The force of the blow had Shea doing a near handstand as her body flew into the air, and the dragon's head slammed into the ground with earth-shattering force. After the shockwaves died down, silence reigned on the mountainside.
"Phew. That should make up for my mess up earlier. But man, this thing's tough..." Shea exclaimed in surprise as she put Drucken away.
Her surprise was to be expected, as while many of the scales on its head had cracked, and some had shattered, it was in surprisingly good shape. Its defensive power was truly fearsome.
"Hmm? Yeah, looks like it's at least as tough as the monsters in the abyss. Wonder how many mountain ranges it had to pass to get here." Half-amazed, half just annoyed, Hajime walked up to the collapsed dragon. His Sense Presence told Hajime the dragon was still alive, so he moved in to finish it off.
The giant spike Hajime's pile bunker had fired into the sky smashed into the ground between them.
What perfect timing. Hajime was suddenly reminded of the idiom More had told him. "Only a fool kicks a dragon's arse."
Hajime activated his Steel Arms and pulled the stake out of the ground. He carried it on his shoulder as he circled around to the dragon's rear. Then, he held the spike like a javelin, and prepared to toss it into the dragon's ass. The massive black spike would be more than enough to finish the job.
Everyone grimaced as they realized what Hajime was planning on doing. True, shattering the dragon's scales seemed like a daunting task, but this was still too much. Everyone except Yue and Shea shuddered at his merciless decision, but Hajime paid them no mind.
"Let's see how you like this being shoved up your ass, you stupid dragon." Without a moment's hesitation, he plunged black the spike as far into the dragon's butt as he could.
A second later—
"Aaaaaaaaah! How dare youuu!" The dragon let out an anguished scream as it opened its eyes.
As the spike had only gone in halfway, Hajime had been planning on punching it in further, but the dragon's screams, which sounded very much like words, surprised him so much that he unclenched his fist.
"My backside~ My poor backside~" Its pained, agonized, and oddly impassioned scream was so unexpected that it shocked everyone stiff.
It would seem that this dragon... was no ordinary monster.
"Take it out~ Please take it out~" The voice that echoed through the riverbed sounded pitiful. And decidedly feminine. The dragon's jaws weren't moving, so she was clearly using some kind of wide-area telepathy to broadcast her voice. That made sense, as it was unlikely a dragon's mouth and vocal cords would be able to produce anything resembling human speech.
However, it was impossible for monsters to understand or use human speech. The only exception being a strange fish with a human-shaped face. Leaving that aside, no other monsters had been seen using language of any sort.
Though the presence of a black dragon here itself was out of the ordinary. It made absolutely no sense for a monster on par with the creatures Hajime had faced off in the labyrinth to be wandering the surface like this. And if by some chance there was a dragon's nest nearby, there's no way it would have remained hidden.
That left only two possibilities. First, that it was an undocumented kind of monster that had come from beyond the fifth layer of mountains, where no one had ever explored. Or second...
"Are you... one of the dragonmen?" The dragon stiffened up upon hearing Hajime's question. However a second later it let out a defeated sigh. It appeared that it hadn't wanted the fact that it was a dragonman to be found out. Still, at this point, she could no longer hide it. It would be pointless to try and deny it now.
"How could I make such a blunder..." she muttered regretfully. She wasn't sure if the boy before her had found out because of how odd her movements had been while she was controlled, or because she'd accidentally spoke after being nailed in the ass... Chances were it was both.
"...Indeed. I am a proud member of the dragonman race. There are a number of reasons why I ended up here. I will explain all, so may I please ask that you remove that object from my anus? I am nearly out of mana. And if I was to return to my original form as is... suffice to say my backside would end up in a most... unsightly state."
Hajime'd still been unsure when he asked, but it looked like his guess had been on the money.
Hajime was quite frankly amazed by this strange "luck" of his. Ever since he'd arrived in this world, he'd had a penchant of running into rare or unique existences. Yue was a vampire, a race thought to have gone extinct three hundred years ago. On top of that, she was royalty. Meanwhile Shea also exhibited traits of atavism, or at least that was the prevailing theory, and now he was face to face with a dragonman, a race thought to have gone extinct five hundred years ago. Fate seemed to enjoy matching him up with extraordinary people.
"...What are you doing here?" As Hajime was still pondering over his strange karma, Yue took over the questioning. Even for a vampire the dragonmen were a legendary race. And just like Yue, this dragon was quite possibly the last survivor of her race. Naturally, Yue was interested. Curiosity sparkled in her eyes.
"Like I said, I will explain so please take that thing out of me... My mana is nearly depleted... Hey, stop that! Don't keep pounding it in! The stimulation— The stimulation will—"
"Yue's the one asking questions here, you punk!" Hajime said, acting like a common thug, and started pounding on the spike with his fist.
The black dragon writhed and screamed. The solemn dignity she'd radiated upon their first meeting was nowhere to be found.
"What's a member of a lost race doing here of all places, and why are you so determined to kill a single adventurer... I'm pretty interested in the answer myself. I suppose I can delay shoving this all the way through to your mouth until you answer at least. If you want to show me your gratitude, hurry up and talk."
The dragonman's actions had been so unnatural that he was willing to delay killing his enemy until he figured out the details of what had happened. Of course he didn't stop pounding the spike in, just slowed down a little.
"Aah n-not sho hard~ I-I'll talk, so stop!"
Aiko and the others were appalled by Hajime's callous attitude, but he ignored them. But if he kept going the dragon probably wouldn't be able to talk so he stopped. He kept his hand on the spike so he could resume at any time though.
Relieved, the black dragon let out a sigh. She hurriedly began explaining what had happened. Hajime wasn't sure if the sensuality he sensed in her voice was just his imagination or not.
"I was being controlled. I had no intention of attacking you people. However, the man who took control of me ordered me to find and kill that young man and his comrades."
She beckoned to Will with her gaze. Will started trembling again, but he bravely met the dragon's gaze. Something inside him had changed after watching Hajime's fight.
"But why? And how?"
"Allow me to start from the beginning. I am..."
In short, this was what happened:
There was something the black dragon needed to do, which was why she had left the dragonmen's hidden village. That something was to investigate the visitors that had been summoned from another world. While there were many more details, the gist of it was a dragonman with especially good perception had sensed a huge outpouring of mana a few months ago, and had surmised that someone had come to this world.
The dragonmen had a policy of non-intervention when it came to the affairs of the rest of the world, but they couldn't afford to remain ignorant about these mysterious visitors, and thus sent someone to investigate.
That someone had been the black dragon Hajime had just fought. Originally her plan had been to cross the mountains, then transform into a more human appearance and mix in with the people. From there she would have hidden her heritage as a dragonman and set about gathering information. On her way here, she had stopped for a rest in the valley between the first and second mountain ranges. As there were still dangerous monsters roaming that area, she had used the special magic granted to all dragonmen, Dragonification, to transform into her black dragon appearance before settling down to sleep.
While she was still sleeping, a man hidden in the shadows of a black robe had appeared before her. He had used a combination of dark magic to brainwash her and erode her mind little by little.
Of course most people would have been woken up by such an assault. However, this is where the dragonmen's bad habit worked to the man's advantage. As More had mentioned before when he was explaining the proverb, dragonmen were notoriously hard to wake in their dragon forms. Only a good kick to the arse could rouse them from their slumber. That being said, dragonmen were also known for their immense willpower, and a dragonman of her caliber wouldn't have been easy to control.
The reason that man had been able to take over her mind so perfectly was because...
"He was a truly terrifying human. His proficiency with dark magic was so great that I daresay he must have been some kind of genius. And he had had nearly a whole day to work his magic on me. I may be fearsome, but even I cannot withstand such an attack..." She trailed off sadly, as if that had been the greatest blunder of her life. Unfortunately for her, Hajime was merciless with his words.
"So what you're telling me is that you were in such a deep sleep that you didn't even notice when someone was hovering over you casting magic on you for an entire day?" Everyone looked at her like she was an idiot. However the dragon only stared off in the distance and continued as if he'd said nothing.
She did, it seemed, have some semblance of an excuse. Flying across the sea had been an exhausting ordeal, but her mission required speed. So when she had stopped for a rest, she'd placed herself in a deeper slumber than normal. Either way, it was obviously her mistake that led to this situation, though she didn't admit it.
The reason she knew this mysterious sorcerer had spent an entire day taking her over was because even under his mind control, her original personality and memories had remained. They had just been locked inside her. And it seemed her ears had picked up someone muttering "I can't believe this took a whole day..." after she'd awoken.
After that, she'd been forced to do the robed man's bidding, and had assisted him in bringing the monsters on the second mountain range under his control. Then one day the herd of Bulltaurs he'd sent over to the first mountain range had been spotted by Will's party, and they had been ordered to eliminate all witnesses. The robed man was worried survivors might report their appearance, which, while unlikely, could have led people to guess there was someone in the mountains controlling monsters. In order to make doubly sure everyone was annihilated, he'd sent the dragon over as well.
Then, right as she'd found Will, she'd been attacked by an unknown entity who'd beat the living shit out of her. Fearing for her life, she'd started to panic. Which is what had caused the earlier mana explosion.
The rest everyone knew. She'd then attempted one last suicide rush at Will, as per her orders, when Shea's skull-shattering blow had landed on her, followed by an extremely painful object shoved into her ass. The combined shock of it had blown away the mind control, returning her to her senses.
She wasn't exactly sure if it was the head blow or the butt-spike that had done the job though.
"...Are you fucking kidding me." Once the dragon finished her explanation, a low, trembling voice echoed through the silence. Everyone turned around in surprise. There was a murderous rage in Will's gaze as he glared at the dragon, his hands balled up into fists.
"...Are you saying it's not your fault because you were controlled... that it's not your fault you killed Gale-san, Navare-san, Lent-san, Wisry-san and Kurt-san!?" The anger he'd felt at the death of his comrades had continually been building up underneath the mountain of panic that had occupied his thoughts until now. Finally, it had boiled over in a violent outburst of shouting.
"..." The black dragon didn't reply. She stared quietly into Will's eyes, absorbing his pain and anger. That calm attitude only served to enrage Will further.
"Besides, who's to say you're even telling the truth! For all we know this is all bullshit you made up so we spare your life!"
"...Everything I told you just now is the truth. I swear it on my pride as a dragonman."
Will opened his mouth to protest again. But he was cut off by Yue.
"...She's not lying."
"What proof do you have that..."
One look from Yue silenced Will. After he trailed off Yue returned her gaze to the black dragon and continued.
"Dragonmen are known for their integrity and loyalty. I've lived far longer than any of you. And when I was around, stories of dragonmen were far more common. She staked her pride as a dragonman on her story. It's no lie. Besides... I know what a liar's eyes look like, and she's no liar."
Yue gazed off into the distance as she said that last part. She must be thinking about what happened to her three hundred years ago.
There was no doubt her life before meeting Hajime had been full of lies and deceit. Even the people she thought closest to her had turned out to be liars.
And it was because she'd averted her eyes from that truth that she'd been betrayed. Her somewhat unique life experiences had made her very sensitive to lies and liars. And her conclusion was that the dragon before them was no liar.
"Oh, I did not expect to see those who still knew of us in this day and age... Wait, how long did you say you've lived?" Thinking that there were still people alive that told stories of her people's race, the dragon spoke in a pleasantly surprised voice.
"...Long. I am a survivor of the vampire race. Three hundred years ago, our monarchs looked to the dragonmen as models of how to live, as well as how to rule."
In other words, to Yue the dragonmen were symbols of righteousness. At the very least, she spoke of them with respect. That had played no small part in her decision to stop Will's tirade.
When she heard about Yue's heritage, the dragon was even more surprised.
"Unbelievable! A vampire... and three hundred years old at that... I see. Our sources from the outside world had told us the vampires had been wiped out, but I see their princess still yet lives. I believe your name was..." It seemed this dragon had lived at least as long as Yue, if not more. But the way she spoke about events, it seemed that while she kept a distance from the affairs of the world, she wasn't ignorant of them. The dragonmen must send people out to mingle with other humans and gather news relatively often. Which is why she was surprised when she'd heard the vampires' princess had survived. Needless to say, Aiko and Yuka and the others were even more shocked. Their jaws were hanging open.
Yue headed the dragon off before she could speak Yue's original name.
"Yue... that's my name. The person I treasure most in this world gave it to me. Please use that." She was blushing slightly, and holding her hands close to her chest, like she was cupping something dear.
Sparkling waves of happiness were radiating off her. When they saw her expression, the girls all looked like they'd spotted a buffet of sweets, while the guys blushed, captivated by her words. Even Will's anger dimmed slightly.
But then he thought back to the kind adventurers who'd taught him so much, and he found his rage again.
"...Even so, it doesn't change the fact that you killed them... Even if it was against your will... you still did it! Gale-san said he was going to propose once this mission was over! Just what did they die for..." He understood logically that the dragon wasn't to blame. But he couldn't help himself. Even if he understood it in his head, he couldn't accept it in his heart. He ground his teeth together as a dark fog of anger enveloped his thoughts.
That's a lot of flags he just raised. While appreciating the cliched nature of Will's speech, Hajime suddenly remembered the locket he'd picked up.
"Will, did this belong to that Gale guy?" He pulled it out and threw it over to Will. Will caught it and opened it up. As he stared at the picture inside, his mouth turned up into a smile.
"This is my locket! I thought I'd lost it forever. I can't believe you found it. Thank you so much!"
"Oh that's yours?"
"Yes! There's no mistaking it, the portrait inside is of my mother!"
"Y-Your mother?" Hajime stuttered, surprised at how far off the mark his guess had been.
When he asked Will why she looked like she was in her early twenties, he got a completely unexpected response.
"If I was going to carry around a portrait of my mother, it makes sense to have one of her in her younger days, right?" Everyone present realized he must have had a huge Oedipus complex. The girls all backed a few steps away from him. As an aside, Gale's lover had been a guy. His full name was Gale Gaye. It was often said that a person's name described who they were.
Will had calmed down a great deal after discovering his locket wasn't lost forever. Though it was hard to ascertain whether or not that had actually helped. Even if he had calmed down, that didn't mean his resentment had faded. And even after regaining his composure, he still insisted that the black dragon be killed. His reasoning was that there was no telling when she might get brainwashed again, but everyone knew it was just an excuse. What he really wanted was revenge.
It was then that the dragon, in a voice full of remorse, proposed a solution.
"Whether it was by my will or not, the truth is that I stole the lives of many innocent people. If you say I must die for my crimes, then I shall accept that punishment. However, could you not give me some time? Before I die, I must at least destroy that dangerous man. That man is trying to create an army of monsters. The dragonmen have always kept their distance from the affairs of the continent, however after what he did, it is my responsibility to stop him. I cannot allow him to run free... I understand what I am asking of you is selfish. But will you please grant me the opportunity to stop this tragedy before it gets any worse?" Everyone's expressions changed when they heard the words "army of monsters." They all looked to Hajime. At some point, he had become the effective leader of their group. The one who'd fought the dragon off had been him, so it seemed natural to entrust the decision to him as well.
His response was as casual and swift as always.
"I really don't give a damn about your responsibilities. You caused us quite a bit of trouble. So for that you'll have to die."
He raised his artificial arm and made a fist.
"Please wait! Y-You cannot seriously mean to kill me now, not after all I just said! I'm begging you, please let me go. Once I settle my affairs I'll let you do whatever you want with me! So please! Think of the future generations that might yet be saved!"
Hajime ignored her and brought his fist down. But it never reached its intended target. Before he could pound the spike further in, Yue hugged him from behind. She lifted her face to his ear and muttered some words in a hushed tone.
"...Are you really going to kill her?"
"Hm? I mean yeah, we were pretty much fighting to the death a second ago..."
"...But she's not an enemy. She never once directed animosity toward you. She was being controlled."
Yue didn't want to let the dragon die. As she had growing up respecting the dragonmen race, letting Hajime kill her would leave a bad taste in Yue's mouth.
And while the battle had eventually devolved into the death match, technically speaking she had initially been after Will. And now they even knew the reason why. She had been robbed of her will, and forced to carry out her controller's orders like a machine. In the first place, the only reason it had devolved into a death match despite how focused she'd been on Will was because of Hajime.
True, keeping Will alive was Hajime's current mission, so by making Will her enemy she had made Hajime her enemy, but the truth was that Hajime's real enemy was the man behind the dragon. If anyone should become the target of his ire, it would be him.
There was one other reason Yue had stopped Hajime.
Yue understood very well Hajime's worldview. But she couldn't see the dragon before her in the same light as the enemies they'd killed before. After everything she'd experienced as the vampires' monarch, Yue had a good eye for people. And Yue could tell that the dragon truly had no intention of becoming Hajime's enemy. Yue didn't want Hajime to kill anyone that wasn't truly his enemy. As for why, that was because...
"...If you compromise your own rules, you'll start losing your humanity. Is killing her something you really have to do?" She was worried Hajime would start to break down if he actually killed someone who wasn't truly his enemy.
Sensing Yue's worries, Hajime cocked his head and thought about whether that black dragon really was his enemy. Hajime wasn't so naive as to worry about whether his opponent was being controlled or not in the middle of a fight. He would kill anything standing in his way.
But was there any reason to execute a former foe who had since been freed from her mind control? Was that still killing an "enemy"? Hajime stared into Yue's eyes, inches away from his own. As he considered his own principles, a strained voice interrupted them.
"Sorry to interrupt your flirting, but if you're still debating, could you please remove this spike from my behind? At this rate I'll die soon regardless of what you do."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Any foreign objects inserted inside me in my dragon form remain the same way when I revert to human form. Just imagine a woman with a spike this hard and large inside her... Do you think she could survive?"
Everyone grimaced as they imagined the sight. Yuka and the other girls unconsciously covered their butts sympathetically.
"I am maintaining this form with my mana, but that will soon run dry. I can last maybe another minute like this... I am interested in seeing what lies beyond death, but dying like this would be too unsightly to bear. Think of the future generations that might be saved!" While that last bit seemed rather out of place, her voice was very clearly strained. Hajime didn't have much time to make his choice.
"...Fine." With one hand wrapped around Yue, he decided that if he was hesitating this much already, it couldn't hurt to listen to his partner's advice. People often didn't understand themselves very well. In which case, it made sense to do what would put the person he trusted most at ease.
With his free hand, Hajime grabbed the massive spike stuck in the dragon's butt. Then he pulled with all his strength.
"Haaaahn! S-Slower please. I am still unaccustomed to such— Afwuu. Yaah, so rough! This— Aaaahn! Something— something strange is coming!" The spike had been driven pretty far up her asshole. So Hajime had to wiggle it around a bit and pull pretty hard to get it out. For some strange reason, the rougher he got, the happier the dragon's moans sounded. Hajime ignored her completely and continued pulling until finally it came free.
"Ahiiiiiiiiiiiii...! A-Amazing. I asked you to be gentle, and yet you showed not even an iota of mercy... This is the first time I've ever..." A few seconds after her incoherent rambling, the dragon's body was wrapped in a cocoon of mana and gradually started to shrink. When she'd shrunk to about human size, the cocoon of mana dissipated.
What emerged from the cocoon of black mana was a beautiful woman. She had black hair and piercing golden eyes. She was sitting on her knees, supporting her body with one hand and rubbing her butt with the other. Her luxurious, thick hair fell straight down to her waist, and her disheveled bangs were stuck her blushing face. She was panting heavily, and her expression was ecstatic. Anyone would find her current appearance seductive.
She had the figure of a woman in her early twenties. Though her height was easily over 170 centimeters. She was very well endowed, and every time her shoulders heaved, her twin mounds threatened to spill out of her clothes. If Shea's were melon sized, then this girl's were watermelon sized.
"I can't believe it... This is amazing."
"S-So this is what a fantasy world is like."
"Dammit! I know you've got some juice left in you! Come on, phone!"
The dragon's beautiful appearance had a huge impact on Atsushi and the guys. The three of them were in the height of their puberty, so it was only natural. They all stooped over and spouted ridiculous lines. If this continued for any longer, they would be forced on all fours to hide their boners. Yuka and the others were staring at the guys like they were cockroaches.
"Haah... Haah... Thank you for sparing my life... My butt still feels weird... but it's nothing compared to how much the rest of my body aches... Haah... Haah... to think pain could feel so sweet..." Both her expression and her words were rather ominous, or so Hajime thought. After a few minutes, she composed herself enough to sit up straight, and introduce herself calmly. Though her intermittent panting ruined the stately effect her sharp posture and crisp tone created.
"I have caused you all much grief. Please understand that I truly, truly am sorry for what I have done. My name is Tio Klarus. I'm a dragonman of the Klarus clan."
Tio then went on to explain how the robed figure who was gathering a monster army was planning on attacking the nearby villages. And that he had already gathered a mob of three to four thousand monsters. Most of the monsters that inhabited the second mountain range lived in packs, so all he'd needed to do was subjugate their respective leaders, and the packs had followed.
The whole reason Hajime and the other students had been summoned to this world was because the Holy Church had feared the demons had somehow discovered a way to control monsters, so because of that, Aiko and the others surmised he must have been a member of the demon race.
However, when they said as much Tio shook her head, Tio explained that the black-robed man had been a black-haired, black-eyed human, and that while she'd called him a man, he was young enough to be considered a kid. She also distinctly remembered what he had said after taking control of her mind. Elated by his success, he had yelled, "This proves I'm better than him. I'm the real hero here!" He had seemingly harbored a massive grudge against this hero person.
A black-haired, black-eyed boy who knew the hero well and was a genius at using dark magic.
There was one person who perfectly fit all of those conditions. Aiko muttered "But that can't be..." and she and the other students all exchanged troubled glances. As obvious as it was, they didn't want to believe it.
As they were worrying about what to do, Hajime, who had been using his Far Sight skill, suddenly realized something.
"Oh, so that's..." When he'd heard Tio's story he'd sent his Ornises out to search for the monster army and the black-robed man. One of them had spotted a large gathering of monsters, but... the numbers were off.
"You said three to four thousand right? Are you sure you weren't a digit short?" Everyone's eyes flew open in surprise. It appeared he'd begun his advance. The robed man was almost certainly aiming for the town of Ur. If they continued at their current pace they would be down the mountain in half a day, and reach the town in another half.
"W-We need to hurry back and warn everyone! Then we need to evacuate and ask for reinforcements from the capital... And then, and then..."
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Aiko tried to think through her panic and figure out the best course of action. Against an army in the tens of thousands, even the ridiculously overpowered students didn't stand a chance. Besides, they still hadn't fully recovered from their trauma.
Aiko had basically no combat ability, Will was barely even an adventurer, and Tio was completely drained of mana. Forget stopping them, they wouldn't even be able to slow the army down. Thus, Aiko's plan of warning and everyone and running until reinforcements from the capital came was the best considering the circumstances.
However, while everyone else was panicking, Will quietly asked a rather odd question.
"Umm, Hajime-dono, couldn't you do something about..." At his words, everyone looked expectantly to Hajime. Their eyes were filled with hope. Annoyed by their expectant gazes, Hajime casually waved his hand as if to dismiss the thought.
"Don't look at me like that. My job is to bring Will safely back to Fuhren. I can't fight a war if I've got to protect him. Hurry up and go warn the villagers." Atsushi and Will were angry at how casually Hajime dismissed them. However, Aiko's concern was elsewhere.
"Nagumo-kun, did you happen to see the black-robed man too?"
"Hm? Nope. I've been checking regularly, but all I'm seeing is a horde of monsters."
Aiko hung her head sadly. After a moment of deliberation, she stated that she wanted to confirm whether or not the black-robed man was really Yukitoshi Shimizu, the missing boy they'd been searching for. As always, she put her students first. If the cause of all this trouble really was one of her students, then it was her responsibility.
However, there was no way they could leave Aiko alone among an army of monsters, and so Yuka and the others desperately tried to talk her out of it. Aiko hesitated for a bit, but then came up with another idea... namely that Hajime could accompany her. Tired of their constant arguing over whether to stay or leave, Hajime gave Aiko a cold stare.
"If you want to stay behind you can. We're going to take Will back to the village." With that, Hajime forcefully grabbed Will by the shoulders and started dragging him down the mountain. Will and Aiko tried to protest, saying they couldn't leave this huge army alone, that they needed to confirm who the black-robed man was, that Hajime was strong enough to take on the whole army, and so on. Annoyed, Hajime let out a sigh and rounded on Aiko.
"Like I said before, my only job is to see Will to safety. I can't fight an army if I've got someone I need to protect. Hell, let's say for argument's sake that I could kill them all. In a forested place like this full of boulders and rivers, there's no way I could be sure I'd gotten every single one. Just give it a rest, okay. Even if we find out whether or not the kid really is a student, who'll be left to warn the town? On the off chance that they're actually stronger than us, we'll be wiped out and the town will be caught totally by surprise. Just so you know, only I can drive Steiff and Brise, so if I go fight, you guys have no chance of making it back before the town's attacked." Aiko and Will fell silent. Hajime's argument had made it clear how pointless and reckless their insistence that he go fight was.
"Well, my mast... Ahem, he has point. My mana is completely drained right now too. I understand your desire to act, but right now there's nothing we can do. Our first priority should be warning the villagers. After a day my mana will be mostly recovered as well." Tio followed up after Hajime, supporting his reasoning.
Was she about to call me what I think she was about to call me...? It can't be, can it?
Realizing that was the best option in their current situation, Aiko reined in her worry and prioritized warning the town and the safety of the students still under her charge.
Tio was so drained of mana that she couldn't move, so Hajime grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and dragged her down the mountain.
Atsushi and the other boys had been ready to fight each other for the right to carry Tio, but Yuka had quickly shut them down, and it seemed Tio herself wished to be carried by Hajime, which was why he'd ended up with the job.
But of course, Hajime wasn't the kind of person to carry her nicely. Frowning in annoyance, he had grabbed by the legs and dragged her at first.
However, Aiko's fierce protests had talked him into at least dragging her by the scruff of her neck. No matter what anyone said after that he refused to compromise any further. Tio herself had a look of ecstasy on her face too, which made everyone back away, thus resulting in this being the style she was dragged down the mountain in.
The party hurried to Ur as fast as they could, an army of monsters not far behind them.