Chapter 8: I Decide My 3-Star (3)
Chapter 8: I Decide My 3-Star (3)
Player.
I played as a male character for the sake of a female harem, but occasionally, there were players who insisted on playing as a female character.
Usually, this happened when the female character's design was top-tier while the male character's design was absolute trash. However, that wasn't exactly the case with F.A.O.
The male characters had their own cool factor, and the female characters were charming in their own right.
But once you chose a gender, there was no way to change it. A few people with too much time on their hands would create separate accounts for the other gender and level them up.
I wasn't one of them.
I raised a male character and just thought, 'I guess that's how it is,' regarding the female lead.
Yet that very female character—the player character, the one destined to take my title of Count and become the ruler of Fermaton—was standing right in front of me.
"Right. And your name?"
"It's... Laura!"
Even in front of a man of power, she had a spunky, bright smile.
Her energetic voice and radiant face gave off the positive energy of a Golden Retriever just by looking at her.
She was the type of person whose bright personality could warm your heart and dazzle your eyes.
A person with a righteous heart and character—the very textbook definition of a 'Good Hero.'
And above all else...
‘The only existence capable of a 6-Star Limit Break.’
While everyone else was stuck at 5-Star, she alone could grow to 6-Star, as befitting a protagonist.
Of course, jumping from 5-Star to 6-Star required enough resources to Max Level about twenty other 5-Star characters, but a 6-Star protagonist was essentially a 'God.'
How strong, you ask?
Strong enough to solo the Infinite Labyrinth while carrying a single Level 1, 1-Star Ruji.
The protagonist became the master of Fermaton partly due to the support of her comrades, but mostly because she just became absurdly, terrifyingly strong.
A powerhouse that neither the Kingdom nor the Empire could touch.
Of course, more 6-Star characters would have been added in future updates, but I suffered a total gacha wipeout before the next character could even be released.
"Um, excuse me..."
The woman destined to become that 'God of War' was looking at me like an abandoned puppy begging to be adopted.
"...Right, Miss Laura. How did you end up like this?"
"Ah, well... I entered the Infinite Labyrinth with my party members, but I alone got sucked into a different Transfer Gate..."
"A different Transfer Gate?"
"Yes. Thanks to someone's help, I barely managed to escape. All my equipment was destroyed, and all I have left are the belongings I kept at the inn... but at least I'm alive."
"A Random Gate, then."
It was a random event that occasionally occurred while roaming the Infinite Labyrinth.
The Infinite Labyrinth operated on a random-number-generated roguelike system. Among the Transfer Gates leading to other rooms, there were treasures, and there were traps.
Laura must have hit a trap room.
However...
"What about the comrades who went with you?"
"Ah, well, that's..."
She was hiding something.
It wasn't that she couldn't speak out of guilt; she was hesitating, unable to find the words.
‘She got screwed over by those so-called comrades. She’s trying to protect them even after being played for a fool. Or maybe she thinks it’s useless to say anything and is just staying silent.’
I didn't know the full details.
I didn't think I needed to know, either.
The only thing that mattered was that I had met Laura now.
"Do you have a place to stay?"
"Uh... for now, I'm going to request emergency asylum at the Adventurer's Guild. I plan to gather funds by mining Magic Stones on the 1st floor for a while, then buy a sword and get back to subjugating beasts."
She was a woman who could at least look after herself.
The reason she was crouching in front of the guild was likely because 'the guild hadn't opened yet.'
‘I did come out quite early this morning.’
It was roughly 8:20 AM.
In reality, it wasn't time for the Adventurer's Guild to open. It was just that the Guild Leader had come rushing out because I had arrived.
Scheduled appointments?
Prior engagements?
Fermaton was the kind of place where a Guild Leader would run out barefoot to greet you even without those things.
...I should probably send someone ahead next time.
"Subjugating beasts, you say... How are your skills?"
"I-I'm fairly decent! Even though I got separated midway... I made it to the 3rd floor with my comrades!"
‘Level 3.’
The floors of the Infinite Labyrinth corresponded to levels.
The level cap was 100.
Usually, reaching the 100th floor was considered 'clearing' the game. Anything below that was unimplemented content before I possessed this body—just grinding the 100th floor over and over.
In other words, while Laura might only be around Level 3 right now, she was someone who would eventually be able to solo the 100th floor to farm Magic Stones.
I couldn't let her go.
Her individual ability was one thing, but first...
‘She’s hot as hell.’
My cock throbbed as it hardened.
Now that she had taken off her outer robe, the figure visible beneath her adventurer's tunic was nothing short of a goddess.
Her breasts weren't exactly explosive, but they were more than enough to grab and shake, and the curve of her hips beneath the tunic was a masterpiece in itself.
So, how was I going to make this woman 'mine'?
How was I going to carry this newbie and eventually drag her to my bed?
"Very well. Miss Laura. I shall hire you."
".....Pardon?"
"I'm saying I will employ you."
I leisurely straightened my back and interlaced my fingers.
"I intend to hire adventurers directly for Fermaton."
"What?"
It wasn't Laura, but the Guild Leader who looked horrified.
"Young Lord, what exactly do you mean by that...?"
"I'm thinking of operating an adventurer party directly under Fermaton's management."
The Infinite Labyrinth didn't belong solely to Fermaton.
There were too many beasts coming out of it for one family to monopolize, and due to pressure from the entire continent, it had become something of a public resource managed by the Fermaton family.
—Wait, isn't sending your own adventurers directly crossing the line?
Such complaints could arise.
Fermaton already took a significant cut through fees on Magic Stones found in the dungeon, as well as taxes and commissions on trades made within the city.
Furthermore, Fermaton had faced considerable restrictions in securing 'military force' until now.
—If Fermaton is given power, they'll monopolize the Infinite Labyrinth.
This was due to the checks and balances from various groups worried that Fermaton would use a powerful force to seize the labyrinth for themselves. For a Border Count family, Fermaton's internal military strength was quite weak.
—You're already raking it in with taxes and fees, and now you want military power too? That's a no-go.
Even recruiting a single knight was difficult.
They had plenty of money, but the family's own military strength was lacking.
Even if they had some, it wasn't pure Fermaton strength, like Zenith's.
Most were either under the Kingdom's influence or turned out to be Imperial plants.
In this situation, me forming a knight order or hiring adventurers directly could become a political issue.
"It's nothing complicated. I'm planning to collect a few gems, and you'll just be working toward that."
Therefore.
I would utilize the image of 'Ruji the Scoundrel.'
"The name is 'Bunny Girls.'"
"...Pardon?"
"I said, Bunny Girls."
At my words, Laura's face instantly turned beet red, while Bernhard's expression shifted to one that said, 'Of course, that's what this is about.'
"...By bunny girl, do you perhaps mean...?"
"If you're asking if I mean the bunny girls found in casinos, the answer is yes."
"......."
That's it.
Bernhard.
That's exactly the look I wanted.
"Of course, I won't just have them wear ordinary bunny girl outfits. I'll apply enchantments for solid defensive performance, and I plan to look for very special magic so that the outfit itself won't be an issue. Aren't there gems that grant magic to survive even a direct hit from an explosion? We'll find them one by one as we descend into the Infinite Labyrinth. Those kinds of gems."
Right now, they were looking at me like a total degenerate trying to build his own harem, but in about a year, I would have a military force so powerful that neither the Kingdom nor the Empire would dare touch me.
"What do you think? It's not a bad deal. You'll get a salary, and you can roam the labyrinth safely. It's surely better than becoming a miner digging for Magic Stones with a pickaxe."
"I-I have a question..."
"What is it?"
"When you say Bunny Girls... do I really have to wear a bunny girl outfit?"
"Yes."
Laura [Bunny Girl]. ☆☆☆.
She was a separate character from the vanilla player character, and she was the culprit who made blood-tears flow from the wallets of countless players.
I hadn't been able to pull her.
On my end, a male-only limited pickup had appeared.
...I mean, I didn't expect them to sell a [Bunny Boy] version for the male character.
But things were different now.
The person in front of me was undeniably a woman.
As long as there wasn't a 'Surprise! I actually have one too! ^^' situation down there, she was the perfect woman to put in a bunny girl outfit.
"Well?"
If she just wore the bunny girl outfit, I could handle all her growth.
Because I was a Fermaton.
"Then... what is it that you want, Young Lord? Simply... a bunny girl?"
"No. The bunny girl thing is just my hobby. What I truly want is something else."
I lowered my voice.
"Personally, I want to reach the end of the Infinite Labyrinth."
If it was possible to escape this world and return to my original one, that was the most likely place to find a way.
"I wonder what kind of treasure awaits at the end of the labyrinth. Is the Infinite Labyrinth truly 'infinite'?"
Whether I returned as Ruji.
Whether I returned to my original body with only my cock remaining as Ruji's.
Or whether this place was actually a virtual reality and I was trapped inside, and clearing the Infinite Labyrinth would wake me up.
"I cannot enter the Infinite Labyrinth myself, but I want to know more about it. So."
And if none of those were true, I would live here as 'Ruji the Overlord.'
"Contract with me and become my bunny girl."