Arifureta/ From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Vol. 7 Ch. 4

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 7.

CHAPTER IV: THE EMPIRE VS. THE STRONGEST RABBITS.

The sun had fully set, and darkness shrouded the imperial castle. Two soldiers on patrol walked across the castle grounds. They both held magical torches that beat back the night, negating any potential intruder’s greatest asset.
“Haaah… All the big shots are probably at the ball right now… living it up and eating all the good food.”
“Hey, cut the chatter. If we get caught for dereliction of duty, I’ll be punished with you.”
The first soldier sighed as he looked wistfully up at the castle. Dozens of lights dotted the central tower, where the ball was being held.
His partner frowned, but it seemed the reason for his displeasure wasn’t solely because he was worried about being punished. If anything, he was annoyed because he’d been made even more conscious of the fact that they were stuck working while other people got to have all the fun. In truth, he was thinking the exact same thing his partner was.
“Don’t you wish you could get promoted enough to be invited to one of those?”
“Well, yeah… If I was important enough to attend a ball like that, I’d be able to get all the money and women I want…”
“I know, right? It’d be great if I could go to a fancy party like that and spend the night in the arms of a noble lady. Aaah, I wish I wasn’t stuck here doing these useless patrols. I wanna fuck a girl. A cute bunny girl would be best.”

“You really have a thing for them, huh? Pretty much all the those girls are hotter than human ones, but every time we go to the brothels you only go for the bunnies.”
“They’re just so much fun to torment. I love hearing their screams when I go in raw.”
“You’re a pretty messed up dude…”
“What’re you talking about? Practically all the bunny girls look like they’re begging to be bullied. I’m just granting their wishes. Besides, you’re one to talk. You’ve mindbroken plenty of bunny girls yourself.”
“I can’t help it. I just can’t get enough of their screams.”
The two soldiers looked at each other and started guffawing. To people of the empire, beastmen were nothing more than tools. Replaceable tools meant to be used for nothing more than stress relief or sexual gratification. These two soldiers weren’t particularly cruel or anything. Debasing and humiliating beastmen was standard practice throughout the empire.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers saw something dart past a nearby building. He stopped laughing and turned around.
“Hey, did you just…” “Huh? What is it?”
The first soldier warily approached the building. His partner hurriedly held up his torch and followed after him.
“Who goes there?” the lead soldier asked in a loud voice. He thrust his torch forward, illuminating a narrow gap between two buildings. It was just large enough for a person to slip through.
However, there was no one inside.

“Guess I was just seeing things…” the first soldier muttered in relief. He shook his head and turned back to his partner.
“Sorry, looks like I— Hey, Maul? Where’d you go, Maul?” But his partner was nowhere to be found. All that was left was his torch, rolling slowly across the floor. The soldier looked around wildly, but there was no one in sight. Chills ran down his spine.
In order to hide his fear, he yelled in an angry voice.
“Oi Maul, get out here already! This isn’t fu— Mmmf!?”
Two hands silently reached out of the alleyway that should have been empty. A matte black knife that seemed to suck the light out of its surroundings was in one of them. One hand covered the soldier’s mouth, while the other thrust the knife into the back of his skull.
The soldier spasmed for a few seconds before going limp. The two arms then retreated into the darkness, dragging the lifeless soldier with them.
A few seconds later, their torches were snuffed out as well, plunging the courtyard into darkness. A faint voice, soft enough to be snuffed out by the night breeze, rang out through the courtyard.
“HQ, this is Alpha. I have successfully gained control of point C.”
“Alpha, this is HQ Good work. Now head to point E2. Your targets are the four sentries there. Circle around from the east.”
“HQ, this is Alpha. Roger.”
A number of figures dressed from head to toe in black silently made their way across the castle courtyard. They wore black face masks and hoods as well, so the only things visible were their eyes, which glimmered with a fierce light. Each of the figures had two short swords strapped to their back.

Any Japanese person who saw them would have said they looked like ninjas. However, while the outfit hid their individual identities, it would be obvious to anyone who saw them what race these figures belonged to. After all, their bunny ears were poking out through their hoods. They couldn’t be anyone but rabbitmen, and the only rabbitmen who were capable of fighting were the Haulia.
The group reached their designated location and hid under the shadow of a nearby building. One of them peeked his head out from behind the corner, and as reported, he saw four sentries waiting up ahead. The sentries were split in pairs of two, but they stayed close enough to be in sight of each other.
The lead Haulia gave the other three members of his squad a hand signal. The three of them then nodded and melted into the night.
A few seconds later, there was a flash of light a few meters away, indicating that the others were in position. The Haulia had picked a moment when the sentries weren’t looking to send their signal.
Another one of the Haulia pulled out a tiny vial and popped the lid for a split second. He too made sure that the sentries weren’t looking when he did so. The vial was a custom signaling torch made out of green glowstone.
Once they’d finished signaling to each other, the two Haulia gave another hand signal to the team member paired up with them. Then, both pairs of Haulia erased their presence and snuck up behind a single pair of sentries. The moment the soldiers let each other out of their sights, they were assassinated with extreme precision. The first found himself with a knife sticking out of his skull.
“Ah—!?” The other had his hands pinned behind his back before a short sword slipped between his kidneys.

The final Haulia grabbed the torches before they could clatter to the floor and snuffed them out. After that, he looked around to make sure no traces of their existence had been left at the scene. Then, the three Haulia dragged their victims behind the building. This, however, they couldn’t do without making any noise, and the remaining pair of sentries looked questioningly in their direction.
The soldiers they’d expected to see weren’t there. The only thing left in that spot was darkness.
“Where the hell’d they go?”
The sentries strained their eyes, and were able to make out vague shadows moving in the darkness. It appeared as if someone was dragging someone else.
Warning bells sounded inside the sentries’ minds. They grabbed the whistles hanging around their necks and put them to their mouths. But before they could blow them, they had their throats slashed.
Without even a chance to scream, the two sentries were consigned to the oblivion of death. Their torches were snuffed out, and their bodies dragged back behind the building.
All around the castle, guards were being slaughtered one after another. Most of the soldiers stationed in the castle’s guardrooms had had their heads parted from their shoulders. Plus, all of the soldiers sleeping in the barracks had been put into a deep slumber thanks to the effects of a certain powder made from the plants found in the sea of trees.
Even if someone did manage to sound the alarm, no one in the barracks would so much as stir. They’d sleep soundly until morning and wake up feeling surprisingly refreshed.
A crescent moon hung in the night sky. Also known as the horned moon, it was the first phase the moon one saw after the new moon.

And because of how thin the crescent was, this phase of the moon bore a striking resemblance to the devil’s grin.
Tonight, it almost seemed as if the moon was sneering at the empire. Perhaps it seemed that way because the nation who valued strength above all was about to be ravaged by the very race they’d ridiculed as the weakest.
Liliana’s welcome ball was as magnificent and ostentatious as one would expect a royal ball to be. The food was served buffet style, and hundreds of dishes, from savory to sweet, covered the massive table that was to one side of the hall. Every dish imaginable had been placed atop the pure white tablecloth for the guests’ enjoyment. The hall’s decorations, too, were absolutely stunning. Tapestries and chandeliers draped the walls and ceiling.
—HQ, this is Alpha. We have successfully neutralized point H4. —HQ, this is Bravo. All J points are now under our control.
—HQ, this is Charlie. All soldiers within the barracks have been incapacitated.
—HQ, this is Echo. We have secured the second prince, the crown princess, and the emperor’s grandson.
Hajime strolled through the party venue with an unbelievably cheerful smile on his face. He even stopped to talk to the nobles and dignitaries who came up to him.
He didn’t let anything in his expression give away the fact that he was constantly receiving reports of the Haulia’s activities through the earring-shaped artifact he was wearing.

Hajime wasn’t the only one being accosted by nobles. Kouki and the others had to deal with a procession of important people who wanted to get into the hero party’s good graces.
The hero and his comrades were the stars of this ball. The empire had heard of how Kouki and his party had gotten further through the Great Orcus Labyrinth than anyone in history. The nobles, who valued strength as much as anyone in the empire, were extremely curious to learn more about the kids who had achieved such a feat. And of course, they were also hoping to make connections with the world’s most influential people.
The people who came up to Hajime had different ulterior motives in mind, however. Their objective was to get closer to the group of beautiful girls who hadn’t left Hajime’s side for even a moment.
Even when they were talking to Hajime, they kept stealing glances at Yue and the others. Hajime didn’t blame them. They had gone all out in dressing up for Liliana’s welcome-cum-engagement ball. Their dazzling outfits, combined with their natural good looks, made them stand out far more than anyone else in the hall.
“Wooow. I never knew there were places like this in the world. You’d never see something like this in the sea of trees.”
Shea, who was dressed in a periwinkle-blue dress, stared in amazement at the opulence around her. Every time she moved her slender, shapely legs peeked out from beneath her miniskirt.
Though the bottom half of her dress revealed a lot of skin, it didn’t feel the least bit indecent. It was more modest than her usual clothing, and it emphasized her natural cuteness.
Normally she kept her hair down, but for the party she’d bunched her bangs up at the front, and tied the back into a ponytail. Her hairstyle, too, made her look cuter than usual.

“Both the food and the liquor here are exquisite. I must make sure to enjoy them while I still can.” Tio sipped a glass of expensive wine and eyed the buffet table hungrily. She wore an elegant black dress in place of her usual black kimono.
It was a tight-fitting dress that showed off her body’s curves, with a plunging neckline and an open back. Every single time she took a step, her large breasts threatened to spill out of the fabric holding them. Half the men in the ball had their eyes glued to her chest, earning them disapproving glares from their female companions.
“Ugh… Don’t we stand out a little too much?” Blushing, Kaori looked timidly around her. She was wearing a slender dress that left her shoulders fully exposed. While she lacked Tio’s voluptuous breasts, Kaori more than made up for it with a perfectly proportioned body. The sides of the dress parted at the waist, much like a cheongsam, showing off Kaori’s slender legs. She had her silver hair up in a bun, leaving much of her back exposed.
“Mmm…” Yue, the vampire Hajime loved more than anything in the world, trailed the group in a pure white wedding dress. It opened up at the shoulders and was decorated with a mountain of frills. She had done her hair up in a ponytail, which she had fastened with a flower- shaped hair ornament.
Though she was exposing the least skin out of the four, her ruby red lips, pale white complexion, and seductive gaze captivated all the men in the room. As always, there was a huge gap between her childish appearance and mature aura.
Hajime, Kouki, and Ryutarou had waited outside while the girls changed, so this was their first time seeing them in their new dresses. Needless to say, they were as captivated by the girls as everyone else in the room.

Hajime in particular though only had eyes for Yue. It was obvious he was smitten. Yue noticed his fervent gaze, and gave him a charming smile.
Meanwhile, Shea and the others started sulking because Hajime was ignoring them. Before they could give him a piece of their mind though, Hajime walked over to Yue, hugged her tight, and kissed her in front of the crowd of stunned onlookers.
It took a lot of effort for Shea and the rest to pull Hajime off Yue, and naturally his bold stunt left the hall in an uproar, so it took some time before the atmosphere returned to normal.
Considering who seemed to be stealing all the attention, it was easy to forget that this was actually supposed to be Liliana’s engagement ball. Hajime spent the next few minutes fending off the horde of smiling nobles who tried to get close to Yue and the others.
Incidentally, Shizuku and Suzu looked rather fetching in their dresses as well. They were more than a match for most of the noble ladies, but because they hadn’t been as interested in trying to dress up for Hajime’s sake, the two of them didn’t stand out nearly as much as the four other girls.
Shizuku had made a tactical decision to look more plain than the others, and it paid off well for her. While Kouki was being mobbed by people, she was left mostly alone.
On the other hand, Ryutarou was busy stuffing himself at the buffet table while Suzu followed after him and scolded him for his lack of manners. Though her words weren’t very persuasive when she herself was gorging herself on the cakes lining the dessert side of the table.
“I must say, all of your companions are stunning beauties, Nagumo- dono.”

“Indeed. I would be most honored if you would be willing to allow me to dance with one later.”
“If there’s time for it, maybe.”
—HQ, this is Delta. The explosives have been set. —HQ, this is India. All M points are under our control.
The nobleman Hajime was talking to tilted his head in confusion at Hajime’s suggestive smile. Before he could ask what Hajime meant, the hall broke out in excited muttering. Liliana and Baius, the guests of honor, had arrived. The guard at the gate announced their entrance in a loud and dignified voice.
Liliana walked through the grand double doors and into the hall proper. When the other guests saw her dress, they whispered to each other in shock and confusion. She was wearing a jet-black one-piece that seemed to suck in the surrounding light. Considering that this ball was being held in her honor, it wasn’t appropriate for her to wear such dark clothing.
Moreover, her expression made it clear that she was only attending because it was her duty. That, combined with her imposing dress, created a wall around her that made it difficult for others to approach.
Baius, on the other hand, was scowling angrily at anyone and everyone. The two certainly didn’t look like they were excited about announcing their engagement.
Baius’ mistresses had been planning on giving Liliana a piece of their minds, but they were so shocked by this unexpected entrance that they just stood there like everyone else.
Eventually, the crowd started to applaud, but the atmosphere was still strained. Amidst the clapping, the two of them made their way up to

the center stage. Confused, the chamberlain overseeing the ball bade the guests to resume partying.
Gahard greeted Liliana and his son with a knowing grin, then signaled for the music to start. Liliana would now be busy dancing with various dignitaries and introducing herself over and over.
Elegant orchestra music filled the ballroom, sweeping away the awkward atmosphere from earlier. Men and women made their way to the center of the hall and started dancing as they pleased. Liliana’s first dance went to Baius, but the two of them were dancing rather stiffly. Liliana’s expression made it clear she would rather be doing anything else. Any time Baius tried to pull her close, Liliana would match her steps to the tempo of the music and create some distance between them.
Once the first song finished, Liliana fled from Baius and quickly found another partner to dance with. Her departure irritated Baius, but greeting others during a dance was an integral part of high society, so he couldn’t do anything to stop her. For some reason, he appeared to be nursing his crotch as well. In truth, he’d only recently woken up. When he had, he’d found he couldn’t feel anything in his nether regions.
He’d tried to press Liliana for details, but she’d stalled him by saying that unless he did as she instructed, she wouldn’t introduce him to the only person capable of curing his condition. Though it had irked him immensely, Baius had had no choice but to obey.
Naturally, the reason Baius couldn’t feel his balls was because of what the metal spider had injected in him. There was more than one way to destroy a man’s manhood.
—HQ, this is Romeo. Point P is under our control. —HQ, this is Tango. Point R is under our control.

“This isn’t like Lily… Normally she never shows other people her true emotions,” Kaori muttered to herself as she watched Liliana curtly greet a group of nobles.
“Well, after what happened, I don’t blame her. She’s probably got a lot to deal with.”
“Something happened?” Yue looked inquisitively up at Hajime.
“Nagumo-kun, what did you do to Lily?”
“Hey, Yaegashi. Why’re you assuming I’m at fault here?”
Shizuku glared suspiciously at Hajime, her red dress billowing about her.
“Because Lily would never act like that… and whenever something abnormal happens, you’re usually the culprit. That theory hasn’t been proven wrong yet. Besides, it’s obvious you know something.”
“Tch, I wish I could say you’re wrong, but you’re not. Look, I really didn’t do anything this time. The prince was trying to rape her, so I just helped her out a little.”
“I see, so the prince was… Wait, what?” “Wait, Hajime-kun!? What’d you just say!?”
Everyone turned to Hajime in shock. Fortunately, Hajime had driven away all the nobles who’d tried to ask the girls for a dance with his Intimidation, so none of them had heard the bombshell he’d just dropped. Only Yue, Shea, Tio, Kaori, and Shizuku were nearby.
Kouki had been dragged off to dance with all the ladies in attendance, while Ryutarou was still busy eating. Suzu had been half-kidnapped by a dashing older man and was currently dancing without any real understanding of what was going on.

That meant only the five girls present knew about the prince’s attempted rape. However, Kaori and Shizuku’s loud insistence that Hajime explain the details meant that they were starting to draw attention.
“Ah, well, you see… Yue, wanna dance?” “Mmm… Gladly.”
“Ah, wait right there, Nagumo-kun! You can’t just leave because you don’t feel like explaining! We need answers!”
“Th-That’s right! This is important! What happened!?”
Realizing it would be too much of a pain to explain everything, Hajime fled to the center of the ballroom together with Yue. The pair of them stood out even more than Liliana did. Yue’s beauty outclassed everyone else in the room, while Hajime cut a memorable figure with his white hair, eyepatch, and tuxedo.
As former royalty, Yue was familiar with most of the popular dances, and Hajime was able to keep in step with her thanks to Riftwalk. Together, the two of them danced passably well.
“Are you having fun, Yue?” “Yeah…”
Seeing their ostentatious outfits and happy smiles, an uninformed onlooker would be forgiven for thinking it was their engagement party and not Liliana’s.
At first, the musicians had all been desperate to wipe away the awkward atmosphere with their music, but after seeing Hajime and Yue thoroughly enjoying themselves, they were able to play more naturally as well.

Starting with the two of them, the other guests began to enjoy themselves a little more.
Liliana watched them steal the show with a smile on her face. There was just the tiniest hint of jealousy in her expression, too.
After seeing the two of them dance, all thoughts of what had happened to Liliana, or the festivities that were soon to follow, flew out of the girls’ heads. The only thing that mattered now was fighting for the right to be the second to dance with Hajime.
After a few minutes the song came to an end, and Hajime finished the dance by lightly kissing Yue on the lips. The surrounding guests all burst into applause. For once, there was no jealousy in the men’s gazes, just admiration. On the other hand, the noble ladies were sighing dreamily.
Hajime and Yue bowed to the crowd, then clasped hands and walked back to their comrades. Tio, who’d apparently won whatever contest they were having, stepped forward to go next. Eyes brimming with expectation, she held out her hand. However, Tio was forever doomed to never be a main heroine.
“Hajime Nagumo-sama. Would you do me the honor of this dance?”
This time, she was intercepted by Liliana.
“Princess… Shouldn’t the star of this ball be with her betrothed?”
“Oh my, that’s a rather cruel thing to say after stealing the spotlight, wouldn’t you say?”
“You’re the one who looks like she doesn’t want to be here, I just helped you blend with the background. Besides, is it alright to leave that prince alone?”
“Everyone’s finished the required social niceties, so now I can finally enjoy the ball. From the very start, it’s a princess’ duty to dance with

different people. Look, even Baius-sama is dancing with one of his concubines.”
“Wow… I see you stopped bothering trying to act polite.” “Heh.. Now then… will you dance with me, or not?”
It was clear from how pushy Liliana was being that she didn’t just want to dance with Hajime. There was something she wished to discuss with him in private. Hajime could more or less guess what it was, and he really didn’t want to talk about it.
But as he opened his mouth to turn her down, Yue shot him a withering glare.
“Don’t embarrass her in public.” Yue was being surprisingly considerate of Liliana. It seemed she’d taken a liking to the princess. Emboldened by having Yue on their side for once, Kaori and Shizuku also pressured Hajime to accept.
Seeing as he was outnumbered, Hajime smiled wanly and agreed. “Alright, alright. It would be an honor to dance with you, Princess.” “Thank you…”
As there were people watching, Hajime decided to treat Liliana with more respect than he normally would. He reverently took her hand and led her to the center of the dance floor.
Everyone’s gazes locked on them again, making Liliana blush in embarrassment. No one noticed that Tio was still standing there, her arm limply outstretched.
“T-To think I would be interrupted seconds before my big moment! I must say, Master, you know how to make a lady excited! Haaah, haaah… Mmm…” No one paid any attention to her perverted outbursts, either.

The next song began, and Hajime and Liliana started to dance. The two swayed elegantly back and forth for a while until Liliana leaned in closer and rested her head on Hajime’s shoulder. She kept dancing as she whispered into his ear.
“Thank you for saving me earlier…”
“Figured that’s what you wanted to talk about… I’m surprised you noticed, actually.”
“I can’t imagine anyone other than you crafting such an abnormal creature, Nagumo-san. Also, the crimson glow of your mana is something I’d never forget…”
“I see. Well, considering how that guy is, this probably won’t be any more than a temporary solution.”
“You certainly don’t mince words. But even if it doesn’t solve my problems, I’m happy you came to my aid. After hearing from Kaori how you rescued her, I started to hope that maybe you’d save me as well.”
She took her head off Hajime’s shoulder and beamed at him. Her smile suddenly made her appear far more charming than she had when she’d been standing by Baius’ side. When they saw it, the onlookers started chattering excitedly to each other.

“So is that dress your way of blowing off steam?” “Are you saying I don’t look good in it?”
“You do, but… I think that pink dress suited you better. You picked the opposite color to make a statement, didn’t you?
“I did. If my fiancé is a rapist, then I have no obligation to look good for him. Also… if you know about the pink dress, then you really did see everything through that spider’s eyes, didn’t you? Including my immodest appearance. Hic… I can’t get married now.”
Liliana made a big show of breaking down and crying into Hajime’s shoulder. He took one look at her and muttered “Give me a break…” with a weary sigh.
“Even if you’re not being that loud, don’t say stuff that’ll cause misunderstandings. Also, stop sticking so close to me. You’re pissing the prince off.”
“Who cares. After this ball, I’ll have to act the part of the imperial princess for the rest of my life. Let me be a regular girl, just for tonight. Or are you telling me you won’t even listen to this poor princess’ wish? Even though she’s doomed to a future of being raped by her husband and bullied by his mistresses.”
“So it’s a given that he’s going to rape you now…”
“It is.” Liliana buried her face into Hajime’s chest in order to hide her expression. Then, in a timid voice, she whispered.
“If… If I asked you to save me, would you?” Liliana hadn’t actually meant to say that. After all, she knew that the kingdom needed this marriage if it was to survive.
Both Heiligh and Hoelscher had suffered great losses in the previous demon attacks, and the entire northern continent had been thrown into a state of chaos because the Holy Church had been wiped out. In

order to restore stability, the people needed a symbol of unity. And as the kingdom’s princess, it fell upon Liliana to provide them that comfort. Even if that meant she had to enter a marriage where her dignity would be stripped from her and her rights would be trampled on.
The reason she’d asked Hajime despite all that was because before, when she’d been trembling in fear and had given up all hope, he really had rescued her. Plus, Yue had looked so happy when she’d been dancing with Hajime earlier. More than anything, though, she was certain he would say no. She’d finally be able to resign herself to her fate once he refused her. In a sense, this was her last selfish act.
However, Hajime’s response ran contrary to all her expectations.
“Well, whether I do anything or not, you’ll be saved either way. Depending on how things go, the empire might fall tonight… At the very least, the prince won’t be leaving this party unscathed.”
“…Huh?”
—HQ, this is Victor. All S points are under our control. —HQ, this is X-ray. All Y points are under our control.
Hajime looked down at Liliana and grinned. Suddenly, she had a very bad feeling about where this ball was headed. Her expression stiffened, though unlike before it was in genuine trepidation and not annoyance.
Come to think of it, he never did tell me why he returned to the capital. Kouki-san and the others are acting strange, too.
Hajime leaned down and whispered into Liliana’s ear.
“Also, if you want something from me, you’ve gotta say it clearly. I’m not good at picking up on hints, so I might end up doing exactly what you ask for.”

“Ah—” Liliana shivered. Not just because Hajime’s breath tickled, but also because she understood what he was implying. Namely, that he really would save her.
Liliana’s heart started to beat faster. The rational part of her mind told her she couldn’t let herself be saved by Hajime. That her marriage needed to succeed. That she should just throw away that childish, naive part of her.
“Why?” Tears pooled in her eyes. Hajime couldn’t tell if it was because she was happy at being saved, or if she was terrified at potentially jeopardizing her alliance with the empire. Either way, his response was the same.
“Because there are people out there who don’t want to see you sad.” Hajime flicked his head back toward Kaori.
In other words, he wasn’t doing this for Liliana’s sake, but because he didn’t want the people close to him to agonize over her misfortune. Liliana realized that as well and shot an angry glare at him.
“Even if it was a lie, couldn’t you have said it was because you cared about me? I would have completely fallen for you if you did.”
“Why would I want you to fall for me? Anyway, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore. So long as you’re one of Kaori’s precious friends, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“You never waver, do you, Nagumo-san? Honestly, I’m a little jealous of Yue-san…”
Liliana looked reproachfully up at Hajime. However, he didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her displeasure.
Soon enough, the song reached its climax. Seeing as Hajime wouldn’t budge at all, Liliana sighed and gave up on seducing him. She

entrusted herself to the music and enjoyed what little remained of the dance.
As the last bars of the song faded away, Liliana reluctantly stepped back. Still holding Hajime’s hands, she beamed at him and whispered “Thank you,” in a quiet voice. At that moment, even Hajime had to admit her smile looked more lovely than any flower. It was the pure smile of a fourteen-year-old girl. All of the onlookers were enthralled by its dazzling radiance. A few passionate sighs escaped from the audience’s lips, too.
After a few seconds of silence, the crowd started clapping even louder than they had for Hajime and Yue’s dance.
Liliana still needed to dance with a few other noblemen, so she left him to finish off her social obligations. Meanwhile, Hajime returned to his comrades to find them all glaring at him.
“Hajime-kun, why do you have to make every girl you meet fall for you?”
“Hajime-san, when did you manage to… I really can’t take my eyes off you for even a moment.”
“Say, Master. Being abandoned by you excited me so much that I had a little… accident. Would it be alright if I left to change my underwear?”
“The reason Lily’s suddenly head over heels for him must have something to do with the rape thing Nagumo-kun was talking about before. She did say he saved her earlier, so he probably won her over completely during that dance. Hey Nagumo-kun, what exactly did you whisper in her ear? You know she’s supposed to get married to someone else, right?”
“Hawawa, I didn’t know you were into NTR, Nagumo-kun! This is too much for me! I can’t handle such crazy fetishes!”

Why’re you making it sound like I already laid my hands on her?
Hajime sighed to himself. All he’d done was save her from the prince and dance with her. He hadn’t even intended to do the former, he just happened to be watching when it had happened. Aside from that, he’d just promised to give her the bare minimum of help so that Kaori and the others wouldn’t have to see their friend suffer.
He had zero intention of wooing her. And on the extremely slight, miniscule chance that Liliana had really fallen for him, he could just ignore her advances.
Just in case, he turned to Yue to say as much.
“It’s okay. I know,” she said before he could open his mouth. Then, she took Hajime’s hand and squeezed it tight.
I knew you’d understand, Hajime thought warmly, his love for Yue growing exponentially. Though it seemed like Yue was squeezing his hand a little tighter than usual for whatever reason.
—HQ, this is Zulu. Point Z is under our control.
—All units, this is HQ. Everything’s in place. I will now begin the countdown.
A shiver of excitement ran down the students’ spines. Even Yue and the others tensed up a little.
Upon hearing the transmission Shea closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them once more. The ferocity of her gaze made Kouki and the others gasp.
“Hajime-san, Yue-san.” Shea swept her gaze over each of her comrades.
Hajime nodded to her and grinned fearlessly.

“From this point on, you’re just the daughter of the Haulia’s chief. Rampage to your heart’s content.”
She returned his grin and responded in turn.
“You got it!” A second later, she erased her presence and left the ballroom. None of the guests saw her leave. And right as she left, the emperor’s herald called for everyone’s attention.
It appeared Gahard had a speech to make. He walked up to the raised stage and spoke in a booming voice.
“Allow me to thank you all again for attending this ball. Thanks to a few unexpected surprises, it turned into a far more interesting party than I imagined.” Gahard looked pointedly at Hajime. Hajime pretended not to notice his gaze, which seemed to please Gahard, who smiled.
A second later, Hajime heard a determined voice through his earring artifact.
—All units, this is Alpha 1. Tonight, we will put an end to the centuries of persecution we have suffered at human hands. Our names will be forever carved into history. We will be remembered as the empire’s bane for generations to come. We stand at the crossroads of fate, men. Whether our legacy ends here or continues on unfettered all hinges on this one battle. Show our enemies no mercy. Teach them what it means to make an enemy out of the strongest race!
“But of course, the party’s just started. Everyone eat, drink, and dance to your heart’s content! I want my son’s and daughter-in-law’s engagement ball to be a night to remember! A toast to their eternal happiness!”
The human emperor and rabbitman chief were giving their speeches simultaneously.

—10, 9, 8…
The countdown of fate was something only Hajime and the rabbitmen could hear.
—Boss… Thank you so much for preparing this battleground.
No one from the empire had the slightest idea of what was happening. After making sure everyone had raised their glasses, Gahard raised his own. He sucked in a deep breath and surveyed his subjects. At the same time, the Haulia got themselves psyched up for the coming battle.
—Get ready for a bloodbath, men! —Yes, siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir!
—4, 3, 2, 1…
The countdown was nearly over.
“This marriage marks the beginning of a joint effort against the demon invasion! Together, we have nothing to fear! Glory to the human race!”
“Glory to the human race!”
—0. May the fortunes of war be with you.
Before the guests could finish their toast, the ballroom was plunged into darkness.
“What the!? What’s going on!?”
“Aaaaaah! Wh-What’s happening!?”
Robbed of their sight, the empire’s nobles started panicking. “Don’t panic! I’ll light the place up with my ma— Gah!?” “What’s— Gyaaah!?”

“What in blue bla— Guh!?”
A few of the noblemen remained calm and tried to relight the room to get the situation under control. However, before they could they all collapsed onto the ground. Their screams of pain only served to further aggravate the remaining nobles’ panic.
Confusion and chaos prevented any of them from getting a solid grasp on the situation. Many of the noble ladies especially were running about frantically, which led to them getting picked off even easier.
“Calm yourselves! You bastards are supposed to be imperial men!” Gahard’s voice cut through the darkness. It served as a stabilizing force for the crowd, allowing the nobles to stop cowering in fear and regain their composure. Gahard attempted to bark out further orders, but before he could, there was a series of sharp whooshes. He realized something was coming toward him, and hurriedly raised his sword to block.
“Tch! Sneaky little bastards!”
Arrows rained down on him from all directions. They were surprisingly short, but possessed considerable force despite that. Each of them was fired with pinpoint accuracy, and the barrages came in waves, so even a skilled warrior like Gahard was forced to stay on the defensive. And because of that, he wasn’t able to shout out orders to the other nobles.
However, the fact that he was able to tell where the arrows were heading from of sound alone and then block them with a ceremonial sword proved that he was a monster in his own right.
Metallic clangs echoed one after another as Gahard blocked every arrow shot his way. Plenty more nobles fell before some of them were able to reorganize themselves and cast fireballs to grant them light. Once they had their vision back, the nobles started shouting for the

royal guard. One of them spotted something out of the corner of their vision and looked up just in time to see a shadow flit past them.
“Ah!? Who— Bwuh!?” The young nobleman turned toward the shadow and thrust his hand forward. As he started casting the fireball spell, another shadow rose up behind him. He was so focused on his spellcasting that he didn’t even notice as a jet-black short sword sliced through the back of his unguarded neck.
He didn’t even have time to scream before his head flew off his shoulders. It fell to the ground with a wet thud, the man’s unseeing eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. He had died so fast that he still had a slightly bemused expression on his face, as if he didn’t realize he was dead.
Like moths to a flame, the remaining nobles flocked toward the fire. However, as they caught glimpses of dark shadows beheading people one after another, they skidded to a halt and started backpedaling as fast as they could. Before long, the mages who had cast the fireballs were all dead. Without their casters to sustain them, the fireballs winked out of existence, making the ballroom black once more.
“Hiii! M-Monsters! Monsters are attacking us!” “I-I don’t wanna die! Someone save me!”
Most of the people cowering in fear were civil officers and noble ladies, but there were also a good number of military men among their ranks. Though, they were all higher-ranking officers who hadn’t been on the front lines in ages. They’d grown weak after living in the lap of luxury for so long, and were unable to think rationally when faced with the threat of death. Unable to mount any resistance, these washed-up officers had their tendons and ligaments sliced through by the mysterious black-clad figures. They all slumped to the ground, writhing in pain.

Still, while there were many spineless cowards among the guests’ ranks, Hoelscher was still an empire founded on strength. There was no way the tougher nobles among them would remain disoriented for long. True, the only person who had a real weapon was Gahard, but a good portion of the nobles had brought their self-defense daggers with them to the ball. Thanks to that, they were able to fend off the Haulia’s attacks and organize into a proper battle formation.
“Damn, these guys are good! I can’t track their presence at all!”
“Less talking, more fighting! Logue, Ted! Make us some light! Everyone else, focus on protecting them!”
The men instantly formed a protective ring around the two casters. These nobles were far more coordinated than the rest. The surviving members of the imperial guard were also getting in on the action. They linked up with each other and covered Gahard’s rear.
Now that Gahard only had to worry about what was in front of him, the arrows weren’t as much of a threat. He lazily swatted down another dozen or so of them and started chanting a spell.
Within seconds, he finished his incantation and a dozen or so fireballs popped into existence. He scattered them across the ballroom, illuminating every inch of the room.
“Screw letting them toy around with us! It’s time to fight back!” As Gahard was rousing his men, he noticed a small metal cylinder rolling toward him.
“What the? Is this…” Confused, the man who served as Gahard’s aide went to take a closer look at the strange object. Just then, Gahard noticed that there were similar metal cylinders rolling toward other groups of nobles who were still fighting. He had a terrible premonition and shouted words of warning.
“Stop! Get away from those!”

“Ah!?” Gahard’s aide leaped back on reflex, but it was too late. Though, leaping backward wouldn’t have done anything to negate the cylinders’ effects anyway. A second later, there was a blinding flash of light, followed by a shrill noise that pierced everyone’s eardrums.
“Gaaah!?” “What the—!?”
Gahard and the others instinctively closed their eyes and covered their ears. However, the damage had already been done. The Haulia’s flashbangs had blinded and deafened all of the empire’s fighters.
And naturally, the Haulia weren’t going to let the opportunity slip past them. They completely masked their presence and charged into their enemies’ blind spots. Bereft of two of their most important senses, Gahard’s imperial guards were helpless against the Haulia’s onslaught. The rabbitmen’s black blades glinted in the dim light as they ripped through the guards’ tendons and limbs. Screaming in pain, they thudded to the ground one by one.
But the Haulia weren’t done yet. They also cut out the tongues of everyone they downed, in order to stop them from casting spells.
Across the battlefield, nobles and soldiers alike were crippled and detongued as they struggled to recover from the effects of the flashbangs. Any who tried to cast magic were beheaded instead.
Amidst the slaughter, there was a single clash of metal against metal. Somehow, unbelievably, Gahard had managed to repel the assassins who had come for him, even though both his sight and hearing were impaired.
The two Haulia who had engaged him stared at him in awe. And Gahard, picking up on their momentary lapse of concentration, went on the offensive. He stomped the ground in front of him so hard that shockwaves rippled out.

“Ah!” “Ngh!”
The two Haulia lost their balance and stumbled backward. Even though Gahard couldn’t see or hear anything, he was still able to slash at the two of them with impeccable accuracy. His sword lashed out so fast that it appeared to be bending like a whip. The two Haulia crossed their dual shortswords in front of them in an attempt to block the high speed slashes. However, while Hajime’s expertly crafted blades were strong enough to withstand the emperor’s attacks, their wielders weren’t. The two Haulia were blown away by the force of his slashes.
The moment the two of them were sent flying, another hail of arrows assailed Gahard. Another unit of Haulia had been waiting in the wings with loaded crossbows. Unfortunately for them, Gahard was ready and waiting.
“Blow it all away, Wind Wall!” Despite the short incantation, Gahard was able to summon a wind wall strong enough to deflect all the arrows.
“Pierce through, Fireball!” With another condensed incantation, Gahard summoned a dozen fireballs and sent them hurtling in the direction the arrows had come from.
Luckily, the Haulia had relocated the moment they’d finished firing. Had they been any slower though, they would have been burnt to a crisp.
Both the speed of Gahard’s activation and the force of his spells were ridiculous. Moreover, even though the Haulia were hiding their presence, Gahard could somehow sense where they were. Plus, his swordsmanship was so precise and powerful that it took everything the Haulia had to defend against a single slash.

In fact, they were so shaken that for a moment their fear leaked through, and they stopped masking their presence. Gahard’s eyelids cracked open, and though he still couldn’t see properly, there was a feral gleam in his eyes.
“Found you!” He whirled around. Though there was no way he should have been able to see the rabbitmen hiding in the darkness, Gahard’s eyes were staring right at them. Their terror had betrayed their location.
“Burn through everything— Fireball!” Gahard shot off another barrage of fireballs. He then turned in the other direction and flung some toward another group of Haulia hiding within the shadows. At the same time, he snapped his fingers. All of the fireballs he’d sent to the ceiling for illumination contracted briefly, then exploded in a storm of heat and sound.
Par and the other snipers, who’d been providing covering fire, were sent hurtling toward the ground. The other fireballs he’d shot off narrowly missed their targets, but the resulting explosions still sent the Haulia flying. And, while the shockwaves didn’t do much damage, they left the Haulia unbalanced, and forced them to find a new vantage point to snipe from.
“Dancing breeze, carry my will— Breeze Breath!” With the time he’d bought, Gahard cast yet another spell.
Breeze Breath was a support-oriented wind spell. It allowed the caster to amplify sounds using the power of wind, or to carry specific noises over long distances. By amplifying the sounds the Haulia were making, Gahard was able to cover for his impaired hearing. In a sense, he’d taken the Sense Presence skill and cast a magical version of it. Still, amplifying sounds made them more muddled, and it took a lot of concentration to pinpoint locations using them alone. Normally,

it wasn’t suited for close quarters combat. That was why it was usually reserved for spies and scouts who wished to relay information.
“Taaaaaaaaaaaah!” “Whoa!”
“Ngh!”
Gahard swung his blade so fast that afterimages followed in its wake. The Haulia groaned in pain, just barely avoiding fatal blows by manipulating their presence at the last second. However, they knew they wouldn’t hold out for long.
Since Gahard was using Breeze Breath, the Haulia’s stealth abilities weren’t nearly as effective. The subtle sounds they made as they moved were clearly being transmitted to him.
Though Breeze Breath wasn’t nearly as helpful in locating people as Sense Presence was, Gahard made up for it with audacity and grit. He plowed forward doggedly, and continued slashing with increasing accuracy.
This was the man who stood at the top of Hoelscher. The strongest warrior among a nation of warriors. The emperor who had devoted his heart and soul to the pursuit of strength. Upon witnessing his overwhelming strength, the Haulia responded rather audaciously.
“Bring it.”
“We’ll cut you to ribbons.”
Not a single one was cowering. Instead, they were all sporting fearless grins. Their eyes, barely visible through the slits in their masks, glimmered with a dangerous light. Each and every one of the Haulia was still raring to go.

If they couldn’t rely on stealth, then they’d use their coordination to take Gahard down. The Haulia all leaped into action at once, as if they were a single organism. By constantly staying in motion, and perfectly synchronizing their attacks, they were able to pressure even Gahard.
“Kukuku, now that’s the kind of fighting spirit I like to see! Isn’t that right, Haulia!” Gahard laughed boisterously as he fended off the Haulia’s consecutive attacks with his unique sword techniques. It appeared he already knew his mysterious assailants were the Haulia.
However, the Haulia didn’t react at all to Gahard’s declaration. The only thing on their mind was taking down the enemy in front of them.
“Come on, what’s wrong? So scared you can’t even talk!?” His hearing, aided by the spell, was slowly beginning to return.
At his provocation, the Haulia with the most bloodlust in his eyes, Cam, brandished his twin shortswords and spoke calmly.
“A battlefield has no need for words. If you have something to say, then speak it with your sword.”
“Hah, now you’re talking.”
Sparks danced in the darkness as the two of them unleashed a flurry of blows.
On his own, Cam was clearly no match for Gahard, but he had the highly coordinated Haulia behind him. Both sides continued vying for supremacy, but neither was able to land a decisive blow.
Seconds passed, then minutes. The nobles laying on the ground fervently prayed for their leader to come out ahead while simultaneously cursing the guards for not coming. Though they’d had their tendons severed and their tongues cut out, they were still conscious.

And, as they watched the battle progress, seeds of fear began sprouting within their hearts. The Haulia’s power was beyond anything they had expected from rabbitmen. Not only that, but the Haulia almost seemed to be winning. “Ah! What the—!? My body just—” Gahard staggered, and his movements dulled.
In response, the Haulia rushed forward instantly, as if they’d been waiting for that exact moment. He somehow managed to repel them all still, but the Haulia had been expecting that as well. After he repelled the close-combat fighters, a barrage of arrows rained down on him.
“Guh!”
One of them pierced Gahard in the calf, and he went down to one knee. The moment he saw an opening, Cam rushed in and swung down with his shortswords. While Gahard managed to block the first, the second sliced through the ligaments in his arm, forcing him to drop his sword. He quickly pulled something out of his pocket with his one good hand, but two Haulia leaped past him and sliced through the Artifact he was attempting to activate. At the same time, another barrage of arrows sliced through his arms and legs.
“Ngh!”
Though he didn’t scream, the intense pain made his body go limp. He slumped forward, then with a resounding thud, fell unconscious onto the ground.
Silence filled the hall. Everyone was at an utter loss for words. Of course most of them had had their tongues ripped out, but even if they hadn’t they wouldn’t have been able to say anything.
After all, even if they couldn’t see clearly in the darkness, everyone knew. The truth hammered itself into their minds, leaving them paralyzed. The Hoelscher Empire’s emperor… had lost. That was the

moment that the empire, the strongest nation in the Northern Continent, was defeated by the weakest race of all.
Let us rewind time to a short while ago.
“Hurry! Something serious is going down at the party! We need to reach His Majesty’s side as soon as possible!” A panicked voice echoed down one of the castle’s corridors. The owner of the voice was the captain of the imperial guard’s third squad, Grid Half. He pounded down the corridor, twenty of his men following close behind him.
When the lights had gone out in the ballroom, Grid and his men had been guarding the royal treasury. Hoelscher’s treasury happened to be located deep underground. Thanks to that, Grid and his men had been spared the horror of being assassinated like the men up above. They had been doing their rounds when Grid’s magical alarm had begun to ring. He’d hurriedly gathered his men and led them back to the ground floor.
The magical alarm Grid had corresponded to one of the many magic tools Gahard kept on his person. All it did when activated was change the color of every magical alarm linked to it, so it couldn’t be used to convey complex messages. However, the fact that the emperor himself had activated it meant that something serious was going on. Especially since the color he’d chosen was the order for an emergency assembly. Furthermore, the eerie silence that seemed to have engulfed the castle told Grid that the emperor was in grave danger.
“Captain, what’s going on!? Where are all the other units!? How come no one else has responded!?”
Indeed, no matter where they looked, there didn’t seem to be anyone else. Even though the entire castle guard should have been responding to the emergency assembly call.

Feeling uneasy, Grid replied.
“I don’t know, but we need to hurry! These orders came straight from the emperor!”
His squad crossed the silent castle courtyard. As they marched further into the castle, they started meeting up with a few soldiers who’d been lucky enough to be taking a leak, or eating, or on break when the castle guard had been wiped out. Each one sighed in relief when they saw Grid’s squad.
All told, Grid’s squad had around 30 men after picking up all the stragglers. They stuck to using the servants’ corridors as they made their way to the tower where the ball was being held. The moment they reached the entrance, they were intercepted.
“Good evening, soldiers. It’s a wonderful night, wouldn’t you say?” A gentle voice cut through the strained atmosphere, and the soldiers came to a halt.
“You’re…” Grid looked up in shock, as did the other soldiers.
The service entrance, which was normally filled with servants running in and out, was surprisingly silent. There was just a single girl, dressed in a sky blue dress, standing underneath the room’s grand chandelier. A pair of fluffy bunny ears poked out above her head. And, because of how short her skirt was, most of her slender legs were also visible. Her pale blue hair fanned out behind her and she grinned at the stunned soldiers.
Rabbitmen were prized for their looks, which was why they were coveted as sex slaves, but this one was even prettier than most. When Shea realized Grid was one of the soldiers in the group, she started trembling in anticipation. She was going to enjoy making him suffer.
“Tch… I don’t have time to play with you. Come on men, let’s go.” Though Grid still held a grudge, he was a soldier first and foremost.

One didn’t rise to become a commander of a thousand men without knowing what took priority on the battlefield. He ignored Shea and tried to dash past her.
But before he could, he was stopped.
“Fufufufufu… Ahahahahahahahaha!” Unable to keep it bottled in any longer, Shea burst out laughing.
“What’s so fu—”
“I can’t believe I got so lucky! To think you of all people would be one of the stragglers!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
Normally, any man would have loved to hear those words from Shea. However, Grid didn’t seem the least bit pleased. In fact, he almost seemed afraid.
“Right now, my family’s in the middle of a very important battle. I won’t let anyone interfere. If you insist on going, you’ll have to get through me.”
“Captain, there’s no time to waste. Just ignore her, we have far more pressing matters to deal with!” One of the soldiers shouted impatiently. He clearly thought Shea was bluffing. He stepped forward, itching to reach Gahard as fast as possible. Truly, his loyalty truly was commendable. Unfortunately for him, Shea wasn’t going to let him pass.
“Like I said, if you want to get in, you’ll have to go through me.” With that, Shea vanished.
A second later, there was a thunderous boom. Grid and the others slowly turned toward the source of the sound.

The soldier who’d stepped forward had been sent flying. The boom had been the sound of him crashing into the wall. Turning back, Grid and the others saw Shea standing a few meters away from her original position, her fist outstretched. It didn’t seem as though she’d put any force behind the blow. On top of that she was a rabbitman, and a weak-looking one at that. And yet, just by casually throwing her fist out she’d sent a fully armored soldier flying faster than the eye could follow.
The remaining soldiers gulped. Grid was so shocked he didn’t even notice that he gulped with them. This is impossible.
Still smiling, Shea spoke up once more.
“Why do you think I’m standing here all on my own? Outside the only entrance to the ballroom?”
It was a rhetorical question, of course. One look at the soldier sprawled on the ground behind them made it obvious she was here to crush anyone who tried to get in.
The Haulia had known that no matter how thorough they were, they wouldn’t be able to kill all of the palace’s guards. But even a single platoon of guards could tip the scales in the empire’s favor, so they had decided their strongest member would need to guard the entrance.
Naturally, that would have been Shea, the chief’s daughter.
The ring on Shea’s finger began to glow. Grid and the others watched as a massive warhammer suddenly materialized above Shea’s head. It fell into her outstretched hand with a satisfying clunk. With a single flick of her wrist, she twirled it around in her hands. That simple action sent a powerful gust blowing toward the soldiers, who were forced a few steps back.
“Since it’s you I’m up against, I’ll let you know my name. I’m Shea. Shea Haulia. The monster you failed to capture all those months ago,”

Shea said with pride, then shouldered her vicious warhammer. She held out her free hand and beckoned provocatively to the soldiers.

The meaning was clear. She was offering to take them all on at once. A vein bulged in Grid’s forehead.
“Monster, huh? Big words for a rascally rabbit.”
Sure, she’s a little different from the usual rabbitman, but she’s still just one of them. Beastmen couldn’t even use magic, and she was from the weakest beastman race of all. It wounded Grid’s pride that he’d let one of them intimidate him.
“Listen up, you bastards! The emperor’s calling for us! Let’s slaughter this worthless bunny girl and rush to his aid! She may be strong, but she’s still just a shitty beastman. Bring her down with magic!”
Grid’s men began chanting at once. A few of them broke off from the group and charged Shea to keep her occupied.
Shea curled her fingers into a fist and pointed her thumb down at the floor as they attacked her.
“I’ll grind you all into rabbit food!” she said, then leaped forward, destroying the floor with the force of her jump. Grid’s vanguard was blown away by the resulting shockwave. Before the rearguard had even gotten one word out of their mouths, Shea was standing before them.
“Ah!?”
Two members of the rearguard looked up in awe. A second later, the upper half of their bodies went flying. Shea had swung Drucken so fast that it had actually cut them in half.
The shockwaves that followed in the wake of her swing crushed the internal organs of another three soldiers. By the time the dead men’s blood started falling back to the ground, Shea had already moved on

to her next targets. The members of the vanguard she’d blown away before.
“Shi—”
“What the hell just—”
Before they could finish, Drucken slammed into them, turning their heads into pinballs. Drenched in the blood of his men, Grid hastily barked out orders.
“Spread out! Don’t clump together!”
It was because they were sticking so close together that Shea could kill multiple enemies with each swing. Grid realized that and instantly changed tactics. The soldiers spread out and surrounded Shea from all sides.
“Raaah!” Though Shea’s battle cries sounded cute, there was nothing cute about the way Drucken flattened soldiers like pancakes. She threw her hammer at another guard, crushing him against the wall. Grid and the others felt a glimmer of hope when they saw her throw her weapon, but they were soon disappointed. Shea swung her arm, and Drucken flew back toward her.
Upon closer inspection, Grid realized that she was still holding the hammer’s handle, which was connected to its head by a fine chain. By detaching the head from the handle, Shea could now transform Drucken into a flail.
“Now’s our chance!” “Dieeeeee!”
Two of the imperial soldiers rushed forward, hoping to bring Shea down before Drucken’s head returned to her, but Shea simply pulled one of the triggers on Drucken’s handle. A second later, a series of loud bangs came from Drucken’s head. Multiple shotgun rounds shot

out of the flat side of the hammer and turned the two charging soldiers into pincushions.
Following that, Shea lightly leaped over their lifeless bodies, and caught Drucken’s head in midair. She transformed Drucken into bombardment mode and fired another salvo of shotgun shells. Five more soldiers were turned into puddles of blood and flesh.
“Take this, you monster!”
Finally, some of the soldiers finished casting their spells. Ten Crimson Javelins sped toward Shea. Thanks to the empire’s strict training, they all fired in tandem. Shea saw the flaming spears hurtling toward her and screamed in utter joy.
“Piece of cake!”
Spinning in a circle, Shea built up plenty of centrifugal force and created a mini-tornado around her. The localized storm struck down all of the javelins heading her way.
“No way!”
“That’s impossible!”
The one advantage humans had over beastmen was magic. And that advantage had been nullified with unbelievable ease. The two soldiers that cried out in surprise were turned into corpses seconds later. Two fist-sized balls of steel smashed into their faces, shattering their skulls. Shea had pulled them out of her Treasure Trove and batted them at the two soldiers with Drucken. Another two soldiers had their bones crushed as Shea leaped into range and slammed them into the ground.
Not even a minute had passed since the start of the battle. And yet, half the empire’s soldiers lay dead on the ground.

“Like hell I’ll let you get away with this!” Grid roused himself with a yell and slashed at Shea. As expected, the commander was on a different level than his men. Thanks to his body strengthening, he moved faster than the eye could follow. The fact that one of his men followed up with an attack of his own also proved that he’d trained his squad well.
However, that alone wasn’t nearly enough to scratch this overpowered rabbit.
“Wha—”
She had blocked Grid’s slash by trapping it between the spike of her heel and its sole. With the sword still trapped in her shoe, Shea twirled around. Grid was dragged around with her, and his stance crumbled. A second later, he felt something slam into the pit of his stomach. Shea had punched him.
“Gah.” Grid doubled up and staggered a few steps backward. Shea then followed up with Hajime’s signature front kick, which made him cough up blood as he was sent flying back into the wall. However, Shea had held back enough that he didn’t die. Barely conscious, Grid could only watch as his men were picked off one after another.
In another thirty seconds, his entire squad had been exterminated. Shea turned and walked over to Grid, heels clacking against the floor. Despite the bloodbath she’d caused, there wasn’t a single drop of blood on her.
“W-W-Wait… please…”
Blood dribbled from his mouth as Grid begged for his life. The creature standing before him was so far beyond his comprehension that he could only tremble in fear.
What the hell did I let slip between my fingers back then. He’d first encountered the Haulia loitering around outside the sea of trees. At

the time, he thought he’d lucked into a great haul. In order to paralyze them with fear, he’d started killing off the clan’s men and elderly. He had expected the rabbitmen, weak as they were, to surrender quickly. And so, he’d herded them into the Reisen Gorge, and then planned on sending his soldiers in after them once they’d exhausted themselves.
Personally, he’d just wanted the beauty with light-blue hair. He had so been looking forward to capturing her and raping her in front of all his men. Did I really think I could handle someone like her?
Shea grabbed him by the breastplate and lifted him up. Though his armor wasn’t the hardest steel, it was still sturdy iron. Despite that, Shea’s grip easily crushed the metal, molding it into an easy to grip shape.
“I-I’m begging you. Please don’t kill me! O-Oh yeah! In return, I’ll tell you where I took all those rabbitmen I captured. If you kill me, you’ll never–”
“I have nothing more to say to the likes of you.” Shea cut him off and raised him over her head. Her resentment and anger hadn’t abated in the slightest, which was probably why she’d unconsciously held back earlier. She wouldn’t let the man who’d caused her so much grief and suffering have an easy death.
That being said, she refused to let her desire for revenge consume her. As a Haulia, as one of Hajime’s comrades, she couldn’t let herself stoop so low.
I’ll end it all with this last hit! Shea Haulia, the monster born in the sea of trees, needed to settle things in order to move forward with her friends. And so, she flung Grid into the air and brandished Drucken. Then, with a fearless grin, she let out some parting words.
“I’ll send you to the moon, you bastard!” “Sto—”

Thunk! Grid crashed through the entryway’s skylight and vanished into the night sky. Looking up, all Shea could see was the crescent moon grinning back at her.
He was heading toward the moon, so maybe I actually did send him all the way there. Shea swung Drucken one more time, making a breeze whip up in the entryway.
“Guys… I hope this was enough to avenge you.” Memories of her departed family members flashed through her mind. They had been willing to throw away even their homes for her sake. Shea closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer.
After a few minutes, her rabbit ears picked up on the sound of footsteps heading her way. It appeared Grid’s squad wasn’t the only one Cam and the others had missed.
Shea’s eyes snapped open and she grinned once more. The imperial guards flung the door open, but faltered when they saw the carnage waiting for them inside. Shea puffed her chest out proudly and declared her intent.
“Are you ready to die? Just so you know… this bunny girl’s way stronger than you think!”
The monster of Haltina continued racking up kills for quite some time, until Hajime finally sent her a message via telepathy.
“Tch, poisoned arrows, huh?” Gahard’s pained voice echoed across the silent party hall. The other members of the empire were still too stunned to do anything. Their emperor, the symbol of their nation’s might, had fallen. One of the Haulia strode up to Gahard and fed him medicine that restored his hearing and eyesight. He’d need his senses for the negotiations to come.

“Hmph, that dosage was enough to leave monsters completely paralyzed. I’m impressed you held out so long.”
“Curses, so that was your plan from the start…”
The Haulia confiscated all the artifacts Gahard had hidden inside his clothes, leaving him utterly defenseless.
Since his hearing and sight had returned, Gahard was able to see the elaborate trap the Haulia had laid for him, but before he could say anything more, a solitary beam of light poured down on him. The Haulia were using their flashlights as a makeshift spotlight in order to emphasize to the guests that their emperor had fallen. Upon seeing the defeated emperor, a panicked voice called out from the corner of the room,
“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What on earth is this!? Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh- What’s going on!? E-E-E-E-Explain yourself, Nagumo-san! J-J-J-J- Just what did you do!?”
“Calm down and watch, Princess. This is the climax.”
When the raid had started, Hajime and the others had evacuated to a corner of the room so as not to get in the way of the Haulia’s fight. Liliana had been with Baius, but Yue had teleported her to the others using spatial magic. While she’d still been confused about the sudden teleportation, the lights had gone out and all she could hear was the sound of fighting. Now, suddenly, the emperor was lying defeated on the ground. Liliana might have been good at keeping a poker face, but even she couldn’t hide her shock.
Kouki and the others were shaken too, but for a different reason. A few of the empire’s nobles had died in the attack, and their deaths had left Kouki, Shizuku, Suzu, and Ryutarou pale. They silently looked at the corpses with pained grimaces.

However, they knew this was the only chance for the beastmen to put an end to their centuries of slavery, and that the very fate of the Haulia rested on the outcome of this battle. Though they found the bloodshed hard to stomach, they held their tongues. Or rather, they had no choice but to hold their tongues. As there was a certain someone who would beat them senseless if they tried to speak out and interfere with Cam and the Haulia’s battle. Hajime hadn’t taken his eyes off Kouki since the fighting started.
“Now then, Gahard D. Hoelscher. Do you understand why we’ve let you live?”
“Hmph, I take it you’ve got demands? Well, spit them out already.”
“How unfortunate. It appears you still don’t understand the position you’re in, Gahard. That’s one mark.”
Cam’s voice reverberated throughout the hall, admonishing Gahard for his haughty attitude. Gahard was about to learn that the consequence for his defiance was the lives of his countrymen.
Another spotlight shined down a few meters away from him, right on top of one of the nobles who’d had their tendons cut and their tongue removed.
A hand reached out from the darkness, grabbed the noble by the hair, pulled him up, and mercilessly slit his throat.
“You bastards!” “Another mark.”
The only response to Gahard’s angry yell and the guests’ screams was Cam’s mechanical voice telling him he’d made a mistake once more.
Yet another spotlight shone down, displaying the beheading of a different noble.

“Vesta! Don’t get ahead of yourselves, you little–”
“Another mark.”
Vesta had been one of Gahard’s close associates. However, his anger at the loss of his friend worked against him in that particular case, as Cam once again beheaded another one of the empire’s nobles in response to Gahard’s outburst.
“……” This time, Gahard held his tongue. He glared at the darkness in front of him, his eyes brimming with pure hatred. However, Cam remained unconcerned.
“That’s right, now you understand what it means to be the defeated. I would choose your words carefully, Gahard. The lives of everyone in this room depend on you making the right decisions.”
A hand reached out from the darkness and placed a necklace over his head. There was a vivid crimson ruby dangling from its fine gold chain.
“That is the Necklace of Vows. It is an artifact that will force you to keep any pledge you speak. Break any of your promises, and this necklace will kill you. Once activated it will bind not only you, but those linked to you by blood as well. If you renege on your word, they die with you.”
Cam briefly explained to Gahard that he had his family in their custody as well. Gahard grit his teeth so hard that it looked like they might break.
The Necklace of Vows was an artifact created with spirit magic. It bound a person’s soul to the promises they made. More specifically, it carved the words a person said into their soul. If the person wearing the necklace ever did anything to annul those promises, or attempted to take the necklace off, their soul was destroyed. And, as it affected anyone who’s soul was linked to the wearer’s by blood, all of

Gahard’s family needed to keep wearing their necklaces forever too, or they died.
In other words, the artifact forced Gahard and his family to uphold their pledges until the day they died. Incidentally, it only worked through direct blood ties, so relatives by marriage weren’t affected.
“Pledge… you say?”
“There are four simple things I want you to agree to. First, to release all beastmen slaves. Second, to never invade Haltina again. Third, to forever stop taking beastmen as slaves, and to treat them as equals. Fourth, to turn the above three into imperial laws. Do you understand? If you do, then say ‘I hereby swear as Hoelscher’s representative to uphold these principles.’ By doing so, you will activate the artifact.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then the imperial family shall cease to exist. And until the empire decides to negotiate, we will continue killing your officers and officials one by one. We will terrorize your empire until we as a race are destroyed. No man, woman, or child will be safe so long as we draw breath. If killing your soldiers isn’t enough, we’ll move on to assassinating their families as well.”
“Don’t underestimate the empire, rabbitmen. This nation won’t crumble just because I’m dead. If you kill me here, my soldiers will raise an army tens of thousands strong and raze your precious sea of trees to the ground. Surely you realize this too? If we devoted all our forces to it, crushing Verbergen is a very real possibility. The only reason we haven’t is because…”
“You wouldn’t be able to hunt for slaves if you killed us all, correct?”
“Looks like you get it. There’s still time to repent, though. Even if you did borrow that boy’s strength, I must admit that taking control of the imperial palace in such a short time is impressive. Not to mention

your outstanding combat skills… It would be a shame to have to kill you. Why not join my army instead? I promise to treat you well.”
“Out of the question. Considering how you’ve treated beastmen in the past, we would be fools to trust your word. It’s because we can’t that we prepared these necklaces.”
“Then all you’ll get from me is war. I’ll never agree to those terms.” Gahard smirked triumphantly, but Cam’s flat voice didn’t waver.
“I see. That’s another mark, Gahard.”
Yet another beam of light came down. This time—
“Let me go! Do you know who I am, you filthy beasts!? I’ll kill you, you fucking bastards! I’ll you all! You hear— Gah!” It was focused on Baius. The nobles in the room gasped as the future emperor’s head was neatly sliced off his shoulders.
“……”
“So that was your successor, the next in line for the throne. What a worthless, loudmouthed, pathetic man.”
“I believe I already told you. Even if you kill my family, I will never submit. Go ahead, do your worst. You’ll regret incurring the wrath of the empire.”
Despite seeing his son murdered before his eyes, Gahard’s expression didn’t change. There was no way to tell what he was really thinking, but at the very least he didn’t allow himself to look shaken.
“Unfazed even after seeing your son die? Well, I suppose you never loved your children to begin with.”
The people of the empire valued strength above all, so it was possible they didn’t put any stock in familial ties. In fact, it seemed that

Gahard had cared more about the death of his friend than he did about his son’s.
In response to Cam’s words, Gahard sniffed dismissively.
“If you understand, then quit wasting my time.”
“Now now, don’t be so impatient. Are you sure you have no desire to make the pledge? Do you insist on persecuting beastmen and chasing down the Haulia no matter the consequences?”
“Stop making me repeat myself.”
“I see… How unfortunate. Delta 1, this is Alpha 1. Do it.”
Gahard looked up in confusion. Those words made no sense to him, but the massive explosion he heard a few seconds later made everything clear.
“Tch… What’d you just do!?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just blew up the slave overseers’ barracks.” “Blew up? You mean…”
“Indeed, there were probably a few people inside… I imagine a few hundred or so of your precious soldiers are dead. All because of you, Gahard.”
“You’re the one who did this, you bastard!”
“No, Gahard, this is your fault. Your unwise decision caused the deaths of your men. And seeing as you still plan to resist— Delta 1, this is Alpha 1. Next target.”
Panicking, Gahard tried to stop Cam. “Hey, wait, Haulia!”

Another explosion roared in the distance. This time it was much further off. It probably wasn’t anywhere in the castle, but somewhere out in the capital.
Gahard forced himself to remain calm and question Cam. “What did you blow up this time?”
“A hospital.”
“You son of a bitch!”
“Fear not. It was just a military hospital. The only people we’ve killed are soldiers and military doctors. Though of course, we’ve planted explosives at civilian hospitals, inns, brothels, houses, and even the temporary shelters you set up in the wake of the demon attack. Is there any particular place you’d like us to start with?”
“You’d even harm civilians!? How low will you stoop, Haulia!?”
“You do the same to us beastmen. None of you have any qualms about kidnapping and enslaving innocent women and children. You have no right to talk… Delta, next target.”
“Wait!”
As far as Cam was concerned, everyone in the empire was equally guilty of oppressing and enslaving beastmen. He mercilessly ordered another target to be blown up.
Gahard grit his teeth, worried that Cam might actually have blown up a civilian location this time.
In truth, Cam had only destroyed the drawbridge leading to the castle. Once explosions started occurring in the capital, naturally people would rush to the palace to report it. Cam had wanted to make that impossible before he found the place flooded with troops.

Moreover, his words were half a bluff. He had set plenty more explosives, but none in civilian locations. Cam was willing to go to great lengths, but even he had some pride. He refused to stoop as low as the empire had.
Of course if it became necessary he would resort to slaughtering civilians too, but otherwise he was hoping to get what he wanted through lies and misdirection. That was the resolve the current Haulia had.
“If you won’t agree to our demands, then we have no choice. We’ll send the entire capital to hell along with you. I imagine going down with tens of thousands of your subjects will make a fitting end for your reign, Emperor.”
Looking at it objectively, they weren’t too different from terrorists. Anything for the sake of victory, even underhanded and dirty tactics. One had to wonder what kind of personality the man who’d trained them had… A number of people turned to glare at Hajime, but he ignored them.
Gahard fell silent, torn about what to do next. He wracked his brain for a solution to this predicament, but none came to mind. Cold sweat poured down his handsome face, the first visible sign of how cornered he felt.
But Cam wasn’t about to let up the pressure. The longer Gahard took to decide, the more places he would blow up.
“Delta 1, this is Alpha 1. Ne—”
“Wait!” Gahard hurriedly called out. He slammed his head against the ground a few times in frustration. Then, after letting it all out he looked up and spoke in a tone full of resignation.
“Gah, goddammit! Fine! I lose! I’ll agree to all your damn conditions, so stop blowing up my city!”

“A wise decision. Now, speak the pledge.”
Even after getting his demands met, Cam’s mechanical tone didn’t change. Gahard grimaced, then slumped in defeat. He turned toward the nobles in the hall and spoke.
“Sorry, guys. They really got us this time. But we’re the ones who said might makes right, and these rabbitmen proved it again by capturing the capital. Our subjects lives’ rest in the palms of their hands, so—”
The remaining nobles grit their teeth in frustration. Gahard burned their resentment into his soul and continued in a loud voice.
“I hereby swear, as Hoelscher’s representative, that I will free all beastmen slaves within the empire! Furthermore, I swear to never invade Haltina or interfere with its politics again! I also swear that the empire will stop persecuting beastmen and taking them as slaves! Any citizen who breaks these rules will be punished according to the laws of the empire! Finally, I swear to codify the above precepts into imperial law!”
As he completed the pledge, the ruby around his neck began to glow. Lastly, Gahard made one more declaration as emperor.
“If anyone’s got a problem with that, they can take it up with me! If you beat me in a fight, I’ll hand the empire over to you! Then you can do whatever the hell you want!”
In other words, he was effectively saying that if anyone wanted to go back to enslaving beastmen they needed to do it over his dead body. A fitting declaration for the man who respected strength above all.
“Very well, the contract has been made.”
Another spotlight shone down. This one showcased the emperor’s family. They were all wearing the same necklaces as well.

“Unless you wish for your family line to die out, do not renege on your oath.”
“I know, I know.”
“Next, you will make an official announcement tomorrow, and release all the slaves within the capital on the same day.”
“You want me to do it all in one day? Do you have any idea how many slaves we…”
“Next target.”
“Goddammit! Fine, I’ll do it! That’s enough, right!?”
“Make sure to guide the released slaves back to Haltina. Furthermore, Gahard. You will be accompanying us to Verbergen. You need to repeat your oaths in front of Verbergen’s elders.”
“By myself? Won’t the elders just kill me?”
“As I mentioned, we will be accompanying you. Rest assured, no harm will come to you. Besides, it is to our advantage to keep you alive.”
“Haaah, alright. To be honest, I had a feeling something like this might happen when I heard you escaped. Though I didn’t think I’d be done in so badly. Hey, do you have a grudge against me and the empire or something— Hajime Nagumo?” Gahard glared at Hajime, who he had somehow located through the darkness.
However, Hajime said nothing in response. He simply leaned back against the wall and yawned. This was the Haulia’s stage. He had no place saying anything here, and so he acted as if this had nothing to do with him.

Since there still wasn’t much light, Gahard couldn’t make out his expression, but he could still tell Hajime had no intention of answering. The emperor clicked his tongue, and then Cam interjected.
“A word of warning, Gahard. We did indeed receive assistance from our savior and benefactor, but the strength he lent us belongs to us now. If we so wished it, we could infiltrate the capital at any time, and gather all the information we need. Assassinating you in your sleep would take no effort at all. So if you try and circumvent our agreement, know that we can deal with you even without our master’s aid.”
“Belongs to you, huh? Man, I’m jealous. I have no clue how he made such powerful artifacts that even manaless beastmen can use, but…”
Gahard’s frustration was understandable. After all, the biggest reason beastmen were weaker than the other races was because they couldn’t use magic. But now that some of the beastmen had obtained artifacts that could function like magic, that disparity had disappeared.
Gahard wanted to yell at Hajime for upsetting the balance that had been preserved for centuries, but all he could do was curse to himself. How could you do such a thing!? Don’t you know how this will affect the human nations!?
However, Hajime hadn’t really provided all that much assistance. He’d just equipped them, and disarmed some of the traps surrounding the imperial palace. And all of that, he’d done using his multipurpose spider golems, the Arachnae.
They worked in a similar manner to his Cross Bits, and he could control multiple spiders at once. One of which had, of course, saved Liliana. The Arachnae were equipped with steel wires, the ability to transmit everything they saw to Hajime’s Demon Eye or solid crystal display, and they also allowed him to remotely transmute things in their vicinity. On top of that, the spider’s legs were hypodermic

needles that each contained different poisoned vials. The vials had ranging effects from sleep to paralysis to impotence.
The reason Hajime had looked so out of it ever since entering the palace was because he’d been concentrating on controlling his Arachnae. It had taken immense concentration to keep them all moving and disarming traps simultaneously. Once he’d finished dismantling most of the palace’s defenses, he’d had the Arachnae record every inch of the castle interior and relay the footage back to the Haulia waiting outside the capital. Furthermore, he’d used improved versions of his old telepathy stone to provide the Haulia with the perfect silent communication network.
The way he’d made his artifacts usable even for the manaless Haulia was simple. He’d taken ore that was capable of storing mana and enchanted it with High Speed Mana Regeneration and Mana Discharge. That way, the ore was constantly absorbing mana.
After that, he’d carved unfinished magic circles into each of the artifacts, and left the final piece slightly out of alignment. By sliding the switch on any of them, the circle would be completed, and the properties of the artifact activated.
There was still a lot of design improvements he needed to make, but at least with this he’d succeeded in making artifacts that even the Haulia could use. Furthermore, he’d used the same kind of magic that made Status Plates unique to each individual to ensure that only the Haulia would be able to use his artifacts.
Incidentally, they weren’t artifacts he’d created recently. Originally, he had made them for Myu. After all, he had promised to go back and get her someday. And because she was cute, there was no doubt in Hajime’s mind that uncouth guys would be all over her. In which case, Myu would need artifacts that could obliterate them for self- defense. Hajime really was just like an overprotective dad. Ironically,

his doting had inadvertently caused a revolution in race relations. Had anyone in the empire known that was why their nation had fallen, they would have probably been furious.
“Fear not, Gahard. Only the Haulia were gifted with these artifacts. Verbergen won’t be foolish enough to try and invade you after you give them your oaths. In fact, if they were to attempt something so foolish we would turn our blades on them ourselves.”
At those words, Gahard realized that the Haulia were an independent force from Verbergen. They had started this fight not for their country’s sake, but to improve living conditions for their fellow beastmen. Or well, actually just their fellow rabbitmen, but Gahard didn’t know that.
“I see. Alright, I understand now, so hurry up and release me already. If you want everyone freed by tomorrow, then I need to get started now or I won’t make it in time.”
“Very well. But know that the Haulia will always be watching you. Don’t ever forget that.”
All of the spotlights turned off, flooding the hall with darkness once more.
“Hajime-san.” Hajime turned to see Shea standing next to him. She’d come back after Hajime had told her via telepathy that the battle was over. Her smile was a little different from usual. As if, for the first time in her life, she truly had no worries. It was so radiant that Hajime was momentarily smitten.
“It’s finally over.”
Hajime wasn’t sure if she meant this battle, or something more. Still, he smiled back and responded.

“I see. You did good.” Hajime hadn’t thought it possible for Shea’s smile to grow any brighter, but he was wrong. Before he could respond, he received a transmission through telepathy.
—Boss, this is Alpha 1. We’ll be pulling out now. We are greatly indebted to you for all of your assistance.
Hajime grinned to himself.
—Don’t worry, I did this for Shea. Besides, it’s not over yet. In fact, the real battle starts here. Don’t let your guard down, guys. There’s definitely a few guys out there who’ll want to keep hunting beastmen even if it means disobeying imperial orders.
—We know, Boss. From the start, we resolved ourselves to keep fighting for as long as it took. This is the path the new and improved Haulia have chosen to walk down.
Upon hearing Cam’s steadfast resolve, Hajime’s grin grew wider.
—Well, you’ve definitely shown me just how determined you are. All of you— Hajime paused for a moment.
—Well done!
That was the first time the Haulia had received heartfelt praise from their beloved boss. The shock of it left their ears pointing straight up and their fur standing on end. It took a few seconds for them to digest what Hajime had just said. But once they did, their joy was like nothing Hajime had seen before.
—
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaah!
A roar of victory rang out. The weakest of the weak, the losers who had been forced to swallow the bitter draft of defeat for centuries, had finally been able to pay their enemies back.

In all honesty, there was still no guarantee the empire would fully comply with their pledge to stop invading Haltina and capturing slaves. Like Hajime had said, there were more than a few people in the empire who would want to keep hunting beastmen even if it meant going against Gahard’s orders. Plus, it was entirely possible that Gahard might find a loophole to get around his pledges.
And so, the Haulia knew too that their fight was just beginning. Still, at the very least, the oaths they’d forced Gahard to swear meant that the empire wouldn’t be attacking Haltina or capturing rabbitmen anytime soon. With the time they’d bought, the Haulia would increase their numbers, sharpen their fangs, and master the arts of assassination and guerrilla warfare. They would grow so strong that even if the empire found a way to break its promise, they’d have a hard time fighting against the Haulia.
The true purpose of this operation hadn’t been to end all conflict, but to muzzle the emperor and buy the Haulia enough time to strengthen themselves. And in that respect, they had succeeded. The Haulia, weakest of all beastmen, had won, and decisively at that.
“Fuck! Those bastards just left me like this! Someone, get the lights… Shit, everyone’s injured or dead… Actually, wait! Hajime Nagumo, you freaking bastard! Quit playing dumb! I know you’re still unharmed, so help me out here!”
Hajime was currently listening to the Haulia’s telepathic cheers while he cuddled a teary-eyed Shea. Thanks to his Night Vision skill, he had no trouble spotting Gahard rolling helplessly on the ground. However, he wanted to enjoy listening to the Haulia’s celebrations for a while longer.
Incidentally, when Shea had leaped into Hajime’s arms, he’d casually thrown Liliana aside. Hajime’s callous treatment had brought her back to her senses and she’d collapsed into a sobbing heap muttering

“Even though I’m a princess…” over and over. She looked just like a poor girl who’d been dumped by her playboy boyfriend.
“Alright, alright, I’ll help…”
Still holding Shea with one hand, Hajime pulled a luminous rock out of his Treasure Trove with the other. He threw it up at the ceiling, where it stopped and started floating. Once it was in place, it started glowing much more intensely, and lit up the room so well it felt like it was noon.
Now that the whole hall was visible, everyone could see just how much of a bloodbath the battle had been. The floors and ceiling were dyed red, and countless freshly severed heads littered the floor. None of the nobles lucky enough to have survived were unscathed. Most had had their tendons cut, and were lying limply on the ground, groaning in pain. Many of the noble ladies had wet themselves in fear. A few of them had been lucky enough to faint from the shock.
Those who were tough enough to have held on to their consciousness screamed in abject terror when they saw Shea’s bunny ears and fainted as well. Quite a few of the men wet themselves too when they saw Shea. It appeared the Haulia had succeeded in their secondary goal; the people of the empire were filled with dread whenever they caught sight of a rabbitman.
Hajime, Kouki, and the others stood out as they were the only people in the room who were untouched. The few soldiers who’d fought until the bitter end glared daggers at them. It was obvious the soldiers thought Hajime and the others were the Haulia’s accomplices.
“Hey, Hajime Nagumo. Stop flirting and give me a hand here. How cheeky can you get, flirting with a girl, a rabbitman no less, right after what happened?”

“Sorry. It’s just that Shea’s a weak little bunny girl, and all that fighting really scared her. Poor girl. Those assailants sure were terrifying. It took everything I had just to defend myself.” Hajime shivered in an exaggerated manner as he said that.
On the other hand, Shea didn’t even bother trying to hide how happy she looked. Gahard trembled in rage, and the mages who’d had their tongues cut out glared daggers at Hajime. Kouki and the others were stunned by how brazen Hajime was acting.
“You impudent little… Either way, you’re not hurt, so if you don’t have anything against the empire, I’d like you to help heal me and my men. At the very least, you could call for help, couldn’t you?”
“I don’t mind healing you guys, but I get the feeling your men’ll rush at me the moment I do… As long as you don’t mind me killing anyone who attacks, I’m fine with helping out.”
“Of course I mind! Hey, you guys! Don’t you dare lay a hand on that monster! I don’t want any of you dying a worthless death trying to get revenge against that cheeky, Haulia-sympathizing, womanizing son of a bitch!”
The nobles all closed their eyes in frustration. They knew Gahard was right in ordering them to survive, but they didn’t like it one bit. Hajime narrowed his eyes in irritation, but Gahard cut him off.
“Look, even if they wished they could kill you, none of my men are stupid enough to fling themselves into the jaws of death. Even if they are, I won’t let them. Some of them are in critical condition, so please, Hajime Nagumo. Save them.”
“Well if you’re sure they won’t attack, I guess it’s fine. Kaori, you’re up.”
“Yep, just leave it to me! Aetherflow!”

Kaori instantly cast the strongest healing spell without any incantation or magic circle. Waves of shimmering mana spread out across the ballroom. In less than a second, everyone had been fully healed.
“I give up. Somehow, even your healers are monsters.”
Gahard looked tired as he watched Kaori’s godly healing. Everyone was dumbfounded by how quickly their wounds had disappeared. Instantly casting the strongest healing spell in the world should have been impossible.
With the exception of the ladies who were still unconscious, and the nobles who were still too stunned to react, everyone in the room rushed to Gahard’s side and formed a protective circle around him. They all eyed Hajime warily.
“I just said don’t fight him. If you so much as direct your fighting spirit at him, he’ll slaughter us all, so stop!”
“But, Your Majesty, they’re clearly in league with the assailants!”
“Exactly! They even killed the crown prince… We can’t just let them go!”
“Our reputation would be ruined if we did!”
Gahard’s men argued vehemently with him. They were itching to fight. Sure, they had caught a glimpse of Kaori’s true strength when she’d healed them all instantly, but none of them knew anything about Hajime’s. Quite a few them had, however, seen Gahard’s duel with Kouki. The fact that Gahard had beaten Kouki back then was the foundation for their confidence.
In response, Gahard sighed sadly and aimed his anger toward them. His men groaned and staggered backward, all will to fight lost. Gahard looked across the room, sucked in a huge breath, and exclaimed something in a loud, dignified voice.

“Quit causing a scene! I said it before and I’ll say it again, I won’t allow any of you to die a dog’s death here! Listen up, that white- haired kid with the eyepatch is a genuine monster! The kind of monster who took down an entire army without breaking a sweat. He’s so strong I probably wouldn’t be able to even scratch him. I won’t ask you to submit to him, but if you’re real men of the empire, then stop throwing a tantrum and accept that he’s stronger than you! Might makes right, remember?”
Both the soldiers and the nobles stiffened in the face of his will.
“That goes for the Haulia, too. Those bastards were supposed to be the weakest, but they trained until they were strong enough to challenge us. The fact that they led us around the nose means we were really the weak ones! I don’t plan on letting things end like this, and I’m sure those rabbitmen know that too, but… accept it for now. This time, we lost. And the losers have to respect the winner’s wishes. That’s the number one rule of the empire! If you still can’t accept it, then bring your complaints to me! Beat me in a fight and force me to admit I’m wrong, just like they did!”
Gahard’s voice reverberated across the room. The more weak-willed among the nobles couldn’t even meet Gahard’s gaze, while his soldiers and those who’d fought with him bowed their heads reluctantly. Among them all, only Gahard had actually kept fighting for any length of time. He was both their emperor, and the strongest among them. Naturally, his words carried weight.
As the ballroom fell silent once more, Hajime nodded in satisfaction.
“Perfect, glad to see everything’s settled.”
Naturally, everyone in the room turned to glare at Hajime. Their gazes spoke more eloquently than any words ever could. “You have no right to say that, you cursed brat!”

The repercussions of that day were felt throughout the capital.
The next morning, Gahard issued an imperial decree stating that all beastmen slaves had to be freed immediately, and that enslaving beastmen was henceforth forbidden. It didn’t matter whether they were owned by individuals or slave traders, the government would not allow anyone to keep beastmen. Naturally there was much confusion, and plenty of people refused to comply. Hordes of citizens crowded the palace gates, demanding an explanation.
Eventually, Gahard walked out onto the castle’s balcony where his people could see him and shouted in a somewhat strained voice.
“The reason for this sudden decree is because I received an oracle from our hallowed creator, Ehit! Behold, citizens of the empire! Lord Ehit has sent us his apostles, the hero and his friends!”
Countless beams of light rained from the sky, and an angel with silver wings descended onto the balcony next to Gahard. Shimmering silver feathers floated down around her. Ripples of pure white light, created through a combination of spirit magic and restoration magic, spread out over the capital. The sublime divinity of it all awed the anger out of people.
Once Kaori had finished her performance, Kouki walked out and held his Holy Sword aloft. It appeared to be glowing even more than usual.
“Freeing the beastmen shall lead our glorious empire to far greater heights! Such is what was written in the vision I received from Lord Ehit! I know many of you are confused by this sudden declaration, but fear not! Those who have lost slaves shall be fully compensated from the imperial treasury! I believe that your patriotism and piety can see us through these turbulent times!”

Silver feathers, the mark of a true Apostle of God, fell among the gathered crowd. Those who happened to pick up one were instantly converted, and started cheering for the emperor and the hero.
Some of the citizens, however, were still worried if “fully compensated” really meant they would get all their money back, but only Gahard could alleviate those concerns.
“Well, good luck, Emperor.” Hajime called out to Gahard from inside the room connecting to the balcony. Yue and Tio were standing next to him. Kaori was still floating outside as part of the spectacle.
The earlier beams of light had been created by one of Hajime’s artifacts. And naturally, Gahard’s speech had been written by him as well.
Gahard had informed all of his chief officers and ministers about the situation last night. Most of them had been present at the ball, so it didn’t take long to get everyone on board.
First, they’d needed a way to inform all the citizens. After that, they needed a place to gather all the capital’s slaves. Gahard still had some more time to free all the slaves in the empire’s outlying cities, but he needed to get everyone in the capital out by the end of the day, or his head would fly off.
Knowing that their emperor’s life depended on them, the empire’s top brass moved swiftly. However, they soon ran into a problem. They had no good way of convincing the people to abide by their decision. Sure, private slave owners might not be affected too terribly, but the slave traders would be ruined if their assets were seized all at once. Chances were they would riot if the empire tried to destroy their livelihood. And if that happened, some of the slaves would even get hurt. Which again, would lead to Gahard’s head flying off.

Gahard had been at his wits’ end when Hajime had come in with a smile and offered a solution.
“If you’re out of ideas, then just pin it all on Ehit.” Hajime had then outlined his plan to make it sound like it was all Ehit’s will. He’d make the speech more convincing by using Kouki and Kaori to make it look like the Apostle of God really had come down and graced the empire with their divine silver feathers.
None of the empire’s citizens suspected that the Apostle of God’s feathers were actually deadly weapons that could be controlled at will.
The healing spell Kaori had bathed the capital with had not only soothed the hearts of the citizens, but also healed the minds and bodies of the beastmen slaves who had suffered long years of enslavement. While the citizens were all gathered in front of the palace, imperial soldiers went around herding the beastmen to the ruins of the coliseum so they could remove all their collars.
Gahard watched for a while longer to make sure everything was going smoothly. After a few minutes he turned back to Hajime and grumbled.
“I take it all back, you’re not just any damned brat. You’re the devil!” Kouki, Ryutarou, Suzu, Shizuku, and even Yue and Tio all nodded in agreement.
As all of the soldiers stationed in the capital were assisting in the beastmen emancipation, it didn’t take very long before they were freed from their shackles. The thousands of beastmen were still in shock, unable to comprehend what was going on. Even if they had, they wouldn’t have believed it anyway. Dumbfounded, they meekly followed Kouki out of the capital.
Even after they passed through the city’s gates, they kept glancing fearfully backward. Most of them were convinced that this was some

new twisted game of the empire. That the moment they tried to run they’d be chased down and captured again. But then, something happened that blew that thought out of their minds.
A massive ship descended from the sky. It was Fernir, but it now had a giant gondola attached to it.
As the beastmen stared up in wonder, a single bunny girl leaned out over the ship’s railing and waved. The girl, Shea, shouted the words the beastmen had been longing to hear, but hadn’t dared to hope they would.
“Everyoooooooooooone! We’re here to save you! It’s time to go back home to Verbergen!”
They’d had their wounds healed, their shackles removed, been led out of the capital by the hero, been greeted by some strange ship, and on that ship stood a member of their own race. Though they could scarce believe it, all the evidence suggested that they really were being freed.
After a moment of silence, the beastmen broke out in wild cheers.
“Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” The earth shook from the force of their voices. Everyone hugged the person closest to them as they burst into tears.
“Go back home, huh…?” Hajime watched the proceedings from the bridge, through his crystal display. He had an odd expression on his face, one that was hard to describe in words. It was hard to tell whether it was envy, sympathy, or something else entirely. Regardless, it was a very human expression.
He suddenly felt someone take hold of his hand. Hajime turned to see Yue looking gently up at him. He smiled at her, then focused on lowering Fernir’s drawbridge so the beastmen could get on.

Behind him, Kaori, Tio, and even Shizuku watched him with warm smiles on their faces.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.