If you were to ask a resident of Hoelscher's capital to describe the city, they would all
give you the same answer: It's a mess.
The core of the capital had an organized layout with unadorned buildings lining the
streets at regular intervals. But as they city had grown, houses and buildings had
cropped up haphazardly, leaving the outer fringes a disorganized maze. Thanks to
that, the streets were a jumbled mess as well. Numerous back alleys and side streets
mixed together and connected with the main thoroughfares in baffling ways.
The entire city seemed like a sized-up version of Horaud, with the majority of
residents looking like rough adventurer-types. Open-air stalls littered the streets, with
their owners hawking their wares in loud, coarse voices.
Despite which, the city didn't seem in any way run-down or gloomy. If anything, there
was an overwhelming sense of freedom to the place. Anyone and everyone did what
they wanted however they wanted. Everyone was responsible for their own actions,
but otherwise did as they pleased. As if they held to freedom as a creed to live by.
The Hoelscher Empire was a relatively new nation, founded only a few hundred years
ago by the mercenary group that was instrumental to winning the last great war. Little
wonder that it was a nation of fighters that valued strength above all. Almost every
citizen knew how to fight, and considered their strength a point of pride. Some
thought of that as barbaric, but others saw it as heroic. The empire also held the
largest arena in the continent, and tournaments of all kinds were held multiple times
a year.
"Oi, what the hell—Gah!?"
As always, thanks to Yue and the others Hajime attracted a lot of attention within the
city. A number of hoodlums had already tried to pick fights with him, only to be
crushed each time. The guy who'd come up to Hajime just now had been sent spinning
through the air as well, before faceplanting onto the ground and getting a mouthful of
dirt. What was surprising about this city was that no one batted an eye at Hajime's
ostentatious displays of violence. Fights broke out every other hour here, so the
citizens were used to it.
"Ugh, I'd heard rumors but… the capital really isn't a nice place."
"Yeah, this place makes my skin crawl. I'm glad we were summoned in the kingdom."
"Well, Hoelscher is known as a militaristic nation. I'm not surprised even those not
part of the army are experienced fighters. It stands to reason the citizenry here to be
more belligerent than in other nations. Though I must say, this is not the kind of place
I would want to live in."
From the sound of it, Shea, Kaori, and Tio didn't like the capital one bit. Yue didn't say
anything, but she nodded in silent agreement. Kouki and Ryutarou, on the other hand,
didn't seem to mind the atmosphere. Shizuku, however, kept a close eye on her
surroundings while Suzu hid behind her. It appeared this country wasn't popular with
the girls.
That being said, Kouki and the others didn't exactly like it either. It was a bit too gritty
for them, especially since they'd come from a peaceful country like Japan.
The biggest difference between the empire and the capital, though, was the presence
of slaves. Shea watched with a pained expression as a group of them walked past.
"Just ignore them, Shea. We've got more important things to worry about right now."
"Yeah, I know…"
But Shea couldn't help but stare. She couldn't stand seeing her brethren locked up in
cages or being brought out to be bought and sold. Because of Hoelscher's lax policies,
the slave trade had flourished. Even beastmen children were captured and sold. Even
if she wanted to avert her eyes from it, Shea couldn't. Everywhere they went they saw
slave markets or groups of slaves being taken away.
"Shea, are you okay?" Yue asked worriedly and squeezed Shea's hand. Hajime walked
over and pinched her cheeks as well. Seeing their concern for her heartened Shea, and
bunny ears flopped around happily.
"I won't forgive them. How could fellow humans do something… so vile." Behind
Hajime, Kouki came to a halt and grit his teeth. In Heiligh, the church's influence was
everywhere, which meant the people's prejudice against beastmen was strong.
However, because their hatred for beastmen was so great, they couldn't even stomach
keeping them as slaves. Hence why Kouki and the others hadn't seen any in the
kingdom, and why seeing them here affected them so badly.
Still, there's nothing we can do about it right now… I swear if Amanogawa tries to pull
something I'm just going to pretend I don't know him. Well, as long as Shizuku the
Rational's with them, she won't let them do anything stupid. She won't… right?
Hajime glanced over at Shizuku. Noticing his gaze, she looked back at him. He
surreptitiously pointed to Kouki. Sharp as always, Shizuku picked up on what Hajime
was trying to say with just that. She grimaced, and with a tired sigh, nodded. Shizuku
sidled up to Kouki and whispered something to him. Kouki's expression turned sour,
but he reluctantly nodded. Shizuku breathed another sigh, this time one of relief, and
patted her chest. She then noticed Hajime smiling wryly at her, and glared at him.
Hajime pretended not to notice and averted his gaze.
In an attempt to patch up the strained atmosphere, Kaori blurted out, "Oh yeah, didn't
the emperor propose to you when he visited the kingdom, Shizuku-chan?"
"…Now that you mention it, I do remember something like that happening," Shizuku
replied with a frown. She hadn't wanted to be reminded of that memory. The target of
her glare changed from Hajime to Kaori. Why did you have to go and bring that up?
Kaori hurriedly bowed her head in a silent apology.
The girls all turned to Shizuku with devilish grins on their faces. Meanwhile, Kouki's
expression grew more sour. For once, Shizuku looked as unhappy as he did. Normally,
being proposed to by royalty would be something to celebrate, but Shizuku didn't
seem the least bit delighted about recalling that particular memory. It appeared she
wasn't a fan of Emperor Gahard.
"More importantly, Nagumo-kun. Where exactly are we headed?" In order to fend off
the army of girls who no doubt wanted to pry for details, Shizuku changed the subject.
She knew they were here to find Shea's father, but she hadn't heard how Hajime
planned to do that.
"Well for now, we're going to the adventurer's guild. If I flash my gold rank at them,
they'll probably be willing to share all of their info with me."
"Do you think they've been captured?"
"I'm not sure. It's possible they got thrown in jail, or made into slaves… but they might
also just be in hiding somewhere. Even if the capital isn't on high alert, you can tell the
guards are being oddly vigilant. It's possible they were able to sneak their way in, but
now have no way to get out…"
As Hajime had mentioned, the capital's guards appeared to be patrolling the streets in
force. On top of that, they were doing thorough examinations of everyone who entered
the city, and had posted entire squads to watch the walls. Patrols within the city were
being done by three-man teams, and they were checking every nook and cranny of the
city, including back alleys.
Hajime guessed the increased security was due to the recent demon invasions. It was
because security had been so tight that Par and the others had yet to find an
infiltration point. No rabbitman who wasn't a slave would be allowed entry into the
city, and there was a limit to how many pretend slaves Hajime could bring with him.
For that reason, the reinforcements Hajime had brought with him were waiting in the
shadows of a rocky outcropping at the outskirts of the city.
To be honest, I'm kind of wondering how Cam managed to get in here himself. Though
Hajime had said he wasn't sure what had happened to them, it was more likely than
not that they had been taken. Rabbitmen possessed the best stealth skills among the
beastmen, and Cam's family had honed those talents to the limit. No matter how tight
security was, they should have been able to ferry messages in and out of the city. The
fact that they hadn't meant they'd probably been captured, or otherwise
incapacitated.
Naturally, Hajime didn't expect the adventurer's guild to just tell him where Cam was.
But there was a good chance he might find some rumors on their whereabouts, or the
circumstances of their capture there.
Hajime stretched out his hand and pinched Shea's cheeks again. Though her mood had
improved considerably, Shea still looked a little worried.
"Don't worry, Shea. Even if they got caught, there's no way the empire would just
execute such rare rabbitmen. They'd probably want to interrogate them first, at least.
And if they've been caught, that means all we've gotta do is free 'em again. I promise
you, even if I have to burn this entire city to ash, I'll get them out of here."
"Yeah… Leave it to us, Shea. We'll grind them to dust."
"Hajime-san, Yue-san…"
Through the course of their journey, Shea's, Hajime's, and Yue's bonds had grown very
strong indeed. After all, Shea had been with the pair of them the longest.
"Wait, wait, wait, you're not really going to burn the city down, are you? Your
expressions look serious, but that was totally a joke right? Right? Please say it was a
joke!" Shizuku cried, pale-faced. She could appreciate the loyalty the three of them
showed for each other, but that didn't mean she could just ignore their declaration to
slaughter thousands.
Kaori placed a hand on Shizuku's shoulder and shook her head. In a mournful voice,
she uttered something rather depressing.
"Shizuku-chan, I'm sorry, but it looks like the capital's done for…"
"You're just giving up!? Kaori, you're a healer! You can't just ignore the plight of the
people! You healed all those people back at Verbergen, right!? Why're you giving up
now!?"
Do you really hate the empire that much, Kaori… Shizuku had thought that Kaori's
violent tendencies only appeared when Hajime was concerned, but it appeared that
wasn't the case. Before she worries about healing others, she should focus on healing her
own heart.
As the group continued joking with each other and walking down the main street, they
noticed their surroundings begin to change.
Many of the buildings they were passing by now had been reduced to cinders, and
rubble littered the streets. According to the snippets of conversation they heard from
passerby, it appeared the monsters that had been kept locked up in the coliseum had
suddenly transformed into powerful, vicious, beasts and rampaged through the city.
These monsters, some of which had been over thirty meters tall, had destroyed entire
sections of the capital, and slaughtered the squads sent out to eliminate them.
The demons had taken advantage of the confusion to assault the castle in an attempt
to take Emperor Gahard's life. In Hoelscher, the emperor was effectively the strongest
person in the country. Which was why the demons' assassination attempt had actually
been thwarted, and they'd had the tables turned on them. After which the emperor
had personally led a charge into the city and annihilated the monsters as well.
However, there had been a great deal of civilian casualties before Gahard had been
able to kill them all. In order to repair the damage to the city, the empire had captured
a massive quantity of beastmen slaves. Everywhere Hajime looked, they were slaving
away, laying the groundwork for the city's restoration.
It appeared the adventurer's guild was on the other side of the devastation, so they
would have to cross it whether they wished to or not. Which meant they'd have to pass
through the field of slaves as well.
Beastmen toiled without rest while their imperial overseers hurled curses at them. It
was a tragic sight to behold. They'd been forced to bear the brunt of the consequences
of the damage done to the capital. No matter how physically strong beastmen might
be, even they wouldn't last long under such harsh conditions.
The fact that they continued to raid the sea of trees to replace all the beastmen who
died to overwork rather than let them rest made it clear that the empire didn't even
think of them as human. Though it was hard to tell if that was because of religious
prejudice, or because of their ingrained doctrine of "survival of the fittest." As they
walked, Hajime and the others saw a young dogman, barely ten years old, trip over a
brick, sending the wheelbarrow of rubble he was holding falling to the side and
spilling its contents everywhere.
It seemed he'd injured his leg in the fall, as he curled up in pain and made no motion
to get up. The nearest overseer glared angrily at him and walked over, his club raised.
His intentions were clear. Naturally, everyone's favorite ally of justice couldn't let this
stand.
"Stop right—" Kouki dashed off toward the soldier. But he slowed to a halt as he
watched what happened next. There was a faint whoosh, and a second later the
imperial soldier pitched forward, falling headfirst into the pile of rubble. There was
painful thud, after which he lay motionless on the ground. He'd been knocked
unconscious.
His fellow soldiers hurried over to him. After a cursory examination, they shook their
heads in confusion. Then, annoyed and trying to get as little of his blood on them as
possible, they grabbed their comrade by the arms and carried him off. Everyone had
forgotten about the dogman.
He watched them go, dumbfounded, for a few seconds before returning to his senses
and scrambling to his feet. He quickly gathered up all of the rubble he'd spilled and
resumed transporting it like nothing had happened.
Kouki stared blankly, just as surprised as the boy had been. He came to with a start
when Hajime called out to him from behind.
"I don't really care if you want to stick your neck out for other people, but could you
at least do it in a way that doesn't cause trouble for us? Or even better, do it in a way
that doesn't get noticed."
"Ah… Did you do that, Nagumo?"
Hajime nodded silently. He'd used his prosthetic arm's needle gun to knock the soldier
out. Though Hajime had managed to save the boy before Kouki could even lift a finger,
his attitude irked Kouki. Worse, Hajime had flipped Kouki's preachy switch.
"What do you mean, don't cause trouble for you? What's so wrong about wanting to
save people, huh? Didn't you save that kid just now yourself?"
"More like I just solved an issue before you could blow it up. If you pick a fight with
the imperials here, you're going to have to deal with their whole army. We're trying to
look for people here, and making a huge fuss is not going to help with that. I'm begging
you, just don't make a scene." Once again, Hajime emphasized that he didn't want
anyone making a ruckus. He waved dismissively at Kouki, indicating the conversation
was over. Kouki didn't take too kindly to that, and once again attempted to impress his
ideals onto Hajime.
"Don't you feel anything for those poor beastmen being abused over there!? Look!
Even now they're suffering!"
"Oi, Yaegashi. Do something about this moron. You're supposed to be in charge of him,
aren't you?"
Of course, Hajime wasn't completely heartless. He'd saved Myu before, and if he saw
children suffering, he did feel like he should help them if he could. Adults he could care
less about, though.
However, he also had the discipline to properly prioritize things. Helping a few slaves
here would make finding Cam harder, or possibly result in him being killed, so he
turned to Shizuku for help in handling Kouki. Shizuku rubbed her temples in
frustration and turned to Kouki. Before she could say anything though, he interrupted
her. It seemed Hajime turning to Shizuku for help irritated him as well.
"Shizuku's got nothing to do with this! I'm talking to you right now, Nagumo! If you
care so much about Shea-san, then how come you can't share even a little of that
concern for those beastmen suffering out there!?" Heads turned at Kouki's loud
outburst. Some of the imperial overseers came over to see what was going on as well.
So long as Cam might potentially be in enemy hands, the last thing Hajime wanted was
a fight with the empire. It would put their lives at risk.
Hajime narrowed his eyes and glared at Kouki. A powerful wave of Intimidation
washed over him.
"Amanogawa. I said it before, but I really don't care about your opinion, and I don't feel
like arguing with you about what's right and wrong. We're not comrades, we're not
friends, and we definitely don't believe in the same things, so I have absolutely no
intention of doing something just because you say so. All I did was allow you to
accompany me for a bit. I suggest you quit trying to pick a fight. The next time you do
something stupid… I'll break your arms and legs and send you back to the kingdom."
"Wha—"
Hajime canceled his Intimidation and continued with a sigh.
"On the other hand, I have no intention of convincing you to change your ways. As long
as you're not causing any trouble for us, you're free to do as you like. But I won't allow
you to do anything that might put Cam and the others in danger. Also, don't ask stupid
questions. There's no way I'd see other beastmen the same way I see Shea."
Hajime shook his head and turned away. Slavery was a natural part of life in this world.
While it was true the beastmen here were being horribly mistreated, the citizens here
would see Hajime and the others as the bad guys if they tried to save them. To them,
freeing a slave was akin to stealing.
If one wanted to help slaves in these circumstances, they needed to be prepared to see
it all the way through. They needed the resolve to fight the entire empire, and force a
society to never use slaves again. Unless they were able to manage that, their efforts
would only make things worse. Even if they managed to free some slaves now, the
empire would just come down even harder on the beastmen afterward, and make their
lives more of a hell than they already were.
Hajime had no idea if Kouki understood that or not, but it seemed he was unwilling to
give up. Even now, he continued to glare daggers at Hajime's back.
"I know it sucks, Kouki. But we gotta go, for now at least."
"Right now we need to focus on Shea-san's family."
Kouki sighed. He knew Ryutarou and Suzu were just trying to comfort him, and it only
made him feel worse. Seeing as he wasn't moving, Shizuku also called out to him.
"Kouki."
"…I know."
He nodded reluctantly. Hajime was more than capable of sending them all back home
with a snap of his fingers. Kouki knew that he needed to get stronger. Strong enough
to stand by his ideals. Stronger even than Hajime.
But in order to that, in order to obtain the ancient magic, he needed Hajime. No matter
how much Hajime's methods sickened him, Kouki had no choice but to grin and bear
it. As sticking with Hajime was the fastest way to get stronger.
Kouki swallowed down his complaints, repeated to himself to hold it in, and silently
followed after Hajime.
"That boy seems to be struggling to sort out his emotions."
Tio strode up beside Shizuku and flashed her a smile.
"…No one's ever as simple as they look."
"Indeed they're not. Someone like you, who notices more than most has your fair share
of hardships too, I imagine. Especially as you seem unable to abandon anyone who
needs help."
Shizuku gulped when she saw Tio's serious gaze. Her usual perverted personality was
nowhere to be seen.
"Feel free to ignore the prattling of this old woman if you wish, but… I think you should
let yourself loosen up. If you spend all your time looking after others, you'll lose sight
of your own desires. Besides, do you see that? You'll keep worrying those who care
about you if you don't relax sometimes."
"Huh?"
Shizuku followed Tio's gaze.
"Shizuku-chan, are you alright? You keep making this scary face."
Kaori was standing right in front of her, a worried look on her face. Only when she
looked down did Shizuku notice that Kaori was holding her hands.
"Heh, thanks for worrying about me, Kaori. But I'm alright. Well, I am a little worried
about Kouki. But now that my best friend's got the body of a God's Apostle, I can count
on you if anything happens, right?"
"Yep, just leave it to me, Shizuku-chan!"
Thanks to Tio's words and Kaori's presence, Shizuku was able to let go of the tension
that had been building up inside her. She followed after Hajime, her steps lighter than
before.
With Kouki and the others still struggling with their thoughts, the party arrived at the
adventurer's guild. The empire's guild branch was more of a bar than a proper guild.
Tables were strewn about haphazardly among the wide main hall, and there were two
counters at the front. The first was a standard reception counter, though the girl
manning it had a far more wild look to her than the girls who'd been at other guilds
Hajime had seen. The other counter was a fully stocked bar. Though it was still noon,
half of the patrons were already drunk. If you've got that much free time, why don't you
help out with the reconstruction effort? Hajime thought to himself.
As always, when Hajime and the others stepped through the front doors, everyone
turned to look at them. More specifically, everyone turned to ogle Yue and the others.
Hajime didn't want to deal with this right now, so he activated his Intimidation right
from the start and walked up to the reception counter. However, the adventurers in
the empire were cut from a different cloth than those in Horaud or the capital. Instead
of fainting, they instantly went on their guard. The lady at the counter had none of the
cute cheerfulness the other guild receptionists had. She just stared lazily at Hajime,
her gaze clearly saying "get on with it."
"I'm looking for information. Did any beastmen go on a rampage in this town
recently?"
The receptionist stared suspiciously at him. Hajime knew it was a strange question to
ask. If he'd wanted to find slaves, he would have been better served going to the
merchant's guild. Besides, no slave would be able to go on a rampage. Their slave
collars would put a stop to any resistance they might attempt. Furthermore, there
were no beastmen in the city that weren't slaves. Which meant the thing Hajime was
asking about should have been an impossible occurrence.
In the end, the receptionist pointed to the bar counter on the other side. Hajime
couldn't tell if she was tired of dealing with him, or if that was just standard procedure
here.
"Go ask the guy over there." Hajime looked where she was pointing and saw an old
man with gray hair quietly polishing glasses. Well, I guess it is the standard in RPGs to
gather information at bars. After foisting the work off onto her coworker, the
receptionist turned away, signaling that she was done talking. Hajime smiled wryly
and headed over to the bar.
The adventurers stared intently at Hajime and the others, sizing them up.
Quarrelsome as always, Ryutarou responded by glaring back at every one of them. On
the other hand, Suzu hid behind Shizuku and clutched at her sleeves. It was actually
rather cute.
Hajime stopped in front of the barkeep and asked him the same question he'd asked
the receptionist. However, the barkeep ignored him and continued polishing his wine
glass. Hajime narrowed his eyes dangerously, which finally got the man to respond.
"This is a bar. Kids don't belong here. And unless you're here to order alcohol, I've got
nothing to say. Now get out."
Sheesh, that's as clichéd as it gets. But Hajime personally liked this particular cliche .
The barkeep had the entire act down, including continuing to polish his glass long
after it was sparkling. I bet this means he'll take a liking to me if I down a whole bottle
in front of him. Excited at the prospect of acting out the role of an RPG protagonist,
Hajime plastered on a stoic frown and slammed some coins on the table.
Hajime didn't notice how badly his chuuni tendencies were leaking out at that
moment. Nor did he notice the exasperated look Yue gave him. After all, Hajime loved
cliche d stuff like this.
"Alright, we'll do it your way. Barkeep, give me a bottle of the strongest stuff you've
got."
"If you throw up, I'll toss your sorry hide out of here."
The barkeep's eyebrows twitched in surprise, but he didn't refuse Hajime's request.
He grabbed a bottle off the shelf behind it and placed it in front of Hajime. The reason
why he'd agreed was because the aura of Intimidation Hajime was giving off, coupled
with the wary stares of the surrounding adventurers, had clued the barkeep in on the
fact that Hajime was no ordinary kid.
Hajime brushed the bottle with his fingers, slicing the top off. The grace with which he
did so caused everyone watching to gasp. Even the barkeep was surprised.
The pungent smell of alcohol wafted up from the open bottle, and both Kaori and Shea
wrinkled their noses. Kouki and the others covered their mouths and took a few steps
back.
"N-Nagumo-kun? Are you really planning on drinking that? I wouldn't recommend it."
"Y-Yeah. You're totally going to throw up. I feel like throwing up just smelling it."
"If you're going to drink Hajime-kun, can't you at least pick something that tastes
better?"
"Kaori-san's right, Hajime-san. Why did you have to pick the worst-smelling one there
is…"
Shizuku, Suzu, Kaori, and Shea all tried to talk him out of it. Even Yue tugged gently on
Hajime's sleeve when she got a whiff of how bad it smelled.
"I can hardly ask for quality alcohol if I'm planning on chugging it down. That's like
blasphemy." Hajime snuck a glance at the barkeep as he said that.
As he'd hoped, the old man was smiling slightly. I knew he'd understand! This barkeep
is clichéd through and through! Hajime ignored the complaints of the girls and began
guzzling down the foul-smelling concoction. Hajime and the barkeep were in perfect
sync.
You watching this, barkeep? I'm sticking to the cliché, so you better like me after this.
Hajime's chuuni soul manifested in the form of a mini-Hajime inside his mind. Said
mini-Hajime started clutching his left arm like he was trying to hold in some
unspeakable evil.
Hajime's gulping was the only noise inside the vast guild hall. In the span of a few
seconds, he'd emptied the entire thing. He slammed the empty bottle back down on
the counter, and grinned at the barkeep. "Happy now?"
"Alright, alright. You're a proper customer now."
The barkeep raised both hands in surrender, but his smile grew wider. What a
wonderful, bitter old man.
"Hajime. Are you satisfied?"
"Yeah."
Hajime turned to Yue and nodded, the same giddy grin still on his face. He knew it was
cliche d, but being able to act out a scene like this had been one of his dreams.
As an aside, no matter how much Hajime drank, he would never get drunk. One of his
skills was Poison Resistance, which counteracted alcohol's effects. Back in Japan, his
father had taught him how wonderful liquor could taste, and he'd actually become a
fan of drinking. So it was a little disappointing that he'd never be able to experience
drunkenness again.
"So, do you know anything about what I asked? I'm willing to pay for the info, of
course."
"Don't worry about payment. Downing that bottle was payment enough for me. Would
the beastmen you're referring to happen to be rabbitmen?"
"…Looks like you know something after all. Tell me the details."
It appeared coming here had been the right choice. According to the barkeep, there
had been a big manhunt to capture runaway slaves a few days ago. During that
manhunt, a group of insane rabbitmen had beaten down squad after squad of imperial
soldiers, then tried to make their escape. Unfortunately, there had only been a few
dozen of them, and a few hundred imperial soldiers. Eventually they'd been
surrounded and overwhelmed through sheer force of numbers. All of them had been
captured and sent to the castle.
Their rampage had actually become the talk of the town, so Hajime could have asked
basically anyone in the city and obtained the same information.
"The castle, huh…?" Hajime turned to Shea. As expected, her expression was dark. She
knew what fate awaited those who were caught trespassing in the capital. Cam and
the others didn't have a bright future ahead of them.
The fact that they'd been taken alive meant there was still hope though.
Male rabbitmen weren't as popular as sex slaves for obvious reasons, though there
were a few nobles whose interests lay in that direction. However, there was almost no
demand for older men like Cam, who were already in their forties. However, these
particular rabbitmen had attacked the empire. Shea had expected them to be executed
on the spot once they'd been captured. That would have been the normal punishment.
If the empire hadn't done so, it was because they saw some value in taking Cam and
the others alive. Which meant chances were, they were still alive even now. Hajime
squeezed Shea's hand under the counter in an attempt to reassure her. Yue, too,
grabbed her other hand and squeezed gently. Encouraged by their support, Shea
turned to them and nodded resolutely.
The barkeep turned to Shea and examined her with great interest. There weren't many
rabbitmen with blue hair like her. He could more or less guess her relationship with
the rabbitmen the empire had captured earlier. Hajime knew the barkeep had caught
on, but he didn't stop his questions.
"Barkeep. What can you tell me about the imperial castle? I'll pay whatever you want."
"That's not the kind of thing you should be joking about, kid… Though I guess you're
not joking…"
Hajime smiled at the barkeep, but this time the smile didn't reach his eyes. He'd had
his fun earlier, now it was time to get serious. The barkeep faltered, cold sweat pouring
down his forehead. He felt as if he was being stared down by a hungry predator.
If he wasn't careful about his answer, he would be branded a traitor to the empire. The
adventurer's guild might have been an independent organization beholden to no
nation, so technically the barkeep couldn't actually betray the empire. But the empire
was his home, and more importantly, if word of this got out to the emperor, they
wouldn't let him off lightly.
It was an implicit rule among adventurers to turn a blind eye to any potentially
unsavory things one of their own were planning. But this still wasn't information the
barkeep wanted to part with.
That being said, he could tell from the pressure this young man was emitting that
refusing to answer would not end well for him. So, as a compromise, instead of
explaining things himself he reluctantly decided to sell out—err, tell—Hajime about
someone who could help him.
"Look for a man in the fourth patrol squad called Nedil. He used to be a prison guard
in the palace."
"Nedil… Alright, I'll go find him. Thanks, you were a huge help."
Hajime knew the barkeep would have reservations about answering, and it was
entirely possible he just didn't know anything. So he was glad the barkeep had pointed
him to someone who did.
The barkeep breathed a sigh of relief as Hajime strode out of the building under the
watchful eyes of every adventurer in the room. As they walked down the main street,
Shea turned to Hajime and asked, "Umm, Hajime-san. Did you ask about the castle
because…"
"Yeah. I'm planning on figuring out where the prison is, and sneaking in tonight. Yue
and I will handle the information gathering, so the rest of you just find a place to eat
or something. We'll be back in a few hours."
Shea and the others looked at him in confusion.
"Hm? Why just you two? Shouldn't we all go together… Wait! Don't tell me you plan on
sneaking off with Yue-san so you can do naughty things like you always do!"
"Wha!? Is that why, Hajime-kun!? No, I won't allow it! How could you think of such a
thing when Shea's family is in trouble!?"
"It's simply unfair that only Yue gets to partake. Master, allow me to join in as well."
"Like hell that's why! And stop shouting that kind of stuff in the middle of the street.
Do you all take me for some kind of repressed horndog or something!?" Hajime
retorted hotly. The scene was made even more misleading by Tio caressing her butt
and squirming suggestively. Just then, someone tugged on his sleeve. Hajime turned
to see Yue blushing and looking up at him.
"We're going to do it outside?"
"No we're not."
"Then are we finding somewhere inside to do it?"
"No, we're just not doing it, so drop the subject already."
"Hmph, fine. I'll just have to prepare for a night raid then."
"By night raid, you mean our plan to infiltrate the castle, right? Right?"
Yue's jokes were always like this. At least, Hajime hoped this was a joke. Surely Yue
licking her lips seductively and looking at Hajime like he was a piece of prime steak
were all part of the act.
Shizuku and the others, who weren't used to these exchanges, looked on in shock.
"Sh-Shizushizu, what do I do!? I just heard something crazy right now! I can't even
process it!"
"I suspected that was how their relationship was… But to think Kaori hasn't done it
yet. How should I handle this? Should I cheer her on as her best friend, or tell her she's
too young for this sort of thing? I'm not sure… This is beyond my abilities to handle!"
Despite her perverted attitude, Suzu was surprisingly pure. She blushed bright red
and hid behind Shizuku. Meanwhile, Shizuku herself was fretting over Kaori like a
mother worried about her daughter. On the guys' side, Ryutarou was glaring at Hajime
while cursing him under his breath. Kouki had taken such a huge shock that he was
staring lifelessly out in the distance. Finally, nondescript citizens A, B, C, etc. all the
way up to Z stood rooted to the ground, captivated by Yue's seductive smile.
What kind of crazy fetishes does she have!? Blood pounding, Hajime tried to resolve the
misunderstanding as calmly as possible.
"You guys, cut it out. I'm taking Yue because if this Nedil guy doesn't want to talk, we're
going to need some 'persuasion' to convince him he should. And she's the best at that.
Plus she can use restoration magic."
"I can use restoration magic too, so…"
Hajime cut her off by shaking his head. If Nedil was part of the army, there was no way
he'd be willing to talk. So they'd have to torture the answers out of him.
Kaori may have been more than skilled enough with restoration magic, but she was
wholly unsuited to torture. Shizuku realized that as well, and tried to placate her best
friend.
"Kaori, leave this one to Yue."
"Shizuku-chan…"
Kaori had more or less figured out what Hajime had in mind as well. And normally, she
would have argued back. She was tired of letting Yue carry the burden of doing all the
dirty work. After all, Kaori's aptitude for restoration magic was even higher than Yue's.
It wasn't so much that she wanted to insist on going with Hajime everywhere, that she
just didn't want Yue to have to shoulder everything.
But right now, Shea's family was in danger, and every second counted. They didn't have
time to waste while Kaori argued her point. So Kaori gave Yue an apologetic look and
obediently backed off. Yue shrugged her shoulders, indicating that there was nothing
to be concerned about.
Once everything was decided, Yue and Hajime strode off into the crowd. Before they
vanished from sight, Shea called out to them.
"Hajime-san, Yue-san! Umm…" She faltered, unable to find the right words to say.
Hajime smiled gently at her. He knew he'd told her not to hold herself back around
him, but that didn't change the fact that she'd gotten them wrapped up in this mess
just before they'd headed off to another labyrinth.
In the end, she couldn't figure out how to express what she was trying to say, and
returned Hajime's smile.
"Try to keep it in your pants, okay!"
"You ruined the moment, you worthless rabbit!"
Hajime yelled back and pulled Yue—who was giving Shea a thumbs-up—along with
him. Before long, he'd vanished into the crowd.
A few hours later, Hajime and the others sat around a table in a restaurant in some
corner of the city. The atmosphere around the table was chilly, and the source of the
discord was of course, Hajime. Ever since Hajime and Yue had returned from their
intelligence-gathering, the girls had been giving him cold stares. If looks could kill,
Shea's and Kaori's glares would have ended Hajime's life a thousand times over. In fact,
even he was a little scared of them right now. Especially since he could see the demon
stand forming behind Kaori.
"It looks like the two of you had a lot of fun."
"Is it just me, or is your skin glossy now, Yue? I wonder why that might be. Hey, would
you mind telling me how you got it like that? Well?" Their monotone voices were so
terrifying all the nearby guests had left. Ryutarou and Kouki had attempted to make
their escape as well, but Suzu had caught them with a barrier. Both of them were now
sitting meekly in their chairs as they watched events unfold.
Tio had just sighed wearily when she'd seen the two of them, but surprisingly even
Shizuku was glaring daggers at Hajime. He could understand why Ryutarou and Kouki
had wanted to flee. When they'd returned from their excursion, Yue's skin had looked
glossier than before, while Hajime appeared rather haggard.
In other words, it was obvious that they'd gotten it on while they'd been out collecting
information.
"Don't misunderstand. The reason Yue looks like that is because she drank my blood."
"What?"
Seeing as they all seemed to be misunderstanding, Hajime sighed and began to
explain. Shea and Kaori looked at Hajime with shocked expressions. They hadn't been
expecting that.
"You didn't really think I'd go on a fucking spree now of all times, did you? I'm not a
dog in heat, you know. Do you guys really think that little of me, huh?"
"Ahahahaha, of course not. We knew that. R-Right, Kaori-san?"
"Y-Yeah! Of course we did, Shea. Restoration magic takes up a lot of mana, so of course
I knew something like that might happen."
Unable to bear Hajime's angry stare, the two of them averted their gaze and tried to
play innocent. Satisfied, Hajime turned to Shizuku and Suzu. They blushed furiously
and turned away. It seems they too had gotten the wrong idea.
"Haaah… Well, whatever. I got the information I was looking for. We're going to
infiltrate the prison Cam's in tonight. Apparently they're under pretty tight watch, but
that shouldn't be a problem for us. The only people going into the castle are going to
be me, Yue, and Shea. It'll be best to have only people who can mask their presence or
use teleportation magic in case anything goes wrong. Kaori, I want you and the others
to wait outside the capital with Par and the others. Once we get Cam's group out, we'll
be teleporting them directly to you."
"That's not a bad plan, but… Are you sure your information's accurate? What if that
Nedil guy was lying to you?"
Shizuku voiced a rather reasonable concern. However, Hajime just shook his head.
"Not possible. We crushed his balls in front of his eyes, restored them before he lost
consciousness, then did it again over and over until he finally talked. No guy could
withstand that kind of torture. Even I felt kinda bad for him after we were done. Poor
guy was a mess."
If you felt bad about it, why'd you do it!? Kouki and the others thought. They would
have said it aloud, but they could tell from Hajime's plastered on mournful expression
that anything they said would be ignored. So they just sighed instead. Shizuku
mentally patted herself on the back for not letting Kaori go this time.
What truly scared Kouki and Ryutarou was how Yue didn't seem to think anything at
all of destroying a man's balls over and over. It seemed the rumors they'd heard in the
capital, that she was the legendary "Ball Crusher" were true after all. They swore in
their hearts never to cross her. At the same time, they covertly covered their nether
regions.
"Hey Nagumo… I know it's a bit late to be asking this now, but if the emperor's got
Shea-san's family captive, can't we just ask him to let them go? Lily should be in the
castle right now, and I am technically a hero, so… I'm sure we could persuade them if
we just talk it out…"It was more than just "a bit late." But he did have a point. Not even
the emperor could flat-out refuse a request from the hero, especially if Liliana gave
her support to his cause. Hajime could show off his overwhelming strength to force
the emperor to negotiate too.
However, there was one flaw.
"And how are you planning on compensating him for letting them go?"
"What?"
"Not only did Cam's guys infiltrate the city, they killed the empire's soldiers. And the
fact that rabbitmen like them could fight on even footing with the empire at all is an
anomaly. We can't pretend to be acting under god's orders, either. The princess would
have told the emperor the truth about that by now. You really think he'll release them
for free just because we asked?"
"Well…"
"It's obvious he'll ask for something in return. Way more than we want to pay too. The
empire's gotta save face somehow if it releases Cam. There's no way they'll just let him
walk out of here without getting their money's worth. Plus, it might make it harder for
the princess to negotiate for aid. You sure you still wanna just go in and ask?"
Kouki fell silent. Hajime did have a point. Naturally, Hajime didn't care how it might
affect Liliana's negotiations, and honestly if the emperor had asked him for
reparations he'd let him eat a faceful of missiles. The only reason he'd opted for
breaking Cam and the others out of prison instead of attempting negotiations was
because doing things this way was less of a hassle. After all, if it was likely to devolve
into a fight anyway, might as well go in guns blazing.
"Leaving the money aside for now, you're right that causing trouble for Lily… wouldn't
be good. But, still…"
Kouki felt that since he was part of this party for now, he had to contribute somehow.
After the incident with the slave boy, he'd been itching to prove he could be useful too.
Sensing that Kouki was about to cook up another troublesome idea, Hajime turned
back to Shizuku. She noticed his gaze and shook her head. It seemed it was too late for
her to stop his rampage.
Worried that Kouki might do something colossally stupid to "help" Hajime during his
infiltration, he quickly devised a way to redirect Kouki's energies.
"Hey, Amanogawa. There's something I need you to help me with…"
"Wha!? Did… you just… say you need help? No way…"
Hearing the word "help" come from Hajime's mouth had shocked Kouki speechless.
Ryutarou and Suzu were both stunned as well. They couldn't have been more
surprised if they saw a UFO in the middle of town. That was just how rare Hajime
asking for help was to them.
Hajime had expected that reaction, so while it irked him a little he was able to keep his
emotions off his face.
"You know what, on second thought, forget it. I shouldn't ask you to take on such a
dangerous job. Forget I asked."
"W-Wait! Please! At least tell me what it is!"
Kouki fell for Hajime's act hook, line, and sinker. "Well, the castle's supposedly under
extremely heavy guard. That's going to make sneaking in difficult. In order to increase
our chances of success, we're going to need a diversion. Something like that stunt you
pulled before when you tried to save that slave kid. We need someone to start a
commotion to draw away the guards. But now that I think about it, it really is too
dangerous. Don't worry about it."
Of course, Hajime and the others would have no problems sneaking in no matter how
tight the watch was. A diversion certainly might help, but it was by no means
necessary. This was just the most believable excuse Hajime could come up with to
make Kouki feel like he was helping. If Kouki was going to go on a rampage either way,
Hajime would at least like to control the way in which he did. Whatever it took for him
to not follow after Hajime.
"Make a commotion… by saving those kids… Sounds good. I'll do it, Nagumo! Let me
handle the diversion!"
"O-Okay, if you're sure. Thanks man… I guess you really are a hero."
Shizuku, sharp as always, saw through the whole act. She glared angrily at Hajime He
couldn't tell if she was mad he'd deceived her childhood friend, or because he'd
effectively volunteered her for this pointless diversion as well. Hajime pretended not
to notice and opened up his Treasure Trove.
"Alright, if you're willing to cooperate, let me give you some things that'll help. Here's
a gift for the justice-loving hero and his team."
Hajime pulled out a few chunks of ore and transmuted them into four masks. They
completely covered the face and came in different colors. Red, blue, yellow, and pink.
Much like the masks of a certain set of rangers. Hajime had made sure to keep the
masks breathable, and the eyeholes large enough to not obstruct the wearer's vision.
Such detailed transmuting wasn't something any Synergist could do. It was a rather
pointless display of skill, but Hajime liked to be thorough about everything he did.
"Nagumo… What are these?"
"Can't you tell just by looking at them? Masks."
"…Why'd you make them?"
"You do realize it'd be a problem if the hero went on a rampage in the imperial capital
for no good reason, right? We need to hide your identity. That's what the masks are
for. You know, heroes always wear masks to hide their faces. In fact, a hero is their
mask. I even made them different colors so you could tell each other apart."
"Uhh, I get that you're enthusiastic about this, but… well, I guess you're right that we
need to keep our identities secret. It'd be bad if we caused trouble for Lily… but you
know…"
Kouki stared at Hajime the sentai lord with an exasperated expression.
"Don't worry, great hero (snicker) You get to be red, the leader's color."
"Are you making fun of me?"
"Sakagami, you get blue. The calm and collected blue ranger. I debated giving you
black, but I think blue fits better after all. You should be glad I put so much thought
into this."
"O-Okay? I don't really get it, but I guess I'll take it."
"Cool. Now Taniguchi, you're going to be…"
"P-Pink, right? It's a little embarrassing, but…"
"Yellow. The most forgettable one. Also, the one who gets excited too easily. I'd say it
suits you perfectly."
"…Do you hate me or something, Nagumo-kun?"
"And finally… for Yaegashi we have…"
"Hold it right there, Nagumo-kun. The only color left is… You're not serious, are you?"
"Of course I am. Yaegashi, you get pink. This is the color that's best for you."
"I refuse! Besides, aren't there plenty of other ways to hide our identities that don't
require wearing masks? Can't we just wrap some cloth around our mouths or
something!? You're just toying with us, aren't you, Nagumo-kun!?"
Hajime shook his head in mock disgust. Shizuku's eyebrows twitched angrily. She
didn't enjoy being treated like an unruly child.
"Listen up. This is the best way to completely hide your identity 100%! Not only do
they have metal fastenings that will never come undone unless you take them off
yourself, they even absorb impact damage. Plus, they're lighter than air and
impervious to pretty much any kind of slashing attack!"
"I-I can't believe you managed to make something so impressive in an instant… Why
do you have to put your crazy skills to use in the weirdest of ways?"
"Yaegashi, everyone knows that aloof, calm beauties like you have a secret soft spot
for cute things. It's practically required. Or well, more like Kaori told me. But the point
is, you like cute things. That's why I decided you should get pink. Be grateful."
"Wh-What's with that arrogant attitude… B-Besides, it's not like I'm that into cute…
Anyway, Kaori! Just what did you tell him!?"
"Ehehe, just all the things I find cute about you, Shizuku-chan. Like how your room is
filled with stuffed animals…"
How could my best friend betray me like this!? I mean I guess I never told her not to tell
people or anything, but why'd she have to blab to Nagumo-kun of all people!? Shizuku
glared at Kaori, who was blushing shyly. Unfortunately, everyone's favorite hero
decided now was the best time to add fuel to the fire.
"Come to think of it, you've always been fond of animals. Like bunnies, and cats…
Small, cute things mostly."
"!?"
"Oh yeah, wasn't your phone wallpaper a cute bunny too, Shizushizu?"
"!?"
"And any time we go to the arcade you always go straight for the UFO catcher games.
You've gotten pretty good at them too."
"!?"
"I get it now. So that's why you're always sneaking glances at my bunny ears, Shizukusan."
"N-No!"
"Go on, Yaegashi. Take it. Pink… embodies you." Hajime held out the pink mask while
giving Shizuku a warm, gentle look. For some reason, everyone else was looking at her
like that too. As if they were watching proudly over their daughter's graduation. The
atmosphere made rejecting the mask near impossible.
"What the heck is with you guys… Let me just say this now, I really don't like pink that
much. I'm only taking it because I have no choice, it's not like I actually want it. Also,
everyone likes small animals, okay? It's not just me, so there's no special meaning
behind me liking them too… Hey, quit looking at me like that, guys!"
Ears bright red, Shizuku reluctantly accepted the mask. Upon seeing how hard Shizuku
was trying to hide her embarrassment, Shea sidled up to her and whispered, "I don't
mind letting you touch my ears, if you want."
A broad smile split Shizuku's face, and she forgot all about how mortified she was.
In truth, the reason Hajime had pushed the masks so hard was because he wanted
revenge. He was hoping that by sending a group of colorfully masked kids to rampage
around the capital, they'd create a legend that was even more cringy than the
nicknames the Haulia had tried to give Hajime.
He still hadn't forgotten how they'd been laughing at him back then.
Unfortunately, even if this worked it wasn't like anyone would associate Shizuku and
the others' nicknames directly with them. But for now, this was the best he could
manage. Yue could tell that Hajime's real reason for the masks was because he wanted
to get some petty revenge, and she gave him an exasperated look.
That night. In a dark corridor, where no light reached, there was a row of rooms whose
walls were metal bars. The bars were made of a special, extra-sturdy ore, and were
reinforced with magic circles that kept inhabitants of the room trapped within.
Whoever was stuck in these rooms would have a hard time getting out. The entire
corridor reeked of blood and filth, and it was clear the rooms were dirty even if one
couldn't see them.
This was the state of Hoelscher Castle's dungeons. They had been designed to mentally
whittle down prisoners, driving them into a corner psychologically and physically. As
one would expect of the empire's most secure dungeon, the walls were nigh
unbreakable, and magic circles were arrayed throughout the corridors to prevent
anyone from escaping.
All of the traps in the dungeon were designed to be non-lethal, but as excruciatingly
painful as possible. They were setup so that both those who might try to escape and
those who might be trying to sneak in would have to deal with multiple layers of them.
Some traps were even hidden within the walls. Unless one knew the specific chants
that dispelled these traps, they would have a hard time moving around in here. If
someone was left alone in this hell, they would go crazy in a single day. There was no
light, it smelled godawful, and there was no hope of escape. Even the guards who
watched over the dungeon mostly stayed in the guardroom outside and avoided going
near the prisons as much as possible. The only time they went inside was during their
scheduled patrols.
And yet, on this night, cheerful voices rang out within the dungeon of despair.
"Hey, how many of yours did they break today?"
"All of my fingers and two ribs… you?"
"Heh, looks like I win. They broke all of my fingers and three ribs."
"Hah, that's the best you've got? They took out seven of my ribs, and my cheekbones…
Oh, and one of my ears."
"Seriously? What the hell did you say to them, man? They said we might be useful later
so they're not supposed to touch our ears…"
"Nothing special. They kept on asking me 'Who's the one who sent you' and stuff like
that. I got tired of their nagging so I just told them, 'Your mom. I just came here to see
how my kids are doing, you know.'"
"Whoa, no wonder they snapped."
"But wasn't it that emperor guy who told them not to touch our ears? They're probably
gonna get in deep shit for disobeying orders…"
"Yeah, those bastards are totally getting executed. Kakaka, serves those fuckers right!"
The recently captured Haulia were competing to see who'd been tortured the hardest.
As the empire wanted them alive their more serious wounds had been treated with
healing magic, but they had still been beaten to within an inch of their lives. And yet,
they seemed as lively as ever. Of course, that was just their way of withstanding the
situation they'd been put in. They hadn't gone crazy or anything. Far from it. They'd
just been prepared for this from the moment they'd attacked the capital. Now that
they had been captured, there was no future for them. Either they would be executed,
or they'd be turned into slaves. And they would rather commit suicide than live as
slaves, so either way they wouldn't live very long. If they were made into slaves, they
would be forced to fight their own comrades. Death was preferable to that.
Since they were dead men either way, the Haulia figured it was better to spend their
last days living life to the fullest. Because of how abnormal their strength had been,
the empire was convinced that someone else was backing the Haulia.
Even if that weren't the case, the emperor, Gahard, had taken an interest in them. He
wanted to use the Haulia in his own army, if possible. Gahard valued strength, and the
Haulia had it in spades. Their tactics, their weapons, their mentality, and even their
training methods were all completely out of the ordinary. The Haulia knew that, and
that was precisely why they'd resolved to defy the empire until the moment of their
deaths. They would never work for Gahard. It was because of that ironclad resolve that
they could joke so lightheartedly about their wounds. Because of their cavalier
attitude, the soldiers who had to torture them were growing terrified of these
unbreakable rabbitmen. The Haulia's fearless grins struck fear into the hearts of their
jailors.
"I bet they're giving our chief the third degree right now…"
"You know it. Hey guys, how about we make a bet on how badly beaten up he'll be
when he comes back?"
"Oh? Sounds good. I'll bet they cut off both of his ears."
"That's way too much of a long shot, man."
"I mean, our chief's started becoming a lot more like Boss recently, so he probably
pissed them off to hell and back. I mean just look at how he trains our new recruits…"
"Yeah, sometimes it almost feels like I'm looking at Boss. If our chief said that kind of
stuff to the soldiers… I could see him losing his ears…"
"Well, Boss would never let himself get caught like this in the first place. And if he
somehow did, he'd probably crush this prison from the inside and escape!"
"Man, I'd feel bad for the empire if they ever got on the wrong side of Boss. He'd wipe
this city off the map."
"Yeah, he's got no mercy at all!"
"He's one hell of a monster, our boss is."
"More like he's the devil."
"Yeah, I could totally see him being as scary as that demon lord guy."
"Come on guys, you're making it sound like he's on the same level as the demons. Boss
could probably crush that pathetic demon lord like a bug. Wouldn't even break a
sweat."
"So what… is he like a demon god at this point or something?"
"Yeah!"
"Well aren't you maggots looking lively. Can't believe this is how you greet me after all
this time."
"...…"
The Haulia only now realized that this new voice was dripping with anger. And it was
one they remembered quite well. They all fell quiet. Everyone shrunk back in their
cells and held their breath, praying the storm would pass them by.
"Oi, don't just go quiet on me you bastards. Weren't you just having fun talking about
how I'm a monster and a demon god? Well?"
"Hahaha, sorry guys. Looks like I'll be going on ahead of you. I've started hallucinating
that Boss is here…"
"Don't worry, it's not just you. Looks like I'll be coming with you."
"Oh, so it's not just me… But to think the last thing I'll ever hear is Boss' yelling…"
"I wish it could have been a cute girl's voice instead…"
The idea of Hajime being here was so unthinkable to the Haulia that they believed they
were hearing things. Or perhaps they just wanted to believe they were hearing things,
because the alternative was scarier. But of course, Hajime wasn't nice enough to let
them have their fantasies. Yue summoned a ball of light, illuminating the dingy
dungeon. Hajime's profile was reflected clearly in the eyes of the rabbitmen.
"Geh, Boss!?"
"Shut up, you morons."
"…Looks like they're still lively."
"Those wounds are pretty terrible but… now I feel like an idiot for worrying so much."
Though the Haulia were hurt so bad it was a wonder they could still move, they didn't
seem bothered by their wounds at all. Hajime, Yue, and Shea sighed in amazement.
"Wh-Why are you here, Boss?"
"I'll explain later. For now, let's get you guys out of here… Sheesh, I can't believe you're
still so lively after all that torture. Just how tough are you guys?"
"Hahaha! We did get trained by you personally, after all."
"Compared to your training, this torture's nothing."
"Those guys just don't have any killing intent behind their blows, you know? They're
so weak I thought they might be trying to heal me for a second."
"Or maybe you're just that good at intimidating people, Boss. When you looked at us
like you wanted to kill us, we thought we'd actually die."
The Haulia continued joking with each other, coughing up blood all the while.
Meanwhile, Shea and Yue turned angrily toward Hajime. This demon god was the one
responsible for turning the kind rabbitmen into fearless warriors after all.
Hajime cleared his throat awkwardly and used his Demon Eye to locate all of the
dungeon's traps. Once he'd found them, he got to work dismantling them. Normally,
magical traps like these could only be deactivated with the proper incantation. That
was because the mana stored within the magic circle needed to be dispersed via a very
delicate process, or the trap would trigger.
Destroying the magic circle outright was another option, but in general they were
designed to activate upon destruction, or at least notify the caster that they'd been
destroyed. If one wanted to be stealthy about it, they had no choice but to use the right
incantation. Of course, only certain people were informed of what that incantation
was, but ultimately, that incantation was a method to manipulate one's mana in a
specific way. Which meant that anyone who could freely manipulate their mana had
no need for said incantation. Hajime easily disarmed the empire's most secure prison
in a matter of seconds, then got to work transmuting the bars of everyone's cells.
Meanwhile, Yue used restoration magic to heal everyone's injuries.
"Haaah, you never cease to amaze me, Boss. Anyway…"
"Thank you so much for saving us!"
"No problem. And well, I did it for Shea. So don't worry about it. More importantly,
where's Cam? I don't see him anywhere."
"Well, you see…"
One of the Haulia explained that Cam was currently being tortured, and told Hajime
which room he would be in. The Haulia naturally wanted to help Hajime rescue their
chief, but he really didn't need any assistance. They knew that as well, especially
considering he'd managed to make it all the way here without getting noticed, so they
obediently agreed to stay behind when Hajime asked. The way in which they shivered
in excitement when Hajime ordered them creeped him out a little, but now wasn't the
time to dwell on that.
Hajime pulled a palm-sized plate out of his Treasure Trove. The polished gray metal
shined with a dull light, and there was a magic circle carved into the handle. The
opposite side was made up of various jagged edges. Put simply, it looked like an oddlyshaped key.
The Haulia watched, wide-eyed, as Hajime poured mana into the metal plate and
thrust it out in front of him. The key seemingly fit into some sort of invisible lock, as it
disappeared into empty space. A second later, shockwaves rippled outward from the
plate. Once the shockwaves had grown to a decent size, Hajime twisted the key-plate.
A hole appeared in the empty space in front of Hajime, and rapidly grew to the size of
an average person. Rocks and boulders could be seen on the other side of the hole.
This was Hajime's latest artifact, the spatial magic imbued Gate Key. It worked in
conjunction with another artifact, the Gate Hole. By using the Gate Key, Hajime could
open a portal to wherever the Gate Hole was, and instantly teleport there.
"Alright, you guys go out through here. It leads to a rocky field near the outskirts of the
capital. Par and the others are waiting there for you."
"Yes, sir! We're counting on you to bring our chief back, Boss."
What Hajime had just done was beyond anything the Haulia had ever seen, but they
were disciplined enough to follow orders even through their surprise. Besides, they
were used to their boss doing impossible things one after another. They gave Hajime
a crisp salute, and walked single file through the gate. They really were well-trained.
Once the Haulia were through, Hajime closed the gate and headed to where Cam was.
They slipped past the heavy guard using a combination of their innate skills and magic,
easily making it to where Cam was being held. Hajime silently dispatched the guards
outside Cam's door and stopped to listen to the angry yelling coming from inside. Shea
stiffened when she heard the shouting. When she thought about how badly the other
Haulia had been beaten, she couldn't help but worry about what they might be doing
to her father. Especially because he was probably purposely provoking them. Seeing
her expression, Hajime decided not to waste any time. He grabbed the doorknob, but
stopped when he realized who was doing the yelling.
"What kind of pathetic punches are those!? You call yourself an imperial soldier!? Put
your back into it, you worthless maggot! Even a kitten could hit harder than that,
trash! What do you think this is, a fucking picnic!? Is that really all you got!? Come on,
you can't even break a single bone with that limp-dick fist! You're nothing but
spineless, gutless, trash!"
"Sh-Shut up! Why the hell are you the one lecturing me!?"
"Stop moving your mouth and start moving your hands! What are you, some kinda
sissy? I bet your girlfriend's as much of a wuss as you are! Suits a pansy loser like you!"
"You bastaaard! Don't make fun of Natasha!"
"S-Stop, Johan! If you keep going he'll die!"
"Hmph, so you're as much of a spineless wimp as this maggot here, huh? Looks like
there's nothing but scum in the imperial army! Might as well start calling yourselves
the bitch army instead, you cowards! Stop flapping your gums and get serious! Hit me
like you're trying to kill me!"
"What the hell is with this guy!? He's insane! There's no way he's actually a rabbitman!
Someone else take over, I can't do this!"
"I don't wanna either! Talking to him drives me crazy!"
Most of the angry yelling was coming from Cam himself. Hajime and the others
listened in silence. As unbelievable as it seemed, the ones doing the torturing were
taking more mental damage than the one being tortured. The three of them looked at
each other, nonplussed.
"Do we even need to save him?"
"Should we go home?"
"Sorry, I know he's like that but please save him. I don't think he'll be able to escape
on his own…"
Shea looked off into the distance, reminiscing about the kind man her father used to
be. She was right of course. Cam wouldn't be able to escape on his own, so they did
need to save him.
"Hmph, pathetic. It seems you're no match for me, Cambantis Elfalight Rodelia Haulia,
hunter of the unknowable abyss!"
But the way he was talking made it rather hard to sympathize with his plight.
"Shea. Your dad's sure turned into something special alright."
"Mmm… His name's too long to remember."
"Ugh. Does he have a grudge against me or something? It's like he's trying to kill me
with embarrassment."
Shea covered her face with her hand and crouched down in shame. She'd been hit
pretty hard by that. It seemed Cam's torturers were just as shocked by his outburst as
his daughter was.
"What the hell are you talking about!? Fuck, forget this! I can't stand staying in the
same room as this madman! I'm going home!"
"Wait, Johan! You can't just abandon your post! And don't say things like that, you'll
jinx us!"
Hajime heard the sound of footsteps approach the door. I guess I really overdid it with
those guys. Hajime lamented to himself as he balled his hand into a fist. The moment
the door flew open, he swung his fist. The poor man known as Johan opened his eyes
in surprise as he saw a fist fly toward his face. A second later, Hajime's metal knuckles
buried themselves in Johan's face, and he was sent flying across the room.
Hajime then rushed into the room and knocked out the other shocked torturer with
another well-placed punch. He carelessly kicked the two unconscious men to an
empty corner of the room and turned to Cam.
"Impossible… Boss… is that really you?"
"Yeah. You know, I'm actually kinda impressed you were able to yell at them so much
considering how beat up you are. You've become strong, in more ways than one…"
Hajime decided not to address the issue of Cam's crazy nickname.
"Hahaha. So this really isn't a dream… Ohh, you brought Yue-dono and Shea with you
as well."
Cam quickly realized this wasn't a dream, and chuckled heartily. Despite his near-fatal
wounds, he still had the energy to laugh.
It seemed they hadn't dulled his mind or his senses with drugs, seeing as he able to
accurately analyze the situation.
"My apologies for showing you such a shameful sight during our long-awaited reunion.
I can't believe I was so engrossed in insulting those spineless maggots that I didn't
even notice your presence… Forgive me for bringing dishonor to your name."
"Dad… I really don't think that's what you should be worrying about right now. We
need to heal those wounds of yours. Especially that nasty brain wound you've taken…
And how are you still so energetic after being beaten up so much?"
"Fighting spirit?"
"Hajime's reeducation program… is terrifying…"
Freed from his restraints, Cam awkwardly scratched his head with broken fingers. He
didn't even seem to notice they were pointing the wrong way. His response to Shea
didn't do much to boost her confidence in his mental state either.
Yue looked at Hajime with a truly frightened expression as she healed Cam's wounds
with restoration magic. You know, what's really scary about this isn't me, but the
combination of Sgt. Hartman's training program combined with chuuni spirit… Once
Yue finished healing Cam, he hopped up and down a few times to check out the
condition of his body. Seeing that he was just fine, Hajime once again took out his Gate
Key.
"I already got the others out of here. So we've got no reason to stay."
"But Boss, they still have all of our equipment…"
"Hm? Eh, don't worry about it. I made a bunch of better stuff while practicing my
transmutation. You guys can have some of those."
"You're going to gift us with new equipment? Now that I'm looking forward to.
Kukuku."
Fed up with his attitude Shea pushed her father through the portal with an
exasperated sigh. Hajime and Yue followed close behind.
Let us turn back time to a few minutes before Hajime began infiltrating the castle.
The capital's alarm bells suddenly rang through the night, and a massive pillar of light
shot up from the center of the city. It sliced through the darkness, cutting across the
slave district where most of the beastmen were kept, and smashed right into the
slavers' guardhouse. The light's caster had held back, which was why the guardhouse
hadn't been obliterated, and only the outer walls had crumbled. In fact, the soldiers
inside hadn't even been hit directly by it. Most of them had still been knocked
unconscious by the shockwaves, however.
The remaining soldiers looked toward the source of the light, and spotted four masked
figures standing atop a nearby building's roof.
"Who are you guys!? Don't think you can attack imperial soldiers and get away with
it!"
One of the soldiers let out a yell and charged forward.
"And… what on earth is with those ridiculous masks!? Is this you're idea of a prank!?"
"Huh? No, wait we're not…"
"You're sorely underestimating us, you brats!? That pink mask has to be some kind of
joke!"
"!?"
"You think you look cute in that or something!? I'll have you know that mask looks
creepy as hell! You damn pervert!"
"!? I-I'm not trying to look cute. I don't even like this mask that much… I was just forced
to wear it… It's not my fault…"
"Hey, stop insulting Shizu… I mean, Ranger Pink's mask, you ugly old man! Or else
you'll have to deal with me, Ranger Yellow!"
"That's right! There's nothing wrong with Shizu… I mean Ranger Pink liking cute
things! If you insult her any further, I, Ranger Red, will never forgive you!"
"Yeah~ Ranger Blue won't forgive you either~"
Ranger Pink slumped her shoulders, dejected. Her comrades stepped forward to
defend her.
Their mission was ostensibly to create a diversion so that Hajime would have an easier
time sneaking in, but Shizuku knew the real reason he'd asked them to do this. It was
so that Kouki wouldn't go on a rampage and bumble things up. She understood that,
but the whole masks bit really was going too far. Shizuku swore to get her revenge on
Hajime once this was over.
In the time that they'd been talking, more imperial soldiers had gathered. Now that
they had enough men, the lead soldier yelled "Capture those weird masked freaks!"
Unfortunately, the empire was up against a bunch of overpowered kids who'd
conquered the outer part of the Great Orcus Labyrinth. Kouki and the others started
taking down the soldiers in waves.
"Goddammit! Those masked bastards are tough!"
"Damn you, Ranger Pink!"
"Is it just me, or does the sword Ranger Red's using look familiar?"
The soldiers cursed as they were incapacitated by the students' attacks. Three squads
had already been downed. Unable to take it anymore, the commander shouted.
"Fuck, what are you weirdos after!?"
At that, Ranger Red suddenly stiffened. Then, as if he was hurling all of his pent up
resentment at the soldiers, he yelled.
"I demand that you release all of your beastmen slaves! At the very least, treat them
better than dirt!"
"…What?"
"I can't stand how awfully you treat those poor beastmen! Stop your tyranny this
instant!"
The imperial soldiers hadn't been expecting such a strange request. It was
understandable, though. After all, to the empire that kind of treatment was normal. So
they didn't understand what was so cruel about it.
"Ngh. What's with that attitude… You're the ones making them suffer!"
"Hey… Ranger Red. Sorry to burst your bubble, but in this world, it's our perspective
that's strange. Don't forget, our main goal is just to create a diversion."
"I know that! But maybe we could at least free the kids…"
"There's too many of them. Or are you saying we should pick and choose who to save?
Either way, it's about time he should be going in. It hurts me too to leave them like this,
but for now let's focus on the task at hand, alright?"
"…Fine."
Even through his mask, his reluctance was noticeable. Ranger Pink nodded in
satisfaction and rapped the side of her mask with her knuckles. Hajime had told her
to do so if the empire asked them what their objective was, or if they began to suspect
that they were fighting against the hero's party. Letters made of mana floated up inside
Shizuku's mask. She flinched back in surprise, and watched as the first message
disappeared, only to be replaced by another set of letters. These, she reflexively read
aloud.
"Listen well, soldiers of the empire. Our goal is to ascertain the current state of the
capital. We may have failed to assassinate your emperor, but it's clear your city still
suffered a heavy blow!"
The soldiers looked up in surprise. Shizuku's comrades also looked at her in surprise.