Coming-of-Age Ceremony
Special Protection Status.
The ultimate—and worst—measure born from the Church’s absolute will to conquer the Labyrinth no matter the cost.
Through that measure, Jun decided to shoulder the responsibility for his choice.
“You do know exactly what Special Protection Status is when you’re requesting it, right?”
“Yes. Father Leonard taught me about it.”
Despite the word “special,” the actual work was similar to ordinary personal protection. Keep the protectee safe. Special Protection Status placed its emphasis on the same thing. The degree of protection, however, was entirely different.
Ordinary personal protection stayed within limits that would not overtax the Church. Special Protection Status mobilized the Church’s full capacity to shield its charge—even if that charge was a heinous criminal.
“Kate, do you think I can pass the selection criteria?”
Anyone could apply for Special Protection Status. The heinous criminal mentioned earlier, a slave who had murdered their master, a resistance fighter who had bombed a government building, a traitor who had plotted to seize the throne—the Church gladly accepted every application. Yet those actually selected were vanishingly few.
It was not because the criteria were especially strict or numerous. The Church had set only one standard for Special Protection Status: Does this person help conquer the Labyrinth? A single, brutally simple yardstick. Even the form of that help was left open. One could enter the Labyrinth and clear it personally, fund and network for adventurers with money and influence, or forge high-quality gear and supply it to the Church.
The reason so few were chosen anyway was that the level of help the Church demanded was extremely high.
Well, considering the benefits you get, it’s not that high.
What the Church wanted was help toward the complete destruction of the Labyrinth. Mere deep-layer clears did not even make them blink. In combat power, Orange rank or higher. In money, power, and connections, enough to let a top-tier conquest team freely use expensive items. In crafting, the ability to produce at least Gold-grade equipment. Only then could one become a protectee of the Church.
Easy to say, brutally hard to meet. Even within the Britia Empire, which occupied a quarter of the continent, those who satisfied any one of the three conditions could be counted on one hand. Yet that was the level required for the books to balance.
The earlier claim that “Special Protection Status mobilizes the Church’s full capacity to protect its charge” was no empty boast. The Church had clashed with the Three Empires several times to keep that promise. It had failed for lack of strength before, but it had never abandoned a protectee. Except when the protectee themselves caused an incident—then the Church led the purge more aggressively than anyone.
For reference, Special Protection Status was called the worst because protectees of criminal or rebel origin used the power they gained in the Labyrinth to cause disasters. It was called the best because the Church used everyone without regard for good or evil, and Labyrinth conquest became that much easier.
In any case, the Church was serious about protection. So until Sprout’s worldification turned the subspace into a bunker, it could keep Jun himself and Fortuna safe. There was a chance of failure and a price to pay, but Fortuna had said the subspace’s change would not take long, so neither the risk nor the cost felt especially burdensome.
Is it possible? Looking at the abilities I have, it should be. But with my current strength they might say no.
Jun kept his face blank while he waited, inwardly tense, for Kate’s answer. Years from now would be one thing, but right now he was Green rank—two full steps below the minimum Orange required for Special Protection Status. His growth potential, his track record, and the powers he possessed might bridge that gap, yet nothing was certain, and the uncertainty fretted him.
“Of course. Shall we draft the contract right away?”
His worry had been pointless. Kate studied his eyes for a moment, then gave a clean, decisive nod. She even pulled out a contract as if she had prepared it in advance, and Jun could not help asking.
“…I’m glad, of course, but is it all right to decide that quickly? Shouldn’t you contact the Church and ask first?”
“It’s fine. The Church has wanted to offer you Special Protection Status ever since it learned of Blue Flash’s existence.”
“Since four years ago? I was still Blue rank then. They must have really coveted my spatial abilities.”
The subspace and radar Jun possessed could provide enormous help in Labyrinth conquest. A Church that staked its life on clearing the Labyrinth would naturally salivate over them.
“I won’t deny it. Ah, while we’re on the subject—I’m truly sorry, but may I ask a few simple questions about your abilities? What we know is only inference, so there may be discrepancies. Even if your powers differ from what we expected, we won’t withdraw the offer, so please don’t worry.”
Kate carefully watched his reaction. It was understandable; outside of entering ability information on an official family register, asking someone about their powers was considered extremely rude. Jun did not particularly enjoy having his hand revealed either, but he disliked the idea of hearing complaints later even more, so he nodded.
“If simple yes-or-no answers are enough, I don’t mind.”
“Thank you for your cooperation. Then I’ll begin at once. Can you gather information through space?”
“Yes.”
“Is the range you can cover roughly the size of this entire village?”
“Yes.”
“Then, assuming you entered a maze far larger than that range, could you find the exit with relative ease?”
“As long as the exit isn’t completely sealed off… yes, I think I could.”
Even without deliberately activating his radar, he often felt an open, hollow sensation near doors or windows when he was indoors. If he used that sense, he should be able to locate a maze’s exit and clear it smoothly. It was only a guess, so he added that he was not certain.
“Even that alone is incredible! Just how high is your spatial affinity to make that possible?”
Kate asked, excitement showing even while she remained in work mode. It was possible only because his specialization had been half-turned into a superpower by a god, but he felt no obligation to explain that, so he merely shrugged.
“It’s exactly what we hoped for. Blue Flash, with your abilities you will surely reach the end of the Labyrinth. Now, let’s hurry and sign the contr—”
“Ha?”
“—before we do. Are you, Blue Flash, truly all right with signing right away like this? Shouldn’t you consult Father Leonard, Prince Leon, or the Council first? We’ll help you escape, of course, but we would prefer to resolve things as gently as possible.”
At Kate’s question Jun scratched his cheek, looking awkward. Apparently she and the Church shared the same misunderstanding as the First Prince’s faction.
Now I finally understand why they coveted me yet never made an offer until now.
“Kate. I think you’re under a misunderstanding. I’m not some secret weapon raised in secret by a faction. And I’m not running away from any faction either.”
“…What? R-really?!”
“There goes the whole concept.”
“Oh, come on, quit the nonsense and answer properly! You’re saying you really just… appeared naturally?”
Kate rose from her seat, shoved her face close, and scanned Jun from head to toe with eyes that refused to believe it. She looked exactly like a researcher who had just discovered a brand-new mutant virus that absolutely could not have arisen in nature. It was a little oppressive, but he could understand how she must be feeling, so he did not look away and simply nodded.
“Your aura! How did you hide your aura?! Forging a family register is impossible without the Council’s help!”
“I didn’t have it from the start. Four years ago, an electric eel I’d kept like a pet died and, as thanks, gave me a wish pearl. I ate it and awakened naturally.”
“Insane! Then what about your weapon skills?! You handle multiple weapons at an incredible level—that’s impossible unless you’ve trained since early childhood!”
“Uh… I learned from Uncle Robin starting four years ago. Before that, all I had was the self-defense martial arts Father Leonard taught me.”
Thud.
The moment Jun finished answering, Kate collapsed bonelessly into her chair. Every speculative conversation she had ever had with the Church flashed through her mind like a single gust of wind. She clutched both cheeks, which had flushed bright red in an instant, and spoke.
“Whoa. Reality just hit me like a truck.”
“Uuung∼. Now we can finally breathe a little easier, right, Jun?”
Fortuna stretched luxuriously. When he simply watched her, she looked at him as if to say he should hurry up and do the same.
“Yeah. Hngh! It would’ve been nicer if we could set everything down, though.”
He had finished signing only after forcibly prying the contract out of Kate’s arms when she suddenly grew sulky and started acting up. The somewhat distant future no longer needed worrying about. The future right in front of his nose, however, still did.
“Shame. I thought it would work.”
Kate’s fussing had made Jun realize his own value, so while reviewing the contract terms he had casually asked whether she could increase the number of personnel dispatched. The coming-of-age ceremony was not far off; the First Prince would almost certainly launch an all-out offensive soon. The answer, to put it bluntly, had been no.
It was not that Kate had ignored his opinion or found it unrealistic. She had been thinking the same thing and had already made a direct request to the Church a few days earlier. The reply she received then was the conclusion above.
“I really hate this. Power, factions, all of it.”
“Yeah. I hate it so much.”
According to the complaints Kate poured out, the Church’s leadership—already split into two factions over the matter of Prince Leon—had fractured into four. The resulting loss of cohesion was disrupting Church operations and leaving them under considerable covert pressure from the First Prince’s faction. The “impossible” answer was not truly a lack of capacity; it was the filthy adult circumstances of those in power. What made it even more absurd was that those adult circumstances had also been created because of Leon.
“Leon, is there anywhere that kid doesn’t get involved?”
“They really nailed it with the nickname ‘Sparkle.’ He just stands there, yet everyone around him swarms like bugs that found a light.”
“Haha. So I’m the unlucky guy who happened to be standing next to him and got hit by the bugs?”
“Heehee. Exactly. And of all the bugs, you ran into the nastiest, creepiest one.”
“Hahaha. Is that so? Hahaha.”
“Heeheehee. Yup! Heeheehee.”
“Hahaha.”
“Heeheehee.”
Squeeze!
“Hweeeeng∼”
Jun grabbed Fortuna’s plump cheeks and pulled them left and right. She whined for him to stop, but he did not let go.
“Hey. Angel of Luck. Are you actually doing your job? What’s with my luck?”
“Not my faaault∼. Your luck is just pure garbage.”
“Oh, you little—”
Jun, thoroughly irritated, tormented the Angel of Luck even harder. Her fact bomb had hurt far too much.