Arifureta/ From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Vol. 9 Ch. 2

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 9.

Chapter 2: Whispers.

The next segment of the labyrinth was, perhaps fittingly, a maze. The party looked down at the winding paths that spread out before them. The corridor that had opened up upon defeating the Frost Turtle had led the party to a terrace that overlooked the magnificent maze below. They stopped in their tracks, their breath taken away by the sight. That was how big and imposing the maze below was.

From what they could see, the maze was at least one kilometer in length. Past that, everything was covered in a fog of snow, so there was no telling how far it actually extended. Considering the maze was four kilometers wide, it seemed a safe bet to guess it went that far in length too. This was clearly the second part of their trial.

“Hmm. It seems pointless to map out this maze when we cannot see what lies beyond the snow.”

“Besides, it’d take forever to memorize all the paths in a maze as twisted as this one.”

“Indeed. Moreover, it seems foolish to rely on memory when we have the compass.”

Hajime’s compass was defeating the purpose of a lot of these trials. Tio smiled ruefully, and Hajime returned her smile. “But still…” he muttered, “That Freid guy managed to clear this maze even without the compass… I don’t even want to think about how long he spent wandering down there. I’ve gotta say, that guy’s got guts.”

Even Hajime was impressed by the tenacity of the demon general who’d cleared this labyrinth before them, Freid Bagwa. Yue turned to him and said, “Hajime… Don’t praise him. You’ll catch his ugly.”

“She’s right, Hajime-san. I bet he just had his army search for him while he sat back. That bastard disgusts me!”

“Just how much do you two hate that guy? I’m honestly kinda impressed he managed to piss you off that much.”

Rage glimmered in Yue and Shea’s eyes as they thought back to the many times Freid had managed to give them the slip. Somehow or the other, he always came out alive. Their hatred for him was almost palpable. There weren’t many people that could bring out this much rage in Yue or Shea. Kouki and the others backed away from the two girls, terrified, and Hajime shooed them onward. At the end of the terrace was a spiral staircase made of ice that wound down to the maze’s entrance. Another arch adorned the top of the staircase. As they started their descent, Ryutarou—who hated doing things the roundabout way—grumbled, “Even if we know the right way, do we really have to go through this stupid maze? It’s gonna detour us a bunch, can’t we just blast through the fucking thing?”

“We can’t, Ryutarou. This is part of the trial. Just be glad we won’t get lost at least.”

“Yeah, but Kouki…”

“Fufu, you always did hate puzzles and mazes, Ryutarou. Every time you tried one you’d get fed up in a few minutes and throw it down.”

“Oh, I remember that. That’s why I stopped doing puzzles in front of you. Since you’d get annoyed and break my puzzles too.”

Ryutarou frowned, and both Shizuku and Kouki laughed at him. Ryutarou’s expression grew even sourer as his childhood friends teased him. Seeing him sulk, even Kaori and Suzu started laughing. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Ryutarou glared at the maze’s entrance like it was his mortal enemy. A second later a lightbulb went on in his head.

“I just thought of something! Look! There’s nothing covering the top of the maze! We can just fly right over it, can’t we!? Hehe, Nagumo, looks like we won’t need that compass of yours!”

His plan was as good as his wit.

“Sakagami, you really don’t get it…”

Ryutarou ignored Hajime’s exasperated sigh and shouted, “I’m a genius!” He activated his boots’ Aerodynamic and shot into the air. The phrase “look before you leap” was one he would have done well to study. Unfortunately, the only phrases Ryutarou knew were “strike while the iron’s hot,” and “no time like the present.”

“Ryutarou!?”

“M-Moron! Get back here!”

“R-Ryutarou-kun!”

Kouki, Shizuku, and Suzu all tried to stop him from acting on his hasty plan. The last labyrinth had made it clear to them that such simple tricks would never work. Kouki reached out to grab Ryutarou’s shoulder, but unfortunately, the muscleheaded brawler was too fast. Kouki’s hand swiped only air. Ryutarou was easily distracted by carrots dangled in front of him, which probably contributed to his lack of thinking this through. His ability to remain optimistic about anything and everything was both a strength and weakness, but because of how often he went overboard there were more cons to it than pros. And in a labyrinth, such hastiness led to death.

“Now then, let’s see what happens… Sakagami’s willing to make an example of himself, so it’d be a waste not to.”

“Nagumo!?”

Kouki glared reproachfully at Hajime, who folded his arms and watched calmly. However, Hajime hadn’t brought Kouki and the others with him so he could babysit them. They were Kaori’s childhood friends so he wasn’t going to just abandon them. But he had no obligation to look out for someone too stupid to think about what he was doing. Realizing that, Kouki turned to Suzu and shouted, “Suzu, block him off with a barrier!” Suzu hurriedly raised her fans, but it was too late.

“Ooooooi! What’re you guys waiting for? Hurry up and get over—”

Ryutarou looked over his shoulder just as he crossed the maze’s invisible boundary. There was a sharp keening noise, and the space above the maze warped.

“Whoa!?”

With a brief shout, Ryutarou disappeared.

“Ryutarou!?”

“Oh, jeez! That idiot!”

“What do we do, Nagumo-kun!? Ryutarou-kun disappeared!”

Kouki, Shizuku, and Suzu started to panic. Suzu turned to Hajime in tears and begged him to help. But he was focused on parsing the information his Demon Eye was giving him, and he didn’t give any indication that he’d heard her. Basically, he ignored her.

The moment space had warped around Ryutarou, Hajime had sensed the movement of mana. A second later he sensed another flash of mana out of the corner of his eye and turned toward it. There he saw a hexagonal prism of ice jutting out from the ceiling. The same space-warping phenomenon occurred again, and suddenly Ryutarou appeared inside the prism of ice.

“There, huh?”

Kouki and the others followed Hajime’s gaze, then gasped when they saw Ryutarou frozen within the ice, serving as an example to others who attempted such folly.

“Normally it’s cute girls who’re trapped in ice, not burly dudes. No one asked for this.”

“This isn’t the time to be talking about anime tropes!”

Yeah, I guess not.

“— Ah!?”

“Ah, Ryutarou-kun’s still conscious!”

He couldn’t move, but it seemed he could still change his expression. From the looks of it, he was desperately trying to tell his comrades something. His mouth twisted in pain, and it looked as though he was being choked. At this rate, he’d die in another two minutes.

“Ryutarou, your gauntlets! Use the shockwaves from your gauntlets!”

Kouki gestured wildly, but Ryutarou was too far away and panicking far too much to understand what Kouki was trying to tell him. It was understandable. Before he knew it his vision had gone dark, then he’d found himself trapped in ice. Unfortunately, panicking only caused him to run out of air faster. Then, because all labyrinths loved overkill, dozens of razor-sharp pillars of ice appeared from the ceiling.

“O-Oh shit…”

“This is definitely…”

“Awawawah, I’ll put up a barrier!”

Naturally, the pillars were all aimed toward Ryutarou. Kouki, Shizuku, and Suzu turned pale. Suzu hurriedly tried to erect a barrier, but the ceiling was a good five hundred meters up. Even with all her training, she would have a hard time putting it in the right spot.

“Hmm, even if you left the victim alone they’d suffocate anyway… so why’s the labyrinth going to the extra effort of stabbing them with spears?”

“Mmm… To punish people who break the rules? You know, to show how scary your death is or something?”

“Can you stop analyzing for a minute and save him!?”

On the verge of tears, Shizuku begged Hajime and Yue to save Ryutarou. Unable to watch Shizuku suffer any longer, Kaori gently patted her shoulder and said, “Shizuku-chan. Those ice spears are probably a failsafe in case whoever gets captured breaks out. As long as Ryutarou-kun’s inside, they won’t attack him.”

“That’s just a guess, you don’t know that for—”

“Besides, everything’ll be fine, Shizuku-chan!”

“Kaori?”

Kaori sounded surprisingly confident. However, Shizuku was still worried Ryutarou was about to be turned into a pincushion. She looked from him to Kaori, then back at him. Kaori brought her hands to her chest and said cutely, “Even if he dies, as long as we get to him fast enough, we can just bring him back, like we did me!”

“That’s not the problem here!”

The old Kaori would have done everything in her power to save Ryutarou. Has love really changed you this much? Is the old, kind Kaori I knew gone forever? Shizuku lamented to herself. Kaori was right. As long as one could use spirit magic and restoration magic, they could bring back anyone who’d died within the past few minutes. However, doing so was a long and arduous process. When Kaori had died, it had taken Yue and Tio five whole days to revive her. Now that they had some experience, they could probably revive people faster, but it would still take an ungodly amount of mana. Spending several days and depleting a large amount of the mana stored in their jewelry just to revive Ryutarou would be a waste of time and resources. And so, after a brief glance over at Shizuku and the others, who looked stunned by Kaori’s statement, Hajime pulled Kaori back and turned to Yue. Both Yue and Kaori understood what he was after, and they nodded in tandem. Yue sighed, shrugged her shoulders, then extended a hand toward the hexagon encasing Ryutarou.

“Cosmic Rift.”

Yue opened a portal in front of Kaori. Its corresponding exit was shimmering a few meters away from the hexagon.

“We really have to do something about this bad habit of Ryutarou-kun’s.”

Frowning, Kaori flapped her wings, sending a barrage of silver feathers through the portal. They flew out the other end and stuck to the hexagon’s outer layer of ice. From there, Kaori’s disintegration did its work. In less than a second, the hexagon had been melted away. But the labyrinth wasn’t going to let its prey escape that easily. The countless ice spears shot forward, intent on skewering Ryutarou.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Kaori turned her palm upside-down and made a fist as if grabbing the remains of Ryutarou’s hexagon prison. A second later, the remaining feathers started whirling around, creating a protective cocoon around Ryutarou. Anything that touched the cocoon was disintegrated, making it the perfect shield. In the past, Hajime had needed his railgun-accelerated pile bunker to break through such a barrier. So it stood to reason that a measly array of ice pillars stood no chance. As Hajime watched the spears of ice shoot toward their own oblivion, he casually turned to Kaori and suggested, “Kaori. While you’re disintegrating all those pillars, disintegrate that moron’s balls while you’re at it.”

This was a new form of ball-crushing that only Kaori could do. It seemed Hajime was quite miffed that Ryutarou had wasted their time.

“Nagumo, how can you even say that!?”

Kouki cut in before Kaori could respond. He covered his own crotch protectively and shivered in terror. “You’re a man too, don’t you have any pity!?” he screamed. Even Shizuku and Suzu, who’d breathed sighs of relief when Kaori had saved Ryutarou, winced sympathetically. Everyone waited with bated breath to see whether or not today would mark the birth of a new eunuch. Blushing, Kaori replied, “H-His balls? I-I can’t do that! Hajime-kun, you pervert!”

For some reason Kaori wasn’t terrified by the prospect of crushing Ryutarou’s balls, but rather embarrassed. While she was hesitating for the wrong reasons, Yue said coldly, “How would disintegrating his balls be perverted? Kaori, you try and make everything more sexual than it is. You’re the real pervert.”

“N-No I’m not, Yue! If I wanted to disintegrate his balls I’d have to touch them with my feathers, right? That’s the same as me indirectly touching them! That’s totally perverted!”

“Say what you want, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re too excitable over a pair of balls. Pervert.”

“You just want to frame me as a pervert, Yue! I don’t have any interest in balls!”

“Oh? Not even in Hajime’s?”

“Ah!? W-Well, how do I put this… Uh, m-maybe a little…”

“Mmm… So you really are a pervert obsessed with balls. Grandmaster of ball smashing.”

“Hey, that’s mean! You take that back! Hajime-kun! I swear I’m not a pervert who’s obsessed with balls! Please believe me!”

“Uh sure. I believe you, so can we just drop this? I feel bad for even bringing it up now. Also, stop saying balls over and over, both of you. Just look, Kaori. Your friends are all feeling awkward because of your guys’ weird argument.”

Chastised, Kaori looked over at Kouki and the others. As Hajime had said, they all looked extremely uncomfortable.

“I can’t believe the pure and innocent Kaori would…” Kouki muttered, pointedly not meeting Kaori’s gaze.

Meanwhile, Suzu was blushing bright red. “Kaorin, I never knew you were so perverted…” she whispered to herself. On the other hand, Shizuku’s expression was hard to decipher. It was a mixture of sadness and happiness, the kind of gentle expression a mother has when she sees her daughter’s all grown up.

Kaori shivered. At this rate, even my friends will think I’m a pervert who’s obsessed with balls! Panicking, she attempted to clear her name.

“Listen, everyone! I’m not—”

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!? Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!”

Unfortunately, she was interrupted by a scream from above. More specifically, Ryutarou’s scream. Looking up, the party saw that the spears of ice had been destroyed, and only Kaori’s shimmering silver cocoon remained. Hajime and the others instantly realized why Ryutarou was screaming. Coming back to her senses, Kaori looked up and said, “Huh? Ah! R-Ryutarou-kun, I’m sorryyyyyyyyyyyy!”

She quickly dispersed her cocoon. As expected, Ryutarou’s clothes had been shredded, and he looked half-dead. Kaori had been so busy trying to convince people she wasn’t a pervert that she’d forgotten to cancel her ability after the hexagon had completely melted, and a few stray feathers had hit Ryutarou. As he fell limply to the floor Suzu shouted, “Wawawah, oh no! Luminous Mesh!” A net of light appeared underneath Ryutarou to catch him. The net swiftly brought him down to the others, but when they saw what he looked like, they shrieked.

“N-Nooo, Ryutarou-kun you pervert!”

Suzu hadn’t intended to say that, but she blurted it out when she saw what he looked like. She was so shocked that she lost the concentration to maintain her Luminous Mesh, and Ryutarou fell unceremoniously to the floor.

“Ryutarou… Poor guy.”

The words “poor guy” did not do justice to the shape Ryutarou was in. His clothes had been shredded so badly that he was practically nude. The area around his crotch had suffered the most. Though his balls were fortunately intact, the clothes covering them were anything but. His nether region was on full display for all to see. No one wanted to see a musclehead in the nude, and so they all averted their gaze. In fact, they averted more than that and turned around entirely. The last thing anyone wanted was to see Ryutarou’s dick. Or experience it with any of their other senses, for that matter.

“Amanogawa, you’re his friend aren’t you?” Hajime asked. The unsaid implication was of course that Kouki should be the one to do something about this. However, not even Kouki wanted any part of this. He looked pointedly in the other direction and replied, “I’m busy guarding Ryutarou, so someone else will have to help him!”

Kaori kept as far a distance from Ryutarou as she could while she reached out to cast a healing spell on him. Her eyes were shut tight, and she was looking in the opposite direction as if to prove just how little interest she had in Ryutarou’s balls.

“Kaori, you’re horrible… You’re the one who made him like this.”

“I only got distracted because you kept insulting me, Yue!”

“Mmm… Don’t blame this on me. Now take responsibility for your mistake, Kaori. Face the patient properly when you’re healing him!”

“N-No! I don’t want to see it! I don’t want to see anyone’s but Hajime-kun’s!”

“You’re a disgrace to healers everywhere. Now, look. Look at who you’re healing! Imprint the balls of a man other than Hajime’s into your brain forever!”

“Nooooooooo! Stop it! I hate you, Yue! Stop pushing me! Aaah!? Is that gravity magic!? Stop! Don’t force my eyes opeeeeeen!”

Yue pushed Kaori toward Ryutarou while using extremely precise gravity magic to slowly force Kaori’s eyelids open. The fact that she was able to avoid harming Kaori while still achieving what she wanted over such a small area proved just how much of a genius Yue was with magic. Unfortunately, Yue tended to use her skills for the most inane things.

“Yue-san and Kaori-san really get along.”

“It seems more to me as though Yue simply enjoys one-sidedly teasing Kaori… but I must admit there is some truth in what you say.”

“That’s just their way of showing affection. You know what they say, good friends fight all the time and all that.”

Tio, Shea, and Hajime commented on the nature of Yue and Kaori’s relationship as they watched the two bicker. Hajime’s expression was surprisingly gentle. Yue normally tried to act mature, but whenever she was around Kaori, she let her childish side out. Even now, there was a playful, innocent smile on Yue’s lips. In a way, Yue’s bond with Kaori was even deeper than it was with Shea, who she considered her best friend. Of course, Hajime loved the mature, doting side of Yue too, but this childish side of Yue had its own allure for him. Granted, when it came to Yue, any side of her was perfect as far as Hajime was concerned. Meanwhile, Ryutarou was still lying unconscious on the floor, his privates still completely uncovered. He’d been completely forgotten. Not only had he been unilaterally rejected by his childhood friend, but the girl he’d fallen for at first sight was also treating his existence like some kind of punishment game. This was undoubtedly the saddest moment of his seventeen years of life.

“I guess this is punishment enough, huh…?”

“How horrible…”

“Ryutarou… I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you.”

Shizuku, Suzu, and Kouki all offered Ryutarou words of sympathy. But even so, they refused to look at him as well.

Five minutes later, Ryutarou was awake and clothed. Kouki had generously donated some of his spare clothes to Ryutarou before he regained consciousness, so at the very least, he’d been spared the ignominy of waking up to find his balls exposed. He apologized profusely for his recklessness, but instead of the lecture he’d been expecting, all he got were pitying looks.

“Hey, Kouki. What the hell happened while I was out?”

“Oh, nothing! Nothing you need to worry about, Ryutarou!”

Kouki was determined to spare his best friend any further pain. In a beautiful display of friendship, he lied to Ryutarou’s face. Sadly his efforts were in vain. Hajime was merciless.

“Until like a minute ago you were lying unconscious on the ground with your balls exposed.”

“!?”

“Nagumooooooo!? Why’d you have to go and tell him that!?” Kouki advanced threateningly toward Hajime while Ryutarou absorbed this bombshell. Looking around, he noticed the girls were all avoiding his gaze. Realizing this was no joke, he fell to all fours, defeated. Clouds darker than the one Yue called forth to summon her Draconic Thunder gathered around him. This was the first time the cheerful Ryutarou had ever been this depressed. He’d been utterly crushed, more crushed than someone flattened with gravity magic. Hajime pushed Kouki aside and replied, “Idiots like Sakagami learn from lessons if those lessons are accompanied with pain.”

“But this is too much! You could at least punish him more tactfully next time, couldn’t you!?”

“You just didn’t have the guts to tell him the truth, so I did. Why do I have to sugarcoat shit for him?”

While Hajime was arguing with Kouki, Tio benevolently cast spirit magic on Ryutarou. Pale light descended on him, soothing his soul and inviting it to paradise. Hajime watched out of the corner of his eye, then brushed Kouki off and turned to Yue.

“Yue, just in case we need to use the sky, do you think you could counter that forced teleportation?”

“Probably not… It activates faster than I can cast. Also, I don’t know how much space it covers, or how quickly it can recast if blocked. If I tried to counter the activation of spatial magic across the entire maze, it would take too much mana.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. In that case…”

Hajime took Schlagen out of his Treasure Trove. Kouki and the others watched blankly as he started charging it. Sparks ran down its length as Hajime pointed it at one of the walls and fired. From up above, he’d estimated that the maze’s walls were about ten meters tall, and two meters thick. Easily thin enough for Schlagen or Orkan to blast through them. As expected, Hajime’s anti-material rifle was able to punch right through the wall, and a few others behind it too. However, the labyrinth never made things easy. Less than a second after Hajime’s bullet passed through, ice reformed around the hole, repairing the wall. It recovered much faster than any of the ice monsters they’d fought.

“Well, figures they’d prepare countermeasures for obvious strategies like blasting through all the walls.”

“Hajime-kun, I’m not sure that counts as an obvious strategy. At least on Earth, no one would try to beat a maze like that. They’d get arrested.”

Kaori had recently started leaving behind the common sense she’d learned on Earth, but it looked like it hadn’t vanished completely. Somehow or the other, it was still hanging on by a thread. In a sense, Hajime was no different from Ryutarou in the sense that he’d tried to invalidate the point of the maze. Kouki and the others all glared at him. Wary of a counterattack, Hajime ignored both Kaori’s helpful advice and Kouki and the others’ glares. After making sure none was coming, he put Schlagen back.

“Looks like we only get hit with the penalty if we actually try and move through the maze illegally. Meaning we can exploit the grey area of the rules.”

You have the compass, can’t we just proceed normally!? Kouki thought, his glare growing sharper. Ignoring him, Hajime casually strolled through the arch marking the beginning of the maze. Kouki and the others tensed nervously. Even though they knew it was probably fine, what had happened to Ryutarou had them all wary. They prepared for something to happen the moment the maze was breached.

“How is it, Nagumo-kun? Are we safe?”

Hajime held out a hand to silence Shizuku and took out the compass. There were three paths branching out from the entrance. One to the right, one to the left, and one that went straight forward. After spinning for a little bit, the compass pointed to the right.

“Hmm, it appears we can proceed safely. I was worried this maze was equipped with magic that rendered the compass ineffective, but it seems not.”

“Yeah I was worried about that too, but… Well, this is made with concept magic which is supposed to be stronger than ancient magic. Even the Liberators could only create three kinds of concept magic, so I figured the chances of that were slim.”

Tio breathed a sigh of relief as she ducked under the arch and found that nothing tried to attack her. She and Hajime nodded to each other. Man, if we’d gotten this thing earlier we wouldn’t have had such a hard time with the Reisen Gorge. Hajime thought bitterly to himself. Yue and Shea, who’d suffered through that labyrinth with him, seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Aww, if we’d had this earlier Miledi-san’s traps wouldn’t have been a big deal.”

“Mmm… I think she gave it to Haltina on purpose. Curse you, Miledi.”

Yue’s hypothesis was likely correct. With the compass, the labyrinths stopped being as much of a challenge. The maze part of them was entirely invalidated. Which was why Miledi and the others had hidden it inside the labyrinth that required challengers to have cleared at least four others first. But even if that logic made sense, it didn’t make Hajime, Yue, or Shea feel any better about the suffering they’d endured in Miledi’s labyrinth. Yue puffed her cheeks out unhappily while Shea pouted, her lips pursed. Only those who’d experienced that labyrinth’s… No, Miledi’s unbelievably annoyingness could understand this pain.

“You guys always bring up the Reisen Gorge. What happened there?”

“It’s a shame we cannot reminisce together with them… but those three look utterly defeated whenever they recall that trial. I think it would be best not to dredge up those memories.”

Kaori and Tio watched as Hajime sympathetically rubbed Yue and Shea’s backs. Just how horrible a person was Miledi the Liberator that all three of them resent her this much?

After Kouki and the others also crossed under the arch, the party was finally ready to explore this maze. While the compass at least pointed them in the right direction, it would still take them a few hours to cover four kilometers and change while backtracking multiple times thanks to the maze’s layout. And like the rest of the labyrinth, this maze was also freezing. While it was no longer so cold water magic would freeze upon contact with the air, it was still a good bit below zero. Were it not for the party’s Airzones, the cold would pose quite a threat.

“It feels oppressive in here.”

“Yeah. And these walls are strange. Even though they’re completely clear, we can’t see what’s on the other side.”

As Shizuku examined the wall next to her, Suzu shivered and took a few worried steps away from it. These walls, like every other ice wall the party had seen so far, were not natural. They were completely transparent, with no air bubbles or other impurities trapped inside. And like all the other walls, they reflected the party’s silhouettes. Yet it was impossible to see through them. Considering they were only around two meters thick, that made no sense. And Hajime doubted the only reason they were like this was to avoid trivializing the maze part of the maze. There had to be something else. Frowning, Kaori said, “We won’t see more zombies like the ones we fought before, will we?”

“Hmm, it is possible we will face something similar. The monsters of this labyrinth have the ability to completely mask their presence. We should be prepared to face a surprise attack at any time.”

“Don’t worry, Kaori-san! My ears can catch anything! There’s no need to be scared. I’ll know if anything’s coming way before it reaches us! My super bunny ear ears will catch them!”

“Y-Yeah! Thanks, Shea. But what does super bunny ear ears even mean…”

It was likely just a silly name for one of Shea’s perception skills, but Kaori couldn’t help but be less reassured upon hearing her say that. Shea ignored Kaori’s question and puffed her chest out proudly. She then pounded her fist against it to show how supremely confident she was. Naturally, that caused her two melons to jiggle a little, reminding everyone just how stacked she was. Though Shea’s aim was to reassure Kaori, Suzu, and Shizuku, who all seemed a little worried, all she succeeded in doing was make everyone think she should cover up more. Kouki and Ryutarou’s gazes were glued to Shea’s boobs, and Hajime sent them a glare so cold it made the surrounding temperature seem balmy. The two of them gulped and hurriedly looked away. In a way, Shea had contributed to making everyone more nervous, not less.

“Sheesh. Shea, you really need to…”

Despite his words, Hajime couldn’t help but stare at Shea’s bouncing breasts as well. It was as if gravity magic was forcing his gaze toward them. Ever since Hajime had accepted Shea as a lover, he’d been unable to resist those unintentionally erotic gestures of hers.

“Hajime-kun, where exactly are you looking? Hmmm?”

“Ahem! Uh, take a left here.”

Hajime turned around to see Kaori glaring at him. Her demonic stand was tapping its sword menacingly behind her. Hajime hurriedly turned back to his compass and pretended to check it. Yue gave him a warm smile, Tio tried to press her own boobs against him, and Shizuku glared reproachfully at him, but Hajime ignored them all and strode forward. Realizing what she’d just done, Shea blushed. She then hugged herself and looked down bashfully.

“O-Oh Hajime-san, you pervert. You really like my boobs, huh? But we can’t do that here! We’ve gotta focus on beating this labyrinth. If you start doing that to my boobs here, I’ll be too tired to do anything else! We’re in the middle of enemy territory, you know!”

“Shea, please shut up.”

Kouki and the others’ eyes glazed over, while Tio hung on to every word with a mixture of interest and jealousy. On the other hand, Kaori’s glare grew even sharper. Lips twitching, Hajime kept his gaze pointed firmly forward and said nothing more. He’d decided to plead the fifth. Unfortunately, Yue wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily.

“Hajime… You did that to Shea? It was her first time… you monster!”

“I tried to hold back. But in the end, I just ended up doing it the same way I do it with you…”

What the heck does that refer to!? Kouki and the others screamed internally. It was easy to forget after all the fantastical experiences they’d had, but the kids here were all in the midst of puberty. Especially the boys. They couldn’t help but be curious about the unknown world of sex. Doubly so because these events concerned people they knew.

“Wh-What should we do, Shizushizu!? Should we ask Sheashea what happened, just for future reference!? What do you think!?”

“C-Calm down Suzu! You’re starting to sound like Kaori!”

“Kouki… You’re the hero, right? Do the heroic thing and ask Nagumo! I gotta know what that is!”

“Like hell I can ask that! And how is that heroic at all!?”

While everyone was debating whether or not to ask Hajime and Shea what that referred to, Hajime suddenly came to a halt. A second later, there was an earsplitting boom. A streak of light flashed right over Suzu’s head, grazing a few strands of hair as it passed. Suzu looked over and saw Hajime pointing Donner at her. He’d moved so fast she hadn’t even noticed it happen.

“Eeek…”

Trembling, tears in her eyes, Suzu patted the top of her head. Thanks to her short stature, the bullet had only shaved off a few hairs. Unlike the time with Yue, where Hajime had ended up scraping her scalp too. For a moment, Kouki and the others thought Hajime had shot at Suzu because he was annoyed at them. But then— “Graaaah.”

“Ah!?”

They heard a low growl from behind them. Hurriedly turning around, they saw a monster half-jutting out of the ice wall, its claws inches from Suzu’s neck. There was a hole in its chest, and as they watched it slumped all the way out of the wall and hit the ground with a thud.

“We’ve got more coming from the left and right walls.”

Hajime’s serious tone drove all unnecessary thoughts out of the others’ heads and they readied themselves for battle. The joking atmosphere from earlier was gone. A moment later, statues of ice started coming through the walls. They had sharp claws and a single horn on their foreheads. That, combined with their muscular builds, made them look just like the ogres that showed up in Japanese folklore.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

There were five on each side. Hajime decided to dub these creatures Frost Ogres. Without any discussion, Hajime and the others naturally turned to the left while Kouki’s party turned right.

“Shizuku, let’s blitz them! Radiant Slash!”

“Got it! Flash Blitz!”

Ignoring the ogres’ threatening roars, Kouki and Shizuku used their Flash Step to dash forward and unleash their fastest attacks. Two Frost Ogres fell in an instant. While the remaining ogres were reeling, Ryutarou charged forward and drove his fist into the chest of another one, pulverizing it. In the meantime, Suzu used her barriers to trap the final two. Unlike the monsters they’d fought earlier, these ogres didn’t regenerate. After destroying them, red mana crystals fell out of their lifeless bodies. Just in case though, Kouki and the others decided to overkill their targets.

“Kouki-kun, Ryutarou-kun! Now’s your chance!”

“Okay!”

“You got it!”

Suzu used her barrier burst to send the last two ogres flying. They sailed through the air, defenseless. Kouki and Ryutarou finished them off before they could do a thing. It was a perfectly executed battle plan. Kouki and the others grinned at each other, but didn’t drop their guard. Just then, they heard a cute yet intimidating yell come from behind them.

“Uryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Turning around, Kouki and the others saw Shea somersaulting through the air, her slender legs pointed toward the roof. Looking further up, they saw all five Frost Ogres lined up vertically above her. They had no idea how things ended up like this, but it was obvious Shea had just kicked them into the air. Not haphazardly either, but in such a way that they all lined up. Why’s she doing that? A moment later, Kouki’s unspoken question was answered.

“Graaaaaaaah!?”

Gravity once again exerted its hold over the Frost Ogres, and they tumbled to the ground. Shea righted herself in midair and readied Drucken. Her graceful movements were captivating. But the barrage of blows that followed was too merciless to be considered graceful.

“One!”

“Bwah!?”

“Two!”

“Gah!?”

“Three!”

“Blagh!?”

Each one of Shea’s shouts was accompanied by an ogre’s dying scream. With each blow, Shea did a single revolution, twirling like a ballerina. That caused each successive blow to have even more power, and Shea made sure to complete each revolution just as the next ogre fell into Drucken’s reach. The third Frost Ogre was hit so hard even its mana crystal shattered into a thousand pieces as Drucken slammed into it. And Shea managed it all without using any body strengthening magic. Shards of ice shot out like cannonballs, blowing through the nearby ice wall. Even with its speedy regeneration, it was possible to see through it now.

“Four!”

“Hrrrghh!?”

Shea wasn’t done yet. She sped up her rotation, adding even more centrifugal force to her hammer. It honestly seemed more like she was toying with the Frost Ogres than taking them seriously as opponents.

“And finally, fiiiiiive!”

There was a loud boom as Shea’s hammer slammed into the last ogre. After five rotations, Drucken had broken the sound barrier. A visible layer of air covered Drucken as it moved faster than the surrounding air could move out of the way. The Frost Ogre shattered from the force of the impact, then was blown backward so hard that its shards pierced through three layers of ice walls.

“You’re too slow, too weak, and too spineless! Pathetic!”

Shea swung Drucken over her shoulder. The girl who’d started out as a gentle bunny of the forest had turned into a real demon. Kouki and the others paled as they watched the massacre unfold in front of them. When the final ogre was killed, their eyes glazed over.

“That’s right. We’re too slow, too weak, and too spineless… We shouldn’t be satisfied with easy victories like these. Hahaha…”

“Kouki… You don’t have to put yourself down like that. It’s better just to not think too hard about the stuff she says.”

“I love bunnies… but I’m not sure I’ll want to hold them anymore after we go back to Earth…”

“It’s fine, Shizushizu. That thing isn’t a bunny. It just looks like one, but it’s definitely not.”

There was no need for Shizuku to be scared of the innocent, garden-variety rabbits back on Earth. Ignoring the peanut gallery, Hajime turned to Shea and asked with a grimace, “Shea, were your super bunny ear ears or whatever able to sense those monsters coming?”

“You know, Hajime-san. I kind of just picked that name on a whim so I’d prefer it if you not use it. It’s kinda embarrassing…”

Fidgeting a little, Shea then replied to Hajime’s question.

“I was able to sense them, but only just before they came. I’ve memorized their sound now though, so I should be able to sense them sooner next time.”

“I see… I could only sense them right before they came too. And only because there was a slight flow of mana that my Demon Eye caught. Tio was right, these guys have some way to erase their presence.”

“So it would seem. I doubt those are the only monsters waiting for us. It would be wise to assume all enemies within this maze excel in ambushes.”

“Mmm… But they’re not that tough. Shea was right, they’re weak.”

“They don’t regenerate either. So the only real problem is how long the path is…”

Indeed, Shea’s earlier insults to the Frost Ogres were more or less on the mark. They were slow, weak, and far too spineless to be threatening. Meaning there was only a single concern. Whether or not the party would be able to maintain a status of high alert throughout their entire winding trek in the maze.

Kaori looked pensive for a moment, then turned to everyone. She implored them to speak up if they felt even the slightest bit exhausted, either physically or mentally. She looked nothing like the comic relief character that had panicked at the sight of zombies or nearly killed Ryutarou on accident while arguing with Yue. Instead, her serious expression looked just like that of a concerned healer. Naturally, everyone, including Yue, nodded solemnly in response.

Twenty minutes after Kaori’s transformation into cool Kaori. The party had continued fending off surprise attacks from Frost Ogres while also avoiding all manner of traps and pitfalls. Thanks to Kaori’s stellar support, no one had grown tired yet. However, Kouki and the others were growing mentally exhausted from the constant surprise attacks and lack of change in scenery. Kaori and Tio had both been continually casting restoration magic on them, but there was only so much they could do. Suzu, who was the most exhausted of the lot, turned to Hajime and tried to distract herself by asking him “Nagumo-kun, you don’t look like this is bothering you at all. How do you train your focus to be like that?”

By this point, even Shea, who was nearly unflappable, was starting to look a little haggard. Only Hajime seemed unaffected by the constant mental strain.

“Dunno, really. I guess it’s cause I had to be constantly alert until I met Yue. So I kind of instinctively learned how to stay focused.”

“Ah… I see.”

Suzu fell silent as she imagined what Hajime must have gone through. All alone in the dark, he’d had to constantly watch out for monsters trying to eat him. No matter how badly his body screamed at him to rest, no matter how sluggish his thoughts became, he had no choice but to remain alert or he’d die. He hadn’t trained his powers of concentration, he’d had no choice but to reach that level or die.

The rest of the party stiffened their resolve as they felt the weight of those casual words. “This isn’t the time to be complaining!” Ryutarou yelled, the light returning to his eyes. Kouki, too, shook his head and refocused his attention. Seeing that both guys were about to get themselves overly pumped up, Shizuku lightly said, “Nagumo-kun. How much further is it? We’ve been walking for a while now… so you’d think we’d be close. I’m getting pretty tired here.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding. We haven’t even gotten to the part covered in snow yet and you’re already complaining?”

“I… wouldn’t say I’m complaining. Just giving you an objective assessment of my condition.”

Shizuku pouted, and Hajime smiled faintly. He could tell that even Shea and Kaori were beginning to get exhausted, and this was Shizuku’s way of trying to help. Nodding, he replied, “Well, I guess it might not be a bad idea to take a short break. As soon as we can find a safe spot, let’s rest.”

“That sounds good… Thanks, Nagumo-kun.”

Shizuku’s expression softened. Hajime just shrugged his shoulders and set his compass to search for a suitable spot to rest. Yue, Shea, Kaori, and Tio all stared intently at Shizuku, who was still smiling at Hajime’s back. They then started whispering quietly to each other. For better or worse, Shizuku was too tired to notice.

After a few more minutes of walking, the party found themselves at a dead end. The corridor widened a little at the far end, and embedded into the wall at the end was a set of double doors. The door sat right at the border of where the snow mists started covering the maze. It appeared this was the resting spot the compass had found for them. Incidentally, they still happened to also be following the right path to reach the end of the maze.

“What a magnificent set of doors.”

“Mmm… They’re pretty.”

Tio and Yue both sighed in admiration. Everyone else nodded in agreement. The doors looked so ostentatious that it was hard to believe they were carved out of nothing but ice. Complex patterns of thorns and roses were carved into the doors’ entire length.

“This is…”

Hajime narrowed his eyes warily as he walked up to the doors. Right at head height was a carved circle of thorns, inside which sat three round holes. Hajime stepped forward and pushed on the doors with all his might. But as expected, they didn’t budge.

“Figured as much. I guess you’ve gotta put something into these three holes to unlock these doors.”

“Mmm… Taking the fastest route backfired.”

“Yeah.”

Hajime smiled ruefully and scratched his head.

“What do you think, Hajime-san? Should we look for the keys?”

Shea didn’t sound too enthusiastic about the prospect. She wouldn’t have minded normally, but right now the whole party was exhausted. Kouki and the others weren’t saying anything, but their expressions made it clear they were at their limits.

“Hajime… If it’s safe here, then…”

“Yeah. Let’s just take a break here.”

The moment Hajime said that, Kouki and the others relaxed. They slumped to the ground, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

“Guys, don’t lean against the walls. It’s possible we might still get hit by a surprise attack. Stick to the center of the corridor.”

While the others moved toward the center, Hajime took a few steps away from the door, then accessed his Treasure Trove. A second later, a huge tent appeared out of nowhere. The sides had been removed so that he could see any ambushes coming ahead of time, but seeing as there were metal struts on all sides, it was clear there was still some invisible barrier protecting them from the elements. Originally there had been no covering atop the roof either, but he’d added it to help keep the tent warm. Even just the psychological effect of being covered by warm colors helped people retain heat. And in truth, the gentle orange color of the ceiling did help everyone relax a bit more. Furthermore, the fabric was actually metal fibers, so it added to the tent’s defense. Kouki and the others gaped at its size; the tent could comfortably fit fifteen people inside.

“Whoa!? The floor’s even heated!”

“Th-The carpet’s as fluffy as the one in the royal palace…”

Shizuku and Suzu exclaimed in surprise. Their faces melted into satisfied smiles as they enjoyed their unexpected reward.

“H-Hey, Nagumo. Is that a kotatsu!?”

“Damn this place is fancy as hell…”

Kouki and Ryutarou shivered, simultaneously awed and scared.

“Hey, Taniguchi. Stop crawling on the carpet and get inside. You can keep your shoes on, since we don’t know when we’ll be attacked.”

“N-Nagumo-kuuun! I could never defile this paradise with my dirty shoes!”

“Hah, who the hell do you think I am!? Both the carpet and the kotatsu have been coated in a layer of ultra-fine ore. And that ore is enchanted with restoration magic.”

“Y-You mean…”

“That’s right, it’s self-cleaning. The whole tent goes back to its original state at regular intervals. Also just touching the carpet or kotatsu will restore your clothes and stamina.”

“Unbelievable! This is a revolution of home comfort!”

Suzu grew even more excited.

“I should have known you thought everything through, Nagumo,” Ryutarou muttered, impressed. Even Yue and the others were amazed. They hadn’t been aware of all the extra upgrades to the tent. Suzu’s endless litany of praise seemed to have put Hajime in a good mood, and he smiled in an unusual display of pride. Suzu crawled across the carpet like a worm, headed slowly toward the kotatsu. Kouki and the others all huddled inside it as well.

“Ahhh… I’m in heaven.”

Shizuku smiled, her tone completely relaxed. She thrust her feet inside the blanket and rest her head on the table, an expression of pure bliss spreading across her face. Her usual stern expression was nowhere to be found. She was fully indulging in this break.

The rest of the party was doing the same. Though the Airzones had kept people from freezing, the fact that they’d been surrounded by nothing but ice since entering the caverns had made it seem psychologically cold. So the inviting warmth of the tent sucked everyone in. For a moment they forgot they were in a labyrinth and let out satisfied moans, sounding like a group of Frost Zombies. Yue and Shea took up positions on either side of Hajime as usual, and he brought out four of his Cross Bits.

Kouki and the others hurriedly got to their feet, thinking they were about to be in a fight, but then returned to lazing about the moment they saw the Cross Bits leave the tent and start scouting all of the branching paths of the maze. They figured he’d just sent them out to secure the safety of the area. Once they opened themselves up to relaxing, the exhaustion that had been piling up hit them all at once. Kouki figured this must be what it felt like to be a corporate slave working overtime. Yue scooted closer to Hajime, then looked up at him and stroked his cheek, the gesture filled with kindness.

“You okay? Tired?”

“Remember what I said? The tent’s covered in restoration magic. Sending a few Cross Bits out won’t tire me out in here.”

Hajime covered Yue’s hand with his own and smiled gently at her. Their eyes turned into heart pupils. A second later, a fluffy pair of bunny ears came to rest on the nape of his neck. Turning around, Hajime saw that Shea was resting her head on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Shea?”

“I’m resting in your arms to heal faster—”

Shea didn’t bother mincing her words. She nuzzled against Hajime’s neck, making it clear that she had no intention of holding back because other people were around. Hajime found her boldness cute, and he wrapped his free arm around her and hugged her close. Seeing that, Yue decided to plop her head on Hajime’s shoulder as well. Now Shea had heart pupils as well. Of course, the scene caused Kaori to burn with jealousy, and her stand appeared once more. Meanwhile, the party’s resident perverted dragon crawled at Hajime’s feet, panting. Suzu watched the familiar scene with a weary sigh.

“Those guys don’t understand the pain of being single.”

Kouki and the others nodded vigorously. After a while, Shea started cooking a meal for the group, and the delicious smell of hotpot wafted through the air. The ingredients had, of course, come from Hajime’s Treasure Trove. It was all fresh seafood from Erisen.

“Hajime… Say aaaaaah.”

“Ahhh… Yeah, that’s good.”

“I’m next, Hajime-san. Say aaaaaah.”

Once it was ready, both Yue and Shea started feeding Hajime. He could, of course, feed himself, but they wouldn’t miss an opportunity to spoil him for anything. Sitting across from them, Ryutarou closed his eyes to their flirting, his expression that of a monk in the midst of ascetic training. On the other hand, Kouki was staring pointedly at the hotpot and shutting the rest of the world out. Shizuku and Suzu had gotten so used to Hajime, Yue, and Shea’s flirting that they just ignored it and enjoyed their food. Or so it seemed. But while Shizuku was smiling, Suzu was grimacing, as if nursing a stomachache. Hajime gave Shea a troubled smile, then swallowed the spoonful she brought up to his mouth. After chewing for a few seconds he said, “By the way Shea. You’ve been getting better at cooking by the day. You’ll make a good wife someday.”

“O-Oh you, Hajime-san… you’re flattering me. But I’m glad you think I’m so cute and precious that you don’t want to let me out of your sight for even a second!”

I never said any of that. But Hajime had grown more tolerant of Shea, and he didn’t even bother saying that out loud. Yue suddenly popped in between Hajime and Shea and asked, “Hajime… What about me?”

“Hm? Isn’t it obvious? You’re the number one wife in the world.”

“Mmm… I’ll try to get better at cooking.”

“Fufufu, Yue-san, how about we practice cooking Hajime-san’s favorite foods together?”

With the addition of Shea, the couple’s, or rather trio’s, flirting had reached new heights. They were eating a salty hotpot, but it looked as though they were feeding each other dessert or something. Ryutarou grabbed his head and groaned. Finally, Kaori could bear to watch no more. As was her specialty, she brazenly charged forward.

“H-Hey, Hajime-kun? What about me? I’m good at chores and cooking. I can make you delicious food every day.”

A mixture of impatience and hope twinkled in her eyes as she pushed her way toward Hajime’s side. “What do you think you’re doing?” Yue asked coldly and tried to push her away, but Kaori didn’t budge.

“Well, back in school you were the number one girl everyone wanted as their girlfriend. Or rather as their wife. So of course you’d make a good wife too.”

“Jeez, that’s not what I’m asking. I want to know if you think I’d be a good wife for you, Hajime-kun!”

Hajime awkwardly averted his gaze, but Kaori wasn’t about to let him escape. She leaned forward, demanding an answer. Fortunately, Yue came to his rescue.

“Kaori… Why do you insist on hurting yourself?”

“Y-Yue!? What’s that supposed to mean!?”

Yue’s words of feigned pity pierced through Kaori like a lance. Tears sprung to her eyes, and Yue smiled victoriously. Naturally, the two started fighting seconds later. Hajime was about to yell at them to stop fighting at the dinner table when something crawled out from under the kotatsu.

“Master. Surely you realize I would make for a wonderful spouse as well. As you are well aware, I live to serve. I guarantee you I would be able to satisfy you every single day! So please, bestow me your compliments!”

“If you want compliments, stop suddenly poking your head up through my crotch.”

Naturally, Hajime’s harsh words made Tio writhe with pleasure. Right on top of his crotch.

“If you don’t restrain yourself, I’m gonna leave you behind when I go home.”

“Nfufufu. So that means you are planning on taking me to your world with you. Oh, Master, your love for me is so great it’s suffocating…”

Tio started writhing even faster. She’s beyond saving now. Sighing, Hajime patted Tio’s head to calm her down. He then turned to Kaori, who was currently being pinned down and tickled by Yue and patted her head too. That casual gesture was enough to show everyone watching that he cared about them too. And that he wanted them by his side just as much as he wanted Yue and Shea. Just as things were starting to calm down, a sharp voice cut through the happy atmosphere.

“We’re eating right now, so could you keep it down?”

Shizuku’s tone was harsh and utterly devoid of warmth.

“Sh-Shizuku-chan?”

Terrified, Kaori poked her head above the kotatsu. Shizuku was smiling. Smiling quite brightly, in fact. But that smile didn’t reach her eyes. Even Yue stopped tickling Kaori and stiffened up. Tio turned serious, and Kouki, who had nothing to do with the ruckus, dropped his spoon. Ryutarou spit out his mouthful of stew and goggled at Shizuku.

“Sh-Shizushizu? Don’t you think… Actually, nevermind.”

Feeling as though Shizuku was a bit too angry at Hajime and the others for fooling around, Suzu tried to calm her down. But the moment Shizuku turned that smile onto Suzu she withered and averted her gaze. Besides, it was true that Hajime and the others had gotten a little too rowdy during mealtime. Yue, Kaori, and Tio all crawled out of the kotatsu and sat with their backs upright.

“Sh-Shizuku… Is scary.”

Yue muttered quietly. Just as quietly, Kaori responded, “Y-Yep. Shizuku-chan doesn’t get mad often, but when she does she’s really scary.” Shizuku swiveled around, bringing her smile to bear on Yue and Kaori. The two of them looked away. Suzu felt her stomachache worsening at the prospect of resuming her meal in this awkward silence, but it turned out they wouldn’t be.

“Hm? They made it,” Hajime muttered quietly. He put down his chopsticks and started glancing around, which gave everyone else a good opportunity to resume eating without it being awkward.

“Hey, Nagumo. What is it?”

“Hmm, hold on a second.”

Kouki went back to stuffing himself full of fish dumplings and Hajime continued looking at what seemed to be nothing. The others gave him curious looks as they ate as well. After a few seconds, Hajime nodded to himself and muttered, “Perfect.” He turned around and opened his Treasure Trove. A shiny gray metal plate fell into his hands. It was a new artifact known as a Gate Key. He thrust it out into empty air, and it activated. Space around the plate began to warp, and the key connected to the Gate Keyholes located inside his Cross Bits. Beyond the oval portal that he opened was a hexagonal pedestal of ice. Sitting atop it was a jewel. The jewel emitted a yellow aura, and if this were an RPG it would obviously be a key item. That wasn’t the only thing there, though.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Behind the pedestal was a huge Frost Ogre. It was easily three times the size of the ones they’d seen so far and was charging right at the portal.

“Bwah!?”

Kouki and the others spit out their food, wasting Shea’s lovingly cooked ingredients. Yue instantly deployed a barrier, protecting herself and her plate from the half-chewed food. Such bad manners. But Yue didn’t admonish them. After all, she realized that for them, suddenly seeing a Frost Ogre many times bigger than the ones they’d fought so far would be a surprising occurrence. Asking them to remain calm was an impossible request.

“N-Nagu— Ack! Cough!”

“That’s gross. Swallow your food before you talk.”

Hajime turned over his shoulder and frowned at Kouki as he reached for the jewel and grabbed it off the pedestal. He didn’t seem the least bit perturbed that a Frost Ogre was bearing down on him. With another flash of his Treasure Trove, he pulled out a metal sphere about the same size as the jewel and dropped it unceremoniously onto the pedestal. Then, he closed the portal. Screaming in impotent rage, the Frost Ogre reached out for Hajime, but it wouldn’t make it before the portal fully closed. Hajime wasn’t even looking at the Frost Ogre anymore. He turned around, and the gate closed safely behind him. A second later, there was a loud rumbling in the distance, and the entire maze shook.

“Hmmm, I knew it, it’s no normal key. I wanted to just duplicate it but… it’ll take too long to analyze the magic circle engraved inside it.”

Sighing, Hajime put the jewel to the side. He then picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating as though nothing had happened.

“Huh, so that’s what the keys look like. Oh, these fish dumplings are done. Here you go, Hajime-san.”

“Ah, thanks Shea.”

Shea also resumed flirting with him as though nothing had happened. Kouki and the others had been stunned by what they’d just seen, but seeing the newlywed couple act snapped them back to their senses.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, this isn’t right!”

“Are you even allowed to do that!?”

“I feel sorry for that Frost Ogre!”

“Isn’t that way too lazy!?”

“What’s the problem, guys?”

Hajime really couldn’t understand what Kouki and the others were complaining about.

We’ve got good food and a cozy tent, so what’re you all getting so worked up over?

His puzzled expression just irked Kouki even more. Veins bulged in his forehead, and he had to take a few deep breaths to forcibly calm himself down.

“Nagumo. What was that?”

“What do you mean? You saw didn’t you?”

“I did, but that doesn’t tell me anything! What did you do!?”

“Are you okay, man?”

Since he’d seen and still seemed unable to understand, Hajime began to worry Kouki was so exhausted he was starting to hallucinate. Not only were Kouki’s words not getting through, they were just causing Hajime to question his sanity. Kouki was ready to blow. In fact, he was this close to doing a table-flip… No, a kotatsu-flip fit better.

However, Ryutarou hurriedly pinned Kouki’s arms behind his back. He understood Kouki’s rage, but the food wasn’t at fault here. Meanwhile, Hajime turned to Kaori and asked her to make sure Kouki was mentally okay. Kaori, of course, knew what the actual reason behind Kouki’s reaction was, so all she could do was give Hajime a troubled smile and explain that it was okay. Watching this all unfold from the sidelines, Shizuku wearily rubbed her temples to assuage her headache and spoke up.

“Umm, so to sum it up, Nagumo-kun, you didn’t send out your Cross Bits to patrol the area, but instead to find the keys to this door, right? And when your Cross Bit finally found one of the jewels that unlock the door it awoke the guardian of the jewel?”

Shizuku looked over at Hajime for confirmation, and he nodded. Feeling her headache growing worse, Shizuku continued.

“So then you opened a portal to grab the jewel, and left a bomb for the Frost Ogre, killing it without a fight?”

“Yep. That’s exactly it. Just as you saw.”

“That’s exactly what the problem is! Aren’t guardians of the labyrinths powerful monsters you have to face in a direct battle!?”

Freeing himself from Ryutarou’s bind, Kouki leaned forward and shouted something that should have been common sense.

“Nah, it’s better if we can collect them without a hassle. Who wants to waste hours running around finding all three jewels?”

“I mean I don’t really want to either but… what if the labyrinth doesn’t recognize us as true conquerors!?”

Hajime popped a fish dumpling into his mouth and chewed it for a few seconds before answering Kouki’s question. Don’t eat in the middle of a conversation! Kouki glared at him, but Hajime ignored him.

“I had my Cross Bits explore the maze to make sure that won’t happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. How is this any different from an earth mage using golems to scout out the maze and gathering the jewels for their master, or a dark mage doing the same thing with monsters under their control?”

“W-Well…”

There certainly wasn’t any difference. Stymied, Kouki quickly switched to a different track.

“But using a portal to grab the jewel’s still cheating isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s a valid concern. That’s why I was careful. If using a portal to grab the jewel was against the maze’s rules, I would have used the gravity magic abilities of my Cross Bit to absorb whatever spell it brought out to punish cheaters.”

“Ah, just like you did to me when I fell asleep in Verbergen…” Shizuku muttered to herself. She was still holding a grudge over the crucifixion incident.

“Though I wasn’t expecting it to be a problem. After all, the maze didn’t do anything when Yue used spatial magic to save Sakagami. As long as it’s not us personally who are trying to take shortcuts through the maze, it doesn’t seem to mind.”

Plus, Hajime had even killed the jewel’s guardian, so it wasn’t as though he’d bypassed that either.

“Is this really okay? Is conquering a labyrinth really supposed to be this easy?”

Kouki couldn’t accept Hajime’s cavalier attitude toward exploiting the gray areas in the rules regarding how challengers were meant to progress through the labyrinth. Ryutarou lightly patted Kouki on the back, his expression similar to that of an enlightened Buddha.

“Kouki… if you keep worrying about this stuff, you’ll just go bald.”

Suzu backed away, creeped out by Ryutarou’s strange expression.

“Shizushizu, is it just me, or has Ryutarou gone weird?”

“He’s been liberated from common sense, I guess? Can’t say I’m surprised, since Nagumo-kun is a living symbol of uncommon sense.”

“I have to be careful, or I’ll be poisoned by Nagumo-kun’s uncommon sense too. Ah, I just realized. This must be why Kaorin’s beyond saving now…”

“Huh!?” Kaori turned to Suzu, surprised. Suzu gave Kaori a look that was half-sadness, half-pity. The normal Kaori who understood common sense is gone forever… Alas.

Hajime glared at Shizuku and muttered, “That’s a pretty harsh way of putting it. Well, whatever…”

“I’ve found the other two jewels too. They have the same traps and guardians protecting them. I’m just worried if I’m the only one to collect all the jewels the labyrinth won’t recognize anyone but me as having cleared it. So just in case, you guys should split up into two teams to get the rest. Amanogawa, your party gets one while Yue and the others get the other.”

“Mmm… Okay.”

“Haaah, fine.”

Yue and Kouki nodded. For some reason though, Kouki still looked dissatisfied about something.

Sometime later, Kaori stood in front of the double doors and looked worriedly at it.

“I hope Shizuku-chan and the others are alright…”

Two jewels already sat inside the grooves carved out for them. The yellow jewel Hajime had obtained without any effort at all, and the red jewel Yue and the others had been able to easily acquire after obliterating the room’s guardian. Only one remained. The one Kouki and the others had gone to retrieve. This was the first time the party had split up since entering the labyrinth, so Kaori was worried about the safety of her childhood friends. For a few minutes now she’d been fidgeting restlessly, debating whether or not she should go help them. Every time she suggested it though, Yue would say, “You’re being overprotective, Mom” and Kaori would fall silent.

“Hajime-kun…”

“Don’t make that face. Those guys should be strong enough to handle enemies on that level at least… Yeah, see, they’re already done.”

Hajime had been watching the battle through the sightstone embedded in his Cross Bits and linked to his Demon Eye. Smiling, he told Kaori the good news.

“R-Really!? They’re okay!? No one’s hurt!?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. They struggled a bit, but no one’s seriously injured. Sakagami got frostbite, but Taniguchi’s already healing him.”

“Thank goodness!”

Kaori patted her chest, relieved. Hajime led Kouki and the others back to the door using his Cross Bit. All four of them seemed oddly refreshed. Shea tilted her bunny ears, wondering what had reinvigorated them so.

“Why do you guys look so happy? That thing was weaker than the Frost Turtle so of course you could beat it.”

“They are likely glad that they were able to clear a portion of the labyrinth the ‘correct’ way. You see, Master’s approach was so rational that it stripped any sense of adventure from the quest, which was what they were lamenting earlier.”

As usual, Tio was able to read their feelings easily.

“I see,” Shea and Hajime said simultaneously, and nodded. When all was said and done, Hajime was still a guy. He loved the romantic ideal of a good adventure as much as anyone else. Until now he’d never thought of approaching the labyrinths as challenges to be enjoyed, but finally, he grasped a sliver of what Shizuku had meant when she’d said common sense. Kaori ran over and glomped Shizuku while Kouki walked up to the door and took a green jewel out of his pocket.

“Nagumo, I just stick it in here, right?”

“Yeah, that’s all you gotta do.”

Kouki gulped nervously and placed the final jewel into the groove carved out for it. A second later, the jewels began emitting light. Each jewel emitted light corresponding to its color. Ribbons of light flowed down doors’ engravings, like water filling a canal. The light from the yellow jewel lit up the door’s outline like a sun while the green filled out the complex patterns of thorns, and the red breathed life into the roses. It was a marvelous spectacle.

Once the door was completely illuminated, the jewels flashed. The massive double doors slowly creaked open. A gust of wind passed through, briefly blowing back the mist of snow. Suzu timidly peered into the corridor that lay beyond, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Whoa, what is this… It’s like a mirror house.”

“Except this is made of ice… Though, this is just as reflective as any mirror.”

Indeed, the passage beyond was a world of mirrors. Walls opposite each other reflected the opposite wall, creating an optical illusion making it seem as though the walls stretched on infinitely. These ice walls were nothing like the previous ones, which only faintly reflected silhouettes. Were it not for the chill coming from the walls, Hajime would have doubted they were even made of ice. These walls truly were mirrors of ice, and not in a figurative sense.

“Let’s go. Don’t get lost, guys.”

The party walked into the mystical corridor of mirrors. Inside, it was just like the mirror houses one found in carnivals. Light bounced off the walls endlessly, and there were countless reflected copies of each party member stretching out for eternity. The sky above was covered in a mist of snow, and it was much dimmer and gloomier here than it had been in the earlier part of the maze. The party’s footsteps echoed loudly across the hard stone floor, the only noise in the otherwise silent corridor. It seemed these ice mirrors reflected sound as well as they did light.

“It feels like it’s sucking us in…” Yue muttered as she examined her reflection in the ice. It certainly did feel as though the endlessly reflecting wall was an entrance to some bottomless abyss, just waiting to drag those who peered into it into its lightless depths. Captivated, Yue reached out for her reflection. Before she could touch it, Hajime, who was standing next to her, reached out and hugged her. His warm embrace snapped Yue out of her reverie and she returned to reality.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let it take you.”

“Mmm…”

Hajime’s gaze was filled with love, but there was also a fiery determination burning in his pupils. Elated, Yue smiled gently. The two of them stopped walking and gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Do you two have to flirt every five minutes or something?”

Shizuku glared at Hajime, giving voice to everyone’s feelings. They were just at it in the tent, and now they’re doing it again. They’re just looking for excuses to flirt now… Shizuku thought angrily. However, Hajime and Yue were unperturbed by Shizuku’s caustic remarks. Their love for each other was so great that if it could be measured as a stat, it would have long since passed the maximum value and caused a bug in the system.

“Sorry. Yue’s just too cute.”

“Mmm… Sorry. Hajime’s just too wonderful.”

Shizuku heaved a very long and very weary sigh. Kaori puffed her cheeks out angrily, while Tio and Shea just smiled ruefully. The two of them were used to this now. However, Hajime and Yue’s romcom skit did help ease the nerves of Kouki and the others, who’d been on edge ever since walking into this hall of mirrors.

The party continued unimpeded by monsters or traps, following the guidance of Hajime’s compass. After walking for about thirty minutes or so, there was finally a change in their surroundings. Kouki suddenly came to a halt and started glancing about. Noticing his odd behavior, Hajime called a halt and turned to him. Shizuku turned back as well and asked, “Kouki? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s just… Did you guys hear a voice just now? It sounded like a person whispering.”

“H-Hey, Kouki-kun, don’t scare me like that!”

Hearing human whispering was one of the hallmarks of horror movies and Kaori timidly examined her countless reflections, goosebumps rising up her arms. She was scared that Shizuku’s earlier prediction that they’d suddenly get more party members without noticing it had come true.

“Anyone else hear anything? Shea?”

Hajime looked to the other party members in turn.

“Nope, I didn’t hear anything. I don’t sense anyone other than the people here, either.”

Shea closed her eyes and focused on her hearing, her bunny ears twitching. The other party members shook their heads; they hadn’t heard anything either.

“I could have sworn I heard something…”

“Maybe you’re just hearing things cause you’re a little tense?”

“Ryutarou… Yeah, maybe.”

Yeah, maybe I’m just hearing things. No one else heard anything after all. Though Kouki still wasn’t completely convinced, he decided to chalk it up to his imagination.

“Shea, mind checking for me?”

“Roger!”

Though the others seemed to think it had just been Kouki’s imagination, Hajime asked the most skilled scout in the party to search the area for them. Honestly, Shea thought it had probably just been Kouki’s imagination too, but Hajime’s serious expression convinced her to check anyway. Her bunny ears twitched, and she focused all her attention on her hearing. Finding nothing, the party resumed navigating the maze with perfect precision. But after a few minutes, Kouki stopped again. This time he shouted, “There it is again! I knew it, it’s not just my imagination! I definitely heard it!”

“K-Kouki?”

Shizuku shot Kouki a confused glance as he searched wildly for the source of the sound. Seeing their confused looks caused him to panic a little. Desperate, he began to shout.

“That was clear as day! It said ‘Are you really okay with this?’”

“B-But Kouki, I didn’t hear anything.”

“Y-Yeah. I didn’t hear anything either…”

“Likewise… Not even the faintest hint of something.”

Worry gnawed at him as he realized he was the only one hearing this voice. It felt as though he was the only one trapped in the darkness, suffocating. That worry and despair turned into frustration, and he unfairly grew annoyed at his comrades. Venting his anger, Kouki looked up at the sky and screamed.

“I’m not lying! I mean it! Dammit, who are you!? Where are you!? Stop sneaking around and show yourself!”

“Kouki, calm down!”

While Shizuku was trying to pacify Kouki, Hajime turned to Shea.

“Shea?”

“I didn’t hear a thing…”

Hajime had expected as much since Shea hadn’t caught anything last time either. It stood to reason regular hearing wouldn’t have picked up on the voice this time either.

“Hajime… did you sense any mana?”

“Nope. It was like that with the zombies and ogres too. Looks like this labyrinth’s walls are capable of concealing the flow of mana. We can’t trust my Demon Eye to pick up on everything.”

“Hrmm. It is possible Kouki has buckled under the strain of traversing this labyrinth, but… this is far too sudden. It seems more likely to me that he is receiving some sort of signal directly.”

“But Shea’s ears couldn’t pick up on it, and Hajime’s eye couldn’t sense it, so how are we supposed to defend against that?”

While Kaori and Tio were discussing what the nature of Kouki’s voice could be, Kouki himself was still trying to desperately prove he wasn’t crazy. Hajime turned to him and said, “Amanogawa, calm down.”

“Nagumo. I’m not lying, I swear. I definitely…”

“I know. I don’t think it’s just in your head either.”

“Huh?”

Kouki knew from experience just how brusquely Hajime treated him. So he was surprised when Hajime believed him despite having no evidence to back up his claim. A mixture of shock and relief spread through him, and Kouki finally calmed down. Hajime turned to everyone else and spoke.

“It’s best to assume something’s sending Kouki signals directly. If that whispering voice is part of this maze’s trial, then it’s likely we’ll all start hearing voices very soon. I dunno what the labyrinth is going for here, but… I can’t think of any way to defend against the voices right now. So just be prepared, guys.”

Hajime believed it was safer to assume this was another one of the labyrinth’s unexplained phenomena than to write the voice off as Kouki’s delusions. It was less that he believed Kouki and more that he was experienced enough to know that labyrinths always threw the unexpected at challengers. Ryutarou and the others shook off their confusion and nodded. Suddenly wary of their countless reflections, the party once again resumed their trek. After another few minutes of walking— They didn’t believe you.

“Ngh, not again…”

Another whisper reached Kouki’s ears. Those words struck Kouki to the core. The voice itself was grating too. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Little wonder that it got on Kouki’s nerves so. But this time Kouki didn’t start shouting back at it. While he wasn’t able to keep it from getting to him, he was still able to maintain a semblance of composure. Unknown phenomena rattled people’s psyche more than anything, but now that the party knew it was some sort of interference coming from the labyrinth itself, there was less reason to be afraid. Kouki stamped down on his misgivings, and focused on the voice, trying to glean any information from it that he could. As he played the voice back in his mind, he realized something.

“I recognize it?”

Indeed, the voice Kouki had heard sounded vaguely familiar. Who’s voice is it, though? And where have I heard it before? As he cocked his head quizzically, Shizuku and the others looked at him worriedly.

“Kouki, are you okay?”

“Shizuku… Yeah, I’m fine. I just heard the voice again, but…”

“But?”

“I could be wrong, but the voice sounds familiar.”

Shizuku put a hand on her chin and said thoughtfully, “Back in the Haltina Woods there was a monster who could imitate our forms. This feels similar to that, where the labyrinth is interfering with us directly. It’s possible the voice is imitating one of ours. Kouki, don’t be fooled by it. Let us know if it says anything.”

“I will. You be careful too, Shizuku. If Nagumo’s right, you guys’ll start hearing the voice soon too.”

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

Shizuku smiled at Kouki, and he managed to calm down a little. His taut expression loosened into a smile. It was moments like these that reminded him he was truly blessed to have a childhood friend willing to support him all the time like this. But a second later— You’ve realized it already, haven’t you?

“Ah.”

The voice coiled around Kouki’s heart, constricting it like a vice. It felt as though it were laying all of Kouki’s vulnerabilities bare, the parts of him that he’d tried to hide from everyone. His vision blurred, and he reflexively turned to Shizuku for help. But the help he expected never came. Next to him, his childhood friend looked just as stiff as he did. Something had clearly happened to her as well.

“Shizuku, don’t tell me…”

“Yes… I heard it too. It was a girl’s voice. And it sounded familiar too. It said ‘Turning your eyes from the truth again, are you?’”

Finally, someone other than Kouki had started hearing voices. This proved the theory that they were coming from the labyrinth. Hajime stopped and turned to Kouki and Shizuku.

“Amanogawa, what about you? What did you hear?”

“Mine said, ‘You’ve realized it already, haven’t you?’”

“Huh, so they say different things to different people… Any idea what they mean?”

Both of them opened their mouths to say no, but the words caught in their throat. It felt as though someone had just pulled them by the shoulder and asked, “Really now?” Anxious, Shizuku and Kouki swallowed their words. They exchanged glances and realized they’d both had the same sensation.

“Shizuku-chan? Are you okay? Did—”

Kaori started walking over to Shizuku, but then Suzu suddenly let out a yelp.

“S-Suzu-chan, you too?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Kaori started and turned to Suzu, who confirmed her suspicions. While Suzu was still recovering from the shock, Ryutarou suddenly yelled out, “Whoa!?” Hajime turned to him and Suzu and asked, “Looks like the labyrinth’s finally showing its cards… Sakagami, what did the voice tell you?”

Hajime was hoping to glean some idea of what this trial was based off what the voice was saying to everyone. He turned to Tio, who always had reliable insight in these situations. Guessing what he wanted, Tio nodded and turned her attention to Suzu and Ryutarou. Grimacing, Suzu answered before Ryutarou.

“Umm… my voice said something like Kouki-kun’s. ‘Surely you’ve realized it by now?’”

“Yeah, mine said the same thing as Shizuku. ‘How long do you plan on deceiving yourself?’”

Surprisingly, even ever-cheerful Ryutarou looked put off by the voice. Like Kouki and Shizuku, they seemed not to understand the meaning behind the voice’s words. Though the words themselves were unfathomable, they somehow left all four of them feeling deeply unsettled, as though a dark fog had descended on their hearts.

“That’s pretty abstract. I feel like if it wanted to lead us astray it’d do something more direct…”

Like ask us to do something specific, or go somewhere, or something. But if it’s not that, then what?

“Suzu, Ryutarou. Did the voices sound familiar to you as well?”

“Hmm, now that you mention it… they did.”

“Ah, yeah. I felt like I recognized mine too.”

Tio lapsed into thought. Silence fell as the party came to a halt. An oppressive atmosphere settled around them. In order to dispel the somber mood that had taken root Yue clapped her hands together loudly and said, “Mmm… Either way, we need to keep going.”

“True that.”

There was little meaning in standing around. Nothing would happen unless they moved forward. Kouki nodded in agreement, and Hajime flashed Yue a smile before resuming the journey.

Where do you plan on returning to?

“Oho…”

The moment he started walking, Hajime heard a voice whisper that to him. He raised his eyebrows slightly, but didn’t stop. Moments later, voices reached Yue and the others as well. While everyone told each other what they’d heard, no one stopped this time. The party traversed through the maze for another three hours. According to the compass, they were growing close to their goal. From what Hajime could tell, another few hours of walking would see them out of this maze.

But the closer they got to the exit, the more incessant the whispering became. That wasn’t all. Its effect on the minds of the party was growing stronger too. Slowly but surely, the incomprehensible words started dredging up old fears and past traumas, giving glimpses as to what those words were referring to. Like ink spilled on white paper, the whispering’s influence spread, dyeing the hearts and minds of the party pitch black. Before long, everyone kept repeating the words in their head even when they weren’t being whispered to them. It felt as though rocks had settled in everyone’s stomachs.

It’ll happen again. Yue’s heart felt like a lump of ice. In the back of her mind, she thought back to her uncle and her retainers, all people she’d trusted completely. She thought she’d put all that behind her now, but the labyrinth’s whispers kept bringing the memories back. Yue had no difficulty in guessing what the voice was referring to when it said it would happen again.

It was your fault. A lump of regret settled in the pit of Shea’s stomach. Over and over, she saw visions of her desperate flight from Verbergen, where she’d been forced to watch so many of her family members die. The screams of her loved ones tormented her thoughts ceaselessly.

No one will accept you. Feelings blacker than her scales swirled around inside Tio. She saw nightmares of the time when she was a child and her clan was persecuted by the other races. She’d been too young to even be able to control her powers and could do nothing but watch helplessly as her brethren were swept away by rising tides of fire. Even now she could vividly remember the fear and contempt in their eyes as they kicked aside the corpses of her family. Those eyes would never leave her.

You’re so jealous you wish you could kill her. Barbs of pain lodged themselves into Kaori’s heart. Even though she’d gone so far as to abandon her body to gain power, it felt as though Yue was still miles ahead of her. Before she knew it, Kaori found herself shooting Yue envious looks without even realizing it. It felt as though she’d been pierced through with thorns. Blades of regret cut deeply into her, and for a moment she felt as though she were actually bleeding. That illusory blood whirled around her, swallowing her whole.

“Ah, now I get it. That’s my voice.”

Hajime’s words brought everyone back to reality, and they stopped drowning in the whispers surrounding them.

“Hajime?”

Yue shot Hajime a questioning look. He looked completely unfazed by the whispers.

“You guys all said you recognized your voices right? I thought so too. After listening to it for a while I realized that’s cause it’s my voice. When I was helping dad out with his game design projects I often played back my own voice to test sound levels and stuff. Your voice sounds pretty different to you when you’re not hearing it inside your head, which is why it took me so long to realize. But this is definitely the same voice I heard played back to me back then.”

At Hajime’s words, everyone else nodded in realization. Because of how different one’s voice sounded when heard from an outside source, they hadn’t noticed until just now. Kaori furrowed her brows and muttered with a frown, “But then wouldn’t that mean that the things the voice is saying are…”

“Have you not all realized from the contents of the whispers? Those are our own feelings. Whether we’re aware of them or not, these are all things we’ve thought or felt at some point. They’re the memories and feelings we’ve most repressed because we do not wish to confront them.”

“Yep. That’s why it feels so disgusting like the voice is trampling all over our hearts.”

“Mmm… This is why I hate labyrinths.”

Tio’s conjecture was right on the mark. No one saw any reason to refute it. Even if they didn’t agree verbally like Shea and Yue, everyone’s bitter expressions made it clear that they understood all too well.

“What remains to be seen is whether these truly are our thoughts and feelings, or if the labyrinth has somehow hypnotized or brainwashed us to believe they are.”

It was possible that these weren’t really the party’s thoughts, but just close enough that they could get under everyone’s skin and cause them to plausibly believe that they might be. At Tio’s words, Kouki and the others shivered, a kaleidoscope of emotions whirling through them. Kouki was especially affected.

He grimaced, as though he’d swallowed a lump of lead, then his expression clouded over as he lapsed into thought. He looked up, as though searching for a ray of salvation from above. Surprisingly, the next person to react was Shizuku. She spoke to Hajime with forced cheerfulness, as if desperate to avoid talking about her own feelings.

“But it doesn’t seem like the whispers are getting to you guys at all. Are you doing something to drown them out?”

Hajime, Yue, Shea, Tio, and Kaori all exchanged glances.

“Shizuku-chan, those voices are really getting under my skin too.”

“Huh?”

Kaori’s response stunned Shizuku. After all, her smile didn’t look troubled at all. Kaori then added, “This whole time, I’ve been feeling reaaaaaaaaally jealous. I won’t say who, but there’s a certain vampire I wish I could beat to a pulp right now. I won’t say who, though.”

“Fine, Kaori… Bring it. I’ll beat you down.”

Though she was grinning, Kaori’s demonic stand was posing menacingly behind her. Yue turned to her and took a karate stance.

“D-Don’t you think you’re being a little too blunt, Kaori?”

Shizuku and the others were taken aback at how readily Kaori laid bare her dark emotions. But despite the fact that jealousy was a negative emotion, Kaori herself didn’t appear the least bit spiteful or gloomy. The reason for that was simple.

“If I don’t face her head-on, then what’s the point?”

Blades forged by regret and honed by jealousy were stabbing into Kaori’s heart. She’d failed to protect Hajime when she swore she would, and since reuniting with him she’d constantly felt inferior to Yue.

But so what? Kaori had been aware of those feelings long before the labyrinth had started whispering them into her ear. The reason she was standing here now was because she’d already come to terms with them. Having her regrets and failures thrown in her face still hurt, of course, but she wouldn’t break over something like this.

Kouki and the others were dumbfounded. Even Shizuku’s jaw was hanging open. To them, Kaori appeared dazzlingly radiant and pure.

“Those whispers make me feel disgusted too. But now’s not the time to be worrying about them,” Shea said candidly. She, too, had a very simple reason as to why she could stay so calm. No matter how much she might regret the past, she couldn’t fix it. She couldn’t go back and undo what had happened. So rather than dwelling on what couldn’t be changed, she decided to focus on the future, which could. She may have lost many people dear to her, but there were others she still had left. And she didn’t want to lose any more. This wasn’t the time to be lamenting her past actions.

“I have not lived so sheltered a life that mere whispers will sway my heart.”

Tio shrugged her shoulders casually. In her mind’s eye, she saw the flames that had destroyed her home. But no matter how vivid the memories, those flames couldn’t burn her. After all these centuries, she’d finally found the miracle she’d been looking for.

Kouki and the others couldn’t believe how calm the three girls were. Hajime, however, just smiled gently. He was proud of how far all of them had come. Shizuku then turned to Hajime, a silent question in her gaze. It seemed to Hajime as though she desperately needed an answer for her own peace of mind.

“As for me… Well, the whispering doesn’t bother me much.”

“It doesn’t? But… Nagumo-kun…”

It was obvious to Hajime what Shizuku was trying to say. The group had been sharing what they’d been hearing, so she knew what was being whispered into Hajime’s ear.

“There’s no place that will accept a monster like you.”

“Do you really think a murderer will be able to live a normal life again?”

Those were the things he was hearing. For Hajime, who desired to return home more than anyone, those subconscious fears should have been paralyzing. The thought that he might never be able to return to his old life should have left him plagued with doubts. There’s no way it doesn’t bother him. He has to be worried.

Sensing Shizuku’s thoughts, Hajime smiled sadly and said, “I mean yeah, it’s painful to hear. I’m not really human anymore. And my morals and stuff are pretty far removed from the average Japanese person. So, yeah… Maybe somewhere deep inside I’m worried I won’t be able to fit in anymore when I get back to Japan.”

Hajime’s tone was completely casual. There was no sentimentality in his voice, and he clearly wasn’t looking for sympathy. He simply analyzed his own feelings in a completely clinical way. It really did seem as though he wasn’t bothered at all.

Hearing how easily Hajime, Kaori, and the other girls were able to overcome the darkness in their hearts only caused the darkness within Kouki’s to grow stronger. Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, he blurted out, “Then how!? How can you stay so calm!? You want to go home so bad you’re willing to abandon the people of this world! Shouldn’t the possibility that you might not be welcome terrify you!?”

Kouki’s tone was frantic. He was clearly struggling to control himself. His eyes darkened, his muscles tensed, his shoulders trembled, and his breath came in short gasps. The whispers he’d been hearing had shaved away at his mental fortitude a great deal.

Hajime held out a hand to calm him and replied, “It’s not that I’m calm, it’s just that I know there’s no point in worrying about it. I won’t know for sure what’ll happen when I get back until I do. So for now, I’m just not thinking about it.”

“What I’m asking is how you can just cast those thoughts aside so easily! Isn’t the labyrinth supposed to be whispering the things that are the hardest for us to ignore!?”

What the heck is eating at him so much? As he yelled, Kouki’s eyes seemed to grow darker and darker, hatred, or perhaps anger, swelling within them. Regardless of which emotion was tormenting him, Kouki was clearly beginning to lose it. Shizuku, Ryutarou, Suzu, and Kaori all shot him worried looks. Slowly but surely, their childhood friend was starting to crack, and they were afraid he was going to break. Hajime glanced over at Kaori and smiled wryly to himself. Then his expression grew serious and he turned back to Kouki.

“First, I decide what it is I want. Then, I decide what it is I need to do in order to make that happen.”

“What’re you…”

Confused by the sudden change in subject, Kouki gave Hajime a blank look. But Hajime gaze was as firm as iron.

“After that, all that’s left is to do it. There’s no point in worrying about whether I can do it or not. If I have time to worry, I have time to think about what my next move should be. I’ve decided. I’m going to back home to Japan with Yue and everyone. I’m going to show them all the cool things Earth has, and introduce them to my parents. That’s what I’m putting my life on the line for. I don’t have time to care about ‘what ifs’ that even my own subconscious doesn’t have the answers to.”

“That’s crazy. You can’t just…”

“I’m not asking you to agree with me. I know better than anyone I’m just putting the problem off instead of solving it, and that this isn’t a very human line of thought to begin with,” Hajime paused at that, then added, “But that’s still no reason to stop here.”

If Hajime was the kind of person to let his feelings distract him, he would have died long ago in the abyss. He knew separating himself from his emotions like this wasn’t normal. But it was only by learning how to do this that Hajime had been able to crawl out of hell and find things important to him again. And right now, those skills were helping him move forward without hesitation.

“……”

Unable to argue back, Kouki averted his gaze. No matter what anyone said to him, no matter what anyone did to him, Hajime would not be swayed. Kouki couldn’t bear to see that undying resolve of his. Though Kouki knew he would never be able to understand it, that resolve was nevertheless unbelievably bright. Shizuku, who’d originally posed the question to Hajime, had nothing more to say either. Like Kouki, she found Hajime’s resolve dazzling, but unlike Kouki, she kept her gaze fixed firmly on him. Her usual calm and composed demeanor was gone, and she looked almost lost. She was so absorbed by Hajime that she didn’t even notice her best friend gently watching her from the side.

In the midst of that awkward atmosphere, Shea suddenly blurted out, “Oh yeah!” Whether she’d been trying to lighten the mood on purpose, or had just naturally ended up doing so, the party’s whimsical bunny girl easily cleared away the fog of dark thoughts that had settled around them.

“So we know the reason Hajime-san’s not affected is because he’s an unfeeling machine, but—”

“Sorry I’m an ‘unfeeling machine.’”

Hajime started pinching Shea’s cheeks, but she ignored him.

“But how come you look like you’re totally fine too, Yue-san? The labyrinth’s whispering to you about the people who betrayed you and trapped you underground for 300 years, isn’t it? Doesn’t that piss you off?”

Hajime was pretty irked at being ignored, but he didn’t really want to derail this particular conversation. He figured he’d just get back at Shea in bed once they cleared this labyrinth. Yue didn’t seem particularly bothered with the fact that the subject had changed to her and answered casually, “Mmm… I’m not as worried about the past as I am about being betrayed again in the future. By you, or Hajime.”

Hajime and Shea exchanged glances. If the whisperings really were manifestations of the party’s inner psyche, it meant somewhere deep down, Yue was actually afraid she’d be betrayed by them. In the past, she’d been betrayed by the family and friends she’d trusted most, and trapped for 300 years in the darkness. An event like that was more than traumatic enough that it wouldn’t have been surprising had Yue been unable to trust people ever again. Fortunately, her meeting with Hajime had taught her to trust again, but that trust was given out very sparingly.

In truth, outside of Hajime, Shea, and a few other people like Kaori, Yue mistrusted everyone by default. It took a lot for her to open up to someone. Only people like Shea, who wore their hearts on their sleeves, Tio, who pushed their way inside people’s hearts without fear of rejection, or Kaori, who were straightforward and unwavering about their feelings, could hope to earn Yue’s trust. But because Yue was so mistrustful by nature, it made sense that deep down she’d be afraid even those people might betray her one day.

“I… thought I’d put the past behind me, but I guess it’s not that easy.”

Considering how massive her betrayal had been, it stood to reason that her memories of it would be difficult to move past. It wasn’t that she doubted Hajime and the others, but rather that betrayal had been engraved so deeply into her heart that she couldn’t escape such thoughts.

“But now that I think about it, I never really got over it.”

“Huh, what do you mean?”

Shea tilted her ears to the side, and Yue casually confessed, her expression perfectly flat, “Actually… when I first crawled out of the abyss, I wished everyone but Hajime would die.”

“What!?”

Yue’s statement was so shocking that for a moment Kouki and the others forgot about their own troubles. As they were shivering in fear, Hajime dealt the finishing blow.

“Oh yeah, I felt the same way. As long as I had Yue, I didn’t really mind killing everyone else if it meant I could go home.”

“H-H-H-Hold on a second, does that mean you were thinking those things when you first met me too!?”

Hajime and Yue exchanged glances.

“You were so annoying when we first met you.”

“Mmm… I’m surprised we didn’t kill you.”

Both of them gave Shea looks of extreme pity.

“Shea, you were lucky.”

“Yeah, you were lucky.”

“Why are you two always in sync like this!?”

Shea’s ears flopped back and forth wildly. Only now did she realize she’d literally risked her life to ask Hajime for help. Smiling gently at the three of them, Kaori took a stab at expressing Yue’s feelings.

“So what you’re trying to say is that you know for a fact that Shea and Hajime would never betray you, Yue?”

“I certainly could not imagine Master ever betraying her. Indeed, I would be more likely to believe you if you told me the world was ending tomorrow than if you said Master would betray Yue.”

Looking at the duo’s diabetes-inducing saccharine-sweet flirting, it was hard to imagine Hajime ever betraying Yue, no matter the circumstances.

“Mmm… Exactly. But even if he did betray me, that would be fine.”

Yue nodded to Kaori and Tio. She then turned to Hajime with a playful smile and added that last hypothetical.

“What do you mean?” Hajime asked, cocking his head. Shea and the others looked confused as well.

Yue casually replied, “Because regardless of how Hajime feels, I won’t ever let him out of my grasp.”

Shivers ran down everyone’s spine. In the silence that followed, Yue licked her crimson lips seductively, staring straight at Hajime. The gesture was so captivating that everyone couldn’t help but stare. And everyone, both boys and girls, felt something carnal stir within them. With a passionate sigh, Yue chuckled and said, “Fufu, you can never escape from a vampire.”

A declaration like that was more than enough to blow away Hajime’s sense of reason. That being said, they were still in a labyrinth.

“Not on my watch!”

Using her superhuman reflexes, Shea pinned Yue’s arms behind her back.

“Well done, Shea!”

“Hajime-kun, come back to your senses! If you do something like that in a mirror house… everyone’ll see everything!”

Tio and Kaori also jumped in to hold Yue and Hajime back.

“That’s not the problem here, Kaori,” Shizuku muttered, reluctantly jumping into the fray herself. Don’t these people realize we’re in the middle of a labyrinth?

“Fufu…”

“Ah, jeez! Yue-san, stop provoking Hajime-san!”

Shea’s screams echoed through the winding maze of mirrors.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.