Chapter 69 - Roar of Revolution Part 2

"Wait, don't tell me you bastards are demons!? I get it now, so you came to see how

badly you hit us, huh!?"

"We are the most elite of the demon lord's soldiers. The Masked Rangers!"

Ranger Pink sounded a little hysterical as she screamed that. She then signaled to her

comrades to strike a pose with her. Her forceful attitude shocked them into

compliance. I guess rumors are going to spread that there's an elite demon unit that

runs around wearing strange masks now. Ranger Pink mentally apologized to the

demons she was impersonating. It was almost impressive how Hajime planned on

pinning every disturbance he could on the demons. Doing so also had the added

benefit of making Kouki's outbursts about freeing the slaves sound like something the

demons wanted. Obviously that might cause trouble for the demons in the future, but

that wasn't something Ranger Pink had to worry about. It wasn't her problem, after

all.

"You better stop treating your slaves like trash. Or else…"

"O-Or else what?"

The soldiers' commander asked timidly. Ranger Pink stepped forward and answered.

"Or else, when you're in the bath at night, when you're woken up suddenly from your

dreams, when you're walking down a deserted hallway, underneath your desk, behind

your curtains, inside your armor, even in your dreams… you'll start to see masks."

Though she spoke in a monotone, her voice had an ominous tinge to it. The soldiers

all gulped. It sounded ridiculous, but also terrifying. There was something horrifying

about seeing weird masks everywhere.

Their mission now complete, the figure leaped off the rooftop and vanished into a side

alley. The soldiers hurriedly chased after them, but by the time they reached the alley,

they had disappeared into the night.

As time passed, the legend of Ranger Pink turned into a bedtime story parents told

their children to scare them into obedience. When Shizuku found out, she wondered

why it was only her that everyone remembered, but that was a tale for another time.

The simultaneous disappearance of the Haulia along with the appearance of a strange

masked group became the talk of the town for weeks to come. It also left the capital in

a state of confusion for a good day.

When Hajime, Yue, and Shea returned with Cam, they were greeted by enthusiastic

cheers from the rest of the Haulia. The rabbitmen playfully slapped each other on the

backs, playfully punched each other in the stomachs, playfully hit each other with right

hooks, and playfully insulted each other.

"Sniffle Thank goodness. Even if they're still a little violent, I'm so glad everyone's safe.

Hajime-san, Yue-san, thank you so much."

Tears welled up in Shea's eyes. Her wish to see her family safe had finally been granted.

"Mmm… It's good that we made it in time."

Yue stood up on tiptoe and patted Shea on the head. The tears started flowing. Shea

clung to Yue like a little girl.

"Well, a lot of stuff happened that I wasn't expecting, but it turned out alright in the

end. Looks like I won't have to wipe the empire off the map after all."

Hajime stroked Shea's bunny ears while casually dropping that statement. A second

later, Hajime heard the sound of rushing wind. He raised a hand and grabbed the black

sheath that had been swung down at his head.

"What was that for, Yaegashi?"

The owner of the weapon was of course, Shizuku Yaegashi.

Though Hajime was only holding the sheath between his fingers, Shizuku couldn't pull

it out no matter how hard she tried. She clicked her tongue and mustered all of her

strength.

"I thought I'd blow off my stress by knocking you senseless. Don't worry, I have faith

in your kind heart Nagumo-kun. I know you're generosity runs deeper than the

Mariana Trench… So kindly let me beat you to a pulp!"

"Do you really hate pink that much? And here I thought you'd like it."

"Liar! I know exactly what you were after! You just wanted to make us look like fools!

I can't believe I let myself go along with this! I guess that does make it partially my

fault, but still! You deserve at least one good smack for this! Now take your lumps like

a man!"

"Don't be ridiculous…"

Looks like that traumatized her more than I thought. But it was also true that she could

have refused the mask if she really hadn't wanted to play the part. So she was right

that it was partly her fault for letting her go along with the flow. However, that didn't

stop Hajime's prank from being in bad taste. Nor did it stop her from being mad at him

for putting her through it.

Unfortunately for Shizuku, there was a huge difference in strength between the two of

them. Even at full strength, she couldn't get past his fingers.

With no other choices left, Shizuku decided to use her katana's special ability. She was

only willing to go so far because she believed it wouldn't do too much damage to

someone as overpowered as him.

"You little! Roar— Thunder Blossom!"

"Oh? Heh."

Bolts of lighting crackled down the length of Shizuku's sheath, but Hajime didn't seem

pained by them at all. In fact, he just seemed impressed. Shocked, Shizuku said, "Hey,

Nagumo-kun. How come you don't look bothered at all by all that electricity?"

"Well I mean, how many times have you seen me fire my railgun now? I've been

shooting electricity through my body for ages, you didn't really think that little spark

would hurt me did you? Though I've gotta say, I'm impressed you managed to make

the sword's skills activate."

"Tch. Fine… I'll back off for now. But you better watch out. I'll get you for this someday,

mark my words. And I got help from the kingdom's Synergists to make the sword

usable."

Shizuku reluctantly took her sword back and belted it again. Behind her, Kouki and the

others watched in awe. They hadn't expected anyone to try and seriously challenge

Hajime. Kaori gave Shizuku a troubled smile, while Yue glared coldly at her. In a small

voice, Kaori said, "I've never seen Shizuku-chan… get this mad before."

"I thought she'd be angrier."

For some reason, Tio also nodded in agreement.

"Boss, do you have a minute?"

It appeared the Haulia were done with their reunion scuffling. Judging by Cam's

serious expression, Hajime guessed that whatever this was, it was important. Hajime

transmuted a circle of chairs for everyone to sit in, lowered himself into one, and

nodded to Cam.

"I suppose first I should explain how this happened. Put simply, we were

overconfident. Basically, it went down like this…"

In summary, Cam's tale was this: Back in the sea of trees, Cam's unit had been able to

annihilate a significant chunk of the empire's rearguard as they retreated from

Verbergen.

The testimonies of the few soldiers who survived, combined with the fact that many

of the empire's units didn't regroup with the main army made it clear to the top brass

that Verbergen had a new unit of soldiers who were a cut above the rest. Because of

that, the empire had strengthened their guard.

Verbergen had already suffered one attack from the demon army. There was no telling

what they might do. The army's commanders thought it wise to throw away their

preconceptions that beastmen would never leave the forest, and maintained a vigilant

watch in case an army came to take back the captured slaves.

So when Cam and the others arrived at the capital, they found that the slaves

Hoelscher had taken from Verbergen had been gathered all in one place, instead of put

to work. By the time the Haulia realized it was a trap, it was too late.

Cam and the others had no choice but to attempt a retreat after the empire's dense

surveillance net spotted them.

For their part, the empire was quite surprised too. The unknown squad they'd

discovered had been made up of rabbitmen, of all people. The same gentle, peaceloving rabbitmen that were used mostly as sex slaves by the empire. Moreover, these

rabbitmen were able extremely well-coordinated, and were more than a match for the

empire's elite troops. Naturally, this piqued the curiosity of the empire's top brass.

As a result— "They captured us alive and interrogated us day after day. Most of their

questions were about who it was that had transformed us like this, and where we'd

gotten our equipment from. Also they wanted to know what Verbergen's long-term

plans were. I think they mistook us for some elite combat unit trained by Verbergen…

Even though they nearly executed my entire family and exiled us from the city. Bet

they would have never guessed that."

Cam and the others had in fact told their captors multiple times that they were no

friend of Verbergen, but the soldiers had just thought they were sacrificing themselves

for the sake of their country. The Haulia's denial only solidified the empire's

convictions.

Gahard in particular had been enamored with Cam and the others. His eyes had

sparkled like a child with a new toy when he'd seen how strong-willed his prisoners

were.

"And? I'm sure you didn't want to just make excuses for why you got captured. What is

it you wanna say?"

"My apologies, Boss. Moving on to the main topic, our family has grown since we

inducted new rabbitmen into the Haulia clan. I was thinking of taking our new and

improved Haulia army— and going to war with the empire."

Time ground to a halt. Cam's declaration had left everyone stunned. Well, everyone

but Hajime and the other Haulia. The others weren't able to comprehend what he'd

just said, or perhaps they were just so shocked they didn't know what to think. The

chirping of crickets was the only noise that that could be heard.

Finally, Shea broke the silence.

"What-What did you just say, Dad? Did I hear you right? It sounded like you said you

were going to go to war with the empire…"

"You heard correctly, Shea. As I said, I plan on waging war against the Hoelscher

Empire."

Shea tried her best to keep her cool, but Cam's confirmation caused the color to drain

from her face.

"D-Don't be ridiculous! What are you thinking!? I know you've gotten a lot stronger

Dad, but you've only got 100 people with you! You're going to fight the empire with

just that!? Have you lost your mind!? Did seeing your comrades get captured make you

so mad you can't think straight!?"

"I'm not doing this for revenge, Shea. And I'm perfectly sane. Just listen to—"

"Nothing you say is going to convince these bunny ears! If you're not after revenge,

then are you just way too overconfident!? If you really think you can win, take out your

sword. You'll have to beat me before I let you take on the empire! I'll knock some sense

into you!"

Shea took Drucken out of her Treasure Trove and whirled it around her head. From

her perspective, challenging the empire was suicide. And the fact that Cam was driving

her family to their deaths made her furious.

Pale blue mana swirled around her, and the pressure coming off of her was palpable.

She was so intimidating that even Kouki and the others gulped and took a few steps

back.

Usually, Shea was a cheerful girl who never seriously got angry. Which made her real

wrath all the more terrifying. However, Cam didn't back down at all. Even with Shea's

hammer thrust in front of his face, he continued staring calmly at his daughter.

The two of them glared, or perhaps just stared at each other for a few seconds before

Hajime finally decided to butt in.

Before anyone knew it, he'd gotten behind Shea and started fondling her fluffy tail.

"Hyaaah!? What are you doing!? Aah, stop, not my tail! Hajime-shan, shtooop!"

The strength drained from Shea's limbs as Hajime continued groping her. She fell to

her knees, panting, and glared reproachfully up at him. She didn't mind being touched

by him, but there was a time and place for everything, and this wasn't the time nor the

place.

In response, Hajime grinned and started stroking her ears. Unlike before, his hand

motions were more gentle than erotic.

At first Shea had been mad at Hajime for interrupting her during a serious

conversation, but as he kept stroking her ears she started to relax.

"Have you calmed down a little? Cam hasn't even finished talking yet. You can at least

wait until he's explained his plan before beating him down, right?"

"Ugh… you're right… Sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me. I'm fine now. Sorry,

Dad."

Shea's bunny ears drooped in apology. Cam smiled and shook his head.

"There's nothing wrong with worrying about your family. You have nothing to

apologize for. I'm sorry too, I should have chosen my words better. I've spent so much

time yelling at people I forgot how to talk like a normal person… Hehehe, though I've

gotta say…"

"Wh-What? Why're you laughing like that, Dad?"

"I'm just glad you seem happy. You've gotten a lot closer to Boss in the time since we

last met, I see. The way he looks at you now is totally different from when you first left.

Does this mean I'll be getting grandkids soon?"

"Wha— G-Grandkids!? What are you saying, Dad!? I-It's still too early for…" Shea

blushed and looked bashfully up at Hajime. All of the other Haulia watched with grins

on their faces.

These guys sure have gotten cheeky… Hajime thought absently to himself. He

completely ignored Shea's glances and asked Cam,

"Cam, surely you didn't tell me all this because you wanna to ask for my help, did you?"

"Haha, perish the thought. It's just, I was only able to make this decision because you

taught us how to fight back, Boss. So I thought it was only right that I tell you."

Cam smiled. It appeared he really did mean to invade the empire with just the Haulia.

Their resolve was the real deal, too. They hadn't been driven crazy by thoughts of

revenge, or overestimated their abilities just because they'd won a few fights.

However, whether they were resolved or not, it was still reckless. Cam must have had

a very good reason for choosing this path.

"What's your reason for going to war?"

"Now that's a surprise, you actually care? I thought it wouldn't matter to you…"

"If you found your resolve because of what I taught you, then the reason you're being

so reckless is technically my fault. If that was all, I still wouldn't care, but…"

Hajime glanced over at Shea. She was clearly still worried about her family. Her bunny

ears were still drooping.

Cam smiled and nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well, as I said before, us rabbitmen have now caught the emperor's eye. He's

very interested in what we're capable of. Everyone in the empire, the emperor

included, believes might makes right. They believe that the weak should submit to the

strong. It's permeated every part of their society."

"So what you're trying to say is that even if you escape, he's going to start hunting

rabbitmen? Not to kill, but to make his slaves?"

"Correct. When we were being tortured, the emperor came to me personally and said

he'd be willing to get us out of here if we became his slaves. Of course, I just spit in his

face, but…"

"Good going, chief!" the other Haulia shouted in encouragement. Kouki, on the other

hand, was stunned. "He spit in Gahard's face!?" His surprise was understandable. Cam

was probably the first to person, beastman or not, to have ever spit in the emperor's

face.

Even Hajime nodded in appreciation.

"Unfortunately, that only made him like us even more. He said something really

arrogant about how it'd be interesting if he caught all the rabbitmen in Haltina and

trained them the same way we were trained. The problem was, I could tell from his

face that he was serious. There's no doubt that he'll invade Haltina again and capture

as many rabbitmen as he can."

Worse, this time they wouldn't be used as sex slaves, but as soldiers.

Cam sighed.

"Verbergen's still reeling from the last two attacks. It won't survive a third. So, if the

emperor demands they hand over all the rabbitmen in their territory in exchange for

not being invaded…"

"I see. If you stay on the defensive, you'll run out of options. All of your brethren will

end up as slaves."

"Correct. If all I wished for was to protect the Haulia, escaping the empire's clutches

would be a simple task. But I refuse to sit idly by as other rabbitmen are robbed off

their future… because of us, no less." Cam was in a far more desperate situation than

Hajime had thought.

As Cam had said, if all they wished was to protect themselves, they could easily hide

out in the sea of trees and wage a guerrilla warfare campaign indefinitely. But doing

so would mean consigning all other rabbitmen to a fate worse than death. If they

refused to become soldiers for the emperor, the women and children would be sold

off as pets while the men would all be killed.

"But you don't honestly think you can take on the empire with just a hundred men, do

you?"

"Of course not. A head-on battle would see us defeated in seconds. But we're

rabbitmen. We're better at sneaking about than any other race."

Cam grinned triumphantly. Realizing their intentions, Hajime replied.

"You're gonna assassinate them?"

"Correct. We'll show the empire there's consequences for baring their fangs at us.

Whenever they're alone, whenever they're not on their guard, they'll suddenly find a

blade at their throats… By doing that, hopefully they'll start to fear us. They'll realize

that we can be anywhere, anytime, and kill them in over 400 different ways. They'll

learn that we're not weaker or lesser than them, and that making an enemy out of us

was the worst mistake of their lives."

"Do you think emperor hasn't taken any precautions against assassins or something?"

"Of course not. But our goal won't be the emperor himself. Just the people close to him.

Even if he can protect himself at all times, there's not enough guards to protect all of

the empire's officials."

"Cam, you didn't tell me all this because you wanna ask for my help, did you?"

"This is the best we can hope to do with our current strength, but I think it'll work well

enough. As long as we can get the empire to leave us alone, we'll have succeeded."

What an underhanded plan. Hajime thought to himself. Still, it was a lot more realistic

than attempting to assassinate the emperor or his family. However, a plan like this

needed time to take effect. There was no guarantee the empire wouldn't attempt some

kind of counteroffensive in that time.

It was entirely possible that the empire would start rounding up all killing all

rabbitmen in retaliation before the Haulia had done enough damage to force the

empire to the negotiating table. Cam's plan was a huge gamble. One with pretty low

odds, at that.

But they had to try, or there was no future for the rabbitmen. The other Haulia had

steeled themselves as well.

"Dad… Guys…"

Shea slumped her shoulders. Now that Cam and the others had escaped, she knew that

the emperor now had a political reason to go after the rabbitmen along with a

personal one.

The only options left to the Haulia were either to escape and consign every other

rabbitman to slavery, submit to the empire, or bet their lives on one final clash.

"Shea, don't make that face. Before, all we did was run in fear, have our rights trampled

over, and tell ourselves we had no choice but to accept it. But now we have the ability

and the opportunity to fight back. Nothing could make us happier."

"But—"

"Shea, this fight isn't just about living. We need to win in order to earn our right to

exist. So that we can hold our heads high and proudly call ourselves Haulia. No matter

how strong we get, if we run away here we're no different from the weaklings we used

to be. And that is one thing I will never accept."

"Dad…"

"You have to keep looking forward, Shea. You can't waste time worrying about us. You

made your decision, remember? You resolved to go with the boss, wherever that might

take you. Don't forget that determination, and keep moving forward."

Cam spoke not as the leader of his tribe, nor as the general of his army, but as a father

who cared about his daughter. He didn't want his daughter to get stuck together with

him, unable to move forward with the people she wanted to.

Shea hung her head, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. Cam watched over her for

a few seconds longer before turning back to Hajime. His gaze seemed to be saying Take

care of her for me.

Kouki stood up, probably intending to announce his desire to help if Hajime wouldn't,

but Shizuku smacked him on the back of his head with her katana, and sat back down.

Probably because of all the recent stress, Shizuku's handling of Kouki was rougher

than usual.

For his part, Hajime remained silent. Shea turned back to him, most likely in order to

ask for his help again. But before she could open her mouth, Cam cut her off.

"Shea!"

Shea jumped and turned back to him. Cam had no desire to beg Hajime for help. It was

his own fault that he'd fallen for the enemy's trap, and partly his own fault that he'd

brought Gahard's attention onto them. If he relied on Hajime's strength to solve this

problem for him, it would be no different than before.

Like he'd said before, this was a fight to prove to the world that rabbitmen had just as

much a right to exist as anyone else.

Shea knew that as well. She knew as well as they did how painful it was to always be

running away. And right now, she cherished her pride as one of Hajime and Yue's

comrades. But she couldn't help but worry knowing just how much of a long shot their

plan was.

In the end, Shea fell silent, unsure of what to say. Hajime sighed, scratched his head,

and shot Yue a questioning glance. As always, Yue didn't need words to know what he

was thinking. Her expression softened, and she nodded in agreement.

Hajime gave her a small smile and turned back to Shea.

"Shea."

"Hajime-san…"

A faint glimmer of hope flared up in Shea's eyes.

"I won't participate in this fight."

"Uuu… I… understand."

However, Hajime's words brought her back to the well of tears.

Kouki stood up to protest again, but Shizuku jabbed in the side and jolted him with an

electric current strong enough to knock him unconscious. Meanwhile, Hajime smiled

playfully and squished Shea's soft cheeks.

"Hold on, don't jump to the wrong conclusions. I just said I'm not participating in the

fight, not that I won't help."

"Huh?" Shea looked up at him in confusion.

Sensing Hajime's intentions, Cam and Haulia exchanged troubled glances.

"The Haulia need to show off their strength here, or this fight'll be meaningless. They

need to show the empire that if you mess with them, you'll get burned. If I fight with

them, it won't change anything. That'll just tell the empire they can start going after

beastmen again once I'm gone. It won't do anything about the deep-seated prejudices

humans hold against beastmen. But more than anything, Cam wants to win this fight

with his own strength, so I won't interfere." Hajime then turned to Cam.

"But if our cute mascot makes that kind of face, there's no way I'm just gonna shut up

and do nothing."

"B-But then, Boss… What are you suggesting?"

In the face of Cam's confusion, Hajime smiled fearlessly.

"Cam. No, all of you Haulia. There's no way I'm letting you use a plan so shitty it made

Shea cry. If you're doing this, your blades are reaching the emperor. Grab him by the

hair, beat him down, and show all of his relatives, friends, and subordinates that

they're no match for you. Conquer the capital in just one night, and show those

imperial bastards they're done for! Teach them that nowhere's safe from the Haulia's

blades! That no matter where they hide, your ears will find them! That anyone who

makes themselves an enemy of the Haulia will mean a painful end! Carve your names

into the history of the empire!"

Silence followed after Hajime's speech. Everyone had been overwhelmed by his fervor.

The sounds of everyone gulping echoed through the night. Then, Hajime glared at

everyone for a few seconds before sucking in a huge breath.

"Where's your reply, you worthless maggots!?" He boomed in a voice louder than

thunder.

"H-Huh!? S-Sir, yes, sir!"

"I can't hear you! You call that a battle cry!? Is this how you've been fighting all this

time, you goddamn wimps!?"

"Sir, no sir!"

"Well then prove it to me, you bastards! Prove you're fighters, and not maggots!"

"Hoooah! Hooooah! Hooooaaah!"

"Behead anyone who stands in your way with blades of pure will!"

"Behead! Behead! Behead!"

"You bastards are gonna be the main star of this fight! You better not fuck up the

opportunity I'm making for you, you hear that!?"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

"Alright, then let's see some fighting spirit! You 120 new and improved Haulia are…

"...…"

"Going to capture the imperial capital!"

"Yahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Though Cam and the others had no idea what kind of opportunity Hajime was

referring to, anyone with common sense would thought it impossible to capture the

capital, and in one night no less.

But the Haulia were too fired up by Hajime's speech to worry about that. Their beloved

boss was saying he'd personally open the door to victory for them.

If they couldn't at least clear the obstacles beyond that door, then they didn't deserve

to call themselves Haulia. If they failed here, they would bring eternal shame onto their

boss' name.

Thus, the Haulia steeled their resolve and prepared to topple the imperial capital.

Their uproarious war cries echoed through the starry night.

"Uh, Shizushizu, those guys are starting to scare me."

"It's okay, Suzu. I'm scared too… Though, I'm more scared of what Hajime's planning

than the rabbitmen."

"That Nagumo… Hehe, I never thought he'd be one of Sgt. Hartman's pupils too. Who

knew you were a real man after all."

"Ryutarou!? Don't tell me you approve of all this!? This is totally crazy!"

Shizuku and the others watched in dumbfounded amazement as the Haulia hyped

themselves up. Except Ryutarou, who respected Hajime's choice of role model for a

drill sergeant.

"Mmm, I must say, that is quite impressive. Transforming the peaceful rabbitmen into

warriors is no mean feat. I suppose I should expect no less from Master. And to think

he intends to rout the empire in a single night. I'm getting excited now… Though I wish

he would insult me with such vigor."

"Shut up, you perverted dragon."

"Huh!? Haaah, haaah…"

"Could you please tone it down, Tio-san? More importantly, do you see Shea's

expression, Yue? She looks so happy. That smile is so cute even my heart skipped a

beat."

"…Yeah. After all, Hajime's doing this so Shea won't cry… It's natural she'd be happy."

"I know, right. It must feel so nice~ I hope Hajime-kun does something like that for me

someday."

With the exception of the resident pervert, Yue and the others were captivated by

Shea's beaming smile. Yue had known things would turn out like this from the start,

but her lips still curled up into a faint smile as she saw Shea's cheerful expression.

Kaori, too, smiled in relief. Though she couldn't keep a slight twinge of jealousy out of

her tone.

After the cheering was over, Hajime got to work hammering out the details of his plan.

Once they were done finalizing it, everyone went to rest before the decisive battle.

Throughout the night, Shea stuck to Hajime like glue. She wasn't as bubbly as usual,

but nor was she depressed. Rather, she seemed oddly bashful, and kept blushing every

time she nuzzled against Hajime. Even in her sleep, her bunny ears kept brushing

against Hajime over and over. As if she wanted to make sure he was still there next to

her.

Two figures sat on a rocky outcrop in the predawn light. Hajime and Yue. They had

woken earlier than usual. The sun was only just beginning to crest the eastern horizon.

Technically, it was only Hajime who was sitting on the rock. Yue was sitting in Hajime's

lap. The only other people awake right now were the Haulia on watch. However, the

boulder Hajime had picked was in the sentries' blind spot, so the two of them were

able to spend some time together for the first time in a while.

They sat together in amicable silence as they watched the sun rise.

Suddenly, Yue took her head off Hajime's shoulder and kissed the nape of his neck. The

wet sound of her kiss broke the silence.

"Where'd that come from?"

"Mmm… I just felt like it, after remembering what happened last night."

She was of course referring to Hajime's declaration that they'd topple the capital.

What that had to with her kissing him, though, even Hajime didn't know. He locked

eyes with Yue and tilted his head questioningly.

"You put Shea's feelings over your mission. I'm happy that you care about her that

much. And that there's more things you hold dear now. I'm so happy that I…" As she

spoke, Yue kissed him again.

Ah, I get it now.

"Does this mean Shea's special to you now, too?"

"Well, not exactly. She's definitely one of the people I care most about in the world,

but… you're the only one who's special, Yue."

"Mrr… Even though I'd be okay with Shea. But I'm also happy."

Yue looked up at Hajime, both troubled and happy. Shea was the first friend Yue made

after climbing out of the abyss, and she treated Shea like her little sister. To Yue, Shea

was just as special as Hajime, just for different reasons.

That was why she was willing to let Shea be someone "special" to Hajime, a title she

wouldn't relinquish to anyone else. And so, while she was happy at Hajime's words,

she did also wish he'd stop being so stubborn.

For his part, Hajime found Yue's insistence that he grow his harem annoying. It irked

him that she actually wanted him to consider other people just as special. He decided

to get his revenge by showering her in kisses until she could no longer think about

anyone else.

"Mmm… Mmm… Haumf… Haji… Mmm…"

As the sun started to rise, their shadows grew. Because of how close together they

were, it looked like they were a single shadow, except during the times they separated

to draw breath.

After a few minutes, Yue's cheeks were flushed, her lips were glossy with saliva, and

her eyes were filled with longing.

Just as they were about to take the next step, Hajime heard someone calling for him

from behind the boulder he was sitting on.

"Oooi, Nagumo. You here?"

It appeared Kouki wanted him for something. He must have gone looking when he'd

seen Hajime wasn't in his sleeping bag. The sun had risen completely now, and it was

around the time everyone else would be waking up.

"Tch, of course he'd be the one to interrupt us. I wanted to let him learn some ancient

magic so we'd have help when there's a dozen Noints coming after us, but… it's

starting to feel like more trouble than it's worth."

Grumbling, Hajime attempted to stand. However, Yue wasn't going to let that happen.

"I won't let you escape, Hajime. Mmph."

"Hey wa— Mmmph."

She pushed him back down and cut off his protests with a kiss. Hajime fell backwards

onto the boulder, but he didn't go down without a fight. Even as Yue was straddling

him, he attempted to kiss her back.

"Kouki, did you find Nagumo-kun?"

"Well, I thought I sensed someone over here, but—!?"

Shizuku, Suzu, and Ryutarou walked up behind Kouki.

Halfway through answering Shizuku's question, Kouki stopped. The sight he'd been

presented with upon rounding the boulder had shocked him into silence. Confused as

to why he was just standing there, Shizuku and the others walked up to him and

peeked around the boulder as well. When they spotted Hajime and Yue, they too went

stiff.

Just then, Shea, Kaori, and Tio arrived as well. Upon seeing Kouki and the others just

standing there, they went over to see for themselves just what was so shocking.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! What do you think you're doing, flirting first thing in the

morning!?"

"Mmm, want to join in, Shea?"

"Wait, I can? In that case…"

"Absolutely not! And Yue, get away from Hajime-kun this instant! You're making me

jeal— I mean, this isn't right!"

"Hmph, if Shea is allowed, then I should be too, no? All I ask is that you punish my

arse…"

After seeing the chaos unfolding around him, Hajime reluctantly lifted Yue off him and

stood up.

He calmed Shea, who was about to jump him at Yue's suggestion, with a sharp jab to

the stomach, comforted Kaori, who was crying tears of envy, and appeased Tio by

smacking her on the ass as she wanted. Kouki and the others couldn't bear to keep

watching, and beat a hasty retreat.

Suzu had completely broken down and had been repeating "So this is what an adult's

like…" over and over, so Shizuku had to carry her out. Even though Shizuku's face had

been just as red as Suzu's.

That morning marked the beginning of the Haulia's counterattack. It was such a sloppy

start that it left everyone, even the people involved, dumbfounded.