They headed to a place near the outskirts of the business district. It was an area that no tourist or honest merchant ever visited. It was a place as far from the prying eyes of the authorities as possible, the perfect location for a criminal base. There was dimness to the alleys despite the fact that it was noon. Even the people walking around seemed somehow gloomier.
Tucked away in a corner was a ten-story building. On the surface, it was a place that managed part-timers. However, in reality, it was the headquarters of Freidhof, an organization that managed Fuhren's slave trade.
Normally, it was a quiet place that did its best to look inconspicuous, but today it was bustling with activity. People were running in and out of the entrance with unusual frequency. Most of the people running around were low-ranking thugs that were ferrying messages back and forth. Their expressions were twisted in confusion, impatience, and fear. No one had any idea what the situation was.
Thanks to the chaos, two figures clad in nondescript robes were easily able to slip into Freidhof's headquarters.
They weaved through the crowd of panicking gang members, and made it to the top floor without anyone challenging them. Before them stood an imposing set of double doors. Angry voices spilled out of the room into the hallway the figures were standing in. The two of them raised the hoods of their robes slightly and tiptoed forward.
"Quit fucking with me! I dare you to say that again, you bastard!"
"H-Hii! B-But it's true, Boss. They've already taken out more than fifty of our safe houses. There's two groups of two taking our whole operation out!"
"You're saying that just four fuckheads are destroying everything Freidhof built up? Is that it, huh!?"
"Th-That's righ— Bugwah!?"
There was a loud thud and the room fell silent. Whoever had been giving the report must have been punched by this "Boss."
"Listen good, you lowlifes! I want those fuckers brought to me alive. Cut their legs off, break their arms, I don't care, but I want them alive. At this rate Freidhof's reputation will be ruined. We've gotta torture those fools to make an example out of them, or we'll be the laughingstock of the city. I'll give
five million Luta to anyone who captures them! Five million per head! Tell everyone else about the bounty!" A flurry of activity could be heard coming from the room. The man hastened to leave the room as fast as he could. The two hooded figures nodded to each other. One of them pulled out a massive warhammer strapped to her back and hefted it into the air. Then, just as the man put his hand on the doorknob, she swung the hammer down.
With a massive bang, the door exploded into a thousand splinters. The right side of the man's body was crushed flat, and the people sitting behind him were blasted by a wall of shrapnel. They slammed into the wall behind them, covered in blood.
"There's no need to tell everyone. We're right here."
"Hmph, I shall handle those waiting outside. Finish this up quickly, Shea."
"Thank you, Tio-san."
The two figures who had casually walked into the room were none other than Tio and Shea.
Freidhof's boss, Hansen, had watched in shock as his door was blasted open and his subordinates flung across the room like ragdolls. Shea and Tio's conversation brought him back to his senses though, and he quickly pulled out his weapon.
"So you're the ones that have been running around busting up my operation. Wait a sec... Tch, you're the bitches from the wanted posters. Shea and Tio, right? There was that other small brat too, Yue or something. Man, you're real lookers. Hey, if you throw down your weapons and surrender, I'll spare your lives. You don't honestly think you can walk into Freidhof's headquarters and make it back ali—" A massive bang, loud enough that it could be physically felt, interrupted Hansen's prattling. Drucken was resting on Shea's shoulder, smoke coming from the retracted handle. She'd transformed it into bombardment mode... and blown Hansen away with a shotgun blast.
From such close range, he hadn't stood a chance. The barrage of iron pellets had ripped his right arm clean off. He tumbled into the wall behind him, a spray of blood trailing in his wake. A few seconds passed before he realized what had happened, and then the screaming started.
"Boss!? What was that sound!?"
"Are you alright!?"
The loud sound attracted the thugs on the nearby floors. They started swarming in like flies. However—
"Preying on children is one of the most despicable acts there is... You've roused my anger now. Repent your sins in the afterlife." Tio unleashed a blast of fire magic that eradicated the stairs and anyone standing on it. Those left on the floor below stopped in their tracks, their only way up now a pile of ash.
Still, the dragon wasn't about to let anyone escape. She turned her fangs to the men below and unleashed her dragonbreath. True, her breath wasn't as powerful in human form, but it was still the same breath that had tested the limits of Hajime's defenses. A wooden building had no hope of surviving that.
Everything but the room Hansen was in was bathed in pitch black flames. The building somehow didn't collapse, despite the fact that an entire wall was now missing. From a distance, the burning building looked just like an ant farm, with people scurrying about, trying to escape.
Those who were still alive scrambled out of the building as fast as they could and simply stared dumbfounded at what was happening on the top floor. It was only natural. Their base had been destroyed in the span of a few seconds. Their brains couldn't keep up with the situation at hand.
However, the enraged dragon had no intention of showing them any mercy. Fireballs and wind blades rained down on the survivors with the speed of Hajime's gatling guns. Men fled in every direction, but... only a few made it out of the onslaught alive.
As Tio kept busy raining death onto the people outside, Shea walked up to Hansen. She stopped in front of him, tapping Drucken menacingly against her shoulder. Without a word, she slammed the hammer into the cowering gang leader's stomach. He simply grunted in pain and desperately tried to push the hammer off him, but moving the super heavy hammer with a single hand was all but impossible. The only option left to him was to beg for his life.
"I-I'm begging you. Don't kill me! I'll give you as much money as you want! I won't ever go after you guys again! Please— Gwaah!?"
"Quit talking. All I want to hear from you are the answers to my questions. Understood? Every time you don't answer, I'll make this hammer heavier... I recommend you start talking before your organs turn to mush."
"Shea... You really are one of Master's comrades... You sound just like him." Tio turned around to poke fun at Shea, but she completely ignored her and grilled Hansen for Myu's location.
Hansen seemed confused at first, but when Shea mentioned that Myu was the dagon girl he quickly started talking. The steadily increasing weight of Drucken probably had something to do with it, too. It seemed there was going to be an illegal auction held this evening, and that she'd been imprisoned in a cell beneath the auction hall.
Hansen hadn't been aware of the relationship between Shea and Myu, which was why he didn't understand the reason Shea was so hung up on her.
From the sound of it, whoever had spotted Shea and Myu at the safety department had decided to capture Shea on a whim. Shea's name had actually been a priority target on Freidhof's list already, so the thug who tried to kidnap her had likely just been looking for a promotion.
Shea touched the gem on her choker and used Telepathy to contact Hajime.
"Hajime-san, Hajime-san. Can you hear me? It's Shea."
"Shea? Yeah, I can hear you loud and clear. What's up?"
"I found out where Myu-chan is. You're in the tourist quarter right now, right? It's close to where you are, so head there before us."
"Gotcha."
Shea told him Myu's location and cut the telepathic link. Hansen could no longer breathe under Drucken's weight, and his face was turning blue. He silently begged Shea to let him live.
She canceled the gravity magic and hoisted the hammer back onto her shoulder. Though he was no longer being crushed, his consciousness was starting to grow dim due to the blood loss. He weakly reached out in supplication.
"P-Please... call a doctor..."
"Do you really think you deserve to live after what you did to those poor children? Besides, you're our enemy now. If I let one of our enemies go, I'll get scolded by Hajime-san and Yue-san. And so, goodbye!"
"N-No, wai—" Shea crushed Hansen flat. There was a wet squelching noise as blood spurted from underneath Drucken. She shook the blood off and slung her hammer across her back, then turned to face Tio without so much as a backward glance at the pile of flesh that had once been Hansen.
"Tio-san. Let's finish off the survivors and meet up with Hajime as soon as possible!"
"V-Very well. Your utter lack of mercy is... rather alluring..."
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"I-It was nothing." Though she hadn't been able to pick up what Tio had muttered, shivers still ran down Shea's spine. She tilted her head in confusion for a moment, but then put it out of her mind as the two of them began systematically destroying Freidhof's headquarters.
By the time they were done, there was nothing but corpses and a pile of rubble left.
In a single afternoon Freidhof, Fuhren's largest criminal organization, had been utterly demolished.
Meanwhile, as Shea and Tio were wreaking havoc, Hajime and Yue rushed toward the Myu's location. Since she was meant to be auctioned off, Hajime assumed her life wasn't in any danger, but that didn't mean she wasn't suffering. The faster they rescued her, the better.
"This is the place... Ah, yeah, I can sense people below us."
"Okay."
There were two hulking figures clothed in all black guarding the entrance.Hajime didn't want to cause a commotion and risk them moving Myu somewhere else, so he went around to a back alley and transmuted his way in.
They both hid their presence and started searching the building. If only they'd had a cardboard box to hide under... They wouldn't even have needed Hide Presence if they'd had that...
Finally, they arrived at a vast underground prison. The lone guard guarding the entrance was dozing at his post. They slipped past him and found a group of ten human children huddled together inside a cell. These were most likely the children up for auction that night.
Almost all humans were faithful believers of the Holy Church, and it was illegal to take any believers as slaves. It was, however, still acceptable to buy and sell criminals and heretics. Anyone who betrayed god was no longer protected by the laws of the Holy Church. Hajime highly doubted any of the children shivering on the cold stone floor were either criminals or heretics. It was obvious this was not a legal auction.
However, Hajime didn't see Myu anywhere in the cell. The children shrank back as he walked up to their cell, but he squatted down in front of them quietly asked a question.
"Did any of you see a dagon girl come here?" They'd all been terrified it was their turn to go up, so his question took them by surprise. They all looked at each other.
Sensing their reluctance to say anything, Yue squatted down next to Hajime and muttered something.
"It's okay, we won't hurt you," was what she said. A young boy of maybe eight fidgeted nervously for a few seconds before answering.
"Umm, they took her a little while ago. Who are you?" Hajime clicked his tongue in frustration before answering the boy.
"We've come here to save you."
"Wha—!? You're here to save us!?" The boy shouted excitedly. His voice echoed across the stone walls. Realizing his mistake, the boy hurriedly clapped his hands over his mouth. But it was too late.
"Quit making a racket!" The guard yelled that out as he came stomping toward their cell. He stiffened for a moment when he spotted Hajime and Yue, but recovered quickly.
"Who the hell are you guys!" he screamed as he drew his short sword and charged. The children let out terrified shrieks, thinking their saviors were about to be killed.
However, that didn't happen. Hajime casually grabbed the sword's blade with his artificial hand and crushed it. Shards of metal fell from his hand as he opened his fist.
The guard stared dumbly at Hajime for a few seconds before looking down at the sword in his hands. All that was left was the hilt. Comprehension dawned on him and he took a faltering step backward.
Hajime took a step forward, crushed the guard's throat with a quick jab, and tripped him as he pitched backward. At the same time, he grabbed the guard's skull and slammed it into the ground.
There was a wet crunching noise as he hit the stone floor. He died instantly.
"If you're a guard, then the first thing you should have done was raise the alarm." Hajime looked down at the corpse in disgust. The children's eyes were as round as dinner plates as they looked at him.
He ignored their shocked stares and transmuted the iron bars around their cell. The children's surprise grew even greater as the bars keeping them trapped crumbled to dust. They just sat there, their mouths hanging open.
"Yue. Sorry, but can you look after them for me? It looks like I'm gonna have to go on another rampage."
"Okay... Leave it to me."
"My guess is the safety department people will get here soon. When they do, you can hand the children off to them. I've got Ilwa working behind the scenes, so... we can dump all of the little things on him."
Yue looked off in the distance sympathetically. Her gaze was directed toward the adventurer's guild building.
Some time before they'd started destroying Freidhof, Hajime had grabbed a random adventurer and had him deliver a telepathy stone to Ilwa. Since then, he'd been keeping Ilwa up to date on events.
Being a gold adventurer came in handy during times like these. The moment Hajime had shown that random adventurer his Status Plate, they'd been ready to do anything he asked. It was just like if a Hollywood star had spoken to a stranger back on earth. The adventurer had even saluted Hajime before running off.
The stone Hajime had given Ilwa couldn't be activated from his side, so Ilwa had been forced to one-sidedly listen to reports about how Hajime had picked a fight with a massive criminal organization, and how he was leaving the cleanup to them. The people back at the guild had probably been furious.
He was already making good use of Ilwa's promise to support him. When Ilwa had started hearing the reports, he'd smiled ruefully.
Hajime transmuted a passage heading to the ground floor and stepped into it, leaving the children in Yue's care. Just before he dashed out of sight, the young boy who had answered Hajime's question called out to him.
"Mister, thank you for saving us! Save that other girl too, okay! She looked really scared! I couldn't do anything to help when they took her..."
The fact that Myu was a beastman apparently hadn't mattered at all this boy. He had guts, considering he'd been trapped in the same situation as her. Hajime turned back and ruffled the young boy's hair.
"Hey, wh-what are you doing?"
"It's frustrating, right? In that case, you just have to get stronger. That's the only way to make sure you never feel like that again. I mean, I was around to save you this time, but if you get stronger, next time you can save everyone." With those parting remarks, Hajime turned on his heel and vanished through the tunnel he'd made. The boy covered his hair with both of his hands. He sat there for a few seconds before curling his tiny fingers into a fist. There was a new sparkle in his eyes.
Yue smiled gently down at him and started herding the children out of the building.
A heavy silence filled the auction hall. There were around a hundred buyers seated in the stands. Each and every one of them was wearing a mask, and none of them were saying a word. Whenever something a customer wanted to buy appeared, they'd just silently raise their number tag. They didn't want to give any hints away about their identities.
Still, even they couldn't suppress their cries of surprise when the next item was brought to the stage. A two meter long water tank holding a young dagon girl... Myu.
She'd been stripped naked and was currently hugging her knees in a corner of the tank. The reason she'd been put in the tank was to prove that she was a real dagon, as they were the only race that could breathe underwater. And because she'd managed to escape once before, they'd shackled her this time. The metal shackles had been fastened so tight that her skin was chafed underneath them.
The auctioneers examined the trembling girl for a few seconds, then the bidding began. Prices soared, yet the bidding war showed no sign of stopping. Even though her existence had now been made aware to the public, most of the auctioneers seemed confident they could transport her discreetly. Or perhaps they simply weren't aware of the commotion that had happened that afternoon.
The auction hall grew noisy for the first time, and Myu shrank as far back as the tank would allow her to. Her fingers were curled tightly around a black piece of cloth. Hajime's eyepatch. He'd been so preoccupied with trying to calm Myu down that he'd forgotten to take it back. The one he was wearing right now was a spare.
Right now, that eyepatch was the last thing Myu had left to cling to. She'd been taken from her mother, forced to travel a long way, been thrown in a dark cell, and swam through literal filth to escape. Finally, when she'd thought all hope was lost, she'd found herself wrapped in something warm.
When she'd opened her eyes, she'd found herself face to face with a young silver-haired boy wearing an eyepatch. She'd stared at him in surprise, and he'd stared back. Both of them had been too stubborn to be the first to break eye contact, but then Myu'd been distracted by the smell of something delicious.
He'd asked for her name, and she'd told him. Then, there'd been a pretty red flash, and he'd plopped her into a bath. After that a pretty girl with light blue hair had started washing her. The bath had been pleasantly warm, and the girl had been really gentle. Soon enough, Myu had let her guard down enough that she was calling the pretty girl, Shea, "onee-chan."
Myu didn't think she'd forget the taste of the skewers Shea had fed her for the rest of her life. And, while she'd been busy eating, the boy named Hajime had come back.
She'd been a little scared of him, but then he helped her put on these really cute clothes and dried and combed her hair, so she started feeling better around him, too.
When they'd said she couldn't stay with them and that they'd give her to these people called the safety department, she'd been devastated. She'd been so lonely ever since she'd been separated from her mom. She didn't think she could take being lonely like that again after having found such kind people.
And so, Myu did everything she could to stay.
She pulled at Hajime's hair, slapped his cheeks, and even took his eyepatch. If he wanted it back, he'd have to let her stay with them.
However, in the end, the kind people she'd finally found left her in a strange and unfamiliar place.
As she huddled in her tank, she thought back on what happened.
Did they leave me because I did something bad? Is it because I took the black thingy? Do Onii-chan and Onee-chan hate me? Tears welled up in her eyes. If she ever saw them again she'd apologize. She'd even give Hajime his eyepatch back. She'd do anything they asked. She just wanted to go with them.
Onii-chan... Onee-chan... Suddenly, there was a loud thud and her tank shook. She squealed in terror and hurriedly opened her eyes. There was a masked man wearing a tuxedo standing next to her tank. He was yelling something and kicking the glass repeatedly.
The auction manager had wanted to Myu to swim around a little in order to make the guests bid higher, but she'd just stayed curled up in a ball. Tired of waiting, he'd finally snapped and started kicking her tank.
That only served to frighten Myu further, however, as she curled into a ball and attempted to look as small as possible. All she could do was try to drown out the yelling and the kicking.
The Freidhof member managing the auction grew even angrier. He was worried people would think she was sick, and not bid as high. If she sold low, he was the one who'd be punished for it. Seeing this wasn't working, he resorted to drastic measures. Feeling pressured by the crowd, he started insulting Myu in the hopes of eliciting a reaction.
"Move, you sniveling little brat. Stop causing us humans so much trouble, you stupid fish-freak!" He climbed up the ladder next to the tank as he berated her, intending to poke her with the cane he was carrying. Myu shut her eyes and braced herself.
Oddly, the impact she was waiting for never came. Instead, she heard a familiar voice.
"What was that, you fucking bastard?" Hajime leaped from the ceiling, grinding both the auction manager and the ladder into the ground. A fountain of blood spurted from underneath his foot. The manager had been killed instantly.
Hajime didn't even look at the man he'd just killed. Instead, he turned around and smashed the water tank with his artificial arm. The glass pane shattered into a thousand pieces, and a torrent of water came flooding out.
"Hyaaah!" The current carried Myu out with it. But before she got very far, a warm hand caught her, and she timidly opened her eyes.
When she'd first heard his voice, she'd desperately hoped she hadn't been imagining it. And now she knew she hadn't. The person holding her right now was Hajime. Myu blinked a few times before staring at him, much like she had when they first met.
"Yo, Myu. How come you're always soaked whenever I see you?" Still staring at him, she quietly whispered a single word.
"Onii-chan?"
"I wouldn't say I'm your brother, but I am the same guy you scratched, kicked, and stole an eyepatch from." Hajime smiled at Myu, and the tears started dripping from her eyes. After a second of silence—
"Onii-chan!" She wrapped her arms around Hajime and started sobbing. Hajime awkwardly patted her back in an attempt to comfort her. Then, he wrapped her in another blanket.
Black-robed men burst into the main hall and surrounded the two, cutting their reunion short. The auctioneers were certain the men could handle Hajime, so none of them made any move to flee.
"Hey, brat. Do you know what happens to morons who try and mess with Freidhof? If you hand over the girl, then we'll at least grant you a painless death." Myu lifted her face from Hajime's neck and looked at him worriedly. Twenty burly men stood between them and safety.
"Onii-chan..."
"Don't worry. I'm here with you. It'll get a little noisy though, so you should close your eyes and cover your ears." Hajime peeled Myu's fingers off his neck and placed them over her ears. His confident tone assuaged Myu's worries. Still a little confused, she nodded, closed her eyes, and buried her face in Hajime's chest.
"Think you can just ignore us, huh!?"
"Kill the brat! But don't lay a hand on the merchandise!" The leader angrily ordered his men to charge.
A second later there was a loud bang and the leader was suddenly missing his head. The remnants of his brain splattered the faces of his comrades.
Unable to grasp what had just happened, everyone silently watched as the leader's corpse crumpled to the ground.
And while they stood there, still confused, Hajime fired again. And again. And again. Gunshots echoed throughout the chamber, each one marking another death. Eleven people fell before the rest finally realized what was going on.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! He's a monster!"
"H-He's a demon! We're all gonna be killed!" The men in black started backing away from him, while the auctioneers screamed and swarmed for the exits.
A monster huh? That's rich, coming from people who buy and sell slaves. He wanted to teach those fleeing slavers a thing or two, but he kept his attention firmly focused on the threat in front of him.
"Wh-Who the hell are you!? What, why... How did you do that!?" The man trembled in fear as he shouted in what he hoped was an intimidating voice. Another dozen men in black ran into the hall, but they faltered when they saw the bodies littering the floor.
Hajime scoffed at the man who'd spoken.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? I came to take back what's mine. Oh... and to make an example out of you guys. This is what happens if you touch my friends. Now then, you'll join me for the grand finale, right?" Hajime used Aerodynamic to jump up to the ceiling. Then, he transmuted a hole into the ceiling and leaped through it.
"Yue, I've got Myu. How are things on your end?"
"Good. Everyone evacuated. The guests are running out of the hall."
"I see. Well, let's end this with a bang, then."
"Okay!"
As Hajime zipped through the air, he looked down at Myu. Up until now she had done as he'd asked, covering her ears and closing her eyes. He gently removed one of her hands and talked to her.
"It's alright now, Myu." Her eyes snapped open and she looked around. As she took in the scenery, she let out a gasp of surprise. The view was spectacular. From their vantage point, they could see the entire city of Fuhren. The sun was a blazing ball of red, slowly sinking below the horizon. Underneath the crimson sky, they could see lights dotting the city; people had started lighting the streetlamps.
Myu's eyes sparkled as she took all of it in. She excitedly grabbed Hajime's collar and started pointing things out.
"It's amazing, Onii-chan! We're flying through the sky!"
"We're more jumping through it than flying but... Well, whatever. Anyway, Myu, look over there. There's going to be some huge fireworks soon."
"Fire-works?"
"Fireworks are... giant explosions."
"Ex-plo-sions?"
Hajime couldn't figure out a good way to explain it, but it didn't matter since she'd see for herself in a few seconds. He cradled Myu in one arm as he pulled a ring out of his Treasure Trove with the other. The ring was actually a remote detonator he'd made with spirit stone. While he'd been searching for Myu, he'd left some bombs here and there.
"Alright, here we go. Bombs away~"
"Bombs away?"
Their voices faded away into the evening breeze. A second later, there was a boom so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire city.
The art museum that doubled as an illegal auction hall was blasted to kingdom come. Not a trace remained of the probably beautiful and historic art that had adorned its halls. The surrounding buildings that had all belonged to Freidhof were toppled by the shockwave following the explosion.
He'd shaped the charges upward so the fire wouldn't spread to the rest of the city. Pillars of flame rose up to the heavens, dying the sky a deep crimson, though a different shade than that of the sunset. It looked as if a volcano had erupted in the heart of the city.
"Whaaaaaaaaat!?"
"Well, Myu? Surprised? Those are fireworks."
"Fireworks are scary." Trembling, Myu clung to Hajime as she watched the spectacle. However, Hajime wasn't done yet. The party was just getting started, after all.
"O-O-Onii-chan! There's something over there!"
"It's pretty, isn't it?"
"Huh!?" Dark clouds had gathered where Myu was pointing. Four dragons composed of pure lightning burst from the clouds with a thunderous roar, further scaring an already terrified Myu.
Each one was about half the size of Yue's single dragon, but their ferocity hadn't changed at all. The faint of heart passed out at the mere sight of them as they circled above the city.
The four dragons split off from each other, heading to different districts.
Chances were, everyone in Fuhren saw them.
They flew majestically through the burning sky, heading for the remaining four major Freidhof bases. Upon reaching their destination, they plummeted to the ground, swallowing the buildings whole.
The ground shook as they struck. There were four blinding flashes of light and with another roar, the four bases were wiped out of existence.
Plumes of smoke rose from the rubble, the debris and ash choking out the light of the setting sun. From up above, the city of Fuhren looked like it had been hit by a disaster.
That being said, Hajime and Yue had taken great precautions to make sure no innocents were harmed. Hajime had sent his Ornises to scout out all of Freidhof's bases and made doubly sure no one unaffiliated with the group had been present. So despite the destruction, the only casualties had been Freidhof's members.
It was possible some of the members had been forced to join the gang, or maybe could have been reformed, but... Hajime didn't feel the need to investigate the individuals of an organization that had made themselves his enemy.
"Hajime-san! Is Myu-chan safe!?"
"W-Wait for me, Shea. God, you're fast. Were your physical abilities always this high!?"
Hajime received a telepathic message from Shea as he was surveying the damage. Since he hadn't mentioned the fireworks to her, she had been rather surprised when half the city exploded.
"Yeah. Safe and sound. And it looks like we got most of their bases too... Oh, right, let's all meet up at the adventurer's guild. Ilwa's probably tearing his hair out over how much paperwork this is going to mean for him."
"Oh, thank goodness~ You said we're meeting at the guild? Roger. I'll be right there. I want to hurry up and see Myu-chan."
"Yeah. Don't worry, you'll get to see her real soon. Alright, meet you there."
"You got it." Myu looked up at Hajime as he suddenly fell silent and gazed off into the distance. When he finished his conversation with Shea, he told Myu she'd get to see her soon. Myu exclaimed "Onee-chan!" and her face broke out into a smile.
As he descended to the ground, Yue came up to meet him. She'd already seen the kids to the safety department. She stared intently at the little girl in Hajime's arms. Myu uncomfortably glanced around before looking up at Hajime again. He could guess what the unspoken question in her eyes was.
"Myu, this is Yue. She's my lover."
"Huh? Lover...? What about Onee-chan?"
"She's my comrade."
"She's not your lover?"
"Nope, she's not."
"But..."
"I don't know what else to tell you. Yue's my lover."
"Mrrrr~" Myu looked petulantly over at Yue. Yue hadn't taken her eyes off Myu during that whole exchange. This time Myu met Yue's gaze. She stared at Yue intently, trying to figure out what kind of person she was.
They continued staring at each other for a few minutes. Yue was the first to break contact. She suddenly started walking forward.
Myu watched her cautiously. Yue stopped in front of Hajime, took Myu from his hands, and hugged her tight. Myu yelped and struggled to break free of Yue's grasp, but Yue wouldn't let go. After a few seconds, Yue spoke.
"This is cheating. You're too cute." It looked like Yue had taken a liking to Myu. Myu finally managed to wriggle her head out Yue's chest and gasped for air. The two stared at each other once more.
"Hi there, Myu. I'm Yue. You did great, enduring all that. Good job." Yue's eyes softened and she patted Myu's head.
Her gentle warmth melted away Myu's wariness, and she started bawling in Yue's arms. When Hajime had first rescued her, she'd still been too nervous to cry properly. It was only now that she could vent all of her frustration and sadness without worry of what might happen to her.
Hajime smiled awkwardly as he watched the two of them. Once Myu had calmed down, the three of them headed to the adventurer's guild.
"Fifteen buildings were destroyed, thirty suffered serious damage, and nine of them were completely leveled. On top of that, thirty-eight of Freidhof's members are confirmed dead, forty-four are mortally injured, twenty-eight are seriously injured, and one hundred and nineteen are unaccounted for... Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"They pissed me off, so I crushed them. I don't regret it, either."
"Haaaaaaaaaaaah..." They were sitting in the guild's waiting room. Ilwa held a stack of reports in one hand as he glared at Hajime. For his part, Hajime was sharing the snacks they'd been served with Myu, who was sitting on his lap. Seeing how Hajime had no intention of reflecting on his actions, Ilwa let out a tired sigh.
"Please tell me the fishman escaping from the Meerstadt Aquarium by flying out of a hole in the wall had nothing to do with you at least... It didn't, right?"
"Myu, these are pretty good too? Here, try some."
"Damn it... Haaah..." Hajime feigned ignorance and casually continued feeding Myu, but Shea shifted guiltily in her seat, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ilwa. Ilwa heaved another sigh, deeper this time. He grimaced and rubbed his stomach. Dott, his secretary, gave him a sympathetic look and passed him some stomach medicine.
"Well, while you may have gone too far, you did destroy a massive criminal organization for us. Honestly speaking, we had no way of dealing with them. They never left any trace of their illegal dealings, and on the off chance we managed to catch a few of their underlings in the act, the main organization would just cut them off. We didn't think it was even possible to put a stop to them. Though this also means the balance of Fuhren's underworld has been completely toppled... Haaah, we're going to be rather busy in the coming weeks. Especially since we offered our support to the safety department."
"Well, normally it's the government's job to handle stuff like this anyway. This time was a special case. They tried to hurt one of my comrades, so I gave them a little payback."
"That 'little payback' being destroying Fuhren's largest criminal organization in just half a day? You guys are crazy." Ilwa smiled bitterly. He looked like he'd aged twenty years in a day. Combining the ten years he'd aged when he first saw everyone's Status Plates, he may as well have turned into an old man by now. Even Hajime felt a little bad for putting him through so much, so he offered a suggestion.
"Part of the reason we were so flashy about it was because we wanted to make an example out of them. You know, to make sure no one else would try the same thing. So why not use our names to your benefit? If you say the gold ranked adventurer that did this is part of your branch... wouldn't that work as a good deterrent?"
"Oh my, is that really alright? That would save us a great deal of trouble but... weren't you the kind of person that hated their name being used by others?" Ilwa looked at Hajime in surprise. He sounded hesitant, but his gaze made it clear he was dying to use Hajime's name. Hajime smiled wryly and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, you scratch my back, I scratch yours, right? You've been a great help already, so I don't mind if it's just using my name. If you're smart enough to make it all the way to branch chief, I can trust you'll use it wisely. Plus, I do feel a little bad about getting innocent people involved in our personal vendetta."
"I see... Is it just me, or have you changed, Hajime-kun? When I first met you, you struck me as the kind of person that didn't care at all about others. Did something happen at Ur?"
"Well, I guess you could say that."
Ilwa wasn't a branch chief for nothing. He could see through people better than most. That was why he'd been able to pick up on the slight shift in Hajime's mentality. Hajime becoming a kinder person was better for Ilwa too, and he gladly accepted Hajime's offer to use his name.
As Ilwa had expected, days after Freidhof's destruction new criminal groups would spring up, hoping to take advantage of the power vacuum that had been created. However, Ilwa would manage to keep them quiet by skillfully spreading rumors of Hajime's ferocity.
Some time later, people would begin referring to him by nicknames like "Fuhren's Ultimate Weapon," "White-haired Flame Master," "Lady Killer," and so on. However, that was of little concern to Hajime. Or rather, no concern at all.
Thanks to Ilwa's frantic efforts, the safety department ruled that Hajime had acted in self-defense, thereby making him innocent of any crime. Normally it wouldn't have gone over so smoothly, but they were pretty mad about Freidhof's bombing of one of their buildings.
In fact, the director of the safety department had given Hajime a not-so-subtle thumbs-up for destroying Freidhof. The organization had flaunted the safety department's authority at every turn, expanding their illegal activities into every industry they could get their hands on. The chief, who'd just celebrated his 60th birthday, had been more than happy to acquit Hajime of all charges.
"Also, about Myu-kun..." Ilwa looked down at the tiny girl who was happily gnawing on a cookie.
Myu gave a little start. She looked worriedly between Hajime, Yue, and Shea. She didn't want to be separated from them again. The reason she didn't look over at Tio was because, well, everyone was trying to keep her away from Tio's harmful influence.
"Either we can take care of her and send her back to Erisen through the formal routes, or we can make this an official guild request and ask you to take her back... Those are your two options. Well, which do you prefer?" Hajime tilted his head in confusion. He had assumed the safety department would have requested he return her to their custody. According to Ilwa's explanation, however, they were willing to let him handle the case if he so desired. Because of his guild ranking, and the fact that he'd destroyed an entire organization to save her, they believed he was trustworthy enough.
Ultimately though, this too was Ilwa's handiwork. It almost seemed as if he was eager to prove how helpful of an ally he could.
"Hajime-san... I promise I'll protect her. So please... let her come with us." Shea bowed to Hajime. She wanted to be there for Myu during her journey home. Yue and Tio remained silent, deciding to leave the decision up to Hajime.
"Onii-chan... please?" She hit Hajime with her irresistible puppy-dog eyes. Though she hadn't needed to. From the moment he had sworn to get Myu back, Hajime had decided he'd be willing to let her come with them if that was still what she wanted.
"I was planning on taking her with me regardless, so I'm glad you're on board already. Even I couldn't abandon her after all we've been through."
"Hajime-san!"
"Onii-chan!"
Shea and Myu beamed at him. There was still the little problem of how they were going to clear the Grand Gruen Volcano, which came before Erisen, with Myu in tow, but Hajime figured it would work out somehow. He'd decided to take Myu, and that was that.
"But there's just one thing, Myu. Could you stop calling me onii-chan? Just Hajime is fine. It's kind of embarrassing to be called that..." Hajime scratched his cheek awkwardly as Myu hugged him. He was still an otaku after all. Being called onii-chan... Well, it just didn't sit right with him.
Myu stared at him. After a while, she came to some sort of understanding and nodded. However, her response was something no one present had expected.
"Then I'll call you daddy."
"Wh-What? Sorry, Myu. I didn't quite catch that. Could you say that again?"
"Daddy."
"U-Umm, is this like a dagon word for onii-chan or Hajime or something?"
"Nope. Daddy means daddy."
"Okay, hold on a second." Hajime started massaging his temples, while Shea hesitantly asked Myu why she'd chosen to call him daddy of all things. Apparently—
"I don't have a daddy. He went to heaven before I was born. All of my friends have one, but I don't... That's why you're my daddy now, Onii-chan."
"I kind of get it, but at the same time, I kind of don't. Anyway, Myu. I'm begging you, anything but daddy. I'm still only seventeen, you know?"
"No, I like daddy!"
"Okay, fine. Even onii-chan is okay! I'm not asking for much, so please, just not daddy!"
"Nooo! You're my daddy now!"
Hajime tried everything he could to get her to stop calling him daddy, but he struck out. She seemed to like it even more than onii-chan, so the name stuck.
Finally, Hajime gave up. His only choice now was to ask Myu's mother to get her to stop when they finally reached Erisen. Myu had managed to inflict more damage on him than anything else since he'd left the abyss.
They finished talking to Ilwa and headed back to the inn. Once there, a heated debate began over who would become Myu's "mama." In the meantime, Hajime tied Tio up and hid her somewhere so she couldn't be a bad influence on Myu. Naturally, Tio saw her punishment as a reward. In the end, it seemed Myu only wanted to call her real mother mama, so Yue, Shea, and Tio all became onee-chans.
That night, depressed that Myu wouldn't call her mama, Yue said something shocking.
"Hajime, I want a baby." Judging by his reaction, the day where Yue would get to be called mama wasn't too far off.
Shea tried the same trick, but Hajime ignored her. And, of course, the perverted dragon lady couldn't resist adding her two cents after that.
"Master, I am prepared to bear your children as well. We can begin at—"
"Your existence is already enough of a joke, I don't need you spouting them as well."
"Why am I the only one to receive such a harsh rejection!?" Despite her indignant reply, Tio writhed happily on the ground when Hajime shot her down.
The next morning, Hajime said his goodbyes to everyone who'd come to see him off. Ilwa, the people at the safety department, and the Cudeta family. He looked just like a real father, carrying Myu on his shoulders. She was happily hugging his head as he grabbed her legs to make sure she didn't fall off.
Today was the day the monster of the abyss became a father.
And so, his adventures continued, now with a daughter in tow!