Debut
After that tender first kiss with Dohwa, Jun headed for the central plaza with his two wives in mini-mini mode — fairy and spirit form.
The plaza at ten in the morning was already alive with the murmur of adventurers and guild staff.
With his robe hood pulled low and the mask's presence-blocking function cranked to maximum, not a single person noticed his arrival.
He'd been half-dreading a repeat of yesterday's sudden silence. Thank goodness that didn't happen.
Carol isn't… here, is she.
He widened his radar in search of her, but came up empty. Still, he did find someone who would almost certainly know where she was.
Jun set off toward that person at once.
A flinch.
"Jun-nim. Did you need something from me?"
As he drew near, the white-haired cat-beastwoman receptionist — Yuna — gave a tiny start, then turned and looked straight at him.
I can understand her noticing the approach — presence-blocking has its limits — but how did she know it was me?
Plenty of people in the guild wore their hoods pulled down just like him. Masks weren't exactly rare either. So how had Yuna identified him at a glance?
"Yeah, I just wanted to ask you something. Though I'm impressed you figured out it was me so fast."
"…Any beastfolk with a decent nose would recognize Jun-nim instantly, the same way I did."
"A good nose? Ah—!"
So she'd picked him out by scent.
The faint flush on her face — a rare break from that trademark deadpan — made it certain.
I really ought to do something about this body scent before I enter a labyrinth. If I go in like this…
Monsters would catch that honey-sweet fragrance of his and come drooling from every direction.
"Is there anything that can deal with a body-scent problem?"
"Yes. The shop inside the guild sells such items. I recommend purchasing one."
He'd asked on a whim, and luckily got exactly the answer he wanted.
Fantasy worlds really did have everything.
"Thanks for telling me. And while you're at it — could you also tell me where Carol is?"
"So that was the real question."
Jun nodded, and Yuna glanced at the great clock standing in the middle of the plaza before continuing.
"By now she should be discussing the schedule with the Guildmaster."
"Will it take long?"
"No. It will be over shortly. If your business is not urgent, please wait here a little while. Have you had breakfast?"
"I have. Instead, could you fill this for me?"
Jun took out an elixir cup from Dowonhyang and handed it to her.
He could no longer freely manipulate objects inside Dowonhyang the way he once had with his subspace, but Dohwa's spirits fetched whatever he needed one by one, so it was hardly an inconvenience.
Yuna accepted the cup in both hands and looked up at him with something close to reverence.
Right then, Fortuna nuzzled her face against Jun's cheek, cooing for attention.
"Jun, Jun. Dohwa wants snacks."
"You mean you want snacks, don't you?"
"N-no! Right, Dohwa?"
"Heehee. Indeed so. This humble one wished to eat them, and so asked her sister."
"Fine, if you say so. Anything in particular you want?"
"Nope! Just something sweet and tasty!"
Fortuna's eyes sparkled as she answered.
Jun almost pointed out that she was the one answering when she claimed it wasn't her request — then thought better of it. She'd only puff out her cheeks and sulk. He personally adored that look, but he had things to do. Playing with her could wait until the work was finished.
"Yuna."
"I will bring whatever looks good. Please wait a moment. For reference, Tatsu-nim is sitting alone over there."
"I'll join him, then. Bring the elixir and the snacks over there."
Leaving Yuna nodding behind him, Jun made for the table where Tatsu sat.
The man held a thick sandwich in one hand, chewing while he studied several sheets of paper with a serious expression. It suited him — and somehow didn't, all at once.
Jun pulled out the empty chair across from him and sat.
"What are you reading first thing in the morning?"
"Oh, Jun. Welcome. How was the bed?"
"Amazing. Felt like I'd gone straight back to the twenty-first century."
"That good?! I'd heard the guild's staff-only studio apartments were insane, but I didn't know they were that good. Damn, I'm jealous!"
"If you're that jealous, apply for one yourself. You've got a Stigma too — a little sweet-talking and they'd probably set you up."
"Nah. Forget it."
For all his earlier fussing, Tatsu waved it off easily.
"It's not that you don't miss twenty-first-century living. Something weighing on you?"
"Not really. I've got a house — why would I live alone? And if I moved out, that damn Emili would throw every kind of fit imaginable."
His tone was grumpy, but a faint smile softened his face. For all the complaining, he clearly loved his family.
"Fair enough. Anyway — what are you looking at by yourself this early? Where'd you leave Emili?"
"That damn girl's still asleep at home. 'Beauties need their beauty sleep,' or whatever. Crazy girl thinks she's a beauty. Carol-ssi or Yuna-ssi — those are beauties."
"Really? I figure even if she's not a full beauty, she could pass for a pretty girl."
"Hey. Before you go exploring any labyrinths, get your eyes checked first. I'm serious."
The image of the short girl with twintails rose in Jun's mind as he said it, and Tatsu's face twisted in pure rejection. He genuinely couldn't see it. Well — that was a big brother's eyes for you.
"Fine, fine. So what are you reading? That's the third time I've asked, buddy. No answer this time and you're going to the ENT clinic. Got it?"
"I was about to tell you, you idiot."
Tatsu handed over the papers he'd been studying.
"These are… request forms?"
"New Year's coming in a few days. The party members who went home are heading back. I want the requests lined up so we can head out the moment they return."
"Right — you're a party leader, aren't you."
Jun looked at him with fresh eyes. The man sitting across from him — who seemed like he only knew how to charge straight ahead — was the leader of a mid-tier party that regularly cleared past the thirtieth floor. Hard to believe, but it was fact. As a brand-new party leader about to form his own group, Jun asked for advice.
"Gathering party members you actually like isn't easy, is it?"
"Nope. Decent people get fought over. Wait — you're making your own party?"
"Yeah. If I want to use my abilities properly, I need to move without worrying about anyone else's opinion."
"Then you've got no choice. Heh heh heh. Brace yourself — you're gonna shit blood. Whatever you're imagining, it's worse."
"…Worse how?"
Tatsu let out an ominous chuckle. When Jun hunched his shoulders and pressed for the reason, Tatsu clutched his head with both hands and laughed even more darkly.
"Heh heh heh. Jun, think about it. Even in Korea, where compulsory education rammed common sense into people's skulls, there were still plenty of idiots. So what do you think the idiots are like in a place with zero mandatory education?"
"…"
Jun had no answer. He couldn't even bring himself to imagine one. Or rather — he didn't want to.
"There's a shitload of them! A goddamn shitload! And their idiot power is on a whole different level! I've nearly died more times than I can count because of those bastards."
"That bad?"
"Hoo~. Jun, I'm telling you this for real — no matter how long it takes, gather decent party members. Avoid the stupid ones, the show-offs, and the selfish ones. Always."
Bang!
"Hey! Tatsu, you son of a bitch! I heard you took the orc-nose collection request from the Magic Tower! Hand it over before I stop being nice!"
"…Like that guy?"
"Yeah. Exactly like that guy."
Jun and Tatsu exchanged a look, sighed in unison, and turned toward the man who had kicked the table and bellowed.
Speak of the devil and he appears. Not that this particular devil was a tiger.
Slanted eyes, a hooked nose, a twisted mouth — a face like a rat's. At a glance, he seemed to possess all three of Tatsu's forbidden traits in equal measure.
"What are you staring at? Want me to gouge those eyes out?"
Apparently he didn't like being examined. The well-rounded three-trait rat glared and spat something ugly.
Not that it mattered. Jun and Tatsu only snorted. A scared dog always barked the loudest.
"Hey, rat-face. My party took that request officially. Find something else before you get the beating of your life like last time."
"You fucking bastard—"
Clearly not eager for another thrashing, the rat-faced man settled for cursing and didn't charge. Wounded pride, maybe — his gaze slid naturally to Jun, sitting with Tatsu.
He eyed the Stigma on the back of Jun's left hand, then the angel and divine beast perched on either shoulder, and his eyes lit with naked greed.
"Looks like a newbie. Hey, newbie. Aren't you gonna bow properly to your glorious senior?"
"What are you even saying, you ugly little rat."
Their angel delivered a crisp greeting on Jun's behalf to the snickering provocateur.
The rat's face went scarlet in an instant.
"Don't interrupt when a human is speaking, you lowly fairy."
"What?! Lowly fairy?! Where do you get off calling me a lowly fairy?!"
"Crazy fairy. Doesn't even know she's a fairy."
"Ugh! Ugh! Jun, say something!"
"Hey, newbie! You tell me — what the hell is that summon of yours?!"
Angel and rat both fixed their eyes on Jun.
He scratched his head, looking troubled, glanced at Fortuna — then found himself staring, almost entranced, at the enormous presence her chest still managed to project even in mini-mini mode.
"Uh… emergency rations?"