Blue as far as the eye could see.
The sun dazzled overhead in a cloudless sky. Yet it didn't feel hot. In fact, the weather
was positively pleasant. A gentle breeze blew past, keeping the temperature moderate.
However, there was not a single object in sight, making the scene a somewhat lonely
one.
That was to be expected, though. After all, this was the middle of the ocean.
A single boat drifted gently through the waves. Though perhaps boat wasn't the best
term to describe it. At the very least, the people of this world wouldn't have considered
it one.
The not-boat was jet-black, narrow, and had no visible place from which to board. Two
wings jutted out from its side in a V-formation, its rear had a propeller of some sort
jutting out of it, and its rudder looked like a tail of sorts. Though, it wasn't in the best
of shape, since the entire thing looked like it'd been ravaged by a fierce storm. From a
certain angle, it almost looked like a flattened whale.
The people of this world would likely think it was some kind of monster, not a boat.
In truth, it was the top half of a submarine. Specifically, the submarine that had saved
Hajime, Shea, and Yue's lives when the Grand Gruen Volcano had erupted. It had been
damaged by its journey through the magma, and was barely holding together.
Hajime lay atop the submarine, admiring the scenery. He'd repaired his melted left
arm using some of the material that made up the submarine. Right now, it looked as
good as new. Though most of the features and abilities he'd packed into it didn't work.
"Hajime, how do you feel?" He'd been about to nod off, but a voice from behind brought
him back to wakefulness. Yue's head popped into view. She was looking at him
worriedly.
Hajime had taken quite a bit of damage from the white dragon's aurora attacks, and
the poison had slowed the healing of his wounds.
"Pretty good. My wounds have all closed up. They'll probably be fully healed in another
day or so… How about you, Yue? You were pretty exhausted after that fight, right?"
"Mmm… I'm fine. Shea let me drink some of her blood." Yue climbed out of the hatch
and crawled over to where Hajime was lying. Then, as if it were the most natural thing
in the world, she started straddling him. Her plump butt fell directly over a very
sensitive part of Hajime's body.
"Yue, why are you climbing on top of me?"
"Because you're there?" Yue copied a certain mountain climber's quote and stared
seriously down at Hajime. She didn't have the same allure around her that she did
when she was trying to seduce him.
"Don't move…" she said as she bent down over his neck. Then, she ran her tongue
down it before sinking her fangs inside, lapping up the drop of blood that welled out.
"Mmm, it looks like the poison's mostly gone. You should be fine."
It seemed Yue could tell the state of Hajime's body by tasting his blood.
"I told you I was fine."
"…Mmm. But I was still worried. I'm glad you're finally able to rest, even if it's in the
middle of the ocean."
"Yeah. To be honest, I never expected things to move so fast. I can't decide if it was
good luck or bad…" Hajime smiled wryly and Yue arched an eyebrow.
Neither of them could decide whether they should be grateful they made it out alive
at all, or chalk up all the horrible events that led to them riding a magma torrent into
the ocean to bad luck.
They had spent almost an entire day riding the underground magma channel after the
eruption.
Hajime had spent a sleepless night worrying the current might be taking them to the
planet's mantle. Around that time, there'd been a change in their journey.
Their submarine had been hit by an impact far stronger than any before. So strong, in
fact, that it had broken through the Diamond Skin defense of the submarine and
damaged the hull directly. The force had sent the sub flying.
Hajime had hurried to make sure there weren't any leaks anywhere. When he'd
checked the outside of the sub, he'd been greeted by an unbelievable sight. They were
no longer surrounded by magma on all sides, like he'd expected. Instead, they had
found themselves at the bottom of an actual sea, with spiraling ribbons of magma
swirling around them.
It seemed the underground channel had taken them to an underwater volcano. The
impact they'd felt had been a phreatic eruption that had spit them out into the ocean.
The eruption had damaged the submarine pretty badly, but by a stroke of luck, the hull
hadn't been breached. Though Hajime's expert engineering probably had more to do
with that than luck.
Hajime and the others had breathed a sigh of relief at finally reaching the surface, but
their troubles had only just begun. With the propeller and the rudder both broken,
they had been forced to manually move the submarine with mana. All the while, they'd
been attacked by deep-sea monsters.
First they'd had to grapple with a giant squid. It had been thirty meters long and had
over thirty tentacles. Hajime had dubbed it the Kraken.
The Kraken had continually assaulted the submarine as they'd tried to rise to the
surface. They'd nearly been caught and eaten, but Hajime's torpedoes and Yue's magic
had somehow managed to fend it off.
Next, they'd been hounded by a school of sharks that wrapped water around them like
a tornado. After that had been a giant marlin with a revolving horn. Then, a giant turtle
that spat mines out of its ass… The list was endless.
Eventually, Hajime's weapon reserves ran dry and they were reliant entirely on Yue's
magic. Yue drained all of her magic accessories as well, and since Hajime was still weak
from blood loss, she ended up drinking Shea's blood to replenish her mana.
The strain from their earlier fight at the Grand Gruen Volcano had taken its toll as well,
and they were barely able to fight off all the creatures that attacked them. Shea, who'd
hated being powerless to help, had given so much of her blood to Yue that she'd
fainted.
Once they'd made it into relatively safe waters, Hajime had sent Yue and Shea to rest
as he guided the submarine back to the continent. It had been half a day since then.
The weather was perfect and the sea was calm. Since there was no immediate danger,
Hajime had decided to stop the sub and treat himself to a little sunbath. It was his first
proper rest in quite a while, too.
It really had been one thing after another since they'd cleared the Grand Gruen
Volcano. Any other party wouldn't have been able to survive the journey. Hajime could
understand why a certain anime character who punched people into living their lives
correctly was always complaining about his misfortune.
"How's Shea?" Hajime brought himself back to the present and looked up at Yue.
"Still sleeping. I drank a lot of her blood, so she probably won't wake up for a while."
According to Yue, the amount of mana she got from Hajime's blood and the amount
she got from Shea's blood were different. Hajime was the one she'd made a blood oath
with, so his blood gave her exponentially more mana than Shea's.
Yue's blood oath was a double-edged sword. The mana she obtained from the person
she made a pact with rose drastically, but the amount of mana she obtained from
others fell.
"I see. Well, we can take it easy for a bit. We have no idea how far we are from the
continent, so there's no telling how long it'll take to get back. It's better to rest now
while we have the chance. Who knows what else we might have to deal with later."
"Yeah."
The ocean was to the west of the continent, so Hajime was sure he'd reach it eventually
if he just went east. Yue could make water for them with her magic, and they could
catch fish to eat. There were no fish in the sea that could escape Hajime's submarine
and Yue's magic, so though it looked like they were stranded in the middle of the sea
with nothing, they'd be able to get by easily enough. Plus, it was safer to wait until
night so they could use the stars to confirm their bearing. Hence why they were resting
for now.
Hajime laid back and relaxed. Yue watched him closely.
"Yue, may I ask what you're doing?"
"I'm giving you energy." Yue smiled seductively and leaned in close. She was definitely
giving him energy. Only to a certain part of his body, though. As Hajime stared into her
eyes, all thoughts of resisting melted away.
"Mmm… Fufu, looks like you're ready."
"Never thought I'd be doing this in the middle of the ocean half a year ago."
Hajime and Yue enjoyed themselves thoroughly, savoring the feeling of still being alive.
For a while, the submarine rocked from more than just waves.
"It sounded like you two were having fun…"
The two of them were met by a glaring Shea as they entered the submarine.
"Hm? I didn't know you woke up. How're you feeling?"
"Thanks for glossing over that like it never happened. All of your rocking and moaning
woke me up. All that loneliness and sadness gave me strength, so I'm feeling a lot
better now. Well, enough to smack you right now, in fact."
"That's good."
Shea groaned at how casually Hajime took her pointing out that she could hear their
sexual escapades. Realizing he was being a bit too cold to Shea, Hajime smiled and
invited her to sit next to him.
Shea had felt really left out when she'd woken up to the sounds of Hajime and Yue
having sex on top of the submarine, and she made up for it by clinging to Hajime even
more than usual.
Yue, too, took a seat beside Shea instead of her customary place by Hajime. She started
stroking Shea's ears in an attempt to improve her mood.
With that, Hajime started pouring mana into his sub and propelled it eastward.
Monsters still came out to attack them occasionally, but Yue was able to fend them off
with ease.
Hajime drove them through the night, and he spotted land finally around the time
dawn was beginning to break.
He'd triangulated their position from the stars during the night. By his estimation,
they were somewhere north of Erisen. That meant if he followed the coastline south,
he'd eventually reach Erisen and the port that connected the sea to the Gruen Desert.
Relieved, the party followed the coastline south for two days. Around noon on the
second day, Hajime stopped the submarine and the group went up to the deck to eat
lunch.
Lunch consisted of fish, just like it had for the past two days. Hajime was reminded of
his days in the abyss as he used Lightning Field to grill the fish. Since he'd given Tio
his Treasure Trove they didn't have any seasonings or dishes.
Still, the three of them enjoyed their meal as they gazed out at the sea. In a way, the
spectacular scenery provided flavoring for their meal. It was the same way food tasted
different on a beach, or at a festival.
Just as Shea was finishing off some unknown species of fish, her ears twitched. She
instantly began moving.
A split second later Hajime noticed it too. His mouth, which was full of giant fish,
turned toward the water.
A number of human-shaped silhouettes surrounded the submarine. They leaped out
of the water and pointed their tridents at the three of them.
There were at least twenty of them. Upon closer inspection, Hajime noticed they all
had emerald-green hair and fins for ears. They were all dagons. They watched Hajime
and the others warily.
The one standing directly in front of Hajime thrust his spear out and asked a question.
"Who are you people? Why are you here? And what is that thing you're riding?"
Hajime's mouth was still full of fish, so he couldn't answer. It was rather unfortunate
as he had no intention of fighting these dagons, but the fish was surprisingly tough
and hard to chew through. It would take some time to get it all down.
Hajime wanted to take this conversation seriously, but even he knew it must've looked
like he was making fun of them. Instead of talking, he was just casually eating his
lunch.
A vein pulsed in the man's forehead. His anger seemed a bit overblown for just having
found humans in the sea. Realizing the situation could blow up at any minute, Shea
tried to placate the man.
"U-Umm, please calm down. We're just—"
"Silence! A mere rabbitman like you has no right to speak!"
It seemed even outside the sea of trees, rabbitmen were looked down upon by the
other beastmen. There was also the fact that they wanted Hajime himself to answer.
To them it seemed as if he were looking down on them by continuing to eat his lunch.
The man turned his trident on Shea and thrust at her.
The man's attack would likely not even have scratched her due to her body
strengthening, but she still dodged out of the way. He'd aimed for her cheek, hoping
that injuring Hajime's comrade would make him take the encounter more seriously.
He seemed almost desperate. From what Hajime remembered, the dagons weren't
such an aggressive race.
But regardless of what circumstances they had that had driven them to such
aggression, they shouldn't have turned their fangs on Hajime or his friends. Even if it
was just meant as a warning, Hajime didn't like anyone attacking his friends. And so,
he unleashed a wave of Intimidation so strong that it sent ripples through the ocean.
The lead dagon man turned to Hajime, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. A
second later, there was a loud thud. The dagon man flew through the air in a tailspin
and bounced off the surface of the sea a few times before sinking into the ocean.
The other dagons turned to look back at Hajime. He was holding one of his grilled fish,
and it looked like he'd just smacked a golf ball with it.
The sea glimmered in the sunlight. Hajime's dead fish glimmered, too.
"Wh-What?" The dagons still couldn't grasp what had happened.
Hajime slung the half-eaten fish over his shoulder and glared at the dagon man
standing next to the one he'd sent flying. He'd already been scared senseless by
Hajime's Intimidation. The added pressure of his glare made him snap, and he charged
forward with a wild yell.
"Zaaaaaah!" It was perhaps the most noble moment in that man's life. In the face of
certain death, he'd unleashed the strongest attack he could. However, Hajime blocked
it with his dead fish. The man's trident stuck fast inside the fish's mouth.
"Huh? Wh-What the…" Hajime spun the fish, pulling the trident clean out of the man's
hands. The trident's shaft struck the other dagons as it spun, leaving them reeling.
Then, Hajime swung the fish again as they clung to their bloody noses.
The dagon who'd lost his spear stared dumbfounded at this human boy who was
glowing dark red and slapping them around with a fish.
"Bwah!?" Hajime sent this one flying the same way he had the last. A faint stream of
water trailed behind him as he flew off into the ocean.
"Gulp. Okay, now I really don't want to fight you guys, so let's calm down and talk this
through. I won't hold back if you try and hurt my comrades, but… Oh, I went easy on
those guys I sent flying, so they should still be alive." The red glow surrounding Hajime
faded and he released his Intimidation.
Even Hajime didn't want to fight Myu's people. He wouldn't be able to face her if he
accidentally ended up killing her neighbor or something.
However, it seemed the dagons weren't interested in talking. Even if he hadn't killed
their comrades, he'd still knocked them around. More importantly, however, it hurt
their pride that Hajime didn't even consider them worth fighting when he was the one
at a disadvantage in the sea.
Plus, they were still wary of humans and didn't trust Hajime's words. They weren't
going to let their guards down around him. The dagons backed up and prepared to
throw their tridents.
"Is that how you tricked her? Are you here to kidnap more of our children!?"
"We won't let you use magic again! The sea is our domain! Don't think you'll be making
it home in one piece!"
"We'll get her location out of you even if we have to rip your limbs off!"
"Don't worry, we won't kill you. We need you as a hostage to trade with the kingdom,
after all."
There's definitely something strange going on here. They weren't just wary of Hajime,
they hated him. Judging by what they'd said, Hajime could guess it had something to
do with Myu. Did they mistake us for the criminals that kidnapped her? They'd come in
on some strange machine, with what seemed to be a rabbitman slave in tow. It was
only natural that they'd be suspected.
Beastmen were known for being extremely close-knit. They were protective even of
other species, but especially so of one of their own.
The Haulia tribe had abandoned the sea of trees for Shea, and the bearmen had
ignored the council's decision to try and get revenge for their leader. The dagons were
no exception. Even if Myu wasn't their daughter, they were just as protective of her.
She had all of these guys to choose as her dad, so why'd she pick me? Hajime smiled
bitterly to himself. He decided to bring up Myu in order to solve the misunderstanding.
"Uh, about that girl that was kidnapped—"
"Get him!"
But before he could, the dagons threw their tridents at him. They were all swimming
in the ocean, and yet they still managed to put a lot of force behind their throws. From
the way they aimed at his shoulders and legs, Hajime guessed they really didn't plan
on killing him. They attacked the submarine from below as well, making it shake.
Any normal opponent would have lost their balance and been unable to dodge. They
might even have fallen into the sea to be torn apart by the waiting dagons. Of course,
Hajime was no normal opponent.
"Liquid Rampart." The sea rose up around them, knocking down all of the tridents.
While the dagons were still marveling at Yue's ability to cast magic without an
incantation, she created twenty balls of electricity.
As the walls of water crashed back into the sea, the dagons saw the electric balls flying
at them.
"Ah!? T-Take coveeer!" One of the dagons cried out. Their faces paled and they quickly
tried to swim away, but it was already too late.
The balls homed in on each of the dagons and hit them with a powerful shock. They
spasmed and screamed for a few minutes before floating limply to the surface.
"Nice job, Yue."
"Yeah… Hajime, the thing they were talking about."
"Yeah, they probably meant Myu."
"You just have to cause a commotion wherever you go, huh? I guess I should expect
this by now. We haven't gone through a single town without making a stir…"
"Oh come on, Shea. To be honest, I do feel a little bad about this. Damn… This wouldn't
have happened if we'd had Myu with us…"
Hajime sighed and started collecting the dagons' unconscious bodies.
Hajime dumped the dagon men into the impromptu trunk he'd crafted into the
submarine and headed toward the city.
Yue had kindly held back, so they woke up relatively quickly. Once they were awake,
Hajime explained the situation to them.
A few of them had thought he might still be the culprit because he was able to describe
Myu's features so well. They tried to jump at him, but he slapped them silly with a fish
until they calmed down. Eventually, they were convinced as well.
Patience is an important virtue when it comes to persuasion.
Their cheeks were swollen, but the dagon men were finally willing to listen to Hajime.
When he told them Myu was waiting in Ankaji, they requested to first stop by Erisen
and then choose a few members to accompany Hajime.
Though they still weren't sure they could trust Hajime, they chose to believe his words.
However, they were still going to accompany him to make sure he was telling the truth.
Hajime agreed to their request and started steering the submarine to Erisen.
He learned along the way that all of the dagons who had attacked him knew Myu
personally.
Myu's kidnappers had hurt Myu's mother pretty badly as well, so the men held a deepseated resentment against them. Hajime didn't want Myu to see all her friends with
Afro hair and bruises, so he reluctantly healed them all.
After a few hours, they spotted Erisen.
"Ah, Hajime-san! There it is! I can see a city, and people!"
"Hm? Wow, it actually is in the middle of the ocean."
Shea pointed excitedly at the city. Hajime looked over and saw a city literally floating
on top of the ocean.
He headed to one of the many docks he saw jutting out of it. Dagons, visiting human
tourists, and traders all watched in awe as his mysterious vessel rode past. Hajime
ignored them all and stopped at an empty dock.
The dagons specifically began murmuring worriedly to each other when they saw a
few of their unconscious brethren riding in the trunk.
"Hey, explain the situation to them. The more time we waste dealing with stuff here
the longer it'll take to get to Myu."
"O-Okay!" One of the dagon men nodded, trembling. He didn't want to face Hajime's
fish slaps again.
The youth spotted a contingent of human and dagon soldiers making their way over
to them and quickly intercepted. Hajime wanted to hurry up and rendezvous with Tio,
Kaori, and Myu, so he didn't want to have to waste any time here. He watched
impatiently as the dagon youth talked to the soldiers' captain.
Sadly, things were never as simple as Hajime wanted them to be. The soldiers shoved
aside the youth and marched up to the sub. They surrounded Hajime, leaving him
trapped on the tiny dock.
"Until we know what your intentions are, we'll have to detain you. Don't resist."
"Hey, did you even listen to that guy?"
"I did. We will send some of our own men to confirm your story. You, however, will
stay here." The man spoke curtly. Hajime didn't like his attitude one bit, but he
restrained himself. Remember, this is Myu's home.
"Okay, look here. I've got comrades waiting for me back there. I was planning on
heading straight back there, but I took a detour to deliver these guys to you. They're
the ones who attacked me, you know?"
"And we have yet to verify whether or not they were justified in doing so. If the
kidnapped child really isn't in Ankaji, you're just a suspicious boy who came in on an
unknown vessel. What proof do we have that you won't try and run once you leave
Erisen?"
"That'd be kind of pointless, don't you think? If I wanted to run, I could have just left
these guys in the ocean and gone somewhere else."
"About that. You are within our territory without permission. Furthermore, you
attacked one of our patrols. We cannot let you move freely within the city."
"They're the ones who attacked without even listening to us. What, did you want me
to just sit there while they chopped my limbs off? Gimme a break." Hajime narrowed
his eyes dangerously. The man frowned, seemingly unperturbed by the enormous
pressure radiating from Hajime.
Hajime recognized the crest on the man's uniform. It was the Heiligh Kingdom's coat
of arms. That meant he was the captain of the peacekeeping force assigned to Erisen.
That explained why he wasn't affected by Hajime's glare. Hajime wasn't even using
Intimidation yet, after all. Though the dagon captain's face paled, he also held his
ground against Hajime.
Hajime really didn't want to cause a stir in Erisen. Not only was it Myu's hometown,
he would likely spend some time here searching for the Sunken Ruins of Melusine's
entrance. It was another one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, so he needed to conquer
it.
He knew Myu was in Ankaji, so there was no worry of them finding nothing there. But
after everything this world had thrown at him, it was almost a reflex to fight back
against anything that tried to stop him. He'd sworn he wouldn't back down to anyone
when he'd crawled his way out of the abyss. He wasn't feeling like breaking that oath
here.
Still, he also didn't want to cause an uproar, which made the situation rather dicey.
Just when he'd convinced himself that he should accept their conditions for Myu's
sake, he heard something.
"Hm? What's…" Shea's bunny ears perked up and she started scanning the sky.
Hajime turned away from the captain and followed her gaze.
"What'd you see?" he asked. However, before she could reply, Hajime heard a familiar
voice.
"…dy!"
"Huh? What was that?"
"…dy!"
"Wait, no way!?"
"Daddy!"
Hajime looked up and saw a vaguely human-shaped object falling from the sky. She
had her arms spread wide and was smiling happily.
"Myu!?" It was indeed Myu. It seemed she'd gone skydiving without a parachute.
He then noticed Tio, in her dragon form, following closely behind with Kaori riding on
her back.
His body moved faster than he could think. He activated Air Dance and Supersonic
Step, then shot into the sky.
The force of his jump destroyed the wooden dock, making the soldiers scream as they
fell into the sea, but Hajime didn't even notice.
He used Aerodynamic again in the air to propel himself further upward and activated
Riftwalk. He caught Myu in slow-motion and expertly controlled the speed of his
descent to kill the impact of her fall.
With Myu safely in his arms, he zipped back to the ground. His whole body was
covered in cold sweat.
"Daddy!" Unaware of how panicked she'd made Hajime, Myu happily nuzzled his
chest. Tio had probably told Myu she'd spotted Hajime.
Then, either by accident, or perhaps on purpose, Myu had fallen toward him. Judging
by her smiling face, she'd had no doubt that Hajime would catch her.
Still, it took a ridiculous amount of courage to jump off a dragon's back in the middle
of the sky. What kind of four-year-old does that!? Hajime frowned, then began scolding
Myu for being reckless.
"Hic… Hic…" Myu stood next to the destroyed dock, crying. The area was filled with
onlookers and soldiers, but none of them said a word.
The girl who'd been kidnapped had fallen from the sky, and a young boy had caught
her in midair with superhuman abilities. Not only that, there was a dragon flying
overhead. But what surprised everyone the most was that the boy was scolding Myu.
That, and the fact that Myu called him her father.
"Hic… I'm sorry, Daddy…"
"Do you promise not to do anything that dangerous again?"
"I promise…"
"Then it's fine. Now, give me a hug."
"Daddy!"
Hajime kneeled down and Myu launched herself into his chest. The whole exchange
had looked exactly like a father scolding his daughter. In many ways, Hajime really had
become Myu's father.
Everyone watched with dumbfounded amazement. They would never have expected
a dagon girl to start calling a human boy her father, especially since she'd been
kidnapped. They were all thinking the same thing.
What the hell is going on?
Hajime lifted Myu into his arms and gently patted her back. As if that was some unsaid
signal, the onlookers all started talking at once.
Hajime ignored the commotion and started walking back when he felt someone hug
him from behind. He turned around and saw Kaori resting her head on his shoulder.
She was trembling.
"Thank goodness… I'm so glad you're okay…" Now it was Kaori's turn to start crying.
Though she'd acted strong, she'd been worried sick. She'd believed Hajime was still
alive, of course, but that hadn't stopped her from worrying. Especially since he'd
disappeared shortly after she'd finally reunited with him. She'd been through a lot.
"Sorry I made you worry. But as you can see, we're all fine. So… please don't cry. If a
certain someone found out I made you cry… Well, she'd probably kill me."
"Waaah… Hic… Th-Then, let me stay here like this for a while longer…"
Hajime looked away awkwardly, but he used his free hand to gently pat Kaori on the
head. Her tears didn't stop though, and she buried her face into Hajime's shoulder. She
hugged him with all her might.
"Hey, you. What on earth is going on? I demand an explan— Bwah!?"
"Hm? Oh, my apologies."
The captain had dragged himself out of the water and stalked up to Hajime, dripping
wet. Before he could start yelling at Hajime he was knocked back into the water by
Tio. She'd turned back into human form upon landing and had accidentally bumped
into the captain in her haste to get to Hajime.
Tio didn't seem sorry at all, and she grabbed Hajime's head and pulled him into her
bosom.
"Whoa!? Hey, Tio!"
"I believed in you. I believed… you would return… Still, you made me wait quite some
time, Master."
Hajime extricated himself from Tio's massive melons and looked up at her face. Tears
dripped from her eyes. She hugged Hajime tight, as if he would vanish if she let go.
He'd put Tio through a lot, so he let her do as she wished for a little while.
Myu joined in as well, hugging Hajime around the neck. Yue and Shea didn't feel like
being left out, so they crowded around Hajime and joined in on the fun.
Hajime was buried underneath a pile of girls of all ages and sizes.
The confusion gradually faded from the onlookers' faces, replaced by a gentle warmth.
Even the dagons who'd attacked Hajime before lowered their weapons. Though a few
other guys picked up weapons of their own. As always, there were some that were
jealous of Hajime's harem.
"You bastard… Not once, but twice now! Interfering with a royal soldier's duty is a
criminal offense!"
The captain dragged himself out of the water again and stalked toward Hajime. He
held his weapon at the ready.
Considering Myu's attitude toward Hajime, it was unlikely he was the kidnapper, but
there was still a lot about this situation that didn't make sense to him. He still wanted
to interrogate Hajime.
Since escorting Myu back to Erisen had been an official request from Fuhren branch
chief Ilwa, Hajime hadn't worried about being arrested. His explanation would have
cleared things up. The only problem was that he hadn't had any proof of the request.
Fortunately, now he did.
Tio gave Hajime his Treasure Trove and he pulled out his Status Plate and the letter
Ilwa had given him.
"What? Just showing me your identity now won't— Wait, you're a gold rank
adventurer!? And you have a personal introduction from Fuhren's branch chief!?"
Hajime also pulled out the letter detailing his request and handed it to the captain.
The letter was originally addressed to the mayor and the captain of the guard anyway,
so Hajime would have given it to him eventually even if this hadn't happened.
The captain scrutinized the letters. Once he was done reading, he sighed. After a
moment's hesitation he shrugged his shoulders and saluted.
"I verify that you have indeed completed the assigned task, Hajime Nagumo-dono."
"Glad to know I've been cleared of suspicion. I'm sure there's a lot you want to know,
but we're kinda busy here. Could you hold off on your questions for a bit? I want to
bring Myu to her mother first. Is that alright?"
"I suppose so. However that dragon, those unbelievable abilities of yours, and this
strange boat are all things I cannot overlook."
The captain was no longer talking down to Hajime. In fact, he was being almost
respectful. But still, he had to do his job, and his job required investigating all of these
things.
"It's fine if we talk about all of that later, right? We're planning on staying in Erisen for
a while, so it's not like we're going anywhere. Besides, there's no point in sending a
report to the capital. They already know all of this."
"Hmm, I see. In that case, as long as we can talk, I'll be satisfied. You said you want to
take her to her mother, but… do you know what kind of state her mother is in?"
"No, but it shouldn't be a problem. We've got some of the best medicine in the world
and a top-class healer here."
"I see… Very well, then. In that case, I shall return once things have settled down."
The captain gave Hajime his name, which was Salze, and got to work dispersing the
onlookers. He seemed very dedicated to his job.
All of the people who knew Myu came up to talk to her, but Hajime silenced them with
a look. He appreciated their enthusiasm, but if they got started now they'd never make
it to Myu's mom.
"Daddy, Daddy. I wanna go home. Mommy's waiting! I wanna see Mommy!"
"Yeah. Let's go see her."
Myu excitedly took Hajime's hand and dragged him toward her house. It had been
nearly two months since she'd last seen her mother. Her excitement was only natural.
She'd laughed and smiled around Hajime and the others, but at night she'd cried for
her mom.
As they made their way to Myu's house, Kaori worriedly walked up to Hajime and
asked something.
"Hajime-kun. About what that soldier said earlier…"
"Well, it seems her life isn't in danger at least… Her wounds are pretty bad though, and
it must have been a shock to lose her daughter. Seeing Myu again will probably help
with the latter. I'll be counting on you for the former."
"Don't worry. Just leave it to me."
Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion coming from further down the
street. One of the voices was female, while the others were male.
"Remia, calm down! You can't go anywhere on that leg!"
"He's right, Remia-chan. We'll bring Myu-chan to you!"
"No! She's my daughter! I have to be there to greet her! I have to!"
The men were trying to hold the woman back. It seemed someone had told Myu's
mother about her return.
When she heard her mother's voice, Myu's face lit up. She called out to the twentysomething woman collapsed at the entrance of her house and dashed off toward her.
"Mommy!"
"Ah!? Myu!? Myu!"
Myu tottered up to her mother and leaped into her arms.
Mother and daughter embraced tightly, and the onlookers watched with smiles on
their faces. A few of them even teared up.
Remia apologized to Myu over and over. Hajime couldn't tell whether she was
apologizing for taking her eyes off Myu, or for not coming to get her. It might have been
both.
Tears streamed down Remia's cheeks. She was both relieved to have her daughter
back, and angry at herself for being unable to protect her. Myu patted her mom's head
reassuringly.
"It's okay, Mommy. I'm here. It's okay."
"Myu…" Remia stared at her daughter. She hadn't expected to be consoled by her.
Myu stared back at her mother, worry etched over her face. Before she'd been
kidnapped, Myu had been a spoiled child who was quick to throw a tantrum. Despite
that, even though she must have suffered far more than her mother, she was the one
worrying about others.
Myu smiled, and Remia hugged her daughter tight. She'd spent many sleepless nights
agonizing over what kind of horrors her daughter might be facing, but while Remia
had been fretting, Myu had grown stronger over the course of her journey.
Remia smiled, admiring her daughter's growth. Her tears dried up and the tension
drained from her shoulders.
The pair hugged each other again, but then Myu suddenly shrieked.
"Mommy, what happened to your legs!? Do they hurt!?" Myu had finally noticed the
wounds on Remia's legs. They'd been bound with bandages, and looked pretty bad.
Hajime remembered what Salze and the dagons who'd attacked him had said. Not only
had the slavers kidnapped Myu, they'd hurt Remia so badly that she couldn't even
walk.
No one had actually seen what had happened when Myu had gone missing, so at first
they couldn't be sure she had actually been kidnapped.
However, their suspicions turned to certainty after Remia had run into them.
She'd gone searching for her missing daughter, and ran into a group of shifty-looking
men trying to cover their tracks at the beach. She hadn't wanted to approach them,
but she needed all the information she could get, so she'd gone up to ask if they'd seen
her daughter, and they'd attacked her.
Realizing they must have been the group who'd taken Myu, she'd evaded the men's
attacks and tried to get her daughter back, but Remia had no combat skills to speak of.
She could only dodge for so long, and eventually one of the mages' fireballs had hit her
legs. The attack had sent her flying back into the ocean, and left her unconscious.
The other dagons had grown worried when she didn't come back and sent out a search
party. They'd found her floating in the sea and brought her back.
They'd managed to save her life, but the injuries had been grave, and she would likely
never be able to walk or swim properly again. Naturally, Remia had tried to continue
searching for her daughter anyway, but with her legs the way they were, she'd been
left with no choice but to leave the search to the other dagons and the kingdom.
Even now, Remia could barely stand.
She didn't want to worry her daughter anymore, so she smiled reassuringly and just
muttered that she was fine.
Still, now Myu had Hajime on her side, and he could do anything, so she turned to him
for help.
"Daddy! You have to help Mommy! Her legs are hurt!"
"Wha!? M-Myu? Did you just say…"
"Daddy, hurry!"
"Huh? Daddy? Myu, who's Daddy?" Remia stared at her daughter in confusion.
The other dagons all started whispering to each other, too.
"Did Remia… remarry? No way." "Remia-chan's finally found a new husband! How
wonderful!" "No way. Someone tell me this isn't real… My Remia-san…" "Daddy!? She
didn't mean me, right!?" "It's probably just a nickname or something. I'm sure
everyone calls him that." "Guys, we need to hold an emergency meeting! Gather all of
the members of the Remia and Myu protection committee!"
It seemed the two of them were quite popular within Erisen. Remia was still young,
being only in her mid-twenties. And though she'd grown gaunt in the months since
her daughter's absence, one could tell she'd originally been quite pretty. Once she
regained her health, she'd likely be turning heads in the street again.
Hajime grimaced. I really don't want to deal with those guys.
He was sure if he'd explained Myu had just started calling him that because she didn't
have a real father and that he wasn't interested in marrying Remia the other guys
would understand, but rumors often spread quickly.
Still, this was a stroke of good fortune. Hajime could leave Myu with her mother and
continue his journey without worry. Once they'd cleared the Sunken Ruins of
Melusine, he'd have to say his farewells. She'd initially clung so tightly to Hajime and
the others because there was no one else she could trust so far from home, but now
that she was back with her mother, she'd soon start forgetting about them. She'd
probably cry at first, but she'd get used to it in time. Especially since it seemed the
other townspeople cared a great deal for her.
"Daddy, hurry! You have to save Mommy!" Myu looked over at Hajime, and everyone's
gazes turned to him. Many of them only just noticed his presence. Hajime resigned
himself to dealing with this misunderstanding and walked over to her.
"Daddy, Mommy's…"
"It's alright, Myu. We'll heal her, so don't cry."
"Okay…"
Hajime patted Myu's head and turned to Remia. She stared blankly back at him.
The surrounding guys' whispers grew even more heated. For now, Hajime figured he
should focus on healing Remia. That'd be easier to do inside her house.
"Sorry about this."
"Huh? Wha!?"
Hajime effortlessly hoisted Remia into his arms and followed Myu into her house. He
could hear some of the guys screaming behind him, but he ignored them. Remia was
too flustered to say anything at all.
As they entered the living room Hajime spotted a sofa, so he put Remia down on it.
Then, he sat himself down next to her and called Kaori over.
"Kaori, how's it look?"
"Let me examine her. Remia-san, I'm going to need to touch your legs. If it hurts, please
say something."
"O-Okay? Umm, what's going on?"
Not only was there some guy Myu was suddenly calling daddy, he was surrounded by
a bunch of beautiful girls. Remia's confusion was certainly understandable.
Kaori finished her examination and told Hajime that while the injuries were serious,
they were within her capabilities to heal.
"But it'll take some time. A lot of fragile nerve endings were damaged, so I'll need a
few days to heal her completely. It might be a little inconvenient, Remia-san, but please
bear with it. I promise I can cure you."
"Oh my… I didn't think I would ever walk again… I don't know how to thank you…"
"Hehe, it's fine. We can't leave Myu-chan's mom like this."
"Oh, about that… What kind of relationship do you have with my daughter… Also,
umm… why is Myu calling you daddy?"
Hajime explained everything that had happened since Fuhren as Kaori began healing
Remia. Including the events at the slave auction that had led to Myu calling him daddy.
When he finished, Remia bowed her head and thanked Hajime over and over again,
tears in her eyes.
"I don't know how to thank you… It's all thanks to you that I was able to see my
daughter again. I swear I will repay the favor, even if it takes me my whole life. If there's
anything I can do for you, anything at all…"Hajime and the others told her not to worry
about it, but Remia insisted. She couldn't accept not doing anything for the people
who'd saved her daughter's life.
Eventually, Kaori's treatment reached a point where she could stop safely for the day.
Hajime and the others began discussing where they would stay for the night, and
Remia interjected that they were free to use her house.
"Please, at least let me do this for you. Fortunately, my house has plenty of space.
There's enough rooms for all of you. At least for as long as you're in Erisen, think of
my home as yours. Besides, I'm sure Myu would be happier that way, too. Isn't that
right, Myu? You want them to stay with us too, don't you?"
"Huh? Are you going somewhere, Daddy?" Myu, who'd been dozing in Remia's lap,
groggily got up and looked at Hajime in confusion. It appeared to her that the fact that
Hajime would stay here had already been a guarantee. In fact, she couldn't even
understand why her mother had bothered to ask.
"I was thinking it might be better to spend some time away now that she's back with
you…"
"Oh my… Don't you know a father should never leave his daughter?"
"Well, I mean, I told you before, we're…"
"I know you'll be leaving on your journey eventually, but that's precisely why I'd like
for you to act as her father for as long as you're here. Don't you think parting with her
after spending time apart would be even more sad?"
"Well, I guess you've got a point…"
"Ufufu… You're welcome to stay here as her father forever too, if you wish. I did say I
would do anything to repay you…" Remia blushed and put a hand to her cheek.
Normally, Hajime would have been reassured by seeing her smile, but he could feel
the room temperature dropping rapidly.
"Please don't joke around like that. A certain someone might kill me if you do…"
"Oh my, I see you're quite popular already. Still, it's been nearly five years since my
husband passed away… and Myu seems to be pining for a father."
"Huh? But Daddy's already my daddy."
"Ufufu… There you have it, Daddy."
If the room got any colder, Hajime would freeze to death. It felt like he'd just stepped
into the tundra.
Remia didn't seem to notice, or rather she didn't seem to care. She continued joking
with Hajime despite the cold glares Yue, Shea, Tio, and Kaori were giving her. Remia
weathered their ire with a smile. She was surprisingly strong-willed.
In the end, Hajime and the others decided to stay at Remia's house. She caused another
stir later by saying "Husband and wife are supposed to sleep in the same room, right?"
And Myu had only made things worse by following up with "Daddy and Mommy are
going to sleep together~" It was late by the time Remia and the girls finally stopped
feuding with each other.
They'd begin their hunt for Melusine tomorrow, so Hajime wanted to spend the night
repairing his damaged gear, creating new weapons, and testing out the new ancient
magic they'd acquired. However, he'd also wanted to make the most of his remaining
time with Myu, so he made sure to play with her a bunch. By the time he crawled into
bed, he was dead tired.
Five days had passed since Myu had reunited with her mother.
The dagon men had been extremely jealous at how close Remia and Hajime looked.
He'd had to fight a good number of them off, and deal with all of the neighborhood
ladies' gossip. Thanks to that, Yue and the others had come on to Hajime even more
aggressively, and he'd spent every night pinned to the bed by Yue. In the end, they
hadn't gotten any real exploration done the past few days, but now they were finally
ready to embark.
Even though this parting would only be for a short while, Myu was still sad to see
Hajime go. She clung to him for dear life, but Hajime eventually managed to pull her
off and head to his newly repaired submarine.
Myu waved and shouted goodbye as Hajime ducked through the entrance hatch.
"Goodbye, Dear!" Remia shouted. Hajime still couldn't tell if she was being serious or
not. If nothing else, it certainly looked like his wife and daughter had come out to see
him off at work.
He could feel Yue and the others' sharp glares behind him. Out in front, the dagons
were glaring jealously at him, too. Maybe I should just leave right after we clear the
ruins.
They traveled roughly three hundred kilometers northwest.
That was where the Sunken Ruins of Melusine were hidden, according to Miledi
Reisen.
However, they hadn't had time to get its precise location out of her before she'd flushed
them out. On top of that, she'd mentioned something about the moon, and needing
Gruen's crest.
For now, Hajime decided to find the ruins' location, and then go from there. They
arrived at the location Miledi had mentioned around noon, and began searching the
bottom of the ocean. Unfortunately, they found nothing of note. Since it was a sunken
ruin, Hajime had expected to find some trace of it on the floor, but there was nothing.
The only difference was the depth. The surrounding areas were around one hundred
kilometers deep, but the supposed location of the ruins was slightly shallower.
The party reluctantly cut their search short and decided to do as Miledi had said. They
patiently waited for the moon to come out.
At present, it was sunset. The sun had almost completely sunk beneath the horizon,
and was illuminating the sky with the last of its rays. Both the sea and the sky were
dyed a dazzling shade of vermillion. A single streak of light ran through the water,
connecting the horizon and the sun.
No matter the world, nature's beauty was unchanged. Hajime anchored the sub and
headed up to the deck. Maybe if I follow that ray of light all the way to the sun, it'll lead
me back to Japan… Hajime thought idly. Heh, how ridiculous. He smiled at his own
foolishness.
"What're you thinking about?" Kaori walked over to him.
She'd just gotten out of the shower he'd installed into the submarine, and her hair was
damp. Yue, Shea, and Tio followed behind her.
It seemed they'd all been taking a shower, as their skin was slightly flushed and their
hair damp. It was quite an alluring sight. The shower poured hot water directly from
the ceiling, so it was possible for them all to take one together. Guess they're all getting
along now.
The reason Hajime had come up to the deck in the first place was because he hadn't
wanted to get roped into joining them in their shower.
Tio had actually invited Hajime to take a shower with her earlier, which of course
meant Yue, Shea, and Kaori had all insisted they join in as well.
Hajime had made it clear that the only person he wanted to see naked was Yue.
However, Kaori and the others had completely ignored him. Tio and Kaori had pinned
Hajime down, while Shea attempted to knock him out with Drucken.
In the end, he'd fled up to the deck, fearing for his life. Though he was beginning to
wonder if he was a failure of a man for not accepting their advances. Hajime shook his
head, banishing such dangerous thoughts, and turned to Kaori.
"I was just thinking about Japan. We have the same kind of sunset back home."
"I see. Yeah, you're right. It's exactly like the sunsets we used to see in Japan… How
nostalgic. I can't believe it's only been half a year since we came here."
"It feels like the days here stretch on forever."
Kaori sat down next to Hajime and nodded, her eyes gazing off into the distance. She
was thinking back to their days in Japan.
Feeling lonely at being left out of the conversation, Yue tottered over to Hajime and sat
down on his lap. She leaned back and looked up at him.
Her eyes were begging to let her into the conversation. Yue was interested in hearing
more about Hajime's homeland. Though it was hard to resist Yue's cuteness, Hajime
could feel Kaori's devil stand rising up again. He leaned over to Kaori and pinched her
cheeks.
That seemed to be enough to improve her mood, though that wasn't what he was going
for. He couldn't understand why they were all so obsessed with him, especially since
he'd made his intentions clear. He didn't say anything, though. He felt it would be a
betrayal of their feelings to ask something so crass.
Shea came up to Hajime too, her eyes sparkling. She obviously wanted his attention as
well. He patted her bunny ears with his spare hand. She grinned and leaned closer.
Tio walked up and sat down, leaning against his back. She didn't ask for anything, just
quietly sat there. He could tell from her posture that she was completely relaxed,
though. He'd been expecting her to ask for something perverted, so he was surprised
when she didn't give him a reason to chuck her into the sea.
Though it seemed just sitting next to him was arousing enough, as her breathing grew
heavy before long. The five of them quietly sat there, enjoying the sunset. There was
still some time until the moon came out. Hajime decided to spend the time until then
telling everyone stories of his homeland.
Yue and the others listened with rapt attention, while Kaori chimed in with stories of
her own.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and the sun set before they knew it. The moon
appeared in the sky, shining brightly.
Hajime pulled Gruen's pendant out of his pocket and held it up. The design engraved
on it was that of a woman holding up a lantern, framed in a circle. The lantern had
been cut-out, leaving a hole in the center.
While in Erisen Hajime had tried pouring mana into the pendant or holding it up
against the moon, but nothing had happened.
He still couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do with this pendant, but he tried
holding it up to the moon again just in case. He angled it so the moon was visible
through the lantern-hole.
He kept it like that for a while, but nothing changed. Sighing, Hajime took the pendant
down and thought of other ways he could use it.
But just then, the pendant began to glow.
"Look, the lantern's shining. It's so pretty."
"You're right… How strange. There's a hole there, but it's glowing…"
Kaori and Shea examined the pendant with great interest. The lantern had seemingly
absorbed moonlight, and now glowed with a pale silvery light. It filled the hole,
spreading out like a wispy liquid. Yue and Tio leaned in as well, and Hajime held the
pendant up for them.
"It didn't do that last night…"
"Hmm, Master. I suspect it only activates in this location."
Tio's probably right.
Once the entire lantern was saturated, it shot a stream of light directly downward, to
the bottom of the ocean.
"That's an impressive trick. Better than Miledi's, at least."
"Totally. This is like something straight out of an RPG. It's pretty cool."
Hajime and Yue watched in awe as the moonlight quite literally showed them the way.
Shea, who'd been with them for the Reisen Gorge, seemed impressed as well.
There was no telling how long the light would last, so they decided to hurry. They
scrambled back into the submarine and followed the trail.
The sea was even darker at night. Practically no light made it down past the first few
kilometers. It quickly grew pitch black, and Hajime turned on the sub's headlights.
Those, and the light emanating from the pendant, were the only sources of light in the
sea.
The pendant's light easily pierced through the transparent crystal Hajime had used in
place of glass for the front windshield.
As they grew closer to the sea floor, Hajime realized the light was pointing to a rocky
section of the bottom. Countless massive boulders were next to each other, creating
an underwater mountain range of sorts. When they'd explored that section in the
afternoon, there had been nothing there. The light hit a specific part of a boulder, and
the entire formation began to shake with an ominous rumbling.
Part of the rock crumbled away, almost like a door. It revealed a passage leading
further inside. The passage was pitch-black, like the gateway to some hellish
underworld.
"I get it now. No wonder we couldn't find anything no matter how hard we looked. It
was all a waste of time."
"We had the time anyway, and it was fun."
"Yeah. Sightseeing at the bottom of the ocean in another world was a great experience."
Hajime slumped his shoulders dejectedly, but Yue and Kaori seemed to have enjoyed
the undersea adventure.
Hajime steered the submarine into the newly-revealed passage. The pendant still had
around half of its light left, but once they were in it suddenly stopped emitting any. All
that remained to illuminate the surroundings was Hajime's headlights.
"Hmmm… I've been thinking about this since I heard the ruins were underground, but
normal people would be unable to even reach the entrance."
"Yeah… You'd need a really strong barrier."
"On top of that, you'd need to create air, and light, and hold back the waves at the same
time."
"You can't even enter unless you've cleared the Grand Gruen Volcano, though. If you
can beat a labyrinth, you're already not someone normal."
"I guess the expectation is you'd use air magic to make it down here."
They discussed how they would have made it down here if Hajime hadn't built a
submarine as they continued down the passage. Considering you'd need a party of
extremely skilled mages just to make it to the entrance, I'm betting this labyrinth is
harder than the others.
Hajime and the others steeled their resolve and stared warily out of the windshield.
Just then—
"Uoooh!?"
"Hm!?"
"Wawah!"
"Kyaaa!"
"My word!?"