Debut
“Jun!”
Fortuna puffed her cheeks out like a pufferfish. Even her wings stood stiff and upright—she was clearly furious. Leave her like this and his skull would end up cracked open by her hammer later.
Jun hurriedly reached out toward her.
“Sorry, sorry. I just… couldn’t help it. Forgive me, okay?”
“No! Jun’s a dummy! An idiot! A meanie!”
Even with people watching, he’d been in the wrong, so Jun swallowed his embarrassment and tried to kiss her face. But Fortuna, thoroughly pissed, thrust out an arm and blocked his lips.
I’m really sorry, For. I panicked because I thought you wanted me to reveal that you’re an angel.
Jun hastily piled on another apology and the reason he’d had no choice.
“…Hmph.”
Whether the apology and excuse landed or not, Fortuna slowly lowered the arm that had been barring his mouth. Then she thrust her still-puffed cheeks forward, as if to say she was still angry and he’d better soothe her properly.
Jun grinned and showered kisses all over her face.
“Heeeng∼. Kisses feel so gooood∼”
The pufferfish cheeks melted soft and warm like fresh steamed buns, and the stiff wings began to flutter happily, just like a puppy’s tail when it’s pleased.
“…Fuck, what the hell are you doing right now.”
The rat bastard, who’d been roaring with laughter at the emergency-rations joke, suddenly went dead serious, as if he’d just seen something he shouldn’t have.
Jun paid him no mind, affectionately stroking Fortuna as she nuzzled against his hand, and spoke to the guy.
“Our For isn’t just some ordinary fairy. She handles holy arts at a high level and has a special psychic ability too. She’s incredible.”
“Ahem!”
“I saw it on her self-introduction. Her ability grants good luck, right? Damn, I’m jealous. If there’s one thing you need in the Labyrinth, it’s luck.”
“Ehehem!”
“True enough. Sometimes nothing beats pure luck.”
“Opening treasure chests, getting byproducts, falling into traps—it comes in handy everywhere.”
“Hey! Fairy lady! Come over to me! I’ll treat you right!”
“Ehehehem!”
Between Jun’s praise, Tatsu’s fussing, and the crowd that had been watching ever since the rat bastard showed up, Fortuna’s nose was held higher than ever.
“I’m in a good mood! Receive my blessing!”
“““Whoaaa!”””
Fully hyped, Fortuna zipped around scattering blessings. Jun almost stopped her, then realized the “blessing” was just the lowest-tier buff that temporarily boosted physical ability and let it go. A few adventurers seemed to figure it out too, but Fortuna’s antics were too cute for them to say anything out loud.
“Hmph! Even if she grants it, it’ll only be a booger’s worth.”
“A booger’s worth is still something. Who knows—that fairy’s tiny scrap of luck might be the difference between barely surviving and hitting the jackpot. And rat bastard, if you’re jealous, just say you’re jealous. Don’t put other people down. Makes me wanna punch you so bad.”
“Kh! Hey, newbie!”
At Tatsu’s warning the rat bastard clenched his teeth in frustration, still too scared to talk back to Tatsu and instead barking at Jun again. The more Jun looked at him, the more pathetic the guy seemed.
“What is it?”
“‘What is it?’ ‘Whaaat is it?’ This little shit talks so short. You wanna die or what?!”
“Pwahaha!”
“You son of a bitch, what’re you laughing at!”
Tatsu burst out laughing at the rat bastard’s threat. This time the rat couldn’t hold it in and roared at Tatsu.
“You’re gonna kill Jun? Don’t. The one who dies won’t be Jun—it’ll be you.”
Grit.
“Me, a thirtieth-floor explorer, losing to a newbie who hasn’t even set foot in the Labyrinth yet?!”
“Yeah. A hundred fights, a hundred losses. Can you land even one hit on the Guild Master? This guy did. Clean and proper.”
“…He must’ve taken the hit on purpose to give him a boost. He’s a noble Stigma holder blessed by God, after all—he can spare that much. And what, Triple Core and all of them Green-rank? The Proof Series can be faked, can’t it?”
The rat bastard sneered and glared daggers at the Stigmas etched on Jun’s and Tatsu’s hands. His eyes were thick with deprivation, rage, and jealousy.
So they really exist.
Stigma holders—people who received God’s blessing and were marked with a Stigma. Most people treated them as the blessed from birth and put them on pedestals. The many advantages they gained by spending points only amplified that reverence.
But people weren’t all the same. There were those who envied Stigma holders and raged at the God who had blessed them. The Church did such a good job of whitewashing Stigma holders that their numbers weren’t large… but still.
This was the first time Jun had ever seen one in person.
Is it really the first?
The hostile glare made the thought flash through him. Plenty of people must have felt the same way as this rat bastard. They just never dared show it openly because they feared God and the Church.
Jealousy and rage were humanity’s most primal emotions. No matter how hard God and the Church tried to kill those feelings, they could never wipe them out completely.
Look at the proof right here. Even with clear numbers and eyewitness accounts, people were nodding as if the rat bastard’s words made sense. Their eyes held a faint jealousy and anger—not as thick as his, but still there.
“Hey, Tatsu. The only reason you’re sucking up to this guy is because you’re both Stigma holders, right? That’s your specialty—spouting nonsense no one understands while you stroke each other.”
“Oh, this bastard just keeps running his mouth. You really wanna get the shit beaten out of you?”
“Aigoo. Going to use the blessing you got from God to beat up this worthless thing? Fine, hit me, you son of a bitch.”
“Alright. Bite down hard.”
Tatsu grabbed the rat bastard by the collar, stood up, and raised a clenched fist. The fist looked heavy even at a glance. Just as that fist was about to turn the rat’s face into pulp—
Tak!
“Tatsu, hold it.”
Jun reached out and stopped it. Tatsu looked at him with hot but unwavering eyes. Jun tapped his own chest as if to say leave it to me, then spoke to the rat bastard.
“What do you want.”
“What, look at this little shit. Talking down to his senior. You crazy?”
“Senior my ass. Some bastard who just walks up and picks a fight. Enough. You came over here throwing a tantrum because you want something. Spit it out already.”
The guy had said it earlier—he was an adventurer exploring the thirtieth floors. That meant he was a mid-tier adventurer who knew the ropes. Would someone like that try to snatch a formally accepted commission just for a quick look?
No way. Canceling a formally accepted commission meant paying a penalty plus losing trust and guild points. Almost no adventurer ever canceled one. Even Jun, who’d only just become an adventurer, knew that.
Would the rat bastard really not know something so basic? Of course he knew. The fact that he was still forcing the issue meant he wanted something else.
And whatever he wants is probably aimed at me, not Tatsu.
Jun leaned back arrogantly in his chair, as if daring the guy to talk.
Then—
“You think you’re so hot shit. Let’s see what you’ve got. Just fighting’s boring, so let’s make a bet too.”
The rat bastard pulled a sheet of paper from his coat and slapped it onto the table, finally showing his hand.
“Hmm.”
It was a contract. The contents were simple: Jun and Trichi (apparently the rat bastard’s name) would duel, and the loser would obey one command from the winner.
That was the only clause. There was no mention of how far the command could go.
“How far does the command in this go?”
Tatsu, reading the contract alongside him, asked the rat bastard—no, Trichi—the same question that was bothering him.
Trichi gave a nasty little grin.
“Within common sense, of course. For example, join our party and work as a porter.”
“Telling a Green-rank powerhouse to be a porter? You think that makes sense?!”
“Why not? Most newbies start that way. Just because you’ve got a little skill doesn’t mean you get to skip it. Hey! Am I right!”
Trichi looked around and shouted. A few adventurers nodded. Emboldened, Trichi started sneering outright.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. You wouldn’t understand. You walked right past the bottom thanks to God’s blessing instead of crawling through the mud. Still, suck it up. You might not get it, but this is a perfectly normal command.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Fine. Just sign here.”
“Jun!”
Tatsu tried to stop him in a panic, but by then Jun had already signed the contract.
“This guy! Why’re you so impatient!”
“Trust me a little, buddy. I may not look it, but I’m the guy who punched this town’s top dog in the face.”
“I know that, but honestly when I said you’d win a hundred out of a hundred, I was exaggerating to pump you up. Fighting this bastard isn’t the same as fighting the Guild Master. His style is filthy and underhanded as hell.”
“Hey now. Don’t talk shit about someone right to their face.”
Trichi said it, but he was so pleased his mouth wouldn’t stop curling up. How long would that last?
Jun thought that to himself and pointed straight at the sword hanging at Trichi’s waist.
“If I win the duel, that sword’s mine.”
“…You even know what this sword is? It’s a Silver-grade item. Wish for something realistic, you little shit.”
Trichi ground his teeth like it was the most absurd demand he’d ever heard. Jun, who owned one Platinum-grade and three Gold-grade items, almost asked if the guy was really flexing a mere Silver-grade, but the surrounding “Oooh!” of admiration made him drop it and say what he’d planned instead.
“A mid-tier adventurer with a Silver-grade item dueling a brand-new rookie makes sense? Don’t you all think so?”
This time Jun looked around and raised his voice. Thanks to Fortuna scattering blessings earlier, plenty of people nodded in agreement. A few seemed to nod out of pure hostility toward Trichi.
This guy… so he doesn’t just pick fights with Stigma holders.
“…Fine. Have it your way. Get up, you little shit.”
“Wait a second.”
“What. Getting cold feet now?”
“Not that. I ordered a drink—I should finish it.”
Jun accepted the special cup from Yuna, who had somehow approached without a sound. Even the swaggering Trichi and the adventurers who’d stood up for a good show went pale when they realized the liquid brimming in the cup was an elixir.
In that opening Jun made a quiet request to Yuna, then asked Tatsu,
“What’s his fighting style like? Give me the short version.”
“Huh? Uh. Well, think of him as an assassin who can handle close combat. His swordsmanship’s decent, but the poison on the blade and the throwing weapons that come flying now and then are the real pain.”
“That so? Turns out he’s a nice guy.”
“…What?”
Jun gave a small smile at Tatsu’s blank look and started downing the elixir.
Neither of them had any idea. For five long years the opponents Jun had faced until he was sick of them had been exactly those kinds of assassins.
Imagining the face Trichi would make after the match was decided, the elixir today…
Ugh.
…still didn’t taste any sweeter.
But the thought of free loot made it go down just fine.