Chapter 14 - Chapter 1 (Part 2)

The rabbit party slowly approached the foot of the staircase. With Hajime in the lead, they began climbing the multitude of stone steps. Despite the fact that they probably hadn't had a chance to eat since fleeing into the gorge, the Haulia's footsteps were full of energy. In return for not having any magical ability, most beastmen were quite sturdy.

Finally, they cleared the last switchback and escaped from Reisen Gorge.

What waited for them as they crested the last set of steps was...

"Holy shit, you serious? They're actually still alive! And here I thought the commander was nuts for leaving us here. Well, this'll make a nice present to send back home." There were around thirty or so imperial soldiers waiting around the exit. They had created a makeshift camp near the staircase, and there were a few large carriages dotting the campsite. Each of the soldiers was wearing an identical khaki uniform, and most of them had swords or spears or shields slung across their backs. They were clearly surprised to see Hajime and the rabbitmen. But they quickly recovered from their initial shock. Smiles erupted on their faces as they began appraising the stock they would soon sell.

"Boss, the light-haired girl's with them too! You were eyeing her before, right?"

"Oooh, today really is my lucky day. I don't care what you do with the old farts, but you better not harm a hair on her head, you hear?"

"There's plenty of women to go around, so it's fine if we examine a few of the goods before shipping them off first, right? They made us wait here in the middle of nowhere for three whole days, so it's only fair, right boss? We definitely deserve a little bonus, don't you think?"

"Sheesh. Fine, but you better not do them all. Behave yourselves and keep it to just two or three."

"Hell yeah! I knew you were a nice guy, boss!"

The soldiers clearly didn't even see the Haulia as a threat, as they weren't even bothering to get into formation. Their attention was completely focused on the female Haulia, and vulgar smiles were on each of their faces. The rabbitmen were all shivering with fear.

Finally, the grinning man the others had called "boss" noticed Hajime's presence.

"Huh? Who the hell are you? You're... not a rabbitman, are you?"

Judging from their tone, it didn't seem likely they would just let Hajime and the others pass through, so he decided to humor them by answering.

"Yeah, I'm a human."

"Huuuh? And what's a human like you doing with the likes of them? Coming from Reisen Gorge no less. Wait, are you a slave trader? Did you come here because someone tipped you off about the rabbits? Well, you're quite the dedicated merchant, you know. Sucks for you, though. Unfortunately, those cuties over there are property of the empire, so I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

The soldiers' commander made his own assumptions and barked out orders with the clear belief that they would be followed unquestioningly. Obviously, Hajime had no intention of obeying.

"No."

"What'd you just say?"

"I said no. These people are with me. I'm not handing a single one of them over to you. I suggest packing up and going home."

Thinking he surely must have misheard, the leader asked again. However, he was just met with an even more arrogant refusal. A vein pulsed on the soldier's forehead.

"Kid, you better watch your mouth. Do you not realize who we are, or are you just that damn stupid?"

"Oh, I know exactly who you are. But you of all people really don't have the right to be calling anyone stupid."

The smile vanished off the commander's face at that. The rest of the soldiers all started glaring angrily at Hajime too.

Suddenly, Yue stepped out from behind Hajime, grabbing everyone's attention. Despite her childlike appearance, there was an aura of maturity surrounding her, captivating all the men present.

For a moment, the commander was stunned too, but then he noticed how tightly she was clinging to Hajime's sleeve and realized she must be with him. Suddenly, he was wearing the same vulgar smile from before.

"Aaah, now I get it. I see how it is now. You're just a little brat that doesn't know how the world works. Well, allow me to give you a free lesson about just how harsh it can be. Kuku, that girl over there looks mighty fine. Think I'll rape her in front of your eyes after I chop all your limbs off. After that, I'll sell her off to slavers." Hajime's eyebrow twitched, and despite her unchanging expression, Yue's gaze clearly dripped with hatred. She raised her arm regally, as if rejecting that this man even had any right to exist.

However, Hajime held her back before she could do anything. She glanced at him dubiously, but he cleared up her confusion with his next words.

"So you're our enemy, is that it?"

"Huuuh!? You still don't get it, kid? You can get down on your knees and beg if you want, but it's—" Before he could even finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a gunshot. As Hajime had expected, the commander had been too proud to even talk things through, and as a result he was now missing his head. He wouldn't be badmouthing anyone again. His headless corpse fell limply to the ground a few seconds later.

The remaining soldiers stared dumbly at the corpse of their dead boss, and before they could even gather their wits, they were hit by a follow-up attack.

Booom! There was another gunshot, but this one decapitated five soldiers at once. Actually, there had been five gunshots, but Hajime fired so fast that their sounds melded together.

Panicking now at the sudden death of their comrades, the soldiers scrambled to point their weapons at Hajime. Even if they couldn't tell how it was happening, it was clear who was responsible. All told, their reaction was pretty quick. They might have had rotten personalities, but they were still professional soldiers. Their training was the real deal.

"Get him!"

"Everyone, start chanting!"

The troop quickly organized themselves into a backline and frontline. However, as if mocking the frailty of their formation, a small object suddenly rolled up to one of the backline members. It was a black cylinder of some sort. The backline members all stared at it, but they didn't stop chanting. In the next second, that ceased to matter, however, as they were all turned into corpses.

With a thunderous roar, the cylinder exploded, the shockwave sending lethal shards of metal tearing through every single one of the backline members.

Said cylinder had, of course, been one of Hajime's grenades. This one was a frag grenade packed to the brim with metal scraps. It was far more powerful than frag grenades made on Earth.

The initial explosion alone was enough to instantly kill the ten or so soldiers closest to it, and fatally maim another seven.

Furthermore, the remaining seven soldiers that made up the front line were blown forward by the force of the blast. Six of them turned to look back and instantly lost their heads as bullets rocketed through their skulls. The resulting spray of blood drenched the lone survivor, who lost all will to fight and slumped to the ground. It was only natural. In only an instant, his entire platoon had been annihilated. It hadn't been an especially weak one or anything either. In fact, they had been one of the more elite units in the army, which was precisely why his eyes were currently darting about, his mind unable to accept what was happening as reality.

Meanwhile, the monster who had caused such a tragedy spoke with such casualness that one might think he were commenting on the weather.

"Yeah, like I thought, I don't even need Lightning Field against humans. Plain bullets are more than enough."

The soldier jumped with a start, and gazed fearfully at Hajime. Hajime tapped Donner's barrel against his shoulder while he slowly walked up to the soldier. His fluttering black coat and the ease with which he delivered death made him seem like the grim reaper. Or well, at least he did to the sole surviving soldier.

"Ah... G-Get away from me! N-Nooo! I don't want to die! S-Someone! Anyone! Save me!"

The soldier crawled backward on all fours as he begged for his life. His face was twisted in fear, and the dark stain near his crotch indicated he'd wet himself. Hajime looked down at him, ice in his eyes, before suddenly aiming Donner at the soldier's back and firing multiple times in quick succession.

"Ack!" The soldier desperately shrunk back, but there was no impact to his body. That was because Hajime had only finished off all the soldiers who had been mortally wounded by his grenade. Terrified, the soldier turned around, only to see his entire platoon well and truly annihilated.

His entire body stiffened at the sight, and he couldn't even move as Hajime pressed Donner's barrel against his head. Trembling in terror, the soldier desperately attempted to plead for his life.

"P-Please, I'm begging you! Please don't kill me! I'll do anything! Anything!"

"Anything? In that case, tell me what you did with all the other rabbitmen you captured. I'd heard you took quite a few... Have you already shipped them back to the empire?"

The reason he'd asked was because Hajime was sure it would take a decent amount of time to transport over a hundred people, which meant it was possible they were still nearby. If they were, he didn't see any problem with saving them on the way to the sea of trees. Though if they'd already been sent to the empire, he wasn't going to go that far out of his way to mount a rescue.

"I-If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands here. Can't say it's information I need that badly, anyway. If you don't wanna talk, I'll just kill you now."

"W-Wait, please! I'll talk! I'll talk, so please don't kill me! I think they transported them all. After whittling down the numbers a little..."

By "whittling down the numbers," he probably meant the soldiers had killed all the elderly and anyone else that wasn't likely to sell. The Haulia all despaired at the soldier's words. Hajime spared them a quick glance before returning his attention to the soldier. Murder dwelled in his eyes now that he no longer had a use for him.

"Wait! Please! I'll tell you anything else you ask! I'll spill whatever you want, so please!"

The soldier began pleading for his life again when he realized Hajime planned to kill him. However, the only reply he got... was a single bullet to the head.

There was a collective intake of breath as the Haulia all gasped. It appeared they were taken aback by how utterly merciless he was. For once, there was some fear in their eyes. Even Shea was looking at him a little timidly.

"U-Umm, couldn't you have just let that last one go..." He gave her a withering glare, and she shrank back fearfully. These are the people who killed and enslaved her comrades, and she still wants to show them mercy? These rabbitmen are way too nice. Or wait, maybe they're all just pacifists? Hajime was about to open his mouth to protest, but Yue beat him to the punch.

"...Don't you think it's rather selfish for an enemy to throw down their sword and beg for their life only after they know they're outmatched?"

"B-But..."

"Besides, he's the one who protected you, so don't you think you're scared of the wrong person?"

"..."

Though her tone was quiet, she was clearly angry. She couldn't forgive that they were afraid of him when he'd been the one who protected them. Put that way, it did seem terribly ungrateful, and the Haulia all awkwardly looked away.

"Hmm, I apologize for my rudeness, Hajime-dono. We never meant to criticize your actions. However, we are not used to such brutal conflict... Your methods simply shocked a few of us."

"I'm sorry too, Hajime-san." Shea and Cam apologized on behalf of their tribe, but Hajime waved their apology off, indicating that he hadn't been offended in the slightest.

He sauntered over to the untouched horses and carriages and beckoned the others over. It would take them half a day to make it to the sea of trees on foot, but there was no real reason not to use the perfectly good set of carriages they'd found.

He pulled Steiff out of his Treasure Trove, then hitched it up to the carriage. He split them up between a horse-riding group and a carriage-riding group before leading them toward the sea of trees.

Before they left, Yue used her wind magic to hurl the imperial soldiers' corpses into the ravine. All that remained of the carnage that had ensued were a few pools of blood.

The Haltina Woods could be seen in the distance. Deep within its recesses was the beastmen country of Verbergen, and somewhere within there was one of the Seven Great Labyrinths. They rode forward at a good pace, and the woods quickly grew larger in the horizon.

As usual, Yue was sitting snugly in Hajime's lap as he drove Steiff, with Shea clinging on to him from behind. Hajime had tried to convince Shea to ride in the carriages, but she had insisted on riding Steiff with him. Yue had tried to kick her off over and over, but she would just rise back up like a zombie, so Yue eventually gave up.

The reason she was so persistent was because Shea wanted to get to know the two comrades she'd finally found better. Hence why she looked so happy clinging to Hajime. It seemed Shea had taken a liking to Steiff's backseat; or rather, she just enjoyed being behind Hajime in general... Mentally, Yue made a note to tie her down if things started getting out of hand.

Sandwiched between a somewhat annoyed Yue and an overjoyed Shea, Hajime continued driving Steiff on muscle memory as he gazed off into the distance, slightly spaced out.

Suddenly, Yue spoke up.

"...Hajime, why did you fight them alone?"

"Hm?"

She was, of course, referring to the earlier fight with those imperial troops. Back then, Hajime had held Yue back and taken care of them all on his own. Whether she had helped or not, the soldiers would have been annihilated instantly regardless. However, after the fight Hajime had seemed lost in thought, which was what had piqued Yue's interest.

"Hmm. Well, there was something I wanted to confirm, so..."

"...What did you want to confirm?" Yue asked. Shea peeked out from behind Hajime's shoulder, also very interested in hearing the answer.

"Well, you see..." His explanation ran on for quite a long time, but the gist of it was more or less as follows.

The first reason he'd held Yue back was because he wanted to conduct a little experiment. He'd aimed at everyone's head just in case, but he'd also fired a few experimental shots into their armor. The reason he wanted to make sure his normal bullets could pierce armor was because his railgun would be overkill against most human opponents, and in enclosed spaces like towns he might accidentally incur casualties.

While he had no compunction about slaughtering anyone who opposed him, even he balked at the thought of accidentally killing a perfectly innocent bystander, or accidentally shooting through someone's house and killing a family. Just because he no longer had any reservations about killing didn't mean that he had any desire to kill people indiscriminately. And so, he had wanted to test how much blastrock was needed to kill armored soldiers. Fortunately for him, he'd gotten a lot of good data. Thanks to the results, he had a decent idea of how much he'd need to regulate the firepower.

The second reason was because he wanted to see if he would hesitate when his opponents were fellow humans. No matter how much he'd changed, that had still been his first time fighting an actual person. So he wanted to make sure he could mentally handle killing someone, both in the act itself, and after the deed was done.

In the end, he concluded that "I didn't really feel much over it." At that point, his philosophy of killing anything that opposed him had firmly sunk in.

"The reason I was spacing out was because I was thinking about how much I must have changed to not even bat an eye after killing someone..."

"I see... Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, I don't really mind. This is who I am now, and this mindset will definitely help in the battles to come."

Shea was surprised to hear this had been his first time killing someone considering how mercilessly he'd slaughtered them. At the same time, she was amazed that Yue's sharp senses, at least when it came to Hajime anyway, had noticed this slight change he was going through. Underlying all of that was a faint sense of loneliness at not knowing anything about Hajime or Yue.

"Umm! Hajime-san, Yue-san, could you two please tell me more about yourselves?"

"Hm? I thought I already told you about myself."

"No, I don't mean like your abilities and stuff. I mean, how did you end up in that abyss or whatever, or why you guys are on a journey, or what you have been doing until now. I want to know more about you both."

"...Why?"

"There's no real reason, I just want to know... Because of the way I am, I've caused a lot of trouble for my family. I always hated myself for that... Of course, everyone always told me I wasn't a burden, and I'm sure they all mean it, but... I always felt like I didn't belong in this world. That's why I was happy when I first met you two. For the first time ever, I'd finally found people like me. For the first time ever, I didn't feel like the odd one out... I know it's presumptuous of me, but I was finally glad to have found people that felt like c-comrades... That's why I want to know more about you two... I'm not exactly sure how to put it, but..."

The more she talked, the more embarrassed she got, and by the end she was just whispering into Hajime's back. Hajime and Yue didn't know what to say to that. Thinking back on it, Shea had been surprisingly happy to meet them.

At the time, they'd been busy rescuing the Haulia tribe, so Yue hadn't had time to sort through her vague feelings. As a result, all she'd told Shea was simple things like why she could use magic. Shea must have been wondering about her two new companions this whole time.

It was a fact that in this world, people with a physical disposition similar to that of monsters weren't very accepted, so it was only natural that Shea would feel a sense of camaraderie. That being said, Hajime and Yue couldn't see her as a comrade quite so easily.

However, there was still some time until they reached the sea of trees. Since they had no real reason to hide it, Hajime and Yue decided to talk about their past in order to kill some time. By the time they finished their tale...

"Uweeeeh...Hic...That's terrible. You poor things. Hajime-san, and you too, Yue-san... compared to what you suffered, I've practically been blessed... Uweeeh, I can't believe I was so pathetic." Shea was a mess of tears. She kept muttering things like "I can't believe I was so spoiled," and "I'll never complain again," in between sobs. At the same time, she surreptitiously wiped her face with the hem of Hajime's coat. After having learned just how much the two of them had suffered, Shea felt pathetic for thinking her own situation had been harsh.

She continued crying for a while, but then she suddenly made a fist and looked up resolutely.

"Hajime-san! Yue-san! I've decided! Allow me to accompany you on your journey! I'll be the shining ray of light that illuminates the darkness in your lives! There's no need to be shy, the three of us are all comrades linked by a shared bond. Let's overcome the trials ahead together, and achieve your dream!" Both Yue and Hajime gave her a cold look as Shea worked herself up on her own delusions.

"And what gives you the right to say that, you weakling of a rabbit? Need I remind you that we're still protecting you right now? You'd just get in the way."

"...And we've already gone from people that 'felt like comrades' to actual comrades... What a shameless bunny."

"Y-You don't have to look at me so coldly... You're going to break my heart... Also, could you please call me by my name already?" She was a bit shaken at how coldly they'd refused her heartfelt proposal. However, they weren't done yet.

"...You just want comrades to travel with, don't you?"

"Wha—!?"

Looks like Hajime was right on the mark, as Shea suddenly jumped.

"Once you're done making sure your family's safe, you were planning on leaving them behind, weren't you? And since two 'comrades' just happened to show up around the same time you decided to leave, you thought you'd travel together with them, right? I doubt such a pretty little rabbit would last long on her own."

"...Umm, that's true, but... I also really want to help you two..." Flustered, Shea tried cover up the fact that Hajime had been right. In truth, Shea had already decided. Through hell or high water, she was going to get Hajime to save her family, after which she was going to leave the tribe. As long as she was with them, they'd always be in danger. In this incident too, she'd lost many of her precious family members. The next time she got them into trouble, they really might all die. And that was the one thing she wanted to avoid at all costs.

Of course, this went against the express wishes of her clan, and in a sense it could even be called betraying them. However, her mind was made up.

Worst case, she would have struck out on her own, but she was sure if she did that her family would get worried and chase after her. But if she told them she was going to help the invincible Hajime in his travels as thanks for saving her family, they'd surely let her go. Despite all appearances, Shea was earnest and quite desperate about the things she wanted to do.

That wasn't to say she wasn't also deeply interested in Yue and Hajime, because she was. As Hajime had said, she was happy to have finally found comrades, which was why she felt inexplicably close to them. All things considered, her meeting with Hajime honestly felt like destiny.

"I'm not trying to blame you or anything. But I recommend throwing away that misguided hopes of yours. Our goal is to conquer the Seven Great Labyrinths. Just like the abyss we crawled out of, it'll probably be teeming with monsters that are just as strong as us. You'd be killed in an instant. That's why we can't take you along."

"..."

Shea fell silent at Hajime's mercilessly blunt explanation. However, the nonchalant way Yue and Hajime seemed to deliver that reasoning depressed her even further. For a while she fell silent, sinking deep into thought, a complicated expression plastered on her face.

A few hours later, the group arrived at the entrance to Haltina Woods. From the outside it looked like nothing more than a normal forest, but once anyone stepped inside, they were instantly surrounded by a dense fog.

"Now then, Hajime-dono, Yue-dono. Please stick very close to us once we're inside. You'll be traveling in the center of our group, but it's still possible you might get separated, so be careful. Also, you just want us to guide you to the center, where the Grand Tree is, right?"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell that's probably the labyrinth entrance."

Cam reminded Hajime of the dangers while also affirming their destination.

The Grand Tree Cam had referred to was a massive tree that sat in the deepest reaches of the forest. The beastmen called it the Sacred Tree Uralt, and the area around it was considered holy. Rarely did any of them ever approach it. Hajime had heard all of that from Cam after they'd escaped the gorge.

At first, Hajime had thought the entirety of Haltina Woods itself was the labyrinth, but on second thought he'd realized that would mean abyss-level monsters would be crawling around the entire forest, making it completely uninhabitable for the beastmen. So just like the Great Orcus Labyrinth, it stood to reason that the entrance to the true labyrinth lay elsewhere. And from what Cam had told him, the Grand Tree seemed like a good place to start. Cam nodded and gave a signal to the rest of his clan, at which they all began crowding around Hajime and Yue.

"Hajime-dono, could you please erase your presence as much as possible? The Grand Tree is considered holy ground, so people usually don't approach, but it's not exactly forbidden land or anything, so it's possible we might run into people from Verbergen or other outlying settlements there. Since we're all wanted, we'd rather avoid being found by anyone."

"Alright, I understand. Both Yue and I are pretty good at taking covert action, so you can count on us."

As he said tahat, Hajime activated Hide Presence. Yue used her innate talents that she'd cultivated in the abyss to hide.

"Ah!? This is quite... Hajime-dono, would it be possible for you to hide yourself to Yue-dono's level?"

"Is this good?"

"Yes, that's perfect. If you completely erase your presence like you did earlier, we might lose sight of you ourselves. In fact, I'm certain we would. You're quite something."

Though the rabbitmen's stats were average, their extremely sensitive hearing made it very easy for them to pick up on almost all nearby presences, and they were also skilled at hiding. The fact that they could pick up on even Yue's presence, despite the skills she'd honed in the abyss, attested to their abilities. They were master trackers.

However, Hajime's Hide Presence was of an even greater level than that. Normally the rabbitmen would never lose sight of someone they'd marked, even in this vast sea of trees, but Hajime's skill was so absolute that even they couldn't sense him.

Cam smiled bitterly as he realized this human had surpassed him in the one field that he thought his race couldn't be beaten in. For some reason, Yue was puffing her chest out proudly. Shea, on the other hand, had an oddly pained expression on her face. She was finally realizing the difference in ability Hajime had hinted at earlier.

"Very well, let us depart."

With their preparations thus complete, the party headed into the forest, with Cam and Shea leading the group. They continued down a winding trail that could hardly be called a path. The dense fog appeared almost instantly, limiting everyone's visibility. However, Cam walked forward confidently. He knew exactly where they were, and precisely what their bearing was. Hajime didn't understand the underlying reason behind it, but it seemed that every beastman was born with the innate ability to traverse this dense sea of trees.

After a while of smooth progress, Cam suddenly came to a halt, warily surveying his surroundings. He'd sensed the presence of monsters. Hajime and Yue had sensed them too. It seemed that they were surrounded by a good number of them.

The Haulia all pulled out knives Hajime had furnished when they'd entered the forest. Normally, they would have just used their superior stealth skills to escape, but it seemed that wasn't going to work. Everyone had equally nervous expressions on their face.

Suddenly, Hajime thrust out his left arm. There was a faint hiss, and the sound of multiple somethings being ejected could be heard. A second later, Thud. Thud. Thud. "Kiiiiiiiiiii!?"

Three monsters of unknown appearance could be heard falling to the ground, screaming in pain. A moment later, three four-armed monkeys suddenly burst out of the fog, each of them about sixty centimeters tall.

Yue brought her hand up against one of them, and whispered her spell's name.

"Wind Blade." A sharp blade of wind flew through the air, cutting one of the monkeys in half. The two halves fell to the ground, the monkey dead before it even had time to scream.

The remaining two split up and tried to pincer the group. One of them headed for a nearby kid, while the other bared its claws at Shea. Both of them stiffened in fear, making easy targets for the monkeys. The nearby adults tried to cover them both... but their worry was needless.

Hajime swung his left arm at them both, and with another pneumatic hiss, both monkeys died, their heads punctured by ten centimeter long needles.

He was using the needle gun he'd installed into his prosthetic arm.

He'd stolen the idea from the scorpion he'd fought, and he could fire either single bolts or a shotgun-style spray. He ejected them using his Lightning Field, and while it didn't match the strength of Donner or Schlag, it was still quite powerful in its own right.

It only had an effective range of ten meters, but it was very quiet, and the needles were coated in poison, making for a very effective assassination tool. He hadn't used Donner specifically because he didn't want to attract attention with the gunshots.

"Th-Thank you very much, Hajime-san."

"Thanks, Onii-chan!"

Shea and the boy he'd saved both thanked him for his timely intervention. He waved his hand casually, indicating that it was nothing. The boy's eyes were shining as he looked up at Hajime. Shea, however, slumped her shoulders, disappointed at herself for freezing up at the first sign of danger.

Cam smiled awkwardly, and he started leading them again at Hajime's urging.

They were assaulted by monsters a few more times during their trek, but Hajime and Yue quietly repulsed each wave easily. The monsters inhabiting the forest were considered strong by the locals, but they posed no problem at all for Hajime and Yue.

However, a few hours after they'd entered the forest, they found themselves so thoroughly surrounded that they had to stop. Their numbers, bloodlust, and even coordination was levels above any of the monsters they'd faced so far.

The rabbitmen's ears all twitched nervously as they tried to figure out how many there were. When they discovered the identity of their opponents, the rabbitmen all grimaced. Shea took it a step further, and her face was completely pale. As Hajime and Yue realized who surrounded them, they too frowned in annoyance. After all, the ones surrounding them were none other than...

"You there... Why are there humans in your midst! State your race and clan!"

A burly beastman with a striped tail and a pair of tiger ears barred their path.

It was definitely not normal to see beastmen and humans together in the sea of trees. The tiger beastman was looking incredulously at Cam, as if he were some kind of race traitor. There was a dangerous looking two-handed sword in his hands. The couple dozen beastmen surrounding them were all glaring at the rabbitmen, clear outraged.

"U-Umm, we're..." Cold sweat poured down Cam's forehead as he tried to think up some kind of excuse. However, the tigerman caught sight of Shea before he could get very far.

"A white haired... rabbit girl? You must be the Haulia tribe in the reports. You're a disgrace to all beastmen. You tricked your fellow beastmen for years, hiding that despicable demon girl, and now you're even bringing humans into our midst!? Traitors! I won't listen to any of your excuses! You're all going to be executed here! Everyone, cha—"

Bang! Just before he could finish giving the order to charge, Hajime's gun went off. A red streak scraped past the tigerman's cheek, carving a hole right through the tree behind him, vanishing deep into the sea of trees.

A trail of blood ran down the tigerman's cheek as he stood frozen in place. Had his ears been on the side of his head like a human's, one of them would have been blown off completely. Everyone stiffened suddenly at this new attack that had come so fast that no one even had time to react.

Despite his casual tone, Hajime's words carried a surprising amount of weight. That was due to the Intimidation skill that he was using, which made his opponents feel a physical pressure from his words.

"I can fire off attacks like that multiple times a second. I know exactly where each and every one of you are. And hell, if I wanted to, I could kill you all in under a minute."

"Wh-Wha— There wasn't even a chant."

The tigerman faltered. Not only was this human capable of firing off an unknown attack of immense power, he could apparently fire it off multiple times a second without even chanting. Plus, to top it off, he even supposedly knew where they all were. As if to prove his point, Hajime unsheathed Schlag and pointed it into the distance. Right where the tigerman's right-hand man was waiting in ambush. Hajime could tell he was trembling behind the fog.

"If you order your men to attack, I won't show any mercy. Until our contract is complete, these guys' lives are under my protection... Don't think even a single one of your men will go home alive if you try and hurt them."

Hajime poured bloodlust into his words on top of his Intimidation. The threatening aura oozing from his every pore caused the tigerman to break out in a cold sweat. He desperately fought down the instinctive urge to howl in fear.

You've gotta be kidding me! N-No human can do something like this! That guy's some kinda monster! In order to avoid being engulfed by the fear, the tigerman tried to psyche himself up, but Hajime leveled both Donner and Schlag at him before continuing.

"But if you're willing to leave quietly, I won't chase you. If you're not my enemy, then I don't need to kill you. Now make your choice. Are you going to quietly go home, or die for the sake of your foolish pride?"

The tigerman was certain. If he gave the order to attack, that skill from earlier would wipe out his entire troop. There wasn't even the slightest chance any of them would make it out alive.

He was the captain of Verbergen's second guard squad. It was his job to patrol Verbergen and its outlying settlements, and to keep them safe from monsters or invaders. He was gladly willing to die in the line of duty, which was why he couldn't back down so easily, even knowing it might invite the death of his entire squad.

"...Can I ask you something first?" The tigerman hoarsely managed to croak out those words. Hajime flicked his head, indicating that it was okay for him to continue.

"...What are you after?" A simple question. However, whether or not he ordered his men to rush to their deaths depended entirely on the answer. His glare showed that if Hajime intended to bring harm to the citizens of Verbergen, he wouldn't back down no matter how hopeless the fight.

"We just want to visit the Sacred Tree, Uralt."

"You want to go to the Grand Tree... But why? What for?"

The tigerman had been certain this human had come to enslave the beastmen or the like, so he hadn't expected that response. While they did hold the area as sacred, it wasn't of much practical importance, which was why he was so confused. It was actually more of a tourist attraction than an idol of worship.

"Because the true entrance to one of the labyrinths might be there. We're on a journey to conquer all of the Seven Great Labyrinths. And we've employed the Haulia tribe to guide us there."

"True entrance? What do you mean? This forest itself is considered one of the Seven Great Labyrinths. A natural labyrinth where anyone other than a beastman will get lost forever once they step foot inside."

"Yeah, but there's a problem with that logic."

"What?"

The tigerman asked suspiciously, unsure of where Hajime's confidence came from.

"The monsters here are way too weak for this to be the true labyrinth."

"...Way too weak?"

"Yeah. The monsters I encountered in the last labyrinth were all on a whole different level. At least, the ones in the depths of the Great Orcus Labyrinth were all like that. And besides..."

"Besides?"

"The labyrinths are trials that the Liberators left behind. If any old beastman can make it all the way through the forest, then it doesn't really make for much of a trial. That's why I don't think the forest itself is the labyrinth."

"..." The tigerman was utterly bewildered by Hajime's explanation because what he was saying made absolutely no sense to him. Whether it was that the monsters were too weak, or the talk about the depths of the Great Orcus Labyrinth, or the Liberators, or trials and whatnot... none of it was something he'd ever heard of.

Under normal circumstances he would have dismissed it all as nonsense. However, there was no reason for Hajime to lie. He was the one with all the advantages, so there was no need for him to make up any excuses.

Besides, they somehow just didn't sound like a lie. And if his goal really didn't lie with Verbergen, then it made a lot more sense to just let him go to the Grand Tree and finish his business so he'd bother them no longer. He wouldn't have to waste his subordinates lives that way either.

The tigerman reached that conclusion in an instant. However, because of how overwhelmingly powerful Hajime was, he couldn't just let him go like that. Though he was also aware that someone of Hajime's abilities was completely beyond his power to handle. And so, he offered a compromise.

"If you don't mean any harm to my country or its people, then I don't mind letting you visit the Grand Tree. I have no interest in wasting my men's lives, either." The others surrounding Hajime all seemed shaken. It was completely unprecedented to allow an interloping human even further into their territory.

"However, a mere captain of the guard like me doesn't have the authority to allow that. Allow me contact my superiors. It's possible our elders might have some information on that true entrance you seek. If you really mean no harm to those that aren't your enemy, then surely you'll be willing to wait here while we send a messenger."

Despite the cold sweat pouring in waves down his back, his eyes were resolute. At his proposal, Hajime lapsed into thought.

Chances were this was the biggest compromise the tigerman could make.Hajime had heard intruders in the sea of trees were usually executed without question. He was sure deep down the tigerman still wanted them eliminated, too. However, if he gave the order to attack, his men would all die. And so, he had come up with a compromise that kept his men alive, and hopefully reined in the dangerous element that was Hajime.

He was actually rather impressed with the tigerman for coming up with such a rational solution. So he weighed the benefits of just killing them all and pushing his way through versus the benefits of letting Verbergen monitor his movements but still at least getting their permission to pass... and decided the latter would be less of a hassle.

In the off chance the Grand Tree wasn't the labyrinth entrance, he'd need to do some more scouting anyway. Having Verbergen's official approval was certainly for the better. Of course, it was entirely possible he'd just make an enemy out of an entire nation instead, but if things could be resolved peacefully, then that was best. It was less a decision made out of compassion than a simple cost-benefit analysis.

"Alright. But make sure you relay my message properly, you hear?"

"Of course. Zam, you heard us! Head to the elders as fast as you can!"

"Roger!" One of the presences surrounding them vanished. Hajime holstered both of his guns and stopped using his Intimidation skill.

The tension relaxed a little. While he was relieved, the tigerman was still a little suspicious at how easily Hajime had lowered his guard. A few of his men were even ready to launch a surprise attack on him. But Hajime, who had guessed their intentions already, simply smiled fearlessly.

"Which do you think is faster, your charge or my quick draw...? Can't say I mind testing it, if you wanna push your luck."

"...No, I'd rather not. However, please don't do anything rash. If you do, we'll be forced to attack."

"Fine by me."

Though they were still surrounded, Cam and the others breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that there wasn't about to be an immediate bloodbath, and everyone settled down a little. That being said, the glares the tigermen directed at the rabbitmen were anything but pleasant, so it couldn't really be called a peaceful situation.

After a while, Yue got tired of the pointless staring contest, and heedless of the heavy atmosphere, started teasing Hajime to pass the time. Tired of the oppressive air, or perhaps just hoping to lighten the mood, Shea joined in as well. Hajime begrudgingly put up with her too, and the tension relaxed a little. The rabbitmen were all dumbfounded when Hajime started "flirting" in the middle of enemy territory.

Around an hour later. Shea had gotten a bit too cheeky, and Yue now had her in an arm lock. The bunny girl was desperately screaming "Uncle! Uncle!" while the rest of her family looked on in disbelief. Finally, they sensed a number of figures rapidly approaching them.

The tense atmosphere returned in an instant, though Shea was still screaming in pain.

From the fog appeared a retinue of unfamiliar beastmen. The elderly man in their center stood out among them. He had long, flowing blond hair, and a pair of striking blue eyes that spoke of long accumulated wisdom. His body was so frail that it seemed a strong gust would blow him away. Though his majestic face was creased with wrinkles, they only served to highlight his noble appearance. The most distinctive part of his appearance, however, was his long, tapered ears. He was one of the fey folk of the forest, an elf.

Hajime guessed that he must be one of the elders. And his hunch turned out to be correct.

"Hmm, so you're the human that's been causing a ruckus in our forest. What's your name?"

"Hajime. Hajime Nagumo. Who're you, old man?"

The surrounding beastmen were shocked by his arrogant attitude. However, the old elf held out a hand to calm them before their anger boiled over.

"I am Ulfric Heipyst. I have the honor of representing Verbergen as one of its elders. Now then, I have been informed of your request, but before I give my reply, I would like to ask you something. Where did you come to learn of the Liberators?"

"Oh, we just heard about it from the man himself in Oscar's house at the bottom of the abyss."

Hajime was surprised Ulfric was more interested in the Liberators than their objective in the forest. And while Ulfric didn't let it show on his face, he was astonished Hajime knew of the Liberators. The reason being that only people very close to the Liberators had known their true name, or that Oscar Orcus had been one of them.

"I see. So you claim to have discovered it at the bottom of the abyss. I can't say I've ever heard of such a place, though... Can you prove your claim?" Ulfric was worried there might be someone among the beastmen leadership that had leaked classified information, which was why he asked.

Hajime's expression clouded over. The only thing he could think of would be to display his strength, but that still wouldn't prove it. As he was puzzling over the issue, Yue came up with a suggestion.

"...Hajime, how about the mana crystals, or some of Oscar's things?"

"Oh yeah, good point. Let me just find them..."

Hajime clapped his hands together before opening up the Treasure Trove and pulling out mana crystals so large that no monster on the surface could have produced them. He handed one over to Ulfric for inspection.

"I-I don't believe it... I've never seen a mana crystal of such purity..." The tigerman's jaw dropped open in shock. Likewise, Ulfric raised his eyebrows in mild astonishment.

"Oh, there's this too. Apparently it's the ring Oscar wore or something." Hajime also pulled out the ring with the Orcus crest on it. This time Ulfric was unable to contain his shock and opened his eyes wide in surprise when he gazed upon the crest. He started taking slow, deep breaths in order to calm himself down.

"I see... So you youngsters really did reach Oscar Orcus' resting place. There are still some things I'm very curious to learn, but... very well. I shall grant you passage through Verbergen. By my right as elder, you are free to travel as you please. Of course, the Haulia are welcome as well."

The beastmen around him weren't the only ones surprised. After all, Cam and the others were shocked as well. All at once, the tigermen started hotly protesting the elder's decision. It was only natural. Not once had humans ever been allowed passage through Verbergen.

"We must treat them as honored guests. They've earned that right. This is one of the ancient laws only those who sit on the elder's council are told of." Ulfric's stern tone left no room for disagreement, so the beastmen quieted down. However, surprisingly, Hajime was the one who raised an objection.

"Wait. Don't go deciding our plans for us. The only place I have business with is the Grand Tree; I'm not planning on going to Verbergen or anything. If we're free to go, then we'll be heading straight to the Grand Tree, thank you very much."

"I'm afraid you can't."

"What?"

So they really are going to try and get in our way, then? Hajime instantly put up his guard, but Ulfric simply replied bemusedly.

"The fog around the Grand Tree is so thick that even beastmen lose their bearings near it. It waxes and wanes in cycles, and only when the fog is thinnest can we safely approach. I'm afraid the next cycle isn't for ten days... I had thought all of the beastmen were aware of that fact, but..." Ulfric gave Hajime a puzzled stare before turning to look at Cam. After a moment spent absorbing this new piece of information, Hajime too turned to look at Cam. Faced with two expectant stares, Cam replied with...

"Ah," as if he'd only just now remembered it. A vein pulsed on Hajime's forehead.

"Cam?"

"Oh, uh, I'm not quite sure what to say... Well, there was an awful lot going on, so it's only natural that I'd forget... Yeah, I've only been there once myself when I was a small child, and I didn't really pay attention to the cycles or anything back then..." He kept trying to make excuses, but Hajime and Yue's relentless gazes wouldn't let him escape. Finally, he snapped and turned on his brethren.

"Hey, Shea! The rest of you too! Why didn't you say something! You all knew about the fog cycles too, didn't you!?"

"What!? Why're you blaming us all of a sudden, Dad? You looked so confident that I was sure you knew that this was the right time in the cycle... This is all your fault!"

"Exactly! We all thought it was a little strange too, but you were so confident about getting us there that we thought maybe we were the ones who'd gotten the dates wrong..."

"Yeah, you sounded so sure, Chief..."

Cam's misguided anger made Shea lash back at him in turn, and his tribe started averting their eyes, shifting all the blame onto him.

"Y-You guys! I thought we were family! Doesn't that mean we share both the good times and the bad!? Hajime-dono, if you must punish me, please punish us collectively!"

"Coward! Dad, I can't believe you'd try and pull something like that! Just because you're scared of getting punished doesn't mean you should drag us down with you!"

"Leave us out of this, Chief!"

"Fools! Didn't you see how merciless Hajime-dono was to his enemies? I'll die if I have to face that punishment alone!"

"I can't believe you still have the gall to call yourself our chief!"

Those were the people that were renowned for being the kindest among the beastmen, but at that moment they were busy trying to shift the blame onto each other. Where'd all that supposed kindness go...? Well, I guess they are Shea's family. The whole lot of them were worthless rabbits.

Hajime muttered just a single word.

"Yue."

"Okay." Yue stepped forward, then raised one of her hands. The Haulias' expressions all stiffened simultaneously.

"P-Please wait, Yue-san! If you have to punish someone, punish Dad!"

"Hahaha, we'll be together forever!"

"Get the hell away from me!"

"Yue-dono, please leave us out of this and just discipline the chief!"

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it! The chief's the one who's at fault!"

Yue only smiled thinly in response, then muttered a single phrase.

"Storm Gust."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" The sky suddenly started raining bunny ears. Their screams could be heard throughout the entire forest. Though it was their own people who were being tortured, Ulfric and the others didn't seem the slightest bit angry. In fact, they were looking up at the sky in awe. Judging by their expressions, they too knew how pathetic the Haulia were.

The forest floor looked like the remnants of a battlefield. Scattered among the leaves were heaps of twitching bunny ears. Hajime mercilessly followed up with a barrage of rubber bullets, prompting the Haulia to their feet, tears streaming down their eyes.

Still somewhat nonplussed, Ulfric signaled to one of the tigermen, Gil. Gil sighed tiredly, then started guiding the group through the fog.

They walked in formation, with Hajime, Yue, Ulfric and the Haulias in the center and the tigermen surrounding them in a defensive perimeter. An hour later they still hadn't arrived at the city, and Hajime realized for the first time that Zam must have sent quite a fast runner for the elder to have arrived so quickly.

After another hour or so of walking, the fog started to grow thin. But only in a line directly in front of them, like a tunnel. The rest of their surroundings remained shrouded in dense mist. Upon closer inspection, Hajime realized that both sides of the path were marked by luminous blue crystals that had been embedded in the ground. It was almost as if those crystals were warding off the fog.

Ulfric noticed Hajime was eyeing the crystals, so he volunteered an explanation.

"Those are called verdren crystals. For some reason, they drive away both the fog and monsters. Both Verbergen and the surrounding villages are protected by these crystals. They work perfectly for the fog, but they're only somewhat effective at driving off monsters."

"I see. Makes sense. I mean, you'd probably all go crazy having to live in the fog all the time. Even if you know where you're going, you probably don't want to stay there."

While the forest may have been covered in fog, it seemed the villages within at least were spared such a fate. Considering they'd be spending the next ten days here, that was good news. Yue's eyes lit up happily too. She clearly hadn't been thrilled by the idea of spending ten days in the fog either.

Finally, the group found themselves standing before a massive gate. Thick trunks interlocked together to form an arch, and the double doors enshrined within were also made of wood. In place of walls was a towering barrier of living trees, each one at least thirty meters tall. A very fitting marker for the border of the beastmen's country.

Gil gave a signal to the gate guard, and the massive doors slowly creaked open. A great number of people were staring down at Hajime's party from atop the branches of the trees. Everyone had been terrified to hear that a human would be allowed into their land. Had Ulfric not been there, a fight probably would have broken out. Perhaps the reason he'd come in person was precisely because he'd expected that kind of reaction.

Past the wall of trees, a new world spread out before Hajime.

Numerous massive trees dotted the landscape, a dwelling carved into each one. Warm lamplight poured out of the windows that had been cut into the trunks. Thick branches, wide enough for dozens of people to walk across abreast, linked the treetops together into one big aerial highway. Vines served as pulleys, allowing for huge elevators big enough to pull up carts. There were even wooden aqueducts, carrying water from tree to tree. And each of the trees was at least as tall as a twenty story building, too.

Hajime and Yue stared in awe, their mouths hanging open at the fantastical scenery. After a few seconds, Ulfric cleared his throat to grab their attention. It seemed they had been so enraptured by the city that they'd forgotten to keep walking.

"Hoho, it seems our fair city of Verbergen is to your liking." Ulfric smiled warmly. All of the surrounding beastmen, even the Haulia, were all puffing their chests out proudly. Seeing how happy they were, Hajime gave his honest impression of the city.

"Yeah, this is the first time I've ever seen such an amazing city. Even the air smells wonderful. It really feels like you guys are one with nature."

"Yeah... it's really pretty."

The beastmen were all surprised at such honest praise. Happy and embarrassed at the same time, they averted their gaze, their ears and tails wagging happily. Hajime and Yue were unperturbed by the gazes of curiosity, fear, confusion, and hatred the residents sent their way, and continued enjoying the scenery as they walked through the city, led onward by Ulfric.

"...I see. So the reward for clearing the trials is ancient magic, and the gods have actually been deceiving us all along..."

Once they'd arrived at the hall Ulfric had prepared for them, Hajime and Yue had explained what they'd learned. He had gone over the speech Oscar Orcus had made about the Liberators, the magic he'd inherited from the Age of the Gods, the fact that he was a human from another world, and that he was looking to conquer the labyrinths in the hopes of finding a spell that could take him home.

Ulfric hadn't seemed terribly surprised when he'd heard about the gods' true intentions. When Hajime had asked him why he seemed so calm, he had replied with "This world isn't very kind to us beastmen, so what reason would we have to believe the gods are benevolent?" Whether the gods were raving lunatics or benign overlords didn't matter to the beastmen. After all, they'd be oppressed either way. As the Holy Church had no influence here, most beastmen weren't very religious either. If anything, they worshiped nature.

Once Hajime had finished his tale, Ulfric told him about the ancient law that had been passed down among the elders of Verbergen.

It was a very vague law that simply stated if anyone bearing a crest belonging to one of the Seven Great Labyrinths were to appear in the sea of trees, the beastmen were not to oppose that person regardless of who they were, and to guide them wherever they wished to go if they seemed nice.

The creator of the Haltina Woods labyrinth, Lyutilis Haltina, had told the first elder she'd found that she was a Liberator, though she hadn't explained what the Liberators were, and what her comrades' names were. This had been long before Verbergen came into existence, and so the knowledge was passed down through the ages. The reason she'd probably stressed not to oppose them was because she must have known the beastmen would be no match for anyone strong enough to clear a labyrinth. And the reason Ulfric had seemed so surprised when he'd seen Orcus' crest was because there was a stone tablet near the Grand Tree that had the seven Liberators' crests carved into it.

"So that's why you let me in..." After Ulfric's explanation, Hajime finally understood why he'd been invited to Verbergen. However, not all beastmen were privy to the knowledge Ulfric had, so there would probably be a need to explain his presence later.

Sometime during Hajime and Ulfric's conversation, a commotion began on the floors below. The two of them were on the highest floor of this particular tree, while Shea and the other Haulia were waiting down below. From the sounds of it, they'd gotten into an argument with someone. Hajime and Ulfric exchanged glances before standing up at the same time.

Downstairs, a bearman, tigerman, foxman, some kind of winged beastman, and some small dwarfish fur-covered beastman were all glaring angrily at the Haulia tribe. The Haulia were all huddled in a corner, with Cam desperately trying to protect Shea. Both of their cheeks were red and swollen, meaning they'd already been hit at least once.

As Hajime and Yue descended the last few steps, everyone turned to glare at them. The bearman was the first to speak.

"Damn you, Ulfric... What were you thinking, bringing a human here!? And these damn rabbits too! You even allowed the cursed girl to step foot in our land... Depending your answer, I might have to call for you to get executed at our next elders' meeting." He was just barely restraining himself from rushing at them. Both his hands were balled into fists, and his arms were shivering with barely suppressed rage. So most beastmen really do see humans as mortal enemies, then. The situation was only exacerbated by the fact that Ulfric had invited the detested Haulia tribe as well. All of the other beastmen were glaring angrily at Ulfric, not just the bearman. However, Ulfric seemed completely unfazed by their display of anger.

"I simply abided by our ancient traditions. You all are elders of your various clans, so surely you must realize my reasons."

"What ancient traditions!? All that's nothing but bull! We've never once had any use for that ancient law since Verbergen's founding!"

"Then that'll make this a first. Calm yourselves. You all are elders here, you know you must abide by the laws. If we don't set an example as leaders of our people, then what use are any of our rules or traditions?"

"Are you trying to say that little brat really did get through a labyrinth!? That he's too strong for us to fight!?"

"That is correct." Ulfric spoke nonchalantly the entire time, as if he was simply commenting on the weather. The bearman's incredulous gaze shifted from Ulfric to Hajime.

Within Verbergen, all of the prominent powerful races elected one of their own to be their elder, and that individual represented the entire race in the elder council. The elder council met regularly to discuss the affairs of state, and laws and taxes were decided by a vote among them. They were, in effect, the rulers of the country. They also acted as the country's judges. Apparently the members gathered here were all of the country's elders. However, not all of them were in agreement about the ancient laws.

Though Ulfric may have held the tradition in high regard, the other elders seemingly did not. Elves like Ulfric were known to live longer than most beastmen. From what Hajime remembered of the books he'd read, they usually lived to be around 200 on average. That would mean that Ulfric and the other elders' views were probably different because of the huge age gap between them. Most other beastmen only lived to be around 100.

All of the other elders couldn't stand the thought of a human and a pack of wandering criminals being allowed into their sanctuary.

"...Fine, why don't we test if he's really qualified, here and now!"

The bearman finally snapped and charged at Hajime. It was so sudden that no one else had any time to react. Even Ulfric hadn't expected him to charge, so his eyes went wide in surprise.

In an instant the massive 2.5 meter lump of fat and muscle was bearing down on Hajime, one arm heading straight for his face.

The bearmen were known for their impressive stamina and overwhelming arm strength. And this particular bearman was the head of his clan. One swing of his arm was enough to fell a tree. Everyone but Yue and the Haulia thought Hajime was a goner for sure.

However, they all froze stiff in fear as they saw what happened next. Hajime lazily caught the bearman's paw with his prosthetic left arm.

"Pathetic. You call that a punch? But well, you still came at me with the intent to kill. I hope you're prepared for what that means." Hajime strengthened his grip. There was a sharp cracking noise from the bearman's arm. Panic quickly overcame his shock, and the bearman desperately tried to free himself from Hajime's grasp.

"Gaaah! Let go!" He pulled with all his might, but Hajime, who barely came up to his chest, didn't budge an inch. In truth, Hajime had simply transmuted the metallic plates he'd put in his boots into spikes to keep him rooted, but the bearman didn't know that. To him, Hajime was as immovable as a boulder.

Hajime poured more mana into his left arm, strengthening his grip further.

"Ah!?" With another sharp crack, the bearman's arm snapped. However, he didn't cry out. He still had his pride as an elder to preserve. That didn't stop him from stiffening up in pain and surprise, though. Taking advantage of his immobility, Hajime drew his hand back. While the bearman was still off balance, Hajime ducked into his guard and threw a punch.

"Out of my sight." He activated his Steel Arms skill as he did so, and for good measure burned a blastrock cartridge embedded in his elbow to further add force to his blow. His fists were deadly as is, but at that point they were backed by the force of a gunpowder explosion.

His doubly empowered fist sunk mercilessly into the bearman's abdomen, sending him flying backward. He wasn't even given enough time to scream as he crashed right through the tree wall and fell to the ground. Only when he hit the ground did the screaming finally start.

What Hajime had actually activated was the shotgun installed on his arm. However, the shotgun shells actually fired behind him. The reasoning was that he could use the recoil to empower his punches, and if he was fighting with Donner and Schlag, he could fire at enemies behind him without having to turn around. He'd used it for the punch empowering effect this time. Combined with Steel Arms, it made for quite a formidable weapon.

Everyone was at a complete loss for words. There was a clicking noise as Hajime expended the used cartridge. By default there didn't have to be one, but he'd added it in as a fun gimmick. After that, he swept his murderous gaze over the rest of the elders.

"So? Are you all still my enemy?"

No one nodded. Hajime's actions had prevented the situation from becoming a bloodbath, and Ulfric managed to calm things down after that. The bearman had taken serious damage to his internal organs and fractured almost every bone in his body, but was still miraculously alive. They had to use copious amounts of rare and expensive healing medicine to keep him from succumbing to his wounds, though. And while he was going to recover, his fighting days were over. Once his condition was stabilized, the tigerman elder Zel, the winged beastman elder Mao, the foxman elder Lua, the moleman, or dwarven, elder Guze, and lastly the elf elder Ulfric all sat down together with Hajime. Yue, Shea, and Cam were all sitting next to him with the rest of the Haulia tribe cowering behind his back.

Aside from Ulfric, the elders were all clearly nervous. The bearman, Jin, had been one of their strongest fighters, but Hajime had dealt with him in an instant.

"So? What do you guys want with me? I just want to go to the Grand Tree. If you don't plan on getting in my way, I have no reason to fight you, but... if the beastmen aren't unified in their decision, I won't know who to kill and who to spare if it comes down to it. And that's just bad for you guys. I'm not so softhearted that I'll care about who I'm killing if someone comes at me."

The elders stiffened at Hajime's casual tone. They realized he was willing to go to war against the entire beastman race if he had to.

"You nearly kill one of our comrades, take that tone with us... and expect us to call you a friend?" Guze half-whispered, half-shouted those few words, his expression twisted in anguish.

"Hey now, that bear guy was the one who attacked first. I was just defending myself. If he can't fight anymore because of it, that's hardly my fault."

"Y-You bastard! Jin... Jin was only thinking of what was best for his country!"

"And that makes it okay to try and kill a guy you just met?"

"Th-That's— But—"

"If anything, I'm the victim here. That bear dude started it. Aren't you elders supposed to be judges too? Don't you think you should be a bit more impartial?"

Guze was probably a good friend of Jin's, which was why even if Hajime was correct, Guze still couldn't accept it. However, Hajime had no interest in the feelings of strangers.

"Guze, I understand how you feel, but just leave it at that. He is right, you know." Ulfric's rebuke hit Guze hard, and he sat back down, his face twisted with conflicting emotions. He sat there in sullen silence, still simmering with anger.

"It's certainly true the boy has one of the seven crests, and the strength needed to clear a labyrinth. I'm willing to believe he fulfills the conditions."

The one who spoke was the foxman, Lua. His slit-like eyes regarded Hajime for a moment before he swept his gaze over to the other elders. Mao and Zel both voiced their agreement, though it was clear they each had their reservations. Representing all the elders, Ulfric handed down the final decision.

"Hajime Nagumo. We elders of Verbergen have decreed that you do indeed possess the qualifications spoken of in the ancient covenant. We will not oppose you... and we will implore everyone within our domain not to as well. However..."

"No guarantees?"

"Indeed. As you are aware, most beastmen do not think too kindly of humans. If I may be frank, most of us hate you. I cannot guarantee that some of the more hot-blooded ones among us won't ignore our decision. Especially those belonging to Jin's clan. I highly doubt the bearmen will be willing to let go of their anger. Jin was a very popular leader, after all..."

"And?" Hajime's expression didn't change at all throughout Ulfric's explanation. It was clear from his gaze that he only did what he thought was necessary, and would continue doing so moving forward. While Ulfric understood all of this, he too had a responsibility as the beastmen's elder, and an unwavering will to match it.

"I would like to request that you do not kill those who attack you."

"...You want me to hold back against someone who's trying to kill me?"

"Precisely. With your strength, it should be an easy task, no?"

"If that bear guy was your strongest fighter, I'd say it's definitely possible. But honestly, I have no intention of holding back if my opponent's determined to turn it into a death match. I understand your feelings on the matter, but they have nothing to do with me. If you don't want your countrymen to die, I suggest you make sure they understand not to mess with me."

The fact that all enemies needed to be thoroughly eliminated was a value that the abyss had instilled upon him quite effectively. After all, there was no telling what consequences letting up on your opponent might have. A cornered rat will bare its fangs. There was always the possibility that holding back could get Hajime killed eventually. That was why he was unwilling to agree to Ulfric's request.

However, the tigerman, Zel, wasn't going to let Hajime refuse.

"Then I'm afraid we won't be able to guide you to the Grand Tree. Even the tradition says we have no obligation to help you if we don't like you." Hajime looked at him dubiously. From the start he had been planning on letting the Haulia guide him. He didn't need to borrow help from Verbergen. Surely the elders realized that as well. However, Zel's next words revealed his true intentions.

"Don't think the Haulia will be able to help you. They're wanted criminals. They'll be judged according to the laws of Verbergen. I don't know what your agreement with them was, but you'll be parting ways with them here. That cursed demon child and the criminals who protected her have put all of Verbergen in danger. The council has already decided to execute them."

At Zel's words, Shea started trembling, tears welling up in her eyes. Cam and the others already looked like they were resigned to their fate. The fact that none of them were blaming her even now showed just how kindhearted they really were.

"Esteemed elders! I beg of you, please show mercy to my family at least! Please!"

"Shea, don't! We've already made our decision. None of this is your fault. We're not so heartless that we'd throw away our family to live. Every single one of us talked this over, and we're all prepared. There's no need for you to feel guilty about this."

"But...!"

Shea prostrated herself before the elders in her plea for mercy, but it seemed Zel had none to spare.

"The judgment has already been passed down. The Haulia will all be executed. Had you not deceived Verbergen, we would have settled for simply banishing the demon child, but it's too late now."

Tears were streaming down Shea's face. Cam and the others tried tocomfort her. So their execution really was already set in stone. None of the other elders spoke. It seemed they cared more about the threat Shea had posed to Verbergen than Shea's fate itself, which was why their sentence was so grave. In other words, the Haulia's kindness had only exacerbated the situation. How ironic.

"So there you have it. Your only other means of reaching the Grand Tree are gone. What do you plan on doing now? Test your luck and see if you can make it on your own?"

"If you don't like it, then you better listen to our demands," or so the unsaid implication went. The other elders were all in agreement. However, Hajime didn't seem terribly perturbed by their ultimatum.

"Are you all stupid or what?"

"Wh-What did you just say!?" Zel's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at Hajime's casual insult. Even Shea looked up at him in surprise. Yue already knew what he was thinking, so her expression didn't change.

"I already told you I don't give a damn about your circumstances. Trying to take these guys away from me is the same as getting in my way." Hajime glared down at the elders while placing a protective hand on Shea's head. Her body trembled at his touch, and she looked up at him with a tear-stained face.

"And I believe I've already shown you... what happens to people who get in my way."

"Hajime-san..."

Hajime was just trying to get a return on his investment, and eliminate anything that got in the way of that. That was all, really. However, the fact that he was willing to declare war against all beastmen in the heart of Verbergen resonated with Shea, who was in the depths of despair.

"Are you truly serious?" Ulfric's sharp glare and stern expression made it clear that a lie would be met with harsh consequences.

"Of course." Still, Hajime didn't waver. His will was unshakeable. In this world, anyone who meant him harm or intended to get in his way would be slaughtered without mercy. That was what he had sworn back in the depths of the abyss.

"Even if we were to offer you guidance in their stead?" The decision to execute the Haulia was something that had been decided by the council of elders, which meant that if they caved into Hajime's threats and repealed it, it would ruin their reputation as a nation. Even if they'd lose the bargaining chip they'd been hoping to use to entice a promise of clemency for those who attacked Hajime, they couldn't afford to lose face by taking back their decision. That was why Ulfric had offered that compromise. However, Hajime made it clear that there was no room for negotiation.

"Don't make me repeat myself. The Haulia will be my guides."

"Why are you so insistent on having them do it? Anyone could take you to the Grand Tree." Annoyed at Ulfric, Hajime glanced back at Shea. He'd noticed her gaze a while back, so when he turned around their eyes met. Shea could feel her heartbeat quicken. She averted her gaze instantly, but the pounding of her heart didn't slow.

"Because I made a promise. I promised to protect them in return for guiding me."

"A promise? In that case, couldn't you consider it already fulfilled? You protected them not only from the monsters in the gorge, but also the imperial soldiers, correct? All that remains is to receive your reward, no? What difference does it make if we provide that reward or them?"

"There's a difference. I promised I'd guarantee their safety until they took me where I wanted to go. Just because a better looking deal showed up halfway doesn't mean I can just throw that promise away..." Hajime stopped halfway and looked over at Yue. She too was gazing at him, and smiled slightly when their eyes met. He returned her smile and shrugged his shoulders before turning back to Ulfric and continuing coolly.

"It just wouldn't be cool to break my promise, you know?" Surprise attacks, bluffs, traps, cowardly tricks, the whole gamut. Hajime had no problem using any of them in battle. He was willing to use any means at his disposal in order to survive.

However, outside of a fight to the death, he still had principles he wanted to stick to. If he threw away even those, he'd have no humanity left. And he was still a man. He didn't want to cross that line in front of the very girl who'd saved him from falling that far in the first place. He wanted to stay someone she could be proud of. In short, he wanted to look cool in front of the girl he loved.

Seeing that he had no intention of backing down, Ulfric breathed a long sigh. The other elders all looked at each other, hoping someone might have a solution. Silence filled the room for a few moments before Ulfric brought out one last suggestion with an exhausted look on his face.

"Then let's just say they're your slaves. According to the laws of Verbergen, any who leave the sea of trees and do not return, or those who are captured as slaves, are considered dead. While we may stand a chance against humans in this fog-enshrouded forest, outside of it their magic would tear us apart. Hence why those who get captured are considered dead, and chasing after them is prohibited to prevent there from being more victims... If they're already dead, we can hardly execute them."

"Ulfric! You can't!" Sophism was all it was, nothing more. The other elders, of course, weren't happy about that proposal. Zel had even gone so far as to protest.

"Zel. Surely you see that this boy isn't willing to back down, nor do we have the strength to force him to. If we try to execute the Haulia, he will fight us. As an elder... I cannot risk the sacrifices that decision would bring."

"But then how are we meant to set an example for the rest of our people!? If people discovered we caved to force and let this monster of a girl run free along with her demonic companions, what will they think of us? Our dignity will forever be stained!"

"But..."

Zel and Ulfric's argument continued, and the other elders began voicing their opinions as well. Before long it had turned into a shouting match. As expected, letting a potential threat run free and ignoring a verdict that had already been decided was not something they could easily swallow. It would set a dangerous precedent, and forever taint the name of the council. Growing tired of their bickering, Hajime decided to butt in despite knowing he might make things worse.

"Umm, sorry to interrupt such a lively conversation, but don't you think worrying about this worthless rabbit now after all this time is kind of pointless?" Everyone fell silent at once. The elders all looked at Hajime in confusion. He rolled up his right sleeve, then started directly controlling his mana. Crimson veins rose to the surface of his exposed arm. He then activated Lightning Field to further illustrate his point, and sparks started running down his arm.

The elders all gazed in astonishment. When they saw him use magic without a circle or incantation, their jaws all dropped. They had thought Hajime's left arm had been some sort of artifact, and that was how he had defeated Jin.

"Just like her, I can control my mana directly, and use specialized magic only monsters are supposed to have. Oh, Yue can too, by the way. We're all basically monsters here. If having the same abilities as actual monsters is grounds for execution, then shouldn't you be trying to execute us as well? But wait, didn't your law say not to oppose anyone who possessed the right qualifications, no matter who they were? No matter what you do, you're going to have to break one of your laws. So being so hung up over her seems kind of pointless to me." It took a few moments for the elders to recover from their shock, but when they finally did they started whispering furiously to each other. Eventually they reached a decision, and Ulfric, their representative, delivered it with an increasingly tired sigh.

"Haaah, by the rule of the council the cursed child Shea Haulia will be considered a relative of the cursed child Hajime Nagumo. As Hajime has shown he possesses the qualifications spoken of in our ancient laws, we shall not oppose his passage. However, he will be barred from Verbergen and its surrounding settlements. Henceforth, anyone who takes any action against Hajime or his kin does so at their own risk, without the blessing or protection of Verbergen... That is all. Is this good enough?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Like I said, all I care about is getting to the Grand Tree and having these guys guide me, so no problems here."

"...I see. Very well, could I kindly ask you to leave, then? It's a shame we cannot give a more proper welcome to the first person to ever fulfill the ancient pact, but..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm aware I've caused you guys a great deal of trouble because of my own selfishness. I'm just glad you didn't choose do to anything stupid, honestly."

Ulfric smiled bitterly. The other elders all looked equally unhappy and exhausted. It wasn't so much that they bore a grudge, or even hated Hajime, they just wanted him gone and out of their hair. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly and signaled Yue and the others to get up.

Yue slowly rose to her feet. He couldn't tell if she hadn't had any interest in their conversation from the beginning, or if she simply hadn't felt like voicing her opinion. However, Shea and the rest of the Haulia were still seated. It seemed the shock of what had happened had been so great that they still hadn't registered the fact that'd been saved. They had come ready to die, and now they'd just been exiled. Most of them still weren't really sure it was okay for them to just leave.

"Hey, how long are you going to sit there daydreaming? Get up, we're going." The rabbitmen all hurriedly got to their feet and tottered after Hajime at those words. Ulfric and the others tagged along as well, saying they would escort him to the gate.

As they were walking back, Shea timidly walked up to Hajime and asked him a question.

"U-Umm, are we... really not going to be executed?"

"Did you not listen to a word we said?"

"N-No, I was listening, but... we got out of it so easily that it still doesn't feel real... I feel like I'm going to wake up at any minute now and find out this was all just a dream..." The other Haulia all had the same bewildered expression on their faces. Hajime supposed that was just how absolute the elder's judgment usually was for the beastmen. Yue suddenly chimed in, seeing that Shea still didn't know what to do with her feelings.

"...Just be happy."

"Yue-san?"

"Hajime saved you guys. That's the simple truth. Why not just be happy about it?"

"..." Mulling over Yue's words, Shea glanced up at Hajime. He just shrugged his shoulders without turning back.

"I mean, that was part of the promise."

"Ah..."

Shea's shoulders trembled. In return for guiding him through the sea of trees, Hajime promised to protect her and her family. She had grinded herself to the bone, almost literally, in order to wring that promise out of him.

Though she had seen a future where he was protecting them, there was no guarantee that future would come to pass. Shea's choices constantly affected the futures she saw. That was why she had been so desperate to get his cooperation. Even though she had nothing to offer in return, and her potential savior was a human, a member of the race that discriminated against beastmen. All she had to negotiate with was her body and her special magic. When he had ignored both of those things, she had really wanted to cry, but she still desperately tried to squeeze a promise out of him. And so, on their way to save her family she realized that he wasn't the kind of person that would go back on his word. Part of her conviction came from the fact that he never discriminated against her, a rabbit girl.

However, all of that had been based on her feelings; she had never had aconcrete reason to believe Hajime would stick to his promise. That was why she had still been a little worried deep inside. It was why she tried to say things like "He's not a guy who'll go back on his word!" with confidence, and extract promises that he'd be willing to fight against fellow humans. Despite her initial fear, she had actually been relieved when he'd killed those imperial soldiers without hesitation.

Still, when they'd been negotiating with the elders, Shea's fears that he would abandon them had returned. The circumstances were completely different. What he had done was the same as threatening war to the Emperor of Hoelscher's face. And yet, he had kept his promise without backing at all. Regardless of whether he'd done it for his own sake or not, Yue was right. He'd saved her and her family.

Just thinking about it made her heartbeat quicken once more. She could feel her face flush, and an indescribable feeling welled up within her. She wasn't sure if it was happiness because her family had been saved, or... Thinking about it any harder would have made her brain overheat, so she decided to stop worrying about it and just be happy like Yue told her to. Her newfound emotions were clamoring to be expressed, so Shea did so the only way she knew how. By hugging Hajime as hard as she could, of course.

"Hajime-saaan! Thank you so muuuuuch!"

"Oof. Where'd that come from?"

"Grr..."

With tears in her eyes again, Shea buried her face into Hajime's shoulder, clinging to him with inhuman strength. There was a beaming smile on her face, and her cheeks were a bright red.

Yue growled unhappily, but then she thought better of kicking Shea off. Instead, she simply took Hajime's hand in hers.

As they watched Shea explode with joy, the reality that they'd been saved finally hit the other Haulia, and they all began embracing each other, reveling in everyone's delight. The elders watched on awkwardly, unsure how to feel. There were plenty of hateful and angry gazes that watched them go, though.

Hajime smiled bitterly as he realized his troubles in the Haltina Woods were just beginning.