A large object floated high above the clouds. It was Tortus' one and only flying
vehicle—the airship Fernir. Sunlight glinted off its polished hull as it cut through the
sky. Clouds spread out below it in all directions, forming a sea that stretched toward
the horizon. They lacked the fluffy white quality of most clouds and instead seemed
like a flat sheet of burnished bronze. Because of that, Fernir gave off the illusion that
it was gliding through an actual sea like a massive manta ray.
"Wow. I can't see the ground at all. It's like how the Haltina Woods look from the sky."
Shea's bunny ears twitched excitedly as she looked out of the bridge's round window.
The clouds they were passing through certainly did resemble the mist that covered
the Haltina Woods. The sight reminded Shea of her favorite place in the forest, the tree
that served as her mother's—Mona's—grave. She thought back to the night she'd
spent with Hajime there, where they'd gazed up at the moonlit fog and talked about
their feelings. After many trials and tribulations, she'd finally been able to enter the
kind of relationship she'd wanted to with him. Shea giggled bashfully to herself and
her ears and tail started wagging back and forth.
"Mmm… It's always cloudy over the Schnee Snow Fields. And there's always a blizzard
going. It's the coldest place on the continent," Yue muttered, as she turned from her
own window and gave Shea a faint smile.
The Schnee Snow Fields were a large tundra that covered the southeastern edge of the
continent. They were bordered on the west by the Demon Empire of Garland, and on
the north by the Haltina Woods. Supposedly they were covered by clouds twenty-four
seven, and never saw the light of day. Worse, the snowfields were covered by a
perpetual blizzard. Everything was coated in layers of snow and ice, and the
temperature never rose above a few dozen degrees below freezing. Its hellish climate
was the most extreme on all of Tortus.
"There's no way that weather's natural." Hajime muttered as he lounged on a sofa. His
Demon Eye was glowing bluish-white through his eyepatch. Though he looked like he
was relaxing, he was in fact constantly monitoring the external cameras installed on
various places on the Fernir through his eye.
"Both the blizzard and the clouds conspire to isolate the snowfields entirely from the
rest of the world. I would assume this is the work of the Liberator who constructed
this labyrinth." Tio muttered in admiration.
As she'd said, the Schnee Snow Fields were entirely cut off from the rest of the world.
What was even more impressive was that the blizzard never pushed past its
boundaries into demon territory in the west or the Haltina Woods in the north. Some
invisible barrier kept the weather confined to a set area. While Tortus may have been
a fantasy world, Hajime highly doubted weather like that was a natural phenomenon.
Kaori, who was hovering around Hajime, suddenly looked out the window and said,
"Umm… there's supposed to be this huge crevasse in the snowfields right? And the
final labyrinth's supposed to be at its bottom?"
"Yeah. The labyrinth of snow and ice—The Frost Caverns."
"The reason most people think there's a labyrinth down there is because the weather's
clearly unnatural, and not a single person has returned from there alive, right?"
"Basically. But we know for sure it's down there, Kaori. Since Miledi told us directly.
We got our information from one of the Liberators directly, so there's no doubt it's
solid."
Oh, I forgot about that! Kaori nodded in understanding. At the same time, she felt they
were kind of cheating by flying right through the harsh polar environment of the
snowfields, which were likely part of the labyrinth's trial.
"So how is it, Master? Is the compass working?"
Tio leaned over to get a better look at the compass in Hajime's hand. In doing so, her
voluptuous breasts dangled right in front of Hajime's face. Hajime leaned back a little
and nodded.
"Yeah, we're good. I've gotta say though, this thing is amazing. It doesn't just point to
whatever you're looking for, it also gives you this vague impression of how far the thing
is, and what the place it's at is like."
Hajime held up the compass, which looked like an old-fashioned pocket watch.
Lyutillis Haltina, the creator of the labyrinth within the Haltina Woods had granted it
to the party as a reward for clearing the labyrinth. It was an artifact known as the
Compass of Eternal Paths. And its ability was to show the wielder where what they
desired lay.
Neither normal magic nor ancient magic was capable of achieving such a feat. The
compass had been created using concept magic, the pinnacle of all magic on Tortus.
According to the hologram Lyutillis had recorded, it could only be used by combining
all seven types of ancient magic. On top of that, the wielder of concept magic needed
an unbreakable will, or they'd be unable to rewrite the laws of reality with it. Long
ago, when Miledi and the other Liberators had first discovered it, they'd only been able
to create three kinds of concept magic spells, despite their best efforts.
Kaori sighed in wonder as she gazed at the compass and said, "It even told us where
Earth is. Though it's hard to describe how far it actually is…"
"It took a ton of mana just to find where it was too. I never thought a single spell could
drain me of all my mana like that. Hell, I nearly fainted after that."
Despite his bitter smile, there was a glimmer of joy in Hajime's eyes. Back in the abyss,
when he'd been on the verge of death, there had been just a single desire giving him
the hope to push onward. Returning home. He'd been willing to throw everything else
away for that goal. And now, that goal was finally in sight.
Everyone vividly remembered how Hajime had smiled after they'd first cleared
Haltina's labyrinth and learned how to return home. That smile had been a mixture of
warmth and strength, a difficult to describe but highly memorable smile. One that had
shone brighter than the sun.
Despite the hellscape outside, Fernir's bridge was warm and safe. After a few minutes
of staring at the clouds, Yue trotted back over to Hajime and sat down beside him. She
looked warmly up at him, her expression full of love. Shea followed suit and hopped
over to the sofa as well. But instead of sitting down on Hajime's other side, she stopped
in front of him. Fidgeting a little, she gave him a bashful, hesitant look.
"Come on, stop worrying so much about how close you should get or where you should
sit. You're making me embarrassed just watching."
Hajime smiled awkwardly. For some reason, it was only after being acknowledged as
Hajime's lover that Shea had started getting embarrassed about being excessively
clingy. Even though she'd come on to him nonstop when he'd been rejecting her
advances, now that he'd accepted her she was hesitating.
"Mmm… That's cute, Shea."
Yue flashed Shea a thumbs-up. Shea's bunny ears twitched and she said, "P-Please
don't tease me like that. Ugh."
Shea blushed and hid her face with her ears. Tio put a hand on her chin and muttered
thoughtfully, "Indeed, your cuteness is destructive, Shea. How cunning! You're almost
as cunning as Kaori!" Her comment caused Kaori to look up in surprise. Does Tio really
think of me like that!? Hajime sighed to himself, but then smiled gently. He tenderly
held a hand out to Shea.
"Come on, stop standing there and sit down."
"O-Okay."
Blushing, Shea happily accepted Hajime's hand and sat down next to him. After a
moment's hesitation, she steeled her resolve and scooted as close to him as possible.
"Mrr… I have to admit, that is cute…" Kaori groaned. Tio flashed Shea a grin and said,
"So? I believe it's about time you gave us a report, Shea. I held my tongue thus far out
of consideration, but I cannot wait any longer. Tell us all the juicy details!"
"What the heck are you talking about? Also, Tio-san, your panting and bloodshot eyes
are creeping—Ahem, scaring me."
"Don't play dumb. I'm asking how your first night with Master went! Surely something
happened!"
"Huuuuuuuh!? I-I can't talk about that. There's no way! How could you even ask
something like that, you perverted dragon!?"
"Don't waste your breath complimenting me! I won't let you change the topic. If you
have even the least bit of pity for Kaori and me, who rarely even get a chance to sleep
in the same bed as Master, then you'll lay everything bare right now!"
Shea shrunk back as Tio bore down on her, panting. Before she could argue back, Kaori
said, "Oh? Did you just call me pitiful, Tio? Is it just me or have you been badmouthing
me a lot more recently? Have I done something to make you mad!?"
Kaori grabbed Tio's sash and started pulling.
"Calm yourself, Kaori. You've done nothing wrong. This is simply my way of bonding
with you. I feel that since we two are the only ones being left out, we should get along."
"That just makes me feel worse!"
Tio ignored Kaori's protests and ignored the fact that her sash was about to come off,
and continued pressing Shea.
"Now come, tell me everything! I need to know about Master's fetishes, his preferences,
and his desires! Spare no detail! You who has surpassed me in life experiences must
teach me what I lack!"
"I'm not telling!"
"Impossible… are Master's fetishes so extreme that you shudder to even—"
"Don't put him together with you, Tio-san! Hajime-san's not a pervert! He's normal…
but also… amazing. No matter how many times I—"
Shea's ears burned bright red. It was obvious from her expression what she was
recalling. Apparently, she'd had quite a steamy final night in Verbergen. Incidentally,
Tio, Kaori, and a whole host of others had tried to peek into Hajime's room, but Yue
had chased them all away with her Draconic Thunder. A certain elf princess had been
more persistent than the others, and so had been rewarded with an even more severe
beating than the others. She was currently recuperating in her house, ecstatically
nursing her injuries.
Hajime flicked Tio's forehead with his prosthetic fingers, causing her to somersault
gracefully through the air. The sound of her crashing into the wall brought Shea back
to her senses. Realizing what she'd just accidentally let slip, Shea curled up in
embarrassment and once again covered her face with her ears.
"Mmm… I taught Hajime all there is to know. He's a true berserker in bed."
"Yue, could you stop talking for a second?"
Hajime comfortingly patted Shea's head with one hand while he pinched Yue's cheeks
with the other. Kaori watched on with jealousy while Tio lay on the ground writhing
in pleasure.
"W-We finally made it to the final labyrinth! I want to hurry up and get through it so
we can go see Myu-chan again!"
Shea hurriedly changed the subject in an attempt to clear the awkward atmosphere.
Chuckling at her desperation, Hajime responded, "Yeah. I hope she's doing well…"
By some strange twist of fate, Hajime had ended up taking care of a young dragon girl
for a while. Her existence had been a huge part of why Hajime had started to change.
In fact, he'd promised her that he'd take her back to Earth someday. The same promise
he'd made to Yue back during the start of their journey. Hajime looked off toward the
west, where Myu waited a continent away. Shea smiled and said, "I'm sure she is.
Besides, she takes after you, Hajime-san. If we don't show up to see her again, she'll
definitely go on a journey to find us instead."
You're not wrong there. Hajime turned to Shea and nodded.
"We'll need to make some time to see Cam and the others too."
"Hajime-san… Ehehe, thank you!"
In truth, Hajime had asked Cam and the other Haulia if they'd want to go to Earth with
him before he'd left Verbergen. But their answer had been a definitive no. Hajime had
expected that answer from the start though. After all, they'd resolved to fight against
the empire. They'd decided to win their right to survive in this world with their own
two hands. To fight back against the society that oppressed them. For the reborn
Haulia tribe, earning their rights was both a matter of pride and their raison d'etre.
Though he'd known all that, Hajime had still been a little disappointed that Shea would
have to leave her family behind. However, Cam had just smiled at Hajime and said, "As
long as you make Shea happy, that's enough for me, Boss." There hadn't been an iota
of regret in that smile. Truly, all he'd cared about was his daughter's happiness.
Hajime, of course, knew that it was possible for him to travel freely between Tortus
and Earth while avoiding the gods' interference. However, it would be a difficult feat,
especially when he knew so little about conception magic to begin with. While he fully
intended to make interworld travel possible at some point, he had no idea how long it
might take. Once they went to Earth, he couldn't say for certain how much time it
would be before Shea saw her family again. Which was why he wanted to give Shea at
least a day to spend with her family before they made the jump.
Shea, of course, realized all that, and she beamed at Hajime before taking his hand.
"But you know, Hajime-san. I've already said my farewells to Dad and the others. I'm
happy you're worried about me, but you really don't have to be. I'm sure Dad would
want that too."
"You sure?"
"Yep! Fufu, I realized this after we first met Myu-chan, but you're really nice to your
family, Hajime-san."
Shea flashed Hajime a teasing smile and snickered. Yue also flashed Hajime a playful
grin and grabbed onto his arm.
"Mmm… Hajime really spoils his family. You have to be careful, or you'll drown in his
kindness."
"Ahaha. You're right, if I let myself take advantage of Hajime-kun too much I won't be
able to do anything on my own."
I can't believe even Kaori's saying that. Hajime thought with a frown. He didn't really
want to be seen as some kind of NEET-enabler. Just then, the bridge's sliding door
opened, and Kouki, Ryutarou, Suzu, and Shizuku walked into the room. The four of
them were so used to seeing Hajime cuddling with Yue and Shea that they didn't even
bother to comment. However, one of the three still raised an eyebrow in disapproval.
Hajime ignored him and took the group's entrance as an opportunity to change the
subject.
"You guys sure were at it for a long time. How is it? Did you get used to your artifacts'
new abilities?"
Kouki and the others had been on the deck familiarizing themselves with the new
powers Hajime had enchanted their artifacts with. Shizuku heaved a tired sigh and
replied, "We did, Nagumo-kun. Thanks to—Wait, why's she lying on the floor and
grinning like a creep?"
Shizuku leaped back when she spotted Tio panting on the floor. Considering Tio's
current appearance. Shizuku's surprise was understandable. Kaori's pulling had
loosened Tio's sash, and her kimono was on the verge of slipping off. On a normal
person, that level of undress would have looked sexy, but everyone knew how much
of a pervert Tio was, which was why Shizuku was so freaked out.
"You can ignore the trash lying on the floor. Have a seat."
Tio squirmed in pleasure. Kouki and the others gave her a wide berth as they walked
over to the sofa.
"Anyway, how were they? Find anything wrong with the upgrades?"
Hajime continued his conversation as though nothing had happened. I've seen this
same exchange a bunch of times already, but I can never get used to it. Kouki thought to
himself, nonplussed. He shot the dragon lying on the floor a few covert glances before
replying.
"Nah, they were fine. Honestly, I'm surprised. I can channel magic through my sword
way easier now. It's stronger too, and all the new abilities look useful."
Kouki frowned as he said that, unhappy that he'd gotten stronger without any effort,
and that the source of his newfound strength was Hajime. Ryutarou either didn't
notice or didn't care about his friend's plight and added cheerfully, "Man, this stuff is
awesome! It felt weird stepping on air at first, but this is going to come in handy for
sure. And my gauntlets are twice as strong as before. I can't wait to test them out in a
real fight!"
On top of upgrading their artifacts, Hajime had also given Kouki and the others new
artifacts to boost their abilities. Among those artifacts were boots which had been
enchanted with Aerodynamic to let them stand on air. Ryutarou punched his gauntlets
together excitedly, like a child eager to test out a new toy. Shockwaves spread out from
the point of impact, a display of one of the new powers Hajime had endowed them
with. Suzu, who was sitting next to him, grimaced as the shockwaves passed through
her and ruffled her twintails. Once the shockwaves subsided she nodded and said,
"Unlike everyone else, my artifact's a completely new one so I was worried I might not
be able to use it right, but it was way easier to get the hang of than I thought! Now…
I'll be able to fight too. I won't have to settle for just protecting everyone. Thanks,
Nagumo-kun!"
Suzu flashed Hajime a carefree yet determined smile. It was her persistence that had
convinced Hajime to let Kouki and his group continue to tag along on his journey.
Even if it meant saying farewell for good, Suzu wanted to meet once more with her
best friend, Nakamura Eri. In order to make that dream a reality, she needed power.
Which was why she'd begged Hajime to give her one more chance and let her take a
crack at another labyrinth with him. Her unshakable resolve might have been what
had convinced Hajime to give her new weapons so that she could fight. As a Barrier
Master, her job gave her unparalleled defensive abilities, but her base offensive skills
left much to be desired.
"There was nothing wrong with my artifact either. In fact, it's been upgraded so much
I think I might have too many options in combat. I guess I'll just have to build up more
experience so I know what to use when."
Shizuku looked down at her beloved black katana with a slightly stiff expression. She
was almost afraid of how much Hajime had powered it up.
"Perfect. I mostly added those upgrades as a way to get practice with evolution magic,
but it's good to know you guys like them. Though there's still some things about
Amanogawa's sword that I'm not happy with…"
"Huh? W-Wait up, Nagumo! Are you saying my sword's defective!?"
Did he ask how the upgrades were because he wasn't sure they'd all actually work!?
Kouki thought, horrified. Hajime was like an engineer who, upon finding an extra
screw after completing a project, would just shrug his shoulders and go "Oh well."
Hajime smiled and shook his head.
"Don't worry, that's not what I meant. It's just your holy sword is a little special. The
blade's enchantments are all extremely precise and perfectly balanced."
"Uhh, so what's that supposed to mean exactly?"
"It means your sword's already been enhanced as much as feasibly possible. If I make
too many adjustments to the core, I might end up making it weaker instead of stronger.
Which is why I just did some general maintenance and added a few external upgrades
to the surface. To be honest, you couldn't call what I did a real remodel."
In essence, what Hajime was saying was that the ancient sword had gotten a little
rusty after all these years, and all he'd done was polish the rust off. Upon hearing that
the sword was beyond even Hajime's abilities to improve, everyone's eyes widened in
surprise. Kouki scrutinized his weapon, wondering what exactly it was made of.
"Anyway, if you guys can master those weapons then you should be able to hold your
own even in demon territory. Of course you've gotta survive the labyrinth first… good
luck with that."
Though Hajime's words sounded cold, he had just given Kouki and the rest a huge
power boost. They were already indebted to him, so they could hardly ask to be
coddled any further.
It really does feel like Nagumo-kun's changed a little… Shizuku thought to herself. While
Hajime's speech and actions hadn't changed much since conquering Haltina's
labyrinth, Shizuku felt as though there was an underlying kindness behind them now.
Suzu felt the same way, and in fact, was beginning to think that Hajime might actually
just be a tsundere. However, she knew how he'd react if she said that so she kept her
mouth shut.
Suddenly, Hajime looked down at the compass. A second later, he turned to the
window and narrowed his eyes. He was no longer lounging on the sofa, but rather
sitting with his back straight.
"We've reached the crevasse. It's time to descend."
Fernir plummeted into the clouds, and the party felt a sensation of weightlessness
wash over them. Everyone turned to the window as they descended, ignoring the
butterflies they were getting in their stomachs. Outside was a world of dark grey. No
sunlight made its way through the thick clouds, but occasional bolts of lightning
briefly illuminated them. After a few seconds of descent, Fernir shuddered. It seemed
one of the lightning bolts had struck the airship.
"Kyaa!?" Suzu screamed and shrunk back. Kouki and the other stiffened nervously as
well.
"Relax, guys. Fernir isn't like an airplane from Earth. A little turbulence won't be
enough to bring it down." A fierce wind blew around the airship and pellets of hail
struck it from all sides. From within the bridge, it sounded like someone was firing a
machine gun. Peals of thunder interrupted the staccato barrage, with some
occasionally striking the ship. Had Fernir operated on normal aerodynamic principles,
it would have been in serious danger of falling. But as Hajime had said, his airship was
made of sterner stuff. A few bolts of thunder or a hail of ice wasn't enough to even
scratch the hull.
"I know it's gravity magic, but this feels like a sci-fi spaceship…"
"Tell me about it."
Ryutarou watched in awe as Fernir weathered the storm with ease. Kouki shot Hajime
a covert glance, saw the confidence on his face, then turned back to Ryutarou and
nodded. It took only a few seconds to pass through the storm clouds. Once they were
through, the snowfields spread out below them.
"Whoa. Hajime-san, Hajime-san, look outside!"
"Calm down, Shea. I get you're excited, but can you stop flapping your ears around?
You keep poking me in the eye."
A fierce blizzard raged on outside. The temperature was so low that frost gathered on
the windows in seconds. This was the first time Shea had ever seen snow, so she was
unduly excited. She clung to Hajime's arm and pointed at the window, her ears and tail
flopping back and forth. Each time her ears made a full circuit, they bopped Hajime in
the eye.
"Oho, so this is the coldest place on Tortus is like. It certainly lives up to its name. I
must say, I am not fond of the cold."
Tio frowned as she gazed down at the snowscape below. Knowing her masochistic
tendencies, she'd probably turn her dislike of the cold into pleasure somehow. If she
starts getting too annoying maybe I should strip her naked and throw her out into the
cold… Hajime thought, and shot Tio a quick glance. Guessing his intentions, Tio
shivered in pleasure. What a wonderful idea, Master. Hajime ignored her and held up
the pendant he was wearing. It was a simple octagonal, clear-blue crystal attached to
a plain chain. This was a new climate modulating artifact he'd created, the Airzone.
"I'm not going to make the same mistake I did at Gruen. Make sure you guys don't lose
the artifacts I handed out to you. Unless you want to have a miserable time in the
labyrinth."
Yue and the others took out their own identical pendants.
"Mmm… Wonderful craftsmanship as always, Hajime."
"Yeah, I love how it looks like a snowflake!"
"This is the third gift you've given me, Hajime-kun… Ehehe."
While it may have been necessary equipment, it was also a gift from the man they
loved. And unlike the relatively plain pendant Hajime had made for himself, the ones
he'd made for the girls all had elaborate snowflake designs. They glimmered
enchantingly in the bridge's artificial light. Yue, Shea, and Kaori smiled as they looked
down at their pendants. However, a pained voice interrupted their admiration.
"Master, may I ask why only mine is a tiny snowman? I suppose I cannot deny that it
looks cute, however… I would have liked a complex and fanciful design as well…"
Tio lifted her pendant up to get a better look at it. The crystal on her chain was shaped
like a smiling snowman. It looked as though it was ready to come to life and burst into
laughter at any moment. Tio glanced wistfully back and forth between her own
pendant and those belonging to Yue and the others. Seeing her longing, Hajime said,
"I know."
"Kn-Know what?"
To Tio's surprise, Hajime's expression was serious. Her voice wavered a little as she
replied. With a piercing glare, Hajime declared, "I know that Super Tio-san is sleeping
somewhere within you!"
"!?"
Shock rippled across the bridge, leaving everyone speechless. Super Tio-san referred
to the strange personality Tio had displayed back in the labyrinth when everyone's
emotions had been reversed. She'd been so reliable she'd been scary, and so cool she'd
creeped everyone out. She'd been, of all things, a normal Tio Clarence!
"I thought it had just been a rumor, but Shea and Kaori told me all about how scary it
was after we cleared the labyrinth. They wouldn't lie… so it means a serious version
of you really exists, Tio."
"Master. My apologies for interrupting you in the midst of such a serious revelation,
but don't you think that's rather rude? You're actually hurting my feelings here."
Tio shot a sulky look at Shea and Kaori. It was rare to see her actually feeling down.
The two girls hastily replied, "D-Don't blame us! You really were scary back then!
When you were protecting me you looked so regal and said all that cool stuff… It
started making me feel weird!"
"What's so strange about that!? What reason could there possibly be to be scared!?"
"Of course I'd be scared! This is you we're talking about, Tio-san! Just thinking about
how cool and unflappable you were back them makes me—Ulp."
"Now hold on just a moment, Sheaaaa! Why does the thought of me make you
nauseous!? You're making me cry! If you keep insulting me like this I really will start
sobbing!"
The fact that Tio's cheeks were still reddening despite how supposedly hurtful Shea's
words were proved that this dragon was beyond help. However, Hajime wasn't willing
to give up on Super Tio-san that easily. He pointed to the snowman pendant and said,
"I want to see the Super Tio-san slumbering deep inside you. So make sure you bring
it out while we're in the frost caverns. If you do, I'll reward you by making you a
pendant of whatever design you want."
"H-How cruel, Master… Doesn't that mean you'll never give me a proper gift my whole
life!? That's just too cruel! I may enjoy being punished, but I abhor being left out!"
"Oi, shitty dragon. Stop talking like that version of you's dead forever. Don't assume
your horrible fetishes are incurable."
Hajime sighed as he watched Tio cling to him with tears in her eyes. He'd thought this
was his best chance to bring out normal Tio. Suzu and Shizuku exchanged glances as
they watched Hajime bully Tio.
"Hey, Shizushizu. Is it just me, or did he not even try for ours? Like mine's just a rock.
Even a snowman's better than that."
"Don't say it, Suzu. The difference in how he treats us hurts too much to think about."
Shizuku looked glumly down at her pendant. The crystal on its chain looked like the
kind of plain rock one might pick up from a riverbed. In truth, it was just a plain rock
Hajime had enchanted to protect against the cold. Shizuku wasn't exactly expecting a
lavish present from Hajime or anything, but she was still a little disappointed that this
was all she got.
"Is it really that big a deal? As long as it keeps me warm, I don't care what my pendant
looks like."
"Ryutarou. I don't think that's why they're sad about it."
Suzu glared at Ryutarou as if to say "Yeah, it's exactly what Kouki said!" Ryutarou, ever
insensitive about girls' feelings, awkwardly averted his gaze. He didn't want to touch
this issue with a ten-foot pole.
As the group was bickering over their pendants, Fernir descended far enough that they
could make out a large crevasse through the ceaseless blizzard. The crevasse turned
out to be a series of fissures that left a spiderweb of cracks through otherwise
unblemished earth. This was the Ice Gorge that led to the frost caverns. Supposedly,
the entrance to the labyrinth lay somewhere in that maze of fissures. Hajime turned
Fernir to match the direction the compass pointed. Normally, any aspiring party of
conquerors would have needed to navigate the deadly maze of fissures to find the
entrance. All while braving the harsh cold and relentless blizzard. Hajime could see
why people believed the region contained a labyrinth. After continuing forward for a
while, they reached the gorge's endpoint. However, they still hadn't found the entrance
to the frost caverns. Hajime cocked his head to the side.
"Huh? Does the gorge stop here? But the compass says we've got a ways to go still…"
"Hajime, look."
Yue pointed to the crystal in the middle of the bridge that displayed what the external
cameras were seeing. From the looks of it, the crevasse had narrowed considerably,
but not vanished completely. After magnifying the display a few times, Hajime spotted
something that looked like a tunnel at the very end of the gorge. Though he couldn't
see much further, it looked like the tunnel continued deeper in the direction they were
traveling. Whatever it led to was hidden from above by a thick pile of snow and ice.
"Guess our only choice is to head down and continue on foot. According to the
compass, it's only a kilometer to the caverns, so it shouldn't be a long walk."
"We're finally going outside!? This is my first time seeing snow! I wonder what it feels
like? Does it have a smell? My fingers won't freeze if I touch it, will they?"
Shea's ears and tail swished back and forth in excitement. She was clearly looking
forward to this a great deal. She ran over to the window and pressed her face to it, like
an excited child looking out of a train window. Hajime scratched his head awkwardly
and turned away from her. It was obvious from his outstretched hand that he'd been
about to instinctively hug Shea and that he'd had to look away to stop himself. Shea
had been just as childishly excited when they'd reached the ocean a while back, but
Hajime saw her in a very different light now than he had back then. After formally
accepting Shea as his lover, Hajime had found himself inexplicably captivated by Shea's
innocent curiosity and excitement.
"Fufu…"
Yue chuckled as she watched Hajime's conflicted reaction. Hajime cleared his throat
awkwardly and tried to make it seem as though he was focused on guiding Fernir
toward the crevasse.
"I want to land inside the crevasse… but I guess that's not happening. It's too narrow.
I'll bring us down next to it."
Talking to no one in particular, Hajime manipulated Fernir to land on the crevasse's
cliff. Since Fernir didn't manipulate air pressure to fly, there was no gust of wind to
whip up the snow around their landing point. In fact, Fernir touched down in complete
silence. Hajime opened the ship's hatch, and a frigid gust of wind blew into the bridge.
"Fwah!? That's cold!"
"This is some weather… Achoo!"
Suzu shivered and wrapped her arms around herself while Shizuku sneezed. Neither
of them had activated their Airzones because they'd wanted to experience just how
cold it was first. Hajime and the others hadn't either, and they all shivered violently for
a few seconds before turning on their artifacts.
A fierce blizzard greeted the group the moment they stepped outside. A film of white
snow soon coated everyone's faces. Hajime's Airzones only regulated the temperature
around their wearer; they didn't create any kind of physical barrier. So in order to keep
out the snow, everyone had to put up the hoods of the coats they were wearing.
"Wow, so this is snow! Ahahaha, it's all soft and fluffy!"
Shea, however, didn't even bother to button up her coat, let alone put on her hood. She
scampered excitedly through the snow, heedless of the blizzard and its gale-force
winds. She stamped her feet on the snow, squatted down and picked handfuls of it up,
and generally enjoyed her first encounter with the powdery substance.
"Oi, Shea. We're leaving. Stop messing around and—"
"I've gotta try jumping into it!"
"Listen to me…"
Shea was so excited that Hajime's words didn't even register to her. She let out a
spirited yell and dove headfirst into a pile of snow. As she left her mark on the virgin
snow she shouted, "From today onward, I'm no longer a forest bunny but a snow
bunnyyyyyyy!"
Her whole body disappeared into the pile of snow, leaving a Shea-sized hole where
she'd landed. It seemed she'd dove straight into the crevasse. Snow had piled up
around it so it had looked like part of the ground, but it wasn't actually. A second later,
Hajime walked over to the edge and looked down.
"And so, the foolish bunny girl was never heard from again…" He muttered, sounding
like he was narrating an RPG 'game over' message.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on a second! How can you be so calm, Nagumo-kun!? What if
Shea died down there!?"
"Eeeek Sheasheaaaaaa!"
Shizuku and Suzu looked down, their faces pale. Kouki and Ryutarou, on the other
hand, were too stunned to even react.
"There's no way Shea'd kick the bucket from a small fall like that. Come on, we need to
get down there too."
Hajime waved his hand as if it was no big deal and stored Fernir inside his Treasure
Trove. Then, he casually stepped off the edge and fell down himself. Though the
crevasse was easily 600 meters deep, he didn't even hesitate.
"Wha!?" Kouki and Ryutarou exclaimed, their eyes wide. Yue followed after him, also
stepping off the edge without hesitation. A desolate gust of wind blew past the
remaining party members as they watched the two of them descend into the darkness.
"Ah, wait for me, you two!"
Kaori was the next to jump. She, too, had no hesitation. As if she was just jumping into
a pool. Had she been back on Earth before amassing all her new powers, the fall would
most certainly have killed her.
Technically, Kouki and the others were equipped with everything they needed to make
the descent just as casually. The boots Hajime had given them let them walk on air, and
they could, of course, use wind magic to slow their descent as well. That being said,
their common sense, their instincts, were screaming at them that jumping off a cliff
was a terrible idea. Suzu took one look down the cliff, then backed up. There were
tears in her eyes, and she looked as though she had her back to a cliff.
"If you're hesitating over such a simple task, how will you survive the labyrinth's
challenges? The trials you are about to face will be far more terrifying than a simple
jump off a cliff. You can't let yourselves falter here. Now pluck up your courage and
jump."
Unable to ignore Suzu's plight, Tio walked over and gave her a pat on the back. A rather
forceful one at that. Suzu quickly braced her legs to stop Tio from pushing her all the
way over the edge. She looked like a terrified skydiver having second thoughts.
Probably because she hadn't been given a parachute.
"W-Wait! I'll go, I promise! I can do it, don't worry! So please just let me get myself
ready first!"
"From the looks of it, it will take you all day to get ready."
Suzu's struggles were in vain, and Tio easily lifted her up.
"Fear not. Even if you end up splatting on the ground, we should be able to find some
way to salvage your soul. So don't worry and get going!"
"What do you mean, 'should!?' Aren't you supposed to say you'll definitely find a way
to—Hey, wait, I said I'll go when I'm ready. So please don't chuck me
oveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer…"
Taniguchi Suzu, seventeen years old. Upon arriving in another world, was thrown off
a cliff. Literally.
Her screams grew steadily fainter, like the last flickering light of a dying flame, until
finally, they vanished. Kouki and the others paled as Tio then turned toward them. Her
sadistic smile made it obvious what was coming next. They were about to be thrown
off too.
"Y-Yaegashi Shizuku, jumping off!"
Unwilling to suffer the humiliation of being thrown off, Shizuku elected to jump on her
own. She fell headfirst, executing a perfect swan dive.
"I-I'm going too! I believe I can flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
"Fuck, guess I have to do it too!"
Ryutarou and Kouki followed suit. Though with considerably less grace and a good
deal more desperation.
"Good. It's nice to see youngsters with such energy."
Tio nodded and leaped off the cliff herself. It was rare to see her act so pushy. Whether
or not she was venting her frustrations over the Super Tio incident, only she knew.
"I-I'm not crying! I-I shwear, I'm not crying!"
Suzu's wails echoed throughout the crevasse. Trembling, she shook her head and
valiantly held back the tears threatening to pool in her eyes. It wasn't the terror of the
fall that had brought her to tears, but rather the damp patch spreading through her
pants right now. Of course, the cause of that damp patch was something she could
never reveal. Normally either Kouki, Ryutarou, or Shizuku would have consoled her,
but right now the three of them were still recovering from the shock of their own fall.
And so, it fell to Kaori to do the consoling. Unfortunately—
"Suzu-chan. Don't worry, there's nothing to be scared of. Oh, yes, do you want some
candy?"
Kaori's method of consoling someone was very similar to how an old lady would dote
on her pet. The last thing Suzu wanted was to be treated like a small animal. Though
she took the candy from Kaori, she still glared unhappily at her.
"E-Err, was the descent truly so terrifying?"
Tio asked guiltily. Seeing how traumatized Suzu was, she felt a little bad about what
she'd done. Hajime gave Tio a pensive look and muttered, "Now that's rare. I never see
you go sadistic, Tio. Did that side of you only awaken because you're dealing with
Taniguchi? If we use Taniguchi as a sacrifice, can we bring out enough of your sadistic
side that it cancels out your masochistic side, leaving behind only Super Tio?"
"Nagumo-kun!?"
"Master!?"
"Did you just call me a sacrifice!? You did, didn't you!?" Suzu screamed, while Tio
pleaded, "Please, Master, can we forget about that subject already!?"
A second later the party heard a faint voice. "Hmm, I heard a voice from the other side
of this wall." A second later, there was a loud yell and a series of rhythmic thuds came
from the other side of the frozen wall. Each thud caused more cracks to appear in the
ice. Finally, the wall blew apart, and Shea appeared from the opening. Drucken was
perched casually on her shoulder.
"Man, what a cunning trap. I totally fell for it. Who would have thought the snow would
conspire to take advantage of my childish innocence and—Bweh!?"
Shea wiped an imaginary bead of sweat off her brow to hide her embarrassment at
falling through the snow. Before she could finish her sentence though, Hajime smacked
her on the head.
"Moron. We might not be inside the labyrinth yet, but it's still dangerous here. Don't
let your guard down."
"Awawah, sorry. I got carried away."
Shea's shoulders and bunny ears drooped. Hajime cleared his throat with a cough and
said awkwardly, "Well, it's reassuring to see that worthless part of you is still going
strong, I guess."
He walked over and started stroking Shea's ears. Yue seemed to have been thinking
the same thing since she said, "Yeah… I was starting to miss the useless Shea."
She also strode over and started petting Shea.
"C-Cut it out you two! You're making it sound like you want me to be useless!"
Shea fidgeted awkwardly. Despite her complaints, she seemed rather glad at the
attention she was getting. Everyone watching could easily tell she was actually happy.
In fact, it looked more like Hajime and Yue were flirting with Shea than actually
admonishing her. This was the first time Yue or Hajime were flirting with someone
other than each other. Meanwhile, Suzu had just suffered a terrifying fall, fallen into
despair, and was now being abandoned.
"Things are getting so steamy over there I think the snow might melt. Good for you,
Sheashea. Fucking lovebirds."
"S-Suzu!? Did you just curse!? I don't think I've ever heard you curse in your life!"
The cruel treatment Suzu had suffered had finally caused her to snap. Shizuku quickly
snapped back to her senses and started doing everything she could to cheer Suzu up
before the party's barrier master was lost to the darkness forever. Including offering
her candy.
"Looks like it's… this way. Quit fooling around you guys, it's time to go."
"Like you're one to talk!" Shizuku screamed, but Hajime ignored her and walked
forward, using the compass as his guide. After a few minutes of walking, the party
arrived at a fork where three different tunnels split off. Hajime's compass pointed
toward the rightmost tunnel. As they headed toward the tunnel Kouki slapped his
cheeks and said, "He's right, this isn't the time to be messing around. Ryutarou,
Shizuku, Suzu, let's do this."
"You got it. Suzu, cheer up already."
"Ugh, I know, I know."
"You okay, Suzu? Want another candy?"
"I'm sick and tired of candy."
At Kouki's urging, Ryutarou and the others walked into the dark, icy tunnel. The tunnel
had been formed when snow piled up around the frozen walls of the crevasse. That
caused strong winds to blow continuously through it, buffeting the party. Since cold
air descended while warm air rose, the bottom of the crevasse was even colder than
the surface of the snowfields. Factoring in wind chill, it was likely close to -40° F or -
50° F in the tunnel. Were it not for the party's Airzones, no amount of thick clothing
would have been able to save them from these frigid temperatures. Thankfully, this
crevasse didn't disperse mana the way the Reisen Gorge did. That being said, no
amount of fire magic would have been able to fend off this weather for long. Plus,
trying to use magic to stay warm would have just drained everyone's mana. Hajime
led the party, walking cautiously down the tunnel. Naturally, the tunnel wasn't
maintained. Natural rock formations and half-buried pillars of ice obstructed the path
at regular intervals, and the route snaked around while also varying in elevation. The
party, at times, clambered over obstructions, at other times detoured around them,
and at yet other times destroyed them outright.
"Hm? Is something here?"
Shea's ears perked up. A second later, Hajime turned to the right. The right-hand side
of the crevasse was filled with a wall of ice pillars jutting out like spears. And it seemed
there was something hiding inside.
"Squeak."
"Waaah, it's so cute!"
That something turned out to be a baby rabbit. Shizuku let out an involuntary squeal
when she spotted it. Everyone turned to her with a knowing grin.
"A-Ahem. Is that a monster? I never realized there were monsters out there who tried
to lure in victims using a cute appearance."
"Shizuku-chan, I don't think you're fooling anyone."
"Shizushizu, you know your ears are red, right?"
While the girls were talking, the bunny slowly hopped toward the party. Upon closer
inspection, it became clear this was no normal rabbit. Its fur was pure silver and
coated with a fine layer of glimmering snow crystals. Its appearance was clearly
designed to blend with the surroundings. However, it didn't seem much like a monster.
Especially since it had silver eyes, instead of the customary crimson that most monsters
did.
"Squeak, squeak."
Plus, it just looked so cute. The way it cautiously approached while it tilted its head
was almost enough to get the party to lower their guard. Even Yue smiled a little. The
silver bunny hopped over to Hajime, who stood at the head of the party. It sniffed his
shoes, then looked up at him, cuteness radiating from its every pore. Hajime looked
down at it with a smile.
Aaah, I knew it. Everyone thought simultaneously. He really did mellow out after
conquering Haltina's labyrinth. Before, Hajime had separated the world into those who
were his enemy and those who weren't, killing anyone who got in his way. In order to
return home, he'd been willing to sacrifice anything and everything else. But thanks
to the people he'd met since falling into the abyss he'd slowly started to change. After
finding a way home, he'd started returning to old, kind Hajime he used—
"Your tricks won't work on me, filth."
Squelch! What? Everyone thought, stunned. What's that red stuff spilling out from
under his shoe? Why's the cute little bunny twitching like that? And where'd its head go?
Oh, it's underneath his shoe…
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah, Nagumo-kun, how could youuuuuu!" Suzu wailed. She looked like
the man in The Scream. Shizuku was so shocked she fainted, and Kouki hurriedly
caught her as she fell. Kaori covered her face with her hands and squatted down on
the spot, while Yue and Tio exchanged glances and sighed. Shea, on the other hand,
shrieked and backed away from the gruesome spectacle.
"Squeak, squeak!?"
"Squeak!?"
More bunnies hopped out from behind the pillars, mourning the loss of their friend.
They hopped toward Hajime, squeaking reproachfully at him. However, they weren't
intimidating in the slightest. All they could do was throw themselves harmlessly at his
legs. They were clearly cute, harmless little animals.
And yet— "Tch. Fuck off."
Hajime mercilessly started squashing them. He also grabbed one by the ears and lifted
it up. The bunny trembled helplessly, squeaking for mercy. Unable to bear it any longer,
Shea said, "U-Umm, Hajime-san? Don't you think that's enough? I mean, they're not
attacking us or anything, and they look pretty scared…"
"Huh? What're you saying?"
Shea's words didn't register to Hajime at all. Shizuku, who'd regained consciousness,
and Suzu gave Shea shouts of encouragement, urging her to keep trying to get through
to him.
"Hajime-san! I'm your girlfriend, right!?"
"Y-Yeah, you are, but where'd that come from? You're making me blush."
Hajime bashfully averted his gaze. Shea and Yue both preserved that image in their
memory, determined to never forget it. As that expression of Hajime's was one he
didn't show often, it should have been further proof that he'd begun mellowing out,
and yet— "That's right, I'm your girlfriend, Hajime-san! And your bunny!"
Shea grabbed her bunny ears to show off how much like a rabbit she was.
"You know, this really isn't the time or place for this. I'm happy you think so, but you're
making it hard to concentrate."
Hajime's troubled expression was just as priceless as his shy one. However, despite
acting extremely cute, Hajime didn't stop slaughtering bunnies as he responded to
Shea. In fact, he accidentally used so much force he sliced off one bunny's pair of ears.
He then punched the bunny so hard it crashed into the opposite wall, leaving only a
stain behind. The pristine wall of ice now had a smear of red on it.
"Tch. Fucking disgusting bunny ears."
Hajime looked at the pair of bunny ears he'd ripped off like they were putrid garbage,
then tossed them aside.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Yue-saaaaaaaaaaaaan. I don't understand Hajimesan anymoooooooooore!"
"Mmm… Bad Hajime!"
"What're you mad at me for?"
Shea hugged Yue tight, and Yue gently tried to console her while admonishing Hajime.
He couldn't understand what there was to be mad about, though.
"You know, Hajime-kun. Those bunnies are sort of related to Shea, right? Plus they're
so cute there really isn't any reason to be killing them. I think that's what Shea was
trying to say too."
Pale-faced, Kaori tried to explain the problem to Hajime.
"She's right, Master. Besides, such a gruesome method of slaughter is…"
Even Tio was objecting to Hajime's actions.
"Squeak!"
A veritable avalanche of bunnies poured out from the gaps in the pillars. Faced with
such overwhelming numbers, Hajime was forced to open up his Treasure Trove. There
was a series of metallic clanks, a flash of light, and suddenly a spray of needles turned
the rabbits into pincushions. The avalanche of rabbits spasmed and threw up blood as
Hajime's needles pierced their organs, sending them to the afterlife. Hajime had used
one of his new weapons, the revolver-style shotgun Alvus. It was a different kind of
weapon that retained the lethality of his railgun-powered firearms without any of the
noise or recoil. Instead of using gunpowder he'd packed the needles into miniature,
disposable Treasure Troves which he'd made using evolution magic. By compressing
them to an extremely small space, they shot out with lethal force when released.
Furthermore, the needles were coated with a potent poison Hajime had found in the
abyss.
"Hey, you guys. Stop spacing out and help me kill these things. Just be careful not to
use any big attacks or make too much noise, or the snow'll cave in around us."
Hajime set about slaughtering the bunnies in the fastest and most efficient manner
possible, showing just how serious he was about this. Kouki, Ryutarou, Suzu, and
Shizuku watched on in horror.
"Y-You monsteeeeeeeeeeer!" They shouted. So much for Nagumo returning to being a
kinder person! Fortunately, their screams didn't cause an avalanche.
The party continued forward, Hajime leaving mounds of bunny corpses in their wake.
By the time his lagomorphian genocide was complete, they were only three hundred
meters from the frost caverns' entrance.
"Like I said, those things were all monsters," Hajime grumbled, a sour look on his face.
He was tired of the girls, especially Shizuku, Suzu, and Shea telling him off for his
actions. The rabbit extermination had left the three of them in tears. According to
Hajime, those rabbits had possessed special magic that allowed them to drain the heat
from others. He'd noticed when the first bunny had gotten within the radius of his
Airzone. He'd even grabbed one just to make sure, and as he'd suspected, the bunny
had started stealing his body heat at a prodigious rate. Meaning those bunnies were
actually crafty monsters that used their cuteness to get close to their target, then kill
them by draining all their body heat.
"If you let yourself get fooled by their cuteness, you would have been a popsicle in
minutes. And they started coming in droves after a while… they might look cute, but
trust me, they're the real monsters."
It seemed Hajime was still holding a grudge over being called a monster. Shizuku and
the others awkwardly averted their gazes.
"Actually wait, didn't you guys notice when the first one came close? It was close
enough to affect you guys too. I know you two realized at least, Yue, Tio. You could
have helped me out, but no, you left me to deal with all of them."
"Mmm… I was busy consoling Shea."
"M-My apologies, Master. But when I saw Shea crying, I felt so guilty that I just I
couldn't… Besides, you seemed to be handling them just fine."
"What kind of excuse is that!? Also, Shea, stop crying."
Watching Hajime mercilessly shred through hordes of rabbits and rip off their ears
had left Shea traumatized.
"I can't help it! I know they're monsters, but you just kept ripping off their ears without
any mercy. How could I watch that and not be sad!?"
Sighing, Hajime walked over to Shea and gently stroked her ears.
"Shit is shit, and you're you, Shea. The only bunny I care about is you. So why would I
hesitate about killing a bunch of other shitty ones?"
"I-I guess that makes sense. Hehehe."
Shea gave Hajime a warm smile. She really was easy to please. Seeing Hajime and Shea
start flirting again, Kaori pouted and murmured, "Mrr… Whenever I see something like
this it really feels like Hajime-kun's accepted Shea."
"Indeed. Well, it's too soon to give up, Kaori. That future will be ours if we persevere a
little longer."
"You're right. Let's both do our best."
Yue turned to Kaori as she pumped herself up and scoffed.
"Kaori… You're wasting your time. Don't bother."
"And what's that supposed to mean, huh!?"
Kaori reached out to Yue to pull her cheeks, but Yue slapped her hands away.
The two repeated the same sequence of actions over and over. The others had gotten
used to this spectacle over the past few days, and Suzu turned to Shizuku with a smile.
"At this rate, Nagumo-kun might really accept Kaorin and Tio-san as his girlfriends. It's
hard to imagine he's the same guy he was in Japan. Don't you think so too, Shizushizu?"
"...…"
Shizuku didn't reply. Or rather, she hadn't even heard Suzu. She was watching her best
friend mess around with an almost wistful expression. But was it really Kaori reflected
in her pupils, or was it—
"Shizushizu?"
"Ah. Wh-What is it, Suzu?"
"Oh, nothing important… Are you okay? You looked like you were spacing out for a
second."
"Oh yes, I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you. I'll focus, don't worry."
Shizuku gave Suzu a reassuring smile.
"...…"
Kouki, who was walking at the back of the party, grimaced. He nearly let his annoyance
show through, but he reflexively tried to hide it, leading to the pained grimace.
Ryutarou walked over to him and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Sheesh, Kaori's at it again. She's really gotten feisty recently. You think so too, right
Kouki?"
"Huh? Oh yeah. She used to be the one to scold us for fighting too much."
Kouki looked at Ryutarou blankly for a second, but the quickly gave him a troubled
smile. Seeing the nostalgic look on Kouki's face drove away the niggling anxieties
Ryutarou had had regarding his best friend. He grinned and said, "Tell me about it!"
Just then, Tio, who'd walked ahead of the group to get a read on the wind turned back
and said, "Hmm. I dislike this breeze. It reeks of despair."
The corridor they were advancing down ended in a T-junction. Even from a glance, it
was obvious a furious gale awaited them regardless of which direction they took.
Normal humans would have had trouble even standing in such winds. Hajime walked
into the intersection and checked the compass.
"Looks like… we gotta go right. We're gonna have to get through the headwind somehow
—Tio."
"As you wish."
Tio responded immediately. She was more suited to dealing with wind magic than Yue
was. After all, her race used wind magic all the time to fly. When it came to wind magic
specifically, Tio was more skilled than even Yue. Just as Tio was about to cast her spell
though, Suzu called out to her.
"Wait, Tio-san! Let me handle this!"
She was starting to get annoyed at the fact that all she'd been doing so far was either
cowering in fear or screaming in terror. Both during Hajime's genocide, and when Tio
had thrown her off the cliff. Gaze resolute, she looked up at Tio. Held in her hands were
the two new artifacts Hajime had given her. At a glance, they seemed to be no more
than small rectangular blocks. But in truth, they were a pair of iron-ribbed fans,
weapons Hajime had customized to suit a barrier master. In fact, they'd been bound
to Suzu's mana and blood, so only she could use them. Naturally they were sturdy and
helped Suzu cut down the length of her chants, but in addition, Hajime had used
evolution magic to enhance any defensive spells channeled through them.
Furthermore, the specific abilities of each fan complemented each other. The right fan
was used to cast traditional barrier spells, while the left fan could add secondary
effects to those barriers, allowing Suzu to use composite magic. Her fans also absorbed
trace amount of her mana at all times and stored it for future use, as well as reducing
the mana consumption of spells cast with them. Essentially, they were far more
powerful than the bracelets Suzu had been using thus far. Hajime turned toward Suzu.
When he saw the clear determination in her eyes, he nodded without complaint.
"It's probably a good idea for you to get some practice in."
"Indeed. I agree with Master. Suzu, I leave this in your hands."
Tio smiled at Suzu, and she nervously smiled back, eager to show off the fruits of her
training. She stepped forward and unfurled her twin fans. "Awaken, Steel Fans!" Suzu
shouted the keyword to activate her artifacts, and they began to glow with a faint
orange light. The light originated from the handles and extended to each of the folds
in the fans in turn.
"Alright, here I go! Hallowed Ground - Dispersal!"
Suzu said only the name of her spell, then swung her fans.
A translucent orange barrier appeared in front of Hajime and the others. Pulses of
light intermittently spread from the center of the barrier to its curved surface. The
strongest barrier spell had been fused with advanced level light magic to create
Hallowed Ground - Dispersal. Now the barrier also diffused the energy of anything it
came into contact with. Though Suzu had cast the spell with the ease one might a
beginner-level spell, its strength wasn't diminished in any way. Furthermore, it even
had additional effects tacked on, and only cost as much mana as an intermediate-level
spell. Suzu truly had trained hard. She stepped into the intersection and braved the
wind head-on. Instead of stopping the gale, her barrier deflected it, weakened it, and
let it pass through. The rest of the party felt only a gentle breeze.
"Wow. Nice going, Suzu."
"Mmm… Not half-bad."
The two magic experts in the party praised Suzu's skills. Though part of it was due to
her new artifacts, it was true that Suzu herself had improved quite a bit as well. So
much so that both Kaori and Yue were impressed. Suzu grinned triumphantly. She
tried to keep herself from looking too smug since she knew she had to concentrate,
but she couldn't help but let out a few happy giggles. The party continued down the
corridor, with Suzu at the head to blunt the force of the storm. Before long, they
spotted a faint light up ahead. Hajime narrowed his eyes and focused his vision.
"Is that it?"
They arrived in a well-lit opening. In front of them was a large, isosceles-triangleshaped opening. It was two meters high at its highest point, and the area around it
was covered not with piled snow, but hardened ice. Its shape was just unnatural
enough to look manmade, but also jagged enough to appear natural. Regardless of the
nature of its origin, it had a mystical aura to it, as if it were a temple of sorts. The ice
at the back of the opening had a huge crack in it. Ice pillars jutted out of the crack,
blooming like crystal flowers, inviting all who beheld them into the darkness. Hajime
double-checked his compass, and as he suspected, the needle pointed straight into the
fissure. The sense he got from the compass also told him he needed to go inside. So
this is the entrance to the last of the seven labyrinths, the Frost Caverns.
"Ah, the wind stopped. I'll dispel my barrier."
Suzu lowered her fans, and the barrier faded away. Like she'd said, the wind had faded
the moment the group entered the triangular opening. It was dead silent inside. Not a
single noise could be heard.
"Looks like we made it. But… Hajime-san!"
"Yeah, I know. Everyone watch out, something's coming!"
Shea's ears twitched and she narrowed her eyes dangerously. Her enhanced hearing
picked up on multiple noises growing steadily closer. Hajime sensed them as well with
his superhuman perception and shouted out a warning. Yue, Kaori, and Tio remained
relaxed, but Kouki and the others tensed up. A second later they heard it.
"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
With an ear-piercing roar, six monsters jumped out. They looked like three-meter
large gorillas with snow-white fur. However, unlike normal gorillas, these walked
exclusively on two feet. In fact, they resembled a certain mythical earth monster.
"Bigfoots?"
Indeed, the monsters looked like the bigfoot that enthusiasts seemed to love talking
about so much on television. They kicked up clouds of ice and dust as they dashed
across the ground toward the party. If I took one of these back with me to earth, I could
become one of Time magazine's people of the year. Ah well, time to kill 'em. Hajime
casually unholstered Donner. Before he could fire though, Kouki leaped forward.
"Let's do this, Shizuku, Ryutarou, Suzu!"
"Hell yeah! We're conquering the labyrinth for sure this time!"
"Leave the defense to me! Shizushizu, let's go!"
"Alright. There are a few things I want to test as well. Nagumo-kun, do you mind
leaving these enemies to us?"
Hajime shrugged his shoulders and retreated to a corner of the room together with
Yue and the others. This was a good chance for him to observe how well the other
artifacts he'd given Kouki and the others functioned. He observed them with a
craftsman's eye, his pupils glowing.
"Shizuku-chan, Suzu-chan, don't do anything reckless, okay!?"
"Good luck, guys!"
Kaori brought her hands together as if praying while Shea struck a cheerleading pose
and shouted out encouragement to the four of them. Kouki raised his sword high and
shouted, "Soar, Celestial Flash - Shatter!"
With a mighty swing, he let loose his favorite attack, Celestial Flash. Though he'd
barely chanted an incantation at all, his Celestial Flash was twice as large and powerful
as before. Looks like the holy sword really wasn't operating at peak efficiency before.
Kouki's blade of light threatened to split the very air. For once, he was living up to his
title of hero. Furthermore, thanks to Hajime's external improvements, each attack
unleashed its own shockwaves as well.
Surprised by the ferocity of Kouki's initial assault, the bigfoots faltered. They stopped
their headlong rush and scattered to avoid Kouki's Celestial Flash. However, their
reaction came a moment too late. While they managed to avoid the attack itself, the
shockwaves it emitted sent the bigfoots flying.
"I was waiting for that! Take this— Death Fist!"
"Ook eek!?"
Ryutarou jumped up to where one of the bigfoots got blown back and drew his fist
back. He'd been ready for this. He twisted his body, using all of his weight and
momentum to deliver a right hook that slammed right into the bigfoot's torso. The air
shook from the force of the impact, and blood squirted out of every one of the bigfoot's
orifices. It flew backward and crashed into a wall, dead as dead could be. Death Fist
was one of Ryutarou's new skills that bypassed an enemy's defenses and destroyed
their internal organs. The gauntlets he'd been given by the Heiligh Kingdom had
originally possessed the ability to emit shockwaves, but nothing on this level. Hajime
had upgraded them to also oscillate at a very high frequency, thus multiplying their
destructive power. He'd also enchanted them with spatial magic to cause those
oscillations to spread into the surrounding area. That bigfoot hadn't stood a chance.
"Alright, that's one down!"
Ryutarou struck a victory pose as he landed. A shadow dashed past him, moving too
fast to follow with the eye. A second later there was a sound of wind rushing past and
one of the bigfoots slumped to the ground, dead. As it hit the ground its head rolled
off. Shizuku calmly resheathed her sword next to it. Her swordsmanship had been so
fast the bigfoot hadn't even been able to register it. It hadn't even seen its own death
coming. The remaining bigfoots started to back up when they saw how easily two of
their comrades had been killed. At least, two of them did. But the other two…
"Suzu-chan!"
Kaori called out a warning. A second later, the ground behind Suzu and Kouki burst
open. The remaining two bigfoots jumped out of the ice. They must have used their
special magic the moment they'd landed to burrow into the ice. Assured of their
victory, the bigfoots bore down on Suzu.
"Swallow them whole— Hallowed Ground - Burst!"
However, Suzu calmly turned around and raised her fans. Two barriers appeared from
their tips, protecting her. The bigfoots' talons bounced off the hardened barriers. Right
after the attacks were deflected, the barriers exploded. A surge of orange mana spread
out from the point of the explosion.
"Gyaaaaah!?"
The two bigfoots were caught by surprise and were sent flying backward. Blood
sprayed through the air as they flew, along with glittering shards of orange. Hallowed
Ground - Burst was, as its name suggested, basically a barrier burst. Though it
functioned specifically as a kind of reactionary shockwave that directed itself at
anything that struck it. It converted the energy stored within the barrier to destructive
force and turned the barrier into a kind of shrapnel grenade. Furthermore— "Swallow
them whole— Hallowed Ground - Bind!"
Suzu launched a follow-up attack against one of the wounded bigfoots. A whirlpool of
mana appeared at its landing point. The orange whirlpool absorbed the nearby snow
making it into a localized blizzard. The moment the bigfoot landed, the whirlpool
expanded, turning into a barrier that trapped the monster. It attempted to get to its
feet to shatter the barrier, but stumbled the moment it did so.
"Ook eek!?"
It tried to get up a second time, but seemed unable to put any strength into its limbs.
In fact, it seemed to be taking all of its strength just to stay on all fours. But that was
only natural. Hallowed Ground - Bind used gravity magic to deploy a barrier that
contained a localized gravitational field. It was meant to seal foes. The bigfoot's
bleeding grew more intense as the pressure against it mounted.
"Kouki-kun, you take care of the other one!"
"On it! Radiant Slash!"
Kouki rushed forward, his holy sword glowing pure white. He raised it up high to
cleave the bigfoot in two, but was stopped by part two of the monsters' surprise attack.
Pillars of ice fell toward him like a hail of spears. The two bigfoots that had looked to
be retreating had actually been keeping their distance from Shizuku and Ryutarou
while gathering up pillars to lob at Kouki. That being said, this surprise attack was still
something Kouki could deal with. While the barrage covered too wide an area to
dodge, he could easily intercept the pillars. Kouki slowed down and prepared to turn
around.
"Keep going!"
A clear voice echoed across the battlefield and a shadow interspersed itself between
Kouki and the oncoming pillars. It was Shizuku, her ponytail fluttering in the breeze.
She wasn't going to let this attack stop Kouki. She drew her black katana and shouted,
"Gather— Confluence!"
The pillars of ice changed trajectory and flew toward Shizuku's sword as if it were
some kind of magnet. This was one of the new abilities Hajime had enchanted
Shizuku's katana with, a gravity field that absorbed anything. The ice pillars bore
down on Shizuku with unbelievable speed. There shouldn't have been any way for her
to cut them all down, yet she seemed calm.
I wanted to try this out in an actual battle. I'll have to get the timing down perfect!
Shizuku activated the trump card she'd obtained from the previous labyrinth. In other
words, one of the evolution magic spells she'd learned as a reward.
"Sublimate— Limiter Removal!"
It felt as though sparks were dancing in her brain. Time slowed to a crawl and she
perceived the world in monochrome. Her senses magnified to encompass more than
before, and her reflexes sharpened. She could feel power filling every muscle in her
body.
"Gale!"
A gust of wind blew past. One second passed, then another. Suddenly, the pillars of ice
broke apart into tiny glittering shards. To the naked eye, it seemed as though Shizuku
hadn't done anything at all. Yet the pillars of ice had all been chopped into miniscule
pieces. Shizuku had cut them all. In that brief instant, she'd sliced through a barrage
of pillars. Her slashes had been so fast they'd formed a barrier of attacks. Anything
that had moved within reach of her sword had been cut apart multiple times. It was
hard to tell how many times Shizuku had even slashed each pillar. Factoring in the
shockwaves, she must have unleashed dozens of attacks in that one second. Shizuku's
attacks had already been so fast they barely left afterimages, so now that she'd gotten
her hands on evolution magic, they'd reached the point where they couldn't be seen
at all.
"Haah…"
She breathed a deep sigh. A second later, gravity once again reasserted itself on the
shards of ice and they clattered to the ground. Shizuku turned toward Kouki, expecting
him to have finished off his target. However, that proved not to be the case…
"Dammit!"
The bigfoot had managed to dodge Kouki's Radiant Slash by a hair's breadth. It wasn't
because the monster had found a second wind. No, it was because of Kouki's own
mistake. His conflicted feelings over being protected by Shizuku had caused him to
hesitate for just an instant.
"Sorry, I let them get away! What the hell's with these guys anyway!?" Ryutarou, who
was supposed to have been chasing the remaining two bigfoots, yelled in the distance.
From the looks of it, their special magic allowed them to manipulate ice. But what the
two other bigfoots were doing defied everyone's expectations.
"I-I guess it's kinda fitting."
They were skating. Calmly and elegantly, their fur swaying in the breeze. It was
impressive how skillfully they navigated their way across the frozen ground. The last
surviving bigfoot regrouped with them a short distance away and the three started
skating in tandem, synchronizing their movements perfectly. They looked like Olympic
skaters with how smoothly they glided across the ice. It was no surprise that Kouki
and the others were stunned. In fact, even Hajime and the others were surprised by
this turn of events. Hajime even took out one of his artifacts to snap a picture of the
surreal sight. Shizuku and Ryutarou retreated to where Kouki was, keeping a wary eye
on the three skating bigfoots the whole time. After a few seconds, Kouki finally
snapped back to his senses.
"If they're coming at us head-on, that just makes this easier! Soar, Celestial Flash -
Shatter!"