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Chapter I: Detour Compilation 

The Liberators’ Game 

“Flame master on 12-4 attack the swordsman on 8-6. Flame spear, magical attack, fire element.” 
“Hmm...” 
Within the depths of the Great Orcus Labyrinth, inside Oscar Orcus’ private room, a young boy smiled triumphantly while the girl next to him sunk deep into thought. Her voice was oddly seductive. The two people were, of course, Hajime Nagumo and Yue. The two of them were sitting on sofas across from each other, with a transparent table laid out between them. There was a square metallic board on the table, and around 64 pieces laid out on various parts of it. They were enjoying a game of otherworldly chess before bed. 
As one might have guessed from the different number of pieces, the rules were slightly different. For one, there were 256 squares on the board. For another, the board was split up into various terrains such as mountains, rivers, forests, hills, plains, and the like, and the pieces were categorized either as magical or physical fighters. Each piece could learn various skills, and the damage they dealt with each attack depended on the skill and element. Players also had to keep track of various resources such as mana. 
The most fascinating aspect was that thanks to some magical contraption, the pieces all played out their actions. Even now, Hajime, who was still a beginner at the game, marveled at how his flame master fired a mini-spark at Yue’s soldier, who then doubled up in pain screaming, “H-How can this be!” before collapsing. In response, one of Yue’s mages moved all on its own to carry the defeated piece off the board while screaming, “So this is how your side does things, huh!?” 
“I’ve been wondering, but is there any way to take off these little cutscene type things?” 
“...If you can’t do it, Hajime, I don’t think anyone left alive can. This is probably the joint work of all the skilled Liberators.” 
It certainly was impressive. A colossal waste of skill, but impressive nonetheless. Hajime’s impression of the Liberators had changed a little when he’d found this. 
Now that it was Yue’s turn, she sent her knight charging forward to cut down Hajime’s flame master. The knight made a splendid show of spearing the flame master on his lance, crushing him to pieces. A few seconds later, the destroyed pieces of the flame master regenerated and he cheerfully walked himself off the board. 
When his flame master was destroyed, Hajime flinched a little. Not because he was sad at losing a piece, but because there was one other interesting feature built into this version of chess called Pain Trace. Each of the two players would register their mana on the game board beforehand, and whenever one player lost a piece, they’d suffer a small static shock. 
“Assassin to 13-9. Attack the enemy crusader. Slash, skill, increased critical.” 
“Nhaah.” 
Hajime’s assassin snuck up behind Yue’s crusader and mercilessly beheaded it. As the crusader’s head rolled to the ground, Yue’s queen cried out in despair. 
“My dear knight!” 
Next to her, the king bore down on her in an accusatory tone. 
“What? My dear knight? And just what did you mean by that, huh dear?” And so, the queen’s adultery was exposed. 
After a few more turns it was discovered that the king had his own bastard son, and the mother was none other than the other side’s queen. Jealous, Yue’s queen had an affair with her court magician, but then later on it was discovered the court magician had a secret lover of his own, and that he was a man, and that man was none other than Hajime’s army’s court magician. Love blossomed between them, and the whole royal family got involved. Honestly, it felt more like a drama than a chess match. 
“Yue, how come you moan like that every time you lose a piece? It’s not that painful, is it?” 
“...You just keep attacking all of my weak points, Hajime.” 
“Liar. There’s no such... No, wait. For some reason today the shock’s always been focused on my—” 
“Fufufu, that was all my doing. I turned on the feature that probes the player’s subconscious and stimulates the one place they feel it the most. I found out about it in the user’s manual. By the way, you can control the voltage output too, and I set it to max today.” 
Hajime suddenly shivered. The user’s manual was 500 pages long, so he hadn’t had the patience to read more than a few of them. He wasn’t sure if she just read through the whole thing, or if she found all the features she wanted by accident, but Yue now had an advantage over him. 
But what was truly frightening was that every time he lost a piece, Hajime could feel his family jewels tingle. S-So that’s what she was after. Thanks to his resistances, the shocks had been mostly mitigated, but with how seductively Yue was moaning every time she lost a piece, it was only a matter of time before his little man decided to poke its head out. No matter how superior his army was, he wouldn’t be able to win at this rate. Thus, Hajime raised his voice, eager to end this as quickly as possible. 
“Earth master to 16-7. Line attack from 16-8 to 16-10. Rock slide, magical attack, earth element, advanced skill.” 
He was sacrificing his ability to move for a few turns by carrying out this AoE attack. As the attack went off, Yue moaned once more, falling limp on the sofa after the shock finally ran its course. She was twitching a little now, and her black one piece shuffled up a little to reveal her bare legs. 
“Sorry, Yue, but I’m taking this one. I can’t afford to lose when my dignity as a man is at stake.” 
“...Mmm, so you’re finally coming at me seriously.” 
Beads of sweat were forming on Yue’s forehead and her cheeks were slightly flushed. After thinking for a moment, she proposed something interesting: 
“If you’re so sure of this game, how about we make a little bet?” 
Hajime warily questioned her for further details, and Yue said that the winner could make any one request they wanted of the loser. Apparently Yue’s request would be that they wear a matching set of clothes one day after they made it back to the surface. 
While the mini-soldiers down below were yelling death threats at each other and waging a violent war for survival, Hajime and Yue were discussing their next date. It felt utterly surreal. It also really broke the tension. For his part, Hajime didn’t want to do something so embarrassing, so he made an audacious move. 
“Queen to 14-5! Activate the queen’s special ability, Ruler’s blessing!” 
He risked sending his strongest piece into the line of fire in order to allow all his nearby pieces to do a coordinated, simultaneous attack. All of his units within a certain amount of tiles began attacking at once! The king’s illegitimate child died during the battle! Yue’s king and Hajime’s queen both lamented his loss greatly, but the battle still raged on! And lastly, Yue’s moans grew louder than ever before! 
That battle ended up becoming the turning point for the game, and eventually Yue was defeated. Yue’s king and Hajime’s queen’s love story continued, and they ended up impaling each other on their swords. Finally, Hajime’s king, who hadn’t spoken a word during the entire play, declared his side’s victory and the game was over. 
Hajime breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wouldn’t be embarrassing himself on the surface anymore. But because Yue was pouting, he ended up compromising anyway and agreed to wear any one outfit she requested of him, improving her mood instantly. So this is what they mean when they say you’ve won the battle, but lost the war. 
As always, Hajime could never win against Yue. 
A Man’s Dream 
“To me, research is whatever I can pour the most of my passion and enthusiasm into.” 
Those were the words written at the beginning of his research notebook. The faded gray binding and peeling yellow pages spoke of the book’s age, while the numerous smudges and ink blots spoke of its extensive use. Such wear and tear spoke just as much about its owner’s passion as the words written down in it. 
Every single page was crammed to the margins with neat, slender handwriting. Research results, hypotheses, experiments; they were all recorded between the dull gray covers. But at the very end was a footnote whose very letters seemed steeped in frustration with the way they were written. It told of how the owner of this notebook had been unable to complete his research. 
“Unfortunately, I was unable to achieve the ideal that I sought. I suspect most of it is that guy’s fault. Actually no, I’m sure of it. It’s all that damn bastard’s fault.” 
Halfway through, the note went from being solemnly written to a grade schooler’s whining. But if one has the forbearance to ignore such childish writing and turn the page, this is how it continues: 
“To whoever ends up finding my notebook, I pray that you, like me, are one who chases after the truth. I leave all of my research behind in the hopes that you will complete what I could not. That you will be able to achieve the ideals I sought. I beg of you, don’t let my research end in vain.” 
A faint, “Hmmm” broke the silence as the boy reading the notebook finished the last sentence. He closed the book with a slight thump and gazed up at the ceiling, lost in thought. 
“Don’t worry, I’ll clear up any lingering regrets you have. I’ll inherit your will and finish what you started.” 
The boy’s whispered mutterings were soon swallowed up by the vast silence of the room, but the determination behind them lingered. From the corner of the room, a pair of lifeless, mechanical eyes quietly watched over the boy. 
Clanking noises echoed throughout the room. Hajime Nagumo was currently engrossed in putting together a plethora of newly crafted mechanical parts. He was sitting in Oscar Orcus’ workshop, located at the very bottom of the Great Orcus Labyrinth. 
Gouts of crimson mana illuminated the room at odd intervals as he continued transmuting. There was a golden-haired beauty sitting next to him, watching the whole spectacle. At the same time, her slender fingers were skillfully sewing something. Said beauty was none other than Yue— the vampire princess Hajime had rescued in the depths of hell. 
While Hajime was busy checking over his new equipment, Yue was putting the finishing touches on their wardrobe. She had sewn them some sturdy travel clothes, some more comfortable everyday wear, and even some more suggestive outfits for their night adventures. Sewing had become like second nature to her after so many days spent practicing. 
“...Perfect, it’s done.” 
Hajime’s satisfied voice echoed throughout the quiet room. Yue stopped what she was doing to look over at him, and saw that he was experimentally flexing his artificial arm. 
“You finished your arm upgrades?” 
“Yeah. I’m gonna give it a test run. Wanna watch?” 
“Okay.” 
The artifact Hajime had created combined his knowledge of modern weaponry with his game sense and the magic of this world to create something truly fearsome. Because it all used knowledge from another world, Yue found each and every one of his inventions to be fascinating. It had been even more exciting recently, as ever since Hajime had finished transmuting all the necessities they’d need for their journey, he’d been spending a long time thinking about what else to add to his arm to make life simpler. 
Hajime made a metallic fist with his hand and thrust it out toward one of the practice targets lying around the workshop. Though it was still a bit rough around the edges, his fist boasted quite a large amount of firepower. 
He grinned playfully as he saw how excited Yue was. 
“Here we go! This is every man’s dream! Rocket punch!” With a low bang, his left fist burst out of its socket and flew toward the target. It left a trail of sparks in its wake as it rocketed forward. Then, with a thunderous crash, the fist pulverized its target. 
Hajime grinned like a little boy and poured mana into his left arm. As if connected by an invisible thread, his hand zoomed back into place. There was a satisfying robotic clunk as it reattached itself to his arm. 
“What do you think?” Hajime asked Yue. He was certain she must have been just as moved as he was. However... 
“...That’s it?” All he received was a somewhat puzzled reply. If anything, she seemed a little disappointed, even. Her indifference left Hajime nearly speechless. 
“Wh-What do you mean, ‘that’s it’? Wasn’t that amazing? I just threw out a rocket punch! It’s the kind of awesome move that one-shots your enemy and then comes flying back to you!” 
“But... your railgun’s stronger.” 
Hajime was left scrambling, trying to explain the appeal of his rocket punch, but he only succeeded in leaving Yue even more confused. Her unintentionally cutting reply left him mentally defeated. 
At a loss for words, Hajime could only stare blankly at Yue for a few minutes before going, “Wait, there’s still more!” and suddenly smiling. 
“It’s true that it doesn’t have much power compared to the railgun, but there’s a huge surprise factor associated with having a fist suddenly come flying at your face.” 
“But the railgun’s faster, too. Wouldn’t it be an even better surprise attack?” 
Another flawless rebuttal. Hajime was swaying unsteadily, but he wasn’t down yet! He refused to abandon his romantic notions of the rocket punch. 
“I-It’ll come in handy in case I ever lose my weapon!” 
“So losing your hand as well counts as coming in handy?” 
“......” 
“Besides, even if you did lose your gun, it’d be faster to use Supersonic Step to get in close and hit them directly with your Steel Arms skill or something.” 
Hajime detached his left hand and threw it to the ground. He then reached into his Treasure Trove and pulled out a different left hand before smiling dangerously at Yue and brandishing his new hand. 
“Fine, Yue. Challenge accepted.” 
“...What? I’m sorry Hajime, I have no idea what you’re saying.” 
“You might be right, the rocket punch might just be a little too weak a weapon for me, though I’m sure for anyone else it would be perfect... but anyway, let me show you my other new weapon. Feel free to faint in awe at any time.” 
“...Umm, I still don’t—” 
Yue was only getting more confused by Hajime’s nonsensical declarations. But for the sake of a man’s dream, he couldn’t back down. He started pouring mana into his arm, and his hand started glowing a hot red. His fist was burning bright with the heat of a man’s dreams. This was his second new weapon. 
“Heat knuckle!” Hajime’s expression was as dazzling as his blazing fist. However... 
“Umm... so what else does it do?” For some reason, Yue was asking for more. She was scratching her cheek awkwardly, and it was clear her soul had not been in the least bit moved by Hajime’s stunning display. 
Hajime’s smile stiffened a little. 
“...Okay, so see here, Yue. This is a fist that can melt literally anything it touches. Isn’t it cool?” 
“...Why melt them when you can just kill them?” 
A very apt question. Hajime’s brute strength and skills would be more than enough to annihilate most enemies. There was no need to add insult to injury and melt the opponent too. In fact, his vibration cannon and railgun were already strong enough. That was why most of his previous additions to his arm had been developed with convenience in mind more than anything else. 
However, somewhere along the way he had let his boyish dreams get the better of him, and had started adding these useless features. Now he had to stare down Yue and prove their worth. Hajime turned off his heat knuckle and put both hands on Yue’s slender shoulders. 
“Think about it, Yue. What if we have to fight something that resists physical attacks really well, like that scorpion from before? If I have this, just touching it will still cause it damage. Or if we somehow get trapped inside a dungeon somewhere, this’ll help us quickly dig our way out.” 
“...Okay.” 
Yue could feel the passionate fervor in Hajime’s voice. But still, she thought to herself, Couldn’t you just use Lightning Field or Transmutation or something to get us out of those situations anyway? 
She didn’t say it aloud this time though, realizing it must have been important to him somehow. And because she loved him, Yue smiled awkwardly and tried to reassure Hajime’s flagging confidence. 
“...Y-Yeah it’s pretty cool.” 
“......” 
Hajime wordlessly took off this hand too, then threw it to the ground. Clearly, he wasn’t looking for sympathy. Undaunted, he pulled yet another hand out of his Treasure Trove. He gave Yue a smile that screamed, “This one’ll knock your socks off for sure!” and activated it. This hand turned his arm into a drill. 
“Behold, Yue, my final form! Everything you saw before was nothing more than the prelude. Be swept away in a torrent of emotion as you regale my final arm!” 
His speech was getting more and more cringeworthy by the second, though he wasn’t aware of it himself. He then poured mana into his arm, activating the third of his “real men’s weapons” series— 
“This is the power of my transforming drill!” 
He looked over at Yue triumphantly while his drill-arm began spinning. This time for sure, she has to be impressed. Or so he thought. 
“...Yeah. It’s cool. It’s okay, you can stop now.” 
“......” There was an almost cruel kindness in Yue’s eyes as she gently told Hajime it was okay. 
As far as Yue was concerned, all of his new items seemed pointless. That being said, there was no telling what the future had in store for them, so maybe even useless looking things might have some value later down the road. Surely their time to shine would come eventually. Deep inside her heart, Yue hoped it would, for Hajime’s sake if nothing else. 
However, Yue’s pity only served to put cracks in Hajime’s pure heart. Don’t tell me I’m actually becoming some kind of delusional idiot? 
No matter what the truth was, a bullet, once fired, could never be taken back. Half desperate, he started taking out all the other arms he’d developed. Among them were a dragon-shaped hand, one that fired water blasts from its fingers, and even one that transformed his left arm into Squall’s gunblade. But the only reaction any of those ever elicited from Yue was a pitying smile. 
Finally, Hajime crumbled into a sobbing heap, and Yue simply sat there patting his head, saying, “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She comforted him until he finally regained his senses. 
Just what, exactly, she had meant by “It’s okay” was something he didn’t want to think too deeply about.


It was late at night. There was a single figure working in the darkness, inside a hidden room whose entrance was covered by a shelf. 
“It’s finally done,” Hajime muttered softly. Sitting before him was a silver-haired girl. One could tell with just a glance that she wasn’t human. Where her ears would have been were instead metal rectangles that kind of resembled antennas. 
Her hard, metallic eyes bore no signs of sentience, either. That was only natural though, as she was a cleaning golem Oscar had made long ago. 
However, her features were still quite human. She had on a navy blue one-piece dress and a pure white apron. There was a headdress adorning her hair as well. In a word, she was a maid. 
“Oscar. It was because you dreamed of making her real that you strayed so far from reality. That was your mistake. However, I have the knowledge granted to me by the 2D world. By making her somewhat unrealistic, she grows closer to the ideal... This is the answer you sought after for so long!” 
Hajime whispered to himself triumphantly. Anyone who had seen him at that moment would have been pretty creeped out by him. However, his passion for this maid golem was real. When he had first discovered Oscar’s notebook and this golem, he had decided to inherit Oscar’s pure spirit of inquiry and complete what Oscar had begun. He had worked on her late into every night, making sure Yue didn’t find out. He surely deserved a few moments to admire his own craftsmanship after all the hardships he went through to complete her. 
However, as he was basking in his own handiwork— 
“...Found you, Hajime.” 
Light filled the room as he heard a familiar voice call his name. He jumped with a start, then stiffly turned to look back at Yue. 
“Y-Yue... what are you doing here? I could have sworn I felt your presence in the bedroom still.” 
“I was wondering where you were going every night. Not only did you sneak away using Hide Presence, you even left behind an artifact that faked your presence, too. I didn’t think there’d be a secret room here... but fortunately this artifact helped me find you.” 
“So you used my own artifact against me.” 
Hajime ground his teeth, angry at his own carelessness. In the meantime, Yue gazed silently at the maid golem. Hajime gulped guiltily. He felt like a husband caught cheating on his wife. 
“Hajime, if you liked maid uniforms you just had to tell me.” There was a little jealousy in her tone. It seemed she really was jealous of this inanimate golem. However, it wasn’t what she was thinking. In order to clear up the misunderstanding, Hajime began explaining himself. 
“Yue, allow me to explain. I don’t actually have a thing for maid uniforms. This is about art.” 
“...Art?” 
“Correct. A maid that’s also a golem. In other words, a golem maid is every man’s dream. Those two factors combined are what make it art. Just a maid or just a golem are nothing on their own. While they may have a certain appeal, only when put together as a golem maid do they become a true object of worship for men worldwide.” 
As he spoke, Hajime grew more and more heated with his words. Yue listened to it all seriously and nodded knowingly once he’d finished. “I understand,” was all she said. Hajime let out a relieved smile, but then an instant later a blazing fireball flew past his cheek. 
There was a thunderous explosion, and Hajime quickly turned around to see his precious golem maid burned to ashes. 
“H-How could you...” 
Hajime crumbled to his knees as he gazed upon the charred husk of what had once been a golem maid. Then he turned to Yue, who had started casually walking away, and asked in a voice full of sadness, “Yue, why? Why would you do that? What did that poor golem ever do to you?” 
“You’ve been acting weird recently, Hajime. You needed a little traini— Ahem, I mean lesson.” 
It was true that Hajime’s obsessions with things that were “every man’s dream” was starting to get a bit excessive. It might have been brought on in part due to the dead end he’d hit in regards to his transmutation, but if he didn’t drag himself back to reality, he’d be stuck in a fantasy land forever. The fact that he was actually sad at the destruction of an inanimate golem was proof enough that he was already almost too far gone. 
Having the girl he loved tell him “you’ve been acting weird” to his face brought him back to his senses, though. Meanwhile, Yue picked up one of the maid uniforms lying around and brought it up to see if it would fit. She did a little twirl and licked her lips seductively as she looked at Hajime. Her sex drive was in full throttle. 
Her next words blew away whatever might have survived of Hajime’s reason. 
“Shall I teach you just how much better a real maid is than a mechanical one, Master?” 
“......” Cold sweat ran down his forehead. 
For hours later, Hajime’s screams could be heard echoing throughout the bottom of hell. Thanks to the loving embrace of Yue, Hajime was able to return from the depths of his delusions. 
A Nightmare in the Abyss 
Two people were standing around, facing each other in a vast hall that looked like a grand temple. One of them was wearing flowing silvery robes with matching silver hair, and had in their hand a silver sword to match. The other was dressed in all black, had an eyepatch, and a prosthetic arm. The black-clothed figure had a revolver in their hands. 
“I congratulate you on making it this far, Madness Parade of the Crimson Fang. Or would you prefer I call you Chaos Disaster?” 
“Hmph, call me what you will. That name is naught but what others have heaped upon me. Though I am willing to admit my capacity for destruction rivals such a moniker. You shall meet your demise here, God of Origin. Or would you too prefer to be called by your more commonplace name, Chaos of Darkness?” 
—Holy crap, why do these names sound so nonsensically cringy? 
The black-robed man tore off his eyepatch to reveal a dazzlingly blue eye. 
“Now is the time to awaken, my steel-clad demonic arm!” 
At the same time as he shouted out, the silver-clad figure grew silver wings from their back and their silver sword glowed with a distinctively silver light. 
“Very well. I admire your arrogance. Few so brazenly challenge god. As a reward, I shall engrave eternal suffering into the essence of your very soul!” That was all the silver figure shouted back. 
Oh my god, it just keeps getting worse. 
As their fight began, the black-clad man screamed out an incantation. 
“Oh crimson flash, heed mine call and devour thy foes— Crimson Cutter: Sacrosanct Resonance!” 
The silver-haired man replied in kind, then shouted out one spell. 
“Hmph, pathetic... Return all of creation to the primordial abyss— Karmic Absolution!” 
They continued going back and forth like that for some time, their intense attacks creating a grand battle that would probably be the only one of its kind. 
I can’t take it anymore... Make it stop, please. 
Finally, after the silver-clad man’s third transformation, the black-robed man had awoken to his ultimate true power, and they had unleashed not only both of their trump cards but both of their finishing moves. Then, the black-clad figure let out a resounding cry of victory. He smiled triumphantly, covered from head to toe in wounds no mere mortal could ever hope to withstand... 
“Heh, that was quite the enjoyable fight. In deference to your formidable strength, I shall grant you a gift to take with you to the afterlife. My true name, the name no one else knows... I am the Crimson Flame White Demon’s—” 
Please, just kill me now. Anything, anything to make it stoooooop. 
“Make it stoooooooooooooooooooop!” 
“Hajime!? What’s wrong, are you okay?” 
Deep within the labyrinth, Hajime threw off the sheets covering him and leaped to his feet, his breathing rough. Yue also got up in a panic and gently hugged Hajime in order to calm him down. 
“Th-That was a terrifying nightmare... Yue, can I ask you something?” 
“...What?” 
“If I ever start becoming one of those delusional crazies, use your Azure Blaze to bring me back to my senses, please.” 
Yue realized Hajime must still have been suffering from the effects of the nightmare, as whatever he was saying didn’t make any sense. Still, she nodded in order to reassure him. 
“...Okay. Leave it to me. If you ever start becoming one of those delusional crazies, I’ll make sure to stop you.” 
Neither of them realized they had been misunderstood by the other, Hajime talking about the sight from his dreams and Yue about him becoming a monster, but... Hajime calmed down after that, which was enough to satisfy Yue, so they both went back to sleep in each other’s arms. 
As long as Yue was around, Hajime was safe from falling over to that side... probably. 
The Holy Goddess’ Descent unto Paradise 
The abundance of goods lining every shelf and bookcase made the interior of the store feel rather cramped, despite the rather large amount of floor space. In the background, a popular anime song was playing, loud enough to be heard but not enough to be obtrusive. This store was famous nationwide for its selection of anime, manga, and other such products. 
Naturally, the inside of the store was filled with pilgrims making the trek to this holy land. Most of them could be classified either as “warriors” or as “gentlemen.” A few of them had brought their friends along as well, and the store was filled to the brim with heated arguments about who was best girl or what the anime of the season was. 
Within that eternal battlefield there existed a single haven of peace and quiet. At the very back of the store was a special section roped off behind a pair of curtains. A big “No minors allowed” sign was printed on each curtain. As one may have guessed, it was the adult section of the store. 
No matter how hardened a veteran one was, their voices naturally grew hushed as they entered, and they instantly began worrying about the gazes of others around them. Even the anime song playing in the background seemed stifled in such hallowed ground. 
However, today, that tranquil atmosphere was abruptly shattered. 
“W-Wait, Kaori. You can’t just go in there!” 
“B-But Shizuku-chan...” 
Two girls’ voices interrupted the silence. Their clear, high-pitched tone sounded just like the ringing of a bell. The warriors within all dropped what they were doing and timidly peeked out from behind their shelves. There was a single slender, feminine finger poking in from behind the curtains. 
The men present all simultaneously thought, Wait, don’t tell me she’s coming in here!? Damn, that means there’s no way out! 
“No buts. The all-ages version is sold out, so just give it a rest already.” 
“But... Nagumo-kun’s father’s company made this game. What if Nagumo-kun also played the... e-eighteen plus version of the game?” 
“L-Look here. You wanted to get this game so you’d have something to talk about with Nagumo-kun, right? Are you planning on talking about the s-sex scenes with him in class or something? I think he’s more likely to run in the opposite direction if you try. Though maybe not for the reasons you think.” 
In order to have something to talk about with her crush, Hajime Nagumo, Kaori had come here today to buy the game Hajime’s father had produced. However, because of its overwhelming popularity, the all-ages version was already sold out everywhere, and there were only a few copies of the 18+ version left. And even that was only because a few of the stores had accidentally ordered more stock than they had intended. 
Considering her age, Kaori wouldn’t be able to buy the 18+ version anyway, but straightforward and fearless as she was, she was still determined to try. 
“I-I know. But still... don’t try and stop me, Shizuku-chan! Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!” 
“Yes, but this isn’t that time. Hey, no, wait, stop!” 
There was a collective intake of breath as the warriors witnessed a girl burst through the curtains. For a moment everyone was at a loss for words, but then the muttered whispering began. 
“Holy shit, she’s hot...” and the like. 
The first sight that greeted Kaori as she barged into the 18+ section was a full size poster of a scantily-clad girl. She blushed to the tips of her ears, and then hurriedly looked down when she saw the dumbfounded gaze of every man in the section focused on her. Shizuku, who was standing behind her, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out. However, Kaori wouldn’t be deterred, and with her misguided resolution she said, “I-I won’t lose here!” before taking another step into the forbidden sanctuary. 
Shizuku kept desperately trying to pull Kaori back, but she was too embarrassed to be able to utilize much of her strength. And so, she was unwillingly dragged along behind Kaori, like a little girl lost in another world. 
“Ah. S-Shizuku-chan, I found it!” 
“W-What? Can you please stop dragging me farther in?” 
Heedless of her pleas, Kaori continued dragging Shizuku, who had tears in her eyes, deeper into the holy land until she reached the game she sought. As she picked it up and looked at the cover, Shizuku suddenly let out an embarrassed squeal. The reason, of course, being that there were a lot of girls in suggestive poses plastered on the front. 
Shizuku quickly averted her gaze, but Kaori nonchalantly flipped the box over to see what was on the backside. As she examined the illustrations, she said something terribly tactless without much thought. 
“H-Huh? Shizuku-chan, don’t you think this girl looks a lot like you?” 
“What!? D-Don’t be ridiculous! I would never get on all fours with my butt sticking out like that!” 
Shizuku, diligent as always, made sure to actually look before retorting, even though it made her blush bright red. However, her voice had been slightly louder than intended, and there was suddenly a spray of red as someone collapsed behind a shelf. That was soon followed by a shrill scream of “Don’t die on me, man! Damn, the bleeding just won’t stop!” It appeared someone had a bit too overactive an imagination. 
“B-Besides, don’t you think this girl looks a lot like you, Kaori?” 
“No way! I-I’d never do something so embarrassing as get on top of a man looking like that!” 
There was another fountain of red as a second man collapsed from behind a different shelf. A second later someone screamed out, “Medic! I need a medic!” 
It was then that a savior descended among the gathering of hardened warriors. 
“Excuse me, miss. I’m sorry, but you need to at least be eighteen to purchase these goods. Can I kindly ask you to leave?” 
It was the advent of the manager. The thirty-something manager had decided it would be bad for business if a part of his store got turned into a mountain of corpses, and had wisely chosen to interfere. The remaining warriors were all certain his authority would be enough to deter the two interlopers. 
However, their opponent was stronger than any of them had realized. Shizuku was bowing her head furiously in apology, her words choked with tears, as she tried to drag Kaori out of the section. However, Kaori was not so easily turned away. Even with tears streaking down her face, she still thrust the game box out at the manager and made her request. 
“I-I’d like to buy this, preashe!” 
The manager’s expression faltered and he tried to insist that you needed to be eighteen to purchase this product, but Kaori came back with a most unexpected counter. 
“I-It’s for my dad!” 
What kind of dad would make their daughter buy their porn! Everyone present thought the same thing. Kaori herself must have realized how flimsy an excuse it was, as she then continued, saying things like “It’s his birthday present!” and “We were going to play it together!” Her excuses only made things worse, though. At this point Shizuku was so embarrassed that she buried her face in her hands, wishing she were dead. Finally, Kaori ended things with a, “Please, won’t you let me buy it?” Her puppy dog eyes and pleading drove the manager to his limits. 
“Excuse me for a moment.” That was all the manager said before running behind a shelf and spurting out a torrential nosebleed. He was just as much of an otaku as anyone else there, and thus just as susceptible to Kaori’s charms. Wails of “Bossssssssss!” could be heard coming from the few warriors who were still left standing. 
On that day, in her quest to purchase a single game, Kaori piled up a mountain of corpses of both customers and store clerks alike. 
Dreams of Family 
The pleasant aroma of grilled meat and soy sauce wafted through the air. There was a forty-odd year old lady standing in the kitchen, an apron wrapped around her waist and her hair tied back in a ponytail. 
The woman, Sumire Nagumo, was busy skillfully preparing a meal. She raised her head up to the ceiling and yelled. 
“Hajime, Dear, it’s feeding time!” 
After a brief silence, a pair of footsteps could be heard heading down the stairs. 
“Can you please just call it dinner like a normal person, Mom?” Hajime Nagumo displayed an annoyed face as he entered the kitchen... There were dark bags under his gentle eyes. He took a peek at what his mom had made while helping her set the table, and his eyes began to sparkle. 
“Awesome, you made Hamburg steak today. No wonder the house smelled so good.” 
Hajime’s father, Nagumo Shuu, popped in with his two cents. He was a slender man with short, cropped hair. Like his son, he too had bags under his eyes. 
The pair finished setting the table and eagerly dug into the meal Sumire had prepared for them. They stuffed their mouths with Hamburg steak and white rice as if they were starving men. Sumire giggled as she watched them eat and muttered words of disagreement. 
“No, I think feeding time suits you two just perfectly. Well, did you two manage to meet your deadline with that debugging?” 
“Mmmgh... Mmnch... Yeah, somehow. That game’s really cool.” 
“Gulp... It better be. The future of my company’s riding on that game. Do you have any idea how much we poured into development? I’d be out of a job if the game wasn’t cool. Though I guess if I lost my job I could spend all my time playing games trying to figure out where I went wrong.” 
“Dad, they call those people NEETs.” 
“Not a NEET, son, a shut-in. Shut-ins that can make a living for themselves are what we call winners in life,” Shuu riposted brilliantly. Such was his philosophy. The mother was no better in that regard, however. 
“Indeed,” she replied. This was the result of having a father who ran a game company and a mother who was a shoujo mangaka. Their mindsets weren’t exactly normal. 
In fact, when they had learned that Hajime was being bullied at school, their advice, if it could be called that, had just been along the same lines. 
“Do what you want. If you want to transfer, transfer. If you want to fight back, fight back. If you want to become a shut-in, become a shut-in. Hell, get yourself expelled for all I care, I’ll hire you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a high-school dropout or have 10 PhDs, the ones making money in the end are the winners.” 
Hajime was of a more practical bent, though. 
“It’s important to have backup plans to secure financial stability, so school’s super important.” Only in this household would you find a child telling their parents the importance of staying in school. 
But, well, I’m glad Mom and Dad are like that, because it would have been awkward if they made a huge deal out of the whole thing. 
Meanwhile, his parents were having a truly absurd conversation. 
“I’m starting to think our son’s got some lolicon tendencies in him.” 
“He certainly does like loli characters.” He quickly brought his thoughts back to the present and gave his parents a simmering glare. 
“Hey, hey, no need to glare at us like that. You’re the one who added a blonde loli mage to the game, not me,” said Shuu. 
“So, that doesn’t make me a lolicon. You’re a grown man, you should be able to tell the difference between games and reality,” Hajime replied. 
“True, you’re into animal ears too. Especially rabbit ears. I’m glad my son grew up to be a patrician of such fine taste,” Sumire also chimed in. 
Hajime sulkily returned to his dinner while his parents grinned at him. They ganged up on their only son like that pretty often. 
“I guarantee you you’d party up with a loli if you ever got summoned to another world. Just remember, attacking underage girls is still a crime. I’m sure even other worlds have laws against sex with children. They’ve been cracking down on it in games here recently, even.” 
“Don’t just go around making your own assumptions. And can you please stop calling me a lolicon?” 
Fed up with his parents’ teasing, Hajime got a little testy. Realizing he went a little too far with his teasing, his father apologized while laughing. 
“But you’re a healthy young boy, so I’m sure you’re interested in all those fantasy worlds with swords and magic. Isn’t going on adventures with a cute heroine, falling in love, and finally defeating the gods or the demon lord or whatever something you dream of?” 
“That does sound like the kind of thing a lot of guys would like. And those reincarnated into another world or summoned to another world light novels are getting pretty popular recently. I wouldn’t want our son to get summoned, though. What would we do if he couldn’t ever come back?” 
Sumire sank deep into thought, taking the idea of Hajime being summoned rather seriously. Both of them had an overactive imagination, which Hajime supposed were just occupational hazards. He smiled awkwardly while watching them seriously worry over his potential disappearance into another world. 
“I don’t think I have what it takes to save the world anyway.” 
Shuu wasn’t happy with his son’s self-deprecating attitude. 
“You could at least pretend to be the strongest in your head, you know?” 
Hajime’s smile grew even more troubled, but he responded with confidence. 
“I’m sure all I’d be capable of is making it back home. And if I found someone important to me, I’d probably just bring them back too. I might not be able to save the world, but I’d definitely come back.” 
“......” His parents suddenly brought their heads together. He shrugged his shoulders to hide his embarrassment before continuing. 
“Besides, I only like other worlds when they stay inside books and games.” For once, his parents didn’t bully him, and simply smiled kindly. 
“That’s right. Staying safe is more important than saving the world. But if you were strong enough to save it on your way back, you might as well, right? Hmm, maybe I should make a game that has a protagonist like that...” 
“Oh, that does sound like a good idea. There’s a kind of surreal aspect to it when the protagonist’s only interested in going home but he beats the demon lord and the gods and all that along the way.” 
Their creative urges got the better of them, and their conversation turned toward how they could use this idea in their works. While he might sometimes lament that his parents only ever thought about their hobby-jobs, he too was their son, and started contributing ideas of his own to their discussion. That was just another day at the Nagumo household.


With a faint groan, Shuu opened his eyes and looked up at the moonlight streaming through the window. 
“...What’s wrong, Dear?” 
“Sumire... I had a dream about Hajime. It was about when we were talking about other worlds a few days before he disappeared.” 
Sumire propped herself up on the bed and reassured her depressed husband. 
“He’ll come back home... I’m sure of it. No matter where he went, even if it is another world, I’m sure he’ll find a way home.” 
“Sumire...” 
“Trust me. He normally just tries to get by without rocking the boat, but if there’s something he really believes in, then he’ll chase after it with all his might. That’s why I know he’ll be fine.” 
“...You’re right. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” 
The two of them huddled closer together, thinking about their son who’d vanished along with an entire class full of students. 
Around the same time, Hajime groggily opened his eyes deep within the abyss. He stared off into the distance, his features illuminated by the light of the fake moon. Yue sidled closer to him, her gaze questioning. 
“I was having a dream about Mom and Dad. I can’t believe all those ridiculous things we joked about really came true...” 
“...Hajime, it’ll be okay. As long as we’re together, we can do anything. We’ll return to your world for sure.” Yue smiled reassuringly at Hajime, her voice full of conviction. He patted her head lovingly, then nodded back. 
“Yeah, you’re right. We’re going to make it back for sure.” 
For just a moment, an image of his parents hugging each other flashed through Hajime’s mind. They were hugging each other sadly, both of them thinner than he remembered. For some reason, they both looked up when he mentioned his resolve, as if they’d heard him. 
The image of his parents smiled a little, and it seemed like they’d gone back a little to their old selves... Or so he thought, anyway. 
HALLOWEEN? 
“Umm, uhh... how do I look, Nagumo-kun?” The classroom was quite noisy, even though classes had ended for the day. In one corner of the room, Hajime stiffened up. As if a cute ghost had just cast a curse on him. 
“Y-ou l-look really cute. That’s a nekomata costume, right, Shirasaki-san? That cat apparition thing?” Hajime somehow managed to regain enough of his composure to answer Kaori’s question. 
Her nekomata costume consisted of a yukata and a pair of cat ears and a cat tail. She blushed happily at Hajime’s words, making her already adorable countenance reach levels of cuteness that should be classified as a weapon of mass destruction. Half the boys in the class were already bleeding fountains from their noses, while the girls looked on coldly. 
Kaori wasn’t wearing this because it was a hobby of hers or anything, but because today was Halloween. After many meetings, in which the guys kept on pushing their agenda so that they could see Shizuku and Kaori in cute costumes, the student council had decided to hold a Halloween tea event. A short ways away, Shizuku was putting the finishing touches on her Dracula costume. Many of the girls came up to admire her, and Shizuku was laughing happily with them about their costumes. 
As Kaori had made a beeline for Hajime the moment she’d finished changing, many of the other guys in the class were glaring angrily at him. Their monster outfits and monstrous gazes made Hajime wonder if he would be stuck in an actual Halloween nightmare tonight. 
“Oh yeah, Nagumo-kun. Shizuku-chan and I were thinking of doing an after-party at her place once this is over, would you like to come, too?” The guys’ gazes grew even more hateful. The stares said it all. “Only Shizuku, Kaori, Ryutarou, and Kouki are going to be at that after-party. How come you get to go even though you’re not her childhood friend like they are? You better not say yes.” 
It looked like tonight’s Halloween party wouldn’t end peacefully. And it was all the cat-eared Kaori’s fault. 
“Oh, sorry, but I’ve got something I need to do after this.” 
“I see. That’s a shame, but I guess there’s nothing to be done if you’re busy. So, can we at least hang out during the party, then? Halloween only comes once a year after all.” The way she’d phrased that so casually while putting her hands together like she was pleading belied how crafty Kaori actually was. Had Hajime not felt the immediate threat to his life surrounding him from all sides he would have agreed instantly. 
“S-Sorry. I-I already made plans...” Hajime slowly backed away, making sure his retreat path was clear, while refusing as politely as he could. Kaori furrowed her brows, unaware of the army of monsters closing in on Hajime. 
“You already have plans? Hey, Nagumo-kun, would those plans happen to be with a girl? Well?” 
“Huh? No, of course not. Ahaha...” Hajime felt chills run down his spine and quickly denied the accusation. Kaori let out a sigh of relief, but then slumped her shoulders the next second. She was still disappointed that he wasn’t going with her. One of the nearby guys dressed like a wolf let out a truly wolfish growl. At this point he may have already transformed into a monster on the inside too. 
Kaori bounced back pretty quickly. After all, it wasn’t like her to stay down. Suddenly, her eyes glowed and she took out her smartphone. 
“Then we can at least take a picture, right? You know, to commemorate the occasion.” 
“Yeah, that’s fine.” In reality it wasn’t fine at all, but he couldn’t refuse her any further. Kaori smiled happily. 
“Alright then, say ‘cheese’!” She grabbed Hajime’s arm and squeezed in next to him. Hajime understood it was necessary for taking the picture, but... he was treading on thin ice as it was, and she’d just dumped a space heater on it. 
“Shirasaki-san, I’m sorry, but can we do the picture later!?” 
“Huh? What? Nagumo-kun! Where are you going!?” 
Hajime ran out of the room like his life depended on it, which it quite well might have, as the horde of monsters chased after him the instant he left the classroom. 
“I can’t take it anymore, who does that fucker think he is!?” 
“Grrrrrr!” 
“Nagumoooo! Say your prayers!” 
“Awoooooo!” 
The boys chasing him all yelled out various battle cries. Some of them didn’t even sound human anymore. 
“Holy crap that’s scary. Why do your eyes all look so bloodshot? And why are you running on all fours!?” Hajime’s screams continued to echo throughout the school for a long time after that.


“So yeah, that’s what happened. I swear, some of those guys had to have been possessed or something.” Hajime finished telling his story to Shea and Yue in between mouthfuls of pumpkin mash. They were eating dinner in the inn’s common room. The reason that story had come back to him was because the pumpkin he’d been served had been carved in the spitting image of a jack-o’-lantern. There didn’t seem to be any corresponding holiday here in Tortus, though. This particular inn just seemed to have a peculiar way of preparing food. Most of it stemmed from the innkeeper’s hobbies. 
“Oh, your homeland has some interesting customs, Hajime-san. I can’t imagine anyone here would willingly wear a monster costume. They’d probably be branded a heretic by the Holy Church.” 
“Yeah... it looks like your world has more freedom in it than ours. But the important thing here is that... Hajime, you lusted after other girls.” 
“Hah!? Oh yeah, that’s true! I can’t believe you got seduced so easily by cat ears, Hajime-san, that’s pathetic! Besides, rabbit ears are the greatest animal ears in this world!” 
It looked like he’d brought unnecessary trouble onto himself by reminiscing about the past. Faltering underneath the two girls’ accusatory glares, Hajime quickly changed the subject. 
“By the way, the tradition is for kids to dress up as monsters and go around to people’s houses yelling ‘Trick or Treat.’ The idea is that adults have to give them candy or they’ll get pranked, so kids end up with mountains of it by the end of the night.” 
“I see,” Yue muttered. She then whispered something into Shea’s ear. Curious, Hajime tried to ask what they were discussing, but they cut him off with questions about the kinds of monsters that inhabited earth, and once they’d finished barraging him with inquiries they both headed off somewhere. All they said was that they’d be back later and that Hajime should head on up first. Reluctantly, he took their advice and returned to his room. He began maintaining his weapons while keeping a lookout for Yue and Shea’s return. 
A while later, he saw them coming down the hallway through the open door. 
“Okay. Trick or Treat, Hajime.” 
“Awawa, this outfit is so embarrassing. T-Trick or Treat.” 
“...Seriously?” 
Seriously indeed. Yue and Shea both looked rather stunning, in more ways than one. Yue was dressed in a short white mini-skirt with a matching yukata, showing off a liberal amount of leg. The getup was accented by a crimson sash and crimson sandals, which highlighted her white skin. Despite her short skirt, the sleeves of her yukata were quite long, and only her fingers peeked out as she walked forward with her hands held out like a zombie. Judging by the frost crystals she was making hover around her, Yue was probably meant to be a snow woman. 
Next to her, Shea was wrapped completely in bandages and moaning in a somewhat convincing mummy impersonation. The wrapping around her tail was a bit loose, and as she was wearing nothing else, her ass was exposed for the world to see. Whoever had wrapped the area around her chest had clearly held some kind of grudge as her breasts were so tightly bound that it looked painful. 
Though she was slender, Shea had curves in all the right places, and the outfit made only of bandages served to emphasize those curves. Hajime calmed his beating heart and smiled awkwardly. 
“I see there’s two fearsome monsters who’ve come to get candy from me. Unfortunately, I don’t have any to give out. Had I known, I would have gotten some, but...” 
Right around the time Hajime had said “unfortunately,” Yue and Shea had happily exchanged glances and blushed slightly. Then, they both broke out into mischievous grins. For some reason, Hajime had felt chills run down his spine just then, and trailed off. Yue licked her lips suggestively and responded to him. 
“Well, whether you had treats or not, we were always planning on tricking you. Sexually, that is.” 
Hajime’s smile stiffened. He started looking for an escape route, but Shea beat him to the punch. With her body strengthening up to full, she quickly wrestled Hajime into submission. In order to free himself, Hajime began gathering mana to use Lightning Field, but he was a second too late. 
“Candy secured.” 
“Moron! That’s not candy, that’s— Aaah, stop, stop—”


Shea woke up the next morning after she’d been knocked out by Hajime’s lightning to find him staring off into the distance with dead eyes. Yue was next to him, looking rather satisfied. Hajime’s next words rang out rather clearly in the predawn gloom. 
“Halloween is scary...” 
The... Not So Worthless Rabbit!? 
“Alright, Hajime-san, Yue-san, food’s ready.” The appetizing scent of cooked food reached their nostrils as Shea took the pot of food off the campfire and called Hajime and Yue over. They had made camp a short while back, and Shea had just finished cooking. 
“So it looks like we’re having pot-au-feu today.” 
“Yeah. It looks delicious.” 
Hajime and Yue crawled out of their tent. The stew was filled with delicious-looking vegetables, and there was a freshly baked loaf of bread to go with it. Though it was a simple dish, the taste and texture were outstanding. True, it lacked the polish a five star restaurant’s food might have, but it had the warmth of a home cooked meal to it. True home-style cooking, one might say. 
Yesterday’s meal had been Hamburg steak, and the day before deep fried vegetables, and the day before that, meat buns. All cooked to near perfection. When Yue and Hajime heartily dug into their meal, Shea hummed softly as she cleaned up the dishes. Then, she used the leftover water to do the laundry. She washed their clothes with a brush made from the soft bark found in the sea of trees. She’d even made a detergent out of powdered plants. Once she was finished, she wrung the clothes out and hung them by the fire to dry. Clothes too torn to be worn again were sewn into dust cloths, which she then used to clean the inside of the tent. After that, she repaired the clothes that had only been slightly torn or frayed. 
“Shea’s really good at doing housework.” Hajime muttered quietly while he checked up on his weapons. Yue jumped with a start. She wanted to say that she could do it too, but she held her tongue. She had, in fact, tried to help out with the chores before, using her water magic to clean clothes or her wind magic to sweep the tent, but all it had earned her was a scolding from Shea, of all people. Naturally, her cooking was subpar as well. Yue could sew, but not nearly as well as Shea. A sudden shiver ran down her spine. 
“Wait... doesn’t that mean Shea’s better than me at housework?” 
“Huh? Yue-san, is something wrong?” Unaware of Yue’s plight, Shea simply tilted her head in confusion. Her hands continued sewing the whole time, fixing the battle scars the party’s clothes had suffered. There was no way Yue could compete with that. For a few hours after, Yue could be found inside one corner of their tent, hugging her knees and sobbing softly to herself... 
Cat Ears of Terror 
One afternoon, Hajime, Shea, and Yue were strolling down the town’s main street, looking to stock up on supplies for their upcoming journey. It was a rare moment of respite in between their constant labyrinth-conquering excursions. The street was filled with the sounds of people haggling over wares, the smells of a hundred different spices mingling together as food stall owners began preparing meals, and the sight of a thousand different stores each with their own unique goods for sale. 
One couldn’t help but get excited in such a lively atmosphere. Especially Shea, who hadn’t ever stepped foot outside her small village in the sea of trees until recently. Her rabbit ears were twitching happily as she looked around, the excitement evident on her face. Every few seconds she’d come back to her senses and quickly look around to make sure she hadn’t been separated from Hajime and Yue. After making sure they were still there, she’d then once again start hopping about, examining anything and everything that caught her interest. 
“Shea looks just like a little child...” Yue laughed as she watched Shea run around. She then turned to look at Hajime, seeking his opinion. Normally, Hajime would instantly react to Yue’s voice, almost as if on instinct, but for once he was just spacing out, looking straight ahead. 
“...Hajime?” 
“O-Oh, what is it Yue?” Hajime replied with a start. 
Puzzled at his unusual behavior, Yue furrowed her brows. Realizing he must not have heard her, Yue just said, “It’s nothing,” then kept a closer eye on him after that. 
A second later, she noticed Hajime’s gaze was fixated on a certain individual. When she followed his gaze to that individual, she felt a wave of jealousy wash over her. But upon closer inspection, she saw that his gaze wasn’t fixated on the individual, but rather a certain part of their body. 
“I see,” she mused to herself. It appeared Hajime had quite a soft spot for “those.” Her jealousy vanished somewhat, but she still lamented the fact that she did not possess “those.” And she still couldn’t forgive another girl for stealing Hajime’s attention, even if it was only one part of her that had done so. Also, the words “give up” and “back down” didn’t exist in her dictionary, so steeling her resolve, Yue tugged on Hajime’s sleeve. 
“Hajime, let’s split up for a bit. Take care of Shea, okay?” 
“Split up? If there’s something you want to see or somewhere you want to go, I don’t mind taking a detour. We can go together.” 
“No. I don’t want you to know about it yet.” Yue pouted and turned away from him. Hajime was shocked; this was the first time she’d ever taken that kind of attitude with him. However, Yue simply gave him one last sidelong glance. 
“Don’t follow me. I’ll get mad at you if you do.” 
“O-Okay, I won’t...” Hajime tried to hide how shaken he was, but failed miserably. Then, without even a backward glance, Yue trotted off into the crowd. 
“What on earth is up with her?” Hajime just stood there, dumbfounded, not realizing that he was the cause of her strange attitude.


That evening, Hajime and Shea had returned to the inn and started discussing Yue’s odd behavior earlier. 
“Yue-san sure is late.” 
“Yeah. W-Well, I-I’m sure she just wants some alone time.” 
“Hajime-san, you look pretty flustered...” 
“What are you talking about? I’m perfectly fine. Besides, what could possibly have flustered me, anyway? See, nothing’s, uh, wrong. Yeah, nothing’s wrong at all.” 
“You’re answering your own questions... That sounds like a problem to me.” Shea was starting to get annoyed by Hajime’s attitude. She’d never seen him like this before, and while it seemed obvious to her that Yue would never leave him, it looked like Hajime didn’t trust Yue enough to even be sure of that. She was annoyed that he couldn’t believe in Yue the way she believed in him, and her displeasure spread into her voice. 
“I can’t believe you, Hajime-san. Yue would never leave you, so why are you acting so worried? Can’t you just calm down?” 
“Huh? You must be misunderstanding something. I know that she won’t leave me. I’d be more willing to believe you if you told me the sky was falling tomorrow than if you said Yue would leave me.” 
Realizing she’d misjudged what had gotten Hajime so flustered, she followed up with, “Then what is it?” Hajime watched her bunny ears as they tilted to the side in confusion. Finally, he spoke in a trembling voice. 
“Look, Yue would normally never leave my side. For her to want to split up, I must have done something pretty bad, something she’s really unhappy about.” 
“O-Okay, and?” 
“And that means she’s going to assault me tonight.” Hajime’s answer only served to further confuse Shea. He then started nervously glancing about the room. 
“Yue’s definitely going to come to my bed tonight. Any time she’s unhappy with me, that’s what she always does. She’s a monster at night, so I’m not even sure I’ll be fit to travel tomorrow.” 
“I see.” Shea’s reproaching gaze was more intense than ever. It was only natural. Hajime had just told her he was going to have sex with Yue tonight. From Shea’s perspective, it just looked like he was praising her sex game. As someone competing for his affection, all the more so because she’d so far been unsuccessful, it only made sense for Shea to be unhappy with him. Even her rabbit ears were twitching in accusation. 
Hajime fidgeted nervously and grumbled, “It’s only because you haven’t seen what she’s like in bed that you can say that. Here, let me give you an example. One time, I asked Yue if she was really a virgin.” 
“Whoa, seriously? That’s like the number one thing you should never, ever do.” 
“Yeah, I know that now. I don’t know what came over me, honestly. Maybe I was just too close to breaking under all the constant night raids. Well, it’s because she was so good at it in the first place that I began to doubt whether or not she’d really been a virgin.” 
“Yeah, I bet she got mad.” 
“‘Mad’ is an understatement. I honestly thought she’d kill me. Mentally, anyway. I was prepared to end up as Yue’s sex slave for life... Those were dark days. Hell, I got down on my knees and begged for forgiveness, even. Can you believe it? Me, begging for forgiveness?” 
“Y-You got on your knees? No way...” Shea shuddered in horror. Even if Hajime had called it a night raid, she had assumed the reality was just that they were having some slightly rough sex. She was going to chide Hajime for exaggerating, but when she heard what he had done, she began to wonder just what kind of crazy antics Yue got up to. 
An awkward silence spread throughout the room while Hajime nervously looked around, worried his lover might attack him at any second. Shea just watched on, not knowing what to say. With a soft click, the door to their room opened. Shea and Hajime both looked up at once. Yue was standing in the doorway, a pair of rabbit ears on her head. 
“I’m back.” Her expression was as deadpan as always. She seemed to not mind the fact that there were rabbit ears growing out of her head. Ignoring Hajime and Shea’s shock, she sat down on the bed. Both of them finally returned to their senses, and before Hajime could say anything, Shea was screaming. 
“Hwha-Hwhat the heck is thaaaaat!?” 
“...What a strange question. They’re obviously rabbit ears.” 
“I get that! But why do you have them, Yue-san? Are you trying to steal my strong points or something!?” Shea pointed accusingly at Yue, screaming as if Yue had just copied her most important trait. Yue simply turned away and responded in a sulky voice. 
“It’s all Hajime and the rabbit ears’ fault.” 
“Wh-Why does that mean you have to copy my ears? And if they’re at fault, why are you wearing them at all?” Shea shook her head. Her bunny ears flopped around as she did so. Hajime looked over at them and Yue mumbled, “I guess in the end fake ones are just...” 
Those words finally clued Hajime in on what was going on. Yue had discovered Hajime’s secret desire to rub Shea’s fluffy bunny ears. And so, in order to compete, Yue had found herself a pair of bunny ears. Most likely at that one store. 
“W-Well, I guess I can understand your burning desire to have a pair of your own rabbit ears after seeing how amazing mine are. Fufufu, but let me tell you something. Before the real thing, your faux bunny ears are but a pale imitation!” Shea gazed perhaps a bit too triumphantly down at Yue and continued. 
“Yue-san, it was a strategic mistake to try and fight me in my home ground! This is your defeat!” Shea was getting a little full of herself, but it was also obvious at a glance that Yue’s ears were fake and not nearly as soft or fluffy as the real thing. 
However, Yue had done this for Hajime’s sake. He already found her cute beyond belief, but knowing that she was willing to go that far just to please him made it clear which pair of ears he considered more important. There was no comparison between the bunny girl, who was busy getting full of herself, and the vampire who had done everything she could to grant him his desire. Naturally, Yue didn’t falter in the face of Shea’s provocations either. In fact, she exceeded all expectations. 
“I never thought my rabbit ears would be able to beat yours. This is just the beginning. The real battle starts here!” Yue whipped off the bunny ears and replaced them with something else. That something looked like a pair of fluffy black triangles resting atop her head. Even more amazing, when she poured mana into them they moved like a real pair of ears would. 
“Wh-What on... earth?” A jolt of electricity shot through Hajime’s spine. An indescribable sense of awe washed over him. But Yue wasn’t done yet. As Hajime’s trembling hand touched Yue’s cat ears, he let out a shocked exclamation. Before their eyes, Yue pulled out another long and fluffy object, and somehow attached it to an area right above her butt. Upon pouring mana into it, it too moved, just like a real tail. Hajime gulped audibly. Yue got on all fours and crawled over to where Hajime was. She looked unbearably cute. When she finally reached Hajime, she said a single word. 
“Meow.” What Yue had replaced her bunny ears with was the pinnacle of all animal ears, cat ears. She’d even procured a cat tail to match. She arched her back and playfully pawed at Hajime. In this instant, Myue was born. 
“Yue, just how far are you going to test my self-control?” Hajime was cradling his head in his hands, desperately trying to hold himself back. His primal instincts were already on the verge of conquering his reason. But even when he was on his last legs, Yue showed him no mercy. 
“Meow.” She rolled over onto her stomach, like a dog showing submission to her master. Her pleading gaze met Hajime. That was enough to push Hajime over the edge. The light in his eyes was replaced by a feral gleam. But just before what might have been the greatest copulation session in history could begin, Shea bravely interrupted them. 


“How sly! Yue-san, you really are a cunning woman! It’s clear that you thought ahead! Still...! Don’t forget that those ears and tail are fake! And my real ears and tail will never lose to fake ones! Look, Hajime-san, these are a real pair of bunny ears. Feel free to touch them all you want!” Betting her very soul, Shea challenged Yue. Her ears and tails twitched excitedly as she leaned into Hajime. But it would seem Yue had predicted even this development. When it came to fighting over Hajime, Yue made sure to prepare for every eventuality. 
“You fool. Shea, what makes you think... that my ears are fake at all?” 
“What... did you say?” 
“I knew you would bring that up, Shea. That’s why I got real cat ears. These are no replica. That’s why I can move them using mana. Mana also helps keep them from rotting.” Yue sat down, then looked up at Shea victoriously. Shivers ran down Hajime and Shea’s spines, but for a different reason this time. Given a cold hard dose of reality, Hajime suddenly started sweating. Shea slowly backed away, her entire body trembling. Yue tilted her head in confusion, as Hajime took a moment to gather his wits before asking a question. 
“Y-Yue, where’d you find those?” 
“Hm? From a general goods store on the main street.” Hajime and Shea breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed these were commonly sold in the area— 
“...But they weren’t the ones selling the real thing.” Hajime and Shea stiffened again. So that meant Yue only got her fake rabbit ears from there. Then where did her very real cat ears and cat tail come from? They both looked back at Yue, who puffed out her chest with pride and answered casually. 
“I tore them off myself.” Those twitching cat ears and cat tail. Were they really moving because of the mana Yue poured into them, or because they were still so fresh that... 
Suddenly, those cat ears didn’t look at all cute to Hajime. Shea was cowering in a corner, her ears pressed flat against her head. 
“She’s a psycho, Yue-san’s a psychopath,” she muttered. Tears were spilling from her eyes and her whole body was shivering. 
Yue suddenly shifted her gaze to Shea. Shea jumped with a start as Yue stared at her ears with cold, emotionless eyes. 
“Can I... tear those off too?” 
“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, Yue-san, you’re insane!!! You monsterrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!” Shea leaped out of the room with the speed of a fleeing rabbit. Grimacing, Hajime called out to Yue. 
“Umm, Yue?” 
“Yeah? Sorry, that was a joke. I feel bad for Shea, but I wanted to have some time alone with you... Also, these are fake ears made with real monster fur, that’s all, so you can pet them as much as you want, okay?” 
“I-I see. Umm, well, you’re really cute, Yue. But uhh, it’s not because of the cat ears, it’s just because you’re you, you know that right?” 
“Yeah. Thanks.” Yue smiled warmly. Hajime gently removed the cat ears and cat tail off of Yue and hugged her tight. Yue entrusted herself to Hajime and let the strength flow out of her limbs. Marveling at how lovely she looked, Hajime started stroking her hair. 
...He decided not to ask why the ears and tail he’d taken off of Yue had been warm. 
Parent-Teacher Conference 
“Mom, Dad, please, PLEASE don’t say anything embarrassing.” Those words echoed through an evening-lit corridor of the school. 
“Come on, Hajime, what are you so worried about? It’s just a parent-teacher conference. We’re just going to talk about how you’re doing at school and stuff.” 
“Seriously, what a worrisome child. Just because your homeroom teacher’s a legal loli doesn’t mean we’re going to mess with her or anything.” 
“That’s EXACTLY the problem! Please don’t use words like legal loli in front of my teacher. Seriously, no one else’s parents are like that. Please, I’m begging you, just hold it in, okay?” Hajime looked surprisingly serious. But his mom, Sumire, and dad, Shuu, were just grinning like little children. 
“Did you hear that, Sumire? He said no one else’s parents are like this.” 
“I did indeed. To think he thought of us as such special people... Dear, I don’t think I’ll be able to let him go when the time comes for him to become independent. Ufufu.” 
“That’s not what I meant! Quit interpreting things however you want!” Hajime’s parents just ignored him. Today was the scheduled day for his parent-teacher conference. Because he knew how crazy his parents could be, Hajime was very worried they might mess everything up. 
He was suddenly reminded of the disaster that had been his middle school conference. He was snapped out of his musings by the sound of someone’s footsteps coming down the hallway. The teacher who came out to greet them was none other than Aiko Hatayama. Standing only 140 centimeters tall, baby-faced Aiko resembled a baby squirrel more than a teacher with the way she always ran around doing her best to help, but ultimately making things worse. 
The interview started innocuously with Aiko talking about Hajime’s grades. Shuu and Sumire nodded exaggeratedly as she went over his test scores and the like. They were clearly just acting the part, so Hajime grew increasingly more concerned. 
“Umm, so basically, Nagumo-kun is doing fine academically. Though some of the other teachers and I are concerned about his chronic habit of sleeping during class...” Aiko smiled awkwardly, and Hajime smiled back much the same. Then, reluctantly, she opened her mouth and tried to deliver her next lines as tactfully as possible. 
“Also, well, Nagumo-kun’s interpersonal relationships are a bit...” 
An image of Hajime sitting alone during lunch flitted through Aiko’s mind. Though his isolation worried Aiko, Hajime himself seemed to not be bothered by it at all. He had even told Aiko not to worry about him, so she wasn’t sure how to address it. However, Shuu dismissed her concerns offhandedly. 
“Both me and my wife are aware of his lack of friends, Sensei. And neither of us particularly mind.” 
“B-But...” 
“It’s fine, Sensei. Our son may be a little passive, but if the time comes when he needs to step up, he will. My husband and I have discussed this at length already... and if the time ever comes that our son needs to run away, we’ve already prepared several options for him!” 
“U-Umm I’m not sure running away is...” Aiko was amazed at how unconcerned Hajime’s parents were with his school situation, and that they were even willing to help him run away if he felt like it. 
Sumire suddenly turned serious. Thinking her previous comments must therefore have been a joke, Aiko too grew serious. She was prepared for Hajime’s mom to ask her what she as a teacher was doing to rectify the situation, but what Sumire asked was completely unexpected. 
“By the way, Hatayama-sensei, are you dating anyone right now?” 
“...Come again?” Aiko opened her eyes wide, metaphorical question marks floating above her head. An interrobang was floating above Hajime’s head, though. 
“I asked if there’s a guy you’re dating.” 
“N-No, there isn’t, but...” 
“Then is there a girl you’re dating?” 
“Of course not! What on earth are you saying!?” Aiko cried out in alarm. Hajime’s expression underwent a rapid transformation. 
“I see. I’ve heard that teaching is quite a demanding profession. Also, my son says you even give up a lot of your free time to help the students... Frankly speaking, we’re worried about your marriage prospects.” 
“Th-Thanks for your concern! So, why exactly did you bring this up?” 
“Well, I was just thinking... why not marry our son?” 
“Seriously, what on earth are you saying!?” Aiko exclaimed. 
“What the hell! Mom, Dad!” Chaos engulfed the classroom. Shuu and Sumire continued to fluster Aiko even further, while Hajime desperately tried to stop his parents’ rampage. However, it only got worse from there. 
“Huh? But isn’t Hatayama-sensei totally your type?” Shuu asked. 
Flustered, Aiko couldn’t muster much more than a, “Hawawa.” 
To which Sumire commented, “Wow, I finally heard someone go ‘hawawa’ in real life,” while nodding in satisfaction. 
“U-Umm, that’s everything I wanted to discuss...” Aiko slumped tiredly over the desk she was sitting on. 
A few seconds later, she got up and tottered unsteadily back toward the teacher’s office. Dealing with Shuu and Sumire together drained a great deal of mental stamina. Hajime was in the middle of thinking up an appropriate apology when Aiko suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned back to them. There was a faint blush spreading on her cheeks. 
“N-Nagumo-kun! I’m your teacher, so we can’t be in a relationship, okay?” She then turned back and vanished into the teacher’s office. 
“Mom, Dad, how am I even supposed to face my teacher tomorrow?” 
Hajime’s parents just gave him a thumbs-up. 
“With a smile, right?” They both said that simultaneously. For the first time in his life, Hajime felt like he wanted to kill someone. 
A Store Owner Like This... Might Really Exist 
The TSUTAYA video store, a bustling chain that boasted a large selection of movies, books, some other merchandise, and the ever present UFO catcher games. Every weekend people flooded the store looking for new releases or old classics. One particular store had an abnormally large amount of visitors. As many as you’d expect to see in a theme park during a parade. TSUTAYA may have been a convenience store, but this was clearly irregular. Furthermore, almost all of the customers were men, and they weren’t just standing around the books, reading like usual. They were actually sifting through the merchandise. 
By their demeanor, one would be justified in thinking they might be thieves. In fact, it wouldn’t have been surprising if one of the store clerks walked up to them and gave them a stern warning. However, the workers at this particular store were used to this behavior, and they carried on like usual. 
“Haaa, you know...” One of the part-timers, Hajime Nagumo, looked down at his wristwatch with a sigh. He wasn’t counting down the minutes until he was off the clock, but rather waiting for a specific event to occur. 
Just then, the door to the staff room began creaking open. Everyone in the store started talking noisily. Their attention was focused entirely on that door. Some of the guys were even panting heavily with perverted expressions on their faces. When the door was finally fully free, the customers... 
“The manager’s here!” 
“S-She’s so hot...” 
“Apparently she’s over twenty. Can you believe it...it’s like some kind of miracle.” 
The crowd was going wild, as if they’d just met their favorite idol. The person who’d come out of the staff room wearing TSUTAYA’s trademark uniform and apron was none other than Yue, the manager of this store. She looked like a perfectly crafted doll brought to life. With her small frame, tottering steps, and lustrous golden hair, the word cute didn’t do her justice. Despite her lack of expression and breasts, there was an undeniable sexiness to her. She was the intimidating, aloof queen of TSUTAYA. 
“Hajime, Shea, have you finished stocking the shelves?” 
“Ah, yeah. We finished this morning, Manager.” 
“Aye aye, ma’am! We are ready for battle!” 
Today was the day a famous author’s new book went on sale. Hajime, and his fellow part-timer Shea, had spent all morning stocking the exclusive corner with said book. Yue nodded with a satisfied, “Good,” and turned to face the members of her fan club that had gathered. Like trained soldiers, they fell into a neat, single-file line in front of the exclusive corner. They had likely trained for this moment. They stood at attention, waiting for Queen Yue’s words. 
“...Mmm, go forth and buy.” 
“Yes ma’am!” They did as their queen commanded. It was a bit questionable whether someone in the service industry should have been ordering her customers around like that, but at this point no one said anything about it. The new part-timer, Hajime, muttered something about it under his breath, but that was all. The queen’s faithful servants all grabbed copies of the new book and rushed to the register. As the first customer arrived, their queen spoke once more. 
“Hm? Just a single copy?” Yue tilted her head. “You’re only buying one thing?” her gaze clearly said. What a cunning move. Nothing was off limits for her, as long as it improved sales. 
“O-Of course not. Let me buy one, no two more copies. One to give away, one to keep in my collection, and one to read!” 
“I recommend this book too.” 
“I’ll buy it! Three copies of that too!” 
She really was merciless when it came to business. Yue smiled faintly as the first customer ended up buying six books. Everyone else waiting in line gulped and she tilted her head at them too. “Won’t you buy that many, too?” her gaze seemed to implore. The results were instantaneous. 
“Manager! I’ll buy 5! Please just give me your phone—” 
“Bastard, you think that’s enough!? Manager, sell me the most expensive thing you have!” 
“Hah, fools. It’s not about the price. You’re all buying the newest stuff, but it’s obvious the manager will appreciate you even more for getting stuff that doesn’t sell well! Manager, do you still have that box set of Chupacabra? By the way, would you like to go out for dinner—” 
“Manager, can I take a picture of you!?” 
In a desperate effort to win her smile, the customers bought more and more items. Hajime stood in front of Yue, protecting her from the mob of jostling customers. 
“Please don’t push! Line up in an orderly fashion, please!” 
“My apologies, but please refrain from asking the manager for her personal information!” 
“Both the box set and the revised edition of Chupacabra are unfortunately sold out!” 
“No pictures, please! This store has a no picture policy!” 
“Please stop trying to touch the manager, dear customer. If you do that again, I’ll beat the shit out of you!” 
“Give it a rest, you bastards! Quit trying to get close to the manager!” 
Hajime grew less polite as the requests continued. By the end he was a grinning demon, disposing of rowdy customers. Shea, who was almost as popular as Yue, handled the ones he couldn’t with her toy hammer. Many of the customers bopped by it came away grinning. The remaining clerks worked furiously to handle the waves of customers. Finally, the daily event that started with Yue’s appearance drew to a close. Mixed among the dwindling sea of male customers was a black haired beauty, who muttered some words. 
“I wonder if Hajime-kun’s working here today, too?” As Hajime was still busy handling customers, he didn’t even notice her. However, Yue swooped down in a Char mask and intimidated her. 
“Our store is now closed. We are looking forward to never having your patronage again. Kindly get out.” And thus, Kaori was evicted from TSUTAYA. 
“Haaah, it’s finally over. I feel like I say this every time, but the manager’s ability to attract people is ridiculous. Our sales are on a completely different level from the other TSUTAYAs. Probably for the wrong reasons, though.” 
Hajime was taking a break in the staff room after the storm had passed. Everyone took their breaks in turns, so he was the only one free at the moment. However, a few minutes later, Yue came in with some drinks. It seemed they were for him. She passed him a can and Hajime gave her his thanks. It was the little things like this that made her loved and respected not just among the customers, but by the staff as well, which was why Hajime didn’t complain even when he looked down and noticed the label on the can read “Ambrosia.” 
“Thanks for the drink, Manager.” 
“Mhm... Thank you for protecting me back there. You were cool.” 
“Ah, that was nothing... Anyway, it’s dangerous to keep going out like that, so I’d prefer it if you stopped.” 
“It’s to increase sales. I won’t stop until we’re the best selling TSUTAYA in the country.” Yue puffed her chest out proudly. Hajime smiled wryly. This was why he could never quit, despite the crazy rush hours and all the extra work he had to put in. The manager was just too lovable. 
As Hajime sipped on his Ambrosia, Yue pulled out a light novel and proffered it to him. It looked like she’d pulled it out of her bra, but Hajime was a gentleman, so he made no comment. Her body heat still lingered on the cover, but he pretended not to notice that, too. 
“Um, Manager, what is this?” 
“Our next big hit. You should read it.” 
“You want me to read it? Am I gonna be writing a review on it or something?” He looked quizzically down at the cover, then noticed something strange. 
“Hey, Manager... The girl on the cover, the one who looks like the main heroine... looks a lot like you, doesn’t she?” 
“Mhm... By the way, the protagonist looks like you, Hajime.” 
“Why are you licking your lips like that?” 
Shivers ran down Hajime’s spine. He found himself unable to meet Yue’s gaze, and stared down at the book instead. According to the summary it was about how a kind, normal boy got summoned to another world. Thanks to the harsh experiences he faced there, he changed into a completely different person, and went on adventures with a vampire princess that he met along the way. As he flipped through the pages, he noticed the main heroine got naked an awful lot. She was naked when the protagonist first met her, again after their first big battle together, and then again when she visited him in the bath and pushed him down. 
What kind of surreal situation is this!? Hajime was staring at naked pictures of a girl who looked just like Yue, as the real Yue watched him rifle through the pages. 
“Read it. In fact, make it your bible. It’s got the greatest heroine you’ll ever see.” 
“Y-Yes, ma’am.” Hajime started stuttering as Yue leaned in close. The title of the light novel she had given him was— 
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest. 
Catfight 
“Alright, here I come!” 
“Whenever you are ready!” 
Shea leaped off the ground with enough force to leave a small crater in her wake. She hurtled toward Tio, who was waiting in a defensive stance. 
“Hiyaaah!” 
“Nnngh. That was a splendid blow! I could feel the weight behind it.” 
Shea let out a cute yell as she tackled Tio, who grunted as she took it head-on. She’d strengthened her body enough to handle most attacks, but Shea’s tackle still pushed her back a few centimeters. Similarly, Shea had strengthened herself enough for a decently powerful tackle. Though she hadn’t gone all out, she was still surprised Tio had managed to withstand most of the force. However, Shea wasn’t done yet. She’d been trained thoroughly by Yue and Hajime, so she had a few more tricks up her sleeve. While their bodies were still pressed together, Shea made a fist and stomped forward. She then twisted her legs and hips, transferring all of that energy into her fist, and punched Tio in the flank from point blank range. 
Tio gasped in pain, but managed to back away a little. Shea pursued relentlessly, pulled back her arm, and went for an elbow strike. Tio doubled over in pain, and Shea followed up with a palm strike to the jaw. Her head snapped back, and she groaned again. Though this groan sounded a little more like a moan of pleasure. Shea grounded herself firmly and finished with a double palm strike to Tio’s now exposed stomach. Tio was blown back by Shea’s combo finisher. However, she remained standing. Though she left furrows in the ground as she slid back, Tio refused to fall. 
“Wh-What a fearsome series of attacks... Those queer movements of yours make defending exceedingly difficult. Each one of your blows pinpointed a gap in my defenses. Haah... Haaah... Splendid.” 
“But you still look fine. And is it just me, or are you getting happier every time I hit you?” 
“It’s just you! Now come at me, I shall take each and every one of your blows!” 
“I’m kinda getting less motivated the more we do this...” Shea looked down dejectedly. It was obvious her blows weren’t doing any lasting damage, and while she knew Tio’s impressive defense had a lot to do with that, she couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. 
“It looks like I need Drucken to break through your defenses after all, Tio-san... No, I know there has to be a way to do this barehanded!” Shea rushed forward again. This time, her tackle was a lot more straightforward. She ducked at the last second, then used the force of her charge to try and lift Tio off her feet. Unused to such an unorthodox move, Tio couldn’t prevent Shea from tackling her to the ground. Without giving her even a second to recover, Shea attempted to put Tio in an armlock. However, because of the position she was attempting it in, Tio’s arm ended up squished between Shea’s breasts. And, at the same time, Shea’s feet pressed down on Tio’s twin mounds. 
“A joint lock? You truly have an interesting array of close-combat skills at your disposal! Still, us dragonmen aren’t so weak that a simple joint lock will stop us!” Tio twisted her hips and bucked hard. Shea’s hold loosened for a split second, but that was all Tio needed to break free. She counterattacked before Shea could get her footing again. Leaping at her from behind, Tio grabbed Shea’s boobs and pinned her down. A cute squeal of surprise slipped from Shea’s mouth. 
“Pathetic! Is that all you can do?” 
“Fwah... Do not grab me there! And stop squeezing! Hmph, in that case, take this!” 
“Hyaaaahn!? Hey, where do you think you’re pinching!? Hah, payback!” 
“Ahiii! It’s slipping... It’s slipping off! I cannot show such a shameful sight to Master! Take that, you shameless vixen!” 
“D-Don’t touch me there! Only Hajime-san can touch me thereeeeeeeee~” 
Tio and Shea continued grappling with each other, neither letting the other stand up. The two of them had decided to have a practice bout while they stopped for a break, but this didn’t look anything like a fight anymore. They were dripping with sweat, their limbs were tangled with each other, and they were panting heavily. Honestly, it looked more like... 



“Hajime-dono. I finally think there was value in me, Will Cudeta, surviving that horrible trip up the mountain.” 
“I see. I’m glad you realized so soon.” 
The two girls doggedly continued fighting, even after being stripped half-naked. Will cried tears of happiness as he watched. The sight had truly moved him. Hajime agreed wholeheartedly, but he couldn’t let those feelings show on his face. After all... 
“......” 
He could feel Yue’s gaze drilling into him from behind. When he turned around, he saw her sitting as still as a doll, staring intently at him with cold eyes. 
“That truly is a sight for sore eyes, isn’t it, Hajime-dono?” 
“Could you just shut up for a bit?” Hajime started plotting different ways he could beat these memories out of Will. 
Shea’s Cooking Lesson 
A slender finger traced its way down a ripe red fruit. The egg-shaped fruit suddenly split into round slices. It was then assailed by a sharp wind and minced into fine pieces. Unlike most fruit, its center was hollow. The relentless wind pounded the pieces of fruit until they were nothing more than fine powder. A beautiful girl, Yue, nodded in satisfaction as she looked at the powdered fruit. She scooped up the powder and stealthily walked over to a simmering pot. With a faint smile, she made to dump the powder into the pot, but before she could— 
“What do you think you’re doing, Yue-san?” 
“Huh!?” Someone grabbed her arm. Trembling, she looked up at the owner of the hand that had grabbed her. 
“S-Shea...” 
“That’s right, it’s Shea. And I’m getting very tired of you trying to add the poison you call ‘originality’ to our food, Yue-san.” Normally she was the helpless, worthless rabbit, but at present Shea’s face was a mask of anger. Yue whimpered softly, looking anywhere but at Shea, and started explaining herself. 
“C-Calling it poison is a bit much. I’m sure this will make the dish taste even better—” 
“How many times have you said that now? And how many times have your ideas ruined my food? There’s nothing more dangerous than a beginner experimenting with recipes!” 
As she’d been royalty, Yue had no idea how to cook. Because of that, she’d started taking lessons from Shea, who was skilled in all sorts of housework. However, her attempts at adding a twist to Shea’s dishes had all ended in failure. At first, Shea had put up with Yue’s antics. She’d guessed Yue just wanted to impress Hajime with something she’d made and let it slide. However, Yue’s constant attempts to make something new and her complete disregard for the basics had turned Shea from a worthless rabbit into a wrathful rabbit. That was why Shea’s ears twitched angrily as she looked at Yue. 
“But I’m sure it’ll work this time. I’m pretty sure Hajime will love this taste.” 
“‘Pretty sure’ doesn’t cut it! Besides, it’s obvious that won’t do anything to improve the dish’s taste! That’s devilclaw fruit! One pinch of it is enough to ruin the taste of most dishes! Do you understand now!?” 
“But Hajime’s the one who’s going to eat it. And he likes spicy food... He’s even had demon meat before, so he’ll probably like something more stimulating.” 
“I just said probablys and pretty sures don’t cut it when it comes to cooking!” Shea forcibly wrenched Yue’s hand open and tried to throw Yue’s powdered devilclaw fruit into one of her spice bags. However, Yue resisted with all her might. Shea started pinching Yue’s cheeks with her free hand, trying to get Yue to let go, and yet the overpowered rabbit’s cheat-level strength was too much to fight against, and eventually she let go. However, Shea had put too much force into her hand. 
“Nuwaaah!? The spice really lives up to its name! My eyes, my nose—” Shea rolled on the ground as she clawed at her face. Yue looked down nervously as she watched Shea writhe in pain. Normally, devilclaw fruit needed extensive preparation before it could be used in anything, so just touching it was enough to burn people’s skin. However, Yue’s automatic regeneration ability had allowed to her to handle it raw without much discomfort, which was why she hadn’t realized just how potent a fruit it was. All she’d read was that properly prepared devilclaw fruit was the most exquisite spicy seasoning that could be added to a dish. 
“S-Shea? Are you okay?” 
“Of course I’m not okaaaaaaaaay! Water! Wash away the residue with water, pleaseeeee!” 
“Okay.” Yue cast a spell and a massive torrent of water appeared out of nowhere. Any normal person would have been crushed to death by the force of what was a veritable waterfall, but Shea knelt above the oncoming deluge, arms spread wide. She looked like a devout pilgrim seeking salvation. The water hit her with the force of a cannonball. Ten seconds passed, then twenty. Finally, the water stopped. A crater had formed where it had slammed into the ground, and its center was Shea, still kneeling in the same pose as before. She wasn’t moving. 
“Shea? Hello? Earth to Shea-san?” Yue timidly called out to her. Shea’s drenched rabbit ears twitched a little, then flopped straight up, shaking all the water off. Shea slowly got to her feet. Then, still dripping, she briskly walked up to Yue and firmly grabbed her by the shoulders. Yue shrank back from the intensity of her gaze. After all, Shea’s face was so close to Yue that their noses were practically touching. 
“Y-u-e-s-a-n!” 
“S-Shea, calm down. Your face is—” 
“S-h-u-t-u-p!” 
“O-Okay.” Yue’s expression stiffened as her facial muscles cramped up. Shea’s face was a complete mess. Her eyes were red and swollen, and drool, tears, water, and snot dripped from every orifice. Her lips were swollen, and flecks of red dotted her pale skin. To top it all off, her voice was raspy. All of that just gave her rage an even sharper edge. Her expression was positively demonic, as her swollen eyes promised death. It seemed that her anger had long since boiled over and shot up to the stratosphere. 
Cold sweat poured down Yue’s back and she gulped audibly. Shea stared Yue in the eyes and rasped out a few words. 
“Respect your food.” 
Yue nodded. 
“The basics... of cooking... are important.” 
More nodding. 
Shea pushed down on Yue’s shoulders so hard that she was kneeling. Yue continued nodding as if her life depended on it, but there was no way the demonic rabbit was going to let Yue off with just that. Yue cast her gaze about, looking for someone to save her, and spotted her beloved lover, watching the proceedings from a few meters away. She begged to be rescued, but... Hajime averted his gaze. She looked at him in shock. Never had she expected that Hajime would abandon her in a time of need, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. 
“Don’t look away,” Shea rasped out. The wrathful rabbit’s punishment was inescapable. Yue’s shoulders drooped, and she spent the next few hours listening to Shea’s lecture. Seeing Yue in tears for the first time actually turned Hajime on a little, but that was a secret he would take to the grave. 
A Wise Woman’s Dream 
Is that... Kaori? And is that... Nagumo-kun with her? Shizuku hazily caught sight of her best friend and her secret crush. For some reason, Hajime looked dim and somehow transparent to her, as if he were obscured by a fog. However, she knew it was Hajime because he was the only person Kaori would run so wholeheartedly toward. Kaori stopped in front of Hajime and started talking. Shizuku was standing too far away to make out what they were saying, but after a few seconds, Kaori leaped into Hajime’s arms and started weeping tears of joy. Whatever it was they had been talking about, it had clearly made Kaori happy. 
Good for you, Kaori... Shizuku was glad to see her best friend find happiness. She decided it wouldn’t be very nice of her to ruin her best friend’s moment, and was about to turn to leave when... 
Hm? Who’s that? And they finally got to enjoy their reunion, too... Is that a friend of Nagumo-kun’s? 
Two unfamiliar girls walked up to Hajime. Like him, they were covered by this fog and their outlines were hazy, but she could tell one of them was a small girl with beautiful golden-blonde hair. There was something almost bewitching about her as she walked up to Hajime and pulled on his collar from behind, separating him from Kaori. Then, to add insult to injury, she drew Hajime into her bosom. 
Wh-Whaaaaat? What’s going on!? What the heck is this!? Amazed by this soap opera-esque development, Shizuku hurriedly looked over at her best friend. 
Hiiii!? She summoned a demon behind her! A demon with a grinning theater mask appeared behind Kaori like a stand. It tapped its sword menacingly on its shoulder as Kaori walked up to the blonde girl. 
Run! I don’t know who you are, but run if you value your life! Shizuku tried to call out to the girl, but for some reason her voice wouldn’t come out. Realizing it was up to her, Shizuku ran forward. She needed to stop her best friend before she became a murderer. However, before she managed to reach them— 
What the!? Something just came out of the little girl too! What is that!? Some kind of golden dragon!? A golden dragon erupted from the golden-blonde haired girl’s back, coiling itself around her. Dark clouds billowed around it, lightning occasionally flickering from inside them. It looked just as ominous as Kaori’s demon. 
“Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!” 
“Hissssssssssssssssssss!” 
The dragon let out a thunderous roar, while the demon raised its sword above its head and hissed threateningly. For some reason, the two girls were posing in front of each other. 
Just what the heck is going on here!? Shizuku, the spectator, was far more confused at what was happening than the parties involved. An overwhelming pressure, so powerful it was tangible, pressed down on Shizuku. She could feel her sanity slowly being eroded away. If this were an RPG, Shizuku’s mental hit points would already have been in the red. She was almost out of sanity points. The final blow to her psyche was when the golden dragon charged at the demon. 
The dragon roared with the force of all the world’s storms. Lightning bolts rained from the sky in a never-ending barrage, but the demon cut down every bolt with its precise swordsmanship. Then, with a slash sharp enough to rend the universe in two, the demon sliced the dragon in half. 
However, a rain of lightning fell on the dragon, fusing it back together. It then fired a beam of lightning from its mouth. The force of its attack was so great the very atmosphere was carbonized, but before the light of destruction could reach the demon, it deflected it with its sword. It flew into the sky, drilling a hole in the dark clouds above. The earth shattered, the skies wept, and the atmosphere burned. 
It was as if the final judgment had come. Shizuku trembled like a newborn fawn in a tiny corner of the crumbling world. Any desire to stop them was gone. She just wanted to run away. She turned to flee, but her decision had come a moment too late. The demon’s slash and the dragon’s breath collided, and were deflected straight toward Shizuku. 

Wait, no... Aaaaaaaaaaah! 
“Aaaaaaaaaaah! Oh, it was just a dream!?” The light of despair filled Shizuku’s vision, and she awoke with a bloodcurdling scream. It really was just a dream. She wiped sweat off her chin as she recalled what a terrifying dream it had been. Then, she sighed with relief. 
“Thank god it was only a dream...” She looked over at her best friend. Surprisingly, her scream hadn’t woken Kaori. 
“Haha, there’s no way Kaori’d be like that, right?” For some reason, chills ran down her spine, and she shivered. Was it really just a dream, or perhaps a premonition... 
Valentine’s Day in a Parallel World 
In a certain small town, the atmosphere was currently very lively. Hajime, Yue, and Shea had stopped for a short rest, and were curious about the sweet, somewhat excited mood that filled the town. 
“Hey, is there a festival or something today?” 
“Hm? You don’t know? Today’s Fris Day. Come on, you’ve got to know what it is. You even have two lovely ladies following you around.” 
The person Hajime had asked was a bald, macho flower salesman. It appeared today was a celebration most people knew about. When he pressed for details, Hajime learned that Fris Day was a day for people to confess to their crushes. The reason it was called Fris Day was because of the abundance of white fris flowers everywhere. It was said that if someone confessed with a fris flower and the other person accepted, the couple would be together forever. As Hajime looked around, he noticed there were a lot of people selling white flowers, and plenty of young guys and girls were gathering around them. 
“I see. While it’s not exactly the same, it’s basically like Valentine’s...” 
“Hm? Valentine’s?” 
“What’s that?” 
Yue and Shea spoke up. Reminiscing about his home world, Hajime explained Valentine’s Day to the two of them. 
Valentine’s Day, a time where warriors go forth to do battle. The hot guy sorcerers usually dominate that day. For Hajime, it had been a day he’d spent running away last year. Had he been caught, he knew what hell awaited him in school. 
“Hm... So Hajime, there was a girl who confessed to you that day. What was her name and what did she look like? Go on, tell me.” 
“Eeeeeh you have another lover, Hajime-san? How many dozens of women came before me, I wonder?” 
“Can you two at least watch your mouths in public?” Hajime backed away as the seductive vampire princess and the crying worthless rabbit bore down on him. Phrases like, “How many dozens of women came before me,” would definitely get misunderstood. 
“Oh my, what a wonderful battlefield of love.” 
“It looks like that guy over there’s a real playboy.” 
“He just toys with girls’ feelings and throws them away when he’s done with them! What a heartless brute!” 
“Don’t meet his gaze! You’ll get pregnant!” 
The onlookers all started voicing their opinions. His mouth twitching, Hajime hurriedly tried to flee to somewhere more private. He picked Yue and Shea up, then carried them to the closest inn.


That evening, the three of them had split up to get their shopping done. Once they’d gotten everything they came for, they rendezvoused at the inn to get dinner. Hajime was sitting at a table by the window, his chin resting in his hands. Yue sat next to him. Shea had insisted on cooking dinner for him today, and was currently borrowing the inn’s kitchen. 
“Sorry for the wait~ Here’s Shea’s ultimate special~” 
“Ultimate special? What on earth did you make... Wait, this is...” 
“That’s right, it’s a meat and potato stew. Well, I don’t know what potatoes are supposed to taste like, so it’s just my imitation of it.” 
Hajime had told Shea all about the food he used to eat in Japan. Considering how many of the fruits and vegetables in this world resembled fruits and vegetables from his own, he’d thought it might be possible to recreate the same dishes. After a lot of trial and error, Shea had managed to replicate the stew decently enough with her stellar cooking skills. Hajime tentatively lifted a spoonful to his mouth. 
“Wow!” Hajime exclaimed. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was about as close as it could get. 
“But why’d you decide to make this again today?” 
“Ehehe... Because today’s Fris Day. You said people give gifts for that Valentine’s Day or whatever, right? I thought the best present I could give you was food from your hometown, Hajime-san.” 
“I see. Well, thanks. This is really good.” 
Shea’s rabbit ears flopped around happily. Then, Yue gently tugged on Hajime’s sleeve, so he turned to face her, and she pointed out the window. He looked outside quizzically, spotting speckles of white falling from the night sky. 
“Is that... snow?” 
“Mhm... Snow doesn’t fall on the northern continent, but you said it snowed in your hometown around Valentine’s Day, so I made it snow with magic.” 
Both Yue and Shea had worked hard to give Hajime a Valentine’s/Fris Day present. They both knew how badly Hajime wanted to go back, and this was the closest thing to home they could have given him. Hajime smiled gently at the two girls. Such a tender smile was rare for him. 
“These are the best presents I could ever ask for. Thank you.” 
“Mhm...” 
“You’re welcome!” 
While people outside frolicked in the snow that was neither cold nor wet, the three adventurers spent Fris Day with each other. 
A Certain Peaceful Hero Party 
This is a story that occurred a short while after the students were summoned to Tortus. After some time had passed, the students had finally begun to get used to the fantastical situation they’d been thrust into and returned to some semblance of a normal daily life. 
Kouki and his party were especially unused to all the praise and respect they were being showered with. As they were the group that would lead the vanguard in the war to come, the residents of Tortus had practically been worshiping them. However, they’d grown accustomed to it, and even made friends with some of this world’s inhabitants. 
Happy with the results of the day’s training, Kouki wiped the sweat off his brow and started heading back to his room. Ryutarou, who he was rooming with, had already returned ahead of him. Seeing as there was still time before the sun set, Kouki was thinking of inviting him to hang out somewhere. When he got back to his room, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. As he put his hand on the doorknob, he heard a voice coming from inside. 
“Hoooh... Haaah... Haaah...” 
Kouki peeked through the gap in the door and saw his best friend posing in front of the mirror. He shifted fluidly from pose to pose, as if he were going through a martial arts form. At times his large muscles relaxed, while at other points they tensed. Kouki could tell that Ryutarou was dead serious about whatever it was he was doing. 
I guess he’s checking the condition of his body or something? Or maybe it’s some kind of exercise? 
Sadly, Kouki couldn’t muster the courage to find out what Ryutarou was actually doing. In fact, he couldn’t even walk inside his room. The reason being because Ryutarou was doing all of this buck naked. Just then, Kouki’s gaze met Ryutarou’s. Or rather, the reflection of Ryutarou’s gaze in the mirror. They both froze in place. It was as if time had stopped. Expression stiff, Kouki muttered something. 
“Oh yeah, I just remembered I forgot something at the practice grounds. Bye.” Kouki wanted to escape from this awkward predicament as fast as possible. 
“Wait, Kouki! Don’t get the wrong idea. I was just practicing my forms!” 
“While... n-naked?” 
“W-Well, I just... Oh, who cares! Colonel Stuart was naked in the movie too!” 
I see. So Ryutarou was just acting out scenes from Die Hard 2. Kouki nodded in understanding, giving his best friend a look full of pity all the while. 
“Don’t worry; I didn’t see anything, Ryutarou... Anyway, I should go check up on Shizuku.” Kouki turned on his heel and high-tailed it out of there. 
“Ah, dammit, Kouki! Stop right there, you bastaaaaaard!” Ryutarou’s embarrassed shout echoed through the hallway. For days afterward, he could feel his classmates shooting him pitying looks. Needless to say, Ryutarou was traumatized from that day onward.


That night, Kouki was relaxing in his bedroom when the events of that afternoon suddenly came back to him. Back when they’d been kids, they’d often tried to imitate the heroes they’d seen in movies. It had been pretty embarrassing whenever Shizuku had caught them doing it. By the end of elementary school, though, Kouki had grown out of it. 
I guess coming to a world of swords and magic brought back a little bit of his childish side. 
When he thought about it like that, Ryutarou’s actions seemed kind of cute. He was tempted to tell Shizuku and Kaori about it. Ryutarou himself was still sulking and had gone out to do some extra training. The poor guys he’d roped into joining him were suffering his misplaced wrath right about now. Kouki glanced over at the holy sword leaning against his bed. It really was a magnificent piece of craftsmanship. He could feel something inside him stirring as he stared at it. Before he knew it, he had his sword in his hand and was standing in front of the mirror. He put his left hand on his hip and raised his sword up high, striking a daunting pose. 
“Hmm, this feels a bit plain.” Kouki swapped to a different pose. He was getting steadily more into it. After cycling through a few more poses, he remembered something from movie posters and swung his sword in a mighty arc. 
“I’ll protect everyone! I swear it on my pride as a hero!” 
That was perfect. Kouki sighed contentedly and smiled to himself. Just then, someone barged into the room. 
“Kouki-kun, are you here!? We’ve got a big problem! Ryutarou-kun’s started fighting with the other boys and—” Kaori stopped mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open. Kouki was still in the middle of posing in front of his mirror. It felt like time stopped for the second time that day. 
Sweat began dripping from Kouki’s forehead. He gave what he thought was a confident smile, his body still frozen in the same pose. With each second that passed, however, his smile grew stiffer until Kaori finally broke the silence. 
“G-Guys do this kind of stuff all the time, right? It’s no big deal or anything, right?” Kaori smiled awkwardly and backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Kouki heard her scream, “Shizuku-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaan” as her footsteps faded into the distance. A few minutes later, Kouki finally recovered enough to stop posing. 
“Wait Kaoriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! It was just a misunderstandiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!” His embarrassed shout echoed through the hallway. For days afterward, he could feel his classmates shooting him pitying looks. Needless to say, Kouki was traumatized from that day onward.


Sometime earlier, around when Kouki was discovering the marvels of Ryutarou’s naked body, Kaori was chatting to one of the palace’s maids. They were just talking about usual girl things. It had all started when one of the maids had asked Kaori what kind of drinks one of the male students in her class liked. From there, the discussion had devolved into the topic of love. 
One of the maids had been bold enough to say, “I bet if I said ‘I’m here to serve you personally, Master,’ I could make any of the boys fall for me.” 
The topic had gotten a bit too stimulating for the still innocent Kaori. Once the maids started talking about the gory details of seducing men, Kaori had fled from the conversation. 
“I never knew the palace maids were so lewd...” As the blush faded from Kaori’s cheeks, she noticed something. In her hurry to get away from the maids, she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going. As a result, she’d wandered into the storage closet used by the palace servants. 
On top of one of the shelves she spotted a pile of maid uniforms next to a sign that said “spare.” Five minutes later, the shelf was one maid uniform short. Kaori dashed back to her room as fast as her legs would take her and held the stolen maid uniform up to her chest. She examined herself in the mirror for a few seconds, blushed, then changed into the uniform. 
This was her first time wearing something like this. Had any of the boys in her class spotted her in it, they would have gotten nosebleeds instantly. She did a little twirl, and her skirt fluttered up. Kaori examined herself in the mirror and muttered something. 
“I-It looks pretty good.” A certain boy’s face popped into her mind. After a moment’s hesitation, she said something to the boy in her imagination. 
“L-Let me service you, Master~” 
She leaned forward, emphasizing her bust, and winked. Her actions were a little stiff, but it was still an impressive display. When she realized what she’d done, Kaori buried her face in her hands and hunched over. Finally, she got over herself and stood back up. She still couldn’t believe she’d actually said that. As she grabbed the hem of her skirt and turned around, she found herself face to face with Shizuku, who was sitting in her bed, a book hanging limply from her hands. 
“Sh-Sh-Sh-Shizuku-chan!? How long have you been here!?” 
“Since you got back?” 
Kaori had been so preoccupied that she hadn’t even noticed Shizuku was in the room. For her part, Shizuku had been too shocked by the chain of events to say anything. First her best friend barged into their room, then she changed into a maid outfit, then she started doing sexy poses. 
“Umm, so, Shizuku-chan. This isn’t what you think. So, like, basically, the maids were all acting really lewd, and then—” 
“Don’t worry, Kaori. It’s okay. I understand.” 
“Y-You do? Thank goodness. Hey, Shizuku-chan, why are you trying to sneak out of the room? Where do you think you’re going?” 
Shizuku surreptitiously put one hand on the doorknob. She smiled as sincerely as she could to Kaori, but Kaori wasn’t buying it. Kaori reached out to stop Shizuku, but before she could, Shizuku bolted out of the door. 
“Nagumo-kuuuuun! Kaori’s, Kaori’s—” 
“Noooooooooooooooooo! Stoooooooooooooooooop! Shizuku-chan I hate youuuuuuuuuuuu!” Her embarrassed shout echoed through the hallway. For days afterward, she could feel her classmates shooting her pitying looks. From that day onward, the story of Shizuku running around while Kaori chased her in a maid uniform became a legend among the palace residents. 
Midnight Tag 
The moon’s sinister silver light shone down on the world. A thick layer of clouds sparkled, forming complex patterns, creating an ethereal world of seas, mountains and cathedrals. Such fantastic shapes wouldn’t be possible with the clouds on earth. A single black shape glided through the illusory scenery. It was Tio. Her black scales scintillated in the moonlight as she slipped past towering cloud castles. 
“You really enjoy this, don’t you, Master?” Tio flapped her elegant wings and turned to speak to Hajime, who was riding on her back. 
“Well, yeah. It’s starting to become kind of a hobby. If it bothers you, you can tell me to stop asking anytime.” 
“Oh no, it’s no bother at all. In fact, I am glad you enjoy our nighttime jaunts through the skies. Though, you are the first person to ever ride upon my back. In a way, you could say you took my ‘first time.’” 
“Could you shut your mouth? And never open it again?” 
“More insults!? Perfect!” Tio started panting, ruining her majestic image. Hajime grimaced and turned his attention to the brilliant night sky. Thanks to the shimmering clouds, it wasn’t too dark. 
I’m in a parallel world, riding on the back of a dragon. This was the kind of thing every child dreamed of experiencing. And thanks to Tio, Hajime had been able to experience it for real. He’d enjoyed it so much that it had started becoming a hobby of his. On nights where the sky was overcast and there was no danger of anyone on the ground spotting Tio, he would soar through the skies on her transformed back. 
Tio, too, had come to enjoy their nighttime excursions. It was the only time she got to see Hajime, who normally only insulted her, meekly come up to her and ask, “Is it okay... if I ride you tonight?” 
She also felt a twinge of pride that he would choose to ask her. After all, if all he wanted to do was fly through the sky, he could easily craft an artifact that would let him. However, he went out of his way to specifically ask her. And while they didn’t talk much during their flights, Tio could tell Hajime enjoyed them immensely. 
It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside to know that she was making him happy. To Tio, these trips were an irreplaceable treasure. 
“What do you say, Master? Shall we fly through those cloud arches? You won’t see such formations often.” 
“Hm? Sure, that sounds good. You know, now that I get a good look at them, some of them aren’t arches at all. They’re rings. I should have expected as much from a fantasy world. Tio, since we’re already up here, why not show me just how fast you can fly?” 
“Fufufu. If that is what you wish, Master. I suppose I can show off if you insist. Hang on tight; you wouldn’t want to be blown off!” 
“You got it!” Hajime was unusually spirited. Spurred on by his excited response, Tio roared and flapped her wings. They accelerated toward the natural obstacle course the clouds had made for them. 
She sped through the sky like a bullet, a black streak through the midnight blue sky. She made sure Hajime was still hanging on and soared through the first arch. Then, she skillfully maneuvered through the next series of rings, using the air resistance to help her turn. 
“Haha, you’re amazing, Tio! I should have known a legendary dragon wouldn’t have any trouble with a few rings!” 
“You honor me with your praise, Master. If you are in a generous mood, I would like to take my reward in the form of kisses and abuse.” 
“I’ll abuse you all you want, but no kisses.” 
“Very well. How about kissing me while slapping my arse? Nothing would make me happier.” 
“Pervert. These night dates I can accept, but I will not allow you to do something so disgusting with Hajime.” 
“Please, could you—” Halfway through her sentence, Tio realized it wasn’t Hajime she was talking to. Yue was flying next to Tio, her arms crossed. Her glare was so intense that most people would have fainted just from being on its receiving end. 
“Yo, Yue. What’s up?” 
“It looked like you two were having a lot of fun, so I wanted to join in.” There was one part of what Yue said that struck Tio as odd. 
“How could you discern what we looked like? We were flying rather high in the sky, not to mention the fact that the clouds were obscuring us. Did you use some form of magic?” 
“Hm? I don’t need to use magic to know what Hajime’s feeling.” 
“I-I see.” 
Hajime was taken aback. It was a bit of a shock that she could tell what he was feeling all the time, no matter where he was. Especially since she claimed to not need magic to do it. 
“Your love is very stalk— Ahem, deep,” Tio muttered quietly. Yue turned her intense stare onto Hajime. It felt as if she were looking through his very soul. 
“It looked like you two were really enjoying yourselves,” she repeated herself. Tio could see the flames of jealousy burning deep within her eyes. 
“W-We should probably head back soon. Let’s do this again sometime, Master.” Pressured by Yue’s glare, Tio suggested they return. Oddly enough, Hajime didn’t respond right away. Normally he spoiled Yue, so it was rare to see him not acquiescing to her wishes. He put his hand on his chin and lapsed into thought. Then, in a flash of inspiration, he grinned at Yue and said something. 
“Hey, Tio. If I’m your master, then that means you have to listen to my orders.” 
“Fwah!? O-Of course. If there is an order you wish to give me, I will gladly accept.” This would be Hajime’s first formal order for Tio. She was both confused and somewhat excited by the prospect. Hajime’s grin grew wider, and he gave Tio her order. 
“Alright Tio, I order you to leave that vampire in the dust!” 
“Ah! I see, Master. I must say, I didn’t expect you to have such a mischievous side to you. Still, that’s what makes you interesting! Very well, I shall do as you command!” Tio let out a playful howl and accelerated even more. She easily outstripped Yue. While she was still recovering from the shock of what had just happened, Hajime called out to her. 
“Hey, vampire princess! Catch us if you can! If you manage to get us, I’ll give you anything you want!” 
“Are you sure you want to make that bet? You know you have no chance of winning, right?” 
“This dragon of mine might be a hopeless pervert, but she’s pretty fast! You sure you can win that easily?” 
“Hmph, as if I would lose to a pervert. You’ll regret choosing the dragon over me!” 
“M-My dear Master, could you please not insult me in the middle of a conversation with someone else? Haaah... Haaah... I might get so excited that I accidentally cancel my transformation.” 
Now that he was finally able to enjoy his time in this other world, Hajime wanted to savor it to the fullest. A game of tag through the night sky with Yue was the perfect way to do that. And though her words were harsh, Yue was grinning, too. Panting excitedly, Tio blazed through the sky. Yue used her gravity magic to close in on them. The moment she saw her chance, she would rush in for the kill. “Aaah, I’m begging you, Master! Please whip my arse into shape! Drive me like you would a horse! I am certain I could go even faster that way. If you punish me, I’ll have enough strength to sprint through that wall of clouds!” 
Hajime ignored the dragon’s perverted words and focused on the race. He didn’t want her ruining this perfect night. Meanwhile, on the ground, Shea had been left all alone. 
“The rain won’t stop... and no one’s back yet... Don’t tell me they forgot about me? Don’t they know that rabbits die from loneliness? Hurry up and come baaaaack~ Hic...” Shea huddled inside her tent and stared up at the cloudy sky. 
Don’t Call Me A Goddess! 
“Whoa, look at that! It’s the Fertility Goddess!” 
“To think she would visit our lowly town...” 
“Her kindness knows no bounds. I heard she stood up to an army of sixty thousand monsters just to save the town of Ur.” 
“Not only is she improving all of our lives, she’s putting her own on the line to protect us. Though she’s a bit different from what I expected. I thought she would be more... adult-like and beautiful.” 
“That’s what makes her such an amazing goddess. Even though she’s short, she’s still working so hard for our sake. This may be rude, but I honestly think she’s kind of cute.” 
“I know what you mean. She may be a goddess, but honestly, she reminds me of a baby squirrel. I just want to cuddle her.” 
“Oh, you too? I know it’s rude to think this of a goddess, which is why I didn’t say it before... but she’s really cute. I want to take her home and take care of her.” 
“Personally, I want to give her a big hug. I’d sit her on my lap and admire her all day long.” 
“I just want to look after her.” 
The villagers were talking so loudly that it was hard to believe they were even trying to keep Aiko from hearing them. Aiko flushed bright red and tried her best not to say anything. Some time had passed after the incident at Ur, and Aiko had heard the same things from every village they’d gone through on their way back to the capital. Thanks to Hajime’s little scheme, everyone thought it was Aiko the Fertility Goddess who’d saved the town of Ur. 
The stories had spread like wildfire, and her name was already known throughout the kingdom. She’d accelerated her fame by making sure she improved the agricultural conditions of every single village she stopped at on the way back as well. Though it was her own actions that had made her look so endearing, and made the villagers all think she was adorable. 
Despite her petite appearance, Aiko was 25 years old. She was an independent, working, contributing member of society. She didn’t like being treated like a goddess, nor did she like being treated like a child. She glared angrily at the villagers, but it had the opposite effect of what she’d intended. 
“Ah, the goddess looked at us! All hail the Fertility Goddess! Come on everyone, cheer with me!” 
“All hail our goddess! All hail the Fertility Goddess!” 
Now they were cheering her on in the streets. Tears of embarrassment welled up in Aiko’s eyes. 
“E-Everyone, my name is Aiko! Aiko Hatayama! Please stop calling me a goddess!” Aiko had tried to stop people from calling her a goddess wherever she’d gone, but to no avail. 
“H-How humble... To think she would allow us poor villagers to call her by her name...” 
“Her kindness truly knows no bounds... I have never been so moved in my life.” 
“All hail our Fertility Goddess!” 
“All hail our kind and merciful Fertility Goddess!” 
Trembling with emotion, the villagers continued to cheer on Aiko. Her words had only served to deepen their faith in her. 
“Grrrrrr, what do I have to do to get them to use my actual name? Are they trying to kill me with embarrassment? Are the villagers all actually hitmen out to end my life?” Aiko was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even think straight, which was why she was seriously entertaining the possibility that all the villagers were hitmen. 
David and the rest of Aiko’s guards tried to cheer her up, but they couldn’t hide their own happiness at how popular their goddess had become. Their obviously insincere attempts to make her feel better only made Aiko feel more depressed. 
“Umm, Ai-chansensei. We’re the hero’s comrades, and Ehit’s warriors, so we’ll always stand out no matter where we go. You shouldn’t worry so much about the attention.” 
“Sonobe-san... I don’t mind the attention. Well, I do a little, but there’s nothing we can do about that. It’s just hard acting like a grown adult when everyone around you is calling you a goddess!” 
Without a moment’s delay, David and the other knights started telling Aiko how she wasn’t really that old, and that she was too cute to be an adult. Aiko ignored them. 
“Now now, Ai-chansensei. Your fame as the Fertility Goddess was spreading even before Ur. All that did was speed it up a little.” Atsushi and the others nodded in agreement. 
“I suppose you’re right, but still...” Aiko just didn’t want to accept it. The students all watched her with a mixture of pity and amusement. She decided to flee back to their inn, trying to escape from the villagers’ gazes, but before she made it inside, she heard them start talking about someone else. 
“By the way, what kind of person is the Goddess’ Sword? I’ve heard that he has white hair and wears an eyepatch...” 
“Well, the only people that strong aside from the knights are Ehit’s warriors, but I heard he wasn’t one of them.” 
“Are we even sure he has white hair and wears an eyepatch?” 
It seemed it wasn’t only Aiko’s fame that had started to spread, but Hajime’s too. The Goddess’ Sword was just as well known as the Fertility Goddess herself now. Aiko’s ears perked up when she heard Hajime’s title mentioned. She looked around the street while surreptitiously listening in on their conversation. Yuka and the other students strained their ears as well. Now that the topic had been brought up, the villagers were eager to share all the rumors they’d heard about Hajime. 
“That much is certain. After all, there aren’t many white-haired guys with eyepatches running around.” 
“I heard he shot down all the flying monsters with a spear of light, and destroyed the rest with a meteor shower.” 
“He sounds amazing. But if he’s the Goddess’ Sword, how come he isn’t guarding her right now? That group of Ehit’s warriors is.” 
He certainly was amazing back there, Aiko and the students thought to themselves. Even David and the other knights begrudgingly had to admit that Hajime had fought splendidly. Though, that didn’t mean they had to like everything else he’d done. 
The villagers all puzzled over the question of why Hajime wasn’t guarding Aiko like a Goddess’ Sword should. One of them spoke up, offering a possible explanation. 
“Come to think of it, I heard something from a merchant who was staying in the same Water Sprite Inn as the Goddess. Apparently her sword had a lot of women in his party and they were trying to fight with the Goddess for his love. Maybe he felt it would be awkward if he stayed?” 
Aiko coughed in surprise, quickly averting her gaze. 
“Wait, what!? The Goddess and her sword are lovers!?” Before long, the story had grown completely out of hand. According to the villagers, Aiko and Hajime were now lovers, and he’d had to leave her side because another woman had gotten between them. 
“E-Excuse me, everyone. Please don’t spread baseless rumors! I am a teacher, and he’s my student! We have no such illicit relationship!” 
Aiko’s knights approached the villagers with a dark look in their eyes, but before they could do anything, she spoke up. Unfortunately, the desperation in her voice made it seem like she was just trying to hide the truth and what had just been a rumor became cemented as fact in the villagers’ minds. 
“Oh yeah, I didn’t want to say this because it might be rude, but I heard from a lot of people that after the fight the goddess and her sword, well, you know.” 
“Y-Yeah, I heard that too. That they shared a passionate kiss in the town square in front of everyone, I mean. 
Aiko blushed so deeply that her face looked like a giant tomato. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sounds came out. The villagers started discussing the kiss, and Aiko began to panic. She turned to look at Yuka and tried to explain herself. 
“S-S-S-S-Sonobe-san, it’s not what you think! He was just giving me CPR. There was nothing romantic about it! I swear, I’m an upright and honest teacher!” 
“H-Huh!? Why are you trying to explain it to me? B-Besides, whatever you might have done has nothing to do with me!” 
Yuka couldn’t understand why Aiko had suddenly turned to her. But even though she tried to protest, Aiko was beyond reason. Yuka couldn’t stop her from repeating, “I swear, it’s all just a misunderstanding.” 
“What’s this strange feeling welling up...?” 
“You don’t have to say it, Atsushi... I know exactly how you feel.” 
The girls near them were getting flustered over a guy who wasn’t even here. Atsushi and the other guys watched on with dead eyes, while Taeko and Nana just snickered. Even when he wasn’t present, Hajime was sure to cause a ruckus. 
Yue’s Magic Lessons 
“Hm? You want to know the trick to using magic?” Yue tilted her head in confusion. It was just past noon, and Shea had asked her what the trick was to using magic. Shea had absolutely no affinity for any of the elements. It was so bad that her affinity was around the same level as Hajime’s. 
In fact, the two of them had often spent evenings lamenting to each other how they wished they could use magic. However, despite these shortcomings, Shea had one thing no other beastman had .She possessed mana, and the ability to manipulate it directly. Because of that, she still held dreams of decimating hordes of enemies with magic. As nothing else had worked, Yue was her last hope. If even the strongest magician in history didn’t have a solution for her, then Shea really was doomed. 
“Yes please. Maybe if I learn your secrets, I’ll be able to use a few spells in battle even though I don’t have any affinity for magic. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.” 
“Hmm... Okay, I’ll teach you. It never hurts to have more skilled party members.” 
“Wow, really!? Thank you so much, Yue-san! I knew I could count on you!” Shea’s bunny ears flopped happily. She was over the moon already; even though there was no guarantee Yue could solve her problem, either. 
“Oh, is Yue holding a magic lesson? This sounds rather interesting. Would it be alright if I joined in, Yue?” 
“Yeah, I don’t mind. It’s kind of moving knowing a dragon wants to be taught by me.” Though Tio already had amazing affinity with most of the elements, she too was interested in Yue’s lessons. It wasn’t every day that she had the chance to learn from the greatest magician of the age, after all. 
For her part, Yue had grown up listening to stories of the wise dragonman tribes. It was a mark of pride to her that one such dragonman would be interested in learning from her. 
Hajime watched the three girls discuss the finer points of spellcasting with a forlorn look in his eyes. 
Sharp-sighted as always, Tio noticed Hajime’s gaze and tilted her head quizzically. “Master, what’s wrong? Would you like to join in as well?” 
“Nah, I’m good.” Hajime seemed unusually dispirited. Sensing an opportunity to tease him, Shea grinned and opened her mouth. 
“Fufufu. What’s wrong, Hajime-san? Could it be that you already received private lessons from Yue-san, but you still can’t use magic? Is that why you’re too scared to try again?” 
“Nah, that’s not it.” 
“Then why won’t you join us?” 
“Really, I’m good. In fact, you two should probably get out while you still have time. For your own sake, I mean.” 
Yue didn’t take kindly to that. She pouted and turned to face Hajime. 
“You’re so mean, Hajime. Are you saying I’m useless?” 
“Not exactly. It’s just, everyone’s suited to certain tasks and not suited to others...” 
“Huh, but Hajime-san, wouldn’t Yue-san be the most suited person to teach us magic?” 
“Precisely. I have lived a long time, but never have I seen anyone with as much talent as Yue. I consider myself a skilled magician, but even I would relish an opportunity to learn from her.” 
Hajime raised his hands in surrender. 
“Just remember I warned you.” 
They pondered his words for a few seconds, but the lure of being taught by Yue reeled them back in, so they put it out of their minds. 
Yue pulled out a pair of silver-rimmed spectacles—no one knew where she got them from—and began her lecture. She articulated with her hands as she explained the theory behind the original spells she’d created. About ten minutes into the lecture, Shea and Tio began to have an inkling of what Hajime had tried to warn them about. 
“So if you just go whoosh with the magic here, it’ll go all zap. Then, you just have to squeeze it like Gyuu and it’s done! Simple, right?” Yue smiled at her dumbfounded pupils. Nothing about that had been simple at all. 
“I see. Or rather, I don’t.” 
“Yeah, I have no idea what you just said.” 
“Huh!?” Yue’s eyes went wide with surprise. Tio and Shea timidly tried to ask for a more elaborate explanation. 
“What exactly is the zap part supposed to mean?” 
“What do you mean ‘Gyuu’?” 
“Like I said, it’s when your mana goes Gyuu. Then there’s that little fluffy feeling, and you just have to get to that floaty state where—” 
Shea couldn’t take it anymore. 
“Like I said, that doesn’t make any sense! All these weird sounds and stuff don’t actually mean anything! I’m begging you, please just use normal people words!” 
Yue tilted her head in confusion. How did that explanation not make sense? I tried to make it as simple as possible. 
Realizing this was what made sense to Yue, Tio changed track. She asked Yue if she could give a more theoretical explanation. Yue nodded, and did as she was asked. 
“So, the Gyuu state is basically when you accelerate your mana from 0 to 2.25. From there, you multiply it by a further 2.25 to 2.27 depending on the element and type of spell you’re attempting to cast. However, unless you restrict it with a resistance ratio of 3.95, you won’t be able to give the spell form. Fortunately, once you’ve cast it, the degree of variability is automatically accounted for, so you don’t have to—” 
“I meant a theoretical explanation people can actually understand!” This time it was Tio’s turn to explode. Shea’s rabbit ears were pressed flat against her head, and she was staring off into the distance with dead eyes. Yue grumbled to herself, confused as to why the two of them couldn’t get it. 
“That’s why I tried to give you a simple explanation first... Why don’t you two understand?” 
“Gah!?” Shea and Tio clutched their chests and collapsed. It seemed from Yue’s tone that she thought the two of them were idiots. In truth though, Yue was thinking no such thing. She was honestly confused as to why an explanation that seemed simple to her didn’t make sense to them. It was as obvious as the fact that the sun rose in the east, and that leaves changed color in fall. 
Shea had already known she knew nothing about magic, so the hit wasn’t that bad for her, but for Tio it was devastating. She had considered herself if not a master, at least a veteran magician. However, the pride and knowledge she’d built up for centuries had been shattered by a single sentence from Yue. 
She crawled along the floor muttering, “A-Am I truly an idiot? Did I honestly believe I was a skilled magician when I don’t even understand the basics?” 
Shea tottered over to Yue and threw herself at Yue’s feet. “Please, please make it stop. You’ve already crushed Tio-san’s pride.” 
“Don’t worry, all you need is practice. Just follow the steps I said, and you’ll be able to do it, too. Come on, stand up and give it a try.” 
Shea and Tio staggered to their feet. Even if they told Yue to stop, she wouldn’t. She’d gotten into the role of a teacher and was having too much fun to quit. 
“Okay, repeat after me. Gyuu! Paruparu! Soooi!” 
“Aren’t those sounds different from last time!?” 
Yue made a kamen rider pose and tried to lead Shea and Tio through a spell. Naturally, the two of them couldn’t understand her at all. However, that wasn’t going to stop Yue. 
“Come on, go ‘Gyuu’! Come on! What’s taking you guys so long!” 
“G-Gyuu!” 
“G-Gyuu...” 
“Okay, now ‘roonroon’!” 
“R-Roonroon.” 
“Once more, with feeling! ‘Soooi’!” 
“S-Sooooooi!” 
Their voices carried a long way through the empty plains. A few passing adventurers gave the trio odd looks. Shea and Tio were in tears by now. 
“I warned you.” Back when he’d been in the abyss, Hajime had hungered for more power, which naturally meant he’d asked Yue to teach him magic. She’d taken him through the same hellish routine Shea and Tio were suffering now. 
Geniuses were considered geniuses precisely because they operated on a different level from normal people. Hajime ignored Shea and Tio’s pleas for help and lost himself in thought. 
Rabbitmen Clothing is a Dangerous Weapon 
Hajime and his party had stopped in a small town for the night. Despite the town’s relatively small size, there was a surprisingly large amount of people there. The girls all looked around happily. 
“So this is the town famous for its textiles. Everyone’s clothes look really well made.” 
“Mhmm. The weavers here are very skilled.” 
Yue’s crimson eyes darted from person to person. She was impressed by the quality of the cloth she saw. Back in the abyss she had sewed clothes for herself and Hajime. At first, it had taken a lot of effort to make even the simplest of garments, but she’d improved a lot since then. Sewing had become something of a hobby for her. Hence why she was so excited by all the rolls of colorful yarn that she saw, and the skilled weavers who knitted with them. 
Shea and Kaori were quite excited as well. Shea was a master of all household chores, so of course clothes and sewing excited her, while Kaori was a high school girl with an interest in fashion. While the others were fascinated by the town, the town was fascinated by Tio. Her exquisitely crafted dress was a traditional garment for dragonmen, but it was rare to see something like it outside her village. 
“Daddy, look at all the different clothes! I’ve never seen those kinds before!” 
“Really...? Come to think of it, what do dagons usually wear anyway?” 
Young though she may be, Myu was still a girl. She was just as interested in clothes as the others. Hajime looked up to the little girl riding on his shoulder. She tilted her head and thought for a moment. 
“Nothing, usually!” 
“You guys are nudists!?” 
Hajime noticed the cold stares from the girls and quickly cleared his throat. In truth, dagons usually wore some form of swimsuit, as they spent most of their lives in the water. When they were on land, they put on a robe or something over that, but that was about it. 
Hajime could see the other girls were about to mention that they would strip for him if that was what he wanted. He really didn’t want to have that conversation, so he turned to Myu for salvation. 
“Is there anything you want, Myu? Since we’re already here, I can buy you some new clothes if you want.” 
“I can buy anything!? Ummmm, ummm...” 
Eyes sparkling, Myu looked for something to get. Hajime really did spoil her. Yue and the others stared pointedly at him. Hajime smiled, and agreed to buy them whatever they wanted too. After a few seconds of searching, Myu found what she wanted. She stared long and hard at a certain article of clothing. Specifically, what Yue was wearing. 
“Hm? What’s wrong, Myu?” 
Myu pointed at Yue and said, “I want what Yue-oneechan is wearing! I want to wear something like that too!” 
“You want my clothes? But Myu, there’s so many other cuter outfits here.” 
Yue’s dress had frills everywhere and was plenty cute. But she’d designed it for travel and combat, so it wasn’t the most elegant piece. However, Myu had seemingly taken a liking to it. 
“But you’re the coolest, Yue-oneechan! You look really cool when you’re fighting with Daddy and using magic and stuff! Even though I’m daddy’s daughter, I’m really weak. But maybe if I wear your dress I’ll get stronger too!” 
“Myu, you’re so pure it hurts.” 
Myu’s statement had been so cute that it gave Yue a nosebleed. Yue plucked Myu off of Hajime’s shoulder and squished her soft cheeks. Myu squealed in protest but Yue ignored her. 
“M-Myu-chan, don’t you think I look cool, too? I can take out anyone with a single swing of my hammer! Enemies cower before me!” 
“Myu-chan, I’m really good at holding enemies back! Here, let me show you my Binding Blades of Light!” 
“In that case, allow me to show you the power of my breath. You’ve yet to see just how amazing I am, correct? My glorious breath will leave you astounded.” 
Everyone tried to impress the party’s little princess. Myu squirmed her way out of Yue’s grip and turned around. 
“You’re not... cool, Shea-oneechan. You’re, umm... wild?” 
Shea clutched her chest and fell to the ground with a moan. There was nothing more heartbreaking than being told you’re not cool by a little girl. 
“And Kaori-oneechan’s... weak...” 
Kaori clutched her chest and fell to the ground with a moan. There was nothing more heartbreaking than being told you’re a pathetic weakling by a little girl. 
“And Tio-oneechan... y-you’re okay!” 
“What on earth is that supposed to mean!?” Tio retorted and fell to the ground. There was nothing more heartbreaking than being pitied by a little girl. 
Three girls lay on the ground in the middle of the town’s main street. They looked up simultaneously when they heard footsteps approaching them. Yue was standing over them, grinning from ear to ear. Rarely did she ever show such expressiveness. 
Shea and the others slowly got to their feet, a murderous glint in their eyes. They had always known she would be the final boss. 
Thinking it was her fault that her role models were fighting, Myu hurriedly stepped between them. 
“U-Umm, you all have really cool clothes too, Shea-oneechan, Kaori-oneechan, Tio-oneechan! So umm... I know! Let’s all trade clothes! That way we’ll all be able to wear everyone’s clothes! It’ll be fun!” 
The four women looked at each other and smiled awkwardly. Their petty rivalry had caused a little girl to worry about them. Hajime smiled, proud of his daughter’s attempts to mediate. Then he grinned wickedly and turned to Yue. 
“How about it, why not give Myu’s proposal a go? You can all draw lots at random and wear whoever’s outfit you pull. We’re in a town of tailors, so they’ll be able to make them in your sizes easily.” 
Myu looked up at the girls expectantly. There was no refusing her. Yue and the others quickly agreed to Myu’s idea. With a great deal of money and coercion, Hajime convinced a nearby tailor to make the girls’ outfits right away. Once he was finished, the girls went into the fitting rooms to change. As the store they were in was a large one, there were plenty of other customers around. Hajime stood in front of the changing rooms, waiting to see who came out first. 
“Daddy, look, look! I’m Yue-oneechan!” 
It turned out to be Myu. She was wearing Yue’s clothes. A frilly shirt, a black skirt, a white coat, and ankle boots. Hajime had to admit she looked cute. She flapped her arms, which were too short for the coat, and struck the same pose Yue did when she was casting magic. 
“Oh, it looks pretty good on you Myu. You look more like an adult now.” 
Myu grinned and blushed. 
“Myu, don’t open the door while other people are still changing.” 
Yue stepped out of the same fitting room. She’d gone in with Myu to help her change. Hajime muttered a soft, “Wow...” as he saw Yue’s outfit. He wasn’t the only one, either. The other customers and even the tailor who ran the store were impressed. Yue was wearing Tio’s kimono. The dragonman’s kimono was an eclectic mixture of western and Japanese styles. Yue looked like a refined, elegant lady in it. 
“Th-This is my first time wearing such an outfit... I must say it’s rather embarrassing.” 
“Your clothes are so frilly, Kaori-san! There’s so much cloth it’s hard to move around in them.” 
Next out were Tio and Shea. Tio was wearing Myu’s one piece. It was white, and adorned with multiple ribbons and frills. Tio blushed as she looked down at herself. 
It’s rare to see that perverted dragon ever embarrassed about anything. Still, she looks cute in that. Hajime said as much to Tio, which caused her to blush even more furiously and hide behind a clothing rack. The male customers all got nosebleeds watching her. 
Meanwhile, Shea was in Kaori’s priestess’ clothes. She found the overabundance of cloth uncomfortable, but the outfit accented her figure nicely. Hajime had to admit she looked beautiful in it. The only person left was Kaori. However, even after a few minutes she didn’t come out. 
“Hm? She’s still not coming out.” 
“Hmm. Wait here, I’ll drag her out.” 
Yue smiled mischievously and barged into Kaori’s changing room. There were a few loud thumps, and Kaori screamed shrilly, “I can’t do it! I can’t wear Shea’s clothes! They’re practically underwear!” 
“Don’t worry about it,” was Yue’s reply. 
Then, after a moment of silence, the door to Kaori’s changing room flew open and Kaori was thrown out into the wild. 
“Ugh, this is soooo embarrassing. Hajime-kun, please don’t stare at me too much...” 
Kaori tried to cover herself up with her hands as she blushed to the tips of her ears. Rabbitmen clothing was quite revealing, and Kaori’s slender legs and ample cleavage were on full display. Hajime normally didn’t notice the outfit since Shea didn’t seem to care about how much of her skin she exposed. However, Kaori’s embarrassment emphasized just how revealing it was. Quite a few of the customers fainted from blood loss after seeing how sexy she looked. The store became a sea of blood as Yue and the others swapped outfits again and again. 
Shea’s outfit looked smoking hot on anyone who wore it, and before long the customers were drowning in their own nosebleeds. Hajime made a mental note to slaughter all of the men who’d gotten nosebleeds looking at Myu in Shea’s outfit later. Once the outfit swapping was over, Hajime gave his closing remarks. 
“Yeah, I guess Shea’s clothes really are sexy.” 
Traditional clothing or not, it was rather revealing. And so, Hajime reconfirmed what he’d always known, but had forgotten. 
Fantasy World Mini-Skirt Santas 
“Come to think of it, it’s almost Christmas.” 
Hajime and the others looked up from their food at Kaori. They had stopped in a small town for lunch. Yue and the others looked confused, but Hajime nodded and said, “Oh yeah, you’re right... At least, going by earth time it would be.” 
“Fufu, the Christmas party we had last year at school was pretty fun. You only stayed for a little bit, but at least we took pictures and exchanged presents still...” 
Kaori smiled as she reminisced about the past. Hajime, too, smiled faintly as he thought back to his days in Japan. Yue’s eyebrows twitched as she watched the two of them. Shea grumbled to herself while Tio smiled knowingly. Myu simply watched them with a blank expression on her face. 
“Yeah, I definitely remember you and Yaegashi blocking the door and begging me to take a picture with you guys. Thanks to that, the whole class hated me on Christmas. After that, even though it was supposed to be a random present exchange, you only gave your presents to me. So the class hated me even more. Then, you jacked the present I’d brought for the party and invited me to an after party at your house in front of everyone. At which point I’m pretty sure the rest of the class was ready to murder me... Yeah, that Christmas is definitely nostalgic. Also terrifying.” 
“Are you sure we’re remembering the same party!?” 
Kaori couldn’t believe her ears. But all of the events Hajime spoke of had really happened. He honestly feared for his life that night. Yue tugged on Hajime’s sleeve and asked him what Christmas was. He explained that it was an end-of-year festival and left out the Christian roots. After all, what was important about Christmas was that a jolly man in a strange costume went around giving presents to all the good kids that night. That, and all the Christmas cake people ate. Kaori puffed out her cheeks and complained about Hajime’s half-assed explanation. 
“That’s not all, Hajime-kun. If you’re going to explain, explain properly. L-Like how it’s a holiday for lovers to deepen their bonds.” 
Kaori blushed at her own words. Yue and the others suddenly looked very interested. 
“Hajime, did you do anything with Kaori that night? You know, the kinds of things lovers might do?” 
“I already mentioned everything I did at that party. Back then, I just thought of Kaori as a troublemaker. There’s no way I would have ended up spending Christmas alone with her. If I had... I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now.” 
“Th-That’s mean, Hajime-kun!” 
It hurt to have Hajime denounce her as a troublemaker so casually. Worse, Hajime didn’t seem moved at all by her pleading gaze. 
“That’s my line, you airheaded troublemaker. It would have been even worse if you’d only invited me to that after party of yours, but as it was that was still a huge problem for me. Especially with the way you were dressed. I thought for sure you were out to kill me.” 
“O-Out to kill you? Why would I do that?” 
Wondering what Hajime meant, Kaori tearfully searched through her memories. The way I was dressed? What was I even wearing that day? Oh yeah... 
“U-Umm... if I recall correctly I was dressed in a santa costume...” 
Indeed, Kaori had been dressed in a santa outfit the day of the party. That in itself wouldn’t have been a problem. Santa costumes were pretty common during Christmas. Kaori tilted her head, wondering what had been wrong with her outfit. Hajime sighed. The worst part about all of this was that he knew now that Kaori hadn’t actually meant anything malicious by it. 
“Back when you asked me how you looked, I just said it suited you. That was because I didn’t want the other students to kill me. However, I’ll be honest with you now. That costume of yours was really erotic.” 
“E-Erotic!? You really thought that!?” 
“Uh, yeah? Your skirt was so short I thought I’d be able to see your panties. There was a heart-shaped pattern cut out of the shirt so I could easily see your cleavage, and it was sleeveless. Plus, with how tightly it fit, I could see all of your curves. Do you even know how many guys Yaegashi had to put down because they couldn’t control themselves any longer?” 
Kaori buried her face in her hands. She was red all the way to the tips of her ears. She’d worn that outfit because her friends (mostly Suzu) had told her that she’d be able to make any man fall for her if she put it on. It was only her delusions of making Hajime fall for her that had given her the courage to wear such an embarrassing costume. When she thought back on it now, she realized just how bold she’d been. But she didn’t have too long to sit there squirming, because Shea and the others chose that moment to butt in. 
“You really are crafty, Kaori-san. Really crafty. To think you tried to use revealing clothes to make Hajime-san fall for you. You’re a natural born erorist!” 
I don’t want to hear that from you. You wear even less than that normally! 
“Hmm, I understand now. You wore a revealing outfit on purpose so you could get off to everyone calling you a pervert. You are even more of a deviant than I am.” 
I am NOT! Also, there’s no way I would ever be more perverted than you! 
“You’re so red, Kaori-oneechan. You look cute!” 
You’re cuter than I am, Myu. In fact, you’re my only source of relief in this cruel world. 
Yue stood up silently, her eyes burning with fighting spirit. 
“......” 
Then, she grabbed Kaori by the collar and dragged her out of the restaurant. 
“Y-Yue? Where are you taking me? Actually wait, let me go! I can walk myself!” 
“We’re going to buy clothes. Then to fight, seduction with seduction. Santa costume against santa costume. I’ll prove that you’re not the only one that can be an erotic santa.” 
“I never claimed I was! Also I’m not that much of a pervert! Stop lumping me together with you!” 
“Heh.” 
“Hey, what was that laugh for!? Tell me, Yue!” 
But Yue ignored her. Realizing what was about to happen, Shea and Tio followed the pair out. They took Myu with them, and left Hajime to pay the bill. 
That evening, five people in santa outfits stood in front of Hajime. With the exception of Myu, all of their outfits were erotic. Mini-skirts and sleeveless shirts abounded. 
“Hm. What do you think, Hajime?” 
Yue twirled around, her skirt rising dangerously high as she did so. Shea and Tio struck alluring poses, emphasizing their massive breasts. 
“Well, they do look good on you guys, but... if I saw you on the streets, I’d think you were all perverts.” 
“Huh!?” 
Yue, Shea, and Tio stiffened. They all turned to Kaori, who was trying her best to cover herself up with her hands. Kaori averted her gaze. 
“You planned this, didn’t you?” 
“I didn’t! In fact, I’m the one who told you guys not to do this! But you kept insisting! And now I’m stuck wearing this too... It’s so embarrassing!” 
“Doesn’t matter, this is your fault. Now pay for making Hajime sigh at us!” 
Yue called forth a fierce tempest. Kaori, who had no real defense to speak of, could only watch as her skirt was flipped all the way up. 
“Stooop! He’ll be able to see my pantieeees! Ugh, fine if this is how you want to play... Divine Shackles!” 
Kaori pushed her skirt back down and sent chains of light at Yue’s skirt. 
“Hmph. Not good enough. Tio Barrier!” 
“What are you doing? Aaah, they’re twisting around me!? I’ve never experienced bondage like this!” 
Yue pulled Tio in front of her and used the dragonman as a shield. Kaori’s chains mercilessly tied Tio up, emphasizing her breasts even more. She instantly started panting heavily. Yue countered with another burst of wind. This too, was aimed at Kaori’s skirt. 
“Like I’ll let you! Shea Barrier!” 
“Whaaat!? Hey, Kaori-san!?” 
Kaori’s chains wrapped around Shea and dragged into the line of fire. Shea’s skirt flipped up past her stomach, revealing her plump thighs. 
“Kaori-san! This is far too embarrassing! Please let me go!” 
“Don’t worry, the outfit you’re usually wearing is just as embarrassing!” 
“Hey, what the fuck did you just say, you little bitch!? Are you insulting the traditional dress of the Haulia!?” 
Shea ripped off her chains and charged at Kaori. But Kaori fended her off with a barrage of Binding Blades of Light. 
Freed from her shackles, Tio squared off against Yue. 
“If you’re going to strip people, then it’s only fair for you to be stripped in return!” 
Tio grabbed Kaori’s unpowered chains and looked for an opportunity to flip Yue’s skirt. In an inn inside a small town in Tortus, four santas tried their best to strip each other. 
“Daddy, this coat is all fluffy!” 
Meanwhile, Myu enjoyed prancing around in her santa outfit. 
“Myu, please grow up into a better woman than those four...” 
Hajime patted Myu’s head while he watched the four girls try to strip each other through increasingly violent means. 
The Stands 
It was a peaceful, sunny day in the floating city of Erisen. Lately, however, the city had been anything but peaceful. Today, like usual, Hajime was sitting on the pier practicing his transmutation. One of the causes of the city’s troubles walked up to him. 
“Hajime-kun, can I sit next to you?” 
“That you, Kaori? You know you don’t have to ask permission for each little thing, right?” 
Kaori blushed, and sat down close to him. Extremely close to him. Close enough that Hajime had a hard time concentrating on his transmuting. She was also in her swimsuit. 
Hajime turned to Kaori, planning on telling her to respect his personal space, when she was blown off the pier. She flew through the sky, flipping over herself multiple times, and fell into the water with a loud splash. Yue walked up and took the spot Kaori had vacated. Though she was as expressionless as usual, Hajime could tell she was satisfied. She sat down next to Hajime and stretched her bare legs. 
“Yue, did you just...” 
“What are you making, Hajime?” 
Looks like she’s at it again today too... Yue pretended she hadn’t just blown Kaori into the water and looked curiously at Hajime’s work. But before she could do much more, Kaori pulled herself back onto the pier. She was dripping wet, and her bangs covered her face so that she looked like a certain horror movie antagonist. 
“Yue, do you have anything to say for yourself? I’ll give you one chance to explain.” 
“Huh? Who are you?” A vein pulsed in Kaori’s forehead. Invisible sparks flew as their gazes met. 
“Fufufu, you’re a funny one, Yue. I can’t believe you’ve forgotten about the person you just threw into the sea. Is your memory really that bad?” 
“Oh. I remember now, you’re Kaori. You’re so gloomy that I always forget who you are. You should try and do something about that gloominess of yours.” 
“I think you’re the one that needs to fix that leaky brain of yours.” 
Kaori and Yue both started laughing. Yue got to her feet and the two glared at each other. As always, strange creatures appeared behind both of the girls. A massive golden thunder dragon appeared behind Yue while a demon in a terrifying mask appeared behind Kaori. The dragon let out a ferocious roar while a blizzard whipped up around the demon as he tapped his sword against his shoulder. This was the reason Erisen hadn’t been peaceful in recent days. The strange apparitions that Yue and Kaori summoned were the cause of it all. Hajime knew what came next. Kaori would yell at Yue for being a bully and attack her. Yue would reply that it was Kaori’s fault for trying to be crafty and fight back. Their little catfights had become quite the spectacle, and many of Erisen’s citizens came to watch. 
“Look, they’re at it again today, too. Just what are those things behind them? They look like a dragon and a demon, but how do they appear and disappear like that?” 
As Hajime watched them duel with a troubled smile, Shea walked up to him. 
“Why do you look so unhappy? By the way, you shouldn’t try to understand those apparitions. Just accept them as part of life.” 
“What are you saying, Hajime-san? Those things only pop up whenever they’re fighting over you. In other words, they’re proof of their love!” 
“They better not be. What kind of symbol of love is a dragon or a demon?” 
Shea folded her ears over her head and ignored Hajime’s words. 
“I love you just as much as they do, so how come I can’t summon a spirit of love? I want one of those weird apparition thingies, too!” 
That’s what she’s unhappy about? Hajime sighed as he watched Shea scrunch up her face and try to summon something. 
“I think I already know, but what are you doing?” 
“Trying to summon an apparition, obviously!” 
I’m not sure that’s something you can bring out by force... However, force was the only thing Shea could think of to use. What happened to these things being a symbol of love? 
Sky blue mana swirled around Shea and her hair began to flutter in the breeze. She let out an earth-shattering yell that sent nearby residents scurrying to safety. The sea around the pier grew choppy, and for a moment Hajime honestly thought she might summon something. But in the end, nothing happened. 
“Well, figures that wouldn’t work.” 
“Awww... What a shame.” 
Shea sank to her knees and her rabbit ears drooped in disappointment. 
“Is my love not strong enough? No way...” Shea muttered to herself. Hajime smiled and patted her fluffy rabbit ears. He continued playing with them until he was satisfied. 
“Well, I didn’t think you’d be able to summon one of those, anyway.” 
“I don’t believe it. Do you doubt my love too, Hajime-san?” 
Shea’s mood had started to improve when Hajime began patting her, but it took a nosedive when he said that. But Hajime shook his head. 
“I don’t really... mean that in a bad way. I think those things are created from negative emotions. They’re illusions born from the negative auras those two have.” 
“Haaah... Really?” 
It wasn’t a very scientific explanation, but it seemed that Hajime had at least given it some thought. Shea stared blankly at Hajime, wondering where he was trying to go with this. Hajime pulled Shea close and ruffled her ears some more. 
“Basically, you’re not the kind of person that would have one of those. Besides, even if you don’t have a weird illusion behind you, you have two perfectly good bunny ears on top of you. You should be proud of those. At the very least, they’re good enough for me.” 
“Ugh... I wish I had more experience. I never know what to say during times like these. If only I was more girly...” 
Shea blushed and fidgeted absently for a few seconds before deciding to lean into Hajime. Her ears perked up, and she pulled Hajime’s hand closer. 
“Fufu. You don’t let any opportunity slip by, do you, Shea?” 
“Yeah. She got us there. Though it was a splendid surprise attack... I can’t believe you would try and surpass your master.” 
“Huh!?” Shea’s ears shot straight up. She turned around to see both Yue and Kaori smiling at her. 
“Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 
“Rooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!” 
Kaori’s demon and Yue’s dragon growled ominously at her. 
Shea bolted. Naturally, Yue and Kaori gave chase. For some reason, the residents of Erisen cheered whenever they heard another explosion. 
“I’m so glad this city is peaceful.” 
Hajime’s words were drowned out by the sound of rumbling thunder. 
A Falcon’s Daughter is Still a Falcon 
There was a loud bang, and several flashes of crimson light shot through the sky. Hajime’s railgun-accelerated bullets shot straight through the wolf-shaped monsters. Each bullet blew up a monster’s head. 
“Aww. Thanks to your artifacts, the only time we ever get to fight is when we’re in a labyrinth, Hajime-san.” 
“That’s just how it is. Master’s artifacts are so powerful that at long range, they make magic look like a joke.” 
Shea and Tio chatted while they watched Hajime mow down an entire pack of wolves. Kaori smiled awkwardly and said, “I’m not sure you could even call those artifacts... They’re more like weapons out of a sci-fi.” 
Yue tilted her head in confusion and muttered, “Sci-fi?” 
“It’s short for science fiction. Basically stories that are based off of science but aren’t very realistic. There’s guns in our world, but they’re not like the railguns Hajime-kun’s made. You’d only see something like that in books or movies.” 
“Well, I had to use the cheat known as magic to make them work so I’d say they’re more ‘fantasy’ than sci-fi.” 
Hajime walked up to the girls while reloading Donner. He’d already wiped out the monsters. Myu was sitting on his shoulders. She seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit. She’d just had front row seats to a monster massacre, and it appeared she’d quite liked what she’d seen. 
“Daddy, I want to try using that thing that goes bang, too!” 
Yep, Myu was really enjoying herself. 
Kaori, who tended to be sensible in all things not involving Hajime, furrowed her brows. 
“Hajime-kun, you’re a bad influence on Myu-chan. She’s saying some really ominous things with a smile on her face now. I’m worried what kind of woman she’ll grow up into.” 
“Well, you’ve got a point, but... this world’s pretty dangerous.” 
“Yeah. You’re being naive, Kaori. Here it’s kill or be killed. Even if your enemy doesn’t look like they’re going to kill you, kill them anyway. In fact, if your eyes meet, kill them. It’s best to have at least one kill a day. You can only get what you want by wading through a sea of blood and climbing over a mountain of corpses. That’s the kind of place this world is.” 
“You’re way too bloodthirsty, Yue! We’re not in Fist of the North Star! It’s true that this world is more dangerous than ours, but it’s not that violent!” 
Yue ignored Kaori and turned to Myu. In an imposing voice, she asked, “Do you desire strength?” 
“Wait, Yue, that line’s supposed—” Before Hajime could finish, Myu interrupted. “I do! I want to be able to make bad people explode like Daddy!” 
Yue nodded solemnly. 
“Very well. Then Hajime shall grant you strength.” 
She implored Hajime with her gaze to let Myu shoot Donner. Hajime’s expression stiffened. Not only would letting her shoot Donner be dangerous, it really wasn’t good to teach a little girl how to kill. Hajime hesitated, showing a rare display of common sense. 
Myu hopped off of Hajime’s shoulders, ran over to Yue, and turned back to Hajime. She looked up at him with pleading eyes, and his common sense vanished. 
“Alright, you can shoot.” 
“Don’t you think you gave in a little fast there!?” 
Hajime pulled some ore out of his Treasure Trove and began transmuting. Red sparks flew from his hands as he worked. All of the guns he possessed had too much recoil for Myu. So he made a toy gun that she could fire safely. He crafted this gun with even more care than he’d crafted Donner. He named his newly forged toy gun Donna. It wasn’t strong enough to kill anything, but it was still powerful enough to have some fun with. The exquisite craftsmanship of the toy revolver showed just how skilled a Synergist he really was. Myu’s eyes began to sparkle as she looked at it. It was as if she’d received the birthday present she’d always wanted. Though, not many four-year-old girls wanted a revolver as a present. 
“Alright Myu, I’m gonna teach you how to shoot. But first you have to promise me you won’t pull the trigger without my permission.” 
“I promise!” 
Her cheerful reply was at odds with the murderous weapon she held in her hand. “Haah, I’m not sure this is a good idea...” Kaori’s muttered worries were swept away by the wind. 
And so, Hajime began teaching Myu how to shoot. He set up a target ten meters away, and showed her the Weaver Stance. 
“Alright Myu, this may be a weaker gun, but it still has a lot of recoil. If it hurts too much to hold, just let go of the gun.” 
Myu nodded. Then, without hesitation, she fired. There was a soft pop, and Donna bucked in her hands. She didn’t even scratch the target. Myu pouted, and Hajime consoled her with a smile. 
“Don’t worry, it’s not that easy to hit a target. You’ll get better with practice.” 
He pulled out another set of practice bullets. 
“Hajime-san, Hajime-san, I want to try shooting too, if possible...” 
It looked like watching Myu shoot had piqued Shea’s interest. 
“You have Drucken’s bombardment mode, don’t you?” 
“I know, but that’s different. I want to try the precision shooting you do.” 
“I said this to Myu earlier, but it’s not easy to hit a target.” 
Hajime was sure Shea didn’t really want to practice precision shooting. If anything, he suspected she just wanted to experience the feeling of shooting a gun. And it looked like Yue, Tio, and Kaori were all interested as well, judging by the expectant look in their eyes. Hajime sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and lent the girls Donner and Schlag. 
“Here I go! Take that!” 
Shea wasn’t prepared for the recoil, and her shot went wide. 
“Hmm, despite the simple principles it works off of, this weapon is quite difficult to handle.” 
Thanks to Tio’s draconic strength the recoil didn’t affect her, but her aim was still off. 
“Kaori, the target’s over there.” 
“I could say the same to you, Yue. You’re supposed to be shooting in front of you.” 
Neither Yue nor Kaori could hit their targets either. After a few shots, Yue at least got the hang of it enough to graze the edge of the target. 
“Well, I expected that to happen,” Hajime said with a wry smile. 
What he didn’t expect though, was the speed at which Myu learned. 
“Daddy, I need a new target.” 
Hajime had been watching Myu out of the corner of his eye to make sure she didn’t do anything dangerous. So he hadn’t properly seen her shots. He pulled out some bullets, not realizing at first that she’d asked for a target, not more ammunition. He looked over at Myu’s target, and saw that she’d pulverized it already. 
“Myu, let’s try putting the target a little farther away this time.” 
“Bring it on!” 
Hajime made a mental note to speak with Tio about the kinds of words she taught Myu and put the target twice as far out this time. Twenty meters away. Myu took the stance Hajime had taught her and fired. 
Her first shot missed by a mile. Just as Hajime thought he’d overestimated her, he watched her second shot graze the edge of the target. Yue and the others were watching her now as well. Myu’s third shot was only ten centimeters away from the center. 
“Hey, are you kidding me?” 
Myu’s fourth shot hit the target dead center. Her fifth and sixth shots were a few centimeters off, but they were still within the bulls-eye. 
“M-Myu, you think you’d be interested in shooting a moving target now?” 
“I wanna try it!” 
Within ten shots, Myu was able to shoot down the practice plane Hajime was moving around for her. Even when he tried moving the planes in unpredictable patterns, Myu would be able to read their movements after a few missed shots. 
“Want to try sniping now?” 
“Yeah!” 
Myu held out her hand and Hajime crafted a miniature sniper rifle for her. He gave it to her and showed her the proper posture for sniping. Myu did as she was instructed and tucked in her elbows, stood up straight, and pressed the gun’s stock against her cheek. She looked through the scope at her target and saw a dummy plane hovering one hundred meters away. No matter how good she was, no one was expecting Myu to hit this. But she betrayed all expectations. With a shot even a pro sniper would be proud of, she shot down Hajime’s dummy plane. 

“Daddy, what’s next?” 
“Oh, uh, here, try this.” 
Hajime looked at Myu with newfound respect. Myu proceeded to cheerfully shoot down the next ten planes Hajime prepared for her. It was only the moment she pulled the trigger that Myu’s eyes narrowed into the sharp glare of a falcon. Once he started moving the targets again, even Myu couldn’t get them every time. Still, her accuracy was uncanny. Enough to leave Hajime and the others dumbfounded. 
“Hajime-kun. Are you sure Myu-chan isn’t your real daughter?” 
At Kaori’s words, everyone turned to Hajime. It was clear to everyone that her talent as a marksman was unparalleled. 
“Mmrgh, I’m not as good as Daddy yet. I was off by five millimeters.” 
“......” 
Most people wouldn’t even have noticed they were off by five millimeters. After seeing his daughter’s unbelievable talent, he couldn’t bring himself to deny Kaori’s accusation. He simply stared off into the distance, wondering what the future held. 
The Evolution of the Bunny Girl 
Hajime and the others were currently heading from Brooke to the independent merchant city of Fuhren. They’d taken on a request to guard a caravan heading to Fuhren, and they were in the middle of taking a short break before resuming their journey. The fields around the road were overgrown with weeds which swayed gently in the mild breeze. 
The highway they were on took them roughly westward, but it snaked through the fields in a convoluted series of twists and turns. Far to the north, mountains dotted the horizon. To the south, one would normally be able to see the Reisen Gorge, but right now the magnificent view of the gorge was blocked by a series of low hills. 
“Haah! Hiyaah! Take thaaaat!” 
The merchants and the other adventurers hired to guard the caravan were all lounging around, smoking or drinking. But a short distance away, one could hear a cute girl’s spirited yells. Wondering what was going on, the other adventurers all turned to see a bunny girl doing a rather strange dance. She was wearing one of those revealing outfits members of the rabbit tribe were fond of, and every time she jumped her massive knockers bounced up and down. Naturally, all of the male adventurers and merchants found themselves unable to look away. 
“Hey, whitehead. What’s Shea-chan doing?” One of the adventurers asked Hajime. He was from Brooke so he’d been around for all the fuss Hajime had caused back in the town, and they’d talked enough along the way that neither of them felt any need to stand on formality. Incidentally, whitehead was the nickname the adventurers had unanimously given Hajime. 
“She’s practicing martial arts. Though it’s all stuff I taught her and I don’t really know martial arts myself, so it’s probably not the correct forms or anything.” 
“Huh...? Never thought I’d see a rabbit girl trying to learn martial arts. Her hair’s a weird color too, so maybe she’s just different.” 
Considering most rabbitmen were timid, peace-loving creatures, it certainly was strange that Shea was actively trying to master martial arts. Some of the other adventurers who’d been listening in on the conversation nodded in understanding, then turned back to Shea. 
“Hiyaaaaa! Haaah! Uryaaaaaaaah!” 
Though her shouts were somewhat lacking in vigor, her movements were impressive. As she dashed forward and launched an elbow strike, her boobs jiggled. As she followed that up with a powerful roundhouse kick, her boobs jiggled. From there she jumped into the air and fired off another roundhouse kick. Upon landing, she shot out a palm strike, and naturally, her boobs jiggled. 
“Nice going, Shea-chan! You look great!” 
“You got this, Shea-chan! Keep going!” 
“Yeah! Show us another jump! Give it all you’ve got!” 
“You’re the best, Shea-chan! Puff your chest out for more oomph!” 
“You’ve gotta raise your legs higher when you kick! High enough that we can see it all!” 
The adventurers, or more specifically the male adventurers, were all entranced by Shea’s martial dance. Naturally, Hajime wasn’t going to just let these adventurers catcall her. If they wanted to watch, they’d have to pay the price of admission. Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang. 
“Bwah!” “Gah!” “Ngh!” “Novembeeeeeeer!” “Fothermuckeeeeer!” The adventurers who’d been cheering a second ago flew through the air. As they landed on the ground, the female adventurers and merchants all gave them cold stares. 
“Huh? Why’d you suddenly start firing your gun, Hajime-san?” 
“Don’t worry about it. Keep practicing, Shea.” 
“O-Okay... If you say so.” 
Shea had cut her training short when she heard Hajime fire his revolvers. Though she had no idea why several adventurers were currently lying on the ground, she nevertheless did as Hajime said and resumed her training. 
“Damn erotic rabbit... It’s scary how she doesn’t even realize what she’s doing.” 
“Like you’re one to talk, Yue.” 
Yue looked genuinely awestruck by Shea’s natural ability to seduce people, even though she was no different. Hajime had gotten used to ignoring how lacking in self-awareness his companions were, but he couldn’t help but mutter, “You’re just as erotic you know...” For the next half an hour or so, Hajime split his time between correcting Shea’s forms and shooting the male adventurers every time they regained consciousness. The female adventurers, on the other hand, spent most of the break chastising their male companions. 
“Huh?” “Mmm?” “Hweh?” 
Just as their break was wrapping up, Hajime, Yue, and Shea suddenly glanced toward the hills. Noticing the sudden change, one of the adventurers asked Hajime, “What’s up, whitehead?” 
“Looks like we’re under attack. There’s an armed group headed toward us.” 
Veteran adventurers that they were, no one asked Hajime how he knew that. Instead, they just simply drew their weapons and shouted out warnings to the adventurers farther back. A second later, thirty or so bandits crested a nearby hill and loosed battle cries as they charged toward the caravan. The merchants hurriedly retreated to the safety of their wagons while the adventurers prepared to fight. But before they could loose any spells or arrows, Hajime held out a hand to stop them. They shot him confused looks, but Hajime ignored them and turned to Shea. 
“Shea, these guys are the perfect training dummies to test your martial arts on. Wipe them out.” 
“Huh? Ummm, you mean by myself?” 
“Yeah, by yourself.” 
“Barehanded?” 
“Yep.” 
The other adventurers gave Hajime incredulous looks. Surely he wasn’t going to ask a single rabbit girl to take on thirty bandits all by herself? Even those who had an inkling of how strong Shea really was were aghast. “He’s a demon...” they muttered to themselves. As expected, Shea didn’t seem too keen on the idea. 
“Shea. I’ll consider rewarding you if—” 
“Hell yeaaaaaaaaaah! Bring it on, bitches!” 
Hajime didn’t even get to finish saying, “you beat them all” before Shea cut him off. She turned to face the charging bandits and, with a fearless smile, slammed her fists together, creating a massive shockwave. A huge gust of wind rippled outward, and the bandits all turned to Shea. A vulgar smile spread across their leader’s face. 
“Oi, don’t lay a finger on that white-haired kid’s bunny, you louts. I’m gonna make her my—” 
“Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” 
Before he could finish his statement, Shea dashed up to him and punched him in the face with all her might. He was lifted into the air and sent flying past the far side of the hill. Shea had leaped forward with such force that there was a crater where she’d been standing a moment before. The other bandits shivered in fear. But they quickly recovered their wits. While Shea’s punch may have been powerful, they were certain they could take her as long as they surrounded her and fought cautiously. In response, Shea dropped into a proper stance. She kept her hands high, near her face, with one foot slightly raised off the ground. One of the bandits charged her, his sword held high. But before he could swing it down on her, Shea fired off a lightning-quick front kick. It hit the poor bandit with the force of a cannonball. 
“Bwaaagh!?” 
His eyes rolled up into his skull and he lost consciousness. But Shea wasn’t done yet. Before the bandit could hit the ground, she followed up with a powerful left hook to the chin. The bandit flew backward like a ragdoll. Shea then turned to the other bandits and dispatched them in short order, using a combination of compact kicks, jabs, hooks, and punches. Before long, a pile of corpses littered the hill. Surprisingly, Shea seemed to have mastered the basics of Muay Thai. 
“Y-You monster!” one of the bandits screamed. 
“Bwahahahaha!” Shea just laughed in reply. 
Two of the remaining bandits tried to pincer Shea. She quickly dropped her Muay Thai stance and cartwheeled out of the way. At the same time, she used her legs to crush the windpipes of the two men surrounding her. Another one of the bandits launched a spear thrust at her landing spot, but she wheeled out of the way and used the force of her spin to shatter his skull with a roundhouse kick. She’d gone from the sharp, choppy movements of a Muay Thai fighter to the rhythmical, graceful strikes of a capoeira fighter. But while this dance-like martial art was more graceful than Muay Thai, it was no less deadly. 
“L-Lord of fire hear my—” 
“Too late!” 
One of the bandits tried chanting a spell, but Shea quickly jumped over to him. She stamped on the ground hard enough to cause a miniature earthquake, then hit the bandit with an elbow to the solar plexus. He flew backward while coughing up blood. Shea didn’t even bother to check whether or not he was dead. She turned to her remaining foes and struck them down with a flurry of elbows, palm strikes, and punches, all while fluidly shuffling between their attacks. She’d swapped styles again, this time to Bajiquan. 
“G-Goddamniiiiiit!” 
“Take thiiiiiiiiiiiis!” 
Desperate, the few surviving bandits rushed Shea all at once. She deftly dodged between them and wrapped her arm around the neck of one of her foes as she passed. A perfect wrestling lariat. The bandit flipped through the air a few times before crumpling to the ground like a ragdoll. Another one of the bandits tried to shoot an arrow at her but she ran forward and kneed him in the face before he could even nock his bow. The archer next to him barely had time to scream before she dispatched him as well, this time with a backward suplex. Three styles hadn’t been enough for her so she’d added pro wrestling techniques into the mix as well. After that, she started using thrusts and Dempsey Rolls and one-armed shoulder throws and all sorts of other techniques from every martial art known to man. She was clearly pumped to get her reward. Within a few minutes, the bandits were all dead or dying. 
“Uryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 
Shea pumped both fists into the air and proclaimed her victory to the world. Shivering, Yue muttered, “Shea’s terrifying...” 
“You can say that again. I can’t believe she mastered all those techniques just from the half-assed examples I showed her...” Hajime responded with a stiff expression. After that incident, all of the adventurers started calling Shea “Shea-san” instead of “Shea-chan.” Hajime had no doubt the worthless rabbit of the forest would soon become a CQC god. 
The Handsome Rabbit and the Iron Boy 
Hajime Nagumo’s heart was filled with panic and confusion. He was currently deep inside a rugged cavern dimly lit by green glowstones. Said cavern was far below what people considered the Great Orcus Labyrinth, and what Hajime had dubbed the depths of the abyss. Hajime had come to the labyrinth with his classmates and had fallen down here when one of them had betrayed him. 
Miraculously, he hadn’t died in the fall. Determined to escape, he’d dragged himself out of the river he’d fallen in and started walking. But soon, he ran into a rabbit-shaped monster far more powerful than anything he’d faced so far. Said monster had been capable of taking out four wolf-monsters that were each twice its size, using nothing but its abnormally powerful legs. 
All the other monsters Hajime had fought, even the Behemoth, were nothing compared to this. If that rabbit found him, he was dead. With cold sweat pouring down his face, Hajime slowly backed away. 
But he was so nervous he made a fatal mistake. As he was backing up, his foot struck a pebble. It rattled across the floor, sounding louder than it had any right to. Hajime slowly turned toward the rabbit. Naturally, it was staring right at him. Its white fur was crisscrossed with grotesque red veins that pulsed every few seconds. 
It’s coming. The moment Hajime thought that, the rabbit darted forward with a powerful leap and raised one of its abnormally thick legs high in the air. Hajime closed his eyes, not wanting to see the moment of his death. However— 
“Huh...?” 
The blow Hajime was expecting never came, so he timidly opened his eyes. The rabbit lowered its raised leg and gave Hajime a puzzled look. It seemed confused as to what exactly Hajime was. Of course, Hajime had no idea what kind of creature this rabbit was, either. He wanted to ask, but he was too terrified to. 
“Mkyu? Kyukyukyu?” 
“Huh? Wh-What?” 
“Mkyukyu. Kyuuumkyu?” 
“U-Umm...” 
Though he had no idea why this monster was trying to talk to him, Hajime was nevertheless relieved that he wasn’t about to get killed. Still, he had no idea what the monster was saying, and his confusion remained. He tried using hand gestures to try and explain that he fell down here and wanted to get back to the surface. 
“Mkyu.” 
“Wait, you understood that!?” 
To Hajime’s utter surprise, the rabbit nodded. A second later though, the rabbit’s fur stood on end and it whirled around. When it saw what was approaching it let out a whimper and took a few steps back. Still confused, Hajime turned to see what the rabbit was looking at. A massive monster was approaching them from the far end of the corridor. It had white fur and red veins like the rabbit, but its size was on a whole different level. And it looked like a bear. But unlike a normal bear, its arms were unnaturally long. 
Hajime realized instantly that he was looking at death in physical form. Terrified, he opened his mouth to scream. But before he could, he felt something soft brush past him. 
“Th-The rabbit?” 
Indeed, it was the rabbit. It stood protectively in front of Hajime, guarding him from the bear. Even though it was a monster, one of the natural enemies of mankind. This can’t be possible. But it was possible. Hajime was seeing it happen in front of his eyes. The rabbit kept its eyes trained on the Claw Bear, but it bent its ears in the direction of the passage directly behind it. 
“A-Are you telling me to run away?” 
“Kyu.” 
It seemed it was. Why’re you helping me? Hajime’s mind was full of questions, but there wasn’t any time. The rabbit squeaked again, and Hajime returned to his senses. He quickly got to his feet and started running. Loathe to let its prey escape, the Claw Bear roared and charged. It moved with surprising agility for its size. Within seconds, it had reached the rabbit. It roared again and swung down a massive paw. The rabbit had been expecting the blow though, and it lithely dodged to the side. It landed on the wall and rebounded off it. It then landed behind the Claw Bear and launched a low kick at the huge monster’s legs. There was a loud thud as the kick connected. But the Claw Bear was the strongest monster on this floor, and it wouldn’t be brought down so easily. The rabbit’s kick wasn’t even enough to stagger it. In response, the Claw Bear swung one of its lanky arms backward. Sharp claws of wind slammed into the small rabbit. 
“Kyuuuuuuuu!” 
It screamed in pain as it was flung backward. A second later it hit the wall with a sickening thud. Blood spurted from a huge gash in its shoulder as it slid to the ground. Though it had avoided taking a lethal hit, the rabbit wasn’t in any shape to fight. The Claw Bear slowly approached it. It reached out with a paw, confident its meal could no longer fight back. The rabbit neither trembled in fear nor struggled to escape. It didn’t even avert its gaze from the Claw Bear. If it was going to die, it was going to die with dignity. Irked by the rabbit’s prideful gaze, the Claw Bear roared and raised its paw to maul the rabbit beyond recognition. 
“T-Transmuuuuuuuuute!” 
“Kyu!?” 
Suddenly, the wall behind the rabbit melted away in a puddle of mud, and a hand stuck out to grab it. Both the rabbit and the Claw Bear were completely taken aback. By the time the bear had returned to its senses, the rabbit was gone, and the wall had returned to its former shape. Its howls of frustration echoed throughout the floor.


“Mkyu? Mkyukyu?” 
Inside the tiny cavern, Hajime had transmuted inside the wall, the young boy was desperately trying to treat the rabbit’s wounds. 
“Ummm... why did I save you? Is that what you’re asking?” 
The rabbit nodded in assent. Hajime smiled awkwardly and replied, “Haha, I’m not sure, honestly. But I could tell that bear monster was really strong and... that you wouldn’t be able to beat it. And when I thought of how you’d be sacrificing yourself to save me, my body just moved on its own.” 
The rabbit gave Hajime a puzzled look, its beady crimson eyes open wide. A second later, it realized that the young boy was trembling in fear. He was putting on a brave front, but he was terrified. Considering how afraid Hajime had been of a weaker monster like the rabbit, it made sense that he’d be scared stiff when up against something like the Claw Bear. But despite his fear, Hajime had come back for the rabbit. For a monster he’d just met. The monster had saved Hajime, and that was reason enough for Hajime to save the monster. Judging by how Hajime was still in shock, the rabbit doubted he was aware that was why he’d done it. 
“Kyu.” 
“Ummm, are you thanking me? Ahaha, are you really a monster?” 
In an attempt to reassure Hajime, the rabbit stroked his shoulder with its ears. The gesture helped Hajime calm down, and he smiled weakly. 
Afterward, Hajime and the rabbit had a lengthy conversation that involved a lot of wild hand signs and body language. Eventually, Hajime set off looking for a way to return to the surface. Unwilling to part ways with the boy, the rabbit decided to tag along. After many days of fruitless searching, Hajime and the rabbit discovered something. A jewel set deep into the wall that was emitting a pale blue light. Upon examining it, Hajime discovered it stored an unbelievably vast quantity of mana, as well as the ability to instill its mana into other metals and minerals. Not only that, it moved according to the will of whoever touched it. 
“With this... we might actually be able to...” 
“Mkyu?” 
The rabbit cocked its head, but Hajime was too excited to respond. He’d finally found something he could use.


Two weeks later, a strange pair confronted the floor’s strongest monster, the Claw Bear. One was a rabbit monster with strange metal greaves on its legs. The other was a human covered from head to toe in armor—Hajime. 
“Alright, rabbit. Let’s kill this monster and get out of here!” 
“Mkyuukyu! (Let’s do this, partner!)” 
At some point within the last two weeks, Hajime and the rabbit had become able to communicate perfectly. To everyone’s surprise, it was Hajime who moved first. There was a metallic clang as a visor covered his face. A second later, the visor’s eye sockets began to glow. The pale blue rock ensconced in the center of his breastplate began to glow as well, and Hajime stuck out his hands. Waves of highly compressed mana shot out of his palms, blasting the unsuspecting Claw Bear. The bear just barely managed to raise its arms to defend itself in time. But the force of the shockwaves was so great that it broke both of its arms and left them a bloody mess. 
Seeing an opening, the rabbit rushed the bear from the side. The bear used one of its broken arms to swipe at the rabbit, but the rabbit blocked with one armored leg. Meanwhile, Hajime used mana shockwaves from both palms and both soles to propel himself into the air and somersault behind the bear. As he landed he threw a punch at the bear’s back. The bear staggered momentarily, and the rabbit took that opportunity to hit it with a roundhouse kick. As its leg neared the bear, sharp blades shot out of its greaves, slicing through the bear’s arm and cutting it off. 
Screaming in pain, the bear wildly flailed its remaining arm around in an attempt to get Hajime and the rabbit off of it. However, Hajime’s iron armor protected him from the bear’s attacks, while the rabbit sheltered behind him. Once Hajime saw an opening in the bear’s attacks, he reached forward and grabbed the bear’s arm. From there he used his power suit’s propulsion to rip the bear’s arm off. At the same time, he activated the suit’s core and fired a blast of mana from his chest, blowing a huge hole in the Claw Bear’s stomach. The bear struggled to fight back, but without its arms it was powerless. The rabbit leaped into the air and launched a meteor kick at the bear’s head. The kick crushed the bear’s skull, killing it instantly. The fight came to an abrupt end, and silence filled the corridor. There was a high-pitched whirring noise, as Hajime powered down his suit. He walked toward the rabbit and raised his hand high. The rabbit hopped up and tapped it with a foot, giving him a high-five. 
“This proves it. We’re strong enough to fight now. Let’s go, rabbit!” 
“Kyukyukuymkyu! (I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, Iron Man!)” 
The rabbit hopped onto Hajime’s shoulder, and the two of them clanked their way deeper into the abyss.


“That’s the dream I had last night.” 
“And... that’s why you made that armor?” 
Hajime stood in Oscar Orcus’ living room, clad from head to toe in iron armor. Yue gave him an exasperated look, and he averted his gaze. While the metal suit did raise Hajime’s defensive capabilities, it made his unique gun-based fighting style impossible. Little wonder Yue was exasperated with his experiment. However, the idea of overcoming immeasurable odds by building a suit of armor in a cave just seemed so cool to Hajime. He was, after all, a guy. 
“Take it off...” 
“......” 
Hajime’s body language made it clear that he’d rather die. 
“You have a metal arm, isn’t that enough?” Yue asked doggedly. Hajime closed his visor in response. His eyes glowed menacingly, daring anyone to make him remove the suit. Yue just sighed in response. She felt like an older sister trying to keep her younger brother in check. A second later though, an idea came to her. She grinned seductively and licked her lips. Hajime shivered, and took a few clanking steps backward. Running away suddenly seemed like a very good idea. 
“Fine, don’t take it off... I’ll take it off for you.” 
Afterward, Hajime had both his armor and his clothes stripped off by Yue. 
A Delicious “Something” 
There was a nervous tension in the air at a certain roadside spring. 
“Hmmmhmmmhmmm! Hack ’em, chop ’em, slash ’em!” 
“Gheajoiuhjajoiwawjoiajaaaaaaah!?” 
Shea was humming cheerfully to herself as she cooked, though the words she was humming were quite ominous. The scream was coming from the chopping board where a fish... or rather a strange thing was lying. Technically, the creature’s meter-long body was that of a fish. But there was one part of it that made it difficult to think of it as a fish. Specifically, its head. Which looked like a cow’s head. But unlike a cow, it had bloodshot eyes and a chameleon’s tongue. Furthermore, a hundred tiny legs jutted out from the bottom half of the fish, like a centipede. 
While the party had been resting near the spring, Shea’s ears had suddenly perked up and she’d muttered “Hmm? Is this the legendary delicacy of the forest I sense?” A second later she’d picked up a pebble and launched it into the spring. There’d been a dull thunk as the pebble hit something, then this strange fish-like creature had floated up to the surface. 
“You’re one of the fairies that live in the forest’s springs! One of those very, very delicious fairies! What are you doing here? Oh well, who cares. All that matters is that you’re delicious!” 
The terrified “fairy of the forest” wiggled its centipede legs, its bloodshot eyes open wide in terror. But Shea showed it no mercy and began cooking. Every time she sliced off one of the fish-thing’s scales with her knife, it screamed in agony. Blood poured out of its open wounds, coating Shea’s hands, but she didn’t seem the least bit concerned. 
“H-Hey, Yue...” Hajime whispered. “Is that what all fairies look like in this world? The fairies I’ve read about back on earth look more... you know, cute and mystical and stuff.” 
“The fairy tales I read as a child said fairies look like young girls with wings... I think they’re not that different from the fairies in your world. At the very least, I’m sure that disgusting creature isn’t a fairy.” 
“Shea claims it’s delicious, but if you ask me it does not look appetizing in the slightest,” Tio added with a shiver. 
Surprisingly, even Hajime was put off by Shea’s attitude. Naturally, Yue was even more terrified, as evidenced by her stiff expression. Not even Tio, the resident pervert, could keep a straight face. However, Shea seemed unaware of her companions’ disgust, and she continued humming to herself as she cooked. 
“Carve ’em, crush ’em, flay ’em!” 
What’s the point of crushing it!? Hajime thought to himself with a shiver. He wanted to say something to Shea, but when he saw how happily she was torturing the poor fish-fairy-thing with her cooking knife, he couldn’t bring himself to call out to her. The smile on her face was completely at odds with the blood and guts flying all over the place. 
“Even when you cut its head off, it survives!” 
“Nogyhoaijdhhodajhgoaaaaaaaaaaa!” 
“Even when you scrape its heart out, it moves!” 
“Aghaejasoihaaaaaaaaaa!” 
“Its screams are like music to your ears! The perfect seasoning!” 
“Rgajoiaghjahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” 
Shea continued chopping through the fish-fairy-thing with perfect precision. Within minutes, it had been filleted. There was so much gore on the chopping board that it looked like a huge battle had taken place atop it. 
“Oi. Didn’t that thing just scream, ‘Save me’? I’m not imagining things, right!? How is it still screaming after being chopped into pieces, anyway!?” 
This was the most disturbing thing Hajime had ever seen in his life. Yue replied, “Don’t ask me... I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything. I don’t know anything.” 
Hajime turned to find her crouching on the ground with her eyes shut and both hands over her ears. She couldn’t bear to see her surrogate little sister turn into such a horrifying monster. Meanwhile, Tio, who had the highest mental fortitude out of everyone was— 
“Oh look, a butterfly. How cute...” chasing butterflies with a vacant look on her face. The fuck!? Aren’t you supposed to be a wise, centuries-old dragon!? Hajime thought despairingly to himself. But he didn’t say it out loud, because he understood Tio’s feelings all too well. 
Having finished all the prep work, Shea took out the stove Hajime had transmuted and turned up the heat. She then placed a Chinese-style wok over the flames. Lying on the cutting board next to the stove was the fish-fairy-thing, looking thoroughly chopped. Despite having been cut up into such fine pieces that it was hard to tell what it had originally been, it was still twitching occasionally. Shea stir-fried some vegetables inside the wok for a few minutes before adding the chunks of fish-fairy-thing, her apron still covered with blood and gore. 
The moment the meat chunks hit the pan— 
“Hiyagjdiaodhjaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Hooooooooooooooot!” 
“Hey, it totally just said the word hot right there! I didn’t imagine that, right!?” 
Unable to bear hearing the screams any longer, Hajime finally worked up the courage to yell that to Shea. Shea turned back to him, a confused look on her face. Her expression might have been cute if her cheek wasn’t covered in blood splatter, and she wasn’t holding a knife in one hand. 
“What are you saying, Hajime-san? There’s no way a fish could speak human—” 
“JGOIASjgaoghahoaijshoasjhaoijhoaj! What’re you doing to meeeeeeeeeeeee!?” 
“Could speak human words!” 
“Wait, no, hang on a sec! It just said something again! Didn’t you hear that? It said, ‘What’re you doing to me?’ I heard it clearly!” 
“Huh? Hajime-san, I think you’re—” 
“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! You’ll pay for this! Ooooooooooooo!” 
“You’re just tired.” 
“I’m not the one who looks like they’re possessed! That fish totally just said it’s never gonna forgive you just now! How can you ignore that!?” 
There was a tinge of desperation in Hajime’s voice now. However, Shea just gave him a pitying look and said, “Yeah, you’re definitely tired. Don’t worry, my cooking’ll give you the energy you need!” Shea turned back to her work with renewed vigor. 
“Damnit, Shea’s too far gone now. Yue, burn that strange fish-fairy-thing until there’s nothing left!” 
“Roger...” 
At Hajime’s signal, Yue raised her hand to summon her Draconic Thunder. However— 
“Yue-san, I told you before not to waste food, right?” 
“Ah, sorry.” 
Yue prostrated herself before Shea. She still vividly remembered what had happened last time she’d messed with Shea’s cooking. 
“Ngh, looks like I’ve got no other choice. Tio, show her the might of dragons! Use your breath!” 
“I was hoping you would order me next! Fear not, Mas—” 
“Tio-san, do you want to die?” 
“Ah, sorry.” 
Tio prostrated herself before Shea. She hadn’t forgotten how Shea had nearly split her head with Drucken during their first fight. Realizing he’d have to rely on his own skills, Hajime reached for one of his hand grenades. 
“Here you go, Hajime-san. This is a delicacy back in the Haltina Woods. Eat up before it gets cold!” 
But he was too late. Shea had already heaped some fish-fairy-thing and stir-fry vegetables onto his plate. Even after being fried, the fish-fairy-thing’s meat chunks were still twitching. Hajime gave Shea a hesitant look. “You really want me to eat that?” it seemed to say. Shea nodded, grinning. Seeing that Hajime was still hesitating, Shea muttered, “Sheesh, you’re such a little kid.” She then grabbed a chunk of meat and plopped into her mouth, saying, “See, it’s safe!” Hajime was already used to eating raw monster meat, he couldn’t let himself get shown up by this worthless bunny girl. Reluctantly, Hajime speared a chunk of fish on his fork. Yue and Tio watched on with trepidation as he brought the meat to his mouth. 
“...Holy shit. This is good!” 
Indeed, it was delicious. Oddly enough though, the juicy meat was tinged with the taste of regret. 
The Most Beautiful Perverted Dragon 
A moon much larger than the earth’s moon illuminated the ocean’s surface. Drifting clouds cast faint shadows over the waves, but they were not enough to dull the gleaming silver moonlight that drove back the darkness of the night. 
“What do you think, Master? Was this enough to grant your wish?” 
A lone shadow flitted across the moonlit sky, cutting through the wind at surprising speed. That shadow was the obsidian-scaled yellow-eyed dragon, Tio. Her beautiful scales scintillated in the moonlight, and her graceful flight through the sea of stars would have captivated anyone who happened to see her. Sitting on her back was a white-haired boy wearing a black mantle... Hajime. He closed his eyes, looking more relaxed than ever. 
“Yeah. I never imagined I’d be able to ride on the back of a dragon one day. It’s like a fairy tale... Thanks for giving me one of the best moments of my life, Tio.” 
Unused to receiving sincere gratitude from Hajime, Tio fidgeted bashfully. Brimming with joy, she said, “There is no need to thank me, Master. Just knowing that you are mounting me is enough to... Haaah... Haaah... Guhehehe.” 
Hajime frowned and said, “Hey, pervert. Shut the fuck up.” 
“!?” 
A joyous roar echoed through the night sky. 
Drink, but Don’t Get Drunk Part I 
“Perfect. Looks like everyone’s seated. Alright, let the celebration party for reaching the 70th floor begin!” 
Knight Captain Meld’s voice echoed throughout a tiny bar located in a corner of Horaud. This bar was a favorite of Meld’s, and though he hadn’t reserved it outright, everyone in the labyrinth exploration team was here to take a break and celebrate. He’d ordered all of his favorite dishes for the group, and true to his word, each and every one of them was delicious. The amber liquid accompanying the food was perfect for whetting one’s appetite as well. 
Originally, Kaori hadn’t been too interested in the party, thinking that if there was time to celebrate, there was time to train. But she’d found the amber liquid surprisingly to her liking, and now she was busy guzzling down tankard after tankard. The liquid was a special kind of Tortus beer, and though it had no alcohol content, it was still capable of getting people drunk. Meld had organized this party because he’d wanted the kids to be able to let loose and forget the rigors of dungeon delving for at least a day. But as a result— 
“Hey, are you listening to me, Meld-san? You better not be ignoring me when I’m trying to tell you what’s so cool about Nagumo-kun. You want me to bombard you with healing magic? Well, do you?” 
“D-Don’t worry, Kaori. I’m listening. Also, how is that a threat? Healing magic will just heal me, there’s no use—” 
“How dare you call healing magic useless! Fine, I won’t tell you about Nagumo-kun, you meanie! I should have known no knight would listen to me!” 
“C-Calm down, Kaori. You’re not making any sense. Besides, what do you mean you should have—” 
But Kaori was in no mood to listen to Meld’s protests. Red-faced, eyes unfocused, she brandished her white staff at Meld. Every time she swung it at him, cute sparkles trailed out of it. Those sparkles possessed healing properties, so even though she accidentally smacked her staff into other adventurers, the barkeeper, and even Endou Kousuke, none of them were actually hurt. In fact, thanks to the sparkles, Kaori looked more like a magical girl than a threatening foe. Sighing, Meld reached out to Kaori to try and calm her down. But before he could— 
“Sob... Sniffle... Captaaaaaaain!” 
“Whoa, Shizuku? Wait, why are you crying!?” 
Shizuku tugged on Meld’s jacket. She was sitting on the floor, head buried in her knees, crying. Surprised, Meld dodged out of the way of Kaori’s swings, then crouched down next to her. 
“I can’t take it anymore! I wanna go homeeeee! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!” 
“H-Hey, Shizuku!?” 
“Daddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Waaaaaaah!” 
“D-Daddy!? Shizuku, I’m not... Wait, hang on, stop crying! Damnit, so Kaori turns into a violent drunk while Shizuku becomes a crying drunk!?” 
Meld glanced about helplessly as the usually stoic Shizuku clung to his jacket and cried her heart out. Pathetic as it was, Meld realized he couldn’t handle these two alone. So he turned to the hero for help. As he blocked another one of Kaori’s swings, he shouted, “Hey, Kouki! Do something about your friends—” 
“Celestial Flash!” 
A shockwave of pure white light slammed into the bar’s wall. 
“What the heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell!? Kouki, what’re you doing!?” 
Meld’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Kouki, who appeared to be dead drunk, suddenly looked up sharply and shouted, “I found the enemy! Let’s do this! Celestial Flash! Celestial Flash! Celestial Flash! Super Celestial Flash! Ultra Celestial Flash! Mega! Super! Ultra! Celestial Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!” 
Kouki started haphazardly firing off Celestial Flashes in all directions. 
“Calm down! Aaaah, stop attacking the walls, and the ceiling, and those adventurers, and Kousuke!” 
Victims started piling up one after another. The poor, bald barkeeper teared up as he saw what was happening to his precious bar. 
“Aaaaah, this was my favorite bar!” Meld shouted, then continued, “Damnit, Ryutarou, help me stop—” 
“Hmph, behold, my bulging muscles!” 
Meld turned to Ryutarou, only to find the young boy had stripped off his shirt and was showing off his body. To be specific, he was posing like a bodybuilder while smiling happily. It was actually a surprisingly cool pose. 
“What the hell are you doing!? And where’d your clothes go!?” 
“Meld-san, you have some pretty good muscles, too. But they’re no match for me, especially not after how much I trained since coming here!” 
“Who cares about that!? Goddamn idiooooooot! And don’t take your pants off!” Meld screamed in despair. He couldn’t bear to watch as Ryutarou started removing his pants as well. Ryutarou was at least wearing underwear beneath them, so it wasn’t a complete disaster. However, after a few more seconds of posing, Ryutarou suddenly shouted, “Damn, this stupid piece of cloth is in the way!” and started reaching for his underwear. 
“Like hell I’ll let the hero party get arrested for public indecency!” 
Meld cast so fast it almost seemed like he’d invoked magic without an incantation, and a second later a huge gust of wind blew through the bar. It swept Ryutarou off his feet and prevented him from stripping off his underwear. But of course, one of the hardened members of the Hero Party wouldn’t go down that easily. “N-Nice shot, Meld-san! But I won’t lose to you!” Ryutarou shouted, and once again reached for his underwear. Panicking, Meld tried to pin him down, but— 
“Listen to me, Captaaaaaaaaaaaaain!” 
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Daaaaaaaddy!” 
“Blagh!? Kaori! Stop trying to bind me! And Shizuku, I’ll pretend to be your dad, so just stop crying! Here, I’ll even feed you! Ah, Kaori! Stop smacking me with your staff! Damnit, when’d you get so skilled with that thing!? Are you sure your job’s not secretly spear-wielder!? Fuck, how did I get into this mess!?” 
Meld found himself pinned down by a combination of Shizuku clinging to him and Kaori casting Binding Chains of Light on him. He dodged Kaori’s spear thrusts using only his upper body, while desperately casting wind blasts at Ryutarou to keep him from stripping. It turned out it wasn’t a good idea to give the Hero Party fake alcohol. I should never have done this! Meld lamented. 
“Alan, Kyle, everyone else who’s still conscious! Stop Kouki and the oth...ers?” 
Meld called out to his knights, but then trailed off as he realized he didn’t sense any of them nearby. He glanced around in a panic. 
“Everyone’s... gone...” 
Indeed, none of his knights were around. In fact, even Nagayama, Suzu, Eri, and the other children had all left. The only other people in the bar were the barkeeper and Endou, both of whom were huddling in a corner. The moment he’d seen Kouki start to spam Celestial Flashes, Meld’s right-hand man, Alan, had taken the other kids and evacuated. Right now he was sitting in his favorite bar, holding another celebration party with the less rowdy kids. He’d also offered to treat the adventurers who’d been in Meld’s bar as an apology. 
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I’m so lonely, Daddyyyyyyyyyyy!” 
“Hey, you’re not ignoring me, right!? RIGHT!?” 
“Hiyaaaaaaaaah! Celeshtial Frash!” 
“Behold, my chiseled torso. Can any other body compare!?” 
Meld slumped in despair when he realized his most trusted lieutenant had betrayed him. 
“Lord Ehit, please spare me such harsh trials...” 
His muttered entreaty was lost amid the din of the bar. The next morning, the Hero Party awoke to find Meld lying in a pale heap upon the floor. When they saw the sorry state he was in, they all shouted, “Who could have done such an awful thing!?” 
Drink, but Don’t Get Drunk Part II 
“A tree with pink flowers, huh? That reminds me of the cherry blossoms back in Japan,” Hajime muttered quietly. He’d spotted the tree off to the side of the road as the party walked past. It was a stout, short tree with pink, heart-shaped flowers growing from all of its branches. 
“Yeah. Come to think of it, I wasn’t able to go flower-viewing this year. Everyone suddenly had plans the day we were supposed to go. Even though I was really looking forward to seeing them with Shizuku-chan,” Kaori replied, looking wistfully at the lone tree. 
“Cherry blossoms? Flower-viewing?” 
“Are cherry blossoms a kind of flower in your world, Hajime-san?” 
“Judging by what you said, I assume those flowers bloom only once a year? And that it is a custom in your world to go see them?” 
Yue, Shea, and Tio all turned curiously to Hajime. Myu, who was sitting in Hajime’s lap, also gave him a questioning look, and he smiled back at her. He then went on to explain to everyone that cherry blossoms were one of the representative plants of his home country and that it was a tradition for everyone to go see them bloom in spring. 
“But well, even though it’s called flower-viewing, it’s really just an excuse for people to go out and party. Spring is considered the season of beginnings in Japan, too. Anyway, the point is flower-viewing is just a pretense really.” 
“I won’t deny that, but... there are some people who are just there to appreciate the flowers, you know?” 
Kaori smiled bitterly as she recalled how often people were shipped to hospitals because of alcohol poisoning every spring. But even so, she tried to defend flower-viewing’s honor. 
“That... sounds super fun! Daddy, I wanna do this flower-viewing thing too!” 
“Huh? Seriously? All we’re gonna do is sit under the tree and eat food and chat, you know?” 
“That’s fine! I wanna do it!” 
Seeing how excited Myu was to try flower-viewing, Hajime smiled awkwardly. He gave his comrades a questioning look, to see what they thought. It wasn’t as if they were in a rush to reach their destination. In fact, the moment they arrived at Erisen, they’d have to part with Myu. So they may as well make some more memories with her before it was time to say farewell. 
“Mmm... Why not? A picnic beneath a tree sounds good. It’s almost lunchtime, anyway. Besides, I don’t want this to be a memory only you and Kaori have.” 
“Did you have to put it like that, Yue?” 
“In fact, you should delete your memories of flower viewing with Kaori.” 
“Hey, that’s mean, Yue!” 
Hajime ignored Yue and Kaori’s catfight. Ever since Kaori had joined the party, this had kept happening, so he was used to it. He instead turned to Shea and Tio, both of whom seemed interested in experiencing flower-viewing. In the end, the group decided to hold an impromptu flower-viewing party beneath the Tortus version of a cherry blossom tree. They needed to eat lunch anyway, and it wouldn’t take up much extra time. As always, Shea created an array of elaborate dishes for lunch, with Tio and Kaori serving as her assistants. Hajime, Yue, and Myu helped set the dishes and get everything else ready. 
Thirty minutes later, the party was sitting on a fluffy sheet, staring at a table laden with food. To set the mood, Yue raised one hand into the air and snapped her fingers. A gentle breeze rustled the tree’s branches, causing flower petals to dance through the air. It was a beautiful sight. One that evoked a sense of wonder and mystery. 
“Wow, they’re so pretty!” someone muttered softly. Suddenly, one of the petals landed on Myu’s nose. Hajime and the others watched with a smile as she flailed about cutely, unsure of what to do. It was a peaceful, enjoyable party. Sadly, the peace didn’t last.


One hour later— 
“Are you listening to me, Hajime-san!? This is a veeeeery serious topic! Besides, you—” 
“It feels so comfortable being by your side, Master. Please, allow me to stay here.” 
“Hajime... Don’t you dare look away. Keep your eyes on me. And hug me.” 
“Stupid Hajime-kun! How come you’re always surrounded by women!? Don’t you know how much I love you!? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 
Red-faced, Shea started lecturing the tree they were sitting under. Tio, on the other hand, had lost her usual perverted nature by getting drunk and was acting surprisingly seductive. Yue was throwing a tantrum because Hajime wasn’t looking only at her, while Kaori was bawling incessantly and poking Hajime with her staff. 
“How did this happen...?” Hajime muttered, shaking his head. He looked at the empty bottles scattered around their picnic area. He’d had a couple of bottles of high-proof alcohol that he’d mostly meant to use as a disinfectant, but the girls had found the taste quite to their liking, and before long they’d all gotten drunk. Incidentally, Myu had already evacuated to the safety of the upper tree branches. She watched the other girls with barely concealed disgust. 
“H-Hey, Tio. Get off of me. You’re making Yue cry.” 
“So you can’t make Yue cry, but you don’t care if you make me cry?” 
“You’re a pervert who likes being ignored, anyway.” 
Hajime insulted Tio like usual, but this time the results were not what he was expecting. 
“Sob. Sniffle. How could you be so cruel? But if that is what you wish, Master, I shall oblige.” 
Tio backed away, looking like she was about to break down. This isn’t what your personality’s supposed to be like! Hajime shouted in his mind. He couldn’t help but feel guilty when he saw how devastated Tio looked. 
“Also, Kaori, shut up! And stop stabbing me with your staff! That actually hurts, you know! How’d get so good at hurting people when you’re supposed to be a healer anyway!?” 
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, Hajime-kun told me to shut uuuuuup! I hate you Hajime-kuuuuuuuuuun! How come you don’t understand me!?” 
Kaori unleashed a powerful three-pronged thrust, with each thrust aiming for one of Hajime’s vitals. The first went for his forehead, the second for his throat, and the third for his heart. What the hell!? Since when did you become a Rurouni Kenshin character? Hajime desperately blocked all three thrusts with his prosthetic arm. At the same time, he fired an anchor from a slot in his arm and wrapped it around Kaori’s body. Though he succeeded in binding her with it, she retaliated by casting Binding Chains of Light against him. Hajime quickly scooped up Yue, who was clinging to him, and leaped out of the way. Misunderstanding the situation entirely, Yue buried her face in Hajime’s chest and squealed, “Oh Hajime, you’re so rough.” 
“Now that Master has abandoned me... my only hope is to force myself onto him,” Tio muttered quietly to herself. Coming to a decision, she got to her feet and loosened her kimono sash. Then, she started stripping in broad daylight. Meanwhile, Kaori continued spamming binding spells at Hajime. Her magic was surprisingly precise despite her bawling her eyes out. On the other hand, Yue wrapped her arms and legs around Hajime, losing herself in her delusions. Unfazed by all the commotion, Shea continued lecturing the tree. 
“Daddy, everyone’s going crazy!” 
“Listen up, Myu. Make sure that if you ever drink alcohol, you never become drunk. Or you’ll end up like the girls here! Promise me you won’t let alcohol control you!” 
“I promise! But you’re the one who gave them the bottles, Daddy!” 
“I know, I’m sorry!” 
It was rare to see the monster of the abyss apologize. That was just how much of a disaster things had become. For the next few hours, Hajime desperately tried to sober the girls up, while Myu cheered him on from her perch in the tree. 
Unforgettable Warmth 
A lone, small figure stood on one of Erisen’s piers at dusk, enjoying the sea breeze. As Erisen was surrounded by ocean, there were piers at every edge of the city. However, the pier this figure always came to was the one that faced the continent. And it would always stand there for hours, looking forlornly out to sea. As if thinking of someone. As if waiting for someone. Quietly, all alone, the figure would watch. That figure was, of course, none other than the little girl Myu. And she was surprisingly famous within Erisen. People had already known her before, since she was the daughter of the beautiful Remia, but after a certain recent incident, her fame had grown. 
Today, to the spectators’ surprise, Myu sat down at the edge of the pier. Normally she’d just stand there, so naturally, the other residents were a little worried. 
“You think Myu-chan’s okay?” 
“She’s been like this every day since those guys left.” 
“Damn that white-haired brat. How dare he make Myu-chan sad!” 
“You said it! I’m so jealous Myu calls him— I mean, I can’t believe he left her even though she calls him Daddy!” 
“Yeah, that guy’s a disgrace to fathers everywhere. If I were Myu’s dad, I’d never leave her alone like this. In fact, maybe I should become—” 
“Yeah right, no way Remia’s gonna marry a guy like you! You barely even make any money, you layabout! Know your goddamn place!” 
“I know that’s true, but can’t you be nicer about it, man? You’re hurting me here!” 
The young dagon man who wished to be Myu’s new father sighed forlornly and vanished into the sea. He wanted to go somewhere to cry in peace. The other dagons ignored him and turned their thoughts to Hajime. The man who’d suddenly appeared in Erisen and the man who Myu called Daddy. Worse, Remia didn’t seem all that opposed to marrying him. The men who’d all been fighting each other behind the scenes to earn the right to propose to Remia had all been shocked to learn she was considering remarrying an outsider. God, they hated that white-haired eye-patch wearing brat. 
Not only had he destroyed one of their piers with a single stomp of his foot, he’d had brought an entire harem with him. One of whom was a legendary black dragon. Plus, he used his overwhelming power to intimidate anyone who annoyed him even slightly and didn’t hesitate to shoot people with rubber bullets. 
“Man, that guy was scary...” 
“Yeah, talking with him shaved a few years off my life.” 
“Yeah, you complain even a little around him and he snaps. What an asshole.” 
“Tell me about it. All we did was try to make pitfalls for him to fall into, or rip holes in his swimsuit. They were just harmless pranks, but he went ballistic on us.” 
“I just tried to feed him some rotten fish and he blasted me with electricity so strong it sent me flying across town. I can’t believe he has such a short temper!” 
Hajime had taught them how terrifying he could be, but the guys were trying to overcome their fear of him by insulting him. None of them realized the women of Erisen were all giving them disgusted looks. Nor did they realize a certain young girl had overheard them either. 
“Are you guys talking about Daddy?” 
“Whoaaa!?” 
“Myu-chan!? How long have you been listening!?” 
The guys all jumped in surprise. Myu looked up at the men with an innocent smile, the same smile that had charmed all of Erisen. But despite how cute she looked, there was something terrifying about her expression. 
“What were you saying about Daddy?” Myu asked again, and the men hesitated. Of course, none of them would dare insult Hajime in front of Myu. But they didn’t want to praise the man who’d stolen their beloved Remia, either. 
They tried to come up with a way to change the subject, but before they could, Myu said, “Oh, I know! You were talking about that time you tried to fight Daddy, but he sent you flying without even looking at you! That was super funny!” 
“Gah!” 
The man who’d been sent flying clutched his chest, his pride in tatters. 
“Huh? You weren’t talking about that? Oh, I know then! You were talking about the time you tried to play a mean prank on Daddy and got sent flying, right? That was funny too! Even Mommy laughed at you guys! She said you were ‘pitiful’!” 
“Bwagh!?” 
“Eeeeeeek!” 
The guys who’d tried to prank Hajime clutched their chests as well. Still smiling, Myu continued gunning down the dagon youths. The men whose pride hadn’t been shredded yet slowly backed away, cold sweat pouring down their back. But Myu had no intention of letting her prey escape. She took a few steps forward, and the men started trembling. Her beloved Daddy had taught her to show no mercy to her enemies. 
“Hmmm, but what does ‘pitiful’ mean?” 
Myu cocked her head quizzically, then looked around at the men she’d either downed or chased to a corner of the pier. After seeing them all tremble in fear she nodded to herself with a smile. 
“I got it! It means you’re pathetic, like Uncle!” 
The word “pathetic” echoed in the men’s minds over and over. Anyone left standing slumped to the ground, defeated. All of the men looked crushed. A four-year-old girl had just called them pathetic. Little wonder their spirits had been shattered. 
Myu walked over to the collapsed men and poked them with her finger. Hajime had taught her not to let her guard down until she was certain her foes had been destroyed. 
“No reaction. Just like a corpse!” 
Still smiling, Myu turned on her heel and trotted off. All that was left on the pier was a heap of corpses and the pleasant sea breeze. Though the onlooking women didn’t sympathize with the men in the slightest, they couldn’t help but shiver slightly. Before she’d been kidnapped, Myu had been a rather spoiled girl, one who cried easily and got lonely often. But now she’d emotionally destroyed a group of grown men. She sure had grown. 
As Myu ran back home, people on the street called out to her. 
“Yo, Myu-chan! You sure are energetic today!” “Hey Myu-chan, want some candy?” “Ah, Myu! Don’t run, it’s dangerous!” 
All of them were kind to her in their own way. While Myu didn’t slow down, she did make sure to respond to everyone who greeted her. Manners were important, after all. 
Like with all other beastmen, the dagon community was tight-knit. Everyone loved all of Erisen’s children like they were their own. However, Myu was showered with even more affection than the other kids. Part of the reason was that she’d suffered quite a traumatic experience after she’d been kidnapped, but the main reason was that Myu was just a friendly child. She was always smiling at other people, and despite her tendency to cry easily, she was surprisingly strong. She had a natural knack for attracting people. The sun had nearly set by the time Myu returned home, and she could smell dinner. 
“I’m back!” 
“My, welcome home, Myu. Did you go to the pier again today?” Remia asked Myu with a smile. 
Myu nodded, then tottered over to the counter and craned her head to see what was on the plates. It appeared today’s dinner was salad, soup, and meat skewers. Her eyes sparkled as she took in the feast that awaited. 
“I still have to grill the meat, but do you want to eat now?” 
“We can’t do that Mommy. I need to take a bath first.” 
“My, is that so?” 
Myu nodded with a serious face, and Remia chuckled. 
“You really like baths, don’t you, Myu?” 
“Baths are the greatest invention of mankind!” 
“Ufufufu. I see.” 
Considering how many big words Myu had just used, Remia had no doubt that was one of “Daddy’s” pet sayings. Incidentally, dagons rarely ever took baths. They were more accustomed to showers. Since their bodies were adapted to swimming in the ocean, they didn’t mind cold temperatures. While warmer water might feel a little better, the marginal benefits weren’t worth the time and effort. However, Remia’s house contained a bath. The genius Synergist Hajime had built one for his beloved daughter. The bath was a high-tech one that filled with warm water in less than a minute. 
Mother and daughter took off their clothes and entered the bathtub. The warm water healed the pair, washing away the exhaustion of the day. Remia sighed in contentment as she let her body soak. Had any of Remia’s admirers seen her then, they would no doubt have gotten a nosebleed. On the other hand, Myu excitedly jumped into the bathtub and splashed around. 
“Whew, that hits the spot!” 
“Oh my...” 
Remia did not doubt that rather old-fashioned turn of phrase was something Myu had picked up from Hajime as well. The way Myu lounged in the bath was reminiscent of how old men relaxed as well, and though Remia tried to teach her daughter better bath manners, she didn’t have much success. Once the duo was finished with their bath, Myu ran over to the fridge Hajime had transmuted for them and grabbed a bottle of milk. Naturally, she spread her legs apart and downed the bottle in one go, as was customary. By the time she was done, she had a tiny milk mustache on her face. 
“Pwah! This is what I live for!” 
“Oh my, this might be quite a problem.” 
It appeared Myu had picked up a ton of bad habits from Hajime. Remia’s smile grew stern, but she decided to save lecturing her daughter for after dinner. She finished grilling the meat as her daughter waited impatiently for dinner. Since today’s dinner was meat skewers, the meat had to be put on the skewer before Myu was willing to eat it. Once Remia had skewered the meat to Myu’s satisfaction, the little girl started eating like a starved wolf. 
“Skewers after a bath are one of life’s greatest joys!” 
Remia’s smile grew stern again. She would need to have a word with Hajime when he returned. While she may have approved of Hajime, she did not approve of the habits he was teaching her daughter.


But for Myu, this nightly ritual was her way of remembering. Remembering the day Hajime had saved her from those cruel slavers, and the day she’d experienced this warmth for the first time. She’d never forget that for the rest of her life. Nor would she forget the strength and kindness of her beloved Daddy and her beloved onee-chans. 
 



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