Don't Reset the Companions
Haaah... Guess there's no choice.
Honestly, Jun couldn't bring himself to accept Carol's insistence with any real enthusiasm. Doing things her way left far too much room for chaos to bloom, and Jun—who loved peace and quiet above all else—wanted to avoid creating that kind of opening whenever he could.
But after Carol's relentless advice, backed by Tatsu and Emili's agreement, he finally had no choice but to nod.
He loved peace and quiet, sure. But they weren't more important than his own interests.
And so, the morning after Jun resolved to become the Golden Sun—no, the Black Sun—he faced his temporary party members with a complicated heart.
"Hello. I'm Jun. The fairy in the nun's habit here is Fortuna, and the spirit in the Moorim-style shrine maiden outfit is Dohwa."
"Hi!"
Dohwa gave a little bow.
Jun wasn't particularly skilled at taking the lead in a conversation, but as the designated party leader he stepped forward first and greeted the three young men and women. Having Fortuna and Dohwa at his side made it easier to speak calmly, without nerves.
"Ah—hello. I'm Susan."
The pure-looking nun who had been nervously watching him since the moment they met—clearly carrying some kind of guilt—immediately lowered her head in return. Softly waved brown hair spilled over her shoulders, and rather sizable breasts pressed against the table.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Amber. Looking forward to working with you."
The female mage followed next, also avoiding Jun's gaze and gulping water as if something weighed on her conscience. She was trying hard to look composed and mature, but her frame was far too petite (though her chest was bigger than expected) and her voice trembled, so the impression she wanted never quite landed.
Either way, the two women's greetings had not gone smoothly.
Even so, Jun felt no dissatisfaction toward them. The fact that they had returned the greeting at all meant they possessed at least that much willingness to cooperate. He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or irritated by that fact, so he simply gave a wry smile and looked between the two women.
"Hmph!"
The warrior sitting between them—almost certainly the reason both women looked so guilty—wore a thoroughly sulky expression. He met Jun's eyes dead-on and let out a loud, displeased snort.
"Dennis, you shouldn't do that."
"Hey! Greet him properly!"
"Fine, fine! I'll do it properly, okay?! I'm Dennis. Happy now?!"
The nun, Susan, scolded him worriedly. The mage, Amber, ground her teeth and pinched his side. Under the two women's combined pressure, the warrior Dennis forced out a greeting that was worse than none at all.
There was zero cooperativeness in it—only a thin, unmistakable hostility.
Jun wasn't the only one who felt it. The angel, the divine beast, and Carol—who had joined them to help—all sharpened their gazes at once.
"That's your idea of a greeting? Seriously?"
"Indeed. I am most curious how he was raised in the ways of courtesy."
"Mr. Dennis, do you not remember what I told you during the interview? I distinctly said to drop that attitude."
"We're so sorry. Truly, we're sorry."
"I'll make sure he never does it again—please just give us one more chance."
Susan and Amber bowed their heads and apologized as if they themselves had committed the offense, even though they had done nothing wrong, while the three women seethed as though they had been personally insulted. The actual culprit, Dennis, merely clenched his teeth and glared at Jun.
That attitude settled Jun's mind.
"Carol, I'm sorry, but please introduce someone else. I can't adventure with this person—I'd be too worried about what comes after."
The two childhood friends were rather appealing, honestly. Compared to his two wives they fell short, but their looks were solidly above average, their chests had real presence, and from the way they spoke their personalities seemed decent enough.
That still didn't mean he wanted to adventure alongside a walking bomb. Even on the lower floors, a labyrinth was a place where anything could happen. Exploring one with a bomb in tow meant even Jun might not walk away unscathed. He had zero intention of risking his life just to pick up a couple of nice girls.
"Understood. Everyone, I'm sorry, but would you please stand?"
"Huh?"
"W-wait, just a moment!"
Carol immediately issued the eviction order at Jun's words. Susan and Amber, clearly never expecting such a firm rejection, panicked even as they hurried to persuade Dennis.
"Dennis, you said you wanted to become the greatest adventurer."
"If you want to make that dream come true, joining this kid's party is your best shot. You saw it yourself—the insane benefits you get once you're in. So swallow that damn pride of yours!"
"Tch... Sorry for the arrogant attitude. I'll be careful from now on, so just give me one more chance."
Whether the two women's persuasion worked or not, Dennis dipped his head slightly and apologized. There was no sincerity in the words, and he still wouldn't meet Jun's eyes, but after a brief moment of thought Jun accepted the apology.
Honestly, he was reluctant to part with the two women at his side just like this. Having already decided their looks, figures, and personalities were decent, he found himself curious what they would show inside the labyrinth.
If they performed as well inside as they looked and acted outside...
Then I guess I'll just take the mask off right then and steal their hearts.
Having set his policy, Jun turned to Carol and gave a small nod.
"You'll finalize the party as is, then?"
"Yes."
"In that case, I'll guide you to the sanctuary. Please follow me."
Carol rose from her seat as she spoke. The party members who had finally made it in after all that trouble quickly grabbed their individual packs and stood to follow her, terrified of giving her any further reason to find fault. Then they hesitated over another pack sitting by their legs and looked toward Jun.
Receiving those gazes, Jun rose from his seat at a leisurely pace. Naturally, nothing was in his hands. His outfit was no different from usual, so at a glance it looked as if he were simply heading out for a light stroll.
The party members' expressions—and those of the adventurers watching carefully from nearby—began to turn strange, when—
Clap clap.
Dohwa, perched on his shoulder, gave a small round of applause. At once an entrance to Dowonhyang appeared in midair, its interior hidden behind a pink membrane. Pink birds shot out from within, scooped up the luggage the party members weren't carrying, and vanished back into Dowonhyang.
"Ooooh!"
The watching adventurers let out loud exclamations of awe. Jun gave them a light wave as he followed Carol, and Amber—cheeks flushed red—sidled up to ask,
"Party leader, was that just now pocket plane magic? Subspace?"
"That's right. Oh, and I forgot to ask—you packed the bags by priority like I told you yesterday, right?"
"Yeah. The one the party leader just put into subspace is the bag with the bulky, heavy, low-priority stuff like tents. The ones we're carrying have the high-priority things—emergency rations, potions, that kind of gear."
If you had power, you ought to share it with others. Through Carol, Jun had instructed the party members to pack two bags—one to carry themselves, one to leave with him. He could have taken everything, but he had split it that way in case they ever got separated from him.
"Thank goodness. Honestly I'm not confident in my stamina at all. You saved me, party leader. Really, thank you."
"Party leader, just how high is your spatial affinity? I heard even archmages can't casually cast subspace magic."
The two women chattered away at Jun's side. At some point Dennis had fallen behind; he watched the scene and ground his teeth in frustration. Jun saw it clearly through his radar, but he had no interest in dealing with it, so he thoroughly ignored the man and gave the two women appropriately agreeable replies.
Before long Jun and the party arrived at the sanctuary beside Central Plaza.
A statue of the Bright God in his male form stood there, noble expression on his face as he drew a sword. Around it, adventurers preparing to enter the labyrinth—just like Jun and his party—crowded thickly.
As if to demonstrate, one party joined hands with those on either side, formed a circle, and closed their eyes as if in prayer. White light soon enveloped them, and then it was as if they had never been there at all—they vanished completely.
They had been transferred into the labyrinth.
Fortuna, who had watched the scene with him, asked Jun,
Jun, what do you think? Think you could go alone?
...Not right now.
The instant the party transferred into the labyrinth, Jun's high spatial affinity—without him even consciously trying—attempted to perceive the spatial gap leading to the labyrinth. The short version: he failed.
The gap was like a maze designed to stop enemy invasion, branching into countless forks.
And yet—
I feel like someday I'll be able to.
Instinct whispered that one day he would find the single path hidden among those countless forks that led into the labyrinth.
This is our secret, okay?
Yeah!
I understand.
Just in case, Jun made Fortuna and Dohwa swear to keep it secret. If that fact ever became public, it would clearly become a massive headache.
The reason the Church could wield such overwhelming influence over the Labyrinth City was that the only way into the labyrinth was transfer via divine miracle. If word got out that Jun could freely enter and leave the labyrinth under his own power, the Church would try to bind him tightly to protect their monopoly, while outside forces that had long coveted the Labyrinth City would do everything possible to snatch him away.
That the Church and those outside forces would then tear into each other was something even Jun—who was no Oracle—could easily foresee. And that he himself would end up the shrimp whose back gets broken in the fight between whales was equally obvious.
"Jun. Here—these are the commissions I carefully selected for you. I only packed enough that even taking it easy you should finish within three days, so once the jobs are done, please head straight back. First adventures leave a heavy aftereffect if you stay too long."
Carol handed over the commission papers she had been holding against her chest, worry plain on her face. Jun smiled to tell her not to worry and tucked the papers into Dowonhyang.
"I'm sure you already know this, but since all four of you are on your first adventure, I'll guide you through the method of crossing into the labyrinth. First, join both hands with the party members you're going with and form a circle."
Dennis immediately grabbed Susan's and Amber's hands. The will not to hold Jun's hand was palpable.
I don't want to hold yours either.
Jun shot Dennis one glare, then took the two women's hands. The moment their hands touched, both women gave a light flinch—apparently awkward about holding hands with a man who wasn't their childhood friend.
"Hold on tightly. If you let go during the transfer, you'll all be scattered. Next, close your eyes and pray to the God. Tell Him you'll fight the enemy for the sake of this world, so please send you to the battlefield."
Jun closed his eyes as instructed and prayed to the God. A warm energy immediately wrapped around his entire body, and at the same time—
Do your best, son-in-law. Be careful, my daughter.
A deep, resonant voice full of encouragement and worry reached him.
"Huh?"
"Dad?"
Jun and Fortuna both snapped their eyes open in shock at the voice—
Woooooo~
—and found themselves already standing on a plain thick with eerie wailing and dense fog.