Arrival in Lemumni
A stone-paved road stretched endlessly ahead.
On either side, wooden buildings of every shape and color stood in neat, unbroken rows.
Medieval-style — no. A medieval city itself!
Jun, who had never once set foot in Europe, took it all in with sparkling eyes.
But something else held his gaze even more firmly than the architecture: the people walking those streets.
Beautiful elves. Squat dwarves. Beastfolk with animal features. Demihuman races he had only ever heard of in stories were strolling right down the road.
Their numbers were fewer than the humans, but considering this was the Britia Empire — a human empire, not the demihuman realm of Elangs — it was hardly a small presence. All of it thanks to the Church's efforts to gather each race's strengths for conquering the Labyrinth.
"My Junie, what are you staring at so hard?"
"…I wasn't staring."
A cool voice that sent a chill racing down the back of his neck. Jun, who had been admiring a beautiful elven woman and a cute beastfolk girl, turned his head away from them with an ungraceful excuse. He wasn't particularly disappointed. He'd been about to look away anyway.
"Really?"
"That's right."
He swore it wasn't a lie. After all, the streets were overflowing with people who caught the eye — and not just demihumans.
"Huff! Huff!"
"…"
A warrior clad head to toe in steel plate. A hunter radiating quiet, brooding charisma.
"Really? Really?"
"Hehe. I told you so."
A female warrior in bikini armor of highly questionable defensive value. A dancer in sheer, suggestive silks that left little to the imagination.
"How many times do I have to say it — magic is the sum of knowledge!"
"No. That, too, is a miracle granted to mankind by God."
A mage grinding his teeth and shaking a long, trailing beard. A priest standing in the middle of the street, clutching a cross and reciting prayers.
People who looked as though they had stepped straight out of a fantasy novel were walking the streets like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Looking at them, even the demihumans started to seem like ordinary people. The brief moment he'd spent staring at the demihumans had only been because their non-human features were fascinating — nothing more.
"Hmm∼. Well, I'll let it slide."
"No, I'm telling you it's true."
Jun offered a light protest to Fortuna, who still refused to drop her suspicion, then surveyed his surroundings again and rested a hand over his heart.
"Is your heart racing?"
"Yeah. A lot."
Feeling the rapid drum of his heartbeat, Jun smiled. He tried to calm himself, but the corners of his mouth kept lifting on their own. So instead, he simply laid his feelings bare.
"In my past life, I used to dream about this a lot. Scenery just like this. Myself standing in the middle of it."
"Congratulations. Your dream came true."
"Haha. Shame I had to die to make it happen. By the way, my head's starting to hurt. I don't think I should keep my radar spread wide inside the city."
With so many people came a flood of information, and processing all of it was overheating his mind. Experiencing a shortage of processing power for the first time since his reincarnation, Jun narrowed his radar's range with a fresh sense of shock.
"My Junie, does it hurt a lot? Want to go somewhere and rest?"
"No, I'm fine now."
"Aww. Don't be like that. We can grab lunch while we're at it, okay?"
"Let's eat later. Someone should be coming to meet us soon."
A country bumpkin wandering a city without a clue was bound to run into unnecessary trouble. To prevent that in advance, Jun had asked Leonard and Kate to request a guide from the Church — and given that he was under Special Protection Status, the Church had readily agreed. By now, the Church, having heard from Leonard, should have sent someone to escort them.
His prediction proved correct. A short while later, a carriage drew up in front of Jun and Fortuna and came to a stop.
The door swung open.
"Pardon me. Might you be Sir Jun and Lady Fortuna from Primuni Village?"
A woman in a receptionist's uniform leaned slightly out of the carriage and posed the question. Jun stared at her blankly for a moment, then murmured as if entranced.
"…A goblin?"
"Yes, a goblin."
"Ohh!"
"Hehe. Between that question and how happy you look at the answer, you're definitely a Stigma holder."
Saying so, the woman — a spitting image of the receptionist from Goblin Slayer — offered a wry smile. That smile was full of mature charm, and Jun found himself staring at her face for an entirely different reason than before.
"Hmph!"
A pinch.
The pain in his cheek snapped him back to his senses, and he hastily apologized to Fortuna.
"Ah, I'm sorry. You look exactly like someone I know."
"Everyone else says the same thing. I wonder how many lookalikes I have in this world. Hehe. Ah, more importantly — would you mind boarding the carriage? Leaving it parked in the middle of the road for too long will get me a fine."
"Yes ma'am!"
Jun quickly climbed into the carriage and sat on the seat opposite the receptionist. Then he set about soothing the jealous little angel who had been puffing out her cheeks like a blowfish since earlier.
"Pwooop! Pwooop!"
He must have let his eyes wander too much today — those inflated cheeks showed no sign of deflating. He would have to watch his behavior carefully for a while.
He let out a soft sigh, pulled a piece of star candy from his subspace, and held it up to the angel's lips. She sniffed the air, cracked open one tightly shut eye to confirm the candy, hesitated a beat, then popped the whole thing — nearly the size of her fist — into her mouth in one go. The cheeks that had been puffed full of air were now puffed full of star candy.
"Hmm∼."
Her mood seemed to have improved a little; she hummed through her nose and lifted her chin ever so slightly. It looked like an invitation to touch. Jun, feeling deeply honored, gently tickled her under the chin. Before long the thoroughly jealous angel melted into a soft puddle and started nuzzling against him.
"Hehe."
"Ah — excuse us."
"Not at all. It was quite lovely to watch."
The receptionist covered her mouth and laughed once more with refined grace, then put on a serious expression, drew a business card from the handbag at her side, and held it out to Jun.
"I'm Carol, chief receptionist of the Guild and elite priestess of the Bright Church. I've been assigned as Sir Jun's dedicated handler under Special Protection Status, so please come find me anytime you need assistance."
"Understood."
"Shall we begin the tour, then? Do you have a set itinerary? If not, I'll guide you at my discretion."
"First, I'd like to hand over Cerberus's remains as per the contract with the Church. I'd also like to open a bank account and get a card issued. After that…"
"Pwooop!"
"…I'd like to get something to eat. We still haven't had lunch. I hear the Guild food is excellent — is it possible to eat there now?"
"Hehe. Of course. Then we'll head to the Guild Headquarters in the Central District, where we can take care of all three."
"…A building?"
Jun's expression turned dubious. The structure standing right in front of him looked thoroughly modern — completely at odds with the medieval era surrounding it. How on earth was there a high-rise in the middle of a medieval city?
"Hehe. Quite surprised, aren't you? Stigma holders always react just like you the first time they see the Guild Headquarters."
"Hard not to. Carol — the person who designed this building…"
"Is a Stigma holder, same as you."
"Figures."
A Stigma holder. An Earthling reincarnated into this world through a contract with the gods, just like Jun. Confirming that existence with his own eyes set his heart racing all over again.
If I meet them, what should I say? Ask which country they're from first? No. What does that even matter at this point.
It had already been fifteen years since Jun's reincarnation. The homesickness for Earth that still visited him from time to time had lessened considerably since those early days, but it had never fully gone away. Whenever it struck, he wanted desperately to talk about Earth with someone. Fortuna, who knew of Earth's existence, helped ease that craving — but it was always one-sided communication, and that was never quite enough to erase it completely.
I guess more built up than I thought.
The desire that had piled up and piled up stirred restlessly, as if begging to be fully satisfied at last. The intensity of it startled even Jun.
"There should be one or two of them inside right now. Shall I introduce you?"
Carol asked, as if she had read his state of mind. Jun hesitated a moment, then shook his head.
"…No. After I've finished what I need to do. I'm the type who can't relax and enjoy myself while there's still work hanging over me."
"Hehe. I think that's an excellent quality. Still, you seem eager, so let's get through the tasks quickly."
Carol smiled as she said it, then opened the front doors and stepped into the Guild. Jun took a small breath and quickly followed behind her.
"Ohh!"
"Not bad for a greenhorn!"
The inside of the Guild was a roaring din. Some kind of event seemed to be underway; every gaze in the room was fixed on a stage set up deeper inside the building. When Jun followed the crowd's attention toward the stage, wondering what the event was, Carol spoke.
"You'll be up there yourself soon enough."
"Up where? You're not talking about that stage, are you?"
"Hehe. Exactly that stage."
"…What, is there some kind of talent show for the initiation?"
"The initiation is separate. That one is… well, you could call it a kind of proof ceremony."
"Proof ceremony? Ah — they're testing whether people have supernatural abilities."
Unlike mercenaries, whom anyone could become after coming of age, adventurers had to be both adults and ability holders. Only then could they resist the Labyrinth's harmful influence. Those without abilities weren't barred entirely, but they could only participate as porters rather than combatants, and they couldn't descend past the tenth floor.
In any case, becoming an adventurer required proving one possessed supernatural power — and that was where the Sage's arrangements, the Proof Series, came into play.
"When mana is channeled into the Proof Series created by the Sage, it measures the purity of that mana and displays the grade of the Core the user possesses. If someone has no ability at all, there's no reaction whatsoever."
"Yes, I've heard. But do they gather everyone up and do the proofs all at once? I was told it was available anytime."
"That's correct. However, every year a flood of children who have just completed their coming-of-age rites all rush in at once, and doing the proofs together like that has turned it into something of an event."
"Hmm. Is there any way I can skip it? You should already know my capabilities from the reports."
Jun could easily foresee it. If he underwent the proof, an enormous uproar would follow. He had no interest in being the center of attention — he was no attention-seeker who thrived on the crowd's gaze — and such a commotion held no appeal for him whatsoever.
"I'm sorry, but no. Regulations require it, and it's something you need for your own sake as well."
"Why?"
"Climbing the Labyrinth requires a party. And to join or form one, you need to demonstrate your strength in front of everyone. No matter how much the Guild insists you have this much ability, adventurers won't believe it unless they see it with their own eyes."
It was a thoroughly convincing answer. Jun let out a long sigh and nodded. Carol led him toward the stage. The staff member hosting at the front of the stage spotted Carol and hurried over.
"Chief Receptionist — what brings you here?"
"Business. Are there still many children waiting for the proof ceremony? If not too many, I'd like this gentleman to go first."
"There are still quite a few… but go ahead and take him first. I'll ask the people behind for their understanding."
The employee read Carol's expression carefully and did exactly as she wanted. From the moment they'd met she had only smiled kindly, so Jun had taken her for nothing but gentle — but judging by the staff member's attitude, that wasn't entirely the case.
"Thank you. Now then, Sir Jun. Please take the stage."
"…Right."
Leaving behind Carol, who wore the mischievous smile of a child about to pull a prank, Jun climbed onto the stage.
At its center lay a sword, a staff, and a crown — one each. They were the Proof Series for measuring Aura, Magic Power, and Psychic ability, respectively. Jun considered which to test first, then walked toward the sword planted on the stage.
"Greenhorn! Show us what you've got!"
"If you don't have an ability, get down on your own!"
"Standing there won't magically give you powers you don't have — so come down while we're still being nice!"
"If you don't, I'll kick your ass right off that stage!"
As he stood before the sword, the adventurers' noisy jeers washed over him. The previous participant must have been an ordinary person; most of them were treating Jun the same way and mocking him for it. Irritation crept in, little by little.
You're just going to stand there and take it?
Surely not.
Hehe. Then let's shut them up so they can't make a peep.
As my angel wishes.
For the one he loved, Jun closed his hand around the sword's hilt.
And then—
WIIIIING!!!
A fierce, ear-splitting mechanical roar thundered through the Guild.