Arifureta/ From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Vol. 1 Ch. 6

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 1.

Extra Chapter: An Unwinnable Battle.

A vast underground cavern. Two figures were dimly illuminated by the green glowstone that suffused the room with a faint light.
Massive pillars engraved with bas-relief carvings were present at regular intervals, forming a passage around the two figures.
The moment the two figures stepped out from behind the shadows of the pillars, one of them hurled a burning spear of flame at the other. The burning spear illuminated the room, and bent its course like a homing missile to head straight for the second figure.
An instant later— Bang! A red flash briefly added to the illumination as an explosive noise echoed throughout the room. A single streak of light passed through the spear, impacting against the core of the spell, and vanished into the ceiling. The spear scattered into a thousand tiny embers and vanished.
Unconcerned, the first figure quickly crafted a second spear, this one of ice, and flung it off to the side. The spear curved in a beautiful arc, heading for the second figure from around the other side of the pillars.
This one, too, was destroyed by a single bullet.
“…Hm. So I can’t get you with single attacks anymore. In that case…”
The first figure leaned back against a pillar, her charming voice, golden-blonde hair, and crimson eyes reminiscent of a beautiful bisque doll. Yue, for the figure was, of course, Yue, created numerous balls of fire. One, two, four, eight; finally, she stopped at sixty-four fireballs.

It took her a mere two seconds to form that many. Had any modern- day magician seen how effortlessly she wielded such magic, their jaw would have dropped down to the floor. Being able to bring out so much mana instantly without even an incantation or magic circle was beyond common sense.
Yue didn’t even bat an eyelid as she performed such a godlike feat. Then, like an orchestra conductor, she began waving her slender finger around. Following her finger’s movements, the barrage of fireballs headed straight toward the second figure. A meteor shower of fire trailed a sea of sparks as it headed toward its target, Hajime.
“Tch. Don’t you think that’s a little overkill?”
He complained loudly enough that Yue could hear him. There was a sudden barrage of gunshots, and Yue’s fireballs began to be shot down one after another. She had staggered her fireballs a little so they wouldn’t hit all at once, but even then it was a difference of milliseconds.
The fact that Hajime was accurately shooting each one down meant he had to be decently skilled as well. Or rather, exceptionally skilled.
About one month had passed since the day Hajime and Yue had conquered the Great Orcus Labyrinth and sworn never to lose to anyone again. They had spent that time preparing better equipment and training their skills. In that time, Hajime had practiced seeing through a spell’s core with his Demon Eye, mastering two-handed gun combat, the art of the aerial reload, and the precision shooting required to destroy the spell’s core.
He had been training with Yue, getting her to fire spell after spell at him so that he could practice shooting them down. At first he could barely hit a stationary spell, but now he had reached the level where he could shoot down moving spells in mock battles. If he focused on just a single attack, he could shoot it down with almost 100% accuracy, and he was able to hit successfully half the time when attempting to shoot down a barrage.
His enhanced stats and Riftwalk’s ability to increase his speed and reaction time a dozenfold were what made it possible at all, but the main reason he could acquire such an inhuman skill was because of his dedicated concentration in training that single skill nonstop for an entire month.
His unflagging zeal toward training stemmed of course from his burning desire to make it back home. Along with his wish to stay together with Yue forever. Yue had seen how hard Hajime was working up close, and the fact that part of the reason he was doing it was because of her made her unbearably happy.
“…Hajime, here’s the next one.” Yue lovingly muttered Hajime’s name as she prepared the next attack. However, letting such emotions get the better of her during a mock battle was a grave mistake. Not because she let her guard down, but because she forgot to control the strength of her magic when her emotions were heightened.
“W-Wait! That’s way too many!” “…Huh?”
Hajime’s words brought Yue back to reality. It was then that she suddenly realized that she’d sent over a hundred fireballs hurtling in his direction. They were dancing around Hajime as they surrounded him, occasionally rushing at him from all directions simultaneously.

It seemed she had gotten a little too into their practice while thinking of Hajime. She had unconsciously created even more fireballs, and her happiness had set them dancing around him. Before she knew it, the attacks that were supposed to be part of training had become an actual barrage meant to hit him.
Unconsciously releasing magic like that wasn’t exactly the same as being unable to control it properly, but it was close enough. And Yue, who had spent her life being called a genius of magic, couldn’t stand that she had slipped up. But even that was because she wanted to be more useful to Hajime.
“…It’s hard loving you this much, Hajime.”
“Where on earth did that come from? Also, it’s way harder dodging this many fireballs!”
Hajime was desperately shooting down the flames that were closing in on him. He was unable to shoot all of them down, and had to resort to dodging and swiping them away with Donner and Schlag. This was meant to be training that incorporated shooting down magic cores with the rest of his standard combat patterns, so in a sense, it made for very good practice, but…
“Shit—” He had been at it for over ten hours now, and the irregular dancing motions of the flames were bound to cause him to misstep eventually.
The sound of six gunshots echoed throughout the room, and six fireballs scattered into nothing. Hajime twirled Donner in his hands, planning on reloading his now empty chamber. But he messed up his reloading motion.

Another barrage of fireballs closed in on Hajime, and he had no way to intercept them. Because he had been planning on shooting them down and not dodging, he was one step too late in twisting his body away, and he had to resort to using Diamond Skin.
But before they even reached him—
“Okay. Time for a break,” Yue muttered softly. She then snapped her fingers, dismissing her army of fireballs.
“Haaah… Haaah… Damn, I still can’t get it down perfect.” Hajime holstered Donner and Schlag, then rested his hands on his knees as he panted heavily. He ground his teeth in frustration. His real eye was bloodshot, and veins bulged prominently on his forehead from beneath his white bangs.
Yue wanted to congratulate Hajime on working so hard, but she knew words of praise weren’t what he was looking to hear. Instead, she walked up to Hajime, sat down beside him, and gently patted her thighs.
She was currently dressed in a frilly dress shirt, a mini skirt, and knee-high socks. In other words, her outfit was currently showing off the famous zettai ryouiki. Her knee socks tightly hugged the soft flesh of her thighs.
Ever since he had his chastity taken from him in the bath, Hajime had grown used to a woman’s, or at least Yue’s, body, and no longer got flustered over something as innocent as a lap pillow. However, that being said…
“You’re not going to assault me, are you?” There was still always that worry. Hajime was currently exhausted from long hours of training. If she pounced on him, he would be helpless. It was only natural for him to be so cautious when he was living with a wolf like Yue. Though normally, the position of the wolf would be reversed.
“…How mean. You make it sound like I’m forcing you.”
“You kind of did when you took my first… but well, I’ll just stop there. Any more and I’m just asking for it.” Hajime shook his head after saying that, then gratefully sunk his head into Yue’s lap. Bliss spread throughout his body as Yue gently stroked his hair. This is what happiness must feel like.
Yue smiled as she watched Hajime relax, but she still felt a little uneasy about what he had just said.
“…Did you not like it?”
“Are you kidding? If I didn’t like it, I would’ve just stopped you. I’m just worried about stupid things like a man’s pride and stuff. You don’t have to worry about it.”
The unease vanished from Yue’s eyes, and she replied with a simple “Yeah.” She then gently brought her lips down on Hajime’s forehead. Her lips slowly trailed down his head as she kissed his nose, then his cheeks, and finally his mouth. Any man without a girlfriend would have wanted to blow Hajime away with an anti-materiel rifle if they’d caught sight of that scene.
Hajime blushed and averted his gaze. Yue smiled playfully as she saw him shy away.
“…Then did you like it?”
“Hey, Yue, can we just drop this subject already?”

“So you didn’t like it?” Hajime tried to change the topic, but Yue sadly lamented her own lack of experience and let out a depressed sigh.
“Umm, well… I liked it.” Hajime looked as if he couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of his mouth, but the fact that he couldn’t bear to see her sad was enough proof that he was already hopelessly in love.
Yue looked relieved and gazed off into the distance as she softly muttered her thoughts aloud.
“Hmm… I should thank Master, then.”
“I’m not sure if I should thank her or not, personally.”
The “Master” that Yue was referring to was the one who had taught her about the world back when she was still a princess. Yue didn’t know what had happened to her after she was sealed away, but her master had taken care of her until the day she was imprisoned.
The reason Yue was thanking her now was because she had also apparently taught her about how to seduce a man. Because she was royalty though, she had of course protected her chastity for marriage. That being said, as royalty she had still had a duty to produce an heir. Which was why her master had taught her how to properly please a man. The reason Yue always had her way with Hajime at night was surely thanks to those lessons.
By the way, this discussion had started because Hajime had initially thought Yue might not have been a virgin. Thanks to her auto- regeneration, he had considered the possibility that even her hymen had recovered, but… Hajime would never forget Yue’s expression when he brought the subject up with her. Even the monster of the abyss, the Hydra, hadn’t been able to strike fear in Hajime’s heart, but Yue’s expression at that moment had terrified him beyond belief.
The result being that he of course apologized. What happened after he got down on his knees and begged forgiveness for ever doubting Yue, who had offered up her chastity to him, was of course more of what had occurred prior.
“Alright, let’s just do one more mock battle. We can go eat dinner after that.”
“…Okay. Are you alright?”
“Not really, but if I don’t push myself past my limits, there’s no point to training, is there? Sorry for dragging you along with me, Yue.”
“It’s okay.”
Yue had burned through a great deal of mana too, but she could still keep going thanks to her magic accessories. Hajime was the one who was more exhausted, as continual use of Limit Break and Riftwalk had taxed his body immensely, but Yue didn’t have the heart to try and stop him after seeing how determined he was.
He pushed himself off Yue’s lap and walked a good distance away. He then pulled out Donner and Schlag, and got into his stance.
“Don’t hold back! Give it everything you got, you damned monster magician!”
“Okay. Take this: Lots of Fireballs!”
That can’t seriously be the actual spell name! Hajime thought, extremely confused. But though crude, the name was rather apt as countless fireballs started chasing Hajime down. The reason she wasn’t using her relatively more harmless water balls was because Hajime had told her he couldn’t get into it if the danger wasn’t real.
The barrage of fireballs closed in on him like a wall of flame, and he quickly activated Riftwalk. The world began to lose all color as things started moving in slow motion. His Demon Eye clearly grasped the location of each ball’s core.
Each of his bullets accurately pierced through the center of each spell’s core. He teleported bullet after bullet into the air, rotating his chamber to make sure each fell perfectly in place. He fired and reloaded so fast that the movements blurred together into one smooth motion. By the time he finished ejecting one round’s spent shells, the next set of bullets were already on their way.
Donner and Schlag’s chambers were spinning almost constantly, giving off the illusion that Hajime was holding a round shield in between them.
Both the number and speed of the fireballs gradually began to increase. Hajime inwardly marveled at how much mana Yue possessed, but didn’t lose focus for even a second. He ignored his pounding head and eyes, and increased the intensity of his Riftwalk even further.
“Yue, can I ask you something?” “Sure?”
The two of them didn’t let up at all as they began talking. Hajime was slowly getting a headache that had nothing to do with his overtaxed body, but it seemed like Yue genuinely didn’t realize she was doing something wrong.

“Why exactly are all your fireballs heart-shaped?”
“……” Yes, for some reason, all of the fireballs hurtling toward Hajime were shaped like hearts. While she was speeding them up, she also changed how they looked. Each one was crafted with the utmost precision, and it was a marvelous display of useless skill. When asked about her strange proclivity, Yue’s response was rather unexpected.
“Aww… You shot them down.” She manipulated the hundred odd fireballs with just one hand while strangely rubbing her cheek with the other. Hajime naturally shot down the fireballs. Each heart- shaped fireball let out a depressed sputter of sparks before being snuffed out.
“I’m taking this training seriously, you know?”
“…So am I. I’m serious about pushing you— Ahem… Beating you down.”
“You were totally about to say pushing me down, weren’t you!?”
“…Your body’s at its limit from all this never-ending training, Hajime. You need to rest. But I know you won’t stop until you collapse.”
“…I see. You’re just going to ignore my last comment, huh? So?”
“…Yeah. That’s why, I’m going to defeat you and make you rest… In bed.”
“Quit licking your lips like that! I don’t think I’m going to get any rest in bed tonight!”
It appeared Yue was serious about defeating Hajime this time, in order to force him to rest. She still hadn’t answered why she was shaping her fireballs like hearts, and the way she was licking her lips suggested to Hajime that while she did mean to put him in bed, she had no intention of letting him rest.
Yue grinned wickedly and started getting serious with her magic. She started mixing in extremely fast wind blades, along with lightning balls that curved along strange trajectories. All of which were heart- shaped.
“Ugh, are you holding a grudge because I’ve been training this entire past week and haven’t slept with you even once!?”
“…I’m not holding a grudge. I’m just a little lonely.”
Hajime felt a pang of guilt as he saw Yue pout slightly, and he quickly realized he was going to be beaten around until he couldn’t move, and then toyed around with in bed until Yue was satisfied.
Hajime was a healthy young boy, so there was no reason for him not to look forward to sex, but… he still had his pride as a man, and didn’t want to be one-sidedly played around with. Therefore, he honed his concentration to the limit, focusing on intercepting each of Yue’s attacks. If he could just hold out until Yue ran out of mana, then victory would be his, and he could protect his flimsy pride. However…
“Are you kidding me, Yue!?” “Nope!”
Since this was still precision training, Yue wasn’t using any of her intermediate class spells, but she was clearly giving it her all, judging by the force and speed of her multi-elemental barrage. The barrage of spells already looked like something out of a Touhou game. Yue’ s breathing was beginning to grow a little labored, but she still smiled seductively as she pushed down on Hajime, and cold sweat began pouring down his back.
“Even I won’t stand for getting beaten down every time! I’ve got my pride as a man too, you know!?” Even he wasn’t sure if he meant it in the context of their mock battles, or their nighttime battles.
Hajime’s scarlet mana spiraled around him. He activated the skill he’d stolen from the Hydra, Limit Break. His stats all tripled.
“Mngh, you’re good, Hajime. This is the first time anyone’s stopped my full power barrage.”
“I’m honored.”
“Yeah… You always take my firsts, Hajime.”
“Do you have to turn everything into a dirty joke!?”
Hajime’s words were punctuated by short pauses as he fended off wave after wave of spells. Yue was taking this just as seriously, though. Her words had even been calculated to try and shake him mentally. She knew he would fall unconscious before long if he continued to use Limit Break in this exhausted state, so she wanted to defeat him as quickly as possible before he collapsed and needed Ambrosia again.
That being said, constant use of mana was wearing Yue down too. Thanks to the fact that they were all elementary spells, she managed to keep the barrage going for a decent amount of time, but she’d still been burning mana constantly while keeping up with Hajime’s training. And even if her mana could hold out, her stamina couldn’t. While Yue’s automatic regeneration healed wounds, it didn’t recover lost stamina or mana. However, precisely because she didn’t want Hajime to burn himself out, Yue pushed her strength to the limit.
“That wasn’t your strongest!?”
“Nope. Anyone can use Limit Break as long as they have the power of love.”
“I think that’s just you!”
Not only was Yue’s magic overpowered, her love was overpowered too. A curtain of bullets bore down on Hajime with increased speed.
Hajime still wasn’t used to manipulating his prosthetic arm or using two guns, so he was finding himself unable to keep up even with Limit Break. Even if he could still see everything, his body couldn’t keep up. There wasn’t a single monster in the abyss that could pull off such a feat, so Hajime couldn’t even count on past experience to help him. It was, in a sense, the perfect training for him.
Yue’s spells slowly drew closer and closer before being intercepted. She began walking toward him, both hands outstretched as she pummeled Hajime with magic. She licked her lips seductively and tottered toward him like some kind of vengeful ghost. Hajime was determined not to lose, but even with her mana-deprived body, the Limit Break granted to her by the power of love made Yue unstoppable. Finally—
“Dammit! Stop alreadyyyyyyy.” “But I refuse.”
Hajime was defeated. His slip up was something he could have covered for in less than a second, but the sexy vampire princess wasn’t going to give him even that much time. She stepped into his guard and quickly grabbed hold of him. Then…
“I win. So now I get to take my prize.” “Hey, wa— Aaah!”
Hajime’s scarlet mana dispersed, and not because he ran out. The barrage of spells scattered into nothingness, leaving only faint traces of mana hanging in the air.
The monster of the abyss added another defeat to his record today. Had he just switched to dodging, he would have easily been able to escape Yue’s grasp, but the fact that he didn’t showed just how much Hajime cared for her too. In other words, the real reason he could never beat Yue wasn’t because he was physically weaker, but because he couldn’t bring himself to mentally.
The fragrance of meat and the sizzling noise of food being grilled wafted through the air. The pair were currently standing inside Oscar Orcus’ kitchen. As one would expect of a master craftsmen, Oscar’s kitchen was so well outfitted that it seemed more like a modern-day kitchen than a fantasy one. Numerous artifacts that aided in the process of cooking were installed in various locations.
Hajime was currently grilling a massive steak in a frying pan. Next to him, Yue was making a grilled fish salad. She had her hair up in a ponytail and was wearing a white apron.
The vegetables added into the salad had been grown in Oscar’s fields. There was some kind of artifact in the soil that grew crops at an accelerated pace, so the seeds Hajime had taken out of the Treasure Trove had borne fruit in only a week. That being said,

activating that artifact had required a huge amount of mana, so only someone like Yue or Hajime would have enough to use it often.
Hajime hummed cheerfully as he sprinkled salt and pepper over the nicely browned steak. The spices were another thing he’d found in Oscar’s Treasure Trove.
He gave Yue a sidelong glance, and caught a glimpse of her pale neck. He couldn’t explain why, but he found the nape of her neck, barely hidden by her golden hair, extremely erotic. Perhaps the aftereffects of their previous “break” were still influencing him.
The word newlyweds suddenly popped into his mind, and Hajime shook his head, trying to banish the idea.
Yue saw him shake his head and tilted her own quizzically. Hajime bashfully turned away, and Yue smiled playfully as she grabbed the hem of her apron and daintily lifted it up.
“How do I look?”
“…Really cute.”
Yue twirled around like a ballerina, and Hajime found himself unable to lie to her. Even though she was the one who’d asked, Yue blushed brightly at Hajime’s unexpectedly honest response. Happy at being praised so, she decided to give him a little reward.
“…Then how about I only wear this apron?” An electric shock ran through Hajime’s body.
Is this the legendary naked apron I’ve heard so much about? Hajime thought, looking at Yue. She was staring up at him, timidly fidgeting with the hem of her apron. The look in her eyes agitated him even further. At this rate, Hajime would end up taking another “break,” so he reluctantly shook his head. Yue didn’t seem disappointed at all, and instead muttered, “I’ll save this for another night, then.” Hajime pretended not to hear her.
Finally, their meal was cooked, and the pair began setting the table. They placed the dishes on a clear table made of crystal and sat down on some nearby sofas. The two sofas had originally sat facing each other, but Hajime and Yue had dragged theirs together so they sat eating next to each other. This wasn’t just limited to the dinner table: Yue refused to sit anywhere that wasn’t next to Hajime. It seemed she enjoyed being next to him.
“Alright, time to eat…” “Yeah. Good luck, Hajime.”
Hajime had a look of deep resolve on his face as he stared down at the meat. Yue was looking at it worriedly too. Hajime bit into the meat while Yue watched.
“Guh… Gaaah.” He groaned painfully as his entire body stiffened. He was biting down hard enough to break through his own teeth, and was trembling incessantly. He continued eating despite the pain, and every new bite brought forth new waves of agony. Yue worriedly patted him on the back and poured him a cup of Ambrosia.
“God, it’s been a month and it still hurts this much to eat… Just how powerful was that snake bastard!?” Hajime was currently working his way through a piece of Hydra steak.
Every other monster he had eaten thus far had ceased to give him pain after the initial meal, but not only was his body still suffering every time he ate more of the Hydra, his stats continued to grow as well. Considering recent monsters had ceased to increase his stats at all, the Hydra must have been something special.
“…Hm. That monster really was different. I think all the Liberators must have worked together to make something like that.”
“Yeah. It’s a miracle we even managed to beat the damn thing. Seems to me like this labyrinth was designed to be beaten after conquering some of the others. You’d need magic from the Age of the Gods at your disposal to beat something like that normally.”
Hajime was right. Even with his monster strengthened body, beating something like that Hydra would normally have been impossible.
The primary reason they had won at all was because of his weapons. His railgun and explosives boasted a strength that far surpassed his actual stats. Had he fought with traditional fantasy weapons like swords or magic, he would have been defeated for sure.
The other huge factor that had contributed to their victory was the Ambrosia. Without it, he wouldn’t have even been able to make it to the lower floors. He would have died from the wounds the Claw Bear had given him. If not that, the Basilisk’s petrification would have done him in. And even ignoring those, there were countless other situations where he would have died if not for the Ambrosia.
Last, but not least, was the fact that Yue had been with him. She could bring to bear the full force of her considerable mana instantly without having to chant an incantation or use a magic circle. She was the one who had covered for Hajime’s weaknesses in wide-area attacks, and had saved him numerous times even before they’d reached the Hydra.

In other words, the three main things that had contributed to his victory were not his stats, but his overpowered weaponry, his overpowered healing rock, and his overpowered ally’s magic.
Hajime finally finished his Hydra steak and looked longingly at the normal food laid out before him as the pain gradually faded. The fish had been harvested from the underground lake, while the vegetables were ones they’d grown themselves.
“I’ve only been eating monster meat until now, so even this tastes like heaven, but…”
“…Yeah. It would be better if we could get some actual food,” Hajime said, a hint of longing in his voice as he stuffed his face full of vegetables. Yue agreed wholeheartedly as she stuffed her face full of fish.
Hajime had come from a culture that respected the art of cooking, while Yue was formal royalty that had tasted the bounty of this world’s culinary arts before. Both of them were getting tired of simple grilled, boiled, or fried vegetables and fish with just salt for seasoning, and had discovered just how hard cooking truly was.
“…I’m sorry Hajime. If only I knew more about cooking…”
“It’s not your fault, Yue. You don’t have to apologize. Besides, you used to be royalty. No one expects a princess to cook for herself. If anything, I wish I’d spent more time learning how to cook.”
Both of them, one because she was royalty and the other because he was a student, had little skill with the culinary arts. Yue, however, was doubly depressed because she couldn’t cook for the man she loved. She frowned, wishing her master had taught her how to cook too, and not just how to please someone in bed. Hajime scratched his cheek as he watched Yue pout and sink further into depression.
“Well, you know, my mom’s a really good cook, so I’m sure you can just ask her to teach you.”
“Ah…! Yeah. Yeah! Cooking with your mom sounds like fun, Hajime.”
Yue’s eyes began sparkling at Hajime’s suggestion. She envisioned an idyllic scene where she was cooking with Hajime’s mom while Hajime and his dad both watched from the living room. Then they’d all eat together, and his parents would praise their daughter-in-law’s delicious cooking. Her fantasy played out for quite some time, and her usual expressionless mouth slowly loosened into a smile.
“Yeah, then I can count on you to make breakfast and lunch. My mom’s the kind of person that only cooks dinner, so I always just had leftovers and stuff for every other meal.”
“Yeah… Just leave it to me.”
Since Hajime’s mom was a popular manga artist, she was always sleeping through breakfast time and busy with work during lunch. Hajime was usually busy either helping his parents with their work or playing games until late into the night himself, so for him breakfast and lunch were always a groggy affair he paid little attention to.
But if Yue was willing to learn how to cook and cook him breakfast and lunch, then he could ask for nothing more. Back when he was still a student, he would never have imagined he might one day eat handmade lunches cooked by a blonde beauty.
Though I guess I did once eat a beautiful girl’s handmade lunch. She kind of forced it on me, though, so I don’t remember how it tasted.

He wasn’t sure what kind of life he was going to live once he made it back to Japan, but the idea of going to school and eating Yue’s handmade lunch certainly did seem appealing. In fact, the mere thought of it brought back faded memories that felt decades old. Memories of when Kaori Shirasaki had offered some of her lunch to him when he had been about to take his afternoon nap. She’d also given him some of her lunch on the fateful day that they were summoned. Rather forcibly, too. Her actions broadcasted that bombshell of an announcement to the whole class, in fact.
Hajime had reluctantly accepted the offer. Of course his classmates wouldn’t stand for him eating the school goddess’ lunch, but… they would have hated it even more if he had refused. Besides, Kaori had looked rather dejected as she got ready to put away her lunchbox.
He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Which was why he had decided to at least accept Kaori’s goodwill, and had taken her up on her offer. All he really remembered of the time was cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he hurried to eat Kaori’s lunch as fast as possible. That, and how she’d smiled as she watched him eat.
Suddenly, chills ran down Hajime’s spine. He awoke from his flashbacks and realized that Yue was staring at him with a very complicated expression on her face.
“…Hajime, who was that girl?” “……”
He wanted to know how she knew, but he also realized asking that now would be a terrible faux pas. A woman’s intuition was one of the seven great mysteries of this world, and all excuses were worthless before it. They would easily be seen through. Without a doubt. Seen through for the flimsy lies they were.
“She’s one of the classmates I told you about before.” “…Is she the reason you fell down here, Hajime?” “Well, I guess she is in a way.”
Hajime wasn’t sure how to react to Yue’s question, but Yue ignored Hajime’s confusion and muttered softly, almost as if she were speaking to herself.
“…Have you eaten her cooking?”
“Kind of have, yeah.”
“Was it delicious?”
“I honestly don’t remember that well… I guess it was? She was known for her cooking.”
“…I see.”
Yue stared long and hard at Hajime. She then slowly started leaning forward, her gaze still fixed on him.
“Yue?”
“…She knows a part of Hajime that I don’t. And she’s even fed you her cooking. Plus, you know her well enough to think of her right away when cooking comes up… I’m jealous.”
“W-Wow, you’re rather honest about that. Wait, hold up. What does that have to do with you leaning in to me like that?” Hajime said, feeling cautious, and grabbed Yue by the shoulders to stop her from pouncing on him. But Yue wouldn’t be stopped.

“…Everything. I need to fill your mind with nothing but me, Hajime.”
“No no no, Shirasaki just popped into my head because of the topic, we’re not really—”
“It’s okay. It won’t hurt. We’ll just be taking a little break.”
“How many times do I have to tell you!? Those lines are the guy’s lines! And if a guy does say that, then you know they’re trouble. Restrain yourself a little, you stupid sexy vampire princess! Don’t think things’ll always just go your way! I’m a Japanese man that knows how to assert himself and say no!”
Hajime spouted incomprehensible babble while Yue bore down on him, trying to kiss him. He continued putting up his feeble resistance for the sake of pointless things like his pride or dignity, but in the end it was all meaningless. Somewhere deep down, there might have been a brooding edgy Hajime that was stoic enough to refuse her advances, but even if there was, he would never let it surface. Because he himself had already decided to accept Yue, body and soul, so he knew his complaints were all just for show.
As proof, ever since that night in the bath, he had never once been able to actually refuse Yue. Every time she had come to him this past month, he had always grudgingly ended up giving in. Even when he had been training his Hide Presence and Sense Presence skills, he hadn’t been able to escape from Yue.
The one time he had seriously tried to hide from her, Yue had spent hours wandering the darkness of the abyss looking for him, crying from loneliness.
“Hajimeeee, where are youuuu,” she had cried like a child, rubbing her eyes. Hajime, who was surprisingly firm when it came to training at least, had still stopped their impromptu game of hide and seek almost instantly.
Technically he hadn’t lost, but he might as well have. Especially considering what had come after.
Once he’d canceled that training, Yue had stuck especially close to him for the next few days. The amount of times she’d pushed him down at night those days were far more than usual too.
Her mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of Hajime. When he was busy transmuting new weapons and bullets, she was sitting next to him sewing clothes from the cloth Oscar had left behind and the monster hides they had harvested. And she made sure, regardless of whether they were his clothes or hers, to make them conform completely to his tastes.
She made a point of dressing up in all of the outfits she made to show off to him too. At first her sewing skills had been crude and she’d had a hard time making clothes the right size, but before long she had become very skilled with her fingers. With her skills so greatly improved, she had started making very adult underwear to wear at night too.
She would give Hajime peep shows, blushing shyly while wearing the clothes she’d made herself, and those situations always ended in Hajime losing his will to resist her advances. His will thus broken, Yue’s next course of action was without fail to then push him down.
There was another time that they went to catch fish in the river together, and Yue’s swimsuit had charmed Hajime so thoroughly that she seduced him then and there.

Ever since that first night in the bath, it had become an unspoken agreement that they would always bathe together too. Hajime was never able to resist Yue’s pleadings, and always ended up letting her wash his back. She didn’t stop at just his back though, and soon enough she ended up pushing him down every night in the bath.
Also, she grew aroused every time she sucked Hajime’s blood, and unable to restrain her instincts, she would invariably always push him down every time she drank it.
He would try and refuse, of course, but… Lately he wasn’t sure why he was even bothering to resist, and had stopped even putting up the appearance of rebuffing her advances.
Tonight, once again, Hajime’s almost nonexistent pride and reason were overwhelmed by Yue’s boundless lust and passion. Her next words were the final nail in the coffin that finally killed his will to resist. Yue said, with flushed cheeks:
“…I just want to kiss you. Please.” “Ah.”
When his lover looked at him with wet eyes and begged so earnestly, Hajime couldn’t do anything to resist. Like a robot with its battery removed, all the power drained from his body. For a moment, his body was afflicted by the charm status, and Yue wasn’t going to miss an opening like that.
“C-Crap—”
“You’re mine.”
A man’s screams of pleasure echoed throughout the stone house.

The monster born in the abyss had no chance of ever winning this battle.
Hajime walked out to the terrace and flopped onto the couch sitting outside. He mulled over today’s defeat while basking in the rays of the artificial moon. Naturally, there was a little vampire girl nestled snugly within his arms.
Yue shifted a little in his arms so she was looking up at him. Hajime was breathing softly with his eyes closed. Though he wasn’t yet in dreamland, he was quite close to it.
She felt something warm blossom within her chest as she watched him rest peacefully. The warmth grew into a burning heat, but rather than being painful, it felt wonderful. Yue let out an enamored sigh as she continued gazing up at Hajime.
As far as she was concerned, his very existence was like a miracle. The sight of him glowing scarlet with mana when he had freed her from her stone prison was carved permanently into her heart. Her three hundred years of despair were nothing compared to her meeting with Hajime. When she thought of how wonderful their current life was, and how much more happiness surely awaited her, she felt it was worth suffering all those years of torment if it meant she could be together with him.
Perhaps to another’s eyes she might seem nothing more than overly clingy or simply dependent on him. They might have thought she was simply exaggerating how much Hajime had done for her. But anyone who had seen the pair’s meeting would have agreed it was enough to justify her behavior.

However, regardless of what others might say, Yue would never change her mind. Their opinions meant nothing to her. At that time, he had been willing to die for her, a girl he had just met. During that fight with the scorpion, Yue had decided that she would give herself to this man, the one who had willingly joined his fate to hers.
It was obvious, considering Hajime’s circumstances and the situation he was in, that the way forward would be fraught with peril. But something deep inside her still told her he was the one. He wasn’t someone who would use her as bait to escape his own predicament, nor was he someone who would end up as just a simple friend.
It was too cliched for her to ever say it out loud, but if she had to put it into words… she would have said their meeting was fate. To her, at least, it was a fated meeting.
Which was why she wasn’t going to stop. She was going to keep showing just how much she loved him. She was going to keep cherishing him. And without hesitation, she was going to offer all of herself to him. To the boy she had met after three hundred years of imprisonment.
Even if Hajime truly loved someone else, even if he made the entire world his enemy, even if he came to hate Yue, she would never stop.
“…Fufu, you’ll never be able to escape from this vampire.” If one were to sum her feelings up into one sentence, that would be it.
“Hm? Did you say something?” Hajime’s eyes fluttered open as he heard Yue mumble something. She was half-straddling him as she gazed up at his face. Hajime gently brushed a few stray strands of hair off her mouth.

He trailed his fingers across her lips and rested them against her cheek. As he did so, Yue’s neck shivered a little.
“Nope, nothing,” she replied.
Finding her reaction entertaining, Hajime started tickling the back of her cheek and the nape of her neck. Her moans slowly grew more and more passionate. Hajime was about to take his hand away, but her eyes begged him to continue. He cast his gaze around the room, looking for some way to escape, but he still gave in eventually. She sidled up to him like a cat, and before he knew it, he was caressing the beautiful girl lying on his chest.
Once again, Hajime had lost. No matter how much stronger the monster of the abyss grew, he would never be able to win against the beautiful vampire princess
Though if the saying “the one who falls in love first loses” really was true, then Yue was the one who’d actually lost the most.
They were both losers, but at the same time they were both victors. Such was the relationship between the monster of the abyss and the vampire princess.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

Bonus Short Stories

A Man’s Dream.

“To me, research is whatever I can pour the most of my passion and enthusiasm into.”
Those were the words written at the beginning of his research notebook. The faded gray binding and peeling yellow pages spoke of the book’s age, while the numerous smudges and ink blots spoke of its extensive use. Such wear and tear spoke just as much about its owner’s passion as the words written down in it.
Every single page was crammed to the margins with neat, slender handwriting. Research results, hypothesis, experiments, they were all recorded between the dull gray covers. But at the very end was a footnote whose very letters seemed steeped in frustration with the way they were written. It told of how the owner of this notebook had been unable to complete his research.
“Unfortunately, I was unable to achieve the ideal that I sought. I suspect most of it is that guy’s fault. Actually no, I’m sure of it. It’s all that damn bastard’s fault.”
Halfway through the note went from being solemnly written to a grade schooler’s whining. But if one has the forbearance to ignore such childish writing and turn the page, this is how it continues.
“To whoever ends up finding my notebook. I pray that you, like me, are one who chases after the truth. I leave all of my research behind in the hopes that you will complete what I could not. That you will be able to achieve the ideals I sought. I beg of you, don’t let my research end in vain.”

A faint “Hmmm” broke the silence as the boy reading the notebook finished the last sentence. He closed the book with a slight thump and gazed up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
“Don’t worry, I’ll clear up any lingering regrets you have. I’ll inherit your will and finish what you started.”
The boy’s whispered mutterings were soon swallowed up by the vast silence of the room, but the determination behind them lingered. From the corner of the room, a pair of lifeless, mechanical eyes quietly watched over the boy.
Clanking noises echoed throughout the room. Hajime Nagumo was currently engrossed in putting together a plethora of newly crafted mechanical parts. He was sitting in Oscar Orcus’ workshop, located at the very bottom of the Great Orcus Labyrinth.
Gouts of crimson mana illuminated the room at odd intervals as he continued transmuting. There was a golden-haired beauty sitting next to him watching the whole spectacle. At the same time, her slender fingers were skillfully sewing something. Said beauty was none other than Yue— the vampire princess Hajime had rescued in the depths of hell.
While Hajime was busy checking over his new equipment, Yue was putting the finishing touches on their wardrobe. She had sewed them some sturdy travel clothes, some more comfortable everyday wear, and even some more suggestive outfits for their night adventures. Sewing had become like second nature to her after so many days spent practicing.
“…Perfect, it’s done.”

Hajime’s satisfied voice echoed throughout the quiet room. Yue stopped what she was doing to look over at him, and saw that he was experimentally flexing his artificial arm.
“You finished your arm upgrades?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna give it a test run. Wanna watch?” “Okay.”
The artifact Hajime had created combined his knowledge of modern weaponry with his game sense and the magic of this world to create something truly fearsome. Because it all used knowledge from another world, Yue found each and every one of his inventions to be fascinating. It had been even more exciting recently as ever since Hajime had finished transmuting all the necessities they’d need for their journey, he’d been spending a long time thinking about what else to add to his arm to make life simpler.
Hajime made a metallic fist with his hand and thrust it out toward one of the practice targets lying around the workshop. Though it was still a bit rough around the edges, his fist boasted quite a large amount of firepower.
He grinned playfully as he saw how excited Yue was.
“Here, we go! This is every man’s dream! Rocket punch!” With a low bang, his left fist burst out of its socket and flew toward the target. It left a trail of sparks in its wake as it rocketed forward. Then, with a thunderous crash, the fist pulverized its target.
Hajime grinned like a little boy and poured mana into his left arm. As if connected by an invisible thread, his hand zoomed back into place. There was a satisfying robotic clunk as it reattached itself to his arm.

“What do you think?” Hajime asked Yue. He was certain she must have been just as moved as he was. However…
“…That’s it?” All he received was a somewhat puzzled reply. If anything she seemed a little disappointed, even. Her indifference left Hajime nearly speechless.
“Wh-What do you mean, that’s it? Wasn’t that amazing? I just threw out a rocket punch! It’s the kind of awesome move that one-shots your enemy and then comes flying back to you!”
“But… your railgun’s stronger.”
Hajime was left scrambling, trying to explain the appeal of his rocket punch, but he only succeeded in leaving Yue even more confused. Her unintentionally cutting reply left him mentally defeated.
At a loss for words, Hajime could only stare blankly at Yue for a few minutes before going “Wait, there’s still more!” and suddenly smiling.
“It’s true that it doesn’t have much power compared to the railgun, but there’s a huge surprise factor associated with having a fist suddenly come flying at your face.”
“But the railgun’s faster too. Wouldn’t it be an even better surprise attack?”
Another flawless rebuttal. Hajime was swaying unsteadily, but he wasn’t down yet! He refused to abandon his romantic notions of the rocket punch.
“I-It’ll come in handy in case I ever lose my weapon!”
“So losing your hand as well counts as coming in handy?”

“……”
“Besides, even if you did lose your gun, it’d be faster to use Supersonic Step to get in close and hit them directly with your Steel Arms skill or something.”
Hajime detached his left hand and threw it to the ground. He then reached into his Treasure Trove and pulled out a different left hand before smiling dangerously at Yue and brandishing his new hand.
“Fine, Yue. Challenge accepted.”
“…What? I’m sorry Hajime, I have no idea what you’re saying.”
“You might be right, the rocket punch might just be a little too weak a weapon for me, though I’m sure for anyone else it would be perfect… but anyway, let me show you my other new weapon. Feel free to faint in awe at any time.”
“…Umm, I still don’t—”
Yue was only getting more confused by Hajime’s nonsensical declarations. But for the sake of a man’s dream, he couldn’t back down. He started pouring mana into his arm, and his hand started glowing a hot red. His fist was burning bright with the heat of a man’s dreams. This was his second new weapon.
“Heat knuckle!” Hajime’s expression was as dazzling as his blazing fist. However…
“Umm… so what else does it do?” For some reason, Yue was asking for more. She was scratching her cheek awkwardly, and it was clear her soul had not been in the least bit moved by Hajime’s stunning display.

Hajime’s smile stiffened a little.
“…Okay, so see here, Yue. This is a fist that can melt literally anything it touches. Isn’t it cool?”
“…Why melt them when you can just kill them?”
A very apt question. Hajime’s brute strength and skills would be more than enough to annihilate most enemies. There was no need to add insult to injury and melt the opponent too. In fact, his vibration cannon and railgun were already strong enough. That was why most of his previous additions to his arm had been developed with convenience in mind more than anything else.
However, somewhere along the way he had let his boyish dreams get the better of him, and had started adding these useless features. Now he had to stare down Yue and prove their worth. Hajime turned off his heat knuckle and put both hands on Yue’s slender shoulders.
“Think about it, Yue. What if we have to fight something that resists physical attacks really well, like that scorpion from before? If I have this, just touching it will still cause it damage. Or if we somehow get trapped inside a dungeon somewhere, this’ll help us quickly dig our way out.”
“…Okay.”
Yue could feel the passionate fervor in Hajime’s voice. But still, she thought to herself Couldn’t you just use Lightning Field or Transmutation or something to get us out of those situations anyway? She didn’t say it aloud this time though, realizing it must be important to him somehow. And because she loved him, Yue smiled awkwardly and tried to reassure Hajime’s flagging confidence.

“…Y-Yeah it’s pretty cool.” “……”
Hajime wordlessly took off this hand too, then threw it to the ground. Clearly he wasn’t looking for sympathy. Undaunted, he pulled yet another hand out of his Treasure Trove. He gave Yue a smile that screamed “This one’ll knock your socks off for sure!” and activated it. This hand turned his arm into a drill.
“Behold, Yue, my final form! Everything you saw before was nothing more than the prelude. Be swept away in a torrent of emotion as you regale my final arm!”
His speech was getting more and more cringeworthy by the second, though he wasn’t aware of it himself. He then poured mana into his arm, activating the third of his “real men’s weapons” series—
“This is the power of my transforming drill!”
He looked over at Yue triumphantly while his drill-arm began spinning. This time for sure, she has to be impressed. Or so he thought.
“…Yeah. It’s cool. It’s okay, you can stop now.”
“…..” There was an almost cruel kindness in Yue’s eyes as she gently told Hajime it was okay.
As far as Yue was concerned, all of his new items seemed pointless. That being said, there was no telling what the future had in store for them, so maybe even useless looking things might have some value later down the road. Surely their time to shine would come eventually. Deep inside her heart, Yue hoped it would, for Hajime’s sake if nothing else.

However, Yue’s pity only served to put cracks in Hajime’s pure heart.
Don’t tell me I’m actually becoming some kind of delusional idiot?
No matter what the truth was, a bullet, once fired, could never be taken back. Half desperate, he started taking out all the other arms he’d developed. Among them were a dragon-shaped hand, one that fired water blasts from its fingers, and even one that transformed his left arm into Squall’s gunblade. But the only reaction any of those ever elicited from Yue was a pitying smile.
Finally, Hajime crumbled into a sobbing heap, and Yue simply sat there patting his head, saying, “It’s okay, It’s okay.” She comforted him until he finally regained his senses.
Just what exactly she had meant by “It’s okay” was something he didn’t want to think too deeply about.
It was late at night. There was a single figure working in the darkness, inside a hidden room whose entrance was covered by a shelf.
“It’s finally done.” Hajime muttered softly. Sitting before him was a silver-haired girl. One could tell with just a glance that she wasn’t human. Where her ears would have been were instead metal rectangles that kind of resembled antennas.
Her hard, metallic eyes bore no signs of sentience either. That was only natural though, as she was a cleaning golem Oscar had made long ago.
However, her features were still quite human. She had on a navy blue one-piece dress and a pure white apron. There was a headdress adorning her hair as well. In a word, she was a maid.

“Oscar. It was because you dreamed of making her real that you strayed so far from reality. That was your mistake. However, I have the knowledge granted to me by the 2D world. By making her somewhat unrealistic, she grows closer to the ideal… This is the answer you sought after for so long!”
Hajime whispered to himself triumphantly. Anyone who had seen him at that moment would have been pretty creeped out by him. However, his passion for this maid golem was real. When he had first discovered Oscar’s notebook and this golem, he had decided to inherit Oscar’s pure spirit of inquiry and complete what Oscar had begun. He had worked on her late into every night, making sure Yue didn’t find out. He surely deserved a few moments to admire his own craftsmanship after all the hardships he went through to complete her.
However, as he was basking in his own handiwork— “…Found you, Hajime.”
Light filled the room as he heard a familiar voice call his name. He jumped with a start, then stiffly turned to look back at Yue.
“Y-Yue… what are you doing here? I could have sworn I felt your presence in the bedroom still.”
“I was wondering where you were going every night. Not only did you sneak away using Hide Presence, you even left behind an artifact that faked your presence too. I didn’t think there’d be a secret room here… but fortunately this artifact helped me find you.”
“So you used my own artifact against me.”

Hajime ground his teeth, angry at his own carelessness. In the meantime, Yue gazed silently at the maid golem. Hajime gulped guiltily. He felt like a husband caught cheating on his wife.
“Hajime, if you liked maid uniforms you just had to tell me.” There was a little jealousy in her tone. It seemed she really was jealous of this inanimate golem. However, it wasn’t what she was thinking. In order to clear up the misunderstanding, Hajime began explaining himself.
“Yue, allow me to explain. I don’t actually have a thing for maid uniforms. This is about art.”
“…Art?”
“Correct. A maid that’s also a golem. In other words a golem maid is every man’s dream. Those two factors combined are what make it art. Just a maid or just a golem are nothing on their own. While they may have a certain appeal, only when put together as a golem maid do they become a true object of worship for men worldwide.”
As he spoke, Hajime grew more and more heated with his words. Yue listened to it all seriously and nodded knowingly once he’d finished. “I understand,” was all she said. Hajime let out a relieved smile, but then an instant later a blazing fireball flew past his cheek.
There was a thunderous explosion, and Hajime quickly turned around to see his precious golem maid burned to ashes.
“H-How could you…”
Hajime crumbled to his knees as he gazed upon the charred husk of what had once been a golem maid. Then he turned to Yue, who had started casually walking away, and asked in a voice full of sadness,

“Yue, why? Why would you do that? What did that poor golem ever do to you?”
“You’ve been acting weird recently, Hajime. You needed a little traini— Ahem, I mean lesson.”
It was true that Hajime’s obsessions with things that were “every man’s dream” was starting to get a bit excessive. It might have been brought on in part due to the dead end he’d hit in regards to his transmutation, but if he didn’t drag himself back to reality, he’d be stuck in a fantasy land forever. The fact that he was actually sad at the destruction of an inanimate golem was proof enough that he was already almost too far gone.
Having the girl he loved tell him “you’ve been acting weird” to his face brought him back to his senses, though. Meanwhile, Yue picked up one of the maid uniforms lying around and brought it up to see if it would fit. She did a little twirl and licked her lips seductively as she looked at Hajime. Her sex drive was in full throttle.
Her next words blew away whatever might have survived of Hajime’s reason.
“Shall I teach you just how much better a real maid is than a mechanical one, Master?”
“……” Cold sweat ran down his forehead.
For hours later, Hajime’s screams could be heard echoing throughout the bottom of hell. Thanks to the loving embrace of Yue, Hajime was able to return from the depths of his delusions.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

The Holy Goddess’ Descent unto Paradise.

The abundance of goods lining every shelf and bookcase made the interior of the store feel rather cramped, despite the rather large amount of floor space. In the background, a popular anime song was playing, loud enough to be heard but not enough to be obtrusive. This store was famous nationwide for its selection of anime, manga, and other such products.
Naturally, the inside of the store was filled with pilgrims making the trek to this holy land. Most of them could be classified either as “warriors” or as “gentlemen.” A few of them had brought their friends along as well, and the store was filled to the brim with heated arguments about who was best girl or what the anime of the season was.
Within that eternal battlefield there existed a single haven of peace and quiet. At the very back of the store was a special section roped off behind a pair of curtains. A big “No minors” allowed sign was printed on each curtain. As one may have guessed, it was the adult section of the store.
No matter how hardened a veteran one was, their voices naturally grew hushed as they entered, and they instantly began worrying about the gazes of others around them. Even the anime song playing in the background seemed stifled in such hallowed ground.
However, today, that tranquil atmosphere was abruptly shattered. “W-Wait, Kaori. You can’t just go in there!”
“B-But Shizuku-chan…”

Two girls’ voices interrupted the silence. Their clear, high-pitched tone sounded just like the ringing of a bell. The warriors within all dropped what they were doing and timidly peeked out from behind their shelves. There was a single slender, feminine finger poking in from behind the curtains.
The men present all simultaneously thought Wait, don’t tell me she’s coming in here!? Damn, that means there’s no way out!
“No buts. The all-ages version is sold out, so just give it a rest already.”
“But… Nagumo-kun’s father’s company made this game. What if Nagumo-kun also played the… e-eighteen plus version of the game?”
“L-Look here. You wanted to get this game so you’d have something to talk about with Nagumo-kun, right? Are you planning on talking about the s-sex scenes with him in class or something? I think he’s more likely to run in the opposite direction if you try. Though maybe not for the reasons you think.”
In order to have something to talk about with her crush, Hajime Nagumo, Kaori had come here today to buy the game Hajime’s father had produced. However, because of its overwhelming popularity, the all-ages version was already sold out everywhere, and there were only a few copies of the 18+ version left. And even that was only because a few of the stores had accidentally ordered more stock than they had intended.
Considering her age, Kaori wouldn’t be able to buy the 18+ version anyway, but straightforward and fearless as she was, she was still determined to try.

“I-I know. But still… don’t try and stop me, Shizuku-chan! Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!”
“Yes, but this isn’t that time. Hey, no, wait, stop!”
There was a collective intake of breath as the warriors witnessed a girl burst through the curtains. For a moment everyone was at a loss for words, but then the muttered whispering began.
“Holy shit, she’s hot…” and the like.
The first sight that greeted Kaori as she barged into the 18+ section was a full size poster of a scantily-clad girl. She blushed to the tips of her ears, and then hurriedly looked down when she saw the dumbfounded gaze of every man in the section focused on her. Shizuku, who was standing behind her, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out. However, Kaori wouldn’t be deterred, and with her misguided resolution she said “I-I won’t lose here!” before taking another step into the forbidden sanctuary.
Shizuku kept desperately trying to pull Kaori back, but she was too embarrassed to be able to utilize much of her strength. And so, she was unwillingly dragged along behind Kaori, like a little girl lost in another world.
“Ah. S-Shizuku-chan, I found it!”
“W-What? Can you please stop dragging me further in?”
Heedless of her pleas, Kaori continued dragging Shizuku, who had tears in her eyes, deeper into the holy land until she reached the game she sought. As she picked it up and looked at the cover, Shizuku suddenly let out an embarrassed squeal. The reason, of course, being that there were a lot of girls in suggestive poses plastered on the front.
Shizuku quickly averted her gaze, but Kaori nonchalantly flipped the box over to see what was on the backside. As she examined the illustrations, she said something terribly tactless without much thought.
“H-Huh? Shizuku-chan, don’t you think this girl looks a lot like you?”
“What!? D-Don’t be ridiculous! I would never get on all fours with my butt sticking out like that!”
Shizuku, diligent as always, made sure to actually look before retorting, even though it made her blush bright red. However, her voice had been slightly louder than intended, and there was suddenly a spray of red as someone collapsed behind a shelf. That was soon followed by a shrill scream of “Don’t die on me, man! Damn, the bleeding just won’t stop!” It appeared someone had a bit too overactive an imagination.
“B-Besides, don’t you think this girl looks a lot like you, Kaori?”
“No way! I-I’d never do something so embarrassing as get on top of a man looking like that!”
There was another fountain of red as a second man collapsed from behind a different shelf. A second later someone screamed out, “Medic! I need a medic!”
It was then that a savior descended among the gathering of hardened warriors.
“Excuse me, miss. I’m sorry, but you need to at least be eighteen to purchase these goods. Can I kindly ask you to leave?”

It was the advent of the manager. The thirty-something manager had decided it would be bad for business if a part of his store got turned into a mountain of corpses, and had wisely chosen to interfere. The remaining warriors were all certain his authority would be enough to deter the two interlopers.
However, their opponent was stronger than any of them had realized. Shizuku was bowing her head furiously in apology, her words choked with tears, as she tried to drag Kaori out of the section. However, Kaori was not so easily turned away. Even with tears streaking down her face, she still thrust the game box out at the manager and made her request.
“I-I’d like to buy this, preashe!”
The manager’s expression faltered and he tried to insist that you needed to be eighteen to purchase this product, but Kaori came back with a most unexpected counter.
“I-It’s for my dad!”
What kind of dad would make their daughter buy their porn!
Everyone present thought the same thing. Kaori herself must have realized how flimsy an excuse it was, as she then continued, saying things like “It’s his birthday present!” and “We were going to play it together!” Her excuses only made things worse, though. At this point Shizuku was so embarrassed that she buried her face in her hands, wishing she were dead. Finally, Kaori ended things with a “Please, won’t you let me buy it?” Her puppy dog eyes and pleading drove the manager to his limits.
“Excuse me for a moment.” That was all the manager said before running behind a shelf and spurting out a torrential nosebleed. He was just as much of an otaku as anyone else there, and thus just as susceptible to Kaori’s charms. Wails of “Bossssssssss!” could be heard coming from the few warriors who were still left standing.
On that day, in her quest to purchase a single game, Kaori piled up a mountain of corpses of both customers and store clerks alike.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

A Case of What If?
There exist an infinite amount of possibilities and timelines in this world. If we were to imagine some of those what if scenarios in Arifureta, they might go something like,
Case 1: What if, when Kouki was fighting Emperor Gahard, he did things a little differently?
“Prepare yourself, Hero. If you hold back again…”
Goosebumps coated Kouki’s arms. The bodyguard’s tone of voice clearly conveyed what awaited him if he held back.
“AAALaLaLaLaie!” “What the hell!?”
Were Hoelscher’s emperor a bit more like a certain other ruler, then surely all the demons would surrender and begin calling him “bro.”
Case 2: What if, when Kouki was fighting Emperor Gahard, he did things a little differently? v2
“What on earth are you doing, Gahard?”
King Eliheid yelled out as he leaped in between the two fighters and blocked Gahard’s blow. Gahard was thrown off balance by the fact that Eliheid had discovered his identity, but he nevertheless smiled fearlessly and prepared to charge again. Sighing, Eliheid realized Gahard had no intention of backing down.
“All thing of this world, turn to ashes, Ryujin Jakka!” “Wai— stop— no—”

If king Eliheid was actually the captain of the 13 Court Guard Companies, then all the demons would most likely be crying in fear.
Case 3: What if the second fight with the Behemoth went a little differently?
The Behemoth, enraged that a pair of mere humans had stopped its assault, stamped impatiently on the ground. Seeing this, the other students took advantage of its momentary distraction.
“Peerless swordsmanship that rends even the heavens— Hiten Mitsurugi style, Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki!”
“What?”
If Shizuku Yaegashi was a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi style, she would probably be the hero, not Kouki.
Case 4: What if Kouki’s sacred sword was a little different? “Let’s go! Sacred sword, lend me your power!”
“Moron, this is why I can’t handle country hicks. I told you not to bother me during my afternoon tea.”
“……”
If Kouki’s sword was as annoying as a certain other world’s Excalibur, then Kouki probably wouldn’t be so nice.
Case 5: What if things were a little different when Hajime first found the Divinity Stone?
“This… is…”
The source of the liquid was a basketball-sized crystal that emitted a pale red light… A few days later after conquering his loneliness,

starvation, and pain, Hajime took down his first enemy, the Twin- tailed Wolf.
“What a niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice sound that was. Truly, wonderful! Is it not wonderful, o philosopher’s stone?”
Had the stone Hajime discovered really been the philosopher’s stone, he might have ended up like Kimblee.
Case 6: What if the scorpion fight had gone a little differently?
“…Thanks for the meal.”
Suddenly, Yue got to her feet and brandished a hand at the scorpion thing. As she did so, a tremendous amount of mana, golden in color, poured out of her tiny body, chasing away the darkness. Then, clad in a wondrous golden light, with her golden hair fluttering around her, she muttered a single phrase.
“Forbidden Barrage ‘Catadioptric.’”
If Yue was actually the little sister to the master of the scarlet devil mansion, then she’d surely be this story’s last boss.
There a countless amount of possible timelines for every world… so why not try and think of a few yourself?

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

A Nightmare in the Abyss.

Two people were standing around, facing each other in a vast hall that looked like a grand temple. One of them was wearing flowing silvery robes with matching silver hair, and had in their hand a silver sword to match. The other was dressed in all black, had an eyepatch, and a prosthetic arm. The black-clothed figure had a revolver in their hands.
“I congratulate you on making it this far, Madness Parade of the Crimson Fang. Or would you prefer I call you Chaos Disaster?”
“Hmph, call me what you will. That name is naught but what others have heaped upon me. Though I am willing to admit my capacity for destruction rivals such a moniker. You shall meet your demise here, God of Origin. Or would you too, prefer to be called by your more commonplace name, Chaos of Darkness?”
—Holy crap, why do these names sound so nonsensically cringy?
The black-robed man tore off his eyepatch to reveal a dazzlingly blue eye.
“Now is the time to awaken, my steel-clad demonic arm!”
At the same time as he shouted out, the silver-clad figure grew silver wings from their back and their silver sword glowed with a distinctively silver light.
“Very well. I admire your arrogance. Few so brazenly challenge god. As a reward, I shall engrave eternal suffering into the essence of your very soul!” That was all the silver figure shouted back.
Oh my god, it just keeps getting worse.

As their fight began, the black-clad man screamed out an incantation.
“Oh crimson flash, heed mine call and devour thy foes— Crimson Cutter: Sacrosanct Resonance!”
The silver-haired man replied in kind, and shouted how on spell.
“Hmph, pathetic… Return all of creation to the primordial abyss— Karmic Absolution!”
They continued going back and forth like that for some time, their intense attacks creating a grand battle that would probably be the only one of its kind.
I can’t take it anymore… Make it stop, please.
Finally, after the silver-clad man’s third transformation, and the black-robed man had awoken to his ultimate true power, after they had unleashed not only both of their trump cards but both of their finishing moves, the black-clad figure let out a resounding cry of victory. He smiled triumphantly, covered from head to toe in wounds no mere mortal could ever hope to withstand…
“Heh, that was quite the enjoyable fight. In deference to your formidable strength, I shall grant you a gift to take with you to the afterlife. My true name, the name no one else knows… I am the Crimson Flame White Demon’s—”
Please, just kill me now. Anything, anything to make it stoooooop.
“Make it stoooooooooooooooooooop!” “Hajime!? What’s wrong, are you okay?”

Deep within the labyrinth, Hajime threw off the sheets covering him and leaped to his feet, his breathing rough. Yue also got up in a panic and gently hugged Hajime in order to calm him down.
“Th-That was a terrifying nightmare… Yue, can I ask you something?” “…What?”
“If I ever start becoming one of those delusional crazies, use your Azure Blaze to bring me back to my senses, please.”
Yue realized Hajime must still have been suffering from the effects of the nightmare, as whatever he was saying didn’t make any sense. Still, she nodded in order to reassure him.
“…Okay. Leave it to me. If you ever start becoming one of those delusional crazies, I’ll make sure to stop you.”
Neither of them realized they had been misunderstood by the other, Hajime talking about the sight from his dreams and Yue about him becoming a monster, but… Hajime calmed down after that, which was enough to satisfy Yue, so they both went back to sleep in each other’s arms.
As long as Yue was around, Hajime was safe from falling over to that side… probably.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

The Liberators’ Game.

“Flame master on 12-4 attack the swordsman on 8-6. Flame spear, magical attack, fire element.”
“Hmm…”
Within the depths of the Great Orcus Labyrinth, inside Oscar Orcus’ private room, a young boy smiled triumphantly while the girl next to him sunk deep into thought. Her voice was oddly seductive. The two people were, of course, Hajime Nagumo and Yue. The two of them were sitting on sofas across from each other, with a transparent table laid out between them. There was a square metallic board on the table, and around 64 pieces lay out on various parts of it. They were enjoying a game of otherworldly chess before bed.
As one might have guessed from the different number of pieces, the rules were slightly different. For one, there were 256 squares on the board. For another, the board was split up into various terrains such as mountains, rivers, forests, hills, plains, and the like and the pieces were categorized either as magical or physical fighters. Each piece could learn various skills and the damage they dealt with each attack depended on the skill and element. Players also had to keep track of various resources such as mana as well.
The most fascinating aspect was that thanks to some magical contraption, the pieces all played out their actions. Even now, Hajime, who was still a beginner at the game, marveled at how his flame master fired a mini-spark at Yue’s soldier, who then doubled up in pain screaming, “H-How can this be!” before collapsing. In response, one of Yue’s mages moved all on its own to carry the defeated piece off the board while screaming, “So this is how your side does things, huh!?”

“I’ve been wondering, but is there any way to take off these little cutscene type things?”
“…If you can’t do it, Hajime, I don’t think anyone left alive can. This is probably the joint work of all the skilled Liberators.”
It certainly was impressive. A colossal waste of skill, but impressive nonetheless. Hajime’s impression of the Liberators had changed a little when he’d found this.
Now that it was Yue’s turn, she sent her knight charging forward to cut down Hajime’s flame master. The knight made a splendid show of spearing the flame master on his lance, crushing him to pieces. A few seconds later, the destroyed pieces of the flame master regenerated and he cheerfully walked himself off the board.
When his flame master was destroyed, Hajime flinched a little. Not because he was sad at losing a piece, but because there was one other interesting feature built into this version of chess called Pain Trace. Each of the two players would register their mana on the game board beforehand, and whenever one player lost a piece, they’d suffer a small static shock.
“Assassin to 13-9. Attack the enemy crusader. Slash, skill, increased critical.”
“Nhaah.”
Hajime’s assassin sneaked up behind Yue’s crusader and mercilessly beheaded it. As the crusader’s head rolled to the ground, Yue’s queen cried out in despair.
“My dear knight!”
Next to her, the king bore down on her in an accusatory tone.

“What? My dear knight? And just what did you mean by that, huh dear?” And so, the queen’s adultery was exposed.
After a few more turns it was discovered that the king had his own bastard son, and the mother was none other than the other side’s queen. Jealous, Yue’s queen had an affair with her court magician, but then later on it was discovered the court magician had a secret lover of his own, and that he was a man, and that man was none other than Hajime’s army’s court magician. Love blossomed between them, and the whole royal family got involved. Honestly, it felt more like a drama than a chess match.
“Yue, how come you moan like that every time you lose a piece? It’s not that painful, is it?”
“…You just keep attacking all of my weak points, Hajime.”
“Liar. There’s no such… No, wait. For some reason today the shock’s always been focused on my—”
“Fufufu, that was all my doing. I turned on the feature that probes the player’s subconscious and stimulates the one place they feel it the most. I found out about it in the user’s manual. By the way, you can control the voltage output too, and I set it to max today.”
Hajime suddenly shivered. The user’s manual was 500 pages long, so he hadn’t had the patience to read more than a few of them. He wasn’t sure if she just read through the whole thing, or if she found all the features she wanted by accident, but Yue now had an advantage over him.
But what was truly frightening was that every time he lost a piece, Hajime could feel his family jewels tingle. S-So that’s what she was after. Thanks to his resistances, the shocks had been mostly mitigated, but with how seductively Yue was moaning every time she lost a piece, it was only a matter of time before his little man decided to poke its head out. No matter how superior his army was, he wouldn’t be able to win at this rate. Thus, Hajime raised his voice, eager to end this as quickly as possible.
“Earth master to 16-7. Line attack from 16-8 to 16-10. Rock slide, magical attack, earth element, advanced skill.”
He was sacrificing his ability to move for a few turns by carrying out this AoE attack. As the attack went off, Yue moaned once more, falling limp on the sofa after the shock finally ran its course. She was twitching a little now, and her black one piece shuffled up a little to reveal her bare legs.
“Sorry, Yue, but I’m taking this one. I can’t afford to lose when my dignity as a man is at stake.”
“…Mmm, so you’re finally coming at me seriously.”
Beads of sweat were forming on Yue’s forehead and her cheeks were slightly flushed. After thinking for a moment, she proposed something interesting.
“If you’re so sure of this game, how about we make a little bet?”
Hajime warily questioned her for further details, and Yue said that the winner could make any one request they wanted of the loser. Apparently Yue’s request would be that they were a matching set of clothes one day after they made it back to the surface.
While the mini-soldiers down below were yelling death threats at each other and waging a violent war for survival, Hajime and Yue were discussing their next date. It felt utterly surreal. It also really broke the tension. For his part, Hajime didn’t want to do something so embarrassing, so he made an audacious move.
“Queen to 14-5! Activate the queen’s special ability, Ruler’s blessing!”
He risked sending his strongest piece into the line of fire in order to allow all his nearby pieces to do a coordinated simultaneous attack. All of his units within a certain amount of tiles began attacking at once! The king’s illegitimate child died during the battle! Yue’s king and Hajime’s queen both lamented his loss greatly, but the battle still raged on! And lastly, Yue’s moans grew louder than ever before!
That battle ended up becoming the turning point for the game, and eventually Yue was defeated. Yue’s king and Hajime’s queen’s love story continued, and they ended up impaling each other on their swords. Finally, Hajime’s king, who hadn’t spoken a word during the entire play, declared his side’s victory and the game was over.
Hajime breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wouldn’t be embarrassing himself on the surface anymore. But because Yue was pouting, he ended up compromising anyway and agreed to wear any one outfit she requested of him, improving her mood instantly. So this is what they mean when they say you’ve won the battle, but lost the war.
As always, Hajime could never win against Yue.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

Dreams of Family.
The pleasant aroma of grilled meat and soy sauce wafted through the air. There was a forty-odd year old lady standing in the kitchen, an apron wrapped around her waist and her hair tied back in a ponytail.
The woman, Sumire Nagumo, was busy skillfully preparing a meal. She raised her head up to the ceiling and yelled.
“Hajime, Dear, it’s feeding time!”
After a brief silence, a pair of footsteps could be heard heading down the stairs.
“Can you please just call it dinner like a normal person, Mom?” Hajime Nagumo displayed an annoyed face as he entered the kitchen… There were dark bags under his gentle eyes. He took a peek at what his mom had made while helping her set the table, and his eyes began to sparkle.
“Awesome, you made Hamburg steak today. No wonder the house smelled so good.”
Hajime’s father, Nagumo Shuu, popped in with his two cents. He was a slender man with short, cropped hair. Like his son, he too had bags under his eyes.
The pair finished setting the table and eagerly dug into the meal Sumire had prepared for them. They stuffed their mouths with Hamburg steak and white rice as if they were starving men. Sumire giggled as she watched them eat and muttered words of disagreement.
“No, I think feeding time suits you two just perfectly.”

“Well, did you two manage to meet your deadline with that debugging?”
“Mmmgh… Mmnch… Yeah, somehow. That game’s really cool.”
“Gulp… It better be. The future of my company’s riding on that game. Do you have any idea how much we poured into development? I’d be out of a job if it game wasn’t cool. Though I guess if I lost my job I could spend all my time playing games trying to figure out where I went wrong.”
“Dad, they call those people NEETs.”
“Not a NEET, son, a shut-in. Shut-ins that can make a living for themselves are what we call winners in life.” Shuu riposted brilliantly. Such was his philosophy. The mother was no better in that regard, however.
“Indeed,” she replied. This was the result of having a father who ran a game company and a mother who was a shojo mangaka. Their mindsets weren’t exactly normal.
In fact, when they had learned that Hajime was being bullied at school, their advice, if it could be called that, had just been along the same lines.
“Do what you want. If you want to transfer, transfer. If you want to fight back, fight back. If you want to become a shut-in, become a shut-in. Hell, get yourself expelled for all I care, I’ll hire you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a high-school dropout or have 10 PhDs, the ones making money in the end are the winners.”
Hajime was of a more practical bent, though.

“It’s important to have backup plans to secure financial stability, so school’s super important.” Only in this household would you find a child telling their parents the importance of staying in school.
But, well, I’m glad Mom and Dad are like that, because it would have been awkward if they made a huge deal out of the whole thing.
Meanwhile, his parents were having a truly absurd conversation. “I’m starting to think our son’s got some lolicon tendencies in him.”
“He certainly does like loli characters.” He quickly brought his thoughts back to the present and gave his parents a glowering glare.
“Hey hey, no need to glare at us like that. You’re the one who added a blonde loli mage to the game, not me,” said Shuu.
“So, that doesn’t make me a lolicon. You’re a grown man, you should be able to tell the difference between games and reality,” Hajime replied.
“True, you’re into animal-ears too. Especially rabbit ears. I’m glad my son grew up to be a patrician of such fine taste,” Sumire also chimed in.
Hajime sulkily returned to his dinner while his parents grinned at him. They ganged up on their only son like that pretty often.
“I guarantee you you’d party up with a loli if you ever got summoned to another world. Just remember, attacking underage girls is still a crime. I’m sure even other worlds have laws against sex with children. They’ve been cracking down on it in games here recently, even.”
“Don’t just go around making your own assumptions. And can you please stop calling me a lolicon?”

Fed up with his parents teasing, Hajime got a little testy. Realizing he went a little too far with his teasing, his father apologized while laughing.
“But you’re a healthy young boy, so I’m sure you’re interested in all those fantasy worlds with swords and magic. Isn’t going on adventures with a cute heroine, falling in love, and finally defeating the gods or the demon lord or whatever something you dream of?”
“That does sound like the kind of thing a lot of guys would like. And those reincarnated into another world and summoned into another world light novels are getting pretty popular recently. I wouldn’t want our son to get summoned, though. What would we do if he couldn’t ever come back.”
Sumire sunk deep into thought, taking the idea of Hajime being summoned rather seriously. Both of them had an overactive imagination, which Hajime supposed were just occupational hazards. He smiled awkwardly while watching them seriously worry over his potential disappearance into another world.
“I don’t think I have what it takes to save the world anyway.” Shuu wasn’t happy with his son’s self-deprecating attitude.
“You could at least pretend to be the strongest in your head, you know?”
Hajime’s smile grew even more troubled, but he responded with confidence.
“I’m sure all I’d be capable of is making it back home. And if I found someone important to me, I’d probably just bring them back too. I might not be able to save the world, but I’d definitely come back.”

“……” His parents suddenly brought their heads together. He shrugged his shoulders to hide his embarrassment before continuing.
“Besides, I only like other worlds when they stay inside books and games.” For once, his parents didn’t bully him, and simply smiled kindly.
“That’s right. Staying safe is more important than saving the world. But if you were strong enough to save it on your way back, you might as well, right? Hmm, maybe I should make a game that has a protagonist like that…”
“Oh, that does sound like a good idea. There’s a kind of surreal aspect to it when the protagonist’s only interested in going home but he beats the demon lord and the gods and all that along the way.”
Their creative urges got the better of them, and their conversation turned toward how they could use this idea in their works. While he might sometimes lament that his parents only ever thought about their hobby-jobs, he too was their son, and started contributing ideas of his own to their discussion. That was just another day at the Nagumo household.
With a faint groan, Shuu opened his eyes and looked up at the moonlight streaming through the window.
“…What’s wrong, dear?”
“Sumire… I had a dream about Hajime. It was about when we were talking about other worlds a few days before he disappeared.”
Sumire propped herself up on the bed and reassured her depressed husband.

“He’ll come back home… I’m sure of it. No matter where he went, even if it is another world, I’m sure he’ll find a way home.”
“Sumire…”
“Trust me. He normally just tries to get by without rocking the boat, but if there’s something he really believes in, then he’ll chase after it with all his might. That’s why I know he’ll be fine.”
“…You’re right. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
The two of them huddled closer together, thinking about their son who’d vanished along with an entire class full of students.
Around the same time, Hajime groggily opened his eyes deep within the abyss. He stared off into the distance, his features illuminated by the light of the fake moon. Yue sidled closer to him, her gaze questioning.
“I was having a dream about Mom and Dad. I can’t believe all those ridiculous things we joked about really came true…”
“…Hajime, it’ll be okay. As long as we’re together, we can do anything. We’ll return to your world for sure.” Yue smiled reassuringly at Hajime, her voice full of conviction. He patted her head lovingly, then nodded back.
“Yeah, you’re right. We’re going to make it back for sure.”
For just a moment, an image of his parents hugging each other flashed through Hajime’s mind. They were hugging each other sadly, both of them thinner than he remembered. For some reason, they both looked up when mentioned his resolve, as if they’d heard him.

The image of his parents smiled a little, and it seemed like they’d gone back a little to their old selves… Or so he thought, anyway.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.