Together with Shea, Hajime tried to pinpoint the location of the rapidly moving child.
They realized they were being carried by the current toward the sewer channel that
ran beneath the street they were on. They dashed forward ahead of the presence and
Hajime pressed his hands to the ground. Red sparks sputtered from his hands and in
seconds there was a hole in the street.
Without hesitation, they both leaped into the hole. Hajime grabbed hold of Shea and
used Aerodynamic to leap to one of the walkways that snaked alongside each side of
the tunnel. He had no intention of falling into the foul-smelling sewer sludge.
"Hajime-san, I can sense it too now. I'll jump in and rescue whoever it is!"
"Don't worry, you won't have to do that." Shea didn't hesitate to leap forward, even
though it would have gotten her precious date clothes dirty. However, Hajime grabbed
her by the collar and held her back. He once again placed his hands on the ground and
transmuted it.
A latticework of clay rose up from the bottom of the sewer. Hajime tilted the makeshift
net and scooped up the child that was being washed down the sewer. Then, he
carefully rolled them closer to where he was standing. Finally, he shot out his left arm,
grabbed the child, and reeled them in.
"This girl's…"
"She's still breathing. Let's get out of here first. It smells disgusting." Shea's eyes
opened wide as she saw the girl Hajime had pulled in. Hajime was pretty surprised as
well. Even with his limited knowledge of this world, he was certain someone like her
wasn't supposed to be in a city like this. However, considering where they were, it
really wasn't the time to worry about that. The unhygienic conditions were bad for
them both physically and mentally.
Considering who she was, Hajime doubted she'd fallen in here by accident. He wasn't
sure if it was a good idea to bring her up into the open street, so he closed the earlier
hole he'd made and transmuted a new one into the wall. Then, he used his knowledge
of the nearby layout to map out a new path. After that, he pulled a blanket out of his
Treasure Trove and wrapped it around the girl.
Red sparks flared in a small back alley, and suddenly a hole appeared in the ground.
Out of it appeared Shea and Hajime. He closed the hole behind him and took a proper
look at the girl they had rescued.
She had long, emerald-green hair. Her adorable features shone through the dirt and
shit that was caked on her face. From the looks of it, she couldn't have been more than
three or four years old.
However, her most striking feature, the one that had surprised Hajime and Shea, were
her ears. Instead of human ears, two fan-shaped fins sprouted from the sides of her
head. Furthermore, Hajime could see thin webbing on the tiny red hand that poked
out of the blanket.
"This girl's a dagon. What's she doing here?"
"Well, whatever the reason is, it's probably not good."
Dagons were a unique race among the beastmen. They lived in the coastal city of
Erisen, which was to the west of the continent, past even the massive Gruen Desert.
Thanks to their racial traits, they were well suited to the water. So much so that they
provided seventy percent of the continent's marine produce. It was thanks to their
usefulness that the Heiligh Kingdom guaranteed their safety, despite the fact that they
were beastmen. The kingdom's opportunism knew no bounds. Even as they
discriminated against the other races, they protected any that were useful to them.
It seemed impossible that a dagon child would be in one of the largest cities on the
continent, and even more impossible that they'd find her in the sewers of all places.
The whole affair reeked of shady dealings at work.
As Hajime and Shea looked at each other, unsure of what to do, the little girl's nose
twitched, and she opened her eyes.
She looked around in confusion for a little bit before finally settling her large round
pupils on Hajime. She stared silently at him.
Unable to look away, Hajime stared back. Seconds passed. Seconds turned into
minutes. And the minutes continued stretching on.
"What the heck are you two doing?" Shea's exasperated interjection shattered the
strange tension that had formed around them, and the girl's stomach gurgled. Her
nose twitched again and this time her eyes locked on to the food Shea still had
wrapped up in her hands.
Shea tilted her head and pulled out a meat skewer. She slowly waved it from right to
left, and the girl's gaze followed it like a magnet. She was clearly hungry. Hajime
stopped her before she could unwrap the skewer and started transmuting.
"So, what's your name?" She shrank back as red sparks filled the air and the ground
rose up to make a small box. The skewer was no longer the center of her attention.
After a moment of hesitation, she quietly whispered her name.
"Myu."
"I see. I'm Hajime, and that's Shea. Anyway, Myu, before you can eat that, we have to
clean you up first." Hajime took some clean water out of the Treasure Trove and
poured it into his makeshift bathtub, then heated some flamrock under the tub to
warm it, finishing off his impromptu bath. He didn't think it would be healthy even for
a dagon to eat with hands caked in sewer sludge. As she'd probably swallowed some
earlier when she was being washed away, he'd probably need to give her some
antibiotics as well.
Without even giving her time to reply, Hajime stripped off her dirty clothes and
plopped her into the bath. Myu let out a terrified squeal, but after she realized the
warm water actually felt pleasant, she slowly relaxed.
Hajime handed Shea a towel, some medicine, and a bar of soap. He left her to bathe
Myu while he went out to purchase new clothes for her.
When he returned, he found Myu hugging Shea, a blanket wrapped around her body.
It seemed she'd already finished her bath. Shea was in the process of feeding her the
meat skewer. Myu's small mouth worked furiously to chew the large chunks. Her hair
had regained its original luster, and she looked like a tiny angel surrounded in a halo
of emerald green.
"Ah, Hajime-san. Welcome back. I'm not a doctor, but it looks like Myu-chan's doing
fine." Shea stroked Myu's damp hair as she reported to Hajime. Still chewing on the
meat, Myu turned back to stare at Hajime again. It looked like she was trying to decide
whether Hajime was a good or bad person.
Hajime nodded and pulled out the clothes he'd bought. It was a small white one-piece,
similar in design to Shea's. He'd also gotten her a pair of gladiator sandals and some
basic underwear. Even though it had been for a kid, Hajime could feel the clerk's eyes
boring into him when he went to buy them.
Hajime gently pulled the blanket off her and pulled the dress over her head. Of course,
he helped her put the underwear on as well. Then, he knelt down and slipped the
sandals onto her feet.
Once that was finished he pulled out one of his artifacts that could blow hot air, a hair
dryer basically, out of his Treasure Trove and started drying Myu's hair. At first Myu
just silently watched Hajime, but as the hot air hit her back, she let out a cute squeal
and smiled a little.
"I didn't realize you were so good at looking after people, Hajime-san."
"Where'd that come from?" Hajime furrowed his brows, but it was obvious from the
way he was drying Myu's hair that Shea was right. She grinned pointedly at him.
Realizing he couldn't deny it, Hajime quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, we need to think about what to do next…"
"You mean about Myu-chan, right…" Realizing they were talking about her, Myu shifted
her gaze between the two of them. They decided to first figure out what was going on
with her.
Myu haltingly told them everything, after a lot of prodding. It was more or less what
Hajime had already guessed. One day, while she'd been swimming, she'd gotten
separated from her mother and had ended up being captured by humans.
After a grueling journey through the desert, Myu had been taken to Fuhren and locked
up in a dark cell somewhere. Apparently there'd been other human children in the
cells next to her. Then, after a few days, a few of the children were taken away each
morning. None of them ever came back. She overheard that one of the older boys had
been shown off to a bunch of people before being sold to someone.
It was meant to be her turn today, but the door to the sewers had been left open.
Probably because someone had gone in to maintain it and forgotten to close the door.
Regardless, the sound of rushing water had called to Myu, and she'd jumped in.
It was a blessing that they hadn't shackled her. They had probably figured a young
child like her couldn't have done much anyway. Anyway, thanks to that, Myu was able
to swim. She did her best not to gag at the terrible smell and started paddling. Though
she was young, she was a dagon. Nobody on foot could have hoped to catch her,
especially as she was swimming with the current.
However, the stress of the kidnapping, the terrible journey, and the inadequate food
she'd been given finally caught up to her. Swimming through a city's worth of human
waste was impossible for her in her weakened condition.
She'd blacked out and when she next awoke, she had been in Hajime's arms.
"Shown off and then sold, huh? Sounds like an auction. And if they're selling dagon
and human children too, it's clearly an illegal one."
"Hajime-san, what should we do?" Shea hugged Myu tight. It was obvious from her
expression that she wanted to do something for the poor girl. The fear of being
captured and sold off as a slave was one beastmen were well accustomed to. Shea had
watched many of her family members get captured, so she knew just how much it hurt.
And yet, Hajime simply shook his head.
"It would be better to leave her to the safety department."
"You can't! You're going to just abandon her and all those other kids?" Shea cried out
vehemently. She looked at Hajime in shock, as if she'd just been betrayed.
The safety department Hajime was referring to was the fantasy world equivalent of
the police. Placing her in the care of a public institution like that would mean that her
fate was completely out of their hands. It wasn't exactly the same as abandoning her,
and it was, in fact, the normal procedure for when someone found a lost child, but
considering the situation, Shea's feelings were understandable as well.
Hajime knelt down and explained everything to Shea point by point.
"Look, Shea. Normally, when you find a lost child, the proper thing to do is to send
them to the safety department. Besides, Myu's a dagon. They'll definitely treat her
well. And the fact that there's an underground auction that deals in dagons will cause
a huge uproar. There'll definitely be a full-scale investigation, and all the other kids
will end up in the department's protection as well." Even if Myu was a beastman, she
was one of the races under the kingdom's protection. Fuhren did possess a level of
independence, but they couldn't ignore people that were so flagrantly flouting the
kingdom's authority. Hajime had no doubt that the officials of the city would have to
act, which in turn would surely lead to Myu being returned home.
Hajime continued piling on rational reasons why they should leave Myu in the city's
care.
"Do you understand? What we're dealing with here is the underworld that exists in
every large city. If they're capable of capturing Myu, then it's obvious they have eyes
and ears in places the government can't reach them. This whole affair is Fuhren's
problem. It's not something we should poke our noses into. Besides, whatever we
decide to do, we still have to report this to someone. I know this probably hits close to
home, and I understand your feelings, but…"
"I guess… you're right… But we could at least take her with us, right? We're headed
west, anyway…"
"Come on, you know we're going to visit the volcano before we reach the coast. Are
you suggesting we take her into a labyrinth with us? Or make her wait outside alone
in the desert? Besides, if we just took a girl with us because we wanted to, we'd be no
better than kidnappers ourselves. Don't be unreasonable."
"Awww, okay…" Shea had gotten pretty attached to Myu in the short time they'd spent
together. Guessing that she was the cause of their argument, Myu tightly hugged Shea.
It seemed Myu was pretty comfortable around Shea now, too. Her hug made Shea even
more reluctant to let Myu go.
However, what Hajime was saying was right, so she reluctantly nodded. Hajime
squatted down next to Myu and slowly explained what they'd decided.
"Okay, Myu. We're going to take you to some people who can protect you. It might take
some time, but they'll definitely get you back home."
"What about you?" Myu's voice was anxious.
"Sorry, but we'll have to say bye to you there."
"No!"
"Hey now, don't be like that…"
"I like being with Onii-chan and Onee-chan! I'm staying with you!" Her adamant
refusal threw Hajime off-balance.
She started struggling in Shea's lap. She'd been surprisingly mature up until now, but
that might have just been because she was still trying to figure out what kinds of
people Hajime and Shea were. Now that she'd decided they were people she could
trust, she'd begun acting more spoiled, like a kid her age. It was possible she'd been a
lot more cheerful and noisy before all this had happened to her.
Hajime was glad Myu liked him, but he knew he'd have to report this to the authorities.
On top of that, he still had a labyrinth to conquer before they would make it to the west
coast, so he had no intention of bringing Myu with him.
After seeing how reluctant Myu was, Hajime gave up on trying to explain things to her.
Instead, he forcibly put her on his shoulders and headed for the safety department
building.
The whole way there, she scratched and pulled at Hajime's hair, eyepatch, and face.
She had finally found people she could trust after escaping that hellish prison, so she
wasn't going to let them go without a fight.
Had it not been for Shea following behind them placating everyone, it was quite
possible Hajime would have been reported as a kidnapper himself. Hajime arrived at
the safety department covered in scratches, his eyepatch missing, and his hair a mess.
He explained to the wide-eyed receptionist what he'd discovered.
The receptionist told Hajime that in order to launch an investigation and to make sure
the procedures to get Myu sent home they would have to talk to their boss. They
promised Myu would be safe in their hands, and urged Hajime to leave her there. As
Hajime had guessed, this was a huge deal. They would probably need to call in
reinforcements from their headquarters as well. Seeing that his job was done, Hajime
turned to leave. However…
"Onii-chan, do you hate me?" Even Hajime couldn't take Myu's teary-eyed puppy-dog
look. Most people wouldn't be able to. He let out a garbled groan and tried to explain
once again why he couldn't take Myu with him, and that she would be safe with the
kind old man standing over there. But even when he told her the man would take her
home, Myu's sorrowful expression remained.
The people at the safety department tried to console Myu, and somewhat forcibly
attempted to separate her from Hajime. After many tears and pulled hairs, Hajime and
Shea finally left the department building behind.
Of course, neither of them were in the mood to continue their date, and Shea kept
shooting worried glances back at the safety department building.
Finally, they were out of sight of the building. Shea still looked glum, so Hajime tried
to cheer her up.
However, just as he opened his mouth, there was a massive explosion behind them.
The two of them whirled around and saw black smoke rising in the distance. The
source of the smoke was clearly—
"H-Hajime-san, that's the…"
"Tch, the safety department building!" The black smoke was rising from where Hajime
and Shea had just left.
They nodded to each other and ran back as fast as possible, fueled by the fear that the
worst-case scenario might have happened. That they'd somehow found word of Myu's
location, and in order to keep everyone's mouths shut, blown the whole place up along
with her.
They tried to hold back their panic as they arrived to find a blown out building with
glass and masonry lying everywhere. Fortunately, the building itself didn't seem too
damaged, and wasn't in any danger of collapsing. They gingerly stepped inside and
found the kindly old receptionist lying face-down on the ground.
Both of his arms had been broken, and he was unconscious. The other members had
suffered a similar fate. The only saving grace was that no one's injuries looked fatal.
As Hajime was looking over the staff, Shea came running back to him. She'd gone on
ahead to search a different part of the building.
"Hajime-san, Myu-san isn't here! Also, I found this!" She handed over a slip of paper.
There were demands written on it.
"If you value the dagon's life, bring the white-haired kid and the beastman with him to
this location."
"Hajime-san, this is…"
"Looks like our opponents got greedy…" Hajime crushed the paper in his fist and
smiled fiendishly. Somehow, they'd overheard Hajime's exchange with the safety
department people. They'd decided that it would be more valuable to keep Myu as a
hostage. That way they could use her as a bargaining chip to get a rare rabbitman as
well.
Shea looked at Hajime, determination etched all over her face.
"Hajime-san, I'm going to—"
"You don't need to say it. I know. Besides, they've made themselves my enemy. The
time for talk's over. We're gonna tear them a new asshole and get Myu back."
"Roger!"
Hajime had honestly thought it would have been better to leave Myu in the care of
professionals, especially considering how dangerous their journey was. And if they
were going to leave her eventually, the faster the better. After all, he hadn't wanted a
desperate girl like her getting too attached to them.
Still, now that he knew there was the danger of her getting kidnapped again, he
couldn't leave her alone. Abandoning her when there was something he could do
about it would certainly lead down the path Aiko had feared. Besides, he knew if he
just said it had nothing to do with him, Shea would be devastated too.
And more than anything, they'd tried to kidnap Shea too. Anyone that would dare
harm someone Hajime considered important was an enemy. And he showed his
enemies not even an iota of mercy. These slave traders had crossed a line they never
should have.
Weapons in hand, Hajime and Shea headed to the designated meeting point. Those
fools would soon learn what unholy monsters they had called down upon themselves.
"And there you have it. When we got to the place they'd marked, we only found a bunch
of thugs. Myu wasn't there. They'd probably planned to kill me and kidnap Shea. We
killed most of them and interrogated the few we left alive, but they didn't know where
Myu was being held either. We tortured them until they told us where their other
hideouts were, and we've been going to each one trying to beat Myu's location out of
someone."
"It seems they were planning on kidnapping not just me, but you two as well. So in
order to set an example, we decided to utterly crush this organization and anyone
associated with them…"
Today was supposed to have been just a simple date, but they'd become entangled in
the underworld of one of the largest cities on the continent. Yue and Tio marveled at
Hajime and Shea's penchant for attracting trouble.
"So we just need to find out where Myu is, right?"
"Yeah. From the information we've gotten so far, it's a pretty big organization…
They've got a lot of buildings and sub-groups. Could you help us?"
"Yeah… leave it to me."
"Of course. I would never dream of refusing a request from my master."
Yue and Tio agreed without hesitation. Hajime told them about the location of the
hideouts he'd just discovered from his previous raid, and they split up into two groups
to take them down. Hajime went with Yue, Shea with Tio. The reason Hajime and Shea
had split up was because they wanted there to be at least one person Myu knew there
when they found her.
They headed to a place near the outskirts of the business district. It was an area that
no tourist or honest merchant ever visited. It was a place as far from the prying eyes
of the authorities as possible, the perfect location for a criminal base. There was
dimness to the alleys despite the fact that it was noon. Even the people walking around
seemed somehow gloomier.
Tucked away in a corner was a ten-story building. On the surface, it was a place that
managed part-timers. However, in reality, it was the headquarters of Freidhof, an
organization that managed Fuhren's slave trade.
Normally, it was a quiet place that did its best to look inconspicuous, but today it was
bustling with activity. People were running in and out of the entrance with unusual
frequency. Most of the people running around were low-ranking thugs that were
ferrying messages back and forth. Their expressions were twisted in confusion,
impatience, and fear. No one had any idea what the situation was.
Thanks to the chaos, two figures clad in nondescript robes were easily able to slip into
Freidhof's headquarters.
They weaved through the crowd of panicking gang members, and made it to the top
floor without anyone challenging them. Before them stood an imposing set of double
doors. Angry voices spilled out of the room into the hallway the figures were standing
in. The two of them raised the hoods of their robes slightly and tiptoed forward.
"Quit fucking with me! I dare you to say that again, you bastard!"
"H-Hii! B-But it's true, Boss. They've already taken out more than fifty of our safe
houses. There's two groups of two taking our whole operation out!"
"You're saying that just four fuckheads are destroying everything Freidhof built up? Is
that it, huh!?"
"Th-That's righ— Bugwah!?"
There was a loud thud and the room fell silent. Whoever had been giving the report
must have been punched by this "Boss."
"Listen good, you lowlifes! I want those fuckers brought to me alive. Cut their legs off,
break their arms, I don't care, but I want them alive. At this rate Freidhof's reputation
will be ruined. We've gotta torture those fools to make an example out of them, or we'll
be the laughingstock of the city. I'll give five million Luta to anyone who captures them!
Five million per head! Tell everyone else about the bounty!" A flurry of activity could
be heard coming from the room. The man hastened to leave the room as fast as he
could. The two hooded figures nodded to each other. One of them pulled out a massive
warhammer strapped to her back and hefted it into the air. Then, just as the man put
his hand on the doorknob, she swung the hammer down.
With a massive bang, the door exploded into a thousand splinters. The right side of
the man's body was crushed flat, and the people sitting behind him were blasted by a
wall of shrapnel. They slammed into the wall behind them, covered in blood.
"There's no need to tell everyone. We're right here."
"Hmph, I shall handle those waiting outside. Finish this up quickly, Shea."
"Thank you, Tio-san."
The two figures who had casually walked into the room were none other than Tio and
Shea.
Freidhof's boss, Hansen, had watched in shock as his door was blasted open and his
subordinates flung across the room like ragdolls. Shea and Tio's conversation brought
him back to his senses though, and he quickly pulled out his weapon.
"So you're the ones that have been running around busting up my operation. Wait a
sec… Tch, you're the bitches from the wanted posters. Shea and Tio, right? There was
that other small brat too, Yue or something. Man, you're real lookers. Hey, if you throw
down your weapons and surrender, I'll spare your lives. You don't honestly think you
can walk into Freidhof's headquarters and make it back ali—" A massive bang, loud
enough that it could be physically felt, interrupted Hansen's prattling. Drucken was
resting on Shea's shoulder, smoke coming from the retracted handle. She'd
transformed it into bombardment mode… and blown Hansen away with a shotgun
blast.
From such close range, he hadn't stood a chance. The barrage of iron pellets had
ripped his right arm clean off. He tumbled into the wall behind him, a spray of blood
trailing in his wake. A few seconds passed before he realized what had happened, and
then the screaming started.
"Boss!? What was that sound!?"
"Are you alright!?"
The loud sound attracted the thugs on the nearby floors. They started swarming in
like flies. However—
"Preying on children is one of the most despicable acts there is… You've roused my
anger now. Repent your sins in the afterlife." Tio unleashed a blast of fire magic that
eradicated the stairs and anyone standing on it. Those left on the floor below stopped
in their tracks, their only way up now a pile of ash.
Still, the dragon wasn't about to let anyone escape. She turned her fangs to the men
below and unleashed her dragonbreath. True, her breath wasn't as powerful in human
form, but it was still the same breath that had tested the limits of Hajime's defenses. A
wooden building had no hope of surviving that.
Everything but the room Hansen was in was bathed in pitch black flames. The building
somehow didn't collapse, despite the fact that an entire wall was now missing. From a
distance, the burning building looked just like an ant farm, with people scurrying
about, trying to escape.
Those who were still alive scrambled out of the building as fast as they could and
simply stared dumbfounded at what was happening on the top floor. It was only
natural. Their base had been destroyed in the span of a few seconds. Their brains
couldn't keep up with the situation at hand.
However, the enraged dragon had no intention of showing them any mercy. Fireballs
and wind blades rained down on the survivors with the speed of Hajime's gatling guns.
Men fled in every direction, but… only a few made it out of the onslaught alive.
As Tio kept busy raining death onto the people outside, Shea walked up to Hansen.
She stopped in front of him, tapping Drucken menacingly against her shoulder.
Without a word, she slammed the hammer into the cowering gang leader's stomach.
He simply grunted in pain and desperately tried to push the hammer off him, but
moving the super heavy hammer with a single hand was all but impossible. The only
option left to him was to beg for his life.
"I-I'm begging you. Don't kill me! I'll give you as much money as you want! I won't ever
go after you guys again! Please— Gwaah!?"
"Quit talking. All I want to hear from you are the answers to my questions.
Understood? Every time you don't answer, I'll make this hammer heavier… I
recommend you start talking before your organs turn to mush."
"Shea… You really are one of Master's comrades… You sound just like him." Tio turned
around to poke fun at Shea, but she completely ignored her and grilled Hansen for
Myu's location.
Hansen seemed confused at first, but when Shea mentioned that Myu was the dagon
girl he quickly started talking. The steadily increasing weight of Drucken probably had
something to do with it, too. It seemed there was going to be an illegal auction held
this evening, and that she'd been imprisoned in a cell beneath the auction hall.
Hansen hadn't been aware of the relationship between Shea and Myu, which was why
he didn't understand the reason Shea was so hung up on her.
From the sound of it, whoever had spotted Shea and Myu at the safety department had
decided to capture Shea on a whim. Shea's name had actually been a priority target on
Freidhof's list already, so the thug who tried to kidnap her had likely just been looking
for a promotion.
Shea touched the gem on her choker and used Telepathy to contact Hajime.
"Hajime-san, Hajime-san. Can you hear me? It's Shea."
"Shea? Yeah, I can hear you loud and clear. What's up?"
"I found out where Myu-chan is. You're in the tourist quarter right now, right? It's close
to where you are, so head there before us."
"Gotcha."
Shea told him Myu's location and cut the telepathic link. Hansen could no longer
breathe under Drucken's weight, and his face was turning blue. He silently begged
Shea to let him live.
She canceled the gravity magic and hoisted the hammer back onto her shoulder.
Though he was no longer being crushed, his consciousness was starting to grow dim
due to the blood loss. He weakly reached out in supplication.
"P-Please… call a doctor…"
"Do you really think you deserve to live after what you did to those poor children?
Besides, you're our enemy now. If I let one of our enemies go, I'll get scolded by
Hajime-san and Yue-san. And so, goodbye!"
"N-No, wai—" Shea crushed Hansen flat. There was a wet squelching noise as blood
spurted from underneath Drucken. She shook the blood off and slung her hammer
across her back, then turned to face Tio without so much as a backward glance at the
pile of flesh that had once been Hansen.
"Tio-san. Let's finish off the survivors and meet up with Hajime as soon as possible!"
"V-Very well. Your utter lack of mercy is… rather alluring…"
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"I-It was nothing." Though she hadn't been able to pick up what Tio had muttered,
shivers still ran down Shea's spine. She tilted her head in confusion for a moment, but
then put it out of her mind as the two of them began systematically destroying
Freidhof's headquarters.
By the time they were done, there was nothing but corpses and a pile of rubble left.
In a single afternoon Freidhof, Fuhren's largest criminal organization, had been utterly
demolished.
Meanwhile, as Shea and Tio were wreaking havoc, Hajime and Yue rushed toward the
Myu's location. Since she was meant to be auctioned off, Hajime assumed her life
wasn't in any danger, but that didn't mean she wasn't suffering. The faster they rescued
her, the better.
"This is the place… Ah, yeah, I can sense people below us."
"Okay."
There were two hulking figures clothed in all black guarding the entrance. Hajime
didn't want to cause a commotion and risk them moving Myu somewhere else, so he
went around to a back alley and transmuted his way in.
They both hid their presence and started searching the building. If only they'd had a
cardboard box to hide under… They wouldn't even have needed Hide Presence if
they'd had that…
Finally, they arrived at a vast underground prison. The lone guard guarding the
entrance was dozing at his post. They slipped past him and found a group of ten
human children huddled together inside a cell. These were most likely the children up
for auction that night.
Almost all humans were faithful believers of the Holy Church, and it was illegal to take
any believers as slaves. It was, however, still acceptable to buy and sell criminals and
heretics. Anyone who betrayed god was no longer protected by the laws of the Holy
Church. Hajime highly doubted any of the children shivering on the cold stone floor
were either criminals or heretics. It was obvious this was not a legal auction.
However, Hajime didn't see Myu anywhere in the cell. The children shrank back as he
walked up to their cell, but he squatted down in front of them quietly asked a question.
"Did any of you see a dagon girl come here?" They'd all been terrified it was their turn
to go up, so his question took them by surprise. They all looked at each other.
Sensing their reluctance to say anything, Yue squatted down next to Hajime and
muttered something.
"It's okay, we won't hurt you," was what she said. A young boy of maybe eight fidgeted
nervously for a few seconds before answering.
"Umm, they took her a little while ago. Who are you?" Hajime clicked his tongue in
frustration before answering the boy.
"We've come here to save you."
"Wha—!? You're here to save us!?" The boy shouted excitedly. His voice echoed across
the stone walls. Realizing his mistake, the boy hurriedly clapped his hands over his
mouth. But it was too late.
"Quit making a racket!" The guard yelled that out as he came stomping toward their
cell. He stiffened for a moment when he spotted Hajime and Yue, but recovered
quickly.
"Who the hell are you guys!" he screamed as he drew his short sword and charged.
The children let out terrified shrieks, thinking their saviors were about to be killed.
However, that didn't happen. Hajime casually grabbed the sword's blade with his
artificial hand and crushed it. Shards of metal fell from his hand as he opened his fist.
The guard stared dumbly at Hajime for a few seconds before looking down at the
sword in his hands. All that was left was the hilt. Comprehension dawned on him and
he took a faltering step backward.
Hajime took a step forward, crushed the guard's throat with a quick jab, and tripped
him as he pitched backward. At the same time, he grabbed the guard's skull and
slammed it into the ground.
There was a wet crunching noise as he hit the stone floor. He died instantly.
"If you're a guard, then the first thing you should have done was raise the alarm."
Hajime looked down at the corpse in disgust. The children's eyes were as round as
dinner plates as they looked at him.
He ignored their shocked stares and transmuted the iron bars around their cell. The
children's surprise grew even greater as the bars keeping them trapped crumbled to
dust. They just sat there, their mouths hanging open.
"Yue. Sorry, but can you look after them for me? It looks like I'm gonna have to go on
another rampage."
"Okay… Leave it to me."
"My guess is the safety department people will get here soon. When they do, you can
hand the children off to them. I've got Ilwa working behind the scenes, so… we can
dump all of the little things on him."
Yue looked off in the distance sympathetically. Her gaze was directed toward the
adventurer's guild building.
Some time before they'd started destroying Freidhof, Hajime had grabbed a random
adventurer and had him deliver a telepathy stone to Ilwa. Since then, he'd been
keeping Ilwa up to date on events.
Being a gold adventurer came in handy during times like these. The moment Hajime
had shown that random adventurer his Status Plate, they'd been ready to do anything
he asked. It was just like if a Hollywood star had spoken to a stranger back on earth.
The adventurer had even saluted Hajime before running off.
The stone Hajime had given Ilwa couldn't be activated from his side, so Ilwa had been
forced to one-sidedly listen to reports about how Hajime had picked a fight with a
massive criminal organization, and how he was leaving the cleanup to them. The
people back at the guild had probably been furious.
He was already making good use of Ilwa's promise to support him. When Ilwa had
started hearing the reports, he'd smiled ruefully.
Hajime transmuted a passage heading to the ground floor and stepped into it, leaving
the children in Yue's care. Just before he dashed out of sight, the young boy who had
answered Hajime's question called out to him.
"Mister, thank you for saving us! Save that other girl too, okay! She looked really
scared! I couldn't do anything to help when they took her…"
The fact that Myu was a beastman apparently hadn't mattered at all this boy. He had
guts, considering he'd been trapped in the same situation as her. Hajime turned back
and ruffled the young boy's hair.
"Hey, wh-what are you doing?"
"It's frustrating, right? In that case, you just have to get stronger. That's the only way
to make sure you never feel like that again. I mean, I was around to save you this time,
but if you get stronger, next time you can save everyone." With those parting remarks,
Hajime turned on his heel and vanished through the tunnel he'd made. The boy
covered his hair with both of his hands. He sat there for a few seconds before curling
his tiny fingers into a fist. There was a new sparkle in his eyes.
Yue smiled gently down at him and started herding the children out of the building.
A heavy silence filled the auction hall. There were around a hundred buyers seated in
the stands. Each and every one of them was wearing a mask, and none of them were
saying a word. Whenever something a customer wanted to buy appeared, they'd just
silently raise their number tag. They didn't want to give any hints away about their
identities.
Still, even they couldn't suppress their cries of surprise when the next item was
brought to the stage. A two meter long water tank holding a young dagon girl… Myu.
She'd been stripped naked and was currently hugging her knees in a corner of the
tank. The reason she'd been put in the tank was to prove that she was a real dagon, as
they were the only race that could breathe underwater. And because she'd managed
to escape once before, they'd shackled her this time. The metal shackles had been
fastened so tight that her skin was chafed underneath them.
The auctioneers examined the trembling girl for a few seconds, then the bidding
began. Prices soared, yet the bidding war showed no sign of stopping. Even though her
existence had now been made aware to the public, most of the auctioneers seemed
confident they could transport her discreetly. Or perhaps they simply weren't aware
of the commotion that had happened that afternoon.
The auction hall grew noisy for the first time, and Myu shrank as far back as the tank
would allow her to. Her fingers were curled tightly around a black piece of cloth.
Hajime's eyepatch. He'd been so preoccupied with trying to calm Myu down that he'd
forgotten to take it back. The one he was wearing right now was a spare.
Right now, that eyepatch was the last thing Myu had left to cling to. She'd been taken
from her mother, forced to travel a long way, been thrown in a dark cell, and swam
through literal filth to escape. Finally, when she'd thought all hope was lost, she'd
found herself wrapped in something warm.
When she'd opened her eyes, she'd found herself face to face with a young silverhaired boy wearing an eyepatch. She'd stared at him in surprise, and he'd stared back.
Both of them had been too stubborn to be the first to break eye contact, but then Myu'd
been distracted by the smell of something delicious.
He'd asked for her name, and she'd told him. Then, there'd been a pretty red flash, and
he'd plopped her into a bath. After that a pretty girl with light blue hair had started
washing her. The bath had been pleasantly warm, and the girl had been really gentle.
Soon enough, Myu had let her guard down enough that she was calling the pretty girl,
Shea, "onee-chan."
Myu didn't think she'd forget the taste of the skewers Shea had fed her for the rest of
her life. And, while she'd been busy eating, the boy named Hajime had come back.
She'd been a little scared of him, but then he helped her put on these really cute clothes
and dried and combed her hair, so she started feeling better around him, too.
When they'd said she couldn't stay with them and that they'd give her to these people
called the safety department, she'd been devastated. She'd been so lonely ever since
she'd been separated from her mom. She didn't think she could take being lonely like
that again after having found such kind people.
And so, Myu did everything she could to stay.
She pulled at Hajime's hair, slapped his cheeks, and even took his eyepatch. If he
wanted it back, he'd have to let her stay with them.
However, in the end, the kind people she'd finally found left her in a strange and
unfamiliar place.
As she huddled in her tank, she thought back on what happened.
Did they leave me because I did something bad? Is it because I took the black thingy? Do
Onii-chan and Onee-chan hate me? Tears welled up in her eyes. If she ever saw them
again she'd apologize. She'd even give Hajime his eyepatch back. She'd do anything
they asked. She just wanted to go with them.
Onii-chan… Onee-chan… Suddenly, there was a loud thud and her tank shook. She
squealed in terror and hurriedly opened her eyes. There was a masked man wearing
a tuxedo standing next to her tank. He was yelling something and kicking the glass
repeatedly.
The auction manager had wanted to Myu to swim around a little in order to make the
guests bid higher, but she'd just stayed curled up in a ball. Tired of waiting, he'd finally
snapped and started kicking her tank.
That only served to frighten Myu further, however, as she curled into a ball and
attempted to look as small as possible. All she could do was try to drown out the
yelling and the kicking.
The Freidhof member managing the auction grew even angrier. He was worried
people would think she was sick, and not bid as high. If she sold low, he was the one
who'd be punished for it. Seeing this wasn't working, he resorted to drastic measures.
Feeling pressured by the crowd, he started insulting Myu in the hopes of eliciting a
reaction.
"Move, you sniveling little brat. Stop causing us humans so much trouble, you stupid
fish-freak!" He climbed up the ladder next to the tank as he berated her, intending to
poke her with the cane he was carrying. Myu shut her eyes and braced herself.
Oddly, the impact she was waiting for never came. Instead, she heard a familiar voice.
"What was that, you fucking bastard?" Hajime leaped from the ceiling, grinding both
the auction manager and the ladder into the ground. A fountain of blood spurted from
underneath his foot. The manager had been killed instantly.
Hajime didn't even look at the man he'd just killed. Instead, he turned around and
smashed the water tank with his artificial arm. The glass pane shattered into a
thousand pieces, and a torrent of water came flooding out.
"Hyaaah!" The current carried Myu out with it. But before she got very far, a warm
hand caught her, and she timidly opened her eyes.
When she'd first heard his voice, she'd desperately hoped she hadn't been imagining
it. And now she knew she hadn't. The person holding her right now was Hajime. Myu
blinked a few times before staring at him, much like she had when they first met.
"Yo, Myu. How come you're always soaked whenever I see you?" Still staring at him,
she quietly whispered a single word.
"Onii-chan?"
"I wouldn't say I'm your brother, but I am the same guy you scratched, kicked, and stole
an eyepatch from." Hajime smiled at Myu, and the tears started dripping from her eyes.
After a second of silence—
"Onii-chan!" She wrapped her arms around Hajime and started sobbing. Hajime
awkwardly patted her back in an attempt to comfort her. Then, he wrapped her in
another blanket.
Black-robed men burst into the main hall and surrounded the two, cutting their
reunion short. The auctioneers were certain the men could handle Hajime, so none of
them made any move to flee.
"Hey, brat. Do you know what happens to morons who try and mess with Freidhof? If
you hand over the girl, then we'll at least grant you a painless death." Myu lifted her
face from Hajime's neck and looked at him worriedly. Twenty burly men stood
between them and safety.
"Onii-chan…"
"Don't worry. I'm here with you. It'll get a little noisy though, so you should close your
eyes and cover your ears." Hajime peeled Myu's fingers off his neck and placed them
over her ears. His confident tone assuaged Myu's worries. Still a little confused, she
nodded, closed her eyes, and buried her face in Hajime's chest.
"Think you can just ignore us, huh!?"
"Kill the brat! But don't lay a hand on the merchandise!" The leader angrily ordered
his men to charge.
A second later there was a loud bang and the leader was suddenly missing his head.
The remnants of his brain splattered the faces of his comrades.
Unable to grasp what had just happened, everyone silently watched as the leader's
corpse crumpled to the ground.
And while they stood there, still confused, Hajime fired again. And again. And again.
Gunshots echoed throughout the chamber, each one marking another death. Eleven
people fell before the rest finally realized what was going on.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! He's a monster!"
"H-He's a demon! We're all gonna be killed!" The men in black started backing away
from him, while the auctioneers screamed and swarmed for the exits.
A monster huh? That's rich, coming from people who buy and sell slaves. He wanted to
teach those fleeing slavers a thing or two, but he kept his attention firmly focused on
the threat in front of him.
"Wh-Who the hell are you!? What, why… How did you do that!?" The man trembled in
fear as he shouted in what he hoped was an intimidating voice. Another dozen men in
black ran into the hall, but they faltered when they saw the bodies littering the floor.
Hajime scoffed at the man who'd spoken.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? I came to take back what's mine. Oh… and to make an example
out of you guys. This is what happens if you touch my friends. Now then, you'll join me
for the grand finale, right?" Hajime used Aerodynamic to jump up to the ceiling. Then,
he transmuted a hole into the ceiling and leaped through it.
"Yue, I've got Myu. How are things on your end?"
"Good. Everyone evacuated. The guests are running out of the hall."
"I see. Well, let's end this with a bang, then."
"Okay!"
As Hajime zipped through the air, he looked down at Myu. Up until now she had done
as he'd asked, covering her ears and closing her eyes. He gently removed one of her
hands and talked to her.
"It's alright now, Myu." Her eyes snapped open and she looked around. As she took in
the scenery, she let out a gasp of surprise. The view was spectacular. From their
vantage point, they could see the entire city of Fuhren. The sun was a blazing ball of
red, slowly sinking below the horizon. Underneath the crimson sky, they could see
lights dotting the city; people had started lighting the streetlamps.
Myu's eyes sparkled as she took all of it in. She excitedly grabbed Hajime's collar and
started pointing things out.
"It's amazing, Onii-chan! We're flying through the sky!"
"We're more jumping through it than flying but… Well, whatever. Anyway, Myu, look
over there. There's going to be some huge fireworks soon."
"Fire-works?"
"Fireworks are… giant explosions."
"Ex-plo-sions?"
Hajime couldn't figure out a good way to explain it, but it didn't matter since she'd see
for herself in a few seconds. He cradled Myu in one arm as he pulled a ring out of his
Treasure Trove with the other. The ring was actually a remote detonator he'd made
with spirit stone. While he'd been searching for Myu, he'd left some bombs here and
there.
"Alright, here we go. Bombs away~"
"Bombs away?"
Their voices faded away into the evening breeze. A second later, there was a boom so
loud that it could be heard throughout the entire city.
The art museum that doubled as an illegal auction hall was blasted to kingdom come.
Not a trace remained of the probably beautiful and historic art that had adorned its
halls. The surrounding buildings that had all belonged to Freidhof were toppled by the
shockwave following the explosion.
He'd shaped the charges upward so the fire wouldn't spread to the rest of the city.
Pillars of flame rose up to the heavens, dying the sky a deep crimson, though a
different shade than that of the sunset. It looked as if a volcano had erupted in the
heart of the city.
"Whaaaaaaaaat!?"
"Well, Myu? Surprised? Those are fireworks."
"Fireworks are scary." Trembling, Myu clung to Hajime as she watched the spectacle.
However, Hajime wasn't done yet. The party was just getting started, after all.
"O-O-Onii-chan! There's something over there!"
"It's pretty, isn't it?"
"Huh!?" Dark clouds had gathered where Myu was pointing. Four dragons composed
of pure lightning burst from the clouds with a thunderous roar, further scaring an
already terrified Myu.
Each one was about half the size of Yue's single dragon, but their ferocity hadn't
changed at all. The faint of heart passed out at the mere sight of them as they circled
above the city.
The four dragons split off from each other, heading to different districts.
Chances were, everyone in Fuhren saw them.
They flew majestically through the burning sky, heading for the remaining four major
Freidhof bases. Upon reaching their destination, they plummeted to the ground,
swallowing the buildings whole.
The ground shook as they struck. There were four blinding flashes of light and with
another roar, the four bases were wiped out of existence.
Plumes of smoke rose from the rubble, the debris and ash choking out the light of the
setting sun. From up above, the city of Fuhren looked like it had been hit by a disaster.
That being said, Hajime and Yue had taken great precautions to make sure no
innocents were harmed. Hajime had sent his Ornises to scout out all of Freidhof's
bases and made doubly sure no one unaffiliated with the group had been present. So
despite the destruction, the only casualties had been Freidhof's members.
It was possible some of the members had been forced to join the gang, or maybe could
have been reformed, but… Hajime didn't feel the need to investigate the individuals of
an organization that had made themselves his enemy.
"Hajime-san! Is Myu-chan safe!?"
"W-Wait for me, Shea. God, you're fast. Were your physical abilities always this high!?"
Hajime received a telepathic message from Shea as he was surveying the damage.
Since he hadn't mentioned the fireworks to her, she had been rather surprised when
half the city exploded.
"Yeah. Safe and sound. And it looks like we got most of their bases too… Oh, right, let's
all meet up at the adventurer's guild. Ilwa's probably tearing his hair out over how
much paperwork this is going to mean for him."
"Oh, thank goodness~ You said we're meeting at the guild? Roger. I'll be right there. I
want to hurry up and see Myu-chan."
"Yeah. Don't worry, you'll get to see her real soon. Alright, meet you there."
"You got it." Myu looked up at Hajime as he suddenly fell silent and gazed off into the
distance. When he finished his conversation with Shea, he told Myu she'd get to see
her soon. Myu exclaimed "Onee-chan!" and her face broke out into a smile.
As he descended to the ground, Yue came up to meet him. She'd already seen the kids
to the safety department. She stared intently at the little girl in Hajime's arms. Myu
uncomfortably glanced around before looking up at Hajime again. He could guess
what the unspoken question in her eyes was.
"Myu, this is Yue. She's my lover."
"Huh? Lover…? What about Onee-chan?"
"She's my comrade."
"She's not your lover?"
"Nope, she's not."
"But…"
"I don't know what else to tell you. Yue's my lover."
"Mrrrr~" Myu looked petulantly over at Yue. Yue hadn't taken her eyes off Myu during
that whole exchange. This time Myu met Yue's gaze. She stared at Yue intently, trying
to figure out what kind of person she was.
They continued staring at each other for a few minutes. Yue was the first to break
contact. She suddenly started walking forward.
Myu watched her cautiously. Yue stopped in front of Hajime, took Myu from his hands,
and hugged her tight. Myu yelped and struggled to break free of Yue's grasp, but Yue
wouldn't let go. After a few seconds, Yue spoke.
"This is cheating. You're too cute." It looked like Yue had taken a liking to Myu. Myu
finally managed to wriggle her head out Yue's chest and gasped for air. The two stared
at each other once more.
"Hi there, Myu. I'm Yue. You did great, enduring all that. Good job." Yue's eyes softened
and she patted Myu's head.
Her gentle warmth melted away Myu's wariness, and she started bawling in Yue's
arms. When Hajime had first rescued her, she'd still been too nervous to cry properly.
It was only now that she could vent all of her frustration and sadness without worry
of what might happen to her.
Hajime smiled awkwardly as he watched the two of them. Once Myu had calmed down,
the three of them headed to the adventurer's guild.
"Fifteen buildings were destroyed, thirty suffered serious damage, and nine of them
were completely leveled. On top of that, thirty-eight of Freidhof's members are
confirmed dead, forty-four are mortally injured, twenty-eight are seriously injured,
and one hundred and nineteen are unaccounted for… Well, what do you have to say
for yourself?"
"They pissed me off, so I crushed them. I don't regret it, either."
"Haaaaaaaaaaaah…" They were sitting in the guild's waiting room. Ilwa held a stack of
reports in one hand as he glared at Hajime. For his part, Hajime was sharing the snacks
they'd been served with Myu, who was sitting on his lap. Seeing how Hajime had no
intention of reflecting on his actions, Ilwa let out a tired sigh.
"Please tell me the fishman escaping from the Meerstadt Aquarium by flying out of a
hole in the wall had nothing to do with you at least… It didn't, right?"
"Myu, these are pretty good too? Here, try some."
"Damn it… Haaah…" Hajime feigned ignorance and casually continued feeding Myu,
but Shea shifted guiltily in her seat, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ilwa. Ilwa
heaved another sigh, deeper this time. He grimaced and rubbed his stomach. Dott, his
secretary, gave him a sympathetic look and passed him some stomach medicine.
"Well, while you may have gone too far, you did destroy a massive criminal
organization for us. Honestly speaking, we had no way of dealing with them. They
never left any trace of their illegal dealings, and on the off chance we managed to catch
a few of their underlings in the act, the main organization would just cut them off. We
didn't think it was even possible to put a stop to them. Though this also means the
balance of Fuhren's underworld has been completely toppled… Haaah, we're going to
be rather busy in the coming weeks. Especially since we offered our support to the
safety department."
"Well, normally it's the government's job to handle stuff like this anyway. This time
was a special case. They tried to hurt one of my comrades, so I gave them a little
payback."
"That 'little payback' being destroying Fuhren's largest criminal organization in just
half a day? You guys are crazy." Ilwa smiled bitterly. He looked like he'd aged twenty
years in a day. Combining the ten years he'd aged when he first saw everyone's Status
Plates, he may as well have turned into an old man by now. Even Hajime felt a little
bad for putting him through so much, so he offered a suggestion.
"Part of the reason we were so flashy about it was because we wanted to make an
example out of them. You know, to make sure no one else would try the same thing. So
why not use our names to your benefit? If you say the gold ranked adventurer that did
this is part of your branch… wouldn't that work as a good deterrent?"
"Oh my, is that really alright? That would save us a great deal of trouble but… weren't
you the kind of person that hated their name being used by others?" Ilwa looked at
Hajime in surprise. He sounded hesitant, but his gaze made it clear he was dying to
use Hajime's name. Hajime smiled wryly and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, you scratch my back, I scratch yours, right? You've been a great help already, so
I don't mind if it's just using my name. If you're smart enough to make it all the way to
branch chief, I can trust you'll use it wisely. Plus, I do feel a little bad about getting
innocent people involved in our personal vendetta."
"I see… Is it just me, or have you changed, Hajime-kun? When I first met you, you
struck me as the kind of person that didn't care at all about others. Did something
happen at Ur?"
"Well, I guess you could say that."
Ilwa wasn't a branch chief for nothing. He could see through people better than most.
That was why he'd been able to pick up on the slight shift in Hajime's mentality. Hajime
becoming a kinder person was better for Ilwa too, and he gladly accepted Hajime's
offer to use his name.
As Ilwa had expected, days after Freidhof's destruction new criminal groups would
spring up, hoping to take advantage of the power vacuum that had been created.
However, Ilwa would manage to keep them quiet by skillfully spreading rumors of
Hajime's ferocity.
Some time later, people would begin referring to him by nicknames like "Fuhren's
Ultimate Weapon," "White-haired Flame Master," "Lady Killer," and so on. However,
that was of little concern to Hajime. Or rather, no concern at all.
Thanks to Ilwa's frantic efforts, the safety department ruled that Hajime had acted in
self-defense, thereby making him innocent of any crime. Normally it wouldn't have
gone over so smoothly, but they were pretty mad about Freidhof's bombing of one of
their buildings.
In fact, the director of the safety department had given Hajime a not-so-subtle thumbsup for destroying Freidhof. The organization had flaunted the safety department's
authority at every turn, expanding their illegal activities into every industry they could
get their hands on. The chief, who'd just celebrated his 60th birthday, had been more
than happy to acquit Hajime of all charges.
"Also, about Myu-kun…" Ilwa looked down at the tiny girl who was happily gnawing
on a cookie.
Myu gave a little start. She looked worriedly between Hajime, Yue, and Shea. She didn't
want to be separated from them again. The reason she didn't look over at Tio was
because, well, everyone was trying to keep her away from Tio's harmful influence.
"Either we can take care of her and send her back to Erisen through the formal routes,
or we can make this an official guild request and ask you to take her back… Those are
your two options. Well, which do you prefer?" Hajime tilted his head in confusion. He
had assumed the safety department would have requested he return her to their
custody. According to Ilwa's explanation, however, they were willing to let him handle
the case if he so desired. Because of his guild ranking, and the fact that he'd destroyed
an entire organization to save her, they believed he was trustworthy enough.
Ultimately though, this too was Ilwa's handiwork. It almost seemed as if he was eager
to prove how helpful of an ally he could.
"Hajime-san… I promise I'll protect her. So please… let her come with us." Shea bowed
to Hajime. She wanted to be there for Myu during her journey home. Yue and Tio
remained silent, deciding to leave the decision up to Hajime.
"Onii-chan… please?" She hit Hajime with her irresistible puppy-dog eyes. Though she
hadn't needed to. From the moment he had sworn to get Myu back, Hajime had
decided he'd be willing to let her come with them if that was still what she wanted.
"I was planning on taking her with me regardless, so I'm glad you're on board already.
Even I couldn't abandon her after all we've been through."
"Hajime-san!"
"Onii-chan!"
Shea and Myu beamed at him. There was still the little problem of how they were going
to clear the Grand Gruen Volcano, which came before Erisen, with Myu in tow, but
Hajime figured it would work out somehow. He'd decided to take Myu, and that was
that.
"But there's just one thing, Myu. Could you stop calling me onii-chan? Just Hajime is
fine. It's kind of embarrassing to be called that…" Hajime scratched his cheek
awkwardly as Myu hugged him. He was still an otaku after all. Being called onii-chan…
Well, it just didn't sit right with him.
Myu stared at him. After a while, she came to some sort of understanding and nodded.
However, her response was something no one present had expected.
"Then I'll call you daddy."
"Wh-What? Sorry, Myu. I didn't quite catch that. Could you say that again?"
"Daddy."
"U-Umm, is this like a dagon word for onii-chan or Hajime or something?"
"Nope. Daddy means daddy."
"Okay, hold on a second." Hajime started massaging his temples, while Shea hesitantly
asked Myu why she'd chosen to call him daddy of all things. Apparently—
"I don't have a daddy. He went to heaven before I was born. All of my friends have one,
but I don't… That's why you're my daddy now, Onii-chan."
"I kind of get it, but at the same time, I kind of don't. Anyway, Myu. I'm begging you,
anything but daddy. I'm still only seventeen, you know?"
"No, I like daddy!"
"Okay, fine. Even onii-chan is okay! I'm not asking for much, so please, just not daddy!"
"Nooo! You're my daddy now!"
Hajime tried everything he could to get her to stop calling him daddy, but he struck
out. She seemed to like it even more than onii-chan, so the name stuck.
Finally, Hajime gave up. His only choice now was to ask Myu's mother to get her to
stop when they finally reached Erisen. Myu had managed to inflict more damage on
him than anything else since he'd left the abyss.
They finished talking to Ilwa and headed back to the inn. Once there, a heated debate
began over who would become Myu's "mama." In the meantime, Hajime tied Tio up
and hid her somewhere so she couldn't be a bad influence on Myu. Naturally, Tio saw
her punishment as a reward. In the end, it seemed Myu only wanted to call her real
mother mama, so Yue, Shea, and Tio all became onee-chans.
That night, depressed that Myu wouldn't call her mama, Yue said something shocking.
"Hajime, I want a baby." Judging by his reaction, the day where Yue would get to be
called mama wasn't too far off.
Shea tried the same trick, but Hajime ignored her. And, of course, the perverted dragon
lady couldn't resist adding her two cents after that.
"Master, I am prepared to bear your children as well. We can begin at—"
"Your existence is already enough of a joke, I don't need you spouting them as well."
"Why am I the only one to receive such a harsh rejection!?" Despite her indignant reply,
Tio writhed happily on the ground when Hajime shot her down.
The next morning, Hajime said his goodbyes to everyone who'd come to see him off.
Ilwa, the people at the safety department, and the Cudeta family. He looked just like a
real father, carrying Myu on his shoulders. She was happily hugging his head as he
grabbed her legs to make sure she didn't fall off.
Today was the day the monster of the abyss became a father.
And so, his adventures continued, now with a daughter in tow!