Lemumni
"Jun?"
"Ah, sorry. Thinking about that guy just now… I couldn't help picturing a pretty grim future."
"No need to apologize. With a reason like that, anyone would space out. Hahaha!"
When Jun offered his apology, Tatsu nodded in easy understanding. Then he laughed—big, warm, and open—and the awkwardness that had been creeping into the air dissolved at once.
After that, Jun and Tatsu talked and laughed as freely as two men who had run into someone from home in a far-off land. One of the unspoken rules among reincarnators was to count both past and present lives when reckoning age, and by pure chance the two of them came out exactly the same. They became friends on the spot.
"Wow. This is seriously incredible. I could cry."
"Haha! The guild cafeteria's doenjang stew really is something else. Though I wouldn't go so far as tears."
"That's only because you were born here and can eat it whenever you want."
Talking with Tatsu proved remarkably useful for Jun. Lemumni was Tatsu's hometown, so from childhood he had mixed freely with the reincarnators who came seeking the city. Because of that, he knew their information and their unwritten codes in detail. On top of it, he had grown up under adventurer parents and was himself a five-year veteran of some renown—so he also knew plenty of what you needed to keep in mind when exploring a labyrinth.
Fifty points. All Jun had done was spend a mere fifty points shaping the circumstances of his birth, and the side benefits were turning out surprisingly solid.
"Looking at it this way, the Environment option—the reincarnation choice—wasn't such a bad pick after all. I figured it was low priority and never even considered it."
"Most people who come to a labyrinth city think the same. The reincarnators born in each nation's key regions are usually the ones who put real weight on Environment."
"They must have been bold to think that way. Choosing to be born without any powers in a place where a major war is about to break out."
"Well, different personalities mean different ways of handling a war. There's a reincarnator idol making a name for himself in the capital right now—he skipped the power side entirely and dumped every point into Looks, Talent, and Environment."
Jun pulled a face at that, but he didn't call the reincarnator a fool. As Tatsu said, everyone faced war differently, and there was no single best answer you could point to. Still, he at least wanted the name of someone bold enough to pull a stunt like that.
"Who on earth is it? Someone who'd have to have half their guts hanging outside their body to make a choice like that."
"Shouldn't you be more shocked that idols exist in a medieval world?"
"We've got reincarnators—why wouldn't we have entertainers? And I've known entertainers existed for a while. I don't know how they heard about me, but people from that industry came to scout me a few times."
"…Yeah, with a face like yours, that tracks."
Tatsu nodded as if that settled it. Then he gave a light poke to the young woman who had been staring holes through Jun's face ever since he'd stuck his mask to the side of his head to eat.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, brother! I told you not to touch me whenever you feel like it!"
"You—! Forget it. Staring that hard won't help you see anything properly. Why bother with a waste of effort?"
To anyone else's eyes, Jun's face looked blurred. That was the facial-recognition interference of the magic mask at work; no amount of staring would make his features clear.
"If I try hard enough, I might catch a little!"
"Just ask him to show you later. Though by then you probably won't even be able to meet his eyes. You talk big in front of Mom and Dad without breaking a sweat—so how do you turn into a total shrimp the second a handsome guy shows up?"
"Grr! You're one to talk, brother! You were the one who came to me fretting that Jun might be a woman and you had no idea how to talk to him!"
"W-when did I—! I never did that!"
"Don't lie! You were stammering the whole time, and the second he checked Male on the gender box you suddenly got all casual—that's exactly why!"
"No! That's not true!"
Tatsu covered his face demurely with both large hands, denying every word. When his sister's assault kept coming, anger finally outran embarrassment; eyes blazing, he launched a counterattack. The young woman, hearing it, covered her face with both hands the same way Tatsu had—then, eyes blazing just as fiercely, fired right back.
"You two get along well."
"Nom nom. Them? Doesn't look like it to me."
Fortuna, who had been demolishing a parfait roughly three times her own size with terrifying speed, paused her furiously working spoon at Jun's remark and tilted her head.
"Sibling fights are always like that."
"Hmm? Hmmmm? Now that you mention it, my second sister and the little brothers used to… sort of? But I don't think they ever fought while being this embarrassed about it."
"Well… every household's different."
Jun brushed Fortuna's doubt aside with a vague smile and stepped in to break the two of them up—for the sake of Tatsu and the young woman's dignity. Carol and everyone else nearby were already ignoring the fight as if it were a daily occurrence, but once the siblings started outing each other's first loves, even the listeners were getting secondhand embarrassment. It was more than Jun could sit through.
"You just wait. Next time—"
"Hmph!"
"Why, you—!"
"Easy, Tatsu. More importantly—are you going to tell me who that idol is? And when are you going to introduce the young lady you were just fighting with?"
At Jun's question, Tatsu drew a long breath, composed himself, apologized, then pointed at the young woman.
"This is my little sister. Her name's Emili."
"Ah—hello, Jun. I'm Emili. Looking forward to working with you."
"…Tch. Playing the demure one now, are we."
Tatsu clicked his tongue under his breath as Emili offered Jun a shy greeting. When she glared up at him, he snorted and pressed on.
"Hey—you're the one who's her fan, so you explain it to Jun for me."
"I-I'm not some crazy fangirl! Jun, please don't get the wrong idea. I was just an ordinary fan. Not anymore, though. Now I'm… J-Jun's fan! So please—just once—show me your bare face!"
"…If the chance comes up later."
"And—and—would it be all right if I called you Jun Oppa? You're friends with my brother now, so that's okay, right? Right?"
"Uh… aren't you older than me, Emili? You've been adventuring with Tatsu, so you're definitely older than—"
"A-anyway! So is it yes or no!"
"D-do as you like. But I'm going to speak casually with you."
"Yes!"
At Jun's consent, Emili whooped and threw up a victory pose like an uppercut. Her short twintails bounced with her mood. A scolding from Tatsu soon settled her down, and she began explaining about the reincarnator idol.
The reincarnator idol's name was MP. He was the leader and main vocalist of the Armor Boys, and with his dazzling looks, outstanding singing, and the background of being the youngest son of a marquis house, he had claimed the top idol seat. His popularity ran so deep that tens of thousands of hardcore fans would smile and die if he ordered them to.
Honestly, with that many devoted fans, he really didn't seem to need powers at all.
"Impressive."
"Not even close! I guarantee you—if Jun Oppa became an idol, he'd blow that guy away! Which is why you should quit being an adventurer and come to the capital! Just bring yourself. I'll handle everything else—ow!"
"Hey. Don't say stupid things. Can't you see the look on Carol's face right now?"
"What? Eek!"
Emili, having taken a knuckle-rap from Tatsu, was about to snap at him with furious eyes—until his next words made her glance at Carol. She let out a tiny scream and hid behind him. Carol's gaze was that vicious. When those eyes swung toward Jun, he flinched even though he hadn't done anything wrong.
"Jun."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"This is the final page of the adventurer registration forms. You'll fill it out for me, won't you?"
"Of course."
Jun hurriedly took the papers Carol held out.
"Self-introduction?"
"Write the strengths you'd like to advertise to people looking to form a party or post a request. For example…"
Carol trailed off, looking at Tatsu and Emili. Tatsu grinned, rose from his seat, struck a bodybuilder's pose, and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Name: Tatsu! Position: front-line physical guard and attacker! Aura and body-enhancement psychic ability! Both cores naturally awakened, both top-grade, with traits and characteristics! These magnificent muscles will take full responsibility for your front line!"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Ohh."
"Wow."
The sheer confidence of the self-introduction earned cheerful applause and warm responses from Jun and Fortuna. Tatsu shouted a "Thank you!" and then gave a few light pats to his little sister, who was covering her face with both hands as if she might die of embarrassment.
"I told you not to touch me whenever you want."
"Don't try to weasel out just because you're shy. Jun's staring at you with huge expectation right now."
At that, Emili parted her fingers a crack and peeked at Jun's reaction. Tatsu had already given the example, so there was no real need to watch her introduction—but in the spirit of teasing a little sister, Jun leaned forward as if he were deeply invested.
"Ugh. Why do I have to… Damn brother. Die! Die before I die of shame!"
"If you don't want to, don't. Though Jun will be disappointed."
"I'll do it! I'll do it! I'm doing it!"
Having steeled herself, Emili shot up from her seat. She held a sideways finger-V in front of one eye and shouted at full volume.
"Name: Emili! Position: magic-combat attacker! Mana and wind-attribute psychic ability! Capable of Psychic Magic fusing sorcery and psychic power! This genius psychic-mage will take full responsibility for your rear line!"
"Wooo!"
"Emili! Emili!"
"Our adorable Emili—leave that useless brother and come over here. I'll treat you right!"
"Who was that last one! Come out! Get out here!"
"Ugh, you idiot brother! Sit still! This isn't the first or second time people have teased you like this!"
The moment Emili's introduction ended, the surrounding adventurers erupted in cheers like a pack of middle-aged fans. When one of them tossed out that last line and Tatsu nearly went berserk, Emili smacked him on the back and settled him down. They bickered and fought, but they really were a close pair of siblings.
"Mm-mm. Sticky. Jun-Jun, wipe Fortuna's mouth."
"All right, all right. Hold still."
Just as a flicker of envy threatened to rise, Fortuna leaned in close and stuck her mouth out. Jun snorted a quiet laugh, pulled a damp cloth from his subspace, and wiped her clean—pouring into the gesture all his gratitude for her effort to keep him from feeling alone.
In the middle of it, he felt hot stares fixed on him. He lifted his head and looked around—
"Jun! Your turn!"
"If you're going to do it, take the mask off!"
"Are you doing it or not! Are you doing it!"
"Somebody get a recorder!"
"Go for it, Prince!"
—and found the siblings and the adventurers watching him with sparkling eyes.
"Ahem. Ahem."
Those eyes, bright with expectation, Jun…