Debut
I am most delighted that it has pleased you.
Sprout smiled with satisfaction at Jun’s reply. The girl who had worn such endlessly cold eyes only moments before suddenly smiling made Carol narrow her gaze and shoot Jun a sidelong look.
Looks like I’ve invited some misunderstanding.
Jun offered an awkward smile under that stare, thoroughly flustered.
It was nowhere near the high-level bond of the soul-thread that linked Jun, Fortuna, and Sprout, but even ordinary summoners and their summons shared a connection—a contract-thread that served as both link and means of communication. As a guild receptionist who had encountered every sort of ability, Carol would of course know of its existence. She seemed to suspect that Jun had secretly praised Sprout through that thread, and that was why the spirit had smiled.
It was a misunderstanding, and an unnecessary one between them. He had to clear it up at once. If things grew awkward with his dedicated receptionist, the one who would suffer was Jun himself.
He threw every scrap of his thinking power into figuring out how to dispel her suspicion. In situations like this, telling the truth rather than lying was usually the best policy—yet Jun simply could not bring himself to do it. How, exactly, was he supposed to look her in the face and admit he had been pleased by the size of a pair of breasts? And to a woman who had already been eliminated as a consort candidate precisely because her own chest was small, no less. Well, she herself did not know that particular fact, but still.
“Sprout’s ability seems pretty impressive. I think it’ll be a huge help in the Labyrinth—what do you think, Carol?”
“Now that you mention it…”
Jun spoke the lie for the sake of Carol’s face and his own conscience. Carol, who had been standing with her arms folded as if waiting to see what excuse he would invent, finally looked at the pink birds fluttering about the room—and her eyes went wide with shock.
He had deliberately steered the excuse toward the Labyrinth so it would divert her attention more effectively, and the choice proved brilliant. Still… realizing something that shocking only now? Just how desperate had she been?
“Division? Clones? Lady Sprout, what exactly is your ability? Would you be so kind as to tell me?”
Carol quickly composed herself and put the question to Sprout. Before answering, the spirit spoke to Jun.
This humble one possesses other abilities as well, but that woman is an outsider. I shall conceal them.
Yeah, do that.
Once his permission was given, Sprout nodded and opened her mouth.
“It is neither division nor clones. My ability is to create lesser spirits.”
“Oh my. Jun! What am I supposed to do when even your luck is this good? Forming a contract with a spirit is already incredible, but for that spirit to possess a subordinate-summoning type ability? It’s practically winning the lottery first prize twice over.”
“Is Sprout’s ability really that rare?”
“Of course! Do you have any idea how rare? I’ve worked as a receptionist for quite a long time, and the number of summons with subordinate-summoning abilities I’ve seen can be counted on one hand. A spirit with that kind of power? This is the first time I’ve ever seen one.”
“Is that so? I would have thought natural-type spirits would have plenty of similar abilities.”
Unlike elemental spirits, who were born solely with the power of their attribute, natural-type spirits were formed through all manner of chance and the passage of time; their abilities were not limited by element. Classic examples included weapon spirits that improved a wielder’s skill with arms or enhanced a weapon’s performance, and emotion spirits that could regulate a living being’s feelings.
“Strangely enough, spirits simply don’t seem to be born with that particular ability. There have been a few natural-type spirits with division or clone powers, but every last one of them, not long after starting Labyrinth exploration…”
“Self-destructed?”
“Yes. Inside the Demon King’s Castle, the side effects of self-replication abilities like division and cloning are doubled.”
“So the reason you’re so excited about a subordinate-summoning type is that it doesn’t have those side effects.”
Self-replication abilities such as division and cloning were extremely powerful because they also copied a large portion of the caster’s own strength. However, because the ego itself was split and duplicated, the risk of mental instability was high, and there was also a strong chance that the clones would turn on the original in an attempt to become the main body. By contrast, subordinate-summoning abilities produced subordinates that were not particularly strong, yet they obeyed the caster absolutely and exerted no influence on the mind whatsoever—making them extremely safe. Even if one did turn, the power and intelligence allotted to it were so limited that it would quickly self-destruct or be reverse-summoned.
“A summon that doesn’t even count toward party numbers is also summoning subordinates—how could I not be thrilled? On top of that, Lady Sprout is a spirit who doesn’t even need to eat. Is there another spirit this perfectly suited for Labyrinth exploration? I can say with certainty there isn’t.”
Labyrinth exploration required large numbers of people almost as much as raw strength. Transporting supplies, standing watch, scouting, cooking, cleanup—there was far too much work outside of combat. Yet you could not simply bring a large group into the Labyrinth. When too many people gathered within a certain radius, the difficulty spiked sharply, as if someone were deliberately trying to hinder the expedition. Moreover, the more people there were, the faster supplies were consumed, so party sizes naturally had to shrink.
Unfortunately, items like dimensional storage pouches barely existed in this world, and people with similar spatial abilities were almost nonexistent. For all these reasons, summoners who already possessed summons had become top-tier recruitment targets. Because a summon whose existence was subordinate to someone else did not count toward the headcount.
And if that summon was a spirit or fairy that consumed little to no supplies, the summoner became a zero-tier recruitment target.
So what tier of recruitment target was Jun—who already had both a spirit and a fairy, and whose abilities were specialized for Labyrinth exploration?
He would wager it was unmeasurable. To recruit him…
“Even parties exploring the thirty-first floor and above would personally come all the way down to the first floor just to fetch you, Jun.”
“Come on. They wouldn’t go that far.”
The floors of the Labyrinth could not be traveled freely like an elevator. Upon re-entry you could use a Church artifact to jump straight to the last floor you had been exploring, but otherwise you had to walk every step on your own two feet. Considering that each floor was the size of a small principality, descending from the thirty-first floor to the first was no easy feat.
“No, it’s entirely possible. Your skill is outstanding enough to hold its own even above the thirty-first floor, and every one of your abilities is something essential for conquering the Labyrinth. It’s more than worth enduring the hardship.”
“So, Carol—what is it you actually want to say?”
“Please tell me whether you intend to join an already-formed party, or whether you will take the lead and form a new one yourself. I need to know that so I can help you.”
Carol’s expression was serious. Looking at that attitude, it seemed the reason she had barged into someone else’s room without even clocking out was to ask that very question. Well, the intention of casually asking him out on a date was probably not entirely absent either.
No—maybe that reason is even bigger.
Our little Jun, is this really the time for thoughts like that? When someone asks you a question, you answer promptly.
Yes, ma’am.
At Fortuna’s scolding, Jun was about to open his mouth—but Carol spoke first.
“I know it’s a difficult decision, but please make it as quickly as possible. Rookies who have only just become adventurers will soon start forming parties with others of similar skill and begin exploring, and the adventurers who went home for the New Year will be returning in a few days to resume their expeditions. Once full-scale exploration starts, both joining a party and recruiting for one become several times harder.”
“Don’t worry, Carol. I decided this a long time ago.”
For the past five years, Leonard and Robin had seized every spare moment to pour Labyrinth information into Jun. Through that knowledge he had established his own principles for how he would act inside the Labyrinth, and of course those principles included the matter of the companions who would explore it with him.
“I’m going to recruit my companions myself.”
The ideal party size for Labyrinth exploration was five or six people. An already-formed party was highly likely to have those slots already filled. Jun had no desire to squeeze into such a party only to face a higher Labyrinth difficulty. Even if a spot happened to be open, he still had no intention of joining. The existing members would have forged tight bonds through their explorations, making it hard for a newcomer to fit in; and if danger ever struck, the one who joined last would be the most likely to be abandoned.
If I joined Tatsu and Emili’s party I wouldn’t have to worry about that…
Unfortunately, their party was already packed full at six members.
No point regretting it. This must be heaven’s way of telling me to stick to the original plan. Whether I could even take over as party leader is still up in the air anyway.
The biggest reason Jun wanted to recruit his own companions was so that he himself could become the party leader. To make the most efficient use of his abilities—information gathering via radar, information processing via telekinesis, loot collection and consumable distribution via subspace—it was best that he be the one in charge. If he entered a party that already had a leader and started using those abilities, he would inevitably face checks from that leader. After all, a single group could not have two heads.
“That’s perfect. I was going to recommend that option myself. Almost every ranker party leading the Labyrinth conquest has been together from the very beginning, so please take your time and recruit companions whose teamwork truly clicks with yours.”
“Yes. Still, I’m a little worried. I don’t want to spend too much time on it.”
“Heh. Don’t worry. Helping with things like that is exactly why I’m here.”
Carol smiled kindly as she said it, then drew a notebook and pen from her handbag.
“Please tell me the conditions you want. I’ll do my best to find and recommend adventurers who match them as closely as possible.”
“Thank you. In that case…”
Jun began listing the conditions he wanted. Each one was perfectly reasonable, so Carol nodded as she wrote them down in her notebook—until she heard the final condition he tacked on. In that instant she doubted her own ears.
“…I’m sorry, Jun. I think I misheard the last condition. Could you say it one more time?”
“Women. Preferably pretty ones with great figures.”
“…Are you planning to put together a harem party?”
“Yes.”
Jun admitted it without the slightest hesitation.
“I’m going to form a party made up of my wives.”
With a face plated in iron thicker than any armor.