Chapter 2

CHAPTER 1 The Start of My Life as a Seeker Part I: The Labyrinth Country The Labyrinth Country was where Seekers, the people who explored the labyrinths, and those who supported them lived. Basically, everything revolved around the labyrinths. There were quite a few entrances scattered around town, with each labyrinth ranked according to the difficulty of the monsters inside. Apparently, there were about thirty of us new reincarnates this time. An accident of this scale would probably be big news. Thankfully, I didn’t have a wife or kids who would miss me. There were a few people who I knew would grieve, and I felt bad that they’d have to handle my funeral and stuff, but there wasn’t really anything I could do about it. I had to focus on how I was going to live in this world. The other reincarnates and I appeared in the town in various places after emerging from the tunnel, but as we all gathered at the Guild as we were told, I was able to talk to them and learn a few things. When we were being reincarnated, the girl in the tunnel didn’t give us any choice about becoming one of these Seekers, but none of us had any desire to resist. None of us thought about trying to escape instead of going to the Guild. The reason being that it sounded like there wasn’t much you could do in this Labyrinth Country if you didn’t first become a Seeker. It didn’t sound too bad to me anyway, though I had no basis for feeling so optimistic. When I came out of the tunnel, I found myself in an open square near the Guild. I didn’t get lost on my way, but I wasn’t the first there, either. The Guild building was large and conspicuous. A few reincarnates had already finished registering as Seekers and were about to head off on their first adventure. “Hey, you’re new, right? If you’re going solo, you should stick to the one-star beginner labyrinths. You’ll be a goner in no time if you go into anything with two or more stars,” one of the Guild veterans cautioned. “A g-goner? You can’t be serious…,” replied the newbie, a man in prime physical condition who looked to be in his thirties. The warning sounded genuine, so it didn’t seem like newbies got such bad treatment. “You don’t wanna get shot down by a goblin, do ya? They’re pretty hostile creatures. Goblins’ll just come right up and attack us, so we just fight back, no questions asked. It’s all over if you take a hit from one of their arrows. They’re covered in shit and filthy as all hell. Even poisoned arrows would be overkill on a novice like yourself,” continued the veteran. “Urgh… R-right. Then I’ll go to the beginner labyrinth…” “Good choice. You know, I’ve already gotten my daily pay, so I could show you around. Don’t worry, we’ll split what we make.” “Oh, thank you!” I didn’t know how much of the exchange was out of pure goodwill or if there were Seekers who made a living by showing around the newbies. I hoped the new guy would be all right, then I suddenly had an idea. Wouldn’t it be cool if I got the other new reincarnates—my former coworkers—to join a party with me? That said, apparently there were quite a few who thought it’d be a good idea to join more experienced Seekers. A bunch of parties were inviting the newbies to come along. The girl who’d been in front of me in line was among those still unaffiliated with a party. At first, I thought her friend was in the same boat, but it turned out she’d actually been invited into one already. I stood there wondering what kind of person would abandon their friend like that, but the black-haired girl didn’t seem bothered. In fact, it was almost as if she’d expected as much. I wanted to join a party soon and make some friends. Maybe then I’d feel a bit better. I wanted to invite the black-haired girl, tell her we could work together since we came from the same world, but I didn’t get the chance. “Ms. Suzuna Shiromiya, thank you for registering. You requested Shrine Maiden as your job, yes? Congratulations, you have been accepted. We have determined you meet all the requirements,” said the Guild registrar. “Th-thank you so much…” Suzuna… I wonder what characters she uses to write her name. The registrar wrote Suzuna’s desired job on the card she’d been carrying from earlier. Apparently, you could opt for a specific job class if you happened to meet the requirements. Suddenly, a dashing young Swordswoman about Suzuna’s age approached the newly minted Shrine Maiden. She wore a silver breastplate over a blue padded doublet. Her golden hair was pulled back behind her, her almond-shaped eyes sharp and clear. She was the kind of girl who’d turn heads even from a distance. The people milling around who were about to depart on an adventure also ceased their chatter to focus on her every move. “…Do you have a moment?” she asked Suzuna. “Oh, y-yes… What is it? I only just got here…” “I know that. Only new reincarnates come here to register.” Suzuna seemed nervous as the girl started talking to her. The gold-haired Swordswoman’s voice was soft, but it carried far through the hush that’d fallen over the Guild. “I’m looking for a rearguard… There’s a few downsides to having me as a vanguard, and I have a tough time getting beginners to join me…b-but, if you join my party, I’m sure you’ll level up quickly…,” said the gold-haired girl. The armor and longsword strapped to her hip for easy access made her appear fairly experienced despite her casual attire. And yet, for some reason, she didn’t have anyone to form a party with and was trying desperately to convince Suzuna to join hers. “Elitia’s still trying to get people to join her. How many days straight is this now?” “Doesn’t matter how strong she is, she’s not gonna find anyone as long as she’s got that.” Some men were making fun of the girl, whose name was apparently Elitia. She ignored them but cast her gaze downward and clenched her fists. It seemed she was known around the Guild. I would’ve imagined a gorgeous, formidable Swordswoman like her would have plenty of companions, but it appeared there was a reason why that wasn’t the case. I glanced at Suzuna, wondering what she would do. She did seem to notice the trash-talking, but she reached out to the downcast Elitia and took her clenched fist in her hand. “It would be my pleasure. I’m still just a novice, but I’ll do the best I can as a rearguard,” said Suzuna. “Oh… R-really? Y-you’re sure…?” “I actually wanted to join my friend, but she went with someone else… You’ve really lifted my spirits. Even if you have ‘a few downsides,’ I’d really like to join your party.” “…Thank you. My name is Elitia Centrale. And you are?” “I’m Shiromiya… No, Suzuna Shiromiya.” The two seemed to click and left the Guild together. There were still some people who were looking at them condescendingly, so whatever the “that” Elitia had was, it must have been pretty serious. It piqued my curiosity, but my first priority was choosing a job. I looked toward the registration counter to see another man, a reincarnate like me, having a disagreement with the registrar. “I am incredibly sorry, but it appears you aren’t fit to be a Holy Knight as you requested. It does seem you would be well suited as a Warrior, Thief, or Martial Artist, however…” “But I want something more heroic! C’mon, just change my job already!” shouted the man, his loud voice a match for his rugged body as he chewed out the registrar. It didn’t last long, though—the registrar must have taken it as a threat, because several armed soldier types approached and grabbed the man. “Whoa, wh-what the hell?! Let go of me! I just thought she could help me out—!” “Unfortunately, your actions have been deemed a threat to the Labyrinth Country. Your karma has risen, and you will be subjected to mandatory prison labor until it returns to zero.” “Wha—?! S-stoppp! Let me go! I’m sorry! I’ll apologize right n— Aaaggghh!” I didn’t need reminding that this guy was reincarnated at the same time as me, so I took this as a good lesson of what not to do and warned myself to keep order in the Guild building. It did sound like he’d be released from prison once this karma stuff had gotten back to zero, so this didn’t seem like the kind of thing you could never come back from. Probably. Anyway, I just wanted to get my job sorted out without any major issues and make the necessary preparations to take it easy. I probably wouldn’t be able to secure a comfortable life in this world until I’d found a way to make a living. Part II: The Guild Registrar and My Former Boss “Hello, sir. I see you have a registration card. You will not be allowed to enter the labyrinth until you’ve completed your registration as a Seeker,” the registrar informed me. She was the same person who’d registered Suzuna as a Shrine Maiden earlier. “Ah, right… Sorry about that. I was just distracted by the commotion.” The registrar looked otherworldly with greenish hair, glasses, and a small mole under one eye. She was an incredibly attractive young woman. And…her boobs were massive. They filled her registrar’s uniform to the point that I just couldn’t manage to keep my eyes off them. “Ah… Now, now, sir. I understand the attire of a different world may be more revealing than what you’re used to, but depending on your relationship with the person, staring might result in increased karma. Please adjust your gaze accordingly.” “…I-I’m so sorry.” “Ha-ha… How polite of you, sir, apologizing right from the beginning. Now, please relax. I won’t bite,” the registrar said reassuringly. Her kindness really struck me. I found pretty much any hairstyle attractive, but as I was particularly drawn to hair that was pulled up, I was aware that this honest and kind registrar lady was pretty much my exact type. “I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Louisa Farmel. I am responsible for your registration process and will be available to answer any questions you may have as a novice Seeker. I can assign you a different registrar, or are you happy to continue with the current arrangement?” “Y-yes… Looks like I’m still a bit nervous. Yes, please continue.” Back before I got reincarnated, I had to work with a lot of outside companies for my job. I found things went more smoothly if you responded to the other person with the same level of familiarity. Business relationships required collaboration, and being overly formal could hinder that, but— “Ow…” “S-sir? Oh, your memories must be quite mixed-up since you’ve only just been reincarnated. I’m sorry for talking to you so much at once. Would you like me to summon a Healer for you?” “Oh, no. I’m fine. I just have a bit of a headache.” Truthfully, I had just remembered something particularly unpleasant. Last spring, I had been transferred from the Web Content Creation Department to the Media Strategy Department. Not only was I in a completely different department, my entire career path had changed, too. I’d been told I would still be making websites, but that wasn’t really the case. Since I’d been working in media for a while, I ended up becoming assistant manager. And of course, the department manager for the newly formed “Second Media Strategy Department” was Igarashi. She was only twenty-four years old at the time, the youngest department manager in company history. That made her a pretty big deal. She was an incredible beauty; I couldn’t even think of words to describe her. She was so beautiful that she stood out in a crowd like she was some A-list celebrity, and she had a fashion sense to rival any pinup fashionista, so I’d originally fostered some weird hopes for how things would turn out. Anyway, after meeting her and spending about half a day with her, I realized she wasn’t a young, sexy manager. She was a brutal, manipulative higher-up. Even after I’d been transferred, I was still helping my former department. No one seemed to take that into consideration, however, so between that and the assistant manager gig, I ended up doing two employees’ worth of work. Of course, my salary didn’t go up, either. At first, I thought I could do my work as assistant manager and help with any leftover tasks in my former department if I had some time. That didn’t go so well. I don’t know if Igarashi was just asking for too much or what, but my work as assistant manager just kept snowballing as if she was trying to prevent me from running away. I mean, sure, someone needed to gather data and prep for meetings, but with meetings all day every day, I was constantly running on all four cylinders. It felt like Igarashi was testing my limits. As a result, I had to focus on only my assistant manager duties during the day, and any work for the other department had to be pushed to overtime. I’m not a particularly ambitious kind of guy. I was pretty happy doing routine tasks daily, so I couldn’t get behind Igarashi’s mind-set of doing something new all the time. But she seemed to think that as assistant manager, I must’ve shared her ambitions. One day, she said to me: “Someone as talented as you, Atobe, will be able to do so much and get so far as my assistant.” There’s a huge difference between taking that as her burdening me with unreasonable demands or just her own sky-high expectations. Personally, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I was already overwhelmed by work and to stop asking me to do the impossible. Meanwhile, in the other department, people joked that the manager had a thing for me, but I didn’t have time to think about that. I mean, she probably did, but only in the sense that as her assistant manager I was readily available. Since I was so incredibly busy, I didn’t have time to study or work on the things I needed to in order to advance in my career. I never told her as much, but she said to me: “Atobe, if you never get promoted, then you can stay and help me as my assistant.” I doubt she meant it in a bad way, but I couldn’t help thinking she actually did. It all came rushing back to me in an instant when I thought about my miserable life as a corporate slave. Since arriving in this new world, I no longer had to be pinned under the thumb of some manager I didn’t like. I’d been freed from my corporate shackles. The realization lifted an enormous weight off my very spirit. “Good, I see you’re feeling better,” said Louisa. “Yes, thanks to you. Okay, so how do I go about registering?” “Please have a seat. On your Seeker’s license, there should be an empty job field. In that field, please write the name of a job you feel you are suited for or that you would like to try out.” “Got it. So I won’t be selecting from a set list of jobs.” “Correct. That’s because reincarnates come with such a wide variety of experiences. Some opt for jobs that we might not understand ourselves. Since we haven’t received their permission to make their jobs public, I cannot provide you with information regarding others’ choices.” That means Suzuna’s Shrine Maiden job was public, which is why Elitia and I heard about it. In that moment, I realized the competition between Seekers began now, at registration. And even though I hadn’t gone into the labyrinths yet, I’d gotten some form of explanation as to why I needed to. Basically, since the labyrinths clearly supported all these Seekers and the corresponding infrastructure, becoming a Seeker came with some sort of appropriate compensation. If I could choose an important job, that’d give me a running start. The issue was my lack of any specialized experience. In my previous life, I’d been in management for a marketing firm, so I could make business plans, presentation materials, even do a bit of desktop publishing–type stuff. But otherwise, I didn’t have any skills. The only other thing I could think of was my middling English skills, something that had helped me get the job in the first place. Louisa didn’t rush me along and instead assisted other reincarnates. As this was a decision that would determine my life here, she seemed to be giving me plenty of time to consider it, but I really just wanted to pick something as soon as possible and start trying out this whole seeking thing. Most of the other reincarnates had already completed this step and were moving on in the process. “Hey, Atobe. What job did you pick?” came a voice. “Huh… Ack, Ms. Igarashi!” “H-hey… What d’you mean, ack? I just thought I’d say hi, since I actually found someone I recognize.” I turned around to see a headstrong woman with wavy brown hair—Kyouka Igarashi. I’d had advanced warning since I’d seen her while in the line for reincarnation, but I couldn’t help letting out a yelp when she came up to me. She was on the same ski trip we got with our employee discount. Not that we were going together; we just happened to be on the company trip. Anyway, it was probably safe to assume she’d been in the bus accident, too. “What are you staring at? …Are you so in shock from getting reincarnated that you forgot who I am?” “Uh, no, that’s not it… I was just thinking, Wow, that’s Ms. Igarashi.” “Hmm? Guess you’re not that shaken up after all.” Even though we’d arrived in the Labyrinth Country, we were still wearing the same clothes as before. Igarashi’s outfit looked familiar. It was something fashionable enough to be in a magazine but still well suited for the office. She had on a warm-colored knit sweater, the kind with the knitting lines running up and down. She looked pretty much the same as she would at work except for the thick tights for warmth. Her figure was still well proportioned, as always, but acknowledging that would have been an affront to her demonic, sharp-tongued nature. Anyway, my evil boss looked no different from usual. I was pretty pathetic and couldn’t keep a cold sweat from appearing on my brow, and I felt nervous even though she’d barely said anything to me. “Looks like you didn’t hear me the first time, so I’ll ask again. Atobe, what job did you pick? I assume it wasn’t web designer.” “W-well, no, I doubt that would be of much use in an alternate world. I’m actually still thinking about what to choose.” “Quit dillydallying; just hurry up and pick. Once you do, I’ll consider letting you form a party with me.” Her phrasing could’ve used some work, but she probably meant I could join her party. Not that I was all that jazzed about it. “Geez, why’d this have to happen…all of us dying at once?” Igarashi grumbled. “I’ve been wondering if the bus was in an accident and we were all reincarnated, except for the people who are still alive.” “In that case, our entire department might not be totally gone. I hope the people left can manage without us… Well, I guess this really isn’t the place to worry about that. Anyway, if the bus driver happens to be here, too, I’ll have to give him a piece of my mind.” “This is truly an awful situation. Take care of yourself,” I replied in the hopes we’d wrap this up so I could get out of there, but she glowered at me. Personally, I wasn’t that crazy about getting the silent treatment from a woman. It really sucked, to be honest. “You ought to take care, too, Atobe. This world’s labyrinths are full of monsters. You have to pick the proper job class.” “Y-yeah. I’ll pick something,” I said, trying to give a safe answer, but Igarashi just seemed to get more annoyed. “No, not just ‘something.’ If you’d just tell me you’ll pick a job I can depend on…” “Uh… What were you saying just now?” “…N-nothing. I g-guess I’ll just see you around. Don’t ruin my day by getting yourself killed.” “Uh, yeah…I’ll figure something out… Oh, Ms. Igarashi!” “I’m not your manager here, you don’t have to call me Ms. But I guess it’d feel weird if you just called me by my given name…so you can go with that. Anyway, what do you need? “Uh, um…if you don’t mind, could you tell me what job you chose?” Knowing her, she wasn’t exactly the kind to reveal her hand to me. I wouldn’t have been too surprised if she’d gotten angry at me for asking. “Are you asking to get some ideas?” Her reaction was much gentler than I had expected. There was a high probability of stepping on a land mine now, though, so I needed to choose my words very carefully. “Y-yes. I’m really not sure what I should pick.” “Hmph, anyone could tell that just by looking at you. You shouldn’t pick the same as me, though. It’d be better if you picked something that shared responsibilities. We’d have problems if you picked some sort of fighter job.” “Oh, but I thought a party made up of all fighters would be pretty strong…” “Are you saying I’m wrong?” “Uh…no, not at all,” I stammered, all nerves. I wasn’t very good with women, so it felt like I was walking on eggshells. The two of us just didn’t really get along anyway. Hmm…Igarashi said something about sharing responsibilities. If she’s thinking she wants to join a party with me… “Well, I decided to go with Valkyrie as my job. I can use swords and spears and apparently some spirit magic.” “W-wow… That sounds amazing.” “It just popped into my head, so I tried writing it down. I thought it’d be hard for me to stay alive if I didn’t pick something with a variety of skills. Does that help you decide?” “Yes, thanks a lot. I’ll try choosing something that can share responsibilities in a party and handle a variety of different situations.” “…That’s it?” “W-well, I mean, Valkyrie sounds like it’s for women, so I’ll have to think of something else…” Igarashi had her arms crossed the entire time I was talking, her finger tapping impatiently. My mind was racing, but I just couldn’t think of the right thing to say. “Right, so I will do everything I can to stay alive, and I hope you stay well and we meet again and…,” I said. “Sigh… Why can’t you see where this conversation is going?” “Uh… Did you just—?” I started to ask, but Igarashi glared at me. That look rendered me completely powerless. I wish I was the kind of guy who could keep his cool under a beautiful woman’s gaze. “Never mind. I hope we meet again, too. I’m gonna go over there and try to find a party to join.” “Y-yeah. I’ll try to find something, too. Take care, Igarashi.” I was more concerned for her safety than I was about her control over me in our previous world now that we were both new reincarnates. And I couldn’t keep worrying about other people all the time. Igarashi suddenly hurried back to me as I got lost in thought. It seemed like she’d forgotten to say something, but since she looked angry, I prepared myself for the worst. “…Just remember—next time we meet, it’ll be too late for you to say you regret this.” “Huh…? I-Igarashi—!” I called, but she zipped out of the Guild without so much as a glance back. She said she was going to find a party to join, but I wondered if she’d actually decided to find one on her way to the labyrinth. If she tries to enter the labyrinth on her own… No, I’m worried, but if I offer to go along with her… Well, it’s Igarashi. She’ll be fine anyway. It was hard to break out of the roles of superior and subordinate even outside of the shackles of corporate work. I’d thought I’d been liberated from it all, but things were the same as before. It looked like I was back to square one. If only I could just throw off those chains. Igarashi was a Valkyrie now, and I knew she was strong-willed. If possible, I’d want to form a party with her.