Chapter 39 - Chapter 5: The Best at being the Worst

"Huh? Hajime-kun? Wait, you mean that's Nagumo-kun? What!? No way!? How!?" Confused, Shizuku glanced back and forth between Hajime and Kaori. Kaori may have been able to instantly tell the white-haired boy with the eyepatch was Hajime, but Shizuku had no such supernatural powers of recognition.

However, his wry smile was certainly the same one she'd remembered seeing many times before. Moreover, his facial features still resembled the Hajime from Shizuku's memories.

"Wait? Seriously!? Is it really you? Is it really you, Nagumo-kun? How? How on earth are you here!?"

"Slow down, Yaegashi. You're supposed to be the calm and composed one, aren't you?"

Even Shizuku couldn't remain calm after such an unbelievable chain of events. Seconds ago she'd been prepared for death, and now she was faced with a classmate who was supposed to be dead.

While Shizuku was still stammering incoherently, Hajime looked up at the hole he'd come through. He caught Yue as she fell and gently lowered her to the ground. Then, he caught Shea right after, putting her down as well. Last came Endou.

"N-Nagumooo! You bastard, that nearly gave me a heart attack! What the hell was that!? You just plowed right through the ground with it! What the hell were you thinking!?" He looked around as he complained, spotting his best friends, along with the rest of his comrades, surrounded by a horde of monsters. His friends were both overjoyed at seeing him again, and angry that he'd returned.

"Kousuke!"

"Jugo! Kentarou! I've brought reinforcements!"

At the word "reinforcements," both Kouki and the demon turned to look at Hajime and the girls he'd brought with him. However, Hajime ignored the stares and started barking orders to Yue and Shea.

"Yue, sorry, but can you guard those idiots over there for me? Shea, look after that collapsed knight over there. The one wearing all that armor."

"Okay... leave it to me."

"Aye aye, sir!"

Yue casually walked over to the other students, completely ignoring the monsters surrounding them. Meanwhile, Shea leaped over to Meld with surprising agility.

"H-Hajime-kun..." Kaori once again called out to Hajime, her voice trembling. She was feeling so many different emotions that she couldn't process them all. Naturally, there was the joy of knowing he was still alive, and the happiness she felt at seeing him again. However, there was also a mounting feeling of dread along with a sudden fear creeping its way into her mind. After all, Hajime was here in this dangerous place. She had no idea how he'd found his way down here, but all she wanted was for him to flee to safety.

Hajime noticed her unease and tried to reassure her.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Just sit back and watch."

He activated Riftwalk, honing his senses to the limit. Then, pulled three Cross Bits out of his Treasure Trove and set them to guard Kaori and Shizuku. The two girls' eyes darted about as they watched these floating crosses that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Hajime then turned to the demon and arrogantly stared her down. He offered her a single chance at mercy. As of yet, she wasn't his enemy.

"You, the red-haired girl over there. If you flee now, I won't chase you. I recommend you run, if you want to live."

"What was that?" It was ludicrous to think that this puny human could harm her, especially with so many monsters surrounding him. She was so surprised by his words that she didn't comprehend them at first. Hajime sighed and repeated himself.

"You're not very quick on the uptake, are you? I said if you run now, I'll let you live. Is that so hard to understand?"

So I didn't mishear him. Her expression turned cold. All she said in response was a simple, short statement.

"Kill him." She pointed at Hajime, ordering her monsters to attack.

And so, the demon made a most fatal mistake. She should have paid more attention to the fact that Ahatod, her strongest monster, had been obliterated by a single attack.

Hajime's arrogant attitude, and the fact that Ahatod was a precious monster that had been gifted to her by her boss, must have caused her to lose her cool. She failed to accurately assess the situation, and let her anger get the better of her. She hadn't even realized what Hajime drilling through the labyrinth floor meant. Everyone, including the demons, had thought the floor made of material that was literally unbreakable.

Had she not been so quick to anger, she might have made a wiser decision. Still, it was too late. The die had been cast.

"I see. I guess that means you're my enemy." Hajime muttered softly under his breath. At the same time, one of the invisible Chimeras attacked.

"Hajime-kun!" "Nagumo-kun!" Kaori and Shizuku both cried out a warning. Hajime nonchalantly grabbed the Chimera with his artificial arm and lifted it into the air as if it were no heavier than a kitten.

The Chimera started thrashing wildly, trying to break free from his grip. Hajime watched the air warp and bend as it struggled, sighing in disbelief.

"Oh come on, are you serious? This half-assed magic is the best you've got? Are you even trying?"

What's the point of having invisibility magic if the air shimmers every time you move?

He'd fought monsters in the abyss that had been able to conceal themselves. Each and every one of them had proven a troublesome foe. Compared to them, the Chimera he was facing was nothing. A concealment skill that still left traces was no concealment skill at all.

Everyone watched in dumbfounded amazement as Hajime fought. He'd just lifted up a monster weighing a couple hundred kilograms with a single hand as if it was no sweat.

As always, he ignored the stares and put more strength into his grip. There was a loud crunching noise, and eventually the air stopped shimmering. The Chimera fizzled into view, its head mercilessly crushed. The intimidating creature that had given Kouki and the others so much trouble now hung limply from Hajime's hand.

"No way..." Someone muttered in the ensuing silence.

Hajime tossed the dead Chimera to the side, then casually pulled Donner out of its holster. His movements were so smooth that they felt almost unnatural. He took aim at what seemed like nothing, and fired. Bang! Bang!

As always, Hajime didn't miss. Two crimson streaks cut through the air, piercing through their intended targets. The air shimmered again, and another Chimera fizzled into view, its head blown apart, along with a Super Bulltaur, its heart shot clean through. Both monsters slumped to the ground, dead.

"H-How did he know..." The demon could no longer hide her surprise.

Hajime just scoffed. Even if they were completely invisible, they shifted the air around them, which caused slight vibrations along the ground. On top of that, Hajime could easily pick up on their gazes, and their auras, along with the flow of their mana and even their body temperature. To him, the monsters were no more than sitting ducks.

Hajime didn't even spare the dead monsters a glance, and began the battle... no, the slaughter, in earnest.

The fight was too one-sided to be called a battle. The monster of the abyss had descended, and he wasn't leaving until his enemies were annihilated.

The demon couldn't believe how easily her monsters were being killed, while Nagayama and the others couldn't understand how Hajime possessed weapons that clearly didn't belong in this world.

Heedless of anything but their orders, the monsters continued attacking in waves. Had they not been mind-controlled, they likely would have fled.

A few black cats got behind Hajime, and tried to launch their tentacles from his blind spot. However, with a single flick of his wrist, Hajime spun Donner around and fired at the enemies behind him. Bullets traveling faster than the speed of sound tore through the cats' skulls.

Next, a pack of four-eyed wolves surrounded Hajime from two sides. And yet, Hajime simply pulled Schlag out as well and mowed down the wolves leaping at him. The bullets fired from practically point-blank range destroyed not only the wolves' skulls, but their bodies as well.

Another black cat leaped on top of a Chimera, and used the Chimera's camouflage to launch a barrage of invisible tentacles. Still, none of them reached their mark. Hajime fired off a non-Lightning Field enhanced bullet and ricocheted it off the wall to hit the cat. The force of the bullet flung it into the air. Then, he enhanced his legs with Steel Legs, and dropped the chimera with an axe kick.

He finished both the cat and the Chimera off with shots from Donner.

"Graaaaaaaaah!"

"Uwooooooooo!"

Two Super Bulltaurs moved to flank him. Their maces tore through the air with unbelievable force. Hajime simply ducked out of the way, and tripped the Super Bulltaur to the right while he was at it. Arms pinwheeling, the Super Bulltaur crashed into its comrade.

"Grah!?" Both of them let out a surprised shout. While the two of them were hugging each other, Hajime had fired off another volley of bullets. The Super Bulltaurs died in each other's arms.

Another eight cats leaped into the air, trying to hit Hajime with a synchronized attack. This time they relied on their claws rather than their tentacles.

Hajime's two arms moved independently of each other. With his right, he mowed down the enemies in front of him, while with his left, he shot down everything behind him. With Donner, he took out everything to his right, with Schlag, everything to his left. When he had to take enemies to his right out with Donner, he fired in front of him with Schlag. When he had to take enemies to his left out with Schlag, he fired behind him with Donner. Each and every streak of red found its mark without fail. This was the result of Hajime's extensive training.

His movements lacked the polish of Meld or Shizuku's, both of who had trained in styles that had been refined for generations. They were definitely rough around the edges. However, they were effective. Extremely effective.

He fluidly moved to a corner of the room that was easy to defend, then took out his enemies with lethal precision. Every single one of his moves linked perfectly to the next. They were backed by a level of experience that no amount of martial arts practice could ever reach.

A smile played about Hajime's lips. It wasn't that he was deriving pleasure from trampling his enemies. It was just the happiness that came with knowing he could finally challenge this unreasonable, unfair world. His way of saying "Try and kill me if you dare." Packed into that smile was his resolve to stay alive and annihilate anything that dared stand in his way.

Just as both Donner and Schlag ran out of ammo, another wave of Chimeras and four-eyed wolves charged.

Hajime leaped a few meters into the air, did a somersault, and reloaded his guns while upside-down. He moved so fast that the Chimeras and four-eyed wolves lost sight of him for a second. While they were still looking around in confusion, Hajime dealt them all finishing blows.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere. Two Super Bulltaurs charged, hoping to take advantage of the moment Hajime landed.

But he never did. By using Aerodynamic, he launched himself further into the air. He spun around like a top, firing Donner and Schlag in every direction.

The rain of bullets decimated not only the two Super Bulltaurs, but many of the Chimeras and wolves waiting behind them as well. One after another, the charging monsters fell dead, their inertia carrying them into a massive pile of corpses growing directly below Hajime.

Hajime landed soundlessly atop the devastation he had wrought. He once again paused momentarily to reload. And just as he finished, one of the monsters let out a strange screech.

Hajime turned to see Absod staring at him, its mouth opened wide. A blinding sphere of white light was growing inside its mouth.

It still had all the mana it had absorbed from Meld's Loyalty's Promise. Though the spell's range was limited, it had more than enough force to kill a single person.

Once it had finished charging, Absod fired. The light cut through the ground as it traveled toward Hajime, carving out a huge groove in the rock. He calmly pulled out his massive, coffin-shaped shield, and attached it to his left arm. At the same time, he activated Diamond Skin. He planted himself firmly into the ground, like a tree taking root, and nonchalantly waited for the light to strike.

There was an earth-shattering boom as the light struck his shield. The very air trembled in the wake of Absod's attack. And, to the shock off all the spectators, Hajime didn't even budge an inch. Still smiling, he tilted his shield ever so slightly to deflect the beam of light. Its new trajectory set the beam right in the demon's path.

"Ah!? Curses!" She leaped out of the way. The moment Hajime had started decimating her army, she'd realized she was in big trouble. In order to somehow turn things around she'd began chanting a long, powerful spell. Hajime had, of course, been aware of that, which was precisely why he'd deflected Absod's attack toward her.

As she ran, Hajime began adjusting the angle of his shield so that the beam continued chasing after her. The walls behind her were vaporized, and the demon picked up the pace. Her calm arrogance from before was nowhere to be seen.

Just as she thought she was about to be killed by her own attack, Absod finally ran out of stored mana.

"Tch..." Hajime sighed. Meanwhile, the demon didn't even have time to catch her breath. Her expression froze and cold sweat poured down her back.

There was a huge explosion, and a wave of heat washed over the rightside of her face. White feathers rained down around her.

The raven that had been resting on her shoulder until now had been killed. Since his plan to kill the demon with her own attack had failed, he'd used Donner to kill Absod and Schlag to destroy the raven.

Absod hadn't even had time to scream before Hajime's supersonic bullet had consigned it to the void.

The raven had also been decimated in an instant, without ever realizing what had hit it.

The shockwave from Hajime's bullet had been strong enough to throw the demon off-balance. She tumbled to the ground and absentmindedly touched her cheek. It was splattered with the raven's blood, and stung to the touch. The friction and heat had been enough to burn her cheek.

If her head had been just a few inches closer to the raven, she would have died then and there.

Still, even though she'd survived one attack, it was already over for her. Her supposedly invincible monster army was being steamrolled with unbelievable ease. She knew that boy could kill her whenever he chose to. Her life was utterly and completely in the palm of his hand. Until now she'd had great pride in her unbreakable warrior's spirit. Faced with Hajime's overwhelming strength, however, that spirit began to crumble. Nothing she did would be able to even scratch that monster.

What the hell is he? How does someone like him even exist? And how am I supposed to survive against him!? Questions whirled around inside the demon's head, but no answers presented themselves.

Many of those same questions were going through Kouki and the others' minds too. Most of them hadn't recognized the silver-haired boy with the eyepatch as Hajime, so they were curious about the identity of this kid who was able to trample these monsters they'd barely been able to fend off.

"What the... What the heck is he!?" Kouki watched in disbelief, still too exhausted to move. Though they didn't say it out loud, everyone was thinking the same thing. The one who provided them all with answers was Endou, the one they'd sent off to escape alone.

"Haha, you probably won't believe me, but... that's Nagumo."

"What!?"

Everyone stared at Endou. He could tell they all thought he was crazy. Granted, it was understandable. He hadn't believed it at first either, but it was the truth, so all he could do was shrug his shoulders.

"Like I said, that's Nagumo. Hajime Nagumo. The same Nagumo that fell off the bridge that day. He somehow survived, and crawled his way back out of the labyrinth. He tore through all the monsters on our way here too. It was crazy! I can't believe it's really the same guy, but... it is."

"Wait, so Nagumo was alive this whole time!?" Kouki shouted in surprise. Everyone turned to look at the boy who was annihilating the demon's army once more. They all thought "That couldn't possibly be Nagumo. There's just no way." Endou could guess what they were thinking from their expressions, so he decided to provide further proof.

"I'm serious. He's totally different now, but I saw his Status Plate." He smiled drily as he watched the reinforcements he brought tear through the monsters' ranks. No one could believe that the weak boy they'd all ridiculed had become so strong. One person was particularly unhappy about this development.

"Y-You're lying. Nagumo died. I mean, we all saw him! There's no way he's still alive! Don't give me this crap!"

"Uwaaah, what's wrong with you!? I saw his Status Plate and everything, it's him for sure!"

"I don't believe it! It has to be some kind of trick! That has to be an imposter!"

"Dude, what the heck are you on about? Why would anyone want to impersonate Nagumo?"

Hiyama grabbed Endou by the collar and started grilling him. His face was pale, and he denied Hajime's survival with an abnormal ferocity. Even his friend Kondou was shocked by how vehement Hiyama was.

In order to calm him down, someone quite literally doused him with cold water. A mini-waterfall appeared above Hiyama's head, drenching him from head to toe. This happened just as he tried to suck in a breath, so he choked a little. Coughing and spluttering, Hiyama looked to see who'd done that. Standing in front of him was Yue. She spoke to him in a voice colder than the water she'd just poured on him.

"Quiet. You're getting in my way." Hiyama wanted to retort back, but he swallowed his words when he saw the look in Yue's eyes. He was nothing more than a bug to her, and if he argued back he had no doubt she would squash him like one.

Though her stare chilled him to the bone, Hiyama couldn't help but admire Yue's perfect figure. He wasn't alone, either. The other students, Kouki included, had all been entranced by her doll-like features. Suzu even let out a very unladylike whistle. Despite how young Yue looked, there was an air of maturity about her that inadvertently drew people in.

Just then, at the demon's urging, a few of the monsters split off to attack Kouki's group. She was trying to take them as hostages. Since there was no way she could beat Hajime in a head-on battle, she'd resorted to this.

Suzu hurriedly tried to put up a barrier, but her exhausted body cried out in protest. She'd been casting almost nonstop since waking up. Still, she bit her lip to keep herself from blacking out and continued chanting. Eventually, Yue gently put a hand on her head to stop her. Surprised, Suzu stopped chanting.

"Don't worry." Though there was no reason for that to suddenly make things okay, a wave of relief washed over Suzu. Suzu herself didn't know why Yue's words felt so comforting, but she seemed to know she could trust Yue.

Yue stared down the monsters bearing down on them. With their claws, tentacles, and maces inches from her face, she calmly mouthed two words.

"Sapphire Serpent." A pale-blue sphere, about one meter in diameter, appeared directly above her head. The fire mages in the party instantly recognized it as one of the strongest fire spells: Azure Blaze, a spell so powerful it incinerated everything in its vicinity.

It was unthinkable that anyone could cast it instantly without even an incantation. The mages of the party all stared dumbly at the massive fireball floating above them.

However, this was just the beginning. Next, the sphere uncoiled itself, transforming into a snake. The flaming serpent swallowed a Super Bulltaur whole, leaving not even ash in its wake.

The serpent then sprouted wings, completing its transformation.

A flaming sapphire dragon stood where the sphere had been.

The thirty meter long dragon coiled itself around Kouki and the others, forming a protective barrier. The burning blue blaze was so hot that the monsters couldn't even get close to it. The dragon then opened its maw wide, surging forward.

Graaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Its roar shook the room. The monsters were all lifted into the air and flung into the dragon's waiting jaws. They struggled desperately, but it was futile. One after another, they were thrown into the furnace of hell and incinerated beyond recognition.

"What is this..." one of the students muttered. None of them had everheard of magic that could control the bodies of others in a manner like that.

That made sense. After all, Sapphire Serpent was a spell Yue had created herself by combining Azure Blaze with gravity magic.

The reason she'd picked Sapphire Serpent over her usual Draconic Thunder was because she wanted to get more practice with her control. Summoning a massive fire dragon in an enclosed space meant she had to regulate how much oxygen she let it consume, or everyone would suffocate. It required far more precision than Draconic Thunder.

However, Kouki and the others didn't know that. They all turned back to Yue, intent on demanding an explanation.

But when they saw her regal figure, calmly guiding the dragon like it was nothing, they swallowed their words. A few of the students, Suzu included, fell for her then and there.

The demon despaired when she saw the dragon. She'd thought it was only one crazy monster she'd had on her hands, but it seemed this mysterious boy's companion was just as dangerous. Quickly running out of options, the demon looked at what was left. The only other people she could feasibly target were the bunny girl next to the half-dead knight, and the two girls hugging each other a good distance away from the group.

Still, the demon would soon find they weren't easy prey either. One swing from Drucken took a charging Super Bulltaur's head clean off. Shea used the momentum of her swing to turn in a complete circle, crushing the four-eyed wolf that had tried to pounce on her from behind.

Meanwhile, Chimeras and cats surged toward Kaori and Shizuku. Shizuku gritted her teeth and valiantly held up her shattered blade, but before her enemies could reach her, Hajime's Cross Bits took action.

Shizuku watched in amazement as the floating crosses took aim at the Chimeras and let out a bang.

What on earth is that thing!? Something whizzed past her cheek and fell to the ground with a metallic clang. On the other side, the same thing happened next to Kaori.

Still confused, the two turned toward the monsters bearing down on them, only to find they'd all had their heads blown off. They looked back at the Cross Bits, understanding finally dawning on them.

"Was that... gunpowder?"

"Wait, so this is... a gun?"

The two girls exchanged a look. Then they turned toward Hajime. The guns in his hand confirmed their suspicions. The weird floating crosses protecting them were also weapons of his.

"A-Amazing... When did Hajime turn into a human gundam?"

"I'd say he's more like a Newtype than an actual gundam..."

Now that the immediate threat had been dealt with, and it was obvious Hajime was in no real danger, the two girls had managed to calm down some. Hajime's Cross Bits also had a recording function built into them, so he'd heard what they'd said. He was pretty surprised the two of them knew so much about Gundam. He wanted to make a comment about it, but decided to refrain.

"Unbelievable... What is he?" The demon muttered to herself. All of her schemes had been destroyed by simple brute force. Despair got the better of her, so she resigned herself to her fate. She didn't have many monsters left, and the outcome of this match was clear.

As one last-ditch attempt, she flung the strongest spell she could muster at Hajime and made a break for one of the exits. The spell she'd used was the same one that had caused the other students so much trouble, Dark Gaol.

Hajime spared the gray sphere a brief glance, and then judged it not to be a threat. He ignored the spell entirely and continued slaughtering monsters. The sphere exploded next to Hajime, enveloping him in petrifying smoke. Kouki and the others gasped, while Kaori screamed.

The demon watched them out of the corner of her eye as she ran. However, just as she made it to the exit—

"Haha... Looks like you were one step ahead of me the whole time."

"That's right."

One of Hajime's Cross Bits was waiting for her at the exit, its muzzle pointed directly at her. She realized now, she'd been doomed from the moment she'd decided to attack him. For some reason, the thought struck her as funny, so she started laughing. Hajime slowly walked up to her. She'd come to hate that overly calm demeanor of his.

She turned around, giving up for good. Hajime hadn't been affected one bit by her petrification spell. And to add insult to injury, he was radiating mana in waves toward another exit to blow the smoke away. He could have avoided it if he wanted to, but he'd just taken the hit to make a point.

"You damned monster. Are you really human? No measly human can do those things."

"To be honest, I'm not really sure anymore. But I don't really mind being a monster, so let's go with that."

He stopped a few feet away from the demon. She looked around the room and saw all of her monsters lying on the ground, dead. She smiled bitterly and mentally berated herself for picking a fight with him.

Hajime slowly took aim with Donner. The demon's expression was oddly relaxed. There was nothing else she could do. All that was left for her was death, and she'd come to terms with that.

"Normally, I'd ask if you have any last words, but... sadly, I have no interest in what you have to say. Though, I guess there is something I want you to tell me... What's a demon like you doing down here? And where'd you get those monsters?"

"What makes you think I'll tell you? Why would I give information to our enemy? Just kill me and be done with it." The demon sneered at Hajime. He glared coldly at her, and without warning shot her in the leg.

"Agaaaaah!" The demon screamed and tumbled to the ground. Her screams echoed throughout the room. Kouki and the others watched silently, shocked at Hajime's callous cruelty. Hajime ignored them all and continued talking to the demon.

"I have no interest in your stupid war, or this world. I'm not asking you as a member of the human army. I'm just curious. Now answer me."

"..." The demon gritted her teeth and stared Hajime down. Realizing she wouldn't break, Hajime decided there was no point in interrogating her any further.

"Well, I can more or less guess. The reason you're here is because you want to conquer the true labyrinth that lies beneath this one, right?"

The demon's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Noting her reaction, Hajime continued.

"And those monsters were controlled using magic from the age of the gods... Bullseye, huh? So the demons managed to conquer one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, and are using the magic they found there to tip the scales... That means the reason you're here isn't just to extend an invitation to the hero party, but also to clear the other labyrinths?"

"Impossible... How..." The demon grimaced. Somehow, Hajime had guessed all of their plans. Suddenly, a possibility occurred to her. Maybe Hajime had also cleared one of the labyrinths. She looked up at him for confirmation, and he nodded silently.

"I see. So you're just like that person... That explains your strength... Are we done here? If so, get it over with already. I hope you're not thinking of taking me prisoner. You'll never take me alive."

"That person, huh? So they're the one who gave you this army of monsters."

It was clear from her gaze that the demon would kill herself before she allowed herself to be taken captive. But if possible, she wanted to die a warrior, at the hands of her enemies. For his part, Hajime had gotten all the information he'd wanted out of the demon. He no longer had any use for her.

The demon cursed Hajime with her final words, in one last act of spite.

"Someday my lover will come to kill you." Hajime smiled fearlessly.

"I'll kill anyone that makes themselves my enemy, even the gods themselves. I can't imagine someone stuck as their pawn is much of a threat."

Done with their final exchange, the two of them fell silent. Hajime pointed Donner at the demon's head. But before he could pull the trigger, someone called out to him.

"Wait! Wait, Nagumo! She can't fight anymore! There's no need to kill her!"

"..." Hajime looked over his shoulder at Kouki, a dumbfounded expression on his face. Is this guy serious? Kouki stumbled to his feet, swaying unsteadily. Hajime still had his finger on the trigger.

"Let's... Let's just make her our prisoner. There's no way we can kill someone who can't even resist. Heroes aren't supposed to do things like that. You're one of my comrades too, so shouldn't you be obeying my commands?"

Hajime could scarcely believe the things coming out of Kouki's mouth. He ignored Kouki entirely and pulled the trigger.

There was a sharp crack as the bullet robbed the demon of her life.

Silence fell. Kouki's jaw was hanging open. He understood what had just happened, but his mind still couldn't accept that his classmate had mercilessly killed someone without any hesitation. The person who'd been most shocked by Hajime's actions was Kaori.

Not because he'd killed someone. She'd been prepared for that too. She understood that was what it meant to help the humans of this world with their war. This entire labyrinth excursion was simply training for when they'd actually have to kill people.

She knew one day she might have to kill someone. Sure, it would be Shizuku and Kouki and the other frontliners doing the actual killing, but she had to be prepared to help them in that endeavor. To bear the same guilt as them.

What had shocked Kaori was how easily Hajime had done it. She couldn't believe that he had no aversion to killing whatsoever. He'd done it as naturally as breathing. The Hajime she'd known was a kind, powerless boy. Even though he had no strength of his own, he'd always done everything he could to help others. That was what had made him strong. Even though he could barely fight, no matter the situation, he was always sacrificing himself for others. Which was why she was so surprised that he hadn't hesitated to kill someone. Someone who couldn't fight back, even.

Shizuku could easily tell what was going through Kaori's mind. They'd been friends for long enough that she understood Kaori's thought process. After all she'd heard about Hajime from Kaori, Shizuku knew just how big of a shock that had to be.

When she saw Hajime's cold expression, she too thought to herself that he'd changed far too much. Still, she also knew that she had no right to say anything about it when she didn't even know what Hajime had experienced thus far. All she could do was hug Kaori and try to comfort her somehow.

However, Kouki had no such inhibitions. His strong sense of justice compelled him to protest. And protest he did.

"Why... Why did you kill her? There was no need to." Hajime looked at Kouki out of the corner of his eye. He wondered for a few seconds how he should respond, and then realized there was no need to respond at all. Pretending he hadn't heard anything, he walked over to Shea and Meld.

Yue broke off from the students and trotted up to Hajime. Suzu watched her forlornly as she left.

"Shea, how's Meld doing?"

"It was pretty close. Any later and he'd probably be dead. I gave him some Ambrosia like you asked, but... are you sure it was okay to use some on him?"

"Yeah. He deserves that much at least for all the times he helped me. Besides, if he died, the hole left behind would be too big to fill. Things would just get more troublesome in the future if someone less noble took over the job of guiding the hero party. Well, I guess he wasn't strong enough to stop this mess from happening, but... at least he's a man of honor. I wouldn't want to see him die."

Hajime didn't want someone shady like Ishtar taking over the job of training Kouki and the others. Meanwhile, Kouki, supported by Ryutarou, made his way over to Hajime and the others. The other students followed close behind. He wasn't going to let this issue be ignored.

"Hajime."

"Thanks, Yue. For protecting them, I mean."

"Mhmm." Yue arrived just as Hajime finished explaining his reasons to Shea. He gently cupped Yue's cheek and thanked her for her help. She looked up at him happily, saying it was no sweat with her gaze. Before long, the two of them started flirting again.

"There's a time and place for this, you two... Come on, give it a rest already! There's other people here!" Shea started clapping her hands loudly to get their attention. She was getting used to their chronic flirting in inappropriate places.

Hajime's other classmates started glaring at him for a completely different reason than Kouki. One stare in particular was fierce enough to send shivers down Hajime's spine.

"Hey, Nagumo. Why did—"

"Hajime-kun... there's a lot I want to ask you, but first, is Meld-san alright? His wounds seem to have closed up, and his breathing is steady, but he should have been mortally wounded..." Kaori interrupted Kouki and knelt next to Meld. She checked his vitals and examined the wound as she talked to Hajime.

For a second, it had felt like Kaori had given him a glare terrifying enough to make his blood run cold, but he didn't feel that pressure anymore, so he chalked it up to his imagination playing tricks on him. He was wondering why she was suddenly calling him "Hajime-kun" now too, but he decided to save that question for later.

"Yeah, he should be... Shea gave him a rather special medicine. It's potent enough to heal even fatal wounds."

"I've never heard of any items like that."

"Well, it's not exactly common... You wouldn't be able to find it normally. Sorry Yaegashi, but you'll have to get someone to heal you. I have mana potions at least, if you need those."

"A-Ah... Th-Thank you." Shizuku stammered a little as she took the mana potions from Hajime. She still wasn't used to how different he'd become. Hajime seemed unconcerned by her reaction and threw a mana potion to Kaori as well. She deftly caught the vial, said a word of thanks, and downed it in one gulp. The lingering aftertaste of cough syrup filled her mouth, and Kaori could feel her mana returning. Once Kaori recovered, she could easily heal the other students.

She heaved a sigh of relief after making sure Meld's life wasn't in any danger.

Kouki attempted to grill Hajime once more.

"Hey Nagumo, I'm grateful you saved Meld-san, but why—"

"Hajime-kun. Thank you for saving Meld-san's life. And... thank you for saving ours, too."

However, he was interrupted again by Kaori. He glanced at her in annoyance, but she ignored him, her attention focused entirely on Hajime. Though Hajime's transformation had shocked Kaori greatly, there was still something she needed to tell him. She stood up and brought her face inches from Hajime's.

She gripped the hem of her skirt, trying to hold back the wave of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. But she couldn't do it, and tears started to drip from the corners of her eyes.

Changed or not, Hajime was still standing in front of her, very much alive. She couldn't stop herself from breaking down. Hajime looked into her eyes, and saw a thousand glimmering stars of emotion.

Lips trembling, Kaori finally choked out the words she'd always wanted to say.

"Hajime-kun... Shank you... hic... for staying alive. And I'm... sho sorry I couldn't protect you... Hic..."

The girls, who'd all guessed how much Kaori cared for Hajime, and some of the guys, who'd figured it out as well, all felt a warm fuzziness spread through them as they watched. Only Kondou and Hiyama looked like they'd swallowed a bug. Kouki and Ryutarou, who were the most clueless of the bunch, still hadn't caught on and seemed confused. Kouki was basically a real-life dense anime protagonist, while Ryutarou had more muscles than brains. One could rightly understand why Shizuku always had so much trouble keeping those two in line.

On the other hand, Shea was fretting over the appearance of another potential rival, while Yue was staring at Kaori with a more deadpan expression than usual.

Hajime watched on silently. He'd heard from Endou that his supposed death had weighed heavily on Kaori's mind, but he'd never realized it had affected her this deeply. He struggled to find the right words to say.

When he'd told Yue about what had happened to him, he'd of course mentioned Kaori, but since then he hadn't even thought of her once until he'd reunited with Aiko in Ur. He felt a little guilty for forgetting about her when she'd spent this entire time worrying about him.

After a lot of internal debate, Hajime finally smiled awkwardly and settled on a response.

"Looks like I really made you worry. I'm sorry I didn't contact you right away. Still, as you can see, I'm alive, so you don't need to apologize... Please, uhh, don't cry." His eyes held the same kindness they'd had back when Kaori had first come to his room and he'd asked her to protect him.

Kaori recalled that night as vividly as if it had happened yesterday. It seemed not all of him had changed. Overcome by emotion, she clung to Hajime's shirt and sobbed uncontrollably.

Unsure of how to respond, Hajime just stood there, his arms raised up in the air. Had any of his other classmates done something like this he would have flung them off without hesitation, possibly even give them a good kick for their trouble, but he couldn't bring himself to do that to Kaori. She was the only one who'd cared so much for him this whole time, and the time they'd spent together before he'd been cast into the abyss was slowly coming back to him.

At the same time, though, he didn't want to hug another girl in front of Yue. And so, he just stood there, his hands in the air, not exactly embracing Kaori, but not pushing her away either. Such an indecisive attitude was completely unlike him.

Shizuku glared at Hajime, her gaze seemingly saying "That's my best friend crying in your arms right now! The least you could do is hug her, you wimp!" But at the same time, he could feel Yue's cold stare boring into his back.

He eventually compromised and gently patted Kaori's head a little. He was being a lot more meek than usual.

"You really are kind, Kaori. Still, Nagumo mercilessly killed someone who couldn't resist. We can't just ignore what he did. Please get away from him."

Nagayama and his friends glared at Kouki. Read the mood, you moron! It was baffling to them that he still hadn't noticed Kaori's feelings for Hajime. Kouki glared angrily at Hajime as he attempted to pull Kaori off him.

Hajime wasn't sure if Kouki didn't like Kaori touching another man, or if he was worried about leaving her in close proximity of a killer. It might have been a bit of both, honestly.

"Hold on, Kouki. Nagumo-kun's the one who saved us. You don't have to sound so mad."

"But Shizuku, she couldn't resist anymore. She'd lost the will to fight. There was no reason to kill her. That's not something I can forgive."

"Come on, Kouki, can't you just give it a rest?" Shizuku narrowed her eyes and glared at Kouki. Nagayama and the others glanced around uncomfortably, unsure of which side to take. However, Hiyama and his cronies had always disliked Hajime, so they instantly took Kouki's side. They riled the others up, and soon most of the students were against him. Kaori had since left Hajime's side and dried her tears. She was deep in thought, contemplating how different Hajime was from what she remembered.

Yue silenced all of them with a few harsh words. Her voice was as cold as ice.

"What a worthless bunch. Can we leave, Hajime?"

"Ah, yeah. May as well."

Yue dismissed the lot of them as just a "worthless bunch." Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it somehow carried clearly through the room. Its frigidity silenced the students, and they all turned to look at her.

Hajime had initially only agreed to help because he owed Kaori. Now that he'd repaid that debt, his work was done. He had no reason to stay, so he let Yue herd him out of the room. Shea ignored the students and hurried after Hajime as well.

But of course, Kouki wasn't going to let them leave just like that.

"Wait. I'm not done here. Unless I understand your reasons, I won't feel comfortable keeping you around as a comrade. And who are you, anyway? I'm grateful that you saved us, but don't you think it's rude to call someone you just met 'worthless'? Besides, what do you even mean by that?"

"..."

As always, Kouki was utterly misguided. Taken out of context, everything he said was perfectly rational. But considering the circumstances, it was obvious he was in the wrong. It was as if he was obsessed with that demon's death.

Yue had already decided Kouki wasn't even worth wasting her breath on, so she didn't bother meeting his gaze. Kouki frowned, but a minute later his irritation vanished and he gave Yue the same killer smile he flashed all of the girls in school.

However, all he succeeded in doing was making Yue more annoyed. Realizing that at this rate they'd get nowhere, Hajime sighed and decided to answer Kouki.

"Amanogawa. You're basically a walking joke, and I have no obligation to answer any of your mundane questions. Still, because I know you won't quit no matter what, I'll at least give you a bit of advice."

"Advice? Are you saying I'm the one who's wrong? I'd like to think what I'm saying is common sense."

And this is why you're such a pain to deal with!

"Quit deluding yourself."

"What do you..."

"You're not mad because I killed that demon. You just didn't want to see anyone die in front of you. Even you know you can't say it's wrong to kill someone who tried to kill all of you, and nearly killed the knight commander. That's why you're focusing on the fact that she was defenseless when I killed her. You saw something you couldn't stomach, and you're mad that I did what you couldn't. And now, you're trying to take it out on me. All while pretending you're in the right. Of course, you're not doing it maliciously. You probably don't even realize it. You never change. You always interpret things however you want without ever considering the opinions of others."

"Th-That's not true! Don't talk like you know me! Besides, that doesn't change the fact that you killed a defenseless opponent!"

"What's wrong with killing your enemies?"

"Wha—!? What do you mean, what's wrong!? It's murder! Of course it's bad!"

"I really don't feel like arguing with you. Let's just end it here. It's my policy to kill anyone who becomes my enemy. Unless I have a good reason not to, I'll make sure to kill them. It doesn't matter whether they're good or evil, or whether they can resist or not. The moment you show mercy is the moment you die. I learned that the hard way at the bottom of the abyss. Those are just my values though, and I have no intention of pushing them on anyone else. Still, if you plan on standing against me just because you don't like that, then..." Hajime closed the gap between them in an instant and pressed Donner against Kouki's forehead. Then, he activated his Intimidation and hit his classmates with the full brunt of it.

They all gulped uneasily. Kouki could at least follow Shizuku, who was the fastest of their group, with his eyes still, but he hadn't even sensed Hajime moving.

"Even if you are my former classmates, I won't show you any mercy."

"Y-You..."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't come here to rejoin your little group. You guys aren't my comrades. I only came back because I owed Shirasaki a debt. Once we get out of here, we'll be parting ways. I have my own goals in mind."

Hajime stared at Kouki for a few seconds longer before holstering Donner and turning away. He canceled his Intimidation as well, and everyone breathed a massive sigh of relief. However, Kouki still wasn't willing to accept this. He opened his mouth to argue further, but this time Yue shut him down. She was tired of his prattling.

"Hajime's the one who fought. All you did was cower in fear and run away. The loser has no right to say anything."

"Wha— I didn't run..."

It wasn't a coincidence that Hajime and the others had fallen into the exact room Kouki and the others had been fighting in. When they were on the floor above, Hajime had sensed a massive explosion of mana. Guessing that was where they must be fighting, Hajime had used his perception skills to track down their location. He'd then used a combination of transmutation and his pile bunker to dig through the floor.

What Hajime had sensed was Kouki's activation of Overload. Hajime had figured with Kouki's current strength, he would easily be able to overpower the demon. From the situation that followed, he'd correctly surmised that Kouki hadn't been able to kill her, which was why they'd fallen into such dire straits.

Just as Kouki was about to argue, Meld joined the discussion.

"Leave it, Kouki."

"Meld-san!"

Meld had regained consciousness a while back, and had been listening in on their conversation. He still felt a little dizzy, but his consciousness was clear. He eased himself to his feet. He put his hand over where his wounds should have been, but found his stomach surprisingly whole.

Kaori had told Meld a summary of what had happened while he'd been unconscious. When he'd learned Hajime was still alive, and that it was hismedicine that had saved Meld's life, Meld had been overjoyed.

Meld prostrated himself before Hajime, thanking him for saving his life,and apologizing for being unable to save Hajime's own. Hajime awkwardly accepted Meld's thanks, stunned by his sincerity.

Frankly, he'd completely forgotten Meld's promise to save him when he'd offered to hold the Behemoth off, but it seemed it had weighed on Meld heavily.

Once he finished apologizing to Hajime, Meld turned to Kouki and apologized to him as well.

"M-Meld-san? Why are you apologizing?"

"Because I'm your instructor. And yet, I forgot to teach you the most important thing. That you need to be prepared to kill. I'd planned to set some bandits on you guys at some point so you'd experience what it's like to kill someone... After all, you'd have to do a lot more killing in the war... but the more time I spent with you guys, the more I felt it would be wrong to make you kill someone... so I wavered. As the knight commander of Heiligh, I should have taught you this right away, but... I kept putting it off until finally, it led to this. My indecisiveness nearly cost you all your lives. I'm ashamed to call myself your instructor. Truly... I'm so sorry." Meld once again bowed his head to Kouki and the others. They all crowded around him and tried to reassure him. It seemed Meld had been dealing with his fair share of worries as well. He was torn between his duty as a knight, and his personal feelings for the children.

Meld was a central figure to the kingdom, but he was also a devout follower of Ehit. His religion told him that teaching these "Warriors of Ehit" to fight in the war was the noblest thing he could do. However, he still felt reservations. His kind-hearted nature had played a part in his misgivings, but more than anything he was as Hajime had said, a man of impeccable virtue.

Kouki suddenly fell silent. It was finally dawning on him that in the near future he'd have to kill people too. He recalled the fear he'd felt at the prospect of taking someone's life. It had been quite a shock that Meld would have even contemplated setting humans on them for the students to kill. Bandits or not, people were people. The students would have no trouble dealing with bandits, but to kill them was a completely different story.

Kaori had fallen silent as well. Not because of what Meld had said, but because of Hajime's earlier words.

About how the abyss had taught him to kill his enemies without hesitation, no matter who they were. That was something the old Hajime would never have said. Still, the murderous malice he'd exhibited earlier proved that it was no bluff. The Hajime that had once been willing to sacrifice himself to save them was now saying he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if they crossed him. Kaori felt lost. The Hajime she knew and the Hajime standing before her were just too different. She was beginning to think she might just have imagined the remnants of his old self that she'd seen earlier.

At some point, Kaori realized someone was staring at her. She looked up to see a golden-haired, red-eyed beauty standing in front of her. It felt to Kaori as if her gaze was devoid of all emotion.

Kaori stared back, curious about this girl who seemed to be so close to the new Hajime. The two gazed at each other for a few minutes.

"Hmph."

"Ah..."

The first one to look away was Yue. She sneered at Kaori and turned away.

Kaori involuntarily gulped. Even without words, she understood what Yue meant. "If your feelings for Hajime are that superficial, then you may as well forget about him entirely."

Yue had easily been able to tell that Kaori had feelings for Hajime. She'd expected to have another rival on her hands, and had been prepared to fight for Hajime's affection. However, when Kaori had seen how much Hajime had changed, she'd faltered. It was perhaps a natural reaction, but from Yue's point of view, all it meant was that Kaori wasn't even worth considering as a rival.

If this is all it takes to scare you off, you don't stand a chance. You won't be able to take Hajime away from me. Kaori flushed. Whether from embarrassment or anger, she didn't know. Yue had all but declared that she was the most important person to Hajime, but Kaori couldn't say anything back. She'd lost that right the moment she'd thought of Hajime as something other than human. The first clash between Kaori and Yue ended with Yue's victory.

Hajime collected all of his spent pile bunkers, rounded up Yue and Shea, and went to leave through one of the passages.

Kouki and the others hurriedly followed behind. As the party was exhausted, Endou suggested they all follow Hajime to the surface so they wouldn't have to fight monsters on the way back. When Meld asked if they could, Hajime said he didn't mind.

On the way back, they watched Hajime easily dispatch monsters that had given the entire party trouble. Once again, they were reminded of how overwhelming his strength was. They could hardly believe he was the same guy they'd all laughed at for being "worthless."

Hiyama and Kondou glared jealously at Hajime the whole way up. Nagayama and the others were impressed by Hajime's newfound strength, but they weren't sure what to make of the fact that Hajime didn't see them as comrades.

Hajime's newfound strength intimidated Hiyama and Kondou. They hadn't forgotten how they used to bully him, and they were sure he hadn't either. Nagayama and the others felt guilty for turning a blind eye to the bullying too. The more they thought about it, the more they realized it made sense for Hajime not to think of them as comrades, but Hajime just ignored all the various glances the other students shot his way.

Suzu was the only one brave enough to try and talk to them. She attempted to engage Yue in conversation, and asked Hajime all sorts of questions about what he'd been doing. When she realized the two of them weren't giving her the time of day, she turned her attention to Shea. Shizuku had to stop her from trying to grope Shea's boobs on multiple occasions. Emboldened by her straightforward attitude, Kondou and Hiyama attempted to get closer to Yue and Shea as well, but the two girls ignored them completely, and when Hiyama got annoyed and tried to grab Shea's ears, he was hit by a rubber bullet from Hajime. Finally, the group made it back to the surface.

Kaori was still lost deep in thought. Shizuku was hovering around her like a worried mother hen. When they stepped out of the labyrinth entrance though, Kaori was forcibly brought back to reality. After all, an event occurred that she absolutely couldn't ignore.

For someone who loved Hajime, it was perhaps the most shocking event possible.

"Ah! Daddy! You're back!"

"Oh, Myu!"

A little girl calling Hajime her father appeared.

Myu's voice carried over the din of the bustling market street. A few onlookers smiled as they watched the little girl totter up to Hajime.

She made a beeline for Hajime and leaped up into his arms. He caught her in midair and lifted her high into the air.

Normally, this would have been the scene where she barreled into Hajime and knocked him over, but he was hardly so weak that he couldn't catch a little girl. If anything, Myu would have been the one to get hurt had she headbutted into his chest.

"Did you come here to see me? Where's Tio?"

"Yep. Tio-oneechan said that daddy would be coming back around now, so I should go see him. Right now, Tio-oneechan's..."

"Right here." Tio made her way through the crowd, her beauty attracting the attention of the nearby merchants and adventurers. Hajime couldn't believe Tio would let Myu out of her sight in such a crowded place.

"Hey, Tio. You can't leave Myu alone in a place like this."

"She was never out of my sight. I had to deal with a few thugs though, and I thought it prudent to do it somewhere Myu couldn't see."

It seemed some foolish kidnappers had tried to abduct Myu. Hajime had told her to wear a hood whenever she went out in public, so she wouldn't attract attention. He assumed that was why her would-be kidnappers hadn't noticed she was a Dagon, a member of a species under the Holy Church's protection. Myu was an incredibly cute girl, so she made for an appealing kidnapping target. Though Hajime had no way of knowing whether they'd just been after money, or if they were just pedophiles.

"I see. I guess I can't blame you then... So, where are those thugs?"

"Fear not, Master. I have already dealt with them."

"Tch, they got off easy."

"Are you sure you'll be able to part with her when the time comes?"

Hajime had clearly intended to kill the unfortunate kidnappers, so Tio quickly cut him off before he turned the thing into a huge incident. Though he'd hated being called daddy at first, he'd gradually taken to the role of a father more and more. It had gotten to the point where his companions were worried he wouldn't be able to part with her once they got to Erisen.

Hajime's classmates had thought nothing could surprise them anymore after witnessing his sudden transformation, but they were wrong. Never in their wildest dreams did any of them imagine he'd become a father. The guys all looked from Yue, to Shea, to the newly arrived Tio, wondering whose kid it was, as well as just how much more experienced Hajime had become in these past few months. It was possible this was an even bigger shock than Hajime's unbelievable strength.

Logically, it was impossible for Hajime to have a four-year daughter, since they'd only been apart for a little over four months, but the students were all too shocked and exhausted to be thinking straight.

Kaori stepped forward, swaying slightly. There was a smile on her face, but her expression was anything but happy. She stumbled up to Hajime and grabbed him by the collar.

"Hajime-kun, explain yourself! Is she really your daughter!? Who did you get pregnant!? Yue-san!? Shea-san!? Or that beautiful lady over there!? Wait, are there even more girls I don't know about!? How many of them have you gotten pregnant!? Answer me, Hajime-kun!" It seemed Kaori had finally snapped. Hajime tried to explain that it was all a misunderstanding, but Kaori wouldn't let him go. He couldn't understand where she was getting such strength from.

"Calm down, Kaori! There's no way that girl could actually be his kid!" Shizuku tried to pull Kaori off Hajime, but to no avail.

The people in the streets started whispering to each other.

"What's that? A lover's quarrel?"

"It looks like he went and got another girl pregnant even though he already has a lover?"

"More than just one girl, too."

"Did he get all five of them pregnant?"

"I've heard that he has a whole harem of girls, and got ten of them pregnant."

"I guess he was hiding it all from his wife."

"Yeah... And it looks like she just found out."

"A harem huh...? I'm jealous."

"What a guy... Lucky bastards like him should all go die."

The rumors were exaggerated at breakneck speed, and in the span of a few minutes Hajime had become a married man with a harem of ten pregnant girls on the side. Still being rattled back and forth by Kaori, Hajime looked up to the sky and sighed. Myu looked up at him in confusion, and he gently patted her head.

Face bright red, Kaori buried herself in Shizuku's arms. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Once she'd finally calmed down enough to think things through rationally, Kaori had realized just how embarrassing the things she'd said were. Shizuku looked more like Kaori's mom than anything as she comforted her.

Hajime and the others had moved from the labyrinth entrance to a square near the town's edge. Rumors had already begun to fly about how Hajime was a man amongst men, but also a scumbag cheater. Hajime had already finished reporting his success to branch chief Loa, and was in a hurry to get out of this town. He'd only stopped here to deliver Ilwa's letter, and there were no supplies he needed to replenish at the moment, so there was no problem with leaving right away.

The reason Kouki and the other students had followed Hajime to the edge of town was because Kaori had chased after him. She was still embarrassed at her earlier outburst, but she also knew she had to make a decision soon.Whether to travel with Hajime, or let him go for good. Traveling with him was what she wanted. After all, she'd finally managed to reunite with him, so she definitely didn't want to let him go again.

Still, she hesitated. She'd feel guilty for leaving Kouki's party. And more than anything, she was still shaken by how different Hajime was. Worse, Yue had seen through just how shaken she was.

Kaori could tell Yue cared a great deal for Hajime as well.

What stung the most, though, was that Hajime loved Yue as well. They seemed so perfectly in sync. And when Yue had sneered at her, Kaori had begun doubting the depths of her own affection.

Maybe she really did care less for Hajime than Yue did. Maybe if she confessed to him now he'd only see it as a bother. Was she even willing to accept Hajime as he was now? Was she actually just pining for the old Hajime?

In short, Kaori had been overwhelmed by Yue's overbearing presence. The fact that Yue possessed strength that rivaled Hajime's own only added to her intimidation.

Kaori had lost her confidence that she could beat Yue, both as a mage, and even in the depth of her feelings for Hajime. That was why she'd been unable to make a decision. And now, Hajime was about to leave. However, before he could step out of the gates, he was stopped. Kaori looked up to see around ten men blocking their path.

"Hey brat, where do you think you're going? You really think we'll let you go after you beat up one of our buddies!?" The scruffy-looking men were all glaring at Tio. They were friends of the kidnapper Tio had dealt with, coming to avenge their comrade. Though judging from their ogling stares, they were motivated more by lust.

Hajime was getting tired of all these petty thugs picking a fight with him. The thugs interpreted his silence as fear, and they grew even bolder.

Their gazes slid over to Yue and Shea. Disgusted by the men's gazes, Yue and Shea slunk back behind Hajime. Once again, the men misinterpreted their actions and thought they must've be scared, so they began threatening Hajime.

"Brat, you better not be thinking of doing anything stupid. If you don't wanna die, leave the women and scram. Don't worry, we'll give them back after they've apologized properly."

"Though they'll probably be broken by then."

The men all laughed. Unfortunately for them, the moment they'd turned their fangs on Hajime, their fate had been decided.

As always, his Intimidation exerted a pressure so strong it could be felt physically. Enraged, Kouki had stepped forward to punish the men, but he found himself assailed by the same pressure as the thugs. His vision went blurry, and he fell to his knees.

Hajime stepped forward, and the thugs realized too late that they'd picked a fight with the wrong guy. They hurriedly tried to apologize, but the pressure on them was so strong that they couldn't even open their mouths. They fell to the ground, struggling futilely to move.

Hajime didn't feel like listening to their bleating any longer. Anyone who scared Myu deserved a fate worse than death.

Hajime eased the pressure enough that they could struggle to their knees. Then, he went to each one and shot them in the balls.

Kouki and the others were so shocked by his ruthlessness that they backpedaled away from him. The guys all covered their crotches in sympathy.

Once he was done, Yue and the others walked up to him.

"No mercy as always. I was right to make you my master. I may not be a man, but even I winced watching that."

"You looked even madder than usual this time. You're really too overprotective of Myu, you know that?"

"Mmm. That wasn't the only reason... He was mad for our sake too."

"Eh!? Does that include me too? Ehehe, Oh Hajime-san... But thanks~"

"You always see right through me, Yue."

"Yeah. Because I'm always watching you."

"Yue..."

In the end, the usual pattern of the two of them flirting, Shea breaking it up, Myu trying to get Hajime's attention, and Tio getting herself beat up for something stupid happened again. Whenever Hajime was around, the dynamic between the five of them always ended up like that.

Kaori watched the spectacle from the sidelines.

That scene earlier had firmly impressed onto her that Hajime didn't hesitate to resort to violence. At a glance, it seemed as if his old kindness had all but vanished.

But when Kaori thought about the reason behind his actions, she saw things from a different perspective. He'd done it to protect the smiling girls around him.

Was it possible for a truly unkind person to be surrounded by such smiles? Even that little girl adored Hajime like a father. Besides, wasn't the reason Hajime had come back in the first place so that he could let Kaori know he was alive? She'd been too shocked by his transformation to notice at the time, but he'd come back thinking of her. Plus, even if he'd come mainly for her, he still hadn't abandoned the other students. He'd saved Meld's life too, using his valuable medicine.

And so, after watching them for a while, Kaori finally realized the truth. The reason Hajime didn't hesitate to use violence was because he knew he needed it to protect the things important to him. Naturally, his own life was included in that, but it wasn't the only thing that mattered. The girls smiling next to him were proof of that.

For the first time, Kaori tried to think about what he must have gone through. His hair had turned white. He'd lost his right eye and left arm. There was no doubt that he must have suffered more than she could ever imagine. His body and soul must have been pushed close to the breaking point many times. In fact, they may have been pushed past that. This new him was likely a result of that. Still, despite everything that had happened to him, Hajime was able to make others smile.

The fog that had settled around Kaori's heart lifted. Everything began to click. She couldn't believe she'd been so blind. The man standing in front of her was Hajime. He was the very same Hajime she'd fallen in love with. The boy who'd been berated as worthless and cast into the abyss, only to crawl out with his own strength to come back and save her.

Sure, some of him had changed, but just as much of him hadn't. And that was only natural. All people changed with the passage of time, with new experiences and new meetings. What reason did she have to be afraid of him? What reason did she have to lose faith in him? Most of all, what reason did she have to lose faith in her own judgment?

If there was a new side that she didn't know, she just had to spend time with him and get to know it. Hadn't she spent all her time in high school doing the same?

There was no way she was going to lose to Yue in the depth of her feelings for him. She'd be part of that smiling group too. She wouldn't let Yue laugh at her any longer. Determination welled up within Kaori. Shizuku smiled as she saw the resolve in her best friend's eyes. Kaori straightened her back, then nodded gratefully to Shizuku. It was time for her to step forward into a new battlefield. A battlefield of love. Hajime looked back and spotted Kaori coming toward him. He thought she was simply coming to see him off, but Yue stared at her warily. Shea watched on with great interest, while Tio mused her thoughts.

"Hoho, this will be quite the spectacle."

His companions' reactions alerted Hajime to the fact that this was no mere send-off. He suddenly had a bad feeling about the whole situation.

"Hajime-kun, can I also join your party...? Rather, I'm coming no matter what you say. Thanks for having me."

"...What?" Hajime was surprised by the fire in her voice. She hadn't started with a request, but a demand. For a moment, he wasn't sure how to respond. Yue stepped forward, answering in his place.

"You don't have the right."

"Why not? Do you have to love Hajime-kun to join? If so, my feelings won't lose to anyone."

Kaori didn't falter. Yue frowned. The two of them stared each other down. It felt as if a raging inferno blazed between them. Yue realized Kaori would probably be the strongest rival she would ever face.

She could see the determination in Kaori's eyes. After a few seconds, Kaori turned away and looked at Hajime. The determination was still there, but now it was accompanied by something more.

She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath. Her cheeks were red. She took another deep breath. This was the moment of truth. It was finally time to say the words she'd wanted to the first time she'd seen him kneeling in front of those thugs way back in Japan.

Her voice trembled a little, but it carried clearly.

"I love you, Hajime-kun."

"Shirasaki..." Seeing her determination, Hajime felt he had to respond truthfully.

"Sorry, but there's already someone I'm in love with, so I can't respond to your feelings. That's why you can't come with us."

Kaori bit her lip and hung her head. However, after a few seconds, she found her determination again. Holding back tears, she looked up at Hajime and nodded.

Behind her, the other students groaned in despair, but she paid them no mind. She'd already decided on her course of action.

"I know. It's Yue-san, right?"

"Yeah, so..."

"But that's not a reason to refuse to let me come with you."

"What?"

"After all, Shea-san and Tio-san are in love with you too. Shea-san especially, it seems. Am I wrong?"

"That's..."

"They know you're in love with someone else, but you still let them join you. So tell me, why is it any different here? After all... my feelings for you are stronger than anyone else's." Kaori looked back at Yue as she said that, the fire burning bright in her eyes. She wouldn't let Yue laugh at her any longer. This was her declaration of war. She would steal the spot of Hajime's most beloved person for herself.

Yue's lips curled up into a rare smile. It seemed Kaori would be a worthy rival after all.

"Fine, you can come. I'll show you just how huge the gap is between us."

"My name's not 'you.' Call me Kaori."

"Then you can just call me Yue. I'll accept your challenge, Kaori."

"Fufu. Very well, Yue. Don't come crying to me when you lose, though."

"Fufufufufufu."

"Ahahahahahaha."

The two of them were lost in their own world. Even though he was the one who'd been confessed to, Hajime felt as if he was suddenly left out. The decision to let her join had been made without even consulting him. Myu and Shea hugged each other and fearfully watched the two girls verbally duke it out.

"H-Hajime-san, is there something wrong with my eyes? I can see dark thunderclouds forming behind Yue-san. There's a dragon there, too!"

"No, you're seeing right. I'm pretty sure there's a sword-wielding demon standing behind Shirasaki too."

"Daddy! Onee-chan's scaring me!"

"Haaah... Haaah, my body's tingling just imagining what it would feel like... to have that scorn directed at me."

Kaori and Yue had both brought out their stands and were staring each other down. Were those two always like this? Hajime wanted to break them up, but he was worried about what they'd do to him if he tried. And so, he just stood there, Myu and Shea clinging to him. Wise men knew when to hold their tongues.

Sadly, the resident hero was no wise man. As always, Kouki felt he needed to interject.

"W-Wait! I don't understand. You love Nagumo? You're going to go with him? What? What's happening? Where did this all come from? Nagumo, what did you do to Kaori!?"

"The hell, dude?"

Kouki couldn't seem to accept that Kaori actually liked Hajime. Dense as he was, this seemed to come out of nowhere. That was why he assumed Hajime must have done something to her. Hajime was amazed at just how clueless Kouki could be. He'd known it was bad, but this was on an entirely different level.

He was about to pull his sword out when Shizuku stopped him. She rubbed her temples in exasperation and tried to explain things in a way Kouki could understand.

"Kouki. Do you honestly believe Hajime would do something like that? Think about it calmly. You may have been too dumb to notice it, but Kaori's been in love with Hajime for a long time. Since we were in Japan, in fact.Why do you think she always talked to him?"

"Shizuku... What are you saying? That's just because Kaori's kind. She just felt bad because Nagumo was always alone, right? How could she possibly have been in love with that lazy, uncooperative otaku?"

While Hajime couldn't deny any of those allegations, they were still annoying to hear.

Noticing the commotion, Kaori finally broke eye contact with Yue. She turned to face her fellow classmates. It was best if they heard it from her own mouth.

"Kouki-kun, everyone, I'm sorry. I know it's selfish of me to leave like this, but... I want to go with Hajime-kun, so I'll be leaving the party. I'm truly sorry." She bowed. Suzu, Eri, Tsuji, and Yoshino all cheered her on. They'd realized for a while now, and they had no problem with it. Nagayama, Endou,and Nomura had all known for a while too. While it was regretful she'd be leaving them, it wasn't unexpected, so they sent her off with smiles.

However, Kouki still refused to accept it.

"You're joking, right? This doesn't make any sense. You've always been with me, Kaori... Why would you want to leave now? You're my childhood friend... so... you have to stay with me. Isn't that right?"

"Umm... Kouki-kun. We might be childhood friends, but... that's no reason for me to stay with you all the time. I'm not sure why you think that's even a factor, really..."

"Give it up, Kouki. Kaori isn't your possession, and it isn't for you to decide what she does with her life."

After being ganged up on by the two girls, Kouki finally fell silent. He turned to face Hajime.

He wasn't even paying attention to them. He was busy dealing with the rest of the girls in his harem. Kouki's eyes narrowed in anger. The thought of Kaori joining that harem filled him with jealousy. It was a feeling he'd never experienced before. He tried one last-ditch attempt to convince Kaori to give up.

"Kaori. You can't go with Nagumo. I'm saying this for your own good. Look at him. He has girls all around him, and he's even got a daughter now... Worst of all, he's put a slave collar on that rabbit girl. And that black-haired girl called Nagumo her master earlier. He's probably forcing them to come with him. Nagumo probably thinks girls are nothing more than objects to add to his collection. He's scum. Look at how easily he kills people. And even though he's so strong, he's refusing to help us, his comrades. Going with him will only bring you misfortune. It's better if you stay with us. No, I'll make sure you stay with us. Even if you hate me for it, it's for your own good. I won't let you go, no matter what!"

The other students stared at Kouki in shock. They'd never seen him act like this. Still, now that he'd gotten himself fired up, it was too late to stop him. He turned to the other girls around Hajime, then started lecturing them as well.

"You girls as well. You shouldn't stay with him. Come with me! Our party would love to have people as strong as you. We can save the human race together. You said your name was Shea, right? Don't worry. If you come with me, I'll free you right away. We don't keep slaves here. You too, Tio. You won't have to call Nagumo your master any longer."

He flashed them his most handsome smile and held out his hand. Shizuku just slapped her forehead and stared at the sky, while Kaori was so dumbfounded she couldn't speak. Yue, Shea, and Tio just stared at Kouki.

"..."

There were no words that could express their feelings. They awkwardly turned away from Kouki and rubbed their arms. Upon close inspection, one could see there were goosebumps all over them. Kouki's statement had been so sickeningly off the mark that it had mentally scarred them. "This is not the kind of pain I like..." Tio muttered softly to herself.

Seeing them clearly ignoring his invitation, Kouki's smile stiffened. Not only were they unwilling to meet his gaze, they'd even retreated behind Hajime for safety.

Kouki's shock slowly transformed into anger. He recklessly drew his sword and glared at Hajime... before thrusting it into the ground. He pointed at Hajime and declared his intent for all to hear.

"Hajime Nagumo! Duel me! No weapons! If I win, you have to promise to never get near Kaori again! And to release those girls you're holding captive!"

"Oh god. This is so cringe. I can't watch this anymore."

"Stop mumbling! Are you a man or not!?"

The reason he'd challenged Hajime to a bare-handed duel was because he knew his sword could never match up to Hajime's guns. Yue, Shea, Tio, and even Kaori stepped away from Kouki. His actions had done nothing to impress them.

Still, Kouki had convinced himself of the righteousness of his cause. He fully believed he was saving his childhood friend, as well as those poor girls, from Hajime's clutches. His jealousy, combined with his straightforward attitude, had mixed together to form a disastrous combination. There was no going back for him now. And so, without even waiting for Hajime's reply, he charged.

Sighing, Hajime took a few steps back. Thinking he was scared to fight bare-handed, Kouki doubled down and charged faster. He was just a few steps away now. Hajime's arms were still at his side, and he hadn't taken any kind of stance. Certain of his victory, Kouki threw a punch with all the momentum of his run-up behind it. Just then—

"Ah!?"

Kouki vanished. Or rather, he fell. But he fell so fast it looked as if he'd disappeared. He'd fallen into a pitfall. When Hajime had taken his first steps back, he'd transmuted a pitfall where he'd been standing. He'd infused his shoes with the same transmutation magic circles on his gloves, which was why he hadn't needed to bend down.

Once Kouki fell through, Hajime transmuted the floor back to its original shape. A muffled explosion shook the earth. As an afterthought, Hajime had chucked a flashbang grenade, a tear gas grenade, a noise grenade, and a paralysis grenade down the hole as well. Nothing fatal, obviously.

Chances were, Kouki had been hit with them all as he was trying to claw his way out of the hole. Each of his senses had been momentarily destroyed, and the paralysis grenade prevented him from even writhing around in pain.

Hajime then transmuted a small breathing hole near his head, so he didn't suffocate to death.

All of this he'd done so fast it looked like he hadn't moved at all. To the onlookers, it seemed as if Kouki had fallen of his own accord. In a way, it seemed almost pitiable.

"Hey, Yaegashi. He's still alive, so you can dig him up later if you want."

"There's a lot I want to say about what just happened but... okay."

Even when they'd been in Japan, it had been an implicit rule that Shizuku had to clean up after Kouki and Ryutarou's messes. Shizuku sighed, lamenting the job she'd been saddled with.

Finally, Hajime was ready to depart for real. Only to be interrupted again.

This time, by Hiyama. According to him, their party wouldn't last without Kaori's support. He was apparently worried there might be casualties if she left, so he also tried to convince her to stay. He argued his case passionately. Everything he'd been working for was about to slip through his fingers... And his expression made it clear that was what he was really thinking.

Hiyama and his gang knew Kaori was too stubborn to change her mind, so they instead focused on Hajime. They pleaded with him to rejoin the group. Spouting bullshit like, "We're sorry for what we did in the past so please come back."

Everyone, including the other students, knew Hiyama wasn't one bit sorry for what he did. Even they found it disgusting how shamelessly he tried to butter up Hajime. Hajime looked at Hiyama properly for the first time since he'd seen him again. There was a madness in his eyes that hadn't been there before. The prospect of Kaori leaving had really rattled him.

Hajime decided now was as good a time as any to learn the truth of what had happened the day he fell. He figured he may as well get his questions out of the way before Shizuku started tearing into him. And so, he smiled sardonically and asked Hiyama the top question on his mind.

"Hey, Hiyama. Have you gotten better at using fire magic?"

"Huh?" Hiyama was caught off-guard by the sudden question. His face paled as what Hajime was trying to ask slowly dawned on him.

"Wh-What are you talking about? I'm part of the vanguard... And the element I have the highest affinity with is wind."

"Huh. And here I thought it was fire."

"I-It's not. Why does it matter, anyway..."

"Well, you must like fire a lot still. Fireballs specifically. Remember throwing any recently?"

"..." Hiyama was as white as a sheet. His reaction all but confirmed Hajime's suspicions. And judging by how distraught he seemed at Kaori's departure, Hajime could guess his motives, too. Hajime was amazed Hiyama hadn't assaulted her already.

At this point, he really didn't care about getting revenge anymore. If Hiyama insisted on making himself Hajime's enemy, he'd kill Hiyama without hesitation. Otherwise, though, Hajime would just leave him alone. To Hajime, Hiyama wasn't even worth the trouble killing him would bring. Hiyama's very existence itself was worth less than nothing in his mind.

Hajime distanced himself from Hiyama and addressed him, along with the rest of his group.

"I don't want your apologies, and I don't care about what happened in the past. As far as I'm concerned, you guys are worthless. The same goes for anything you have to say. If you understand, then get out of my sight! You're all eyesores!"

Kondou and the others bristled at Hajime's attitude, but Hiyama understood what was behind that knowing grin of his. He nodded silently, then told his cronies to back down. Hiyama knew that Hajime knew. If he wanted to stay alive, his only option was to obey Hajime's commands.

Kondou and the others were surprised by Hiyama's uncharacteristic obedience, but his serious tone brooked no argument, so they reluctantly gave up on persuading Hajime.

At last, there was nothing else to take care of. Kaori had gone back to grab her things from the inn, which was the last thing Hajime was waiting on before he left. Hiyama and the others had offered to go with her, but Hajime had put a stop to that. While Ryutarou was digging Kouki out, Shizuku walked up to Hajime.

"Umm... Sorry. For everything, I mean. Also, thanks again. Both for saving us, and for coming to see Kaori." Hajime chuckled to himself. She tilted her head in confusion.

"What's so funny?" Shizuku asked.

"Ah, sorry. It's just, it feels like you haven't changed at all. Even when we were in Japan, you'd always be coming up to me to apologize and say thanks. And now you're doing the same thing here... You should really look after yourself more too, or those wrinkles on your forehead will become permanent."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Anyway, you seem to have changed quite a bit yourself. I can't imagine the old you having so many girls hanging around him... and a daughter to boot..."

"I'm only in love with one of them, though..."

"I know it's not my place to say this, and I know it's selfish of me to ask, but... try to look after Kaori too, okay? Please."

"..." Hajime had no reply. Seeing as he had no intention of returning her feelings, he honestly didn't even want to bring her along. Yue had made the decision regardless, of course. He couldn't fathom why his girlfriend, of all people, was okay with all these other girls openly vying for his affection. Still, he put those thoughts to the side and looked off into the distance.

Realizing he was trying to ignore her, Shizuku pulled out her trump card. She wasn't going to hand her best friend over to Hajime without some guarantees.

"You better promise me, or else... I'll make life miserable for you."

"Miserable? How would you—"

"What do you think of Alabaster Executioner?"

"Huh?"

"Or wait, how about something more overt? Devastator: Lord of all Destruction, maybe?"

"Wait a second, what are you..."

"I've got more. How about Obsidian Tyrant? Or the Crimson Thunder Synergist?"

"D-Don't tell me you..."

At first, Hajime had been confused by the barrage of strange titles, but Shizuku's planning became evident soon enough. He paled in response.

"Fufufu, you know, I'm one of Ehit's chosen warriors, and a member of the hero party. If I wanted to make certain nicknames popular around the world, I could. With my influence, they'd spread like wildfire. So, Nagumo-kun, which do you prefer? The way you look's made it real easy to think up of quite a few. I get the feeling they'd stick, too."

"Wait! Please, wait! How do you even know about every otaku's greatest weakness!?"

"Kaori dragged me around everywhere when she was trying to learn more about you. She spent a lot of time watching anime and reading manga so she had things to talk about you with. And I got roped into doing it with her, so I'd say I'm pretty knowledgeable about these things. I believe in Japan they call people like you chuuni—"

"Stop! Please stop!"

"Oh my, it looks like it's even more effective than I thought... You're surprisingly self-conscious."

"Y-You damn demon..." Hajime fell to his knees, shivering in fear. His dark middle school past was coming back to haunt him. All the memories he'd sealed away flooded through his mind.

"Fufu. So, do you promise to take care of Kaori?"

"..."

"Hmm. Eulogy of Demise: Shotgun Chaos. Disaster of Disasters: Reverse Calamity..."

"O-Okay, okay, I get it! Just stop with the names already!"

"Do you promise to take care of Kaori?"

"...I promise I won't treat her badly, at least."

"That's good enough for me. I'd feel bad about tormenting you any more than this, but... If you ever go back on your word, I swear I'll write a novel about you and spread it everywhere. Both here, and back home in Japan."

"You're the actual last boss, aren't you? You're scarier than everyone else." Hajime cradled his head in his hands and kneeled at Shizuku's feet. Everyone else, Yue and the others included, trembled in awe. Shizuku had brought the almighty Hajime low with words alone.

While Hajime was struggling with the traumas of his past, Kaori jogged back into view. Her eyes went wide in surprise when she saw Hajime on his knees before Shizuku.

Interested in this terrifying girl, Yue asked Kaori about her. After getting a basic description of Shizuku, and explaining to Kaori what had happened, Yue lapsed into thought. Kaori looked from Shizuku to Hajime and muttered her thoughts.

"Come to think of it, the two of them often talked about something in secret back in Japan..."

Both of them came to the same conclusion. It was possible Shizuku was the last boss they'd have to face in the battle for Hajime's affections, too.

With new questions to ponder, Yue and Kaori got ready to depart. Shizuku, Suzu, the rest of the girls, Nagayama, his companions, and Meld all came to see Hajime off at the town gate.

Still not completely over the shock of Hajime's survival, and his subsequent transformation, everyone awkwardly wished Hajime safe travels and thanked him again for saving them.

Still, today's surprises weren't over. Their jaws dropped open again when Hajime pulled Brise seemingly out of thin air.

Shizuku and Kaori held each other's hands. Out of all of them, Shizuku was the one Kaori would miss most. Thinking this was a good opportunity, Hajime pulled a sword out of his Treasure Trove and presented it to Shizuku.

"What's this?"

"You lost your old sword, right? I'm giving you a new one. You have it hard enough as it is, and I'm taking your support away from you. Plus, you helped me out a lot back when we were in Japan."

Shizuku accepted the sword and carefully pulled it out of its jet-black sheath. The blade, too, was jet-black. In fact, it was so dark that it seemed to suck the light out of its surroundings. There was no markings on the hilt, and the blade had a slight curve to it. The whole thing was double-edged. It had a striking resemblance to one of Japan's most famous swords, the Kogarasu Maru. Hajime wasn't very well versed in Japanese blades, but he'd had a lot of practice making the Haulia clan's weapons. He'd used his extensive transmutation experience to cover for any deficiencies and used the manga he'd read as a reference for the basic framework.

"It's made from a compressed sheet of the hardest ore in existence, so I can guarantee it'll never break. Even an amateur could cut through steel with this. As for maintenance... Well, you know swords better than me, Yaegashi."

"This is amazing... I guess you're still a Synergist at heart. Thank you. I'll gladly accept it."

Shizuku gave the sword an experimental swing. It effortlessly sliced through the air. She smiled and thanked Hajime. Shizuku had learned all of her sword techniques with a Japanese sword, so she'd had a hard time adapting to the swords of this world. That was why she was so happy to obtain a proper katana.

"So she's the last boss?"

"Shizuku-chan..."

"Huh? What is it? Why are you two looking at me like that?"

Yue watched Shizuku with a guarded expression, while Kaori seemed at a loss for what to say. They left the town of Horaud, Shizuku's question left unanswered.

The weather was perfect. Their destination was the Gruen Desert. Within it was one of the Seven Great Labyrinths they needed to conquer, the Grand Gruen Volcano. This miraculous reunion had ended with Hajime adding a new comrade to his ranks.