Chapter 23 - Miledi Reisen

In a corner of the Heiligh palace was a salon that had been opened up for the exclusive

use of the summoned students. Each of them had been assigned their own butler as

well, and the moment it looked as if they needed anything at all in that salon, their

butler was by their side. Whether it was food they wanted, or drink, they merely had

to ask and their servant would be off with a flourish.

They each had their own personal servant to take care of them in their rooms as well,

but as they grew lonely cooped up alone, most students spent their free time hanging

out in the salon.

Of course, they hadn't been summoned here to lounge around. They were the human

side's main force in their battle against their sworn enemy, the demons.

So why was it that most of them spent their days idling around in the salon just killing

time? Well, simply put, most of them had been traumatized. They had come face to

face with death just a few months ago, after all. Down in the depths of the Great Orcus

Labyrinth, where the light of the sun never reached, they'd stared down monsters that

would have killed them without mercy. Many of them had been convinced they would

die there, and one member of their group had actually been defeated, vanishing into

the gaping maw of that ravine.

—A fantasy adventure with swords and magic. They had had that kind of lighthearted

idea about what they were in for, but harsh reality had crushed those hopes and

dreams rather quickly. On the battlefield, people died. It was obvious when stated, but

the incident in the labyrinth had that carved that fact into their souls.

At first they had happily practiced honing their skills, improving the talents their jobs

had given them, and looked forward to mowing down waves of monsters. But now,

there wasn't an iota of that positive attitude anywhere. People died when they were

killed. When that reality had been thrust into their faces, many of the students had

lost their nerve. Not only could they no longer fight, they feared even stepping out of

the capital.

The king and high ranking members of the Holy Church naturally tried to convince the

students to fight again, but they didn't go so far as to force them. In the end, it was all

just attempts at persuasion. But the students, who had been weighed down by their

fear, only felt more cornered at their words. They were worried that if they didn't

comply, maybe they would be chased out of the castle. Then, they'd have no one to

protect them as they were thrown out into this harsh world where people died at the

drop of a hat.

It was then that the one who possessed a rare and invaluable job, the only adult to

have been summoned, the teacher Aiko Hatayama returned from her expedition to

solve the kingdom's food problems.

When she heard about the boy who'd failed to make it back alive, she'd been visibly

shaken. But when she saw how much worse it had affected the students, she quickly

pulled herself together. With renewed determination, she headed to the king and

other nobles to convince them to stop pestering the students to return to the war

front. She even used herself and her rare job as a bargaining chip.

As a result, she succeeded and the students were all put under Aiko's protection. It

was for that reason that they could spend their days idly chattering away in the salon.

"Hey, did you hear? Amanogawa's party made it all the way to the seventieth floor."

"Seriously? Weren't they just setting foot in the sixty-sixth floor a few days ago?"

"I guess that's just how good the hero's party is. He's on a completely different level

from average kids like us." The male student who said that, Atsushi Tamai, shrugged

his shoulders, an odd expression on his face. He was jealous of them. He was jealous

of Kouki and the others, who continued challenging the unknown even after their near

brush with death. At the same time, however, he was embarrassed at how pathetic he

was, and at the fact that he averted his eyes from the truth. But every time he thought

back to that day, he started trembling in fear.

Not just Atsushi either, most of the students who chose to stay behind felt the same.

All they wanted was to go home back to Japan. But in order to do that, they would need

to win the war against the demons, and ask the Holy Church's god, Ehit, to send them

back. Still, they couldn't bring themselves to fight. Fear, dark as the abyss they

witnessed, snuffed out their wills.

"Yeah. You'd have to be as amazing as Kaori-chan or Shizuku-chan to keep up with that

guy."

"I know, right? Shizuku's so cool, isn't she? I'm totally falling for her."

"Ahaha, seriously? But I thought you liked Suzu, Yuri!"

"Wait, Suzu-chan's like that, really!?"

"Nah, she's just a perverted old man inside, so she doesn't count."

Like the boys, the girls also acted cheerful and joked around, but on the inside they

felt jealous and guilty for not being there for their friends. They talked for a while,

exchanging hollow, empty words. As if they were afraid of letting silence settle in.

While the servants posted to the salon never looked directly at any of the students,

they still stole furtive glances at them. Not only had they been chosen by Ehit, their

comrades were still out there fighting. And yet, they wasted their time chattering

pointlessly in this luxurious room. However, at the same time the servants saw the fear

that lived in the students' hearts, and sympathized with their plight. They were stuck

here, unable to go home, and it was the people of this world that had driven them to

such actions. Thus, they gazed on expressionlessly. The nobles and clergymen who

knew the situation held similar feelings as well, as they'd seen the students' dilemma

firsthand. Naturally, it varied from person to person.

The students had realized how those around them looked at them too. To avoid

dwelling on it, the students turned once more to hollow conversation in an attempt to

lick their own wounds.

One of the students mumbled something.

"…Even Shizuku's just a normal girl…" It had been barely a whisper, not something

meant to be heard by others. But there had happened to be a lull in the conversation

just then, and so those whispered words reached everyone in the salon.

They all turned to look at the person who'd muttered that. It was Nia, Shizuku's

personal maid. She realized she'd misspoke and quickly bowed her head to apologize,

but—

"What? Got a problem with us?" Atsushi furrowed his brows and growled at Nia.

Despite his tone, he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. He knew his anger

was misdirected.

"No. Not at all. I'm truly sorry for my poor choice of words." Nia bowed to everyone

again. But her honest attitude only aggravated Atsushi further, so he continued

pestering her.

"No one asked you to apologize! Do you think we're all idiots!? You trying to say that

because Yaegashi-san didn't change… because she's still going anyway, we're all

pathetic for calling it quits here!? Why not just say it to our faces then, huh!?"

"H-Hey Atsushi… give it a rest."

"What good's hitting a maid going to do?"

Atsushi's friends, Noboru Aikawa and Akito Nimura, tried to calm him down. He was

throwing a tantrum like a child.

"Shut up! I just… I just… Dammit…"

"Atsushi…"

"Tamai-kun…"

Gloomy feelings whirled around him, and Atsushi let out a frustrated yell. Akito and

Aikawa looked away, unable to say anything else. Some of the girls opened their

mouths, thinking to say something to him. After all, everyone understood those

feelings he couldn't explain that wrapped around him like an inescapable spider's

web.

Atsushi hung his head, and Nia took a step toward him.

"Atsushi-sama, I'm terribly sorry I offended you. But I did not mean to imply that any

of you are cowards. Please try and believe me…"

"Nia-san… No, umm, I'm the one who… Sorry…"

In the face of her sincerity, Atsushi could only look away awkwardly. He apologized as

well, having calmed down a little. Not only had he thrown a temper tantrum, he was

the one being apologized to. There could be nothing more humiliating.

Nia smiled gently, then went on to explain the true meaning behind her words.

"Allow me to apologize to the rest of you as well. I did not mean to cause offense. But

as Shizuku-sama's maid, and as her friend, this is what I think. That she too, deserves

to be protected, to rely on someone else, to let herself be spoiled, just like any other

girl."

"…But she's so strong. Everyone goes to her for help… I can't imagine her ever needing

to rely on someone else."

"Yeah…" The girl who spoke was Nana Miyazaki. There was a bitter smile on her face

as she said that. Her friend, Taeko Sugawara voiced her agreement.

"It's true that in my time serving Shizuku-sama, she has never once shown any such

weakness before me. However, I do not believe a perfect person like that exists.

Shizuku-sama is also just a teenage girl who was a student only months ago. She may

still look fine for now, but… I'm sure not being able to rest even when she returns to

the palace, and having everyone around her say things like 'It's obvious that Shizukusama can do something like that' must be a huge burden on her."

"Nia-san…"

It was obvious Nia spent a lot of time thinking about Shizuku, so her words shook the

students.

Nia was actually from a family of knights. From a young age, she'd learned swordplay

from her father and brothers. She must have felt a kinship with Shizuku, who had been

born and raised in similar circumstances. At first, she had been nervous serving

someone the priests had called Ehit's messenger, but she'd eventually come to see

Shizuku as a friend. She was worried for her friend, who was bravely challenging

uncharted floors. That was why it had bothered her when everyone had treated

Shizuku like some kind of special being. She was worried their exaggerated

expectations would wear her down.

One of the girls who had so far remained silent in a corner of the salon opened her

mouth.

"Everyone's… still the same, huh?"

"Yuka? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"W-Wow, I haven't heard Yukacchi speak in ages… You okay?"

Nana and Taeko looked over in surprise and worry at their friend, Yuka Sonobe. Their

reaction was warranted. Ever since their near brush with death, it had looked like

Yuka's soul had been sucked out of her. She acted completely lifeless. Originally, she

had been a very spirited girl, one that stood out in her class, for better or worse. But

after their excursion into the labyrinth, she barely ever spoke, and unless her friends

dragged her out she'd spend the whole day just sitting in her room, staring blankly out

the window. She was the one who had been most traumatized by that experience, so

it was only natural everyone was surprised to hear her speak without being asked a

question.

Still, she ignored her two friends and kept talking, empty eyes staring off into the

distance.

"That's right. It's not just Shizuku. Kaori-chan and Sakagami-kun and Nagayama-kun

and Hiyama-kun, and even Amanogawa-kun… haven't changed. At the very least, he

was normal… No, he was even weaker than normal. But… more than anyone… And yet,

I… Even though we're all… If I…"

Her words had ceased making sense. She was no longer trying to convey a message,

but simply letting her mouth speak whatever came to mind. Something had begun

stirring within Yuka's heart.

Her two friends looked at her worriedly, but as she continued spouting nonsense,

Yuka's empty eyes began to glow with a faint light once more. Taeko and Nana looked

at each other. The other students all exchanged confused glances as well.

"Nia-san, when is Ai-chan-sensei leaving again?"

"Aiko-sama? I believe she's scheduled to depart tomorrow morning. They're heading

to the lake town of Ur, so she won't return for at least two to three weeks."

"Whoa, tomorrow, huh…? No, actually, that's good. It'll only get worse if we wait too

long."

Yuka smiled wryly at that and stood up vigorously. Taeko and Nana's jaws dropped in

surprise when they saw that. Their friend had never been so lively before. Nana

timidly opened her mouth.

"U-Umm, Yukacchi? What's wrong? I have no idea what you're saying."

"I'm fine. I just can't stand sitting still any longer. Guys, I'm going to join Ai-chan on her

expedition tomorrow."

The rest of the students looked on in awe. Their shock was expected. Yuka had been

hit hardest by that experience. All she'd done since returning from the labyrinth was

gaze blankly at nothing, sometimes tremble in terror… But now she'd suddenly

recovered in the span of a few seconds.

"W-Wait, Sonobe. Seriously, what's going on? You're not acting normal. Calm down."

Having finally returned to his senses, Atsushi tried to talk her out of it. However…

"I am calm, Tamai-kun. And this isn't sudden. I've been thinking for a long time now

that I can't keep living like this. Ever since he died, I've been scared and confused… but

I need to do something. Aren't you all thinking the same thing, deep down?"

"...…" Atsushi held his breath. He then closed his mouth, like he'd thought better of

what he was about to say. The other students looked away awkwardly.

Yuka didn't say anything. Instead, she simply shrugged her shoulders and headed for

the salon's door. She understood their feelings very well.

"W-Wait, Sonobe! You're really going to go!? You might die for real this time, you

know!? This isn't a manga or a movie! There won't be any convenient act of god to save

your life! That's why… That's why he died! Even though he was weak, he still tried to

act like a hero, and then he died just like that! I-I don't want to end up like that loser…

Sonobe, don't be stupid." Though he started off shouting, his voice gradually petered

off, until finally he was hanging his head sadly. Yuka didn't even turn around.

"But that worthless, weak boy saved my life. No, he saved all our lives."

"But—"

"I'm not asking you to come with me, Tamai-kun. I just don't want to let his death be

in vain. That's all. Of course, if you want to come with me, I'd be glad to have you." She

finally looked back at that moment. She looked nervous, but she still smiled resolutely

at the others. Atsushi could only flop his mouth like a dying fish before collapsing into

his chair. Yuka left the room.

Taeko and Nana were still in shock, but they left the other despairing students and

hurriedly followed after Yuka. When they finally caught up to her in the hallway, they

couldn't hide their confusion.

"Hey, Yuka. Are you really going to go with Ai-chan-sensei? He was right, you might

die."

"I know. Still, I can't just sit around any longer. I don't have the courage to follow

Amanogawa-kun and the others, but I can at least be Ai-chan's guard." When they saw

the determination in her eyes, Nana and Taeko exchanged worried glances. Timidly,

Nana opened her mouth.

"Yukacchi… did you, umm, maybe like Nagumo…"

"Don't be silly. There's no way I'd be doing this for such a simple reason."

"Really?"

"Obviously. Besides, after seeing the hellish training Kaori-chan's putting herself

through just because she still believes he's alive, you'd have to be braver than a hero

to try and take him from her. If I had that kind of guts I wouldn't have stayed behind

in the first place."

"Well, I guess…" Yuka Sonobe was none other than the girl Hajime Nagumo had saved

from Traum Soldiers back in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. That was why Nana had come

to that conclusion, but one look at Yuka's face told her she obviously didn't think of

Hajime in any sort of romantic sense. Though, she did appear to have some other

complicated feelings regarding him. Even Nana, who was usually bursting with

curiosity, fell silent.

There hadn't been any lie in what Yuka had said. She really just didn't want his sacrifice

to go to waste. She didn't want the life he'd risked to save to rot in a castle. When she'd

said everyone was still the same, that had included Hajime as well. He'd saved her

despite being the same weak person as before, and she felt it would be betraying his

memory to just sit around and wallow in misery while others continued to fight.

Her friends realized this, and after exchanging an awkward glance, nodded to each

other. Then they both told Yuka that they were going with her.

"Are you sure? You don't have to force yourself, you know?"

"Just like how you don't want let the life he saved go to waste, I don't want to let the

life you saved go to waste either. I'm coming with you, Yukacchi."

"Same. There's no way I'm letting you go out on your own, Yuka. You saved my life too,

remember?"

After Hajime had saved her life, Yuka had pulled herself together and rallied some of

the other students. Taeko and Nana had been part of that group. Both of them knew

that it was thanks to her that they'd survived long enough to escape. And so, they

decided if Yuka was going to get back up, they were bound to follow.

"I see. Well, alright, then I guess we'll protect Ai-chan from both the monsters and the

really hot knights the Holy Church sent to escort her." She had hoped her two friends

would join her, so she broke out into a beaming smile when they offered. Nana and

Taeko gave a spirited "Yeah!" in response.

The shadow of fear disappeared from the three smiling girls' eyes, replaced instead by

the faint glow of hope.

Mist swirled about the castle grounds on the dawn of their departure. The sun was

just beginning to poke its head over the horizon, and the crisp morning air kept

everyone awake and alert. Despite the pristine weather, one of the travelers had a

glum expression on her face. Aiko Hatayama. The leader of the expedition.

"Girls… Are you sure you want to do this? I already have the Holy Church's knights to

protect me."

"We're not leaving, Ai-chan-sensei. And besides, those knights are more dangerous

than helpful. It's obvious they're agents sent to try and seduce you into their faction."

"That's right, Ai-chan-sensei. Don't fall for their charms just because they're all hotties,

okay?"

"Though, if you ask me, it looks like their plan backfired. But still, you're our Ai-chansensei, so we just want to be extra careful."

Aiko shrugged her shoulders helplessly at their insistence. She'd already tried to

dissuade them when they'd talked to her last night about joining her expedition, but

no matter how much she impressed the dangers of the journey, they never faltered. As

such, she knew nothing she said now would change their mind.

Furthermore, Yuka's claim that the Holy Church was trying to seduce her into their

camp were more than just baseless accusations. On every single trip Aiko had gone,

they had, without fail, assembled a team of good looking knights to accompany her.

And without fail, each and every one of them had tried to make a move on her. All in

order to control the one person in the world with the ability to completely

revolutionize agriculture. But as Taeko had said, all of the knights had instead become

her loyal followers. The same charm that had led all of her students to love her had

toppled the army of hot guys as well. Aiko herself was as dense as a dating sim

protagonist though, so she hadn't realized that little tidbit as of yet.

She was glad her students were worried about her, and that they'd recovered enough

to want to try again, but at the same time, she was worried about the dangers they

would face on the road. Unable to resolve the conflicting feelings inside of her, she just

cradled her head. A few seconds later, she could hear a huge commotion coming from

across the courtyard.

Aiko and the girls turned around and saw the knights bringing over their carriages.

However, there was an unexpected group of guys facing off against them, so they were

seemingly in the middle of a heated argument. Aiko's eyes went round in surprise,

while Yuka and the others looked taken aback.

"T-Tamai-kun? Aikawa-kun and Nimura-kun, you're here too? Why are you all…"

"Oh, Ai-chan-sensei. How's it going? We're coming too."

Atsushi and the others greeted Aiko casually, a complete turnaround from the stern

glares they'd been sending the knights mere moments ago. Aiko opened her mouth to

argue, but Yuka cut her off before she could.

"You're coming? That's a surprise."

"Shut it… You're not the only one. We wanted a chance to stop being losers too. Though

I think the rest of the guys are still too scared."

"I see. Well, welcome aboard. Let's do what we can with what we've got." Yuka

shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Despite their nervous expressions, the boys still

let out a spirited cheer.

One last student showed up to join a few minutes later. After multiple altercations with

the knights, Aiko's agricultural reform expedition was finally formed. Everyone

burned with the resolve to stand up on their own two feet once more.

"I can't believe I let it happen again… I couldn't even hold back a single one of them…

I'm such a bad teacher… Waaa…!" Aiko cried by herself in a corner of the carriage. The

knights all felt moved by her plight and tried to offer a helping hand, or words of

condolence. However, Yuka and the other girls snarled angrily at them to keep them

at bay. No one noticed that their constant bickering was giving Aiko, the person they

were supposed to be protecting, a headache. And it seemed their journey would

continue along those lines for quite some time…

In a certain room far underground, three people huddled together close to a wall that

was glowing with a faint blue light. Hajime, Yue, and Shea.

They were sitting with their backs to it, Hajime in the middle, Yue to his right, and Shea

to his left. The room was silent, but if one listened closely they would hear the sound

of soft breathing. Yue and Shea were sleeping. They each had their arms wrapped

around one of his, using his shoulders as pillows.

A week had passed since they'd entered the winding Reisen Labyrinth. The neverending barrage of traps and annoying insults had been more mentally exhausting than

physical. They'd been sent back to the start seven times, triggered lethal traps fortyeight times, and suffered minor pranks like getting stuck in birdlime, being covered

with smelly white liquid, and hit on the head by falling tubs one hundred and sixtynine times.

At first they'd been furious with Miledi Reisen, but around the fourth day or so, staying

constantly angry had become too tiring, so they'd just become apathetic.

Their overwhelming stats kept them from dying, and they'd brought plenty of food,

but those were the only silver linings in the godforsaken maze. They slept

intermittently, like they were now, as they continued exploring. After a week of

searching they'd noticed that there was a pattern to how the maze rearranged itself.

By using his Tracking skill, Hajime had been able to figure out where each block was

moved.

They were finally making progress. Pleased, Hajime looked down at the two girls

sleeping on his shoulders.

"I can't believe you guys are sleeping so peacefully… We're in the middle of one of the

Seven Great Labyrinths, you know?" He whispered softly with a smile on his face. It

was his turn to be on watch. He somehow managed to extricate one of his arms and

started gently running his fingers through Yue's hair. Her lips curled up in a faint smile.

Hajime, too, smiled as he gazed down at her.

On his other shoulder, Shea had her mouth open and was drooling all over his shirt.

Such a soundly sleeping face didn't fit the harsh environment of this labyrinth at all.

Hajime suddenly remembered that she'd always wanted to have her head patted too,

so he softly placed his hand over her pale blue hair.

He ran his fingers over her fuzzy rabbit ears as well. Her normally relaxed expression

loosened even further. She was completely and totally at ease. Perhaps she felt secure

knowing Hajime was keeping watch. Or perhaps she was simply happy to sleep next

to him. He twisted his mouth into a wry expression as he ran his fingers through her

pale hair.

"Seriously, what do you even see in a guy like me that you're willing to follow me all

the way out here?" He looked down at her with surprising tenderness as he said that.

While he doubted he could ever fall in love with her like Shea wanted, he was still

amazed by her overly positive attitude and her stubborn streak that kept her going

even when her face was a mess of tears. That was why he'd grown a little kinder

toward her.

And in that moment, Shea decided to mutter something in her sleep.

"Mmm… Oh Hajime-san, you're so bold. Doing this outside where everyone's…

watching."

"...…" The kind light suddenly vanished from his eyes. He stopped stroking her hair

and instead pinched her nose, while also covering her mouth. Her peaceful expression

quickly transformed into one of extreme discomfort.

"Mmm… Mm? Mmmm!? Mmmmmmm!!! Pwah! Haah… Haah… Wh-What was that for!?

I know I told you to attack me in my sleep, but I didn't mean like that!" Hajime just

looked at her coldly while she drew in deep ragged gasps.

"And? Just what kind of pervert do you take me for in your dreams? What was I doing

with you outside, hmm?"

"Huh…? Wait, that was a dream!? Nooo…! I finally got to see you be nice for once,

Hajime-san. And then, because you were unable to control your burning emotions, you

said all these embarrassing things to me and took me in broad— Bweh!?"

Unable to listen any longer, Hajime strengthened his fingers and flicked her on the

forehead. The force of the blow made Shea smack her head against the wall behind

her, and she crouched down in pain. In the end, she's still the same worthless rabbit.

Gingerly rubbing the back of her head, Shea muttered her complaints.

"Feels like I was having this really great dream… but I can't remember it now." She

must have unconsciously noticed Hajime stroking her hair in her sleep. But if he told

her that she'd get carried away again, so he kept quiet. Since Shea had already been

awoken, albeit rather forcefully, Hajime decided to wake Yue up too.

"Mmm… Hwah?" Yue slowly opened her eyes as Hajime gently shook her. She looked

up at him and nuzzled her head against his shoulder for a moment longer before

getting up and straightening her clothes.

"Man, Yue-san looks so cute… That's how a girl's supposed to wake up! Compared to

her, I'm just…" Yue gave Shea a confused stare, but then came to the conclusion that

"that's just how she always is" and decided not to say anything.

"Come on, you always knew there was a huge gap between you two. Now pull yourself

together, we've got more exploring to do."

"Is it just me, or are you even meaner than before?"

"Huh…? Hajime's always nice."

"…Hic… Only to you, Yue-san. Hmph."

After pouting for a bit, Shea finally stood up. Yue and Hajime were already ready to go.

Praying they wouldn't be sent back to the start again, the three resumed their search.

They had spent so much time in the labyrinth that they had reached a kind of

enlightenment. Annoying traps and insulting messages had ceased to affect them.

And today, they finally found themselves in a room they hadn't seen since the first time

they'd run into it a week before. It was the golem room that had taken them back to

the start for the first time. However, this time the sealed door was already open, and

instead of a room, it lead down a passage.

"Here again… It'd be a pain if we let them surround us. The door's already open, so

let's make a run for it!" Hajime barked his orders.

"Yeah!" Yue quickly agreed, clearly favoring the option.

"You got it!"

They dashed forward as one. Like before, the golems started moving once they

reached the halfway mark. But this time, Hajime shot down the ones ahead of him

before they could even make it off their plinths.

They sped up, and were at the altar before the golems had a chance to catch up to

them. The golems were chasing after them as fast as they could, but they wouldn't

make it before Hajime and the others slipped through the door. Sure that they were in

the clear, Hajime smiled triumphantly.

But that smile was wiped off his face mere moments later. Because the golems hadn't

stopped at the door. They were still chasing them. And worse—

"Wha—!? They can run on the ceiling!?" Hajime screamed, clearly surprised.

"…That's new."

"Gravity, please start doing your job!"

Indeed, the golems were running across the walls and ceiling as they chased after the

trio. The sight was made even more surreal because of how heavily their armor

clanked as they did so. Even after all they'd seen, Hajime and the others hadn't

expected that. Hajime cast Ore Appraisal on the walls and floor as he sped by, but they

were all made of materials he'd already examined. Nothing about the hallway

suggested it was made of stone that reversed gravity, or had suction powers.

"How the hell are they doing that?" Hajime muttered to himself. When he risked a

glance back, he saw something even more surprising. The lead golem jumped off the

ceiling, flying like a cannonball at Hajime.

"What the—!? Damn you!" Recovering from his shock, Hajime pulled out Donner and

fired a barrage of bullets at it. The hail of bullets destroyed the golem's helmet and

most of its shoulder. Its head and torso fell off, and it let go of its sword and shield. But

instead of falling to the ground, its weapons and body parts kept flying at them.

"Dodge!"

"Okay."

"Waah!"

Hajime and the others ducked and weaved through the golem's head, torso, sword,

and shield. The disparate golem parts kept flying past them and crashed into the walls,

ceiling, and floor ahead of them, then kept rolling forward after that.

"Hold up, either I'm seeing things, or they just…"

"Yeah… it's like they're 'falling' forward."

"Okay gravity, seems like you're only planning on working sometimes."

Yue and Shea both tossed their quips at Hajime's words. It seemed these golems also

had the power to manipulate gravity. But then, why didn't they bother using it last time?

Unless it's something they can only do in this passageway, maybe?

Hajime's thoughts were interrupted as the rest of the golems began "falling" forward

toward them. One of them was spinning its sword like a windmill as it fell. Hajime and

Yue used gunfire and the Rupture spell respectively to shoot down the golems from a

distance, while Shea mopped up any they missed. They kept running as they did, and

soon Hajime felt a presence ahead of them.

"Hmm… Hajime."

"Yeah, I know. We knew they could regenerate, so I kind of expected this."

"Th-They've got us surrounded."

The golems that had fallen past them had finished rebuilding themselves. An entire

row of them was waiting for the trio. With their shields out, they made for a formidable

wall, and there was a second row behind them supporting the first. They'd already

realized Hajime and the others could power through a single row.

"Tch, what a pain." Hajime clicked his tongue and holstered Donner and Schlag. From

his Treasure Trove, he pulled out another weapon.

Orkan, a rectangular twelve-shot missile launcher. Each of the missiles it fired was

thirty centimeters long, and packed more explosive power than his hand grenades.

With his creation magic, he had imbued Lightning Field directly into the ore the

missiles were composed of. As such, they were constantly charged with static

electricity, and that electricity ignited the explosives in the warhead on impact. Hajime

smiled wickedly as he took aim with Orkan.

"Yue, Shea! Cover your ears! I'm blowing them out of the way!"

"Okay."

"Wait, what on earth is that!?" Shea's eyes widened in surprise. This was her first time

seeing Orkan. Yue stuck her fingers in her ears. Shea's rabbit ears were still standing

straight up, but Hajime didn't have any more time, so he pulled the trigger. The

missiles launched with a whooshing noise, leaving a trail of sparks in their wake. Each

and every one of them found their mark.

There was a huge explosion as they hit. The entire passage shook from the force of the

shockwaves. The golem knights were blasted to either side, blown up beyond

recognition as they slammed into the walls. It would take a while to rebuild from that

kind of damage.

Hajime and the others sped past the wreckage.

"My rabbit ears! My rabbit ears are—" Shea's ears were lying flat against her head,

with her hands covering them. There were tears in her eyes, but she still kept pace

with the others. Rabbitmen had the best sense of hearing out of all the beastmen.

"That's why I told you to cover your ears."

"Huh? What'd you say? I can't hear anything!"

"You really are a worthless rabbit…"

They both gave her exasperated looks, but Shea was too busy worrying about her ears

to notice. After another five minutes of fending off golems falling at them, they saw the

end the of the hallway. It opened up into a massive chamber. The chamber had no floor,

and there was a square platform standing ten meters out from where the hallway

stopped.

"Yue, Shea, jump!"

They both nodded curtly. From behind, golems were still shooting down at them. They

continued dodging or intercepting them up until they jumped. With their body

strengthening, all three of them could leap far further than any Olympic athlete. A

jump that would easily have broken world records back on Hajime's world carried

them easily over the gap and directly toward the square platform.

Still, unexpected surprises were this dungeon's specialty, so while they were still in

the middle of their jump, the platform started moving.

"What!?" Hajime had lost count of how many times he'd yelled that down here. At this

rate, they were just going to fall down. And a quick glance below showed that the hole

was quite deep. Hajime thrust out his left hand, ready to fire an anchor, but Yue acted

first.

"Updraft!" A surge of air lifted them up, carrying them a few feet higher. It wasn't much,

but it was enough. Hajime just managed to grab on to the ledge as he fell. He

transmuted spikes into his left arm to keep him fastened there while Yue and Shea

clung to him for dear life.

"N-Nice one, Yue."

"That was amazing, Yue-san."

"Mhmm. Praise me more."

Hajime and Shea smiled, praising Yue for saving them from whatever hellish pit

awaited below. Yue was exhausted from burning so much mana, but she still managed

to puff out her chest proudly.

However, their celebration was cut short by an army of golems flying at them. This

time they were just floating through the sky. It must have been their gravity controlling

powers at work. They headed toward Hajime and the others at frightening speed.

"Yue, Shea, get up there!" Donner was already in his hand before he'd finished talking,

and he fired a barrage of bullets at the incoming golem knights. Yue and Shea

clambered up over him and onto the platform. Once they were over, Hajime vaulted

up himself.

One of the golems' swords thrust into the platform's side a second later. Had Hajime

taken a second longer, it would have speared him. Taking advantage of the golem's

brief opening, Hajime bombarded it with bullets.

"Fuck. I don't know if it's gravity control or what, but these guys are getting more and

more precise with their movements."

"…It's probably this place."

"Ahaha, I don't even know what common sense is anymore. Everything's floating." As

Shea had so aptly stated, everything in the room they were in was floating.

The platform had taken them into a massive spherical room. In fact, "massive" didn't

do it justice. The room must have been two kilometers in diameter. There were

numerous stone platforms floating around, moving every which way. Gravity may as

well have not have existed in this space. Despite that, Hajime and the others were still

affected by it normally. It seemed only objects made out of a certain material could

ignore gravity.

The golem knights were able to fly in whatever direction they pleased. But it definitely

felt like they were reorienting which direction gravity applied to them in, as their

movements were jerky and sudden. Living creatures would have probably died from

the G-forces that exerted on their frames. However, their movements had continued

to get steadily more precise the further they went in, which meant…

"The golem's controller should be around here, right?" Yue and Shea nodded in

agreement of his statement and tensed up, ready for a fight. For whatever reason, the

golems were just circling them without attacking. He looked around, scouting for any

possible exits. There was no telling if this was their final destination, or if there was

still more to come. Either way, this must be near the end of the labyrinth. The increased

precision of the golems and the strange nature of the room supported his hypothesis.

Hajime activated his Farsight to scout out the room. But before he could get a good

look, Shea yelled out a warning to him.

"Run!"

"Wha—!?" Hajime and Yue unquestioningly heeded Shea's warning and leaped to the

side as fast as possible. Fortunately, there was another block floating a few meters

away for them to jump to.

A second later, something crashed into the block they'd been standing on with the

force of a meteorite. The impact shattered the block completely. Meteorite was an apt

description for what had just landed, as whatever it was shot straight through the

block and kept falling, a nimbus of friction-induced heat surrounding it.

Cold sweat ran down Hajime's back. Had it not been for Shea's warning, they would

have taken that head on. And since he couldn't use Diamond Skin here, it might

actually have killed him. It wasn't that he hadn't been able to sense the attack. In fact,

he'd felt the presence bearing down on them an instant after Shea's warning. However,

it had been traveling so fast that he wouldn't have been able to dodge in time after

sensing it that late.

"Thanks, Shea. You saved our lives."

"Yeah… good job."

"Ehehe, thank goodness my Future Sight activated back there. Though I'm completely

out of mana now…"

So the reason she sensed it before me was because of her Future Sight ability? Shea could

use her ability voluntarily, but there were also times it activated on its own. When

something posed a threat to her life, it would almost always activate. That meant the

meteorite had at least enough power to instantly kill Shea. Hajime shivered a little

before looking down at where the meteor had fallen. He cautiously poked his head

over the edge of the platform. When he peered down, he could faintly make out

something ascending at high speed. In the blink of an eye, it was floating above Hajime

and the others. Its eyes glowed with a cold light as it stared at them.

"Man, are you serious?"

"It's… so big…"

"S-So this is their boss."

They all gazed up in amazement. Yue's outburst could probably have been interpreted

in a not-so-wholesome way, but that wasn't really important.

Floating in front of them was a massive golem knight. It was fully armored like the

others, but this one was twenty meters tall. In its right hand was a glowing red heat

knuckle. That was what it had used to destroy the platform earlier. In its left was a flail,

its fingers wrapped around the chain.

As Hajime and the others prepared for battle, the other golems all started flying in as

well, encircling the trio. They stood, or rather floated, at attention, with their swords

held upright in front of their chests. As if they were saluting their emperor.

Hajime and the others looked around nervously. Silence filled the room, and the

tension was almost palpable. The moment one side moved, a fight to the death would

break out. Or at the very least, that was the sense the atmosphere gave off until…

"Heyo~ Nice to see you~ It's me, everyone's favorite idol, Miledi Reisen-chan~" The

huge golem's greeting didn't match its look at all.

"...…" Their jaws all dropped open in shock. The cutesy voice coming out of the

heavily armed and armored golem was so utterly incongruous that they couldn't help

it.

The giant golem frowned in displeasure as it looked down. Judging from its voice,

Hajime guessed it was a she.

"Hello? Aren't you going to say anything? It's proper manners to return a greeting, you

know? Sheesh, kids these days… no respect, I tell you." That annoying manner of

talking was very familiar to them.

"Unbelievable." The golem with a burning knuckle in one hand and a flail in the other

shrugged her shoulders in a very human-like fashion. Irritated expressions flitted

across the trio's faces. She talked just like the messages they'd seen. Since she'd called

herself Miledi Reisen, it was possible it was the Liberator herself, but she was

supposedly long dead and a human. Hajime decided to try that angle of questioning

first.

"My bad. But wasn't Miledi Reisen a human? And isn't she dead? Anyway, we've never

seen a sentient golem before, so we were a bit surprised… Sorry about that. Also, tell

us what exactly you are. As concisely as possible, please."

"Oh my, you're quite forward despite being surrounded and outnumbered."

There was no subtlety to his questions. He just laid his questions flat out.

Unsurprisingly, the golem called Miledi was taken aback by his bluntness. But she

recovered quickly, and if he didn't know golems couldn't show expression, Hajime

would have sworn she grinned.

"Hmm? Miledi was always a golem, you know? Whatever gave you the idea she was

human?"

"There were a few things written about you in Oscar's notebook. And don't give me

bullshit like 'Oh, but I look just like a human, don't I?' Just keep it short. It looks like

you're trying to get in our way, so we'll be turning you into scrap soon enough. That's

why there's no need for any annoying banter, just tell us what we want to know."

"O-Oh my. I finally get a chance to talk to someone, and this is how you treat me? And

did you just say Oscar? Did you three perhaps clear O-chan's labyrinth?"

"Yeah, we've already beat Oscar Orcus' dungeon. But I'm the one asking the questions

here. If you don't want to answer, that's fine too. We'll just move straight to the part

where we crush you to pieces. It's not like I'm dying to know any of this information.

All we're here for is the ancient magic." Hajime pointed Donner at the massive golem

to accentuate his words. Yue looked on impassively, but Shea, half-impressed and halfnonplussed, let her thoughts leak out.

"Wow, nothing fazes you does it?"

"If you want the ancient magic, does that mean you're going to kill the gods? Are you

going to take out those conniving little bastards for us? If you got to the end of O-chan's

labyrinth, then you must know what's going on, right?"

"I told you, I'm the one asking the questions here. If you want me to tell you anything,

you answer first."

"You really are a cocky little brat. Well, whatever. Umm where to begin… Ah, guess

we'll start with my real identity. Umm…"

"Like I said, keep it short. I don't need an entire novel's worth like when I saw Oscar."

"Ahaha. I guess O-chan can be a little long-winded. He always did like to talk." The

massive golem looked up at the sky, quietly reminiscing. She really felt more like a

human than a lump of rock. Yue was as expressionless as always, but Shea was

glancing nervously at the golems surrounding them.

"Alright, so put simply… I am indeed Miledi Reisen. And the secrets of these golems lie

in the ancient magic I can use! If you want to know more, then you'll have to beat me

first!"

"That's not an explanation…"

"Hahaha. I mean, what'd be the point in making this labyrinth if you got all the answers

before clearing it?" The Miledi golem wagged her finger like she was lecturing a small

child. If only it wasn't Miledi Reisen doing that, it'd almost look cute.

"It's who's inside that's the problem," Yue muttered quietly. It appeared she agreed.

Though in the end, they hadn't figured anything out about who was inside either.

Hajime's best guess was that if she claimed to be Miledi herself, then she was probably

the lingering remnants of her spirit or something. He vaguely recalled that one of his

old classmates, Eri Nakamura, had the job of necromancer, which dealt with

manipulating such spirits. Though nothing she'd resurrected with her necromancy

had the kind of independent will this golem seemed to possess. So does that mean it's

the ancient magic she had that let her spirit have such a strong will even after she passed

on?

Regardless, it seemed that whatever magic Miledi possessed, it wasn't going to help

him teleport across worlds. Somewhat put out, Hajime asked his next question.

"Does your ancient magic have something to do with controlling spirits?"

"Hm? Sounds like you're looking for a certain spell. Well, just so you know, my ancient

magic has nothing to do with any of this. I had La-kun help me affix souls into these

guys~"

Hajime's only goal was to return home. It didn't matter if this spell controlled souls or

spirits or whatnot, it was of no use to him. But Miledi's response wasn't what he had

been expecting. He didn't know who this "La-kun" was, but he guessed they were

another one of the Liberators. Whoever they were, they were the ones that had put

the spirit of Miledi, who was supposedly dead, into this golem.

"Then what does your ancient magic do?"

"Oh, interested, are we? Do you really wanna know that bad?" Her expression couldn't

change, but her tone made it obvious that she was grinning inside. Annoyed, Hajime

waited for her to answer.

"If you wanna know… you'll have to answer one of my questions first." Her tone

suddenly shifted drastically at the end of her sentence. Her playful, cutesy voice was

replaced by a dead serious one. Hajime and the others were slightly taken aback. Still,

he didn't let it show on his face.

"What?"

"What are you after? Why do you want to collect ancient spells so badly?" Her tone

made it clear that she wouldn't forgive him for lying. It was possible this was her real

personality. After all, she was a member of the group that had risen up against the

gods for the sake of the people. She had plenty of reason to want to know what the

person she entrusted her power to would do with it.

Unlike Oscar, who'd passed away and left only a video recording of himself, Miledi had

spent centuries here waiting for a challenger to come and lay claim to her power. In a

way, it must have been torture. Her frivolous attitude might only have been a front,

while the real her was someone with an immense amount of patience and a strong

sense of responsibility.

Yue had picked up on that as well, so her expression shifted ever so slightly. Having

spent centuries trapped in a prison of her own, Yue must have understood the

suffering Miledi had gone through. And there was more than just sympathy in her eyes.

After all, unlike Yue, Miledi had chosen to remain down here in the darkness for

centuries of her own volition.

Hajime's gaze met Miledi's, and he told her the truth.

"My only goal is to return home. One of your stupid mad gods summoned me to this

world by force. I'm just trying to find a spell that can teleport me back… I have no

interest in carrying on your crusade against the gods. I'm not going to risk my life for

this world."

"...…" She stared at Hajime for a few seconds before turning to look at Yue, then Shea.

Seemingly coming to some sort of understanding, she nodded curtly.

"I see," was all she said. Then, her serious tone of voice vanished, and was replaced by

the cutesy one she had been using before.

"Hmm… I see~ I see~ I understand now, you're not from this world. Yeah, that must

have been tough for you~ Alright, let's duel! Beat me and get your hands on the power

you seek!"

"I can't follow your logic at all, but… in the end, what is your ancient magic? Is it a

teleportation spell?"

Miledi only laughed gleefully and said "Well…" suggestively. She would have made a

great host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Tired of her games, Hajime pulled out Orkan. If she wasn't going to say anything, then

he would just beat her and get his own answers. And yet, before he could fire she

opened her mouth and taunted him.

"Not telling!"

"Then die." Hajime let loose a barrage of missiles. They left a trail of sparks as they

slammed into the Miledi Golem and exploded. The explosion echoed loudly across the

massive room. Smoke enveloped the space Miledi had been occupying.

"Did you get her!?"

"Shea, anytime anyone says that the enemy's alive."

Shea was ready to start celebrating, but Yue shot her down. And in the end, Yue's

warning proved correct. A burning fist punched its way through the smoke. Miledi

swept her hand across, blowing away the smoke.

As the smoke cleared, they saw that while Miledi's forearms were crumbling here and

there, she hadn't taken any serious damage. She grabbed one of the nearby floating

blocks and crushed it, using the particles to restore her own body.

"Fufu, congratulations on landing the first strike. But I'm sure you can do better than

that. Come on, I might have the spell you're looking for~ I'm pretty strong though, so

try not to die." Accompanied by joyous laughter, Miledi fired the flail attached to her

left arm at Hajime. Not swung, fired. There was no windup, so the flail attached to the

end of an arm was just suddenly hurtling toward them. She must have been able to

control the direction of her gravity like the other golems, so she made the flail "fall" at

them.

Hajime and the others jumped to a nearby platform to avoid it. It shattered the block

they had just jumped off of and, like it was swimming through the air, turned around

and returned to Miledi's hand.

"Let's do this. Yue, Shea, we're taking Miledi down!"

"Okay!"

"Roger!"

At Hajime's shout, the final battle of the Reisen Labyrinth, one of the Seven Great

Labyrinths, began in earnest.

The golem knights that had been on standby until then suddenly sprang into action.

Like they had in the hallway, they pointed themselves like bullets at Hajime and the

others, then fell straight at them.

Yue lithely dodged out of the way, thrust one of her canteens forward, and swung it

from side to side. The highly compressed water shot out with considerable force and

cut through the golems like a laser.

"Ahaha, pretty good. But there's fifty of these infinitely regenerating golems and me.

Will you really be able to get them all at once?" With a wicked cackle, Miledi fired her

flail again. Shea leaped out of the way and onto a pyramid shaped block above her.

Instead of dodging, Hajime emptied Donner's chamber on it.

There was only one gunshot, but all six bullets were fired. The six bullets hit the flail

almost simultaneously. Even a giant mass of metal like the flail couldn't ignore six

railgun enhanced bullets. And so, it was flung off at an angle, away from Hajime.

Meanwhile, Shea leaped off her platform and swung Drucken down at Miledi's head.

"I can see right through your tricks~" Miledi suddenly shot sideways through the sky.

She had reoriented her gravity.

"Kuh, damn you!" Gritting her teeth, Shea pulled Drucken's trigger. There was a

concentrated explosion along the face of the hammer. The recoil of the blast allowed

her to correct her trajectory. She spun around thrice before delivering a blow backed

by the power of centrifugal force squarely into Miledi.

Miledi raised her left arm up to guard herself, but Shea's strike was so powerful that

it crushed her arm entirely. However, Miledi seemed unconcerned and swatted away

Shea with her crushed arm.

"Kyaaa!"

"Shea!"

The force of the blow sent her flying. She somehow managed to stabilize herself by

firing Drucken multiple times, then made an emergency landing on one of the floating

platforms.

"Heh, looks like you're just fine. Hey, Yue, just what kind of training did you give this

girl?"

"…I just cornered her a little."

"I see. No wonder she's so good at surviving." Hajime nodded approvingly as he

watched Shea make her way back, jumping from block to block. The amount of golems

swarming them was more than Yue could handle alone.

Hajime pulled Metzelei, his Gatling gun, from out of his Treasure Trove. Then, back to

back with Yue, he started firing 12,000 rounds of death a minute.

The six barrel Gatling gun rotated at ridiculous speeds as it fired. Gunshots echoed

throughout the room and streaks of red light filled the air as a hailstorm of bullets

ripped the golems apart, sending them all hurtling to the depths below. The knights

that attempted to circle around and take him from behind were cut down by Yue's

water jets.

Within seconds, over forty golems had been turned into hunks of fractured rock. They

fell unceremoniously down to whatever was below. They'd return fully rebuilt, of

course, but at least they wouldn't bother them for a while. And that meant they had

enough time to take out the Miledi Golem.

"Hey, what the heck was that!? I've never seen or heard of anything like it!" Hajime

ignored her question and put Metzelei back into his Treasure Trove. Then, he took

Donner out of his holster and yelled in a voice loud enough for Shea to hear,

"Miledi's core is where a human's heart would be! Destroy that!"

"Wha— How do you know that!?" She asked, clearly surprised. It hadn't even occurred

to her that Hajime might have a demon eye that could see the flow of mana. Now that

they knew the Miledi Golem's weak point, Yue and Shea's eyes glinted with a predatory

light.

There weren't even ten regular golems left to protect Miledi. As long as we coordinate

our attacks, we should be able to take out her heart.

Hajime leaped from platform to platform, looking to close in on Miledi. With his

weakened railgun, it would be difficult to shoot down Miledi's core. And so, he'd have

to rely on a point blank shot to blow off her armor, then finish her core off with a

grenade.

But no matter how frivolous her attitude, Miledi was still a Liberator capable of using

ancient magic. He doubted it would be so easy. Miledi's eyes flashed bright, and one of

the platforms floating overhead shot down toward Hajime.

"Huh!?"

"I never said the knights were the only things I could control~"

Hajime ignored her and activated another one of his left arm's features. With a

resounding bang, a shockwave fired out of his elbow. More specifically, he fired a

shotgun blast. It couldn't be accelerated with his Lightning Field, but the burst

contained far more blastrock than Donner's bullets. Though, the recoil was also that

much stronger in turn. Hajime flew through the air, narrowly avoiding the falling

platform. He somehow managed to land on the block he was aiming for too.

Naturally, Miledi tried to drop the block he'd landed on as well, but before she could,

Shea jumped up behind her, aiming for her head. Since she needed to flash her eyes

before controlling the platforms, Shea had decided to crush them along with the rest

of her face.

Unfortunately, Miledi noticed Shea in time, so she sent her remaining golems after her

while she was still mid-jump. In the sky, Shea was defenseless. But just before a

knight's sword sliced her in two—

"…I won't let you." Yue suddenly popped up behind her and diced the golems into little

pieces with her Rupture.

"Thanks, Yue-san!" Her obstacles now removed, Shea swung down her hammer with

all the might of her body strengthening behind it.

"Do you really think you can beat a golem in a contest of strength?" As if to prove her

point, Miledi turned around and swung her burning right fist up at Shea.

There was a thunderous crash as Miledi's heat knuckle and Shea's Drucken collided.

The shockwaves were powerful enough to send all the nearby platforms spinning

away.

"You liiiiiittle!" Shea let out a bestial roar as she struggled to push through Miledi's fist.

However, she was unable to match the golem's strength, so she was blown away.

"Kyaaa!" Shea screamed loudly as she flew through the air. Her body had been

temporarily stunned by Miledi's fist, and there were no floating platforms in the

direction she was headed. At this rate she would fall, but Yue suddenly jumped next to

her, grabbed her mid-flight, and used Updraft to correct their trajectory to a nearby

platform.

"You've got quite the coordinated little team there." Miledi looked down at Yue and

Shea, her voice smug. But just then, another voice rang out from right beside her.

"I know, right?"

"Wha—!?"

As Miledi turned around in surprise, she saw Hajime. He had fired an anchor into the

gap between her armor and found himself a foothold. In his hands was the railgunaccelerated anti-materiel rifle Schlagen, pointed directly at her heart. Sparks were

flying down the length of Schlagen's barrel.

"Wh-When did you—" Miledi was interrupted by the sound of a bullet being fired. The

point blank rifle shot sent Miledi flying backward, obliterating the armor around her

chest. With his Lightning Field weakened, Schlagen was only as powerful as Donner

normally was. Still, that was more than enough to destroy metal armor. Even in this

dungeon Donner was powerful enough to blow away the normal golem knights' armor,

and since Miledi seemed to be made of the same material, the most she could have

done to her armor was make it thicker.

Smoke billowed from her chest as she flew backward, and the recoil sent Hajime flying

in the opposite direction. He fired another anchor off at a nearby platform and swung

himself up onto it. Then, he took a closer look at what had become of Miledi. Yue and

Shea jumped onto nearby blocks as well.

"…Did you get her?"

"I definitely felt it hit, but…"

"I really hope this is the end." Yue looked cautious, while Shea seemed hopeful.

Hajime's expression, on the other hand, was unreadable. As he expected, Miledi

started drawing nearby platforms to her as if nothing had happened, and spoke to

Hajime with a voice full of admiration.

"Maaan, that was close. I actually thought I was done for. If this dungeon didn't

dissipate mana, and that artifact had been able to fire at full power, I really would have

bit the dust. Yep, I'm a genius for spending so much time making my labyrinth like

this!" All he heard from the Miledi Golem were words of admiration for herself, which

Hajime paid no heed to. His expression was grim. Behind her regular armor plating

had been another set of jet black armor. Schlagen hadn't even been able to scratch that.

He remembered seeing that armor before.

"Hmm. So you're interested in this, huh?" Miledi noticed where Hajime's gaze was

directed and pointed to her jet black armor as she spoke gleefully.

"Well…" she continued suggestively, but before she could continue, Hajime spat out a

curse and answered her question.

"Shit. It's Azantium."

Azantium was the hardest metal in this world. Plenty of Hajime's own equipment was

forged out of it as well. Even a light coat of it would be tough enough to withstand a

full power shot from Donner. No wonder Schlagen didn't do anything. Breaking through

Azantium was next to impossible, which made Hajime furrow his brows.

"Oh? You already knew about it? Well, I guess that makes sense. You beat O-chan's

dungeon, after all. There's no way someone capable of using creation magic wouldn't

know of it. Now, since you're finally starting to despair a little, how about we get

started with round two!?" Miledi finished repairing her outer armor with materials

stolen from the platforms and fired her flail while rushing forward at the same time.

"Wh-What do we do now, Hajime-san!?"

"We're not out of options yet, but we have to seal her movements first somehow."

"Okay, leave it to me." Shea was on the verge of panicking when she realized they

lacked sufficient firepower. But Hajime still had a trump card up his sleeve. He'd need

to stop the Miledi Golem from moving to use it, though. When he mentioned as much

to Shea, she regained her composure for the most part, and together with Yue she

prepared to jump out of the way of the flail. However—

"Not this time~" Miledi said in a singsong voice as she started rotating the block they

were standing on.

Hajime and the others all lost their balance. The flail smashed into their platform with

overwhelming force. The trio was flung away from their now pulverized foothold.

Before Miledi could reel her flail back in, Hajime grabbed onto its chains. Yue used the

crumbled remains of their old platform as a foothold while she used Updraft to carry

her to safety. Meanwhile, Shea maneuvered to a nearby platform using Drucken's

explosive bursts to propel her.

Next, Miledi followed up by swinging her heat knuckle down on them.

"Kuh!"

"Mmm!"

They managed to avoid a direct hit, but the heat of the explosion generated by the

impact still scorched them. Even while they were crying out in pain, they didn't stop

fighting. Yue used Rupture to hack away at Miledi's arm, while Shea activated

Drucken's spike and drove it into Miledi's armor.

While Yue's Rupture managed to cut partway through Miledi's arm, it couldn't sever

it. She jumped back to safety with a frustrated expression.

On the other side, Shea had managed to climb up Miledi's left shoulder, and aimed a

swing right at her head. However, Miledi changed the direction of her gravity again,

making Shea lose her balance and fall.

"Kyaaa!" Shea screamed as she fell. Hajime swung himself off the flail's chain and

caught Shea in midair.

"Hajime-san!" Shea cried out joyfully. She was finally being carried by Hajime like

she'd always wanted. Even though she knew this wasn't the time, she couldn't help but

be happy. But of course, Hajime had to ruin the moment. He held her up with one hand,

like he had the time he'd thrown her into a mob of monsters.

"H-Hajime-san!?"

"Do it again!" With a metallic whoosh, Hajime reloaded his arm shotgun and fired it

again. He started rotating in place and used the centrifugal force to aid his throw.

"Hajime-san, you bastaaaard!" Shea let out a scream of enraged desperation as she

readied Drucken. Just when she thought her wish had finally been granted, he'd

thrown her to the wolves again.

Even Miledi was taken aback by the heartlessness of Hajime's actions. However, she

still moved to intercept, and made a fist with her right hand. But before she could fire

her heat knuckle, the chain that had returned to her along with her flail exploded.

"Wawawah!? What was that!?" Miledi cried out in surprise. When he had still been

hanging on to the chain, Hajime had attached a large number of grenades to it. The

force of the explosion blew half of the chain away and ruined Miledi's left arm. The

shockwaves were powerful enough to throw her off balance. And it was at that very

moment that Shea appeared with Drucken in hand.

"Uryaaaaaaaaaah!" With a spirited yell, Shea pulled Drucken's trigger, firing off a

barrage of shotgun shells. The recoil accelerated her hammer to mach speeds.

Miledi reflexively raised up her damaged left arm to guard, but Drucken slammed into

it with tremendous force, pulverizing whatever remained of Miledi's arm, shattering

it from the shoulder down.

The force of her swing sent Shea spiraling through the air. Trying to get revenge for

her destroyed left arm, Miledi swung her heat knuckle down on the defenseless Shea.

But before she could reach, a jet of water surged up from below and struck the area

that had been cut earlier. The second wave of water was enough to cut through it

completely, so Miledi lost her right arm as well.

"Fufu, you let your guard down." Yue smiled triumphantly as she said that.

"You! How dare you!" Miledi's facade finally cracked, and anger spilled into her voice.

Meanwhile, Hajime had used his anchor as a pendulum, swinging around on it to catch

Shea. But he wasn't doing a princess carry this time. Instead, he held her beneath his

arm like a sack of potatoes.

"Hajime-saaan, that was the perfect opportunity to carry me like an actual girl. Don't

I deserve a reward? Read the mood a little."

"Please don't talk about me like I'm dense or something. In fact, why don't you learn

to read the mood instead? You're always trying to twist every situation into an

opportunity to satisfy yourself."