A vast underground cavern. Two figures were dimly illuminated by the green glowstone that suffused the room with a faint light.
Massive pillars engraved with bas-relief carvings were present at regular intervals, forming a passage around the two figures.
The moment the two figures stepped out from behind the shadows of the pillars, one of them hurled a burning spear of flame at the other. The burning spear illuminated the room, and bent its course like a homing missile to head straight for the second figure.
An instant later— Bang! A red flash briefly added to the illumination as an explosive noise echoed throughout the room. A single streak of light passed through the spear, impacting against the core of the spell, and vanished into the ceiling. The spear scattered into a thousand tiny embers and vanished.
Unconcerned, the first figure quickly crafted a second spear, this one of ice, and flung it off to the side. The spear curved in a beautiful arc, heading for the second figure from around the other side of the pillars.
This one, too, was destroyed by a single bullet.
"...Hm. So I can't get you with single attacks anymore. In that case..."
The first figure leaned back against a pillar, her charming voice, golden-blonde hair, and crimson eyes reminiscent of a beautiful bisque doll. Yue, for the figure was, of course, Yue, created numerous balls of fire. One, two, four, eight; finally, she stopped at sixty-four fireballs.
It took her a mere two seconds to form that many. Had any modern-day magician seen how effortlessly she wielded such magic, their jaw would have dropped down to the floor. Being able to bring out so much mana instantly without even an incantation or magic circle was beyond common sense.
Yue didn't even bat an eyelid as she performed such a godlike feat. Then, like an orchestra conductor, she began waving her slender finger around. Following her finger's movements, the barrage of fireballs headed straight toward the second figure. A meteor shower of fire trailed a sea of sparks as it headed toward its target, Hajime.
"Tch. Don't you think that's a little overkill?"
He complained loudly enough that Yue could hear him. There was a sudden barrage of gunshots, and Yue's fireballs began to be shot down one after another. She had staggered her fireballs a little so they wouldn't hit all at once, but even then it was a difference of milliseconds.
The fact that Hajime was accurately shooting each one down meant he had to be decently skilled as well. Or rather, exceptionally skilled.
About one month had passed since the day Hajime and Yue had conquered the Great Orcus Labyrinth and sworn never to lose to anyone again. They had spent that time preparing better equipment and training their skills. In that time, Hajime had practiced seeing through a spell's core with his Demon Eye, mastering two-handed gun combat, the art of the aerial reload, and the precision shooting required to destroy the spell's core.
He had been training with Yue, getting her to fire spell after spell at him so that he could practice shooting them down. At first he could barely hit a stationary spell, but now he had reached the level where he could shoot down moving spells in mock battles. If he focused on just a single attack, he could shoot it down with almost 100% accuracy, and he was able to hit successfully half the time when attempting to shoot down a barrage.
His enhanced stats and Riftwalk's ability to increase his speed and reaction time a dozenfold were what made it possible at all, but the main reason he could acquire such an inhuman skill was because of his dedicated concentration in training that single skill nonstop for an entire month.
His unflagging zeal toward training stemmed of course from his burning desire to make it back home. Along with his wish to stay together with Yue forever. Yue had seen how hard Hajime was working up close, and the fact that part of the reason he was doing it was because of her made her unbearably happy.
"...Hajime, here's the next one." Yue lovingly muttered Hajime's name as she prepared the next attack. However, letting such emotions get the better of her during a mock battle was a grave mistake. Not because she let her guard down, but because she forgot to control the strength of her magic when her emotions were heightened.
"W-Wait! That's way too many!"
"...Huh?"
Hajime's words brought Yue back to reality. It was then that she suddenly realized that she'd sent over a hundred fireballs hurtling in his direction. They were dancing around Hajime as they surrounded him, occasionally rushing at him from all directions simultaneously.
It seemed she had gotten a little too into their practice while thinking of Hajime. She had unconsciously created even more fireballs, and her happiness had set them dancing around him. Before she knew it, the attacks that were supposed to be part of training had become an actual barrage meant to hit him.
Unconsciously releasing magic like that wasn't exactly the same as being unable to control it properly, but it was close enough. And Yue, who had spent her life being called a genius of magic, couldn't stand that she had slipped up. But even that was because she wanted to be more useful to Hajime.
"...It's hard loving you this much, Hajime."
"Where on earth did that come from? Also, it's way harder dodging this many fireballs!"
Hajime was desperately shooting down the flames that were closing in on him. He was unable to shoot all of them down, and had to resort to dodging and swiping them away with Donner and Schlag. This was meant to be training that incorporated shooting down magic cores with the rest of his standard combat patterns, so in a sense, it made for
very good practice, but...
"Shit—" He had been at it for over ten hours now, and the irregular dancing motions of the flames were bound to cause him to misstep eventually.
The sound of six gunshots echoed throughout the room, and six fireballs scattered into nothing. Hajime twirled Donner in his hands, planning on reloading his now empty chamber. But he messed up his reloading motion.
Another barrage of fireballs closed in on Hajime, and he had no way to intercept them. Because he had been planning on shooting them down and not dodging, he was one step too late in twisting his body away, and he had to resort to using Diamond Skin.
But before they even reached him—
"Okay. Time for a break," Yue muttered softly. She then snapped her fingers, dismissing her army of fireballs.
"Haaah... Haaah... Damn, I still can't get it down perfect." Hajime holstered Donner and Schlag, then rested his hands on his knees as he panted heavily. He ground his teeth in frustration. His real eye was bloodshot, and veins bulged prominently on his forehead from beneath his white bangs.
Yue wanted to congratulate Hajime on working so hard, but she knew words of praise weren't what he was looking to hear. Instead, she walked up to Hajime, sat down beside him, and gently patted her thighs.
She was currently dressed in a frilly dress shirt, a mini skirt, and knee-high socks. In other words, her outfit was currently showing off the famous zettai ryouiki. Her knee socks tightly hugged the soft flesh of her thighs.
Ever since he had his chastity taken from him in the bath, Hajime had grown used to a woman's, or at least Yue's, body, and no longer got flustered over something as innocent as a lap pillow. However, that being said...
"You're not going to assault me, are you?" There was still always that worry. Hajime was currently exhausted from long hours of training. If she pounced on him, he would be helpless. It was only natural for him to be so cautious when he was living with a wolf like Yue. Though normally, the position of the wolf would be reversed.
"...How mean. You make it sound like I'm forcing you."
"You kind of did when you took my first... but well, I'll just stop there. Any more and I'm just asking for it." Hajime shook his head after saying that, then gratefully sunk his head into Yue's lap. Bliss spread throughout his body as Yue gently stroked his hair. This is what happiness must feel like.
Yue smiled as she watched Hajime relax, but she still felt a little uneasy about what he had just said.
"...Did you not like it?"
"Are you kidding? If I didn't like it, I would've just stopped you. I'm just worried about stupid things like a man's pride and stuff. You don't have to worry about it."
The unease vanished from Yue's eyes, and she replied with a simple "Yeah." She then gently brought her lips down on Hajime's forehead. Her lips slowly trailed down his head as she kissed his nose, then his cheeks, and finally his mouth. Any man without a girlfriend would have wanted to blow Hajime away with an anti-materiel rifle if they'd caught sight of that scene.
Hajime blushed and averted his gaze. Yue smiled playfully as she saw him shy away.
"...Then did you like it?"
"Hey, Yue, can we just drop this subject already?"
"So you didn't like it?" Hajime tried to change the topic, but Yue sadly lamented her own lack of experience and let out a depressed sigh.
"Umm, well... I liked it." Hajime looked as if he couldn't believe the words that had just come out of his mouth, but the fact that he couldn't bear to see her sad was enough proof that he was already hopelessly in love.
Yue looked relieved and gazed off into the distance as she softly muttered her thoughts aloud.
"Hmm... I should thank Master, then."
"I'm not sure if I should thank her or not, personally."
The "Master" that Yue was referring to was the one who had taught her about the world back when she was still a princess. Yue didn't know what had happened to her after she was sealed away, but her master had taken care of her until the day she was imprisoned.
The reason Yue was thanking her now was because she had also apparently taught her about how to seduce a man. Because she was royalty though, she had of course protected her chastity for marriage. That being said, as royalty she had still had a duty to produce an heir. Which was why her master had taught her how to properly please a man. The reason Yue always had her way with Hajime at night was surely thanks to those lessons.
By the way, this discussion had started because Hajime had initially thought Yue might not have been a virgin. Thanks to her auto-regeneration, he had considered the possibility that even her hymen had recovered, but... Hajime would never forget Yue's expression when he brought the subject up with her. Even the monster of the abyss, the Hydra, hadn't been able to strike fear in Hajime's heart, but Yue's expression at that moment had terrified him beyond belief.
The result being that he of course apologized. What happened after he got down on his knees and begged forgiveness for ever doubting Yue, who had offered up her chastity to him, was of course more of what had occurred prior.
"Alright, let's just do one more mock battle. We can go eat dinner after that."
"...Okay. Are you alright?"
"Not really, but if I don't push myself past my limits, there's no point to training, is there? Sorry for dragging you along with me, Yue."
"It's okay."
Yue had burned through a great deal of mana too, but she could still keep going thanks to her magic accessories. Hajime was the one who was more exhausted, as continual use of Limit Break and Riftwalk had taxed his body immensely, but Yue didn't have the heart to try and stop him after seeing how determined he was.
He pushed himself off Yue's lap and walked a good distance away. He then pulled out Donner and Schlag, and got into his stance.
"Don't hold back! Give it everything you got, you damned monster magician!"
"Okay. Take this: Lots of Fireballs!"
That can't seriously be the actual spell name! Hajime thought, extremely confused. But though crude, the name was rather apt as countless fireballs started chasing Hajime down. The reason she wasn't using her relatively more harmless water balls was because Hajime had told her he couldn't get into it if the danger wasn't real.
The barrage of fireballs closed in on him like a wall of flame, and he quickly activated Riftwalk. The world began to lose all color as things started moving in slow motion. His Demon Eye clearly grasped the location of each ball's core.
Each of his bullets accurately pierced through the center of each spell's core. He teleported bullet after bullet into the air, rotating his chamber to make sure each fell perfectly in place. He fired and reloaded so fast that the movements blurred together into one smooth motion. By the time he finished ejecting one round's spent shells, the next set of bullets were already on their way.
Donner and Schlag's chambers were spinning almost constantly, giving off the illusion that Hajime was holding a round shield in between them.
Both the number and speed of the fireballs gradually began to increase. Hajime inwardly marveled at how much mana Yue possessed, but didn't lose focus for even a second. He ignored his pounding head and eyes, and increased the intensity of his Riftwalk even further.
"Yue, can I ask you something?"
"Sure?"
The two of them didn't let up at all as they began talking. Hajime was slowly getting a headache that had nothing to do with his overtaxed body, but it seemed like Yue genuinely didn't realize she was doing something wrong.
"Why exactly are all your fireballs heart-shaped?"
"..." Yes, for some reason, all of the fireballs hurtling toward Hajime were shaped like hearts. While she was speeding them up, she also changed how they looked. Each one was crafted with the utmost precision, and it was a marvelous display of useless skill. When asked about her strange proclivity, Yue's response was rather unexpected.
"Aww... You shot them down." She manipulated the hundred odd fireballs with just one hand while strangely rubbing her cheek with the other. Hajime naturally shot down the fireballs. Each heart-shaped fireball let out a depressed sputter of sparks before being snuffed out.
"I'm taking this training seriously, you know?"
"...So am I. I'm serious about pushing you— Ahem... Beating you down."
"You were totally about to say pushing me down, weren't you!?"
"...Your body's at its limit from all this never-ending training, Hajime. You need to rest. But I know you won't stop until you collapse."
"...I see. You're just going to ignore my last comment, huh? So?"
"...Yeah. That's why, I'm going to defeat you and make you rest... In bed."
"Quit licking your lips like that! I don't think I'm going to get any rest in bed tonight!"
It appeared Yue was serious about defeating Hajime this time, in order to force him to rest. She still hadn't answered why she was shaping her fireballs like hearts, and the way she was licking her lips suggested to Hajime that while she did mean to put him in bed, she had no intention of letting him rest.
Yue grinned wickedly and started getting serious with her magic. She started mixing in extremely fast wind blades, along with lightning balls that curved along strange trajectories. All of which were heart-shaped.
"Ugh, are you holding a grudge because I've been training this entire past week and haven't slept with you even once!?"
"...I'm not holding a grudge. I'm just a little lonely."
Hajime felt a pang of guilt as he saw Yue pout slightly, and he quickly realized he was going to be beaten around until he couldn't move, and then toyed around with in bed until Yue was satisfied.
Hajime was a healthy young boy, so there was no reason for him not to look forward to sex, but... he still had his pride as a man, and didn't want to be one-sidedly played around with. Therefore, he honed his concentration to the limit, focusing on intercepting each of Yue's attacks. If he could just hold out until Yue ran out of mana, then victory would be his, and he could protect his flimsy pride. However...
"Are you kidding me, Yue!?"
"Nope!"
Since this was still precision training, Yue wasn't using any of her intermediate class spells, but she was clearly giving it her all, judging by the force and speed of her multi-elemental barrage. The barrage of spells already looked like something out of a Touhou game. Yue's breathing was beginning to grow a little labored, but she still smiled seductively as she pushed down on Hajime, and cold sweat began pouring down his back.
"Even I won't stand for getting beaten down every time! I've got my pride as a man too, you know!?" Even he wasn't sure if he meant it in the context of their mock battles, or their nighttime battles.
Hajime's scarlet mana spiraled around him. He activated the skill he'd stolen from the Hydra, Limit Break. His stats all tripled.
"Mngh, you're good, Hajime. This is the first time anyone's stopped my full power barrage."
"I'm honored."
"Yeah... You always take my firsts, Hajime."
"Do you have to turn everything into a dirty joke!?"
Hajime's words were punctuated by short pauses as he fended off wave after wave of spells. Yue was taking this just as seriously, though. Her words had even been calculated to try and shake him mentally. She knew he would fall unconscious before long if he continued to use Limit Break in this exhausted state, so she wanted to defeat him as quickly as possible before he collapsed and needed Ambrosia again.
That being said, constant use of mana was wearing Yue down too. Thanks to the fact that they were all elementary spells, she managed to keep the barrage going for a decent amount of time, but she'd still been burning mana constantly while keeping up with Hajime's training. And even if her mana could hold out, her stamina couldn't. While Yue's automatic regeneration healed wounds, it didn't recover lost stamina or mana. However, precisely because she didn't want Hajime to burn himself out, Yue pushed her strength to the limit.
"That wasn't your strongest!?"
"Nope. Anyone can use Limit Break as long as they have the power of love."
"I think that's just you!"
Not only was Yue's magic overpowered, her love was overpowered too. A curtain of bullets bore down on Hajime with increased speed.
Hajime still wasn't used to manipulating his prosthetic arm or using two guns, so he was finding himself unable to keep up even with Limit Break. Even if he could still see everything, his body couldn't keep up. There wasn't a single monster in the abyss that could pull off such a feat, so Hajime couldn't even count on past experience to help him. It was, in a sense, the perfect training for him.
Yue's spells slowly drew closer and closer before being intercepted. She began walking toward him, both hands outstretched as she pummeled Hajime with magic. She licked her lips seductively and tottered toward him like some kind of vengeful ghost. Hajime was determined not to lose, but even with her mana-deprived body, the Limit Break granted to her by the power of love made Yue unstoppable. Finally—
"Dammit! Stop alreadyyyyyyy."
"But I refuse."
Hajime was defeated. His slip up was something he could have covered for in less than a second, but the sexy vampire princess wasn't going to give him even that much time. She stepped into his guard and quickly grabbed hold of him. Then...
"I win. So now I get to take my prize."
"Hey, wa— Aaah!"
Hajime's scarlet mana dispersed, and not because he ran out. The barrage of spells scattered into nothingness, leaving only faint traces of mana hanging in the air.
The monster of the abyss added another defeat to his record today. Had he just switched to dodging, he would have easily been able to escape Yue's grasp, but the fact that he didn't showed just how much Hajime cared for her too. In other words, the real reason he could never beat Yue wasn't because he was physically weaker, but because he couldn't bring himself to mentally.
The fragrance of meat and the sizzling noise of food being grilled wafted through the air. The pair were currently standing inside Oscar Orcus' kitchen. As one would expect of a master craftsmen, Oscar's kitchen was so well outfitted that it seemed more like a modern-day kitchen than a fantasy one. Numerous artifacts that aided in the process of cooking were installed in various locations.
Hajime was currently grilling a massive steak in a frying pan. Next to him, Yue was making a grilled fish salad. She had her hair up in a ponytail and was wearing a white apron.
The vegetables added into the salad had been grown in Oscar's fields. There was some kind of artifact in the soil that grew crops at an accelerated pace, so the seeds Hajime had taken out of the Treasure Trove had borne fruit in only a week. That being said, activating that artifact had required a huge amount of mana, so only someone like Yue or Hajime would have enough to use it often.
Hajime hummed cheerfully as he sprinkled salt and pepper over the nicely browned steak. The spices were another thing he'd found in Oscar's Treasure Trove.
He gave Yue a sidelong glance, and caught a glimpse of her pale neck. He couldn't explain why, but he found the nape of her neck, barely hidden by her golden hair, extremely erotic. Perhaps the aftereffects of their previous "break" were still influencing him.
The word newlyweds suddenly popped into his mind, and Hajime shook his head, trying to banish the idea.
Yue saw him shake his head and tilted her own quizzically. Hajime bashfully turned away, and Yue smiled playfully as she grabbed the hem of her apron and daintily lifted it up.
"How do I look?"
"...Really cute."
Yue twirled around like a ballerina, and Hajime found himself unable to lie to her. Even though she was the one who'd asked, Yue blushed brightly at Hajime's unexpectedly honest response. Happy at being praised so, she decided to give him a little reward.
"...Then how about I only wear this apron?" An electric shock ran through Hajime's body.
Is this the legendary naked apron I've heard so much about? Hajime thought, looking at Yue. She was staring up at him, timidly fidgeting with the hem of her apron. The look in her eyes agitated him even further. At this rate, Hajime would end up taking another "break," so he reluctantly shook his head. Yue didn't seem disappointed at all, and instead muttered, "I'll save this for another night, then." Hajime pretended not to hear her.
Finally, their meal was cooked, and the pair began setting the table. They placed the dishes on a clear table made of crystal and sat down on some nearby sofas. The two sofas had originally sat facing each other, but Hajime and Yue had dragged theirs together so they sat eating next to each other. This wasn't just limited to the dinner table: Yue refused to sit anywhere that wasn't next to Hajime. It seemed she enjoyed being next to him.
"Alright, time to eat..."
"Yeah. Good luck, Hajime."
Hajime had a look of deep resolve on his face as he stared down at the meat. Yue was looking at it worriedly too. Hajime bit into the meat while Yue watched.
"Guh... Gaaah." He groaned painfully as his entire body stiffened. He was biting down hard enough to break through his own teeth, and was trembling incessantly. He continued eating despite the pain, and every new bite brought forth new waves of agony. Yue worriedly patted him on the back and poured him a cup of Ambrosia.
"God, it's been a month and it still hurts this much to eat... Just how powerful was that snake bastard!?" Hajime was currently working his way through a piece of Hydra steak.
Every other monster he had eaten thus far had ceased to give him pain after the initial meal, but not only was his body still suffering every time he ate more of the Hydra, his stats continued to grow as well. Considering recent monsters had ceased to increase his stats at all, the Hydra must have been something special.
"...Hm. That monster really was different. I think all the Liberators must have worked together to make something like that."
"Yeah. It's a miracle we even managed to beat the damn thing. Seems to me like this labyrinth was designed to be beaten after conquering some of the others. You'd need magic from the Age of the Gods at your disposal to beat something like that normally."
Hajime was right. Even with his monster strengthened body, beating something like that Hydra would normally have been impossible.
The primary reason they had won at all was because of his weapons. His railgun and explosives boasted a strength that far surpassed his actual stats. Had he fought with traditional fantasy weapons like swords or magic, he would have been defeated for sure.
The other huge factor that had contributed to their victory was the Ambrosia. Without it, he wouldn't have even been able to make it to the lower floors. He would have died from the wounds the Claw Bear had given him. If not that, the Basilisk's petrification would have done him in. And even ignoring those, there were countless other situations where he would have died if not for the Ambrosia.
Last, but not least, was the fact that Yue had been with him. She could bring to bear the full force of her considerable mana instantly without having to chant an incantation or use a magic circle. She was the one who had covered for Hajime's weaknesses in wide-area attacks, and had saved him numerous times even before they'd reached the Hydra.
In other words, the three main things that had contributed to his victory were not his stats, but his overpowered weaponry, his overpowered healing rock, and his overpowered ally's magic.
Hajime finally finished his Hydra steak and looked longingly at the normal food laid out before him as the pain gradually faded. The fish had been harvested from the underground lake, while the vegetables were ones they'd grown themselves.
"I've only been eating monster meat until now, so even this tastes like heaven, but..."
"...Yeah. It would be better if we could get some actual food," Hajime said, a hint of longing in his voice as he stuffed his face full of vegetables. Yue agreed wholeheartedly as she stuffed her face full of fish.
Hajime had come from a culture that respected the art of cooking, while Yue was formal royalty that had tasted the bounty of this world's culinary arts before. Both of them were getting tired of simple grilled, boiled, or fried vegetables and fish with just salt for seasoning, and had discovered just how hard cooking truly was.
"...I'm sorry Hajime. If only I knew more about cooking..."
"It's not your fault, Yue. You don't have to apologize. Besides, you used to be royalty. No one expects a princess to cook for herself. If anything, I wish I'd spent more time learning how to cook."
Both of them, one because she was royalty and the other because he was a student, had little skill with the culinary arts. Yue, however, was doubly depressed because she couldn't cook for the man she loved. She frowned, wishing her master had taught her how to cook too, and not just how to please someone in bed. Hajime scratched his cheek as he watched Yue pout and sink further into depression.
"Well, you know, my mom's a really good cook, so I'm sure you can just ask her to teach you."
"Ah...! Yeah. Yeah! Cooking with your mom sounds like fun, Hajime."
Yue's eyes began sparkling at Hajime's suggestion. She envisioned an idyllic scene where she was cooking with Hajime's mom while Hajime and his dad both watched from the living room. Then they'd all eat together, and his parents would praise their daughter-in-law's delicious cooking. Her fantasy played out for quite some time, and her usual expressionless mouth slowly loosened into a smile.
"Yeah, then I can count on you to make breakfast and lunch. My mom's the kind of person that only cooks dinner, so I always just had leftovers and stuff for every other meal."
"Yeah... Just leave it to me."
Since Hajime's mom was a popular manga artist, she was always sleeping through breakfast time and busy with work during lunch. Hajime was usually busy either helping his parents with their work or playing games until late into the night himself, so for him breakfast and lunch were always a groggy affair he paid little attention to.
But if Yue was willing to learn how to cook and cook him breakfast and lunch, then he could ask for nothing more. Back when he was still a student, he would never have imagined he might one day eat handmade lunches cooked by a blonde beauty.
Though I guess I did once eat a beautiful girl's handmade lunch. She kind of forced it on me, though, so I don't remember how it tasted.
He wasn't sure what kind of life he was going to live once he made it back to Japan, but the idea of going to school and eating Yue's handmade lunch certainly did seem appealing. In fact, the mere thought of it brought back faded memories that felt decades old. Memories of when Kaori Shirasaki had offered some of her lunch to him when he had been about to take his afternoon nap. She'd also given him some of her lunch on the fateful day that they were summoned. Rather forcibly, too. Her actions broadcasted that bombshell of an announcement to the whole class, in fact.
Hajime had reluctantly accepted the offer. Of course his classmates wouldn't stand for him eating the school goddess' lunch, but... they would have hated it even more if he had refused. Besides, Kaori had looked rather dejected as she got ready to put away her lunchbox.
He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. Which was why he had decided to at least accept Kaori's goodwill, and had taken her up on her offer. All he really remembered of the time was cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he hurried to eat Kaori's lunch as fast as possible. That, and how she'd smiled as she watched him eat.
Suddenly, chills ran down Hajime's spine. He awoke from his flashbacks and realized that Yue was staring at him with a very complicated expression on her face.
"...Hajime, who was that girl?"
"..."
He wanted to know how she knew, but he also realized asking that now would be a terrible faux pas. A woman's intuition was one of the seven great mysteries of this world, and all excuses were worthless before it. They would easily be seen through. Without a doubt. Seen through for the flimsy lies they were.
"She's one of the classmates I told you about before."
"...Is she the reason you fell down here, Hajime?"
"Well, I guess she is in a way."
Hajime wasn't sure how to react to Yue's question, but Yue ignored Hajime's confusion and muttered softly, almost as if she were speaking to herself.
"...Have you eaten her cooking?"
"Kind of have, yeah."
"Was it delicious?"
"I honestly don't remember that well... I guess it was? She was known for her cooking."
"...I see."
Yue stared long and hard at Hajime. She then slowly started leaning forward, her gaze still fixed on him.
"Yue?"
"...She knows a part of Hajime that I don't. And she's even fed you her cooking. Plus, you know her well enough to think of her right away when cooking comes up... I'm jealous."
"W-Wow, you're rather honest about that. Wait, hold up. What does that have to do with you leaning in to me like that?" Hajime said, feeling cautious, and grabbed Yue by the shoulders to stop her from pouncing on him. But Yue wouldn't be stopped.
"...Everything. I need to fill your mind with nothing but me, Hajime."
"No no no, Shirasaki just popped into my head because of the topic, we're not really—"
"It's okay. It won't hurt. We'll just be taking a little break."
"How many times do I have to tell you!? Those lines are the guy'slines! And if a guy does say that, then you know they're trouble. Restrain yourself a little, you stupid sexy vampire princess! Don't think things'll always just go your way! I'm a Japanese man that knows how to assert himself and say no!"
Hajime spouted incomprehensible babble while Yue bore down on him, trying to kiss him. He continued putting up his feeble resistance for the sake of pointless things like his pride or dignity, but in the end it was all meaningless. Somewhere deep down, there might have been a brooding edgy Hajime that was stoic enough to refuse her advances, but even if there was, he would never let it surface. Because he himself had already decided to accept Yue, body and soul, so he knew his complaints were all just for show.
As proof, ever since that night in the bath, he had never once been able to actually refuse Yue. Every time she had come to him this past month, he had always grudgingly ended up giving in. Even when he had been training his Hide Presence and Sense Presence skills, he hadn't been able to escape from Yue.
The one time he had seriously tried to hide from her, Yue had spent hours wandering the darkness of the abyss looking for him, crying from loneliness.
"Hajimeeee, where are youuuu," she had cried like a child, rubbing her eyes. Hajime, who was surprisingly firm when it came to training at least, had still stopped their impromptu game of hide and seek almost instantly.
Technically he hadn't lost, but he might as well have. Especially considering what had come after.
Once he'd canceled that training, Yue had stuck especially close to him for the next few days. The amount of times she'd pushed him down at night those days were far more than usual too.
Her mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of Hajime. When he was busy transmuting new weapons and bullets, she was sitting next to him sewing clothes from the cloth Oscar had left behind and the monster hides they had harvested. And she made sure, regardless of whether they were his clothes or hers, to make them conform completely to his tastes.
She made a point of dressing up in all of the outfits she made to show off to him too. At first her sewing skills had been crude and she'd had a hard time making clothes the right size, but before long she had become very skilled with her fingers. With her skills so greatly improved, she had started making very adult underwear to wear at night too.
She would give Hajime peep shows, blushing shyly while wearing the clothes she'd made herself, and those situations always ended in Hajime losing his will to resist her advances. His will thus broken, Yue's next course of action was without fail to then push him down.
There was another time that they went to catch fish in the river together, and Yue's swimsuit had charmed Hajime so thoroughly that she seduced him then and there.
Ever since that first night in the bath, it had become an unspoken agreement that they would always bathe together too. Hajime was never able to resist Yue's pleadings, and always ended up letting her wash his back. She didn't stop at just his back though, and soon enough she ended up pushing him down every night in the bath.
Also, she grew aroused every time she sucked Hajime's blood, and unable to restrain her instincts, she would invariably always push him down every time she drank it.
He would try and refuse, of course, but... Lately he wasn't sure why he was even bothering to resist, and had stopped even putting up the appearance of rebuffing her advances.
Tonight, once again, Hajime's almost nonexistent pride and reason were overwhelmed by Yue's boundless lust and passion. Her next words were the final nail in the coffin that finally killed his will to resist. Yue said, with flushed cheeks:
"...I just want to kiss you. Please."
"Ah."
When his lover looked at him with wet eyes and begged so earnestly, Hajime couldn't do anything to resist. Like a robot with its battery removed, all the power drained from his body. For a moment, his body was afflicted by the charm status, and Yue wasn't going to miss an opening like that.
"C-Crap—"
"You're mine."
A man's screams of pleasure echoed throughout the stone house.
The monster born in the abyss had no chance of ever winning this battle.
Hajime walked out to the terrace and flopped onto the couch sitting outside. He mulled over today's defeat while basking in the rays of the artificial moon. Naturally, there was a little vampire girl nestled snugly within his arms.
Yue shifted a little in his arms so she was looking up at him. Hajime was breathing softly with his eyes closed. Though he wasn't yet in dreamland, he was quite close to it.
She felt something warm blossom within her chest as she watched him rest peacefully. The warmth grew into a burning heat, but rather than being painful, it felt wonderful. Yue let out an enamored sigh as she continued gazing up at Hajime.
As far as she was concerned, his very existence was like a miracle. The sight of him glowing scarlet with mana when he had freed her from her stone prison was carved permanently into her heart. Her three hundred years of despair were nothing compared to her meeting with Hajime. When she thought of how wonderful their current life was, and how much more happiness surely awaited her, she felt it was worth suffering all those years of torment if it meant she could be together with him.
Perhaps to another's eyes she might seem nothing more than overly clingy or simply dependent on him. They might have thought she was simply exaggerating how much Hajime had done for her. But anyone who had seen the pair's meeting would have agreed it was enough to justify her behavior.
However, regardless of what others might say, Yue would never change her mind. Their opinions meant nothing to her. At that time, he had been willing to die for her, a girl he had just met. During that fight with the scorpion, Yue had decided that she would give herself to this man, the one who had willingly joined his fate to hers.
It was obvious, considering Hajime's circumstances and the situation he was in, that the way forward would be fraught with peril. But something deep inside her still told her he was the one. He wasn't someone who would use her as bait to escape his own predicament, nor was he someone who would end up as just a simple friend.
It was too cliched for her to ever say it out loud, but if she had to put it into words... she would have said their meeting was fate. To her, at least, it was a fated meeting.
Which was why she wasn't going to stop. She was going to keep showing just how much she loved him. She was going to keep cherishing him. And without hesitation, she was going to offer all of herself to him. To the boy she had met after three hundred years of imprisonment.
Even if Hajime truly loved someone else, even if he made the entire world his enemy, even if he came to hate Yue, she would never stop.
"...Fufu, you'll never be able to escape from this vampire." If one were to sum her feelings up into one sentence, that would be it.
"Hm? Did you say something?" Hajime's eyes fluttered open as he heard Yue mumble something. She was half-straddling him as she gazed up at his face. Hajime gently brushed a few stray strands of hair off her mouth.
He trailed his fingers across her lips and rested them against her cheek. As he did so, Yue's neck shivered a little.
"Nope, nothing," she replied.
Finding her reaction entertaining, Hajime started tickling the back of her cheek and the nape of her neck. Her moans slowly grew more and more passionate. Hajime was about to take his hand away, but her eyes begged him to continue. He cast his gaze around the room, looking for some way to escape, but he still gave in eventually. She sidled up to him like a cat, and before he knew it, he was caressing the beautiful girl lying on his chest.
Once again, Hajime had lost. No matter how much stronger the monster of the abyss grew, he would never be able to win against the beautiful vampire princess
Though if the saying "the one who falls in love first loses" really was true, then Yue was the one who'd actually lost the most.
They were both losers, but at the same time they were both victors. Such was the relationship between the monster of the abyss and the vampire princess.