Arifureta/ From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Vol. 9 Extra Chapters

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

Extra Chapter: Girls’ Talk: Midnight Edition.

A canopy of stars glittered overhead. The night sky was perfectly clear, without a cloud in sight. The only noises were the buzzing of insects and the sound of wind rustling through grass. On such a perfect night, two corpses lay on the ground.

“Shizushizu, are you alive?”

“I’m alive…”

It seemed they weren’t quite corpses. The two figures that resembled squashed frogs were Shizuku and Suzu. They rolled over onto their backs and spreads their legs and arms apart. The cool night air filled their lungs, soothing their feverish bodies. Looking up at the dazzling starry sky, they let out simultaneous sighs.

“Tomorrow’s the day.”

“That it is. I’m glad we managed to get used to them in time.”

Shizuku and Suzu were talking about the upgraded artifacts Hajime had made for them after clearing Haltina’s Labyrinth. They’d spent the day familiarizing themselves with them. While their new artifacts had tons of new abilities and were exponentially more powerful than their old versions, Shizuku and the others needed to practice with them to use them properly.

Hajime had already brought the party a few hours flight away from the Schnee Snow Fields. Tomorrow they would descend, and there would be no resting until they cleared the final labyrinth, the Frost Caverns.

Shizuku and Suzu had managed to get accustomed to their artifacts just in time. They were completely drained of mana and drenched in sweat, but the two of them were proud of how far they’d gotten.

As they were basking in their success, they heard footsteps approaching them.

“Shizuku-chan, Suzu-chan, well done!”

That excited voice could only belong to Kaori. Looking over, Shizuku saw that even though Kaori had transferred her soul into the body of Noint, she was still wearing the same loose white pajamas. Behind her stood Yue, Shea, and Tio. They, too, were all in their pajamas. Among them, only Tio was wearing a yukata. Despite the fact that yukatas weren’t supposed to show much skin, somehow Tio’s breasts and thighs were easily visible. Why does she always dress so erotically? Suzu thought idly to herself.

“Here you go, you two. Wipe that sweat off.”

“Thank you, Kaori.”

“Thanks, Kaorin.”

Shizuku and Suzu gratefully accepted the towels Kaori held out to them and wiped themselves down. Tio looked down at them worriedly and said, “Midnight has passed. Are you sure you two aren’t overworking yourselves?”

“Yeah, make sure to take care of yourselves, guys. Anyway, do you want a midnight snack? If you don’t eat up after a workout, you won’t get any stronger!”

Shea held out a tray piled high with fresh bread and warm soup. As Shizuku and Suzu inhaled the scent of the hearty vegetable soup, one of their stomachs growled.

“Ahaha, you sure sound hungry, Suzu-san.”

Suzu glared at Shea.

“How come you assumed it was my stomach that growled, Sheashea? Because it wasn’t me.”

Everyone’s gazes swiveled to the only other person it could have been.

“D-Don’t look at me…” Shizuku said weakly. It seemed she was the hungry one. She hurriedly wrapped her ponytail around her face to hide her embarrassment.

The others smiled at her.

“Oh yeah, where are Kouki-kun and Ryutarou-kun?”

Kaori changed the topic in order to spare her best friend any further embarrassment. Thankful, Shizuku undid her ponytail guard.

“They already went to bed. As usual, Ryutarou practiced so hard he collapsed. And Kouki’s Holy Sword was way more efficient than he thought it would be, so he ran out of mana early.”

“A-Are they going to be okay?”

“Yep. In the end, they managed to master their artifacts too. They’ll probably make any final adjustments tomorrow morning before we land.”

“Oh, that’s good. But what do we do now? There’s enough food for all of you.”

Kaori had expected two growing boys to eat a lot, so she’d made about seven servings worth of food.

“Why don’t we all eat together then? We can have a girls-only midnight snack party. That sounds like fun, right?”

Shea’s bunny ears waved back and forth excitedly.

“Mmm… Hajime went to sleep because he wants to rest up for tomorrow, so why not.”

Yue nodded in agreement, and no one else raised any objections. And so, the girls-only midnight snack party began. Shizuku and Suzu relaxed the moment they drank the delicious soup. Kaori smiled, glad they were enjoying her food.

“I thought it was Shea who made this but… this tastes like Kaori’s cooking. Thank you, Kaori.”

“Ehehe, I knew you’d be able to tell, Shizuku-chan.”

Kaori blushed a little, and Shizuku replied with a gentle smile, “But of course.”

“You two are really close, Shizuku-san, Kaori-san.”

Kaori hugged Shizuku and said proudly, “Yep!” She then grinned and shot Yue a suggestive glance.

“What do you sound so happy about, Shirasucky Kaoridiot?”

“What kind of nickname is that!?”

Yue harrumphed. Annoyed by how proudly Kaori was showing Shizuku off, she hugged Shea and said, “But Shizuku doesn’t have these wonderful bunny ears…”

Yue grinned as if to say her best friend was better than Kaori’s best friend.

“Y-Yeah, well, Shizuku-chan has this ponytail!”

“Hmph… That can’t beat these ears’ softness.”

“Oh yeah? Well, Shizuku-chan’s boobs are super soft!”

“What are you saying, Kaoriiiiii!?” Shizuku shouted.

Just as a one-upping war about whose best friend was the greatest was about to begin, Suzu interjected, “It must be nice to have a best friend. Best friends are wonderful. I used to have one too. Oh, whoops, I guess she never even considered me a friend… Hahaha…”

Everyone turned to Suzu. The group’s usual mood maker was looking down with eyes like a dead fish. Kaori edged away from Shizuku while Yue released Shea.

“S-Suzu. How do your fans feel? Are they comfortable to use?”

Masochism that severe wasn’t something even Tio was willing to make fun of, so instead, she changed the topic. Yue and the others flashed her a thumbs-up.

“Oh, they work just fine, Tio-san. This is the first time I’ve ever used a folding fan, so it feels kind of high-class.”

The dark aura surrounding Suzu receded, and she returned to her normal self. Careful not to touch on any sore spots, Shizuku added, “Well, fans are supposed to be graceful and elegant tools. When you’re channeling your mana through them, it really looks like you’re dancing, Suzu.”

“Sh-Shizushizu, you’re making me blush. There’s no way I look that cool. Besides, it’s all thanks to Nagumo-kun’s amazing artifact. Remember, he said he added an option to make my mana flow out like rays of light.”

As always, Hajime was a fan of adding pointless aesthetic touches to the things he made. Shizuku smiled teasingly and said, “Fufu, sorry. I just couldn’t say that in front of Kouki, so it slipped it out here.”

Kaori cocked her head at that.

“Why couldn’t you say it in front of Kouki-kun?”

Shit. Shizuku pulled a face. She hadn’t meant to say that around Kaori. Shizuku exchanged glances with Suzu, then tried to think of how to smooth this over. She knew Kaori wouldn’t let the matter rest until she got an answer.

“Well… you know how Kouki has a bit of a complex regarding Nagumo-kun? But we still need his artifacts to stand a chance, so…”

“Ahaha, so if Shizushizu praised Nagumo-kun’s artifact’s in front of him, he’d get all sulky, that’s all.”

That was indeed the case. Suzu and the others were glad for the improved weapons Hajime had given them. But Kouki felt like accepting charity from Hajime undermined his own position, since he was trying to prove that his way of thinking was more correct than Hajime’s. Kaori smiled uneasily, while Yue sighed, and Tio muttered, “What a hopeless boy he is…”

Meanwhile, Shea cocked her head and asked inquisitively, “Shizuku-san, do you love him?”

“Come again?”

That was the last question Shizuku had been expecting.

“I mean, I’ve been wondering for a while now. Like, you’re always looking out for Kouki-san, Shizuku-san. And I feel like you tolerate him more than the rest of us.”

“Oh, come to think of it that has been on my mind as well. When you obtained evolution magic, it was only Kouki who appeared distraught. And so, you started acting rather considerate toward him, did you not?”

“Mmm… You’re far too considerate of someone who can’t even be happy for his friends when they achieve something. Are losers like him your type?”

Shizuku firmly denied Yue’s question, but then she shrugged her shoulders and said with a troubled smile, “I guess it’s because he’s a relative, so I can’t just abandon him.”

Everyone other than Kaori looked at Shizuku in confusion. They knew that Shizuku and Kouki were childhood friends, but they hadn’t thought they were related.

“Shizuku-chan doesn’t mean that literally. It’s because Kouki-kun’s a student of the Yaegashi style. All disciples of the Yaegashi style are treated like family by the dojo.”

The Yaegashi Dojo had been around for generations. They taught proper sword techniques too, so security firms and police organizations often recruited from the dojo’s ranks. The dojo was also famous among martial arts circles. While gaining entry into the Yaegashi Dojo was difficult, those who managed to become formal disciples were treated the same as family.

“Family never abandons family. In fact, family is only family because they never abandon each other.”

That was the most important precept of the Yaegashi style, and Shizuku’s grandfather’s, Shuuzou’s, favorite saying. In truth, no matter how far past disciples had strayed from the path, or what trouble they’d gotten themselves into, the Yaegashi Dojo had never abandoned them. The bonds between fellow practitioners of the Yaegashi style ran deep. And since Shizuku had grown up watching her grandfather, father, and mother embody those ideals, she had internalized them as well.

Incidentally, the reason Kouki had ended up a disciple at the Yaegashi Dojo was because his mother had been helped out of a tight spot by Shuuzou before.

“So yeah, he’s a troublesome guy, but I can’t just abandon him. How do I put this… If I had to say, he’s more like a troublesome little brother than anything.”

The fact that Shizuku saw someone her own age as a “little brother” just proved how little chance Kouki had with her. Yue and the others felt a little sorry for him. Of course, it was often said that people raised together like siblings rarely developed romantic feelings for each other, but it was clear that wasn’t the case for Kouki at least. Shea’s bunny ears flopped up and down and her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“So you don’t see him as a potential boyfriend at all?”

It was finally time for the main event of the night. Shizuku squirmed uncomfortably, so Suzu stopped munching on the vegetables in her soup long enough to say, “There used to be a lot of rumors. Shizushizu and Kaorin were always with Kouki-kun, and he obviously treated them better than everyone else.”

“That’s certainly true. Well, thanks to that other guys stopped trying to confess, since they all thought they didn’t stand a chance against Kouki. Guess the rumors were a good thing in the end.”

So you at least considered dating him! Shea thought to herself. Now Yue and Tio looked interested as well. Since Yue and the others were all in love with Hajime, even if they wanted to talk about love, they all just ended up talking about Hajime instead. That was why hearing about the love lives of other people was a refreshing change. But Shizuku smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“To be honest, I’m not really that fond of Kouki.”

“What!?”

Suzu looked just as surprised as Yue and the others. Not only had they never seen Shizuku make an expression like that, but they also hadn’t expected her to claim she disliked her childhood friend. Hungry for details, they leaned closer to Shizuku. Kaori was the only one who gave Shizuku a worried look.

“Kouki’s always been popular with girls,” Shizuku finally said. She thought back to those painful days when all the other girls had ostracized her. Because of their youth, the other girls had been merciless in their bullying.

“Back then, I wasn’t very girly at all, so whenever other people saw me together with Kouki, they got jealous.”

Shizuku’s tone and expression were light. But she could feel those dark memories banging at the cage she’d built around her heart, and she had to compose herself for a second before she could keep going.

“To make things worse, I was really awkward around people, so I didn’t know what to do…”

“So you would have preferred to cut ties with Kouki, but because he was family you could not bring yourself to abandon him?”

Tio cut to the heart of the matter, which made Shizuku shrug.

“What? Shouldn’t Kouki-san have done something to help? You guys were friends, right?”

Of course Kouki had tried to help. He’d asked the girls who were jealous of Shizuku to be friends with her. But naturally, that had only made things worse. Rather than tell people that though, Shizuku turned to Kaori with a smile and said, “Kaori was the one who saved me.”

“Shizuku-chan…”

Shizuku still remembered those times clear as day. She’d often been put in the same class as Kaori, so she’d known about her before they first spoke.

At first, Shizuku had been jealous of Kaori. She’d been the kind of girl Shizuku had always wanted to be. Completely different from the girl everyone always mistook for a boy.

Even though they’d barely talked, Shizuku could never bring herself to look directly at Kaori. Nor could Shizuku bring herself to open up to her. Anytime Kaori was close by, anytime someone praised Kaori, Shizuku burned with jealousy. And she hated herself for that, so even though she was always in the same class as Kaori, Shizuku avoided her. However, Kaori cared nothing for the walls Shizuku put up around herself. It was in her nature to break those down, after all.

“So pretty…”

That was the first thing Kaori had said to Shizuku. She’d squatted down next to Shizuku’s desk, put her fingers on it, and looked up at her.

At first, Shizuku had thought Kaori was making fun of her. Thinking that even this princess was going to bully her, Shizuku had despaired. However, Shizuku soon learned the hard way that Kaori was the kind of girl who always meant what she said, and did what she meant.

“She came to see me every day after that. I’d grown distrustful of people by then, so I stubbornly ignored Kaori at first but… she just kept coming day after day after day. She’d say stuff like, ‘Hey, Shizuku-chan look at this! Oh, is it okay if I call you Shizuku-chan?’ and look up at me with those big puppy-dog eyes. And eventually, I just gave up.”

“B-But you really were pretty, Shizuku-chan! That was the first time I’d ever seen such a pretty girl!”

Blushing, Kaori covered her face and squirmed. Shizuku chuckled softly, then gently patted Kaori’s head.

“I didn’t tell you back then but… I was really happy you talked to me. So happy I cried when I got back to my room. You know, when the other girls tried to tell Kaori how she should act around me, she just said ‘Why? Why should I do that?’”

Kaori had stayed by Shizuku’s side, ignoring all obstacles people threw at her. No matter how much the other girls pleaded, Kaori hadn’t listened. It was possible Kaori had instinctively realized that Shizuku was in pain, which was why she’d worked so hard to stay by Shizuku’s side. She’d wanted to heal Shizuku.

“This foolishly straightforward girl gave me strength. And from there, I began to change.”

Shizuku learned that lamenting her situation wouldn’t solve anything. She wanted to become the kind of person that stood up for what she believed in, like Kaori. And so, Shizuku started training herself in earnest. She didn’t want to return malice with malice, but she had no intention of taking others’ malice lying down, either. She trained in order to build up her self-confidence, so that she could hold her head high and do what she wanted without others interfering.

“Oh yeah, it was Kaori’s fault that I started growing out my hair.”

“Why’re you making it sound like a bad thing!?”

Shizuku comforted Kaori, then turned to Yue and the others, who were waiting for the rest of the story.

“Kaori told me ‘Shizuku-chan, you’d look good with long hair!’ Of course, my grandfather had told me to keep my hair short since I was practicing swordsmanship, so I told her I couldn’t grow it out, but…”

As expected, Kaori had barged into the Yaegashi Dojo to give Shizuku’s grandfather a piece of her mind. Shizuku had desperately tried to stop her, but Kaori had shaken her off and told Shizuku’s grandfather, the same man police nationwide respected, that he was wrong. In front of all his pupils, she’d told him how pretty Shizuku was, and that she should be allowed to grow out her hair.

In the end, Shizuku’s grandfather, who was famous for never smiling, had burst out laughing and accepted Kaori as an honorary member of the Yaegashi Dojo. To this day, the dojo’s disciples spoke of her legendary entrance.

Back in the present though, Kaori covered her face again and said, “D-Don’t bring that back up. I was young and foolish back then.”

“Don’t worry… You haven’t changed at all since then. Shirafucky Kaoridiot.”

Kaori replied to Yue’s gentle smile with a full-power punch. However, Tio jumped in the way to block it and started moaning in pleasure.

“Anyway, thanks to Kaori, I was able to take a step back and appraise Kouki from a more objective standpoint.”

Even at the time, Kouki was still obsessed with justice. He wandered the town, helping anyone and everyone he could find. He never hesitated to throw himself into the middle of a quarrel, and strangely enough, problems and people in need started coming to him.

He never doubted that people were fundamentally good, and Kouki himself didn’t have an evil bone in his body. Everything he did, he did for the sake of others. He was always looking straight forward, and he always saved people with style. But because of how bright he shone, he never realized how long the shadows he cast were.

He really was a troublesome guy. Which was why—

“I never really saw Kouki as boyfriend material. For better or worse, I know him too well. That’s why he’s basically family to me.”

Yue and the others nodded in understanding, their curiosity sated. However, this was a rare chance to talk about love. They didn’t want the conversation to end there.

“So then, is there someone you do have a crush on, Shizuku-san?”

“Sh-Shea, don’t you think you’re being a little too forward…”

Unfortunately, the only people around Shea were fellow Hajime enthusiasts and a pervert. And now that her love had been rewarded, Shea was interested in hearing about the love stories of others. Her bunny ears bounced back and forth, and her eyes glimmered with excitement.

Shizuku wasn’t sure how to answer, or that she wanted to answer at all. While she was hesitating Kaori stepped in and said, “Oh yeah, Shizuku-chan. During that last interview you did for the kendo magazine, didn’t you say you preferred a guy who would protect—”

Shizuku clamped her hands over Kaori’s mouth. Kaori loved talking about Shizuku so much that she had absolutely no qualms spilling all of Shizuku’s secrets. Unfortunately, Shizuku had reacted too late, and now the other girls were staring at her like vultures.

“That’s right. My type’s someone like you, Kaori. Thanks for always protecting me.”

“Hweh?” Kaori gave Shizuku a confused look, and Shizuku smiled seductively, which made her start blushing again.

“U-Uh, is it just me, or are there lily flowers sprouting around Kaori-san and Shizuku-san?”

It was an optical illusion, but a very realistic one.

“May you find happiness, Lesbi Kaoridiot.”

“Yueeeee, it’s not like that! Also, do you have to add Kaoridiot to every nickname you come up with!?”

In an attempt to hide her embarrassment, Kaori pounced on Yue. However, Suzu quickly put a damper on the mood.

“Everyone at school knows about how close Kaorin and Shizushizu are. Come to think of it, when we were in a pinch back in the Great Orcus Labyrinth, you ran over to cover for Shizushizu, didn’t you, Kaorin? You left my side to be with Shizushizu… I guess you’d rather spend your last moments with her than with me. Haha…”

“Suzu-chan!?”

Suzu’s dark aura returned. The dream she’d been shown back in Haltina had probably reopened old wounds for her. In an attempt to appease Suzu, Shea made her the focus of the next topic.

“Wh-What about you, Suzu-san? What kind of guys are your type?”

Kaori and Shizuku flashed Shea a thumbs-up.

“Hmm… Anyone who’s not a lolicon? Unlike Kaorin and Shizushizu, not that many people are interested in a shorty like me. The only person who ever confessed to me was this creepy old dude who lived in my neighborhood! Haha…”

“Suzu-san, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories! Someone who’s good at spirit magic, help me out here!”

Suzu’s aura had grown so gloomy that Shea’s only recourse was to rely on ancient magic. It appeared that while Suzu was normally cheerful, once she got depressed she just didn’t stop.

Before anyone could cast spirit magic though, Yue muttered darkly, “Are you implying I’m short?”

She scooted over to Suzu, her expression terrifying. In truth, Suzu and Yue were about the same height and build. If Suzu claimed she was short, that was the same as claiming Yue was short. The pressure coming off of Yue’s glare caused Suzu to break out of depression mode for a second.

“N-No! You’re not short at all, Onee-sama!”

“Calm down, Yue! You’re so scary Suzu-chan’s stopped sounding like herself!”

Yue reluctantly scooted back. Both in an attempt to calm Suzu down, and because she’d been curious about it for a while, Shizuku asked, “By the way, Suzu. Why do you call Yue onee-sama?”

Plenty of other girls called Shizuku onee-sama, so she was wondering what had prompted Suzu to do the same with Yue.

“Huh? Oh, uh, when she saved us in the Great Orcus Labyrinth, she just looked so cool that I…”

Yue scratched her nose awkwardly, feeling embarrassed.

“Oh, I totally get what you mean. Well, I don’t know about Yue, but Hajime-kun looked really cool when he saved us.”

“Yeah…”

Shizuku nodded in agreement, thinking back to how reliable Hajime had looked when he’d arrived. Even now, those memories were fresh in her mind. Shizuku remembered that moment as well as she did the first time Kaori had talked to her.

The red sparks running down the length of Hajime’s body. His fearless smile. His broad, reliable back. It had been completely unfair. Not the strength he’d shown, but the fact that he’d looked so cool.

“Shizuku-chan?”

As she returned to reality, Shizuku realized everyone was looking at her.

“Wh-What? What is it?”

Yue scooted over to Shizuku this time, her glare piercing through her.

“Tell me… What do you think of Hajime, Shizuku?”

“Huh? Nagumo-kun? Umm… why’re you asking me? Kaori has a lot more to say about him than—”

“I can’t ask Kaori… Any time I ask about the things she and Hajime did together before coming here, she just grins annoyingly.”

“Well, you do the same thing every time I try and ask about what happened down in the abyss, Yue!”

“Alright alright, that’s enough you two. Calm down.”

Shea grabbed Kaori and Yue by the scruff of their necks and pulled them apart. Meanwhile, Tio turned to Shizuku and pressed her for an answer.

“Well? What do you think of Master?”

Yue and Kaori instantly turned to Shizuku. Surprised by their light-speed reactions, Shizuku put a hand to her chin and thought. After a while, she looked back up and said, “Well my first impression of him was that he was a weirdo.”

“A weirdo!?”

The other girls asked in sync. That wasn’t the reply they’d been expecting. Even Kaori looked surprised.

“Yeah, the first thing that ran through my mind was ‘Kaori, are you sure this is the guy you want?’”

“You really thought that, Shizuku-chan!?”

Shizuku smiled ruefully and shrugged her shoulders.

“What else was I supposed to think? During the entrance ceremony, all the girls started squealing loud enough to break the windows when Kouki stepped up to the podium to give his speech. But Nagumo-kun slept like a log through the whole thing.”

“Ugh. B-But…”

Even now, Shizuku thought it was strange how he’d been able to sleep through all that. Two years had passed since Kaori had first seen Hajime, and in that time she’d talked Shizuku’s ear off about him. So it was only natural that Shizuku’s image of Hajime had been a little exaggerated.

And yet, the first time she’d met him he’d been sleeping through ear-splitting yells. Even more surprising, the moment the entrance ceremony had ended, he’d snapped awake as though he’d sensed it.

“For a long time after that, I still wondered why Kaori had picked him, of all people.”

Every morning, he’d reached class just before the bell, looking like an exhausted corporate slave. And then he’d just sleep through class. For lunch, he’d just slurp down a nutritional jelly pack in ten seconds. Then, the moment class ended he’d become lively again, and return home right away.

He’d possessed the uncanny ability to fall asleep and wake up almost instantly, but other than that he seemed to be a normal kid who kept entirely to himself. But when Shizuku tried talking to him, she learned he was a cheerful guy and a surprisingly good listener.

“He was an odd guy, but he wasn’t like any other boy I’d met.”

Kaori and Suzu nodded in understanding. Everything Shizuku had pointed out was true.

“You understand, right?” Shizuku said with a smile. She then continued, “The weirdest thing about him though was that he wasn’t affected by Kaori’s charms at all.”

Since the entrance ceremony, Kaori had been the object of affection of all the guys. But even though she went out of her way to talk to Hajime, he’d just give her a troubled look and reply with as little effort as possible.

“There were times where I thought, ‘You bastard! How can you not like my cute little Kaori!?’ The weirdest thing was, he was sensitive enough to notice whenever I was glaring at him like that. He’d get all startled and start looking around. It was pretty funny to watch.”

Shizuku smiled mischievously as she reminisced about those early days. Not even two years had passed since then, but to Shizuku, they felt like the distant past. It was clear from her tone that she thought fondly of those memories.

Shizuku told them about the first time Kaori had invited Hajime to lunch, and he’d broken out in a cold sweat because of the way the rest of the class had looked at him.

About how despite sleeping through every class, he managed to get average grades across the board, so his teachers couldn’t discipline him.

About the one time Kaori had gone to the adult section of the video game store to play the game Hajime had talked about earlier, and how Hajime’s face had looked when she told him about it the next day.

About how Kaori had watched with an eagle eye, waiting for an opportunity to walk up to Hajime and talk to him, and how he’d always managed to flee from her.

About how he’d listened to Kouki’s lecture to the very end, despite clearly not caring about a bit of it.

The memories surfaced one after another, weaving together in a tapestry. She talked and talked, not noticing the way Kaori and the others were looking at her. Still smiling, Shizuku moved into a much darker part of her story.

“I forget when exactly it started but… Nagumo-kun’s life started to change little by little. Well, I guess it was inevitable, since Kaori was in love with him. The four of us were like celebrities in school. And because we ended up spending a lot of time with Nagumo-kun… there were people who grew jealous of him.”

“Just like how it was with me…” Shizuku added quietly. She talked about how the atmosphere around Hajime began to grow colder. About how her classmates started openly scorning him. And as she talked, Kaori’s expression grew dark. Guessing Kaori’s thoughts, Shizuku slowly shook her head.

“I felt like I had to do something. Because I understood best of all what it was like to be ostracized like that. But even knowing what he was going through, I couldn’t stop Kaori. Because I understood how Kaori felt too.”

No matter how many other guys confessed to her, no matter what Kouki did to try and win her favor, Kaori had eyes only for Hajime. After two years of obsessing over him, she’d finally been able to meet him again. But no matter what she did, she wasn’t able to get any closer to him. Since Hajime had been Kaori’s first love, she had no experience at all. All she could do was try everything in her power to catch Hajime’s attention, to make him look her way.

She was so focused on charming Hajime that she failed to notice was what was going on around her. But Shizuku couldn’t blame Kaori for that. At the same time, she didn’t want to abandon Hajime either. Unfortunately, all she could do was apologize quietly to Hajime every time they talked. But despite all the guilt Shizuku was feeling, Hajime didn’t seem all that bothered at all.

“Nagumo-kun didn’t seem like he even cared! He’d always go ‘Yeah, it’s a real problem…’ with that dopey smile of his, but he didn’t really think it was a problem! Because if he had, he wouldn’t have been yawning while he said it!”

He really had been an unbelievable guy. It was then that Shizuku had realized he was strong. Despite how he looked, he’d possessed a will of iron. After that, her attitude toward Hajime changed. She didn’t think he was just some weirdo anymore. He was still unlike any other guy she’d met, but now she was interested in learning more about him.

“At first, I stereotyped him. I thought he was just some unfeeling monster. I figured he could bear all the bullying because he just fundamentally didn’t care about people.”

In some sense, Shizuku hadn’t been wrong. As a rule, Hajime hadn’t had much interest in other people. But that wasn’t because he was unfeeling or inhumane. After watching Kaori’s interactions with him, Shizuku came to be sure of that.

The reason he’d been so unconcerned with other people was because he was so engrossed in his own interests. He’d loved them wholeheartedly, and so had devoted all his time to them. Thanks to that, he’d been able to accept the way others treated him. As long as he was able to do the things he loved, he didn’t mind anything else.

Saying he was resolved to accept any punishment for pursuing his hobbies was a bit of an exaggeration, but that was how it seemed to Shizuku. Because no matter what happened, he was still able to say “Even so, this is what I want to do.” It was that strength of his that allowed him to brush aside any hardship with a rueful smile and a troubled expression.

“It’s hard to explain, but basically, that was when I understood. It was that pure, simpleminded strength of his that had captivated Kaori.”

Smiling wholeheartedly, Shizuku recalled a tiny memory she had of Hajime. This was something neither Kaori, nor anyone else knew about. It had happened one day after school.

After kendo practice, Shizuku had returned to the classroom to pick up something she’d forgotten. Surprisingly, Hajime had still been there. He’d been fast asleep at his desk. It seemed he’d been so tired that not even the end of school bell had woken him.

Unable to ignore him, Shizuku had decided to wake him up. She’d called his name and started shaking him. He’d made a rather strange sound as he regained consciousness, which had made Shizuku burst out laughing.

“Mmm? Yaegashi-san?”

“Yep, it’s me, Nagumo-kun. You were sleeping pretty soundly. Did you plan on spending the night at school?”

Still half out of it, Hajime had looked blankly at the window. When he’d seen how dark it had gotten, he’d let out another strange noise. Naturally, Shizuku had burst out laughing again.

“The teacher’s going to be coming to lock up soon. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Oh, yeah. Sounds good. Thanks for waking me up, Yaegashi-san.”

Because there was no one else in the room, Hajime hadn’t been as guarded as he usually was. Shizuku remembered she’d found that milder demeanor of his to be rather refreshing.

She’d headed into the hallway with him, wondering how such a gentle boy had come to possess such a strong will. They’d walked quietly down the hall, the beautiful rays of sunset casting long shadows behind them.

Suddenly Shizuku’s throat had gone dry, and she couldn’t think of anything to talk about. She’d started shooting Hajime covert glances, but he’d just been yawning tiredly like usual. Though she’d personally found the title embarrassing, she knew within the school she was considered the second most beautiful girl after Kaori. Both her underclassmen and even a few of her upperclassmen had taken to calling her onee-sama.

Naturally, plenty of guys were infatuated with her and whenever she talked with any of them, they’d start blushing and get nervous. It was obvious they thought she was out of their reach. Shizuku herself hadn’t really wanted all that attention. But for some reason, it had pissed her off that Hajime wasn’t the least bit flustered by talking to her.

“By the way, I’m sorry about what happened today. Kaori’s, well Kaori. But Kouki gave you that long lecture, didn’t he? He doesn’t mean anything bad by it, but…”

Unable to bear the silence, Shizuku had cast about for something to talk about, but the only thing she’d been able to come up with was the same apology she’d given Hajime dozens of times. She’d expected him to reply with the same “Don’t worry about it,” or “It’s fine,” that he always did, but to her surprise, he didn’t.

“Hmm… Yeah, it’s definitely weird.”

“Huh?” Shizuku had asked, confused. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Hajime had gone on to explain what he meant.

“Yaegashi-san, a lot of people call you onee-sama, right?”

“Y-Yes, they do. I don’t know why, though.”

“Well you know, apparently there’s this secret society called Soul Sisters that… Actually, forget about that for now. You know how you’re always apologizing on behalf of your friends? Don’t you think that’s the kind of thing an older sister would do?”

“You… may have a point there.”

Shizuku had been surprised. She didn’t know if that applied to everyone else too, but that was at least exactly how she felt about Kouki.

Nodding to himself, Hajime had then added, “So is it normal to spend every day bowing your head to other people just because you have the personality of a responsible older sister? Because personally, I think it’s weird. Like, are you really okay with things the way they are?”

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it…”

But once Shizuku gave it some thought, she realized it definitely wasn’t normal. Still, Kouki was like family to her, and Kaori was her best friend in the whole world. Of course, that was why she hadn’t found it strange to always be looking after the two of them, but after Hajime had pointed it out, she realized how odd it was from an outside perspective.

“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t trying to imply it was bad or anything. It’s just, uh, how do I put this…”

Unable to put what he wanted to say in words, Hajime had mumbled to himself for a few minutes. It wasn’t until they’d reached the shoe rack that Hajime had spoken again.

“Oh, I’ve got it. What I’m trying to say is, you don’t have to be considerate of me.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve got enough on your plate looking out for your friends, right? So you don’t have to do the same for me.”

Shizuku hadn’t known how to respond to that. She’d looked up at him, shoes still in her hands, and he’d given her that same troubled smile he always did.

“The reason I get lectured so much is because I ignore what everyone says to me, so like, it’s partially my own fault. I’d feel guilty if you apologized to me for that, Yaegashi-san.”

“But that’s not…”

Those words had resounded with Shizuku in a way nothing else had. But while she’d still been processing what he’d told her, he’d suddenly shouted, “Anyway, see you tomorrow, Yaegashi-san!” and dashed off without waiting for a reply.

It had all happened so fast that Shizuku hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise. She’d been about to call out to him, but then she’d spotted Kouki waiting by the school gate and realized he’d left in a hurry on purpose.

She hadn’t been able to figure out if he was being considerate of her, or if he just hadn’t wanted to be seen going home with her. Either way, his sudden departure had pissed Shizuku off. But at the same time, she felt as though she finally understood why Kaori had fallen for him so hard.

That had been her first one on one conversation with Hajime. It had been both unforgettable, and something Shizuku felt as though she’d needed to keep secret.

“Shizuku-chan?”

Kaori’s voice brought Shizuku back to the present. It was then that she finally realized everyone was looking at her funny. It seemed she’d gotten so lost in her memories that she’d stopped talking.

Feeling as though she’d shown everyone a side of her she shouldn’t have, Shizuku hurriedly tried to smooth things over. She cleared her throat, straightened her back, and locked away her feelings once more. In order to keep things the way she believed they should be.

“Anyway, now my impression of Nagumo-kun is that he’s an unbelievably strong person.”

After they’d been summoned, and it had turned out that both Hajime’s job and his stats were painfully average, Hiyama and the others had started bullying him much worse than before. But even then, he hadn’t broken.

Shizuku knew. Despite the fact that Hajime’s only skill was transmutation, he’d continued to polish his skills, trying to find a way to turn his abilities into a weapon. No matter how much he’d been ridiculed, he’d just accepted it all with his usual troubled smile and continued moving forward.

Shizuku understood. The reason Hiyama and the others had bullied Hajime was because they themselves knew that they were no match for Hajime. Despite his weakness, he was strong. And despite all their strength, Hiyama and the others were weak. They couldn’t accept that. They couldn’t accept that he was better than them.

Shizuku had understood better than anyone else just how strong Hajime was. Because she herself had been weak. She’d been terrified of fighting in this strange new world, but Hajime had been completely unperturbed. It was that strength of his that had encouraged Shizuku.

Yeah, he really is strong. How can you guys call him weak and incompetent? Look at him, he’s not shaken at all. Even though we’re in a different world, even though we have to fight to the death with monsters and demons, he’s completely unfazed. How can someone like him possibly be weak? He’s strong. Stronger than anyone.

“Out of everyone I know, he has the strongest heart,” Shizuku said decisively. For a few minutes, no one said anything. Confused by the silence, Shizuku looked around at everyone.

I just said he was strong, why’d everyone suddenly go quiet?

Sighing, Yue gave Shizuku the same troubled look Hajime used to and scooted close to her. She looked into Shizuku’s eyes and asked, “Strong enough to protect others?”

Shizuku’s breath caught in her throat. But a second later she composed herself and said with a smile, “Yes. I’m sure Nagumo-kun will be able to protect Kaori.”

Not even a smidgen of the feelings Shizuku had hidden inside her leaked through. She smiled, making it clear that she meant what she said, and only what she said.

Yue and the others were momentarily at a loss for words. Finally, after ruminating for a few seconds, Yue decided to lighten the mood. She turned to Kaori and said, “What a shame… I won’t let that future come to pass, so Kaori will be forever alone.”

“Yue!” Kaori exclaimed and pounced on her rival.

Shizuku’s smile grew wider and she said, “Is it really a shame? Personally, I’m glad you’re here, Yue.”

“Mmm… Why?”

Yue stopped pulling on Kaori’s cheek and cocked her head quizzically. Even now, Shizuku’s smile was sincere.

“Because even though you’re her rival, you’re so attached to Kaori. Thank you so much for taking care of my best friend, Yue. I’ve always wanted to express my gratitude to you.”

“Mmm… Mmmmmm… Mmm…”

“Owww!? Hey, Yue, that hurts! Stop!”

Blushing, Yue tried to hide her embarrassment by pulling on Kaori’s cheeks harder. Though there were tears of pain in Kaori’s eyes, no one pulled Yue off her. They were too busy grinning at Yue. It wasn’t every day they got to see her flustered.

Growing even redder, Yue vented her embarrassment by slapping Kaori and shouting, “Mmmm, that’s enough for tonight! This party’s oveeer!”

And so, the midnight party came to a close. Still red, Yue fled down the hallway to her room.

Shea and Suzu stayed where they were, committing Yue’s blushing face to memory, while Tio followed after Yue, grinning. Shizuku watched the whole thing from a distance, but then looked up when she felt a weight press against her back.

“Kaori? What’s up?”

Kaori was hugging her from behind.

“Shizuku-chan…”

“What?”

Kaori rested her chin on Shizuku’s shoulder and looked fondly into her best friend’s eyes. Shizuku blinked a few times, and Kaori closed her eyes.

“You know, I love you best when you’re honest with yourself, Shizuku-chan.”

Thinking Kaori was referring to what she’d just told Yue, Shizuku blushed and looked away.

“Don’t remind me. I know that was a pretty embarrassing thing to say.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Huh? Then what do you mean?”

Confused, Shizuku squinted at Kaori. Still smiling gently, Kaori hugged Shizuku. She looked like a mother comforting her child.

“I’m not telling. There’s no point unless you realize it yourself. But don’t forget what I told you. When the time comes, make sure you remember these words.”

“I don’t really get what you mean but… okay.”

Satisfied, Kaori pulled away from Shizuku. For some reason, Shizuku’s heart started pounding. She felt as though something dangerous was closing in on her. Something she knew she couldn’t look at, but was waiting right behind her.

Shizuku shook her head as if to shake off whatever was chasing her.

“Let’s go back to our room,” Kaori said with a smile, and Shizuku silently nodded.

At the time, Shizuku didn’t know. That her premonition would prove to be correct. Or that her friend’s words would end up being her salvation.

The swordswoman who was everyone’s caretaker didn’t yet know that she would soon face her true feelings.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

Bonus Short Stories.

Nightmare Holiday.

“Come to think of it, Heiligh’s capital is probably holding a festival right now,” Shizuku muttered quietly. Hajime and his friends were sitting in Fernir’s dining room and eating lunch as they sped toward the Schnee Snow Fields. Fernir was in cruise mode at the moment, so Hajime didn’t have to worry about steering the ship.

“Celebrating what? Oh, today’s the day Ehit was born, huh?”

“Yes. Lily told me the capital would still be celebrating it before we left.”

Kaori gave Shizuku a confused look and asked, “But wasn’t the church wiped out?”

“That’s precisely why she wants to hold the festival. Since Lily said it was happening, she’ll definitely make it happen one way or another. Assuming the capital doesn’t get invaded again, at least.”

While the capital was still in the middle of being rebuilt, the citizens likely wouldn’t begrudge the royal family for holding a single festival during the year. In fact, they would probably welcome a break from the reconstruction efforts.

Suzu blew on her cup of hot milk, her favorite drink, and said nostalgically, “A celebration for the birth of Ehit? I guess that’s just like how we have Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus back on Earth. It hasn’t even been a full year since we were summoned, but I’m already starting to miss Christmas.”

Kouki and the other kids from Earth looked out the window with wistful gazes, remembering the holidays they’d had back on earth. Suzu, on the other hand, simply took a sip of her milk, creating a white mustache around her lips, and added, “You know… I’ve never been on a Christmas date before.”

“Suzu?” Shizuku turned toward Suzu, her gaze questioning. But Suzu was too far down memory lane to hear Shizuku.

“The only time I ever talked to boys was when the whole class got together. I didn’t have people lining up to confess to me like Shizushizu and Kaorin.”

“S-Suzu-chan?”

“I got so jealous that one Christmas I forced Kaorin to wear one of those erotic Santa outfits and made her attempt to seduce Nagumo-kun.”

“Suzu-chan!?” Kaori had never imagined that had been the motive behind Suzu’s actions. However, Suzu was still lost in reminiscing and didn’t notice how betrayed Kaori looked. Realizing there was something strange going on with Suzu, even Hajime and the others started giving her worried looks.

“Most of the time, though, I just spent Christmases with Eri. We’d always grumble about how we got stuck with each other for Christmas and could never get boyfriends. We even baked our own Christmas cakes to eat. Oh, but I guess Eri would have preferred spending Christmas with Kouki-kun. She’d much rather hang out with you than with me,” Suzu said before turning to Kouki, who jerked slightly and averted his gaze, and stating, “Man, what am I even saying? We weren’t even really friends and here I am reminiscing like these are good memories. Hahaha.”

“S-Suzu-san! Would you like some more hot milk with honey!?” Shea interrupted Suzu with another mug of milk, her expression stiff. Everyone else gave her a thumbs-up. Ever since they’d been stuck in an idealized dream world back in Haltina’s labyrinth, Suzu had often fallen into these bouts of self-loathing. Suzu looked down at her new mug dejectedly and slowly took a few sips from it. Though she was clearly still feeling blue, at least her downward spiral had been stopped.

Sensing an opportunity to change the subject, Kaori turned to the Tortus crew and asked, “Oh yeah, Yue, how do you guys celebrate here? I haven’t heard too much about Tortus’ holidays, so I was curious about what you do on them. And have they changed from centuries ago to now?”

Tio thoughtfully put a hand on her chin for a few seconds, then said, “Our village did have a harvest festival of sorts. When we were still a nation instead of a race in exile, we also had holidays celebrating the founding of our nation and the birthdays of our rulers.”

Everyone, even Hajime, turned to Tio with renewed interest. They were all curious about what the lives of the reclusive dragonmen were like. Tio looked off in the distance and said wistfully, “In those days, even Ehit’s birthday was a grand affair. Everyone, regardless of race or country affiliation or even their status, was welcomed into the capital. It made for quite a spectacular festival.”

Hajime and the others imagined Tio running around her kingdom’s streets as a child. As one, they all smiled.

“Though, Ehit’s birthday was also the anniversary of my country’s downfall.”

Suddenly, Tio’s eyes glazed over the same way Suzu’s had. To make matters worse, Yue also said flatly, “Ehit’s birthday… was the day… I was betrayed… Ugh, my head hurts…”

Her eyes had glazed over as well.

“H-How about you, Shea!? What kind of holidays do the rabbitmen have!?”

Kaori gave Shea a pleading look. Please save us, Shea! You’re always the cheerful one! It was her fault the mood had grown darker, so she was trying her best to steer the topic back to something light.

“No clue. Normal rabbitmen might have a few holidays but… until I met Hajime-san, I was forced to remain hidden inside my village, so I don’t know what kinds of celebrations there are…”

Like the others, Shea’s eyes glazed over. Kaori hugged Shea tightly and shouted, “I’m so sorry, goddammit!”

Sensing that Kaori was nearing the end of her rope, Shizuku turned to Hajime in the hopes that he could save them. He could always be counted on to save them from any crisis, so Shizuku was sure he’d be able to fix this dark mood too.

“N-Nagumo-kun, what did you do for the holidays!?”

“I’d either spend them at home or if Kaori invited me out anywhere, spend them running away from hordes of jealous—”

“Forget it, just stay quiet!”

You’re the one who asked… Hajime thought with a frown.

“Now that it’s come to this, I’ll have to ask Kaori… No, wait, I can’t. She spent all of her Christmases asking Nagumo-kun out only to have him run from her…”

“Shizuku-chan… you didn’t have to mention that last part.”

Now even Kaori’s eyes had glazed over.

“Kouki… Actually, forget it. His Christmases were all hell. Whenever we were with him, girls from other schools would…”

“Sh-Shizuku? I-I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but did something happen when—”

Only Kouki was unaware of how much hardship Christmas caused the people around him every year. He was about to ask Shizuku what had gone on, but when he saw that her eyes had also glazed over, he cut himself off. Unlike the others, however, Shizuku recovered quite quickly. She stamped down on the dark memories of being chased around by girls who either wanted Kouki, or herself, and turned to Ryutarou.

“Ryutarou! You’re our only hope! Please tell us all about your wonderful holiday exploits!”

“You’re asking for way too much of me here!” Ryutarou flinched as everyone turned to face him, their eyes still resembling those of dead fish. However, he gathered his resolve, cleared his throat, and said, “There, uh, actually was this one time I successfully invited a girl out for Christmas.”

Finally, the despondent atmosphere cleared a little. Her interest piqued, Kaori asked, “I never knew that! What happened next, Ryutarou-kun!?”

“She was actually just trying to use me to get close to Kouki-kun, so when she found out it’d be just the two of us, she canceled on me.”

“Why’d you pick a story like that!?”

The mood fell once more, and Ryutarou’s eyes glazed over as he joined the group of Christmas rejects. Meanwhile, Kouki looked down at the floor, pointedly not meeting anyone’s gaze.

“I see, so you’re the only one who has fond memories of Christmas, Amanogawa. Die, you filthy normie.”

Hearing Hajime’s barbed words, Kouki glared at him and said, “You’re the last person who has any right to say that considering the harem you’ve got going.”

In the end, the dark mood continued all the way through afternoon tea. Afterward, all mentions of holy holidays were banned among the party.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

The Mad Synergist of the Forest.

This event took place a few days before Hajime and the others set out for the Schnee Snow Fields. Four figures walked down a small road heading toward one of Verbergen’s outlying settlements.

“Why does he have to do this away from the city?” Kouki grumbled.

“Yeah, why doesn’t he just do it in his room?” Ryutarou added, his arms folded behind his head.

“I guess it’s just a habit of his? Anyway, who cares why? I just want to know how my artifact’s turning out. I can’t wait to see what it’s like. Oh yeah, you already got yours from Nagumo-kun, right Shizushizu?”

“Yes, I did. And I have to say, it’s insane what he’s done with it. You can expect yours to be just as amazing, Suzu.”

Despite her words, Shizuku’s expression was somewhat stiff. Suzu somehow doubted being optimistic was a good choice here. Kouki and the others were currently on their way to get their new artifacts from Hajime. After obtaining evolution magic, Hajime had constructed a temporary workshop in the outskirts of the capital and had done all of his experimenting there. He’d holed himself inside it the past few days, and today was finally the day Kouki and the others’ artifacts had been completed.

The party arrived at the building that served as Hajime’s temporary workshop and looked it up and down. It had clearly been transmuted, as it was a simple one-story affair made entirely of metal. Kouki walked up to the door and knocked.

“Nagumo, we’re here. It cool if we come—” Kouki was interrupted by an explosion coming from inside. The hero and his comrades screamed in shock. The door burst outward and hit Kouki squarely in the face. The impact knocked him directly backward into Ryutarou and the two of them flew back into the forest. Thanks to the fact that Kouki and Ryutarou had slowed the door’s momentum, Shizuku and Suzu were able to dart out of the way before they were barreled over too.

“K-Kouki-kuuuuuun, Ryutarou-kuuuuuuuuun!”

“Wh-What just happened!?”

Shizuku and Suzu’s panicked screams echoed through the forest. As the dust cleared, the workshop’s owner appeared nonchalantly in the doorway.

“Yo, sorry guys. Something blew up on accident. Anyway, come in.”

“Like hell we’re going to walk into that deathtrap!” Suzu and Shizuku said, completely in sync.

“I-I thought I was going to die there…”

“Thank god I kept up with my training. If I hadn’t leveled up this much, I might have died.”

Kouki and Ryutarou emerged from the depths of the forest. Their clothes looked disheveled, but they didn’t seem to have suffered any serious injuries. Tears of relief spilled from Suzu’s eyes and she ran over to her two comrades. Shizuku, on the other hand, rounded on Hajime.

“Hey, Nagumo-kun! What was that explosion!?”

“Oh, the self-destruct feature I installed into your artifacts malfunctioned. Haha, I never thought I’d mess up like that. Well, it’s no big deal. Anyway, come in.”

That sounds like a very big deal to me! Kouki and the others thought simultaneously. They now understood why Hajime had decided to put his workshop somewhere far from people. Kouki and the others timidly walked into Hajime’s workshop, feeling as though they were entering a minefield. As they stepped inside, Kouki noticed his Holy Sword lying in a corner of the workshop. It was covered in soot and smoking.

“My swoooooord!”

Sounding as though he’d just found a fallen comrade on the battlefield, Kouki rushed over to his beloved weapon. It was blinking faintly, as if imparting its dying words onto Kouki. After a few seconds, the light went out, and Kouki’s sword died.

“Holy Swooooooooooooooooooooooooooord!”

Had this been a play, this would be the moment a haunting refrain started playing while spotlights shone down on Kouki.

“Stop exaggerating. It was just a little explosion.”

“Wait, it was my sword that exploded!? Actually, how the hell did that even happen!?” Kouki bore down on Hajime, furious.

Hajime easily pinned him down and said casually, “What do you mean? I just told you I was testing the sword’s self-destruct feature and it malfunctioned. Don’t worry, though, only your sword’s special. All of the other artifacts won’t blow up by accident.”

“Are you crazy!?” Kouki screamed as hugged his sword, as if indicating that he would never hand it over to Hajime again.

Ryutarou and the others shouted, “Don’t add a self-destruct feature in the first place!”

“Nagumo-kun. Just to make sure, you haven’t put a self-destruct feature into my katana, have you?” Shizuku timidly held her sword away from her body as she asked that.

“Don’t worry.”

“Th-Thank god, I knew you wouldn’t—”

“It has one too.”

“Get rid of it this instant!” Shizuku roared as she rapped Hajime’s head with the flat of her blade.

“Why? Self-destruct features are what every craftsman dreams of making. What are you going to do if you can’t blow yourself up when the time calls for it? A weapon that can’t self-destruct has no artistic merit whatsoever. Why can’t you plebians understand that?”

Grumbling to himself, Hajime nevertheless did as he was told and removed the self-destruct features from the four’s weapons.

“Alright, let me explain all the upgrades… We’ll start with Amanogawa’s Holy Sword.”

“What the hell did you do to it?” Kouki asked, sounding like a detective interrogating a mad scientist.

“Hmph, no need to look so afraid. Try pushing the button by the hilt.”

“What button? Wait, you added a button to the handle! ?”

Glaring at Hajime, Kouki reluctantly pushed the button. There was a strange sound, and pure white light enveloped the sword.

“Wh-What’s this?”

“A lightsaber version of your sword. I call it Fuu.”

“Fuu!? What kind of name is that!?”

Every time Kouki swung it, it made an odd buzzing noise, like an actual lightsaber. Unfortunately, there was no other magic contained in the light, so it couldn’t actually cut through everything like a real lightsaber. In the end, it was a fake.

“Wh-Why did you even bother adding a feature like this?”

“Huh…? To intimidate foes, I guess?”

Who cares about the purpose? What matters is whether it’s cool or not!

“Oh yeah, try pushing the button on the crossguard next.”

Still dumbfounded by his fake light-saber, Kouki did as he was told. This time currents of wind wrapped themselves around the blade and it turned invisible.”

“Heh, what do you think? This time I modeled it after—”

“Don’t say it Nagumo-kun! We’ll get sued!”

Shizuku covered Hajime’s mouth with her hands. He struggled helplessly against her while Kouki narrowed his eyes.

“Wait, what’s going on? My body feels heavy…”

“Mmmpf! Yeah, because this mode forcibly drains your mana.”

“Huh!? Why!? Doesn’t that basically make it the same as—”

“Don’t you think cursed swords are… cool?” Hajime asked as smiled a carefree smile.

“Turn my sword back to normaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!” Kouki’s shout resounded throughout the forest.

Hajime reluctantly undid his modifications and grumbled, “Now all you have is a Holy Sword that’s a few times stronger than your old Holy Sword.”

Why didn’t you just leave it at that? Kouki thought, glaring at Hajime.

Next, Hajime turned to Ryutarou and took out his new artifact. What appeared from Hajime’s Treasure Trove was a bouquet of flowers.

“N-Nagumo, I don’t even know how to react to this.”

Ryutarou’s hesitation was understandable. Another dude from his class was gifting him flowers. And it wasn’t just any dude, but the famous monster of the abyss. Kouki suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and turned to his best friend.

“Just take it. And pretend to look happy.”

“N-No way I can do that, man…”

Feeling conflicted about the fact that the first person in his life to gift him flowers was a man, Ryutarou nevertheless accepted the bouquet with a grimace. A second later, the bouquet activated. Apparently it wasn’t actually made of flowers, but ore that had been shaped to look like flowers. Once the artifact’s transformation was complete, it looked like a long cylindrical object with spikes sticking out of it.

“…Is this a nail bat?”

Nail bats were the preferred weapons of gangsters everywhere. Hajime gave Ryutarou a thumbs-up and said, “I couldn’t think of any better weapon for you.”

“Like hell you couldn’t! I’m no delinquent!” Ryutarou screamed as he tossed the nail bat to the floor. The moment it left its hands, it transformed back into a bouquet. A lot of engineering had gone into making something this pointless.

“I use gauntlets! Now give mine back!” Ryutarou shouted.

“And here I thought you’d like my gift…” Hajime grumbled as he brought out Ryutarou’s gauntlets.

“Yeah, now these feel natural.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryutarou quickly strapped on his beloved gauntlets. He punched them together, getting a feel for them.

“Ah, hold on, you moron! Don’t just go around messing with them before I’ve finished my explanation!”

“Huh? What’s the big…”

Hajime stepped forward and grabbed Ryutarou’s arms. He then pointed Ryutarou’s hands backward, toward the wall. A second later, the fist part of the gauntlets shot out and smashed through the workshop’s walls. They kept going at unbelievable speed, disappearing into the forest.

“Damn, that was close. If you slam them together, you activate the rocket punch. Be careful, you moron.”

“You’re the moron heeeeeeeeere!” Ryutarou exclaimed as he ran off into the forest, chasing after the detached fists of his gauntlets.

“I designed them to come back and reconnect with your gauntlets so you don’t have to chase them… Well, whatever,” Hajime shrugged his shoulders, then looked over at Suzu, who was surreptitiously trying to flee the workshop.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Eek!?”

Hajime grinned happily and handed the timid Suzu something.

“U-Umm, Nagumo-kun, what is this?”

“Your old artifact. I tried upgrading it, but it was so shit that it broke.”

“How could youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!?”

The bracelet she’d been given by the king had been reduced to nothing but junk. Hajime then pulled out her new artifact, which ended up being a leek-shaped object. Hajime had thought it would suit Suzu’s hairstyle, but when he actually saw her hold it he muttered “No, forget it. You can’t ever be like her.”

Next, he brought out a giant stuffed animal which was actually a golem, because he wanted to see someone in their party class change into puppetmaster. But not only was Suzu unable to control it, it went berserk and started flinging her around, so he discarded the golem as defective as well. After numerous failed attempts, Hajime finally said, “Dammit, none of these work! I need to rethink my strategy from the ground up!”

He then shooed everyone out of his workshop and got back to work.

The setting sun illuminated Kouki and the others as they walked back to Verbergen, crows mocking them as they went. Looking completely defeated, Suzu muttered, “Nagumo-kun’s crazy. He’s a mad Synergist.”

No one voiced any objections to that description.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

A Hot Night in Verbergen.

“Why!? How!? How did this happen!?”

She couldn’t believe it. Tears spilled from her eyes. She’d trusted in them, believed they were family. She thought they’d be allies forever, but now they’d betrayed her.

“Hmph… Why, you ask? How laughable.”

“I’m surprised you never realized. I thought even a moron would be able to figure it out.”

“I’m amazed. You make it sound as though we betrayed you. But we were never your allies to begin with, so there was nothing to betray.”

Laughter roared through the woods. Bunny ears waved back and forth.

“What…? You were after me from the very beginning? But didn’t you give me your blessing!? Was that all a lie!?”

“Fool. Those were our true feelings.”

“Then why!?”

“Isn’t it obvious, fool?”

A group of rabbitmen roared in unison, “We’re jealous that you get to sleep with the boss!”

Their shout caused the streetlamps of Verbergen to flicker. The nearby residents wanted dearly to shout at the rabbitmen to be quiet, but considering the nature of the conversation taking place, they found it hard to butt in. Naturally, the rabbitmen, or rather rabbitwomen, causing such a ruckus were members of the one clan known as the biggest troublemakers in Haltina, the terrifying Haulia.

“Come on, Lana-san! You can’t just shout that in public! You’re embarrassing me, ehehe!”

The girl who was blushing and fidgeting as she faced down the group of Haulia girls was, of course, none other than Shea.

“Grr, I can’t stand it! You look so damn happy, you fucking cute rabbit!”

“You’re just Shea! Just fucking Shea! I’m older than you, but I couldn’t get anywhere!”

“Shea-neesan… won’t you share some of your joy with your younger sisters?”

The three girls who’d spoken were Lana, Mina, and Nea, the three strongest women of the. Behind Shea stood their revered boss, Hajime. He awkwardly scratched his head and averted his gaze.

How exactly had things ended up like this? The cause was the fact that Hajime had officially accepted Shea as his girlfriend. Once they’d become a couple, Shea had naturally wanted to do the same things Yue did with Hajime. And, as a result, they’d decided to spend their first night. Being as well versed in espionage as they were, the Haulia had learned of that almost right away. While the men of the Haulia clan had found that a joyous occasion worth celebrating, the girls had burned with jealousy and decided to take matters into their own hands.

“Boss! You have to spend the night with all of us tonight! Take advantage of your bunny girl harem!”

“Yeah, hell no,” Hajime rejected Lana’s proposal and shot her with a rubber bullet.

“Why not, Boss!? What’s the difference between one rabbit and a dozen!?”

“A lot, moron,” Hajime replied as he hit Mina with his hypodermic needle gun.

“Boss! Don’t you want a threesome with Shea’s sisters!?”

“Where the hell’d you learn words like threesome, Nea!? You’re barely 10! That’d be a crime!”

“As long as we love each other, age is just a number! And I love you, Boss, so it’s perfectly legal!”

“GO HOME!”

Nea puckered her lips and leaped toward Hajime, but he simply grabbed her by the face and tossed her in the general direction of the Haulia village.

“Hey, Cam! I know you’re here! You’re their leader, aren’t you? Do something about them!”

Cam dropped down from a nearby tree with the grace of a ninja. Then, he turned to Hajime and said flatly, “My apologies, Boss, but there is no force in this world than a group of determined women!”

As pathetic as it was, the finality in Cam’s voice made it clear he wouldn’t budge. Having just witnessed Lana, Mina, and Nea’s attempts, Hajime had no choice but to hesitantly agree. While he was arguing with Cam, more women desperate to interrupt Hajime and Shea’s hot and steamy night appeared.

“Ugh, now that it’s come to this, our only option is to eliminate all obstacles…”

It was hard to tell if Shea just intended to knock them out or eliminate them forever.

“Uh, at this point, I’m not really in the mood…”

At that, Shea’s ears and tail bristled. If she didn’t do something soon, her precious first night with Hajime would be ruined. The moment she curled her hands into fists though, she was interrupted by a voice from behind.

“Hmph… Are those rabbits bothering you?”

“Yue-san!”

Yue was standing atop a nearby tree, striking a strange pose. She looked confidently down at Hajime and Shea, then somersaulted down in front of them. After that, she turned toward the bunny girls and turned to Shea and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Leave this place to me!”

“Yue. What the hell are you—”

“Yue-san! Thank you so much!”

Using her polished martial skills, Shea tripped Hajime with a leg sweep. He was too surprised to react, and before he could even gather his thoughts, Shea carried him in her arms and dashed away.

“Hajime-san’s miiiiiiiiine!” she shouted as she vanished from sight. Or rather, everyone could have sworn she did even though she actually didn’t. Lana and the others attempted to give chase, but were intercepted by Yue.

“Heavensfall.”

“Fugyaaaaaah!?”

All of the rabbitmen were forced to the ground.

“Ngh, the first wife is as strong as we expected! What a formidable foe!”

“Don’t give up, girls! If you give up here, you’ll never be able to make Boss yours by forcing yourself onto him!”

The girls struggled as hard as they could, their bodies trembling as they attempted to overcome Yue’s Heavensfall. Their efforts would have appeared valiant, were it not for the fact that their bloodshot eyes were enough to terrify anyone present. To everyone’s surprise, their love indeed managed to call forth a miracle.

A barrage of silver feathers appeared out of nowhere, sweeping away the oppressive gravity. Yue looked up suspiciously and saw a pair of girls striking power rangers poses atop yet another tree. Kaori and Tio. She gave the two of them her most disapproving glare yet.

“What do you want, pervert dragon and Kaoridiot?”

The two answered immediately.

“We heard that we could get Hajime-kun to bed us if we just push hard enough!”

“And thus we decided to make Master ours!”

Shock and awe was Kaori’s specialty, after all, so she’d decided to team up with the rabbits and overpower Hajime with speed and power. The group of rabbit girls roused themselves with a roar, causing all nearby residents to shut their windows.

“Do you really want Hajime that badly?”

Kaori, Tio, and the rabbit girls bared their weapons at Yue, making their answer clear.

“Very well. Then come. If you want Hajime, you’ll have to pry him from my cold, dead hands!”

That would, of course, be impossible, since Yue was nigh immortal. Yue spread her arms wide, then took a martial arts stance. A moment later, all of the nearby buildings were enveloped in glimmering barriers while dark clouds gathered in the sky. Lightning crackled and the wind howled as darkness darker than night enveloped Verbergen. Yue’s eyes glowed a deep crimson as golden mana flowed from her body. Kaori and the others gulped.

“So this is what the first wife is like… when she gets serious…”

“She’s a monster.”

Such power! Such ferocity!

“All you need is courage, girls! Stand fast, for the sake of your dream!”

The pressure bearing down on the rabbit girls lightened. They looked up and saw Kaori’s silver wings glimmering in the darkness.

“Believe in yourselves!”

Right now, Kaori looked like a brave hero facing down the demon lord.

“Hmph… Trials are meant to be overcome. Young ones, hold fast. Now is the time to put your lives on the line!” Tio’s voice echoed through the city, her calm demeanor reassuring the bunny girls. Her courage in the face of overwhelming might gave them hope. If Kaori was the hero, then Tio was the wise sage who aided the hero’s fight.

The bunny girls rose to their feet with renewed determination. Thanks to Kaori and Tio, they now had the courage to butt into the affairs of others, much like Kaori and Tio themselves.

“Let’s go, girls! Chaaarge!”

At Kaori’s command, the bunny girls rushed forward.

“Die, fools,” Yue stated as she held out her hand, which made lightning rain down upon them. Yue would not let anyone interfere with her best friend’s first night.

Irritated by the horrible din, Shizuku walked out five minutes later and gave everyone involved such a scolding that they all fell meekly in line. Soon after, rumors began to spread that the black-haired swordswoman was the strongest out of all the people in Hajime’s party.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

Arifureta Magic Academy: the Four Bombs of the Academy’s Club Recruitment Efforts.

One day after school, a few days after the entrance ceremony, each club was hard at work trying to recruit new members.

“Now then, Myu. I know you said you didn’t know what club you wanted to join, but are there any you’re interested in?” Hajime asked as held the hand of his beloved daughter, who’d just enrolled in the academy’s elementary division, and walked her around the club recruitment grounds. Participation in a club activity was mandatory, and Myu wasn’t exempt from that rule.

Naturally, Myu adored Hajime and thus had no interest in any club other than the one her father was in. But unfortunately, Hajime’s Synergist club was only open to those who possessed the job of Synergist, meaning Myu couldn’t join. Though he was president of the club, even he didn’t have the power to bend the rules for his beloved daughter. And even if he did, letting Myu in would set a precedent to allow the academy’s four most troublesome girls into the club as well. For that reason, Hajime was touring the different clubs with Myu, looking for something she might like.

However, the moment Hajime asked Myu that question, whispers of “How precious…” leaked out from the ceiling, behind a nearby trashcan, inside a locker, and underneath a shelf.

“I want to join your club, Daddy.”

It seemed Myu had yet to come to terms with the truth. She looked pleadingly up at Hajime, using her ultimate skill, puppy dog eyes. Despite taking massive damage, Hajime held fast.

“I’m sorry, Myu. But the rules say you can’t.”

“Grr… Aren’t there any loopholes?”

Hajime hadn’t expected to hear such a big word out a child’s mouth. But thinking about it, Myu’s attitude was the same as his, so it was probably his fault she knew it.

“I’m sorry I’m such a failure of a dad.”

Hajime looked off into the distance, reflecting on his actions. In the end, Hajime still managed to convince Myu to at least check out a few of the other clubs. The trash can, shelf, and locker that had whispered earlier followed him wherever he went. Hajime could also hear scuffling coming from within the ceiling. After a few seconds, even these pathetic disguises were dropped.

“Hajime-kun, Myu-chan! What a coincidence, running into you here!” Kaori appeared from within the trash can. Surprised, Myu jumped into Hajime’s arms with a yelp.

“How strange, Kaori. When did you start living in a trash can?”

“Hey, hey, Myu-chan! Why don’t you try out my rescue club?”

“Don’t just ignore me.”

Kaori pointedly ignored Hajime and squatted down to Myu’s eye level. She smiled kindly and started talking about all of her club’s good points.

“U-Umm, Kaori-oneechan, I get it already… I’ll look at your club…”

“Really!? I’m so happy, Myu-chan! I’m sure you’ll love it!”

“Kaori, this is pathetic. You’re being pitied by a little girl.”

However, Kaori was too busy muttering “Once I get Myu-chan to call me Mommy, I’ll be Hajime-kun’s wife! Fufufu,” to notice Myu’s forced smile. The moment Kaori entered the rescue club’s clubroom, all of the other members grimaced. The last thing they wanted to see was their club president. However, when they saw Myu trailing behind her, their frowns turned upside down in a flash.

“Kaori-oneechan, what does the rescue club do?”

Kaori smiled and said, “Vice-president!”

“Hello, I’m the vice-president, Ayako Tsuji. Since our president is never here, I’ll explain what the club does, Myu-chan.”

Naturally, the reason the rescue club’s president had no idea what her club did was because she was too busy chasing romance. According to the diligent Ayako, the rescue club literally practiced how to rescue people, and researched ways to improve healing magic.

“But I can’t use magic…”

The moment Myu muttered that, Kaori sidled up to her.

“That’s fine! Most of our rescue activities don’t involve magic! How about trying it for yourself!? Hajime-kun, we need a test subject, so strip!”

“Come again?”

“We can’t rescue you if you’re clothed! That’s just common sense! Now strip! Myu-chan needs a test subject, so take your clothes off and lie down on that bed! Hurry up!”

Kaori wasn’t even bothering to hide her lust. It was hard to imagine just what kind of rescue operations she was trying to teach Myu here. Hajime turned to vice-president Ayako. Blushing bright red, Ayako firmly shook her head, indicating that stripping was not a necessary part of rescuing someone. Kaori was just spouting nonsense. As she drew closer to Hajime, glowing silver armor attached itself to her, making it clear she was willing to use force to keep Hajime here.

Terrified, Myu clung to Hajime. But before he could do anything, he was saved by an unexpected visitor.

“Eat my hammer of justice!” Shea exclaimed as she crashed through the ceiling and fell toward Kaori. Caught completely by surprise, Kaori was unable to defend against Shea’s massive hammer and was sent flying straight through the club room’s window.

“Phew… That was close! But you’re safe now that I’m here!” Shea said as she struck a pose and looked down at Myu. Like Kaori, she was also trying to win Myu over. She’d only removed Kaori because she wanted to look cool in front of Myu and be called Mommy.

“Myu-chan!”

“Y-Yes!?”

“Do you desire power?”

Smiling, Shea held a hand out to Myu. So what if she was a child or a dagon? Shea was just a mere rabbitgirl, but she too had cut open her own path using force. Myu glanced over at Hajime, then turned back to Shea and her passionate gaze.

“I do! I want power!” Myu said innocently.

“Very well. Then I shall grant it to you! Come, follow me!”

For some reason, Shea was imitating Tio’s style of speech. However, it succeeded in getting Myu excited, and she happily followed behind Shea. Shea walked out of the room, completely unconcerned about the fact that she’d just smashed it to pieces.

“Sorry. I’ll try and repair everything that can be repaired.”

“Ahaha… Thanks, Nagumo-kun. If possible, I’d like it if you could repair the president’s brain too…”

“That impossible.”

All of the club members smiled ruefully. Once he was done repairing the rescue club’s room, Hajime hurried over to the CQC club that Shea managed.

“President Shea! Once more, please!”

“Bring it on!”

In the middle of a huge ring, Shea was toying with a group of muscular men. Though they came at her in droves, she easily made short work of all of them. For some reason, though, every time one was thrown out of the ring, he would scream in ecstasy.

“D-Daddy, I don’t think I can do this…”

Myu had been watching the CQC club’s activities from a corner of the room. The moment Hajime walked in, she ran over to him, tears in her eyes. It was obvious Shea’s display of might had completely shattered Myu’s will to fight.

“Don’t worry, Myu. You don’t have to turn into a berserker like her to become strong.”

The two of them hurried out of the room. Behind them, they could hear the sounds of Shea destroying her club members, mingled with the sounds of her club members moaning in pleasure. It’s gonna be a long time to find a club Myu likes, huh? Hajime thought idly to himself as he walked down the halls.

“Hmph… Searching for a club?” Yue asked as she appeared from underneath a nearby cardboard box. Hajime smiled and ignored Yue completely. Shocked, Yue jogged after him.

“H-Hajime! Why did you ignore me!?”

“Yue-sensei, please enlighten us as to what the club you advise does.”

“We write poems praising Hajime all day and read them aloud.”

“And that’s why I’m ignoring you.”

Incidentally, the members of the club were all abnormal students who really wanted to see Hajime and Yue have an illicit student-teacher affair. In other words, they were fanatics who only recognized the HajimexYue ship. Naturally, Hajime had no intention of putting his daughter in the care of such unhinged people. Yue fell to all fours, and her club members started consoling her.

“Master, wonderful timing. I implore you, convince dear Myu to join my masochism—”

“Get out of here, perverted dragon.”

Hajime grabbed the perverted chairman by the face and stuffed her back into the locker she came out of. Then, he slammed the locker door shut, transmuted it to keep it locked forever, and threw the locker out a nearby window. Hopefully a passing janitor would burn the locker to a crisp using advanced-class fire magic.

“Daddy, that was the chairman just now…”

“Don’t worry about it, Myu. There are some things you’re better off not knowing about.”

“O-Okay…”

Furthermore, the masochism club wasn’t even an official club. It was just a room the chairman had appropriated by abusing her authority. None of the objects stored in that room were ones a normal, healthy young girl should ever see. After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the club room Hajime had been looking for. The string of earlier ordeals had tired him out.

“Daddy, what’s this?”

“This is the cooking club. I think you’ll like it.”

Myu seemed to already have an interest in cooking, as her eyes lit up when she heard those words. Hajime knocked, then entered the club room.

“Mind if we watch?”

“Huh? N-Nagumo!?”

The club president stiffened up the moment she saw Hajime. Then, she started smoothing out her clothes and straightening her hair.

“Yo, Sonobe. Can you show my daughter what your club does?”

“Y-You mean Myu-chan? We’d love to have more club members, so I’d be glad to, but…” Yuka trailed off, wondering why Hajime would pick her club of all things.

“It’s a standard club, and it seems like the kind of thing girls would like. Personally, I want her to join a club like this one.”

“Y-You do?”

Naturally, Hajime was praising the club and not Yuka herself, but that didn’t stop Yuuka from blushing anyway. Her club members all grinned at her. Hajime ignored her strange behavior and squatted down in front of Myu.

“By the way, Sonobe here’s also president of the sewing club next door, so she can teach you anything about household chores.”

“Y-You’re praising me too much Nagumo! Sheesh!”

Despite her words, Yuuka’s blush deepened, as did the grins of her club members.

“Plus, she’s part of the public morals committee, so she’s strong too. In fact, she’s as popular as student president Yaegashi. You could learn a lot from her.”

“Oooh, she sounds amazing in a normal way!”

Myu emphasized the “in a normal way” bit, but Yuka didn’t mind. She was too busy blushing to notice anyway. It was indeed true that Yuka was popular, especially among the female students. All the members of both the cooking and sewing clubs were enamored with her as well, so naturally, they were glad when Hajime praised her so much.

“W-Well we were just about to start baking cookies, so why not help us, Myu-chan? You can give them to Nagumo… I-I mean Daddy.”

“Okay!”

There was a good atmosphere going, and the club members all treated Myu kindly. Yuka helped Myu put an apron on while Hajime watched from the sidelines.

Naturally, once the school’s four bombs heard that Myu had joined the cooking club, they all rushed to see what was going on. And, as a result, Yuka was put on their watchlist of people close to Hajime they needed to worry about.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

Floating Hot Springs Panic.

Fernir gently sailed through the sky. This high up, there were no obstacles to obstruct it, or enemies to attack it. Even if there were monsters inhabiting the sky, Fernir was more than equipped to handle them. Hajime had not only upgraded its weapons with evolution magic, but he’d also strengthened the ship’s hull. Furthermore, there were thousands of cannons and missile launchers positioned strategically all around the ship. There was nowhere in Tortus safer than Fernir.

“Sho coooooozy.”

“H-Hold on, Suzu! You shouldn’t do that!”

Right now, all of Fernir’s passengers were enjoying the onboard hot springs that Hajime had recently installed. In fact, Suzu was enjoying the hot springs so much that she’d nearly submerged herself into them. She then floated to the surface, exposing her naked body to the elements. Kaori, on the other hand, sat down leisurely in the tub and said, “Now now, Shizuku-chan. We’re all girls here, so it’s fine.”

“You might be right, but still…”

“She’s right, Shizuku-san. It feels so goood. Come on, join us.”

“We’re talking about showing proper modesty here, Shea. Whether or not it feels good is irrelevant.”

“Shizuku, there is no need to be so small-minded. Look at how vast this blue sky is.”

“That’s even more irrelevant!”

“Shizuku, curse you for having such an erotic body.”

“Can we please get back on topic!? And stop saying stuff like that!” Shizuku said as she hugged herself to hide her body from Yue’s lecherous gaze. Blushing, she shot a furtive glance behind her. There was only a single wall, past which stretched the vast blue sky.

“Yue, you shouldn’t talk so loud. The bath is in open-air mode, so people outside can hear us.”

“Huh!?”

Upon hearing that, Shizuku blushed even brighter and hugged herself tighter. Though her arms and legs were tightly muscled from all of her training, her body still possessed very feminine curves, which Yue stared at intently.

“You can talk about Yaegashi if you want, but you better not talk about your own bodies. If these other two guys hear anything, I’ll be forced to kill them.”

“Mmm… Okay.”

“Hey! You can’t talk about me either! I demand better treatment than this!”

Naturally, Hajime ignored Shizuku’s protests. The men’s bath, which was separated by a single wall, suddenly grew noisy due to the sounds of splashing. It sounded as though two guys were trying to run away from a third. As Hajime had put the bath in open-air mode, the people soaking in the hot springs could enjoy seeing the sky all around them, both above and below. The bath itself was made to look as natural as possible too. Furthermore, Hajime had used evolution magic to give the bathwater restorative properties.

It was hardly surprising that the girls found it so relaxing. As always, the master craftsman had spared no expense in making it as luxurious as possible.

“Though I must say, it is quite impressive that you managed to fashion such a bath, Master. Are baths of this nature popular in your homeland?”

Hajime had done a wonderful job of modeling a Japanese-style bath. Not only was the tub made of real rock, but there was also even a small bamboo thicket growing in the bathhouse. There was also a small waterfall that circulated the water through a magic filter that removed all impurities. Since it was afternoon, Hajime had put it in open-air mode, but there was also an indoor mode with soft lighting for when it was night.

“I wouldn’t say all the baths in Japan are like this, but most are. I modeled this one after my favorite hot springs back on Earth.”

“Oho. So you are a fan of hot springs?” Tio asked, seemingly glad to have learned another thing about Hajime. However, Hajime waited a few moments before responding.

“I think it’s more accurate to say the Nagumo family is.”

“You mean to say your parents?”

“Yeah. All of us love hot springs, especially in winter. My parents are pretty busy most of the year, so we don’t often get chances to go on vacation… but they still get time off around New Year, so it’s become kind of a tradition to go to the hot springs to celebrate it.”

Hajime’s voice was gentle, conveying just how much he cared about his parents. Yue and the others listened with rapt attention, while Shizuku and the rest reminisced about the times they spent with their own family. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Kaori finally said, “Come to think of it, I always tried inviting you to visit a shrine with me and Shizuku-chan and everyone, Hajime-kun.”

The peaceful atmosphere suddenly grew tense, mostly in the men’s side of the bath. However, Kaori didn’t notice the change in Kouki and Ryutarou and continued, “I always wondered why you never answered, but now I know it was because you were with your parents. Fufu, if I’d known that, I wouldn’t have gotten so jealous—”

“Let me just say this now,” Hajime’s cut in, his voice sounding surprisingly stiff. Kaori tilted her head quizzically, while Shizuku just looked up in resignation.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t notice Kaori. I saw your texts.”

“Huh!? Wait, if you saw them, then does that mean you just ignored me!?”

Shocked, Kaori got to her feet.

“Yep.”

“How could you, Hajime-kun!? That’s so mean!”

“Because in the one hour I spent in the hot springs, I got more than forty texts from you.”

In other words, Hajime had been terrified of responding. Kaori’s texts had been endless. “What’s wrong?” “Are you busy?” “Sorry if I’m interrupting anything, but I’d really like to hear back from you.” “Oh, still busy?” “Hm, are my texts not reaching you?” “Sorry!” “I’ll resend them!” “Nagumo-kun, Nagumo-kun!” “Where are you right now?” “Are you at home?” “If you’re home, why aren’t you replying?” “Did something happen?” “Are you okay?” “Should I come visit you?” “If you don’t say anything, I’ll start counting down!” And so on.

“Back then, I thought that countdown was the countdown to my doom.”

“I’d never do something to hurt you!”

Incidentally, Kaori had indeed tried to barge into Hajime’s house. It had only been thanks to Shizuku’s valiant efforts that Kaori had been restrained. Afterward, while Hajime had been trying to think of how to reply, Kaori had barraged him with another avalanche of texts. In the end, she’d even started leaving voice mails. When one had said, “I won’t stop until you pick up…” Hajime had been so terrified that he turned his phone off. After that, he’d focused on the hot springs and tried to forget everything else. His dad was pretty worried about him when he saw Hajime shivering even inside a hot spring, though.

“I finally managed to stop Kaori after her tenth call attempt. When I saw how many texts she’d sent you, I realized what you must have been going through.”

“Yaegashi, you really are my savior,” Hajime said, feeling truly grateful to Shizuku. It was thanks to her that Kaori’s text spam had stopped in the hundreds instead of the thousands.

“Kaoridiot, you’re a total stalker.”

“Kaori-san, even I’m a little creeped out by that.”

“Kaori, not even I am capable of defending such actions.”

“Ugh… I-I’m sorry. I just really wanted to spend some time with Hajime-kun,” Kaori replied as she sunk into the bathtub, trying to hide from everyone’s piercing gazes.

“Well, I guess it’s partly my fault for not having the balls to reply until the next day. Sorry.”

“Th-Thank goodness you understand. And in the end, we were able to see each other at the shrine.”

“Yeah. Even though the shrine was so packed that you could barely see ten feet in front of you, you somehow spotted me in the crowd and weaved your way toward me. I nearly passed out when I saw you.”

“……” Kaori averted her gaze from the other girls. She was beginning to realize that all of the memories with Hajime she looked back on fondly, he seemed to consider scary. Yue gently walked over to Kaori and patted her shoulder.

“Yue?”

“Kaori. Rest easy. Hajime might get terrified when he thinks of you and hot springs, but whenever he thinks of me and hot springs, he’ll remember the night we first slept together.”

“……” Yue’s voice was so bold that Shizuku and Suzu had to hide their faces inside the water. On the other hand, Kouki and Ryutarou nearly collapsed from shock in the men’s bath.

“A-And why exactly should I rest easy because of that? Hmmm?”

“Because I’ve managed to cover up your bad memories with good ones, which means you’re no longer needed. You can leave now, Kaori.”

“Disintegrate!”

“Huh!?”

Unable to take Yue’s gleeful taunting, Kaori unleashed her disintegration powers. Though Yue managed to dodge the barrage of deadly feathers, the wall behind her was not so lucky. Kaori’s feathers obliterated it instantly, destroying the only partition between the men’s and women’s bath. Though Hajime had created the wall out of highly sturdy material, it still stood no chance against Kaori’s full might. With the wall gone, water from the women’s bath rushed into the men’s bath.

“Huh? Wait, nooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Shizuku’s choice to retreat to the wall backfired on her, and she was sucked toward the men’s bath. Realizing she’d made a colossal mistake, Kaori rushed forward to save Shizuku. At the same time, she heard two muffled yells from the men’s bath.

“Waaah, Kaori, you idiot! Why did you use disintegration magic inside!?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Shizuku leaned back against a boulder while Kaori hugged her tight. It almost looked like Kaori was pressing Shizuku up against the wall for a confession. Unfortunately, that meant exposing her naked body for all to see. Kouki and Ryutarou lay on the ground, unconscious, while Hajime’s lips twitched. While Shizuku was protected thanks to Kaori, she could still see into the men’s bath. She looked down toward it and—

“ASGOLigjaeglkjhgleqwtiuhaksjfhltiu !”

Even after things had settled down, Shizuku hid behind her ponytail for the next few hours. And for quite some time after, she couldn’t look Hajime in the eyes

Diamond. diamond. diamond.

Arifureta Fairy Tales: Momotarou.

Long ago, an old couple lived together. Every morning, the old man would go to the mountains for a walk, while the old woman went to the river to do the laundry. Today was no exception, and the two finished their respective tasks without incident. Naturally, neither of them saw a genetically modified oversized peach floating down the river or anything. However—

“Dear! Look, in front of the house!”

Straining his eyes, the old man spotted something in front of his house. He and his wife rushed over and found an adorable baby sleeping inside a basket that had been left on their front door. They both believed the child to be a blessing sent by God… or would have, if they were fools. No, they knew the child had likely been abandoned by their adventure-loving daughter who was too enamored with adventuring to take care of a baby. As a way of apology, their daughter had also left a peach, the couple’s favorite fruit, in the basket.

“Now this is quite a problem… I know we said we wanted to see our grandchild soon, but not like this. We don’t even know the poor babe’s name.”

“Indeed… Well, our daughter left us a peach in the basket as well, so why not call him Momotarou?”

“Dear, you are a genius! I’ve fallen in love with you all over again!”

“Oh, you’re making me blush!”

The airheaded couple went inside and decided to raise the young boy. Later on, he would come to resent his overly simplistic name, but otherwise, he grew up healthy and strong.

Finally, Momotarou reached his seventeenth birthday. Ignoring the stares he constantly felt on him whenever he went outside, he begged his grandfather for a present.

“Gramps, I want transmuting ingredients!”

“We ain’t rich enough to afford those!”

That was hardly a surprise. After all, the old man spent every day going on walks in the mountain instead of actually working. Momotarou’s household was just barely self-sufficient, and every winter they worried about whether or not they would survive to see spring. The people who seemed to follow Momotarou wherever he went often shared their food with him in the winter, which was the only reason he and his family had made it this far. It was for this reason that Momotarou was unable to report his stalkers to the proper authorities.

However, this meant he was forced to live a life stalked by unknown stares, with no money to practice his beloved transmutation. Momotarou was sick of this lifestyle. But one day, a certain rumor reached his ears. Apparently, there lived a very dangerous demon on the mythical island of demons. Said demon reportedly loved gold and silver and forced all the people around him to bring him those precious metals as tribute. Knowing that the demon had such a huge stash, Momotarou came up with the perfect plan.

“Alright, let’s just kill him and take his treasure.”

Poverty truly changed people. Momotarou swiftly crafted a revolver out of the few metals he’d managed to scavenge from the nearby mountain, as well as a few hand grenades. He fashioned a few other pieces of equipment and set out on his journey to escape poverty. As he left the house, he was intercepted by a stranger.

“Momotarou-kun, Momotarou-kun! Hello, I’m a talking pheasant! Please take me on your journey and marry me forever!”

Momotarou wasted one of his precious bullets shooting this “pheasant.” While she did have wings, those wings were silver, and she looked far more human than animal. The pheasant, which he’d decided to mentally call peasant, let out an erotic moan and fell to the ground. However, she got right back up and shouted, “Why did you shoot me!?”

“Because you’re the one who’s been stalking me,” Momotarou said, speaking the truth. Peasant rubbed her swollen forehead and desperately tried to win Momotarou’s favor.

“I promise I’ll be useful! Look, I can disintegrate things!” Peasant claimed as it unleashed a blinding silver light, and Momotarou’s grandfather’s precious hiking tools were turned to dust. His grandfather let out a cry of despair, which for some reason made Momotarou’s mood improve.

“Alright, fine. I owe you for giving me food anyway…Thanks for that.”

Seeing his blushing face was enough to cause Peasant to get a nosebleed. Smiling radiantly as blood poured from her nostrils, Peasant followed Momotarou on his quest to slay a demon for material gain. After they had been traveling for a while, the pair ran into a wild rabbit.

“Momotarou-san, Momotarou-san! Please give me one of the warhammers at your waist!”

“This is totally ruining the story. I’m supposed to run into a monkey next, not a rabbit.”

“Please understand, it’s difficult to get the casting right every time!”

Persuaded by the rabbit’s forceful argument, Momotarou sighed and nodded. He did his best to ignore the monkey he saw twitching behind the rabbit. It was obvious she’d beaten him half to death, considering there was blood dripping from her knuckles. But for Momotarou, ignorance was bliss.

“Violent bunny girls are in right now! Momotarou-san, I’ll send all of your enemies flying to the moon!”

It seemed this extremely violent bunny wished to join Momotarou’s party.

“Uh, sure. Do whatever you want, Murderer.”

And so, Murderer joined the party. Momotarou continued his journey, listening to Peasant and Murderer bicker over who would become his first wife. Before long, they ran into yet another person.

“Please call me a dog!”

Momotarou tried to escape from the pervert, but she was too fast for him. Once she’d caught back up, she pulled out a dilapidated looking box and attempted a take two. She sat inside the box, which had the words “Please adopt me” scrawled onto its side and looked up at Momotarou like a puppy.

“Momotarou-dono, Momotarou-dono… Sorry, I mean Master. Please give me the slave collar hanging from your belt!”

Momotarou wasted the second of his six precious bullets on the dog, but she only squealed in pleasure as she was struck. Incidentally, he did not actually own a slave collar.

“Fear not! If you do not possess one, I can give you one of—”

Seeing as he’d failed to vanquish the parasite, Momotarou used up a third shot. However, his attempt to eliminate her only made her more aroused. Seeing her panting in joy, he lost confidence in his own equipment. Will I really be able to kill a demon with this?

And so, the stalker known as Peasant, the violent berserker known as Murderer, and the pervert known as Dog all became comrades. They advanced toward the island, burying any enemies they encountered with their overwhelming strength. The bright future Momotarou was fighting for would soon be in his grasp. Before long, they reached the island. It was covered in dark clouds, with the only illumination coming from occasional flashes of lightning. For a time, they progressed unimpeded through it. But eventually, they met someone.

“Hm? Has someone else come?”

As the demon slowly rose from her bed, Momotarou’s heart was struck by lightning. Metaphorical lightning, of course. However, that was only natural. After all, the demon was so beautiful that he couldn’t help but be smitten. Her flowing golden hair, glowing crimson eyes, and perfect features were the ultimate combination of beauty and seductiveness. For a demon, she was unbelievably cute! In truth, the demon had never asked anyone for tribute. People had just started offering it to her after seeing how beautiful she was. At first, she had rejected the gifts, but the demon was a NEET at heart, so in order to support her lifestyle of never leaving her house, she’d decided to start letting people leave offerings at her front door. Before she knew it, though, her treasure horde had grown massive.

Incidentally, quite a few people had tried to force themselves onto the cute demon girl, but she was strong enough to have easily destroyed anyone foolish enough to try. Thinking another band of ruffians had come to try and rape her, the demon languidly turned her gaze onto the intruders.

“Ah!? Y-You’re…”

“Momotarou.”

This time it was the demon whose heart was struck by metaphorical lightning. Momotarou and the demon gazed into each other’s eyes. Peasant, Murderer, and Dog all realized that they couldn’t allow the two to grow any closer. If they did, Momotarou’s heart would be stolen right out from under their noses! The three of them assaulted the demon, intent on killing her. However, the demon raised a finger that made literal lightning strike down on the three animals.

“Momotarou-san, I’ll give you everything I own, so please marry me.”

And so, Momotarou-san was wed to his demon wife. The three animals continued challenging her for Momotarou’s heart, but despite their persistence, she grew fond of them and started keeping them as pets. Other nations and tribes assaulted her for her riches, but now that Momotarou had materials to work with, he was easily able to create an armory powerful enough to annihilate any foe. After a while, the rest of the world decided to let sleeping dogs lie, and avoided their island as best as they could. And so, Momotarou lived happily ever after with his demon wife.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.