Double Play
After finishing every last errand with Carol's help, Jun escorted her home when sheer exhaustion threatened to drop her where she stood.
While he was at it, he also packed up all his personal belongings from the studio apartment next door—the one the church had assigned him.
Having learned of his relationship with Rebecca, the church had offered to expand their benefits if the two of them combined their households into one. Since they'd already planned to merge their living arrangements anyway, Jun accepted the proposal without a second thought.
Only after wrapping up the last of the cleanup did he finally head for home, where his wives would be waiting.
"Welcome home, Jun! You worked hard! Chu♡"
The moment he stepped through the front door, the Angel herself came out to greet him in full adorable newlywed-wife mode. The welcoming hug and kiss that followed melted away every scrap of stress that had piled up from people constantly checking on his results.
"Heeung♡ Kisses are the best♡"
Fortuna, her face completely melted from a single kiss, started pressing her breasts against him in earnest. Holding her tight, Jun glanced around.
His stress hadn't fully dissolved yet—but no one else was in sight.
"For, where are Dohwa and Rebecca?"
"They're packing inside Dowonhyang! But Jun, how on earth did you get that? For was sooo surprised!"
"I'll tell everyone when we're all together. More importantly—did Dohwa like it?"
"Yeah! She scolded you for buying something so random, but she couldn't stop smiling!"
"Really? Then let's go collect some praise."
Jun opened the entrance to Dowonhyang and stepped inside with Fortuna, who linked her arm through his. The surrounding scenery flipped in the blink of an eye, and a rich peach fragrance seeped deep into his nose.
"Oh. It's almost fully assembled."
The Heavenly Peach Tree stood a little larger and taller than it had half a year ago. Beside it sat a single log cabin. Pink birds bustled about, busily filling in the holes still left where the assembly wasn't complete.
"Junjun! For wants a private room on the second floor!"
Staring at the second story just going up, Fortuna stamped her feet. She was truly adorable. Insanely so.
Maybe that was why—
"For, are you serious? You're really going to use the second floor?"
—he wanted to tease her.
"Huh? Uh-huh?"
When Jun asked back with a perfectly straight face, Fortuna tilted her head as if wondering what could possibly be wrong. That innocent look only stoked his sadistic streak further.
"Uh-huh, is it? Alright then. We'll have separate rooms, just like For wants."
"S-separate rooms!"
"If we have separate rooms, we'll have to sleep apart at night too. Can't be helped—it's what For wants."
"A-apart!"
Fortuna froze in place like a statue. Then she clung to him with a tearful face.
"Fo-For doesn't need a private room! I want to sleep with Jun!"
"It's okay, For. You don't have to hold back just for me. With Dohwa and Rebecca around, they can ease some of the loneliness from you being away."
"No! No no no! For gets lonely without Jun! Hwaaang!"
…He'd messed up. He'd only meant to tease her a little, and instead he'd made her cry.
Squeeze!
"Jun! Juuun!"
Fortuna sobbed pitifully, clinging to him as if she would never let go. Her wretched little gestures made it impossible for Jun not to feel self-reproach and guilt.
"For, I'm sorry. It was a joke. Even if you get a private room, we can still sleep together."
"Hic! Really?"
"Of course. Even if For said she'd sleep alone, I'd force you to sleep with me. So no more crying, okay?"
"Okay. No more crying."
Fortunately, Fortuna stopped crying quickly. That didn't mean he could relax, though.
"Juuun!"
Calming her down was only just beginning.
"Sorry. I'm really sorry. You were just too cute."
"I don't care! You're mean! Jun is a bad baby! Always teasing For!"
Pat-pat-pat.
And so began Fortuna's furious little fist-pounding. It was so ridiculously cute and didn't hurt in the slightest that his mouth itched to tease her more—but if he pushed any further the aftermath would clearly be worse, so Jun bit his lip and forced the sadistic urge back down.
Quietly offering his forearm and walking toward the log cabin, he soon spotted Dohwa's back.
"There! I told you that part goes in later. Put it down at once. Yes—place that one on top."
Wearing a hard hat from who-knows-where, she was directing the pink birds while consulting the assembly instructions for the prefab log cabin.
"Dohwa."
"Ah! My lord, welcome back. Forgive me—as your wife, I should have come out to greet you."
"It's fine. You're busy because of something I started. Don't worry about it."
"As you say. However, my lord… it seems you have stirred up yet more trouble despite having only just done so. Is this your humble wife's imagination?"
Dohwa's eyes sharpened. She seemed to have roughly pieced together what had happened from the sight of Fortuna still fist-pounding away.
"Haha. I'm ashamed."
"I do not entirely fail to understand your heart, my lord, but please exercise a little more caution."
"I know. By the way, how far along is the assembly?"
"Nearly finished. We need only seal the joints."
"Already? That's incredibly fast."
"Since most of it is wood, it was easy for me to grasp, and I could also control the wood to bond the pieces immediately, allowing for rapid assembly. We should finish by today."
"Great. We can finally get out of the tent."
Both Jun and Rebecca were being watched by someone, so they couldn't live completely at ease even inside an ordinary house. As a result, the two of them spent most of their time inside Dowonhyang—which no one could enter unless Jun himself or Dohwa opened the way. Needless to say, the same applied in the Labyrinth. Naturally, the high-end tent they'd set up as a house substitute inside Dowonhyang saw heavy use.
Being a glamping tent, it lacked the usual discomforts of ordinary camping gear. That didn't mean there was nothing to miss. He wished for private rooms, a bathroom—or at least a toilet.
As if his father-in-law in heaven had understood that quiet regret, when Jun visited a construction company to collect Rebecca's workshop, he discovered a prefab log cabin that had become a complete white elephant.
An elderly tycoon had ordered it to spend his twilight years in some quiet mountain retreat—but the moment fabrication finished and installation was about to begin, the tycoon succumbed to old age and the purchase was canceled.
Learning the circumstances, Jun bought the log cabin on a half-impulse. The materials, all high-grade thanks to the tycoon's vanity, and the enormous size meant the company president quoted a rather steep price—but fortunately Lawrence, who was with him, pointed out it had gone unsold for months, and Carol pulled out every benefit she could, so they got it dirt cheap.
Even so, he'd fretted that it might have been too impulsive. Seeing it nearly installed like this, though, he felt he'd made the right call. Above all, he loved the way Dohwa looked so happy about the log cabin.
"Dohwa, do you like it?"
"At first I thought you had bought something needless… but yes. I find it most pleasing."
"Then no giving Rebecca the cold shoulder. Got it?"
Jun said this while glancing sidelong at Rebecca's workshop tucked into a corner of Dowonhyang.
"…This humble wife did no such thing."
Dohwa protested with a sulky expression. She said that now—but when they'd first brought the workshop into Dowonhyang, she'd been thoroughly displeased. Left alone, Rebecca would clearly have been eating cold stares for dinner. The other reason Jun bought the log cabin was to prevent exactly that and keep peace in the household.
"Haha. Fine, I get it. So cheer up. And call Rebecca for me."
"Jun, why the youngest all of a sudden?"
"I heard some things outside. Family meeting."
At that, Dohwa immediately sent a pink bird to fetch Rebecca. Once the whole family was gathered, Jun told his wives about the suspicious movements of the two parties and the existence of the cult that Carol had informed him of.
"…The re-invasion isn't far off. Seeing those types moving through Father's barrier…"
"We must acquire greater power as soon as possible."
"Before that, I'd like to clean up our rear. My love, can we not strike first at those who target us?"
"I asked Carol just in case, but she said a preemptive strike would only make things harder for us—so drop it."
If they attacked, they'd turn hostile not only against the Merchant Coalition but also noble houses, the Magic Tower, and the Elangs Coalition. Already practically enemies with the Britia Empire and the Verde Republic, Jun had no desire to add more powerful foes.
"My love, with your abilities and mine, could we not assassinate them?"
"No. Completely concealing ourselves is one thing—but assassination always leaves traces."
Though Jun and Rebecca's abilities were specialized for ambush, Lumen truly had a vast array of powers. A perfect crime was essentially a distant dream.
"Ugh. So we just have to sit and wait until they attack? For hates that. It's hard to fight when your rear is insecure."
"Don't worry. They'll attack soon enough."
As long as they were targeting this side, they'd want to stop them from conquering Labyrinths and building power. This side's conquest speed defied imagination—so an attack was surely coming soon.
"Still, a little provocation wouldn't hurt, right?"
"Huh? You said we can't attack because we might get caught."
"That's why we do it well. Make them feel bad enough that they don't bother tracking us carefully—subtle enough that other people don't understand why, but those guys know. Not certain, but enough that our side is implied."
Answering Fortuna's question, Jun grinned. He was confident.
That kind of work was a runaway ninja's specialty, after all.
One week later, in the sky directly above the West Guild—bustling with adventurers returning from their expeditions—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Wh-what!"
"Explosion! Explosions!"
"Where the hell is it coming from!"
Bombs rained down. After the bombardment stopped, the adventurers frantically searched the area—but nowhere could they find any trace of the culprit.
As a result, the Merchant Coalition—having deduced the suspects from speed, stealth, and explosions alone without a shred of clear evidence—flew into a pointless rage and demanded the guild hand over the suspects. But—
"Sorry about that. Our little one loves wandering around so much he's already gone out."
"Hand them over later, you say? You're being rather unreasonable. No clear evidence, and no one seriously hurt."
Far from getting the answer they wanted, they only got thoroughly mocked. Enraged, the Merchant Coalition's representative irritably picked up a communication crystal.
A short while later, a group of people entered the Labyrinth.