobe… Hold back for now.”

“Igarashi…” I looked at her. She was gripping the upper part of her left arm hard, like she was using the pain to hold herself back. Apparently, she was just as angry as I was.

“Fine. Our alliance will just stay in the Beach of the Setting Sun for another two weeks. Shouldn’t be a problem if we just happen to kill all the monsters that appear there… Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“Rrgh!”

I got the basic gist here: Kaede and her party had probably just come up to the Upper Guild and couldn’t yet handle the more difficult labyrinths. Out of all the labyrinths that the Seekers at the Upper Guild could go to, the one that was best for efficiently earning contribution points was being taken over by that guy with the gray hair and his “alliance.” He would let them join if they went out for drinks with them, but Kaede refused. I could see why. The gray-haired man wanted them—their bodies—in exchange for the convenience they’d get. He was being so brazen that he didn’t even try to hide it.

“If you change your mind, you’ll have to come to me this time. I won’t let you talk to Roland even if you put me in a good mood… Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

He probably never thought he’d be able to convince Kaede and her party on his own. He was trying to have his way with them by using the power of his organization.

“…I can’t stand it. Unbelievable that his group is one of District Seven’s highest-ranked…,” fumed Igarashi, as angry as if she were in their situation. The rest of the party seemed to feel the same, and that included me. I couldn’t just oust all the people at the top of the ranks—something that felt extremely dubious to pull off.

So what could we do? First off, we needed to choose which labyrinth to start with. We didn’t have to worry about this alliance if we could manage somewhere that wasn’t the one they’d set up in. If we did end up in the same place as them, we’d need to figure out how we’d earn contribution points and handle the labyrinth. Would we be able to help Kaede and her party if they ran into a problem? We’d have nothing useful to offer if we weren’t secure on our own two feet to begin with.

“…What should we do, Kaede?” asked one of the girls.

“No way I’m gonna butter up to those guys, sorry. I’d rather go back to District Eight and take the time to improve my skills if that’s the only alternative.”

“But…the monsters in District Eight don’t give much experience. We wouldn’t be able to spend much time resting between expeditions. We’d be working all the time but never getting strong.”

“Look, Ibuki. You think you could stand letting them do whatever they wanted with you? I know I can’t. I’d rather die than let a man I don’t like put his hands on me. Right, Ryouko?”

“I wish I could say that won’t happen here, but Roland’s built himself a bad rap as long as he’s been in District Seven… Although, I doubt they’d try and go for an old maid like me. You guys, on the other hand…”

“Ryouko, you’re only twenty-eight. That’s nowhere near old maid status.”

“Thanks, Anna. Maybe it’s all the new stuff I’ve been eating since becoming a Seeker, but my skin just seems way more youthful than it used to be…”

“Haaah… Ryouko, I know your skin is important, but first, we gotta figure out our plan of action,” grumbled Kaede.

“For sure… Hmm… Ah!” said Ibuki, the girl with short hair, as she noticed us in the lobby with them.

“…Those folks new? That guy’s weapon looks crazy strong…,” wondered Kaede.

“Y-yeah, probably… Looks like they just got here.”

“Hey… Think this is our chance? There’s a lot of girls in the party and just that one guy in the back… He seems harmless… Or actually, he looks pretty serious. Don’t you think so, Ibuki?”

“Huh? …I—I mean, not really. He doesn’t seem nearly as chatty as that other guy from before. More like…some sort of dark and mysterious man in a suit…”

“No way… Ibuki, is he your type or something? You’re not supposed to fantasize about real men once you’re past middle school.”

“N-no, that’s…that’s not what I mean. But we’ll never be able to get more people to join us and go up against the Alliance if we don’t trust any man at all…”

“We could try negotiating? I’m pretty much for it. I don’t want to ask someone like Gray for help.”

Well, I guess that was that guy’s name, though I wouldn’t have expected a gray-haired man to literally be named Gray. I really wanted to give him what was coming to him, but that wasn’t what we did as Seekers.

I was about to head toward the notice board when Kaede and the three other girls walked in our direction. Kaede was in front, looking serious and knowing how important this matter was for them. It would end up being just as important for us.

Part III: A United Front

I couldn’t tell which of the four girls was the oldest: Ryouko, the leader, or Kaede, the one up front. Louisa came back while I was pondering, but she guessed I was about to start a conversation with Kaede and the others and walked over to wait beside Elitia at the back of the party.

Kaede had what looked like a tachi sword hung behind her, but the shape of the grip was clearly different from that of a typical Japanese sword. I’d seen that shape before… That, along with her long, black hair that was pulled up into a ponytail, which made her look like a fairly sporty girl, gave me an idea of what her job might be.

Maybe a swordswoman…or kendo master? Some sort of Japanese sword user, if that’s a thing here.

“Um… E-excuse me… W-we, we…”

“Sheesh… Kaede, you’re so tense that you’re walking funny. Not that I’m one to talk.”

“Kaede, let’s just calm down now. Remember, the Alliance is hogging the area where the crabs and fish appear, and we got attacked by those spiders and praying mantises when we went farther inland… We’ve hit our limits in terms of strategy.”

“That labyrinth just has a ridiculous setup, that’s all. How can it be called the Beach of the Setting Sun yet have so little beach? And everywhere else, you run into monsters way more powerful than the crabs.” If there was a lot of fish and other sea creatures in the Beach of the Setting Sun, then we’d probably see them at the dinner table sometime. District Eight had sea monsters of its own, but there wasn’t a huge variety. It’d be nice to try something new for a change…but maybe that was a concern better left for later.

“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Arihito Atobe. We just came to District Seven today.”

“Huh…? T-today? We…we only managed to get to the Upper Guild after working hard in District Seven for six months…”

“Back then, people said we were pretty fast, but I guess there’s always someone better. By the way, this here is Kaede, and my name is Ibuki.”

“Wh-what the heck, I was gonna do the talking! I’m not even that nervous! It’s just that I was thinkin’ he looks like an upstanding kinda guy!”

I’d found clothes to wear in the Labyrinth Country that were somewhat like a suit, and layered over that was my leather armor. I supposed I did look pretty formal.

“I’m sorry you had to witness that exchange earlier. You’ve only just arrived here, and you’re already seeing us get in arguments with others.”

“N-no… It’s all right. Seekers are always competing. I imagine it’s normal,” I replied as Ryouko moved in front of the four girls. She was wearing a long boa coat made of fur, but under it really was bikini armor. She must get cold around town but seemed perfectly comfortable, like it was her usual equipment. I had a hard time finding a safe place to look. “You’ll have to excuse me for strolling about in equipment like this at my age,” said Ryouko. “This armor is surprisingly good for what my job can use. I wouldn’t gain anything by changing. It’s quite water-resistant and lets me move more quickly underwater…”

“I see…,” I replied.

“Quit staring so much. She just told you some people need to wear equipment like that!”

“Erk… I-Igarashi, you don’t understand—I’m actually trying not to stare…” Maybe I was a little too flustered just because it was a woman in a bikini. I turned around and was stung by everyone’s glares. I really was more suited to being a rearguard and not being in the front.

The four girls looked to Igarashi with surprise.

“That armor of yours—it’s so beautiful and strong-looking,” gushed the one named Anna. “Kaede, you were talking about how you’d like some new armor soon. Would you want something like that?”

“Totally. So badass… I’m jealous. I still only have leather armor. Maybe that jerk from before wouldn’t have given me such a hard time if I’d been wearing somethin’ like that.”

Since we had been lucky enough to find that in a chest, I hadn’t realized how valuable other parties would see it. It really did seem that Igarashi’s Ladies’ Armor was quite priceless. Anyway, small talk was necessary for building good communication, but we had more important things to discuss.

“Forgive me, but I did happen to overhear what was going on earlier. So the group that man belongs to has taken over the good hunting grounds?” I asked.

“Y-yes. That’s why we thought we would form a group with other Seekers, but since we’ve only just come to the Upper Guild, no one would join us…,” said Ibuki, leaning forward as she expressed her frustration. She looked a bit boyish with her short hair and martial arts uniform, but she seemed innocent and unused to interacting with men, because her face was flushed red, and she wasn’t entirely composed.

“We were thinking of checking out some of those places as well, but it would probably be a better idea to go into a different labyrinth if that one has been taken over. I would have thought monopolizing a labyrinth would be against the rules, so to speak, but I guess not.”

“Y-yeah… But that labyrinth is something of a stepping-stone to greater achievements,” replied Kaede. “The Guild even suggested we go there, but when we went, we couldn’t actually do anything. It’s ridiculous…” Normally full of such strong spirit, she slumped her shoulders forward, dejected that their plans had been ruined. Ryouko wrapped her arms around her and consoled her, so Kaede finally wiped her reddening eyes and smiled bravely.

“…All right, I’ve decided. I don’t necessarily want any animosity between us and Roland’s group, but how about we go into that labyrinth and hunt something other than the crabs?” I suggested.

“Uh… Bad idea. They’re super strong. Like, way stronger than you’d think. We’ll just end up hurt if we don’t gain a level or two before fighting them again,” said Kaede.

“We used a Return Scroll once when we were being chased by those monsters. They’re far stronger than any of the other monsters we ran into while we were in the Middle Guild,” added Ryouko.

There were monsters that were easy to earn from and others that were too dangerous, both on the same floor. If that was the case, we really were better off going into a different labyrinth. If we didn’t raise our level and prepare good equipment, any attempt to beat the difficult monsters while we waited to find the monsters that gave good rewards would come with high risks. If possible, we could go do some test runs at one of the labyrinths that the people from the Middle Guild could go into as well. Besides, we’d only just come to District Seven.

“All right, it sounds like it’ll be better to train ourselves in a different labyrinth first. Which ones have you explored so far?” I asked.

“We were looking for a sheep that has a material that I need for my weapon,” said Anna.

“A sheep…?”

“There’s a labyrinth called Silvanus’s Bedchamber. The sheep’s a monster that’s supposed to appear on the second floor there. The Middle Guild suggested it, so we’re allowed entry, but most people are too afraid to venture too deep. They usually stop at the first floor. We kept going to the entrance of the second floor and pulling back if it got too dangerous.”

“Okay, do we want to try it out together?” I suggested. “It sounds like the monsters outside of that one group’s jurisdiction in the Beach of the Setting Sun are too dangerous. I’d prefer we go somewhere safer so we can get a feel for working together. Afterward, we can think about how to deal with Roland and his group taking over that labyrinth.”

“Ah… W-well…,” Kaede stammered, her eyes wide.

I turned to Igarashi and the others in my party to see how they felt about the idea.

“Louisa, we don’t have to go into the more difficult labyrinths just because we jumped over the other Guilds, right?” I asked.

“Of course not. Actually, the Beach of the Setting Sun is a three-star labyrinth. Kaede’s party and Elitia have met the requirements necessary to enter, but you and the rest of your party haven’t. You’ll have to earn a certain amount of contribution points in District Seven first.” Elitia had told me that in order to become a three-star Seeker, you had to earn ten thousand contribution points through the Guild in District Seven. My total contribution points were over ten thousand, but that was what I had earned in District Eight; I’d need to earn that much in this district alone.

“In that case, we’ll have to go into Silvanus’s Bedchamber or a similar labyrinth anyway,” I said.

“…Teaming up with us will likely make those people from before see you as an enemy. Are you sure you really want to work with us?” asked Ryouko.

“They’ll probably move up to District Six and be out of that labyrinth if we wait, but I don’t want to get stalled here,” I said.

We needed to get to District Five to save Elitia’s friend, who was still in the labyrinth there, and then we needed to get to the cathedral in District Four to turn Theresia back into a human. I didn’t want to let Roland’s alliance make us falter or even get us stuck in one place. Their method of climbing the ranks by bringing a large number of Seekers to hunt these crabs might be efficient, but we could consider going into other labyrinths.

“Thank you, Arihito,” said Kaede. “None of us have any specialized skills; we mostly focus on attack skills. Even so, I hope you won’t mind working with us…”

“We’re the ones who’d be grateful to work with you. Would you mind having a meeting before we head to the labyrinth?”

“Of course not. I’m Kaede Akiyama, by the way. Nice to officially meet you,” she replied, holding her hand out. I shook her hand, and she beamed happily.

Louisa let her coworkers know she was leaving before showing us to a meeting room. She gave us enough water for all twelve of us, plus a bowl of water for Cion to drink from, and we watched as he lapped it up. Ibuki and Anna both liked dogs and were happy to watch.

“Um, Kaede, are you and the other girls about our age?” asked Misaki.

“Yep! Ibuki was saying the same thing before. I was in the kendo club, and she was in karate club. Ryouko’s a swimming instructor, and Anna’s a tennis player.”

“Ha-ha, guess this means I’ve got even more daughters now,” joked Ryouko.

“H-hey… I’m around the same age as you. I’d feel better if you called me a little sister instead of a daughter…,” Igarashi protested.

“Really? I thought you weren’t that far off from the other girls. Ha-ha, in that case, we’ll be the grown-up ladies.” Ryouko was only twenty-eight, one year younger than me. Her confident sexuality must be thanks to various life experiences.

As of now, we weren’t having any problems working together, but I reminded myself we’d likely need time to adjust fully to the situation.

“Your party has such a variety of members, Mr. Arihito. You even get along with a lizardman, which is quite remarkable. We hired a mercenary once before, but he couldn’t communicate at all,” said Anna.

“All he did was listen to our commands, which made me feel bad. Theresia’s totally different from him, though. Sometimes, he’d look at us like we were slabs of meat. If it weren’t for that ownership symbol he had, like with other demi-humans, I thought he might get angry at the people who hired him,” said Kaede.

“Wow, really…? Theresia and I worked really well together from the very beginning, so I decided to add her to the party. She’s a good person.”

“……”

I said that in hopes of relieving any negative impressions they might have toward demi-humans, but I could see Theresia turn red. Everyone else noticed and smiled awkwardly.

“I’m surprised you can say such embarrassing things with such a straight face. No way I could,” said Kaede.

“Nothing embarrassing about it. I think it’s incredible… Oh, by the way, I just had a thought—since we’re all younger than you and we’re going to be working together, you don’t need to be so formal with us. I think it’s nice that a man like you would try to be so polite, but there’s no need,” said Ibuki.

“Well, sure, if you’re okay with it. You and Kaede seem really close; did you guys know each other before you were reincarnated?” I asked.

“We got reincarnated around the same time, and I started talking to her in the square outside the first labyrinth I was about to go in. It was kind of hard, though, since Kaede can be really shy around strangers.”

“Hey, what’re you talkin’ about? You were the shy one, Ibuki! She’s got a great punch, but she’s as gentle as a baby deer.”

“We met these two in the Sleeping Marshes labyrinth. Anna and I had been working together for a while before that…,” explained Ryouko.

Anna added, “I’m ever so grateful to Ryouko. I owe her my life.”

Every Seeker had their own history leading up to this point. That was normal, of course, but hearing it like this made me feel something; it made me remember the time I spent with my party.

“A lot has happened for us, too. I don’t think I can ever pay Atobe back for what he’s done…,” said Igarashi.

“Yeah, yeah, you two can’t just make your own little world. Stop fawning over each other in front of people we just met; they’ll never be able to trust us if you do. It’ll aaall just blow up in your faces!” said Misaki.

“Ha-ha, how I wish I was that young. Just watching you lot makes me think of my earlier days,” said Ryouko.

“Y-you know… Atobe is twenty-nine, so he’s older than you.”

“What…? N-no way… I was sure he was barely old enough to be a new college graduate or something.” She gave me the impression she was more interested in older men, but it wasn’t really my place to be analyzing her.

“I know everyone is still getting to know one another, but I’d like to start the preparations necessary for you all to head into the labyrinth,” Louisa piped up. “When you go into Silvanus’s Bedchamber, each party’s contribution points will be calculated separately. There is a bonus for working together, but I will explain that once you’ve returned.” I had a faint feeling that she might have interrupted to rein in Ryouko, but maybe I was just assuming it was about me.

The parties we were working with were displayed on our licenses. I let Theresia view mine since she didn’t have her own, while I checked out the information on Kaede and the others.