Determination
“Huh? What’s this?”
After thoroughly cursing Fortuna out while washing up, Jun was pulling on clothes he’d taken from his subspace when he noticed something odd.
“Were my clothes always this small?”
The sleeves, the pant legs, the hem of the shirt—everything was noticeably shorter. It felt like he was wearing clothes meant for a kid two or three years younger.
“No way the clothes shrank, right?”
“Obviously not.”
“So I grew, then. I just didn’t notice because I was stuck in those baggy patient gowns. But is that even possible?”
Gaining a single Aura Core didn’t seem like enough to trigger this kind of sudden growth spurt. He’d never heard of anything like it.
Body Change could do it, sure—but there was no way someone at Jun’s level had gone through that.
When Jun still couldn’t figure it out, Fortuna spoke up.
“While your constitution was changing, all the elixirs that hadn’t been fully absorbed yet because of the overdose finally got taken in. That’s what caused it.”
“The elixirs were still sitting in my body? You could’ve told me sooner. I would’ve stopped taking them.”
“Even if they were left over, they weren’t doing any harm. If anything, it was better to leave them for the growth spurt that was coming soon. So I didn’t think I needed to say anything. And I checked your condition carefully every night so I could tell you right away if it got dangerous.”
“...You checked my body every night?”
“Yeah. Got a problem with that?”
Not really—but learning about her perverted side left him feeling a little weird.
Please tell me she didn’t... do anything while she was checking.
“What are you thinking right now?! I just checked! Only checked!”
Reading the awkward look on his face, Fortuna’s cheeks flushed bright red as she shrieked.
Jun hurriedly soothed her with “Sorry, I misunderstood” and the like, but she still wasn’t satisfied, huffing and puffing angrily.
Seeing that, he decided it was really time to stop teasing her. Push any further and she might actually get sulky for real.
And if that happened... ugh.
Yeah. Better not even think about it, let alone make it happen.
“Anyway, a constitution that amplifies and discharges bio-electricity? Isn’t that pretty special even among special traits?”
To change the subject to something she’d actually care about, Jun brought up a topic that would grab her attention.
She saw right through him, but her mouth was itching too much to resist.
“...Wait, you already knew?”
“I used it by accident when we were... together earlier. Once I’d used it even once, everything clicked.”
Right after he’d been rescued and just woken up, Fortuna had told him, “Someone shocked me. It wasn’t an electric eel that saved us from the giant catfish’s belly.”
Back then Jun hadn’t known his constitution had changed, so he hadn’t understood what she meant.
But the moment he discharged electricity, he got it immediately.
The person who’d electrocuted her—and the one who’d pulled both of them out of the giant catfish’s stomach—was none other than himself.
“It is special. Even in the days of the Ancient Empire, there were only three people with a bio-electric trait like yours.”
“So there were still some, at least.”
A little disappointing that he wasn’t the first, but only three people even back then was satisfying enough.
Roughly a thousand years ago, humanity had enjoyed a golden age under a single empire—far superior to the present both in quality and quantity.
Their technology, their population—everything had been several times greater than now. It would’ve been stranger if the bio-electric trait hadn’t existed at all.
For the record, the Ancient Empire had fallen after fracturing while trying to repel an invasion from another world.
The Britia Empire where Jun currently lived, along with the other two empires, each claimed to be the true successor of that ancient realm.
“How did those three use the bio-electric trait?”
“They activated their cells to boost physical abilities, coated their weapons in electricity, or condensed electricity in their hands and attacked with it.”
“Ohh.”
“The first two were the most efficient and effective, but personally I found the last one the most impressive.”
“Why?”
“Because the crackling blue electricity looked insanely cool. And the sound—like a thousand birds screaming all at once.”
Hearing that description, Jun couldn’t help muttering,
“Chi...dori?”
“Chi-what?”
“Ah, nothing. Never mind.”
Brushing off Fortuna’s question, Jun took a deep breath.
For some reason his heart was pounding hard.
Can I? Should I even try?
Do it! Just do it! What are you hesitating for!
But it’s embarrassing. I’m not some middle-schooler.
Who’s gonna know?! Stop worrying and just do it!
Jun argued fiercely with the other self inside him.
Yet his body naturally settled into the exact same pose that one-eyed ninja had first shown the world.
Do it! You can do this!
“Chi...dori!”
Silence.
“...”
...
Nothing happened.
Jun felt extremely, extremely embarrassed.
Fortuna was tilting her head and staring blankly at him like she was wondering what on earth he was doing—grateful that she wasn’t looking at him like an idiot, yet also somehow annoying that she was just staring so blankly.
“Haaah~. Yeah, of course it wouldn’t work on the first try without any practice.”
“What were you trying to do?”
“You don’t need to know. Just remember there’s a reason men die young.”
“What?! Jun, did that weird thing you just did almost kill you?”
Uh, I almost died of shame.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud.
Jun silently stripped off the now-too-small clothes, stuffed them into his subspace, and pulled out a set one size larger that he’d bought just in case. Then, with Fortuna’s help, he tied his hair—which had grown longer along with his body—into a ponytail with a string.
Never thought he’d end up with a ponytail in this lifetime.
It left him with a strangely odd feeling.
“...This is a problem.”
“Hm? What is?”
At Fortuna’s mutter, Jun asked curiously what she meant.
Just as she was about to explain—
“Jun!”
“Were you washing up? We looked all over without knowing.”
“If you’re gonna wash, at least say so!”
“Heni, you can’t talk like that!”
“Damn it, what a waste of time.”
The voices of the kids—including Harry and Leon—drifted over.
“Juuun!!!”
“Wait, Harry! What are you gonna do if he’s washing?!”
“Hey, stop!”
Just as Jun was about to answer their calls, Harry burst through the screen and dove into the well area.
Leon and Donald, trying to stop him, ended up stepping inside as well.
They must’ve been really worried.
Seeing Harry stubbornly launch himself past the two ability users, a warm smile spread across Jun’s face.
For some reason Fortuna slapped her forehead, but Jun decided to ask about that later—along with whatever she’d been about to say earlier—and bent down to offer a hand to Harry, who was sprawled on the ground.
“You okay?”
“...Huh?”
And why’s he like this now?
Even though their eyes met, Harry just gaped blankly without reacting at all.
As Jun tilted his head in confusion, Leon and Donald—whose faces had somehow turned a little red—opened and closed their mouths before managing to speak with difficulty.
“Um, excuse me...”
“W-who are you, big sister?”
“...Huh?”
Jun looked up at his two friends with a baffled expression.
Leon and Donald’s faces flushed even redder.
This feels weird. Why are they acting like that!
“Big sister? What are you talking abou— Wait, there really is one.”
Curious about the voices coming from the well area, Heni pushed the screen aside and stepped in.
When Jun looked her way, she reacted exactly like the others.
“Wow~. Pretty and cool.”
Can “pretty” and “cool” even go together? Didn’t know that.
“Unnie! Who are you? No, more importantly, why are you washing here? Girls aren’t supposed to wash here. You’ll get scolded by the nuns.”
“Ah, no. Calm down first.”
“Whoa~. Your voice is cool too. Kind of manly, but it suits you really well, unnie. What’s that called again? Boyish?”
Was it a boy-girl difference, or just a personality difference?
Unlike the boys who were still staring blankly at Jun, Heni launched a full-on barrage of questions.
A kid who normally barely acknowledged him unless she needed something was suddenly clinging and acting friendly, which made Jun feel oddly burdened.
Guess he’d been holding a grudge about her usual behavior without realizing it.
With a wry smile, Jun pushed the clingy Heni away.
Feeling the rejection, she tried to stick even closer, but Linda—who had just come over the screen—stopped her.
Then, carefully and without much confidence, she asked him,
“Um... are you Jun, by any chance?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Every kid’s face except Jun’s froze solid at the same time.
Pfft.
Looking at those dumbstruck faces, Fortuna snickered and shook her head.
I knew this would happen!
I knew it.
Perched on the windowsill of his office overlooking the well area, Leonard watched as the place went from dead silent—as if time had stopped—to suddenly chaotic like a storm had hit, and let out a quiet snicker.
Sparkle sparkle.
Just then, the communication crystal in his hand lit up, and a voice rang inside his head.
“Did he really awaken an Aura Core?”
“That’s right. So don’t worry about it and just teach the boy weapon techniques and how to fight. Ah, and if you don’t mind, could you teach him a few advanced techniques as well?”
“Since the boy accepted my request... yes, I’ll do that.”
“Thank you. I’ll make sure to repay the favor. I’ll also have the boy show some sincerity, so don’t refuse when the time comes.”
“Is that really all right?”
“Of course. Teaching him will interfere with your hunting, won’t it? With your daughter, money’s going to be tight from now on, so use it to make up the difference. Don’t worry about the boy—he’s got quite a bit of money.”
“...Then I won’t refuse.”
After a brief silence, the owner of the voice—Robin—finally agreed.
Leonard, who had been waiting for the answer with a nervous heart, let out a sigh of relief.
Normally Robin would have refused, saying he wouldn’t take a kid’s pocket money, but his sense of responsibility as a father seemed to have made him bend that principle just this once.
If he hadn’t agreed, Leonard had been ready to force the money on him anyway, so this was truly fortunate.
Heni, does that child know? That because of her childish decision, her father has broken one of the principles he’s kept his whole life.
With a bitter smile, Leonard looked back down at the well area and spoke into the still-active crystal.
“Any suspicious traces around the village?”
“None. I searched thoroughly, but only found tracks from animals or hunters.”
“Thank you. I know you’re busy hunting, yet you still put up with my unreasonable request.”
“Compared to the grace I’ve received from you, Father, it’s nothing.”
Leonard smiled bitterly again.
He believed he had already been more than repaid for that grace.
After all, Robin had been granting his request for ten years already—without any reward, without complaint, without even asking why.
It was far more grueling work than casually training some beginner adventurer he’d saved on a whim until the kid could pull his own weight.
Well, that beginner adventurer probably didn’t see it that way.
Speaking of adventurers... just in case.
“Robin, if possible, teach the boy how to fight in the Labyrinth and the information he’ll need to know as well.”
“Has Leon given up on recruiting him?”
So he’d already guessed Leon’s identity.
Well, if you looked with suspicion, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out.
Leonard nodded in understanding and answered the question.
“Not quite. It’s just that after this incident, Jun has become too big a vessel for Leon to hold.”
“...True, you can’t easily take in a Triple Core holder. Does Leon know that Jun awakened a Third Core?”
“He doesn’t. And I’ll keep it that way as much as possible.”
Jun seemed to think Leonard had given him the Core Concealment Equipment out of apology, worry, and guilt.
That wasn’t entirely wrong.
About half of it was true.
But the other half had nothing to do with that.
Similar worry and concern, just aimed at a different target.
It’s still too early. Leon may have inherited that fellow’s specialness and magnanimity, but he hasn’t matured yet. If he sees someone superior to himself in that state, it could go wrong and plant a malignant disposition in him.
Leonard gazed worriedly out the window.
His friend’s child was laughing brightly, completely unaware—
together with a boy who might be the one he needed to keep farthest away.