Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

「――up. ――eyes. ――ease!」

The feeling of gently being shaken made Shizuku murmured 「Uu?」 as she regained her consciousness.

Her whole body hurt. Her eyelids were also feeling terribly heavy. She felt slightly annoyed from getting her body shaken. But, that too only lasted for a brief moment.

「Please waketh uppp. I beg thee! Shizuku-dono! Get a hold of thyselfff」

Because the voice that she heard clearly sounded like it was going to cry soon.

「Uu……Tio-san?」

「O-oooh, that’s right! It’s Tio! I’m glad thou art awake, Shizuku-dono!」

Her slightly hazy sight cleared up instantly along with that joyful voice.

The first thing that she saw was pretty golden eyes that were blurred with tears. And then a beautiful woman’s face that relaxed with relieve.

(Really, even though she’s peerlessly beautiful if she act normally like this……)

She got such thought in a daze.

「Shizuku-dono. Art thou perhaps thinking something rude right now?」

「I-I’m not at all.」

Even though the way she was pouting her lips looked childish unlike her usual self, it seemed that there was no change to her sharpness.

「T-that’s right! Where’s Suzu and Ryuutarou!?」

Her last memory before it was cut off was the ground collapsing and her body enveloped in a feeling of weightlessness. Though at that time Tio should be mustering her wind magic to desperately draw them toward her.

「If it’s those two……」

「S-Shizushizu? Tio-san? Ah, ouch ouch-」

「Are we, alive? Tsk, my head is pounding.」

It seemed that those two had also just woken up. It seemed they were injured but it wasn’t too serious. They got up with their own strength and shook their head. Tio patted her chest with a relieved sigh and lowered her eyebrows.

「Forgiveth me. Mine healing magic art imperfect……」

It seemed she had been applying healing magic to the three of them all this time. The way she was sitting on the ground femininely while her shoulders were drooping in dejection, how to explain it, it tickled their desire to protect. Even though she was Tio!

「D-don’t apologize Tio-san! We are alive like this all thanks to you!」

「Yeah! Look-, I’m bursting with strength like this thanks to you!」

「Thank you! As expected from the guardian dragon!」

The three stood up altogether and made a show of how energetic they were.

Tio looked at them with an upward gaze while asking 「Really……?」 uneasily. Cute. Such sentiment and, This isn’t Tio! such feeling were clashing with each other. It felt like it would damage their brain.

「M-more importantly! This place……where are we?」

In order to maintain her sanity (?), Shizuku ran her gaze at the surrounding. There was one light sphere floating above their head to illuminate the area. It must be Tio’s magic. There was no other light source.

This place was undoubtedly a manmade passage, made from metal with white base color. Its width and height were around ten meters.

「Suzu and everyone fell didn’t we? The ground crumbled……」

「This place is, the underground ruin right? I’m amazed we were saved……」

Right at her side, Suzu and Ryuutarou were shaking. One side of the passage had collapsed completely. That side became a wall of soil and rock.

The after wave from the Serpent’s breath attack and the Centauros’s attack. While their consciousness was fading during that time, they could still barely sense that they were falling without being able to do anything. They were prepared to die at that time.

The two tilted their heads in confusion, because their survival couldn’t be simply attributed to having good luck. Tio gave them the answer.

「Umu. Truly, Nagumo-dono art an astonishing personage.」

「What do you mean?」 Shizuku asked her. Tio then pointed at a corner of the rock and soil. There was a hole there.

「In that situation, he sent his cross objects to us in order to giveth us protection.」

It was the four point barrier that was formed by the Cross Bits. It protected the four completely from the ground’s collapse.

「After that I became able to use magic normally. I was able to solidify the surrounding whilst the barrier was still active. From there I dug a hole and came out to here.」

When they looked at Tio’s face once more, they noticed that there was hint of fatigue there from using healing magic and earth magic consecutively despite not having much aptitude with them originally.

「Most likely, Kaori-dono and the others were also given the same treatment.」

Tio let out a passionate sigh with gratitude that came from the bottom of her heart. Her cheeks were slightly colored red.

「I was able to faintly see at the far away while falling. There was a red light. There was no doubt that Nagumo-dono also protected the other side.」

「……I see, so Nagumo-kun did that. Then they must be alright.」

「Seriously? Even though we almost died just from the shockwave……」

Shizuku let out a relieved sigh, while Ryuutarou’s palm slapped his own forehead to express his own astonishment.

「But……those things, what were they? Something like that……it’s just absurd.」

Suzu hugged her own body. She looked completely scared.

It couldn’t be helped. Those golems were things that were beyond human’s understanding. They were the embodiment of unreasonableness.

「They must be connected with the memories that Tio-san and everyone lost right? Perhaps, Kouki-kun’s disappearance was also……」

If that was really the case, there was nothing that could be done. It was impossible. Suzu almost said that. Shizuku and Ryuutarou also became enveloped with stifling mood. However they couldn’t speak any more words. Because they were interrupted.

「THERE ART NO PROBLEEEEMMMMM!」

The loud voice echoed repeatedly through the passage. Tio yelled her declaration.

She stood up and put both her hands on her waist while puffing out her chest impactfully. Her expression looked totally smug.

Suzu lifted up her face in a snap. Shizuku and Ryuutarou’s eyes also opened wide like saucers.

「N-no problem you say……」

「Umu! There art not really any reason why it wouldst not be a problem but, it wouldst be fine anyway!」

What she said had no basis at all. She also had no plan. But, confidence was the only thing that she had in spades. Tio winked exaggeratedly at the bewildered Suzu. And then, she said it. No, she declared, she swore it.

「I wouldst protect all of thee at the very least! I swore it on mine pride as a member of the dragon race!」

Tio puffed up her chest. The gazes of Shizuku and co were drawn toward it regardless of their will.

Because, her hands that were placed on her waist were shaking.

She was bluffing. Tio herself must actually be completely filled with fear herself. She must be feeling nothing but uneasiness. But she was desperately hiding it to give encouragement to the three of them.

「In any case we ought to advance forward for now! This place art undoubtedly the aforementioned ruins. In that case, we wouldst be able to reunite with Nagumo-dono and the others somewhere in here. Now, follow me!」

The current Tio was nine years old girl. She was suddenly in an unknown place when she realized it, surrounded by unknown people, and got dragged into an abnormal situation where only her body had grown adult.

And yet, this was how she acted. She was taking the lead. She straightened her back and held back the shaking of her hands while preparing herself to become a shield for the others when pushes came to shove.

「……So, this is the dragon race.」

It was Shizuku who unconsciously muttered that. This, this was exactly the noble and proud sky race that made even Yue idolized them.

Despite the childishness of her heart, the mentality, the way of life had been properly passed down to her.

*Baam* A sound that even sounded pleasing to the ears echoed clearly.

Tio jumped while yelling 「What theee!?」. She hurriedly turned around and found Suzu there with both her cheeks reddening. It seemed that she had slapped her cheeks with her hands.

「Yosh! Let’s go!」

She started dashing forward with light footsteps to stand at Tio’s side. And then another *Bam-* followed.

「Even Ryuutarou-dono, just what in the world art thou doing?」

「Don’t mind us, Tio-san. I just felt a but pathetic.」

「O-ou? Art that the case?」

「Fufu. Yes, that’s right.」

Shizuku also did *Bam-*. The three all had swollen cheeks while standing at Tio’s sides.

As though to say that it would be them who protect Tio right now.

「Now, let us move.」

Their attitudes must have conveyed something to her. Tio’s eyes blinked for a moment before her expression softened. Her shaking stopped.

「Umu-. Let’s go!」

Tio’s light sphere silently moved forward. It drove away the darkness further inside the passage and illuminated their path forward.

The four nodded to each other and started advancing forward.

*Kotsu kotsu* The sound of footsteps stomping on metal floor and the sound of breathing were strangely penetrating deep into their eardrums. They kept walking for a while through the unchangingly dull passage.

Naturally, they attempted to contact the others through “Telepathy Stone”. The “Designation Stone” that had beacon effect was also working, but there was no answer from Hajime.

「There isn’t any fork in the path……」

It seemed that the spot they fell into was accidentally a connecting passage. Or perhaps was simply outrageously huge. The passage that kept continuing forever straight forward was unwittingly lessening everyone’s tension.

Perhaps that was why, it seemed that Tio’s childish heart had moved on from vigilance toward a different matter.

「Couldst I ask thee a question……」

The strangely hesitant tone made Shizuku and others went Hm? in puzzlement.

「This art, just to check, umu, I simply wish to ask in order to confirm it but……」

「Ou? What’s the problem, Tio-san? You can ask us anything.」

Ryuutarou smiled cheerfully while at his sides Shizuku and Suzu were secretly looking at each other because they had sensitively guessed what Tio might asked.

「Truly? Then allow me to ask……what art the relationship……between Nagumo-dono and me?」

She sent questioning glances to them with an upward gaze. Her eyes were filled with embarrassment, and just a little bit of expectation.

Ryuutarou’s smile froze on his face. However his eyes were busily darting around.

「Y-you guys are comrade yeah? Ones that trust their back to each other, yeah?」

「That art not what I’m asking.」

Ryuutarou’s vague answer made Tio-chan’s expression turned serious.

Ryuutarou sent a gaze that asked for help to Suzu and Shizuku. Because, when he was asked with that question, what crossed his mind was naturally the case of “ass pile bunker” that he heard the story of in the palace. The usual things.

Although, there was no way they could tell a mentally nine years old girl that she was in a relationship that was formed from getting punished.

「W-what’s with that reaction-? So there was something? There really was something between us!?」

Tio blushed and looked around at Shizuku and others with sparkling eyes.

She looked very curious with the romantic matter that her adult self was getting into.

「Err, are you perhaps, curious about when Nagumo-kun declared that he will definitely recover the memories of Tio-san and everyone?」

Shizuku dodged the question for the time being by asking back. Hajime was certainly exuding unusual atmosphere when he declared that he would recover the memories of Tio and others.

Tio nodded and asked.

「There was also that, And there was also how he protected us. Even though he was the one in greatest danger during the fall.」

Tio looked toward empty air in remembrance while pressing her hands on her chest.

「I wonder why. When I thought about Nagumo-dono, mine chest, tightened ve~ry hard deep inside.」

「「「……」」」

「My heart told me, that I wouldst be fine as long as I’m beside that person. It’s just like, when Chichi-ue gave me a hug. But, it also feels a bit different……it’s like a peaceful feeling, like I’m feeling fulfilled. Such warm feelings filled me when I thought about him.」

Shizuku and others looked at each other once more. They all felt like they were going to groan Uaaa~ voicelessly together. If possible they wanted to cover their faces with their hands.

Tio was walking quietly in a modest way, while she was shyly hiding her blushing face with the sleeve of her kimono. Her loveliness was through the roof! She looked completely like a girl in love. She was exuding a very thick bittersweet atmosphere. Even though she had no memory, or perhaps because she had none at all that she was expressing her feeling in her heart too honestly.

「……However, the way Nagumo-dono looked at Yue-dono……forgive me, I hath asked a strange question.」

Tio was sharp when it came to the subtlety of the heart even with her amnesia. She put on a weak smile that looked slightly sad. It was unbearable to see. And so Ryuutarou reflexively,

「I think there was something between you two! I don’t really know though!」

He used his last resort, “I don’t really know though”.

「That’s right! How should I say it, that, yes! Nagumo-kun, he often did things like tying Tio-san……I think if my memory isn’t mistaken I guess!」

「Tying me!? What do thy mean by that!?」

It meant literally that. They had lost count how many times Hajime had tied her up with wire until she became like a cocoon before leaving her alone. Each time Tio would go haa haa with ecstatic expression while crawling on the ground in high speed after her master. They had lost count how many times they had witnessed such perversion.

「At the very least he had made Tio-san very happy many times! Yes! So much so that it made everyone around you two drew away each time! It was like you two were inside your own world!」

「I think there’s no other man who can receive a perve――unique person like Tio-san other than Nagumo yeah!」

「U-unbelievable! Our relationship art actually that special!? Awawa……what a predicament. Perhaps, I hath actually climbed up the stairs of adulthood――」

「In a sense, I think you had climbed it up to the top and even higher beyond that! Suzu can’t even keep up with that!」

「I couldst not believe it!」

Shizuku and others kept blabbering from following the momentum. 「The adult me, art amahzing……」 Tio said while hiding her lips with her sleeve. Surely she was grinning widely behind that cover.

Her smile returned in relieve for the time being. Her adorable figure that showed no hint of her usual perversity at the slightest made everyone looked at her with warm gazes.

Tio’s face reddened even more when she noticed that.

「……Uu, please doth not look at mee」

Her voice was shaking and so small that it felt like it would vanish into thin air anytime soon.

The hearts of Shizuku and others became as one. If that guy is in this place right now, won’t his heart get pierced through in one shot? They thought.

「Mu! Look, over there! A branch in the path! Let us stop with the idle talk now!」

「Even though it was you Tio-san who bring it upp~」

Suzu teased at Tio from the side while smirking. Shizuku glanced at her and,

(Well, none of that is a lie. And the way that guy looked at her……is clearly different compared to when he looked at me.)

Thought such thing while unconsciously smiling bitterly, then she sighed. She switched feeling and looked at the passage ahead.

Certainly, they could see a crossroads ahead. They stopped walking in the middle of it.

「What now?」(Ryuutarou)

「I believe, the red light that I saw came from that direction, more or less……」

Tio pointed at the left passage. Although, what she saw happened while she was falling. And it also happened in an instant. Tio too didn’t sound confident.

All of them frowned. The clue to decide the path that they should take was too few.

Tio was groaning un un while her thought was racing. She was also sending her light sphere to each path to see if there was something. But, in the end it only showed the same dull passages everywhere without any sign to help them decide……

Although, that hesitation was immediately erased after that. No, they had lost the leeway to hesitate.

Someone came to meet them. Although it wasn’t Hajime or Kaori and the others.

「Nn? Just now, there are footsteps……」

It was a meeting that they wished for, but it happened in a way that had to be classified as the worst.

.

「――”Soaring Flash”」

.

「「「「Tsu!?」」」」

There was a flash from the right passage. Right after they saw it, the slash of light flew at them murderously.

The four of them opened their eyes wide in shock. Tio was purely surprised, while Shizuku, Suzu, and Ryuutarou were surprised because they were attacked by a very familiar attack that came from a very familiar voice.

「Tsu, don’t just stand still!」

Tio grabbed Ryuutarou and Shizuku and jumped back toward the passage that they came from. Shizuku wasn’t in the attack trajectory from the start, but she returned to her senses from Tio’s yell and immediately withdrew.

「Fuckers! Kouki you stupid idiot! It’s us! Do you want to kill us!?」

「So you’re safe you idiot! Why the hell are you here-, you idiot!」

Merciless insults were thrown from the two childhood friends.

Yes, it was without a doubt Kouki who chanted the attack just now. The technique was also his favorite special attack.

Tio guessed that this was the missing person in question and her eyes widened. Suzu was confused by Kouki’s presence, even so she naturally chanted her magic. Her experience was telling her to do that.

Shizuku and Ryuutarou were the same. They were raising their voices, but they didn’t make any movement to come out to the open anymore.

Because they felt it. That there was a dangerous enemy there! Their instinct was right.

「――”Sky Claw Rain”」

Kouki completely ignored everyone’s voice and countless light spheres rushed toward the crossroads.

Those spheres ignored inertia and came to a complete stop before making sharp turn toward Shizuku and others.

「Tsu, ――”Heaven Severance”!!」

Suzu’s preparation proved its worth. Several layers of orange barriers splendidly blocked the light spheres.

「Kouki!? What they hell are you doing you bastard! Stop it! Don’t you know that it’s us!?」

Ryuutarou’s angry yell resounded between the impact sounds.

「What art this-, art not he thy friend!? Or else it’s a wrong person!?」

「No……that’s really Kouki!」

Shizuku approached the corner and peeked out just for an instant. Her hand was on the handle of her black katana.

The person who sprinted so fast as though to blow away the passage’s darkness was undoubtedly Kouki.

His figure blurred. He leaped out to the intersection in one leap with “Ground Shrinker”. His gaze ran through Shizuku and others for just a moment. But, he showed no sign of stopping.

「――”Reflection Wall”」

He somersaulted forward while at the same time deploying barrier midair. It was a simple barrier with reflection effect that they had never seen Kouki used before. He used that as foothold to blast himself off like a pinball.

「Kouki, what’s wrong with you!?」

Shizuku yelled like that even while drawing out her sword.

Kouki cut apart the “Heaven Severance” barrier like it was a scrap paper. Then his sword slashed at Shizuku without pause. Shizuku blocked it with the black katana. The impact made her hands felt numb.

The attack was very sharp and heavy. It wasn’t a joke. He was seriously trying to kill her.

「Kou, ki?」

The moment they locked swords with each other, Shizuku became speechless as she peered into Kouki’s eyes from that close range.

It was so, so lifeless. His gaze was empty as though he was just a puppet.

「Asshole! What the hell are you doing sleepwalking like that! Koukiii-」

Ryuutarou stepped forward from Kouki’s side. He punched with his vein pulsing on his forehead.

It was a wonderfully textbook “straight thrust” that was befitting of a karate expert. But,

「Kyah」

「Wha-!?」

It was Shizuku and Ryuutarou who let out the agitated voices. Kouki had relaxed himself with superb timing and made the flat of his holy sword slid on the black katana to redirect its trajectory toward Ryuutarou.

Ryuutarou dodged it just barely, but both Shizuku and him got cold sweats because they almost finished off each other.

They reflexively glared at Kouki. But, he wasn’t there.

「Behind!」

Shizuku tripped Ryuutarou’s legs. Kouki had circled to their back with a movement so smooth it was like a flowing water. His slash after that grazed Ryuutarou’s head as he stumbled down.

「You-」

Ryuutarou who almost got his head lopped off looked furious, but naturally Kouki didn’t stop.

He expressionlessly and robotically slashed diagonally with the holy sword to reap the lives of his childhood friends. Shizuku slashed back at him, but this situation where Kouki was attacking them was making her movements lacked luster.

「Get a hold of thyself! I doth not know the situation but, everything wouldst be over if thou doth not survive first!」

A scolding that was even filled with dignity resounded. A bullet of compressed wind assaulted Kouki. It was parried easily with the holy sword, but it was enough to give Shizuku and Ryuutarou a breathing room.

「Don’t blame us if you get injured!」

Shizuku discarded her hesitation and slashed seriously. Sound and sparks of swords clashing bloomed continuously.

She pushed, pushed, and pushed. She continuously unleashed attacks like surging wave with the techniques of Yaegashi-style. And then she realized.

「Y-you-. Aren’t, Kouki!?」

The sword exchange said as much as verbal speech. It was possible to understand the opponent even more eloquently than words.

Though Shizuku didn’t have the slightest intention to say such phrase that sounded like coming from a master swordsman in a period drama.

But it was only at this time that she couldn’t help but feel it keenly.

Kouki was fighting not with Yaegashi-style that they had learned together, nor with kendo, nor with the swordsmanship of the kingdom’s knight that he had trained hard in since coming to Tortus. It was an unknown swordsmanship that he was performing with terribly smooth movement despite its solidness.

Even though her specs were inferior compared to Kouki, Shizuku believed that she was Kouki’s superior purely in swordsmanship. Her face was gradually showing impatience.

It wasn’t working. Her sword was getting blocked, parried, diverted. Her openings were being accurately targeted and she was counterattacked in a way that sent chills into her guts. He was doing that while also handling Ryuutarou’s pincer attack and Tio’s support, while also firing light bullets at Suzu.

On top of that, with each second that passed and each blow that was exchanged, Shizuku’s technique was getting seen through and adapted to!

The opponent’s skill was definitely master class. It was a swordsmanship that was similar but actually completely different from Kouki who recently was getting increasingly more reliant on his specs while forsaking his technique.

Therefore, Shizuku relied on a method that had to be called as heretical as a swordsman.

「You-」

She pointed the tip of her scabbard at the opponent and pressed a switch on the grip. It activated the needle gun that was inserted in it.

As expected it must be unexpected.

Kouki perfectly deflected the needles that were fired rapidly at him, even so he warily took distance from her after that.

「Tsu, haaaaaaah」

Shizuku exhaled loudly. It felt like the sword clash that lasted for less than a minute had shaved off her mental strength drastically. Sweat drenched her body and her front hair got stuck on her forehead.

「Shizushizu! You alright!?」

The light bullets had stopped when she noticed and Suzu and the others ran toward her.

「……Does this mean that Kouki also lost his memory?」(Shizuku)

「Then did he get brainwashed too? He even attacked us.」(Ryuutarou)

「It seems his situation art different from us.」

Regardless of the truth, this wasn’t the time to think about it. Multiple floating objects appeared soundlessly from deeper inside the passage where Kouki came from.

They looked faimilar. Those were the pyramid shaped floating objects like the one that appeared in the tree house.

There were ten of them. They arrived in a neat flying formation and lined up orderly beside and above Kouki. Shizuku obeyed the red alert alarm that was sounded by her instinct and yelled.

「Suzu!!」

「Become the holy domain and let none of the god’s enemy through――”Holy Severance”!!」

Although the chant was shortened, a barrier of the greatest class was produced. It was the accomplishment of Suzu who hadn’t let her guard down.

Because without that, all of them would have become filled with holes in their body.

*Kyuuun* The pyramids made such light sound and light converged on the middle of their surfaces. Right after that, countless lasers clashed on the barrier. Many ripples formed on the barrier and an unpleasant sound was ringing out.

Suzu let out a pained voice 「Kuh」 while Kouki lifted up the holy sword that was starting to be tinged with light.

Then reinforcement appeared from deep inside all the passages. The floating pyramids kept increasing in number with each second that passed.

It was just a matter of time before they got completely surrounded.

「T-t-t-this art not a problem! I wouldst protect everyone!」

Tio desperately encouraged them but, she couldn’t hide the trembling in her voice. Suzu and Ryuutarou’s stiff faces were clearly expressing their tense feeling when faced with this dangerous situation.

「……This, is bad.」

Cold sweat trickled down Shizuku’s cheek. While inside her heart she thought of that reliable man.

Meanwhile, at that time.

Far at the north side, even deeper underground than the location of Shizuku and the others,

「Hiiiiiiiiiiih, save meeee~~~~~」

A pathetic scream was echoing. The one running without any care of appearance or shame while holding her head that had its rabbit ears flattened down was naturally Shia.

Her face looked horrible. All kinds of excretions like tear and snot and saliva were flooding out. It was a face that a beautiful girl should never make.

「It’s fine! Everything is fine so calm down, Shia!」

「I-i-i-i-i-impossibleeeeeeee-」

It stood to reason. After all even Kaori who was soothing Shia was also feeling her hair stood on ends, so it couldn’t be helped.

After all, the enemies that were attacking the two……

Were innumerable number of snakes.

The two fell into a half destroyed dome shaped space while being protected by the Cross Bit, but then a lot of snakes came out in that place that had several exits.

They had grey color and length around two meters. Their bodies were made of metal with patterns covering the body surface. Yes, it was a great swarm of the small version golems of that Serpent. The sight of them clinging all over the ceiling, wall, and floor was more than enough to make even Shia who should be used to seeing something like snake to feel agoraphobia.

After all, number was strength. Because of that they forcefully escaped from that space, and then Kaori intercepted any who got closer while they kept running until now in order to not get surrounded.

「Nnn――”disintegratiooon”!!」

The disappearance of the magic power dispersion effect was a silver lining of this situation. Although Kaori still wasn’t used to the apostle body. Her activation of the most atrocious magic “Disintegration” was slow, and her control was shoddy. Her mental strength was shaved away by the intense focus that was required.

Even so, the magic had enough extermination power to sweep away the approaching grey snakes that were at the forefront. If she fired the magic in sweeping arc, a gap of more than ten meters would immediately be opened up between them and the approaching torrent of snakes.

「――”Heaven Severance”!! “Binding Shining Blade”!!」

She also didn’t forget to use the light element magic that she was good at. After all great variety of magic were constantly coming from the grey snakes. She blocked the attacks with several layers of barriers, and fired light swords for binding the individual grey snakes that leaped at them to the floor. Even then some would still get through and she would cut them up or repel them with her twin great swords. She was protecting Shia.

「Where-, where should we go――bugyaaa!?」

Shia stumbled. At a place where there was nothing. Her face collided on the floor and her body slid forward while her body was bending backward. Her panty was in full view.

「W-what a hopeless rabbit-」

Kaori didn’t stop running. She used a chain of light――”Binding Radiant Chain” to reel Shia to her before immediately placing her body on her shoulder. She also used healing magic on Shia because her nose was bleeding river.

「T-thank you so much desu-. I thought you were a slightly scary person but, you’re a good person! You are my savior desuu!」

「Your welco――wait a second. What do you mean scary person!?」

「Eh, ah, no, that issss……the way you looked at Nagumo-san was a bit……」

「A bit what I wonder!? I wonder!?」

「Hih, I’m sorryyy-. You’re scary just as I thoughtttt~」

The rabbit immediately shrunk back in fear just from Kaori raising her voice a little.

For Kaori, Shia was already a superhuman since the first time they met. She was a girl who was far stronger than herself.

She was bright, courageous, and she would laugh fearlessly even when challenging a powerful enemy. Shia was such person who she even harbored admiration to.

(But, this is the original Shia……)

That was exactly why she had a thought. Just how much courage Shia had mustered in order to change herself.

Just how much fear, feeling of inferiority Shia had overcome to reach that point.

(To steal that memory, everything that she had been accumulating until now……unforgivable-)

Kaori felt destructive anger toward that Centauros that was clad in Shia’s magic power.

「It’ll be fine-, I’ll protect you Shia! Until you regain yourself!」

「K-Kaori-san?」

She saw a crossroads at the front. Grey torrent was flooding out from there. Great swarm of grey snakes also appeared from the left and right passages. It seemed that they had been encircled.

「Kaori-san, the front too!」

「I, know! Power is justice at this kind of time! Isn’t that right Shia!」

「What are you talking about desu!?」

Obstacle could just be smashed to pieces with power. After all power was strength!

Kaori stopped running and aimed the magic power that she had kneaded over and over toward diagonally below the wall, and fired.

「This is the strongest attack that I can do right nowwwww――”Disintegration-“!!」

Silver flash swelled up. A bombing with diameter that might reach three meters pierced diagonally below the metal wall, turning everything on its path into dust without exception, digging a hole to deeper and deeper underground.

「Kuuh, my control is-」

Kaori was desperately suppressing the power that threatened to go out of control. Even so there were many deviations with the casted magic, and in addition her compression was shoddy and midway the magic burst and dispersed……

When the silver light vanished into thin air, there was a crooked and jagged hole like a natural cavern left in its wake.

「Come Shia! Jump in!」

「Eh, impossible desu. It’s dark, scary. A hole that’s made with that kind of magic might cave in any――」

The great swarm of grey snake would close the distance and pincer attacked them soon. Kaori was holding them back with “Divine Severance” and felt an irritation that was similar like what Hajime felt against the Hauria clan in the past at the sea of trees.

「Stop complaining and just goooooooo-」

「Hiih, I’m sorry! I’m, going no――AAA!?」

In the end, the panicked Shia stepped too hard and slipped. She couldn’t soften her landing and fell into the hole where she starting rolling flashily like a swastika. Screams like 「Gubee!? Bigya!? Aa, AAA~~~!?」 were echoing.

「S-SHIAAAAA~~~!!」

Kaori hurriedly fired “Disintegration Feathers” to the surrounding ceiling to cause a collapse and blocked the path.

She also applied regeneration magic to the “Divine Severance” itself so it would regenerate, then she hurriedly chased after Shia.

Oh? The scream stopped……

「Awawa, what to do! I thought that Shia would be fine because of her toughness but……if by any chance she……it’ll be possible, to resurrect her right?」

Kaori sent a light sphere ahead to illuminate the path and went down the crooked cave for a while.

Shia seemed to have rolled down until very deep. When she found her, it seemed that she got stuck midway on a rock that didn’t vanish because the disintegration attack dispersed.

Shia’s upper body was bending into “<” shape on a rock. She wasn’t making any sound at all.

「S-Shia! Are you okay!?」

Kaori ran toward her in panic. Then she heard crying voice 「Hics, sniff」 faintly from Shia.

「Shia! Hang in there――ah」

It was underground with only a single light source. There was also something that could be realized only after getting closer.

For example, how Shia’s upper wear had gotten caught somewhere and now her chest was completely exposed.

Or how her skirt was flipped up, her underwear was half taken off, showing half of her buttocks.

Or perhaps, yes, how there was a wetness under her feet.

「……Fue, just……nnguu……please kill meee」

She was so shocked that even her speech wasn’t articulate because, well, in other words, it seemed that it was something like that. Her pressing her trembling legs together also wasn’t because of pain, but rather shame.

「……Yep! As expected from Shia! It’s amazing how you’re unharmed!」

「An eternal wound is formed in my heart……」

「I don’t know what you’re saying at all I think! I don’t know so there’s nothing for me to say to anyone else! Yep! More importantly Shia! I’ll take out an upper wear! Let’s also change your panty for fashion! It’s just for fashion, really!」

「Uu……Kaori-san, so kind……」

Kaori touched Shia’s “treasure warehouse” and took out a change of clothes along with a towel while she turned her back at Shia.

The sniveling voice that came from behind her, it made her felt something indescribable, like a pity, or like how hopelessly disappointing this rabbit was.

Surely, perhaps, Hajime-kun and Yue too were also feeling like this when they met with Shia for the first time, Kaori thought with a keen feeling.

(Let’s take the memory of today to my grave.)

She made that decision with a solid resolve. Hooray to friendship. Then Kaori switched track and be on her guard in case there was pursuer.

Unexpectedly there wasn’t any sign of that. Perhaps her sabotaging action was effective. Or perhaps those golems couldn’t leave the ruins.

Or perhaps they had different intention.

(Is everyone safe I wonder? No, surely they are fine.)

She tried “Telepathy” but it didn’t connect. Now then, as she wondered what to do from here, someone suddenly called out to her while she was focusing her thought with the premise that everyone was alright.

「……Umm, Kaori-san.」

「Ah, have you finished changi――」

She turned around, however, her movement stopped. She stopped completely.

Because that question that was said with quiet voice, was an ambush from Shia.

「Is my family, already gone?」

「Tsuuu!? Eh, ee? What?」

It was too late even though she thought that she had messed up. Her agitation had definitely disclosed it. Kaori pretended that she didn’t really hear the question as she turned around even while feeling aware that it was a useless effort, but she realized her own blunder when she saw Shia’s expression.

In her face there was resignation, sadness, and surety.

「As I thought, it’s like that.」

「T-that’s not-」

「I thought that it’s strange. Even though I had been living in hiding all this time, being told that I’m the strongest, or getting sent out of the sea of trees because of that……」

「It’s not a lie! I only heard it second hand but, Shia yourself wished for――」

「Why now desu?」

「Eh?」

Shia put on a troubled smile that looked brittle. As though she was an extraordinary fortune teller who had seen through everything.

「I somehow understand, that you aren’t lying. That person too, and Kaori-san too, don’t look like you have any malice.」

「Y-yeah. That’s why」

「But, I think that you’re hiding something desu. Everyone is good people so, perhaps, it’s for my sake isn’t it?」

Kaori was at a loss for words. Shia smiled bitterly and sighed.

「I have been……looking up to hero all this time. Because it was Kaa-sama’s dream.」

But, she couldn’t become one. No, she didn’t try to become one. She only looked up to the concept while not having any courage. She obediently accepted being hidden and protected by her family.

「Someone like me suddenly set up my mind? That’s impossible desu.」

She understood because it was about herself. There was no way she could stand up on her own feet without any impetus at all.

「Something happened desu. It wasn’t because I wanted to be strong. There was a reason why I had to be strong, a reason that made it impossible for me to keep making excuse that I’m not courageous, something happened that made me had to be desperate no matter what desu.」

The voice echoed quietly. She tried to smile wryly but she failed, instead it was a clumsy smile that distorted in sadness and pain, which looked like a tearful smile.

「I can only think of my family, that can make me to be like that desu.」

And then, if something happened to her family, and that matter was well-known in Fea Bergen,

「It was my fault, wasn’t it?」

It was something that she had feared all the time. It was only natural for her to reach the conclusion that it had become reality.

It was either death penalty, or banishment. Either way,

「If I’m at the outside world by myself, that’s because my family is already――」

Actually, the worst possibility must have been inside her head all this time. There was no doubt that the heavy and cold anxiety that was like a block of ice was sinking deep inside her chest. It overflowed and a trickle of tear flowed down Shia’s cheek.

Kaori couldn’t hold back anymore and yelled. The truth. While hugging Shia with all her might.

「Wrong! You’re wrong Shia! Your father is still alive!」

「……Eh?」

Bewilderment was conveyed from the body that she was hugging.

It was the truth that a lot of Shia’s family had died because of her existence. Shia wasn’t stupid. She herself had noticed. Then Kaori wouldn’t mislead her. She told her with the most sincerity she could muster.

「I wasn’t present at that time so I don’t know everything. But, I’ll tell you everything that I can.」

「I……」

「Yes. Certainly, I heard that many of Hauria clan died. The cause was also just like Shia imagined. But you know, Shia. You haven’t lost everything. It was also you who protected them. You found Hajime-kun and Yue. You did your best, you summoned your courage, and grasped the future where you met those two.」

That’s why, Kaori said. It was because you Shia kept running with everything you had, because you gave it your all to get as close as possible to the future you wished for, she said.

「You aren’t alone Shia. Your family is still waiting for you at the sea of trees.」

「Tsu, rea, lly?」

Kaori let her go a little and stared straight into her eyes before nodding. Stiffness immediately left Shia’s body completely.

And then relief spread through her body so much that she dropped down on the spot. At the same time a sob escaped her throat when she thought of her family who became sacrifice.

Kaori hugged Shia really really tightly to support her up. Shia too put her hands around Kaori’s back and clung on her while entrusting her weight on her.

For a while, there was only the voice of Shia’s crying echoing inside the cave.

They lost track how long they were staying like that. Before long, it was Shia who quietly let go of the embrace.

Kaori’s fingertip gently wiped Shia’s moistened eyes. Shia’s complexion was still bad but, she shyly smiled. It was a smile that despite its brittleness, there was nothing twisted in it.

Somehow it made Kaori to feel embarrassed too. She unconsciously averted her gaze and spoke something that was a digression.

「By the way, Shia’s father and the other members of Hauria clan apparently has also gotten strong now. Hajime-kun said that he personally trained them. I heard they even won against the warriors of the bear clan or something.」

「That is a lie desu!」

「Your denial is fast-. How can you declare that!?」

「I’m not proud of it but, I’ll be troubled if you looked down at how good-for-nothing Hauria clan is! Someone like Tou-sama would faint just from getting a bug falling on his neck desu!」

「That’s really not something to be proud of. How did you guys survive in the forest like that……」

Shia must be putting up a front. Her tone sounded slightly forced to be lighthearted.

In any case, it seemed that Shia had accepted her current situation to some degree.

「I believe it, Kaori-san’s story. I have family waiting for me. And that, I am strong.」

Kaori nodded while saying yes in affirmative. Shia also nodded back, and then――her face suddenly reddened.

「Besides, I also get it now.」

「Get it?」

Shia placed her hands on her chest, as though to confirm her own feeling.

「Even though he should be a stranger, how could I feel so relieved just by being at his side? How can my heart feel so light and airy like this?」

「……Aa~, yeah, that’s, you know. Yep.」

「He said that he’ll recover my memory. That person, was so serious it was scary……ehehe」

Kaori’s gaze was turning blank.

「He’s my benefactor, and treasured me so much like that……that’s why, I……this feeling, eheh. It’s something like that isn’t it desu?」

「That might be so.」

Shia-chan fidgeted with her rabbit ears rubbing on each other *usa usa*. How maidenly. She didn’t even notice Kaori’s blank expression.

「Kaa-sama also said it. You might run into your future husband one day at the outside world. Perhaps I’m already」

「There is nothing at all.」

「It feels like Kaori-san’s tone is scathing desu!?」

Kaori wasn’t lying. But, it was a fact (based on woman instinct) that Shia was closer than herself to the desired position of loving relationship, so Kaori’s maiden heart couldn’t accept it so easily.

The precious atmosphere just now was completely dispersed. An illusion of something that looked like Hannya mask floated behind Kaori. Shia faltered seeing that. Crap? Did I step on a landmine? She thought while backing away.

「What should we do now!?」

Shia noticed that this wasn’t the time to talk about this kind of topic and raised her voice. She hurriedly spoke up to change the atmosphere. A fragment of her future self was coming out.

「Ah, yeah. You’re right……」

Kaori pulled herself together and resumed her thinking from before. Her conclusion for the time being was,

「Perhaps I’ll dig a hole until the surface.」

「That’s a super musclebrained idea desuu」

The rabbit who was the personification of musclebrained and held the principle that power is justice complained to that idea in exasperation. Even though she had amnesia, as expected that was just…

Kaori puffed out her cheeks with offended feeling, even so she started to knead her magic power.

「If it’s Hajime-kun, I think that he might be exploring this ruin. After all now we have found out that the memory loss of everyone is connected to those golems. He will definitely head down this ruin I think, if this ruin has even deeper level.」

That was also why Kaori dug this hole to diagonally below. She didn’t dig the hole straight down because she thought that Shia wouldn’t be able to land safely like that. Though in the end the result was the same.

「Eh, then why are you going to dig up?」

「Yes, it’s the opposite direction, but it will be better if we at least have one exit available right?」

She would open a path to the surface, and then she would also dig below after that. The route would become an effective escape route if they could link up with the others after that.

It was a very forceful way. It seemed that Kaori had been deeply influence by Hajime who once smashed through Orcus Great Dungeon in the past using pile bunker in order to rescue her.

「And so――”Disintegration”!!」

Silver light converged above her head. Reflecting on her failure from before, Kaori focused even more before firing the bombardment.

This time it opened up a perfectly round hole that headed toward the surface in the blink of eye.

「Oo, Kaori-san is amazing desu-」

「Ehehe, I feel like I have gotten the hang of it a little now!」

Kaori laughed shyly from that straightforward praise. But, because what she was doing was a hostile act for the enemy side,

「Tsuu!? My magic power-」

The disintegration magic petered out. It wasn’t because Kaori messed up. It was undoubtedly the magic power dispersal phenomenon.

Then, there was just one answer.

「Shia! That thing is coming! The big snake golem――」

Before she could finish speaking, the two’s bodies were enveloped in a feeling of weightlessness. They lost their foothold. No, perhaps it should be called as the structure of the underground space. With the two at the center of a spherical shaped space, the surrounding ground flowed to further away.

A giant space was formed in the blink of eye. The two fell for more than ten meters. Kaori swept Shia into a princess carry before they hit the ground before landing safely.

「T-thank you so much, Kaori-san.」

「No need for thanks! More importantly, this is bad……」

The hole that she opened with her disintegration attack was plugged up. The hole that she opened from the ruins too.

And then, the spherical space’s, what was called as equator in earth term, its top part flowed soundlessly and a giant body came into view.

「A world inside a giant coiling snake. This is just too much like some kind of nyth.」

「A, a, w-what should we do……」

Kaori’s face was twitching. Shia was terrified. She looked to be in the verge of panic.

Ahead of their gaze, the wall right in front of them undulated and the Serpent’s head came out from there. Right after that,

――iIIIIIIIIIIIINN!!

A unique roar reverberated. It was the same like when it attacked them on the surface. Even though they were put under magic power dispersion effect, the enemy alone was still able to use magic. Such unreasonableness was assaulting them.

Flame bullets that were as many as the stars in the sky rushed them. And they weren’t simply moving in a straight line. A part the bullets were curving to circle behind them, furthermore there were also invisible wind blades mixed in stealthily in between.

「As I thought, this is Tio’s!」

She had seen this superb way of using flame and wind many times. She held Shia with one hand while her other hand was holding a great sword as she dodged desperately. She slashed away the attacks that she couldn’t dodge.

――iIIIIIIIIINN

Another roar. This time it was a roar that struck the soul. Kaori’s movement was stopped for a moment. The “dragon’s breath” came at that timing. It was different from the extra large bombardment before, it fired thin lasers this time. However, it fired ten at once. The lasers caressed the air from every direction like light show for making a dance stage even flashier.

Kaori bit her lip to keep hold of her wavering consciousness. *Step step step*. She repeatedly performed high speed movement that relied on her apostle physical ability. She was doggedly enduring the attacks.

Shia was screaming 「Hieeee~~」 but Kaori had no leeway to pay attention to it.

(Why is it not launching large scale attack? Even though we’re trapped in a narrow space like this……)

No, she rethought it. The golem’s meaning of existence. The meaning of it attacking right now. Thinking about them,

「It’s being careful with the ruins-」

She noticed that from careful observation. The spherical space was moving bit by bit.

It was as though the enemy was being careful so that the fight wouldn’t affect the ruins that was right nearby negatively.

It even went through the trouble of showing its face from the opposite direction of the ruins. Then,

「Shia-, we’re going back to the ruins!」

「Y-yhess」

Just once would be fine. It would be fine even if she only maintained it for several seconds. If it was now then they could still return into the ruins. Believing that, Kaori kneaded the magic power for disintegration bombardment. It was a type of gambling that relied on the apostle’s magic power.

But, the opponent noticed that quickly because it had been wary of such possibility.

Magic power swelled up behind them. A magic circle formed up on the enemy’s torso.

「Tsu, Shia! Sorry-」

「Eh? Fugyah」

Shia was thrown away. The thought that she was abandoned crossed her mind for an instant, but Shia immediately felt ashamed of herself for thinking such thing.

「Kuh, uuuuu-, youuu-」

A surging wave. An attack that could only be described like that came. The precision and power were in different level than before.

In addition, an attack was also unleashed from the enemy torso behind Kaori.

She blocked it with a barrier that drained her magic power like leaky bucket while dealing with the attack from the front with only her twin great swords because she had no leeway to protect her whole body.

But, there was no way she could block everything with her twin great swords style that was still imperfect.

She also couldn’t use other magic because her magic power and focus were fully devoted to maintain the barrier on her back.

Therefore, she was getting wounded by the attacks that she couldn’t handle. The damage would have smash her body into pieces a long time ago if it wasn’t a god’s creation, but Kaori was getting cornered toward death in the blink of eye.

Even so, she didn’t withdraw. She didn’t take even a step back. She didn’t dodge.

The reason for that was one.

(……Because, I’m here……)

Shia was staring in a daze on Kaori’s back while on the ground.

Blood and flesh splattered, Hair strands were severed and fluttered. The body that was getting more wounds as each second passed from protecting Shia……

「D-don’t mind me anymore! R-run――」

「I’ll-, absolutely, survive-. Together-, with Shia!!」

Those words weren’t said in respond to Shia. It was clear just from looking that Kaori had no leeway for that.

Therefore, those words were oath toward herself, her resolve.

She decided with a will of steel that she would protect Shia, survive, and meet with Hajime and others again.

Hearing those words, that figure, Shia――

(I……I-, what am I doing-!!)

Trembled. With anger toward herself. She was able to protect her family because she resolved herself. But, she lost a lot of her family because she resolved herself too late. She had been told about that just now.

In that moment, her cowardly heart was punched by the anger toward her worthless self.

「Ua, aaaa-, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-」

She screamed loudly without caring even if it tore apart her throat. There wasn’t any thought of strategy or calculation to break the deadlock of the situation in her mind. There was simply a scream I don’t want to lose anything else, her soul yelled I can’t lose this person, stand, run!

「Shia-!?」

*DOGON* There was a sound of impact. Shia left behind even Kaori’s shocked voice and rushed forward. That step that she performed while in a strengthened state that she unconsciously performed turned Shia into a cannon ball.

At the front there was a barrage of flame bullets and wind blades that were like a wall. Then in an another fit of subconsciousness, what crossed her mind was the clear image of war hammer that was shown to her before departure, just in case it could jog her memory.

She lifted one hand. As though doing that was only natural, what settled in that hand was Shia’s exclusive artifact――the war hammer Drucken.

「Don’t-, hurt this person anymoreeeeeeeee-!!」

It was a horizontal swing that didn’t have any technique or anything. It produced gale and shockwave. Shia’s overwhelming physical strength that even Raisen Great Dungeon couldn’t stop blew off numerous magic bullets.

And then, she leaped with a stomp on the ground that caved in the ground once more. The next moment, Shia’s figure appeared above the Serpent’s head.

「aaAAAAAAAA!!」

A cry of fighting spirit burst forth. Drucken was lifted up overhead before it hammered down to the ground.

「A-amazing……」

It was a sight like a small animal had just punted a human with its punch. It really didn’t look realistic at all.

「Haa haa……fue?」

Shia was breathing hard. Under her feet, a part of the Serpent’s head had been blasted into pieces. Rust colored liquid trickled out from there in great amount.

Shia saw the situation and felt confusion. It seemed she couldn’t believe that it was her who did such thing. Her mouth was hanging open, then next she looked at her own hands in puzzlement.

But, there was no time to be dumbfounded. The monster’s structure wasn’t so simple that it would end just with this.

「Eh? W-what is this desu-」

The discharged rust colored liquid started flowing back as though it was going through a reverse playback. In addition, the scattered metal fragments of the head were also being restored.

「I-it can also regenerate!? Shia, one more time!」

「Hee!? Err, errr……how did I did this just now!?」

「I don’t know! Ah, no good, it regenerated! As I thought let’s go back! We’re running away!」

「Awawawa-」

Shia rested Drucken on her shoulder and ran away in panic. Kaori waited for her while firmly kneading her magic power using this chance of a lifetime that Shia created for her.

「Please-, reach the ruins!」

With how the Serpent was able to regenerate, fighting it would only be a losing battle. Kaori chose the option of withdrawing to the ruins. At the very least the Serpent wouldn’t be able to launch a large scale attack if they were there.

If possible, she wanted to reach the ruin with the shortest distance and through a horizontal direction. The place they were at before this was located horizontally above, so Kaori prayed that there was another level below it. If there wasn’t any, the only option left from that would be to create a path by cutting up above.

In the end, the result was……

「Jackpot! Let’s go Shia! Run like your life is on the lineee!」

「Yes desuuu~~~~!!」

She felt a feedback. She could see a metal wall that had been gouged out around fifty meters ahead of them.

She could feel the Serpent starting to move behind them, but the two ran away like startled rabbit without even daring to waste time to look back.

――iIIIIIIIINN

Perhaps it was just their imagination but it felt like the sound contained anger.

Kaori replenished her magic power from a magic crystal stone while checking that Shia was able to run parallel with her.

(Hajime-kun, I’ll definitely protect Shia. But……I hope you’ll come to save us soon!)

She let out a small bit of whining inside her heart.

.

.

.

A green light stone was emitting a faint light with green color. That stone was put inside a lantern with antique design. It was illuminating the inside of the room weakly.

The room was covered all over with cracked pipes of various sizes, big and small. The wall at the back was formed by crumbling rock and soil.

「……」

Hajime was sleeping on that soil as replacement for bed. He was dead to the world. Yue was staring fixedly on him. She placed a distance of one person worth between them and sat while hugging her knees.

Hajime opened up this space with transmutation magic. He fell asleep the moment they entered inside the hole. It seemed the after effect from getting hit by the attacks of the giant golems and using “Limit Break” was serious.

――Yue, please stand guard

Hajime requested her like that before immediately closing his eyes. Yue kept recalling it in her mind.

She suddenly dropped her gaze. Her hand was holding a bottle that was shaped like test tube. It seemed that it contained “God Water” inside. A secret medicine from fairy-tale that could save the drinker even from the verge of death. It was something that Hajime handed to her just before his consciousness was cut off with the instruction of making him drank it, forcefully if needed when something unexpected happened.

She thought that it was impossible that the tube was really filled with such legendary substance and gave it a lick, just for a little bit. But the result was clear to see.

He fell asleep beside her without hesitation at all, even though it was an emergency situation. He also entrusted a legendary medicine to her carelessly.

He also wouldn’t leave Yue at all even when facing monsters that were like a nightmare. He even used his own body as shield.

What she could feel from him was, immense trust. And then, a terrifyingly deep and heavy――

「……muu」

When she was staring on Hajime’s sleeping face quietly, she wondered why, it made her wanted to curl the tips of her toes, like there was something tightening around her heart, such feeling were welling up.

「Impossible……」

She denied it with a fading voice. Her standing and sense of responsibility were making her denying her own feeling that she was faintly noticing, and her connection with Hajime. She denied it, but……

「Tsu, nnn-fuuh」

What crossed the back of her mind was, as expected, the happening at the morning. She writhed. Strange voice slipped out even after she buried her face on her knees. She unconsciously made her legs kicked around meaninglessly.

Hajime said that she was just sleepwalking. He denied Yue’s pained hypothesis.

But, she actually understood. That such thing was impossible.

She had the awareness and sense of responsibility as a royalty. How could she possibly expose her skin from sleepwalking when she had never shown it to anyone else except her personal maids. Much less doing an act that would mean abandoning her responsibility as a royalty.

She didn’t want to imagine that her future self was a such despairingly foolish person.

In that case, there was only one answer.

「I, willingly with him……」

Her future self, entrusted both her body and heart to him. In addition, although it was hard to accept, her current self was also……

「For me to be this reluctant to get away from you, as I thought, you and I are……」

Originally she should be prioritizing going back to her home country no matter what kind of thing she was told. And yet, she was here. She listened to his begging and came with him.

It was as though, her instinct, was feeling that doing so was only natural.

As though her soul was binding her to him, telling her that she must never be away from this person.

It was hard to accept. She must never recognize such feeling as a princess. She mustn’t, but……

She was forced to recognize it. Him trying to protect her with such desperation even if it might cost him his life, and her own feeling that couldn’t ignore him were the greatest proof.

「L-, l-l-l-, lo-, loveeerrr……」

Her sense of shame exploded when she tried saying the word. She covered her face with both hands and rolled away to the side, then she rolled back to the other side. Then she crashed on Hajime’s leg and stopped still. She quietly spread out her fingers and peeked at Hajime.

「……This insolent person」

How can you sleep without a care even though you’re toying around with me like this, she thought of such complaint even while being aware of how unreasonable she was being.

Even though she had been raised with manner and composure beaten into her, she just couldn’t control her emotion well no matter what when it came to Hajime.

She got on all fours and peered onto Hajime’s face. She glared at him. The white bangs got in the way and she parted it with her fingertips. For some reason she caressed his eye patch, then his cheek, then his lips.

Her mind, felt like it was melting like cheese. The texture that was conveyed from her fingertips made her heart beating like alarm bell.

Her gaze naturally moved toward his neck. Her crimson eyes were tinged with bewitching light.

「This, insolenttttt」

Everything was this person’s fault. For him to disturb the heart of a princess like her so.

A punishment was required. She had to make him pay the price fully.

She kept leaning forward until she was practically hugging Hajime’s neck. Her face approached closer.

And then――she suddenly felt a gaze. Their eyes met.

「……」

「……」

It seemed that he had waken up without her noticing. Yue froze with her mouth still opening wide. Her face was like a cat with flehmen response. *Suu~* The light in her eyes dimmed down and her face was blushing red in return.

Seeing Yue like that, Hajime sighed fuh and smiled.

「Please feel free to partake.」

「tsu, tsuuu!! T-this is a misunderstandinggg!?」

She tried to push away Hajime with her hands, but he was already lying on soil and rock so he stayed unmoving. Yue-san was the one who stumbled behind instead from the recoil. She rolled and rolled before coming to a stop and covered her face with both hands. And then,

「……I-I was just checking your condition. I wasn’t……doing anything strange.」

She said an excuse that made her sounded like “someone who would assault a sleeping person” with a fading voice.

Hajime reflexively snorted. It went without saying that「you insolenttt~」 echoed after that.

After that, when Yue had somehow managed to calm down.

The two faced each other in order to discuss what they would do going forward. Yue was sitting with her legs elegantly pressed together even while she was averting her gaze to the side in order to hide her still red face. Hajime smiled wryly at her.

「I-is your body, fine right now?」

She asked that question half for changing the topic, and half from worry. Seeing Yue asking that question while stealing glances at him, Hajime nodded while answering「I’m about 60% recovered」 while flicking the necklace that he put on before resting.

It was an artifact to deal with the aftereffect of “Limit Break” that combined regeneration magic and soul magic. He created it at the side during Kaori’s resurrection after painfully realizing the gap in the ability to continue fighting for long at the battle against Noint.

The artifact’s performance was incomparable compared to the actual magic, but it was still far better than waiting to recover naturally.

「I had tried but Telepathy and the coordination stone aren’t reacting. It seems that this white metal wall is a type of artifact. Apparently it has the effect to jam the magical connection with remote distance.」

「……When did you have the time to investigate that?」

「I’m a transmutation master after all. Just looking at it is enough.」

She never saw or heard about that kind of transmutation master. Yue’s stare automatically turned reproachful.

He was a talented person that even her isolated country would want to recruit by promising special treatment.

「About our plan going forward, I want to head to the lowest floor of this ruins.」

「You aren’t going to save those people?」

「That’ll be inefficient.」

Yue frowned from the way Hajime said that. She thought that Hajime should also harbor quite significant feeling toward Shia and Tio. Yue herself also felt great feeling of reluctance to abandon them.

「Don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean that I’m abandoning them.」

「Then what?」

「I think you have noticed but, this ruins is really big. It has multiple floors and its size is also as big as a small city I think.」

「……True. That’s certainly true considering how long we fell and the range of the collapse.」

The ground above collapsed due to the cave in of the ruins that was underground. Certainly it was natural to think like that. In that case she could understand what Hajime said.

「We also get separated to every which way because of the collapse. It’ll be a really difficult task to find the others without any clue.」

「I think we also have the option to head to the surface first though? We’ll be able to rally ourselves like that.」

「I guess. But, I think that our present situation is a chance instead.」

「A, chance? Even though you almost died?」

Has he gone insane from getting hit on the head? Yue thought with a suspecting gaze at Hajime. Then Hajime took out various materials from “treasure warehouse” while shaking his head.

「I think you have realized it already but, those golems are connected with everyone’s memory loss. Also, it’s reasonable to consider them as this ruins’ guardians.」

Then, inside the ruins where those golems wouldn’t be able to launch large scale attack would be safer instead. And if they also investigated the ruins, they might be able to discover the cause of the memory loss and the way to reverse it.

「Though things will be simple if we just need to destroy them to regain the memory back.」

「And if not?」

「I don’t know. That’s exactly why we need to investigate.」

At the very least, the memory loss was definitely something that was done by someone’s intention. In that case, he was also curious whether it was memory “copy” or “transfer”. Because in the latter’s case, it was also possible that destroying the golems would also destroy the memory.

He explained like that and concluded.

「I don’t want to miss the chance of learning the weakness of those golems. After all we’re already coming this deep although it’s unintentional.」

Whether they would neutralize or destroy the golems, it would be necessary to subdue them. Hajime was speaking of his thinking while “transmuting” items one after another with the materials at hands.

Vivid red sparks illuminated the inside of the dimly lit room. Yue nodded in understand to Hajime’s explanation even while her gaze was drawn toward that sight.

「It’s also possible that we’ll get lucky and meet up with the others while exploring.」

「Yeah. And if we can get our hands on something like map, it’ll make it easier to look for them rather than searching randomly.」

Well, there’s also the possibility of someone like Kaori going to the surface using disintegration magic though, Hajime said with a shrug. Then when he asked for her opinion 「What do you think? You have any objection?」, Yue shook her head while letting out a long sigh.

「Everything that you said is logical. I shall agree. ……You’re very calm in your thinking for someone who have just narrowly escaped death from getting attacked by such monsters.」

「I’m used to it after all.」

「……Is it because, you have conquered numerous great dungeons?」

「That was while being helped by Yue many times too.」

Hajime sighed fuh and smiled. Yue felt blood rushing into her face once again and hurriedly changed the topic.

「What are you creating since just now?」

「Countermeasures against golem. I don’t know how effective they will be but……I won’t let them do as they please one-sidedly anymore.」

Hajime turned his gaze to above. His eyes were blazing fiercely like a beast that was targeting its prey.

It made even more blood to rush into her face. Her heart was pounding noisily. Why am I like this even though his face is so ominous like that! Stupid me! Yue-san made a retort at herself.

Hajime replenished his magic power from magic crystal stone and stood up without staggering. He took out equipments like tactical vest and the like that he usually never wore and filled them with items like bullets and the like. He also carried as many weapons as possibly on his body. It was a countermeasure against magic power dispersal.

「……I have been thinking this since the start but, you are using some really strange weapons.」

「I’m a transmutation master after all. I don’t have the talent for combat. So I inevitably need to rely on powerful weapon.」

「That’s funny. Your physical ability and magic power are extraordinary. ……I really can’t believe that you’re a human.」

「Kuku, I guess. I often get called as a monster.」

「Tsu, forgive me-. That’s not what I mean-」

「No, it’s fine. Rather I’m happy. After all I need to be at least that monstrous to stand at Yue’s side.」

「Nnguh. You are unbelievable, saying something like that so casually……」

She wished that he wouldn’t deal damage to her heart every time he spoke. She unconsciously grumbled 「Gununu」 while staring reproachfully at him. Of course, Hajime wasn’t reproached by that, rather he looked happy.

「Oh, that gaze, it’s just like the usual Yue.」

「Just how much dissatisfaction the me before losing her memory is constantly harboring. Is it your fault? No, it’s your fault isn’t it?」

「That blank gaze is her default state ever since we first met. The sleepy looking stare is her charm point.」

「Just what in the world happened to me!? Why did I have that kind of gaze!?」

「Now then, we’re wasting time here. Let’s hurry up.」

「Ah, wait! Listen to what I’m saying! You insolent fellow!」

Hajime started walking briskly toward the door. Yue chased after him with red face.

Hajime carefully opened the sliding door and quickly checked behind it with Donner in one hand.

「It’s a passage. There are doors at each interval. It seems there are rooms lined up.」

「You can see those even though there is no light?」

「My sight is good in the darkness. I can also see the flow of magic power with my artifact eye.」

「So the eye patch is for hiding that. Or rather, to be able to see in this kind of darkness……」

「Put this on. It’ll give you night vision like mine. Let’s go.」

「Ah, hey! You’re cutting off the conversation again!」

Yue puffed up her cheeks and complained in dissatisfaction, even so she put on the red rimmed stylish glasses that Hajime handed to her. She adjusted its placing hesitantly with both hands, then she blinked from the glasses’ night vision effect.

Hajime looked back over his shoulder to see that and narrowed his eyes.

Because Yue looked like she had opened up to him far more compared to the beginning.

Also, perhaps because her mental state had regressed in proportion of the memory she lost, there were glimpses of immaturity befitting her outer appearance that could be seen in her speech and action. It was very warming to see. It was very refreshing how there wasn’t even a shred of her usual bewitching aura right now.

「W-what’s with that expression!」

「It’s nothing. More importantly, it’s better to not make too much noise.」

Uguh, Yue groaned at a loss for words. Hajime turned his back to her to hide his lips that were almost forming a smile while walking out to the passage.

「Where will start exploring from?」

「I want to head to that direction.」

Hajime pointed at the opposite wall. Yue asked Why? while tilting her head. Hajime replied with 「Considering the scale of the collapse and the falling position, that direction seems like it’ll be nearer to the center」.

There was no guarantee that every level of this ruins would have the same structure and size, but there was small chance that there would be nothing at the center. At the very least it should be better to start searching from there rather than from the edge.

「After reaching what seems to be the center point, I’ll use transmutation to remove the floor so we can go straight to the bottom floor.」

「Straight to the bottom? Why?」

「Because it’s the popular trope for important thing to be located at the bottom level.」

「……What a rough hypothesis but, it’s hard to deny it.」

Yue showed a conflicted accepting face that couldn’t find any word to say. Meanwhile Hajime finally left the room.

Without stopping he opened a hole using “transmutation” at the opposite side’s wall. It seemed he had no intention to properly walk through the passage.

「You……are really rational to the extreme.」

「I once got called an efficiency addict.」

「What a strange phrase……」

The other side of the wall seemed to be a living quarter. They could see wreckages that seemed to be furniture and bed that had rotted. There was nothing noteworthy to see and Hajime opened a hole on the wall inside again. It led to a passage.

He kept repeating that several times. When they came out to near a T intersection, it appeared.

Footsteps that sounded like metal hitting metal resounded in great numbers from the left and right of the passage.

「Is that……humanoid golem?」

They certainly looked humanoid. However that was if their ribs were removed and their heads were replaced with a hammer’s head part. Perhaps they should be called as metal stick men with grey color and detailed patterns engraved on their bodies.

The humanoid swarm was mostly equipped with long sword. They broke into a run as soon as they saw Hajime and Yue.

「What do we do!?」

This would be the first real battle for the current Yue. Her nervousness shot up even more. She held up her hand forward in preparation to fire her magic anytime……however, Hajime stood in front of her. In order to protect her.

「There’s no change in plan……but, I have something I want to check.」

His voice was terrifyingly chilling.

He threw grenades to the passages at left and right. A second later the blasts blew away the humanoid enemies. Their pace was ruined and only one of them rushed forward from the backline.

Hajime blocked its downswing with Donner. Without counterattacking, Hajime continued to block its attacks with eyes like a researcher observing a guinea pig. At the end he pulverized its spine with a forward kick.

In addition, he dispersed the flame spears that were fired from the backline by shooting their “magic core”. He countered the humanoid enemies that threw their sword at him with a shot at the head.

「Standard swordsmanship of the kingdom’s army. There are also individuals that specialized in magic. The throwing came from adventurer I guess?」

In any case, all of these golems’ fighting style were familiar and also felt humane.

「As I thought, they stole everyone’s memory for planting it into the golems.」

「Please wait! Are you talking about the people of Ur? If that’s true, there’s a risk that the memory won’t come back with them destroyed……」

「Yeah, you’re right. But, I’m not an ally of justice.」

Yue was speechless. It wasn’t like she had particular feeling of love toward human race. Even so, seeing this person destroying the golems without a shred of mercy even knowing that there was a possibility that doing it might cause some innocent citizens to die was just……

「I can’t be someone who prioritize other people more than Yue’s safety. Even if this makes you disillusioned with me, I don’t plan to change my policy.」

Perhaps, he was standing in front of Yue was also to not allow her to kill human while her mentality was currently childish.

Yue stared on Hajime’s back with a conflicted expression.

Hajime did “transmutation” on the wall with one hand to open a hole while his other hand fired consecutively at the humanoid golems so they couldn’t approach. He did those while speaking.

「You must have disagreement with parts of what I’m doing but, right now we need to act. We’ll get surrounded if we don’t hurry.」

「Ah, please wait!」

Hajime wasn’t fretting about the number of the approaching golems of worrying about what might be waiting behind them. He clearly showed what he was prioritizing through his action and stayed unwavering throughout everything. It was a decisiveness that rivaled the veteran warriors in her royal guards.

From the perspective of Yue who had been taught about the foolishness of hesitation in the battlefield, it was her existence that deserved a scolding right now. Therefore there was no way she would feel disillusioned or the like.

(His back is big……)

She thought such thing. She didn’t feel anxious or fretful, rather relieve welled up inside her. At the same time, she was also getting excessively irritated for some reason.

「As expected the terrain advantage is at their side.」

Hajime stood in front of a door that lead to a spacious room that looked like a warehouse, with many falling metallic shelves inside. He detected what was at the other side of the door and clicked his tongue.

「Did we get encircled?」

「Yeah. Yue, I’ll take care of the enemies. You focus on defense. Don’t let your magic power drop below half no matter what.」

It was a weighty instruction, just like when the uncle who raised her gave her a serious warning. She reflexively replied 「Yes-」, but the murkiness inside her chest became stronger.

Hajime kicked open the room’s door. He threw in grenades at the same time. Dozens of golems were blown away along with their barrier from the explosion, but the force was reduced from that. The others golems behind them stepped forward to take the place of the destroyed golems.

The humanoid golem that took the lead slashed diagonally downward. As it did that, another one appeared from behind it with a slippery movement and slashed horizontally.

Hajime deflected them with Donner & Schlag and then fired in a flash. The two golems had their heads burst open and crumbled.

But, they didn’t stop. Three more golems were already coming from the front, left, and right. In addition several fire spears were being formed behind them.

「……Amazing teamwork. Their slashes are also sharp. They also excelled in magic.」

Donner & Schlag danced. Red flashes shot out with bilateral asymmetry. The bullets pulverized the heads of the humanoid golems with unrivaled accuracy and not a single one missed. It wasn’t pretty but the kick that he unleashed after that was the height of rationality. The metal ribcage was smashed from that kick as though it was just a wooden branch.

「These guys are the royal guards I guess. Their swordsmanship is familiar.」

「Eh, these ones have Heiligh Kingdom’s memory? Is that okay!?」

There wasn’t any problem. But before he could say that, Hajime clicked his tongue while launching a spinning kick to behind.

Yue’s eyes widened 「Eh?」 when the kick grazed the top of her head like a scythe, but the sound of metal clang reached her ear and she turned around in panic.

There, she found a short sword stuck in the wall, and a humanoid golem that smoothly backed off with smooth footwork. She never even got the inkling that she was just one moment away from having a sword planted into her back.

「What’s this guy?」

Hajime aimed Donner, but the golem glided to the side with strange movement that made Hajime frowned.

For the time being, he summoned Cross bit to prevent the enemies from entering through the entrance while he himself would bring down the golem with strange movement, but in that moment, there was a flash as though the rhythm of his attack had been predicted.

He still pulled the trigger even then, but the golem had already crouched and stepped forward. His shot missed.

In addition, Hajime felt discomfort on his arm.

「Since when!」

“Binding Shining Chain” that looked like thin string was wrapped on his hand and pulled to disturb his aiming.

「I’ll help!」 Yue said and fired a lightning sphere, but the golem easily withdrew even after stepping forward that vigorously. It blocked Yue’s magic with a barrier that was only as strong as required. Hajime too forcefully tore off the “Binding Shining Chain” and fired, but because of that his shot missed again.

It was unclear whether the golem had intention to attack or not. Hajime narrowed his eyes gravely seeing its mysterious movement that was solid but tricky. Yue was bewildered.

「This guy, its movement is different from the rest.」

It approached smoothly once more with extremely slippery footwork that looked like it was gliding on the ground. Its upper body looked like it wasn’t moving at all. Hajime blocked its consecutive slashes while observing it.

His artificial arm that was blocking the short sword got a ring of light put around it and restrained it. Then right after that his sight was enveloped in darkness.

He paid it no mind and kicked forward, but the golem drew back at the same time with his attack, so the kick didn’t connect.

It was a model example of Hit & Away tactic. It had no high firepower attack at all, but its minute detailed and troublesome disturbance type magic was terrifyingly accurate and came in quick succession.

「Combat ability that specialized in defense?」

「Nagumo Hajime! That golem, it most likely held the memory of Princess Liliana’s head maid! It has the same movement like my maid who also held the duty as my bodyguard!」

「Tsu, I see. So that’s the movement of VIP bodyguard specialist who need to pay attention to skirt.」

Hajime unconsciously let out an impressed voice. His romance was slightly tickled from learning that combat maid truly existed. Although when talking about troublesomeness, this one surpassed even the royal guards. They couldn’t keep it company any longer than this.

Hellina Golem backed off like a leaf that was blown by the wind, but Hajime closed the distance with a step in that was like instant movement. He easily held its head in a tight grasp of his artificial arm――

「Nagumo Hajime! She is-」

Hajime couldn’t ignore Yue’s pleading yell.

He sighed. He wrapped the golem in spatially fixed tool “Bola” and threw it away at the back of the room.

「Nagumo Hajime……」

「Princess is Kaori’s friend, and she had also taken care of my teacher.」

He smiled wryly and said that it should be fine if he gave special treatment to at least one of her confidants. Yue sighed and smiled kindly seeing such Hajime.

「But, I don’t have the leeway to be that considerate to the royal guards too. Let’s speed up.」

「I understand. If the opponent possess the power of a country’s royal guard then I too shall――」

Hajime summoned the gatling gun “Metzelei” in the place of Cross Bit. He liberated the violent might of 12000 rounds per minute and swept the enemies in one breath.

Yue was dumbfounded by that destructive power, even so her expression fell away into a blank mask after that because the fact that she had no turn was thrusted on her right after she got into high spirits. It was reliable but……the murkiness in her chest was fanned up even more.

Hajime protected Yue who was harboring dissatisfaction somewhere inside her to the point of overprotectiveness while charging forward without stopping. After a while, he reached a point where it must be more or less near the center of the ruins. There Hajime switched into opening hole on the floor.

They went down one, two, three layers down. They went down to the fourth floor below, and the moment he touched the floor to open the hole to the fifth layer, Hajime frowned.

「What’s wrong?」

「My transmutation doesn’t work.」

Certainly, red sparks kept running on the floor without stopping, but there was no sign of a hole opening up.

「It was also like this at the deep layer of Orcus. Is it using unknown age of god magic? There are a lot of parts that I can’t analyze.」

The corner of Hajime’s lips curled up. This spot that was tougher than the rest was a proof that something important was behind it.

「What are we going to do?」

Yue ran her gaze at the surrounding. The place they came down to was apparently a passage. One side was a dead end just slightly ahead. The opposite side led to a round open space. It connected to another passage at the other side.

「I wonder if pile bunker can go through?」

The moment Hajime muttered those words, an abnormality occurred as though to criticize that method. Lines of light ran on the ceiling, wall, and floor. It made magic circles to form up in interval one after another.

The moment Hajime became on guard, the magic circles split into two. It seemed they were sliding hidden doors.

Naturally, what appeared at this timing were enemies. It was a serious and final welcome of the ruins.

There weren’t just humanoid golems, but also pyramid shaped floating objects, snake golems, and even centaur golems. The whole passage became fully occupied in the blink of eye. Yue gulped and took a step back, but,

「This number……it looks like they aren’t just using the townspeople, but also monsters. Yue, put Heaven Severance around yourself. I’ll also put up a barrier with Cross Bits, so don’t move at all from there.」

Hajime’s composure didn’t change and there was no impatience in his voice. Rather his tone even felt soothing as though he was comforting a child. That must be why. Blood rushed into Yue’s head the moment she heard that.

「Who do you think you’re talking to! You insolent fellow!」

She stepped in front of Hajime. She changed her anger into scorching flame spears, dozens of them. They gouged the centaur models that rushed forward disorderly like monsters. The spears were so hot that the golems melted the moment the spears came into contact.

The enemies collapsed on the floor *dou-*, but Yue paid them no mind. She might be copying the gatling gun with her attack. She deployed the flame spears in a circle and rotated them, then kept replenishing them for each one that she shot.

「Don’t be too reckless okay? In your memory right now you don’t have any real battle experience right?」

Yue looked back at Hajime with a triumphant face that asked How’s that!, but what greeted her was a worried face. Even during that moment, Hajime’s both hands were repeatedly firing his guns and also doing gun spin reload so fast they were blurring. The crimson flashes were firing faster and sharper than the flame spears. They were slaughtering the enemies with overwhelmingly faster speed.

She thought that was reassuring. It even made her unconsciously stared in fascination. But, his attitude that always tried to protect her was just offending her no matter what. She couldn’t control her irritated feeling.

She was yelling what was in her mind when she noticed.

「Be quiet! Who do you think I am!」

「No, just like I explained before, I don’t know――」

「You lie! You should have known! Just who am I! It’s unthinkable that the future me is a foolish woman who entrust her body to someone who she wouldn’t even tell her true identity to!」

Hajime’s eyes opened wide. He was at a loss for words. Yue’s flame spears were becoming even fiercer as though they were fueled by her anger and burning feelings.

「You are hiding a lot of truths from me. Do you think that I am not aware of that!?」

「That’s……」

「Good grief-, it’s irritating! This is the first time I’m feeling this offended! You don’t have any malice despite not telling me the truth! You desperately shielded me despite knowing that I’m undying! You disturb my heart this much even though you’re an insolent fellow!」

*Gou* Heat wave rampaged fiercely. The flame spears lost their shape, whirled, and converged into one point. Their scorching red color turned white and then moved to azure. The azure flame whirled as though to protect Hajime and herself from the surging enemies. Before long the flame formed a shape.

「But what offended me the most is that you don’t have faith in me! Even if you trust me, treasure me, you don’t rely on me! You’re only seeing me as a protection target!」

Aa, she realized as she yelled those words. The murkiness inside her chest came from that.

Don’t treat me like a kid. I’m not weak. I’m not a woman who only need to be protected by you! Her soul was yelling so.

「I’m weak compared to you! I understand that! Even so! Even so I――」

She shouldn’t be able to use gravity magic. After all the knowledge for that had been completely removed from her.

Even so she controlled her flame with it. That feat was undoubtedly the product of her genius.

The azure flame formed a dragon that reared its head. It stared at the swarm that was flooding the open space,

「Your act of not allowing me to protect you-, is simply just-, irritating–!!」

And it rushed. A roar that sounded like explosion thundered and the “pseudo azure dragon” swallowed the enemy camp. It was a sight that was truly worthy to be called a “curbstomp”.

「What am I, to you?」

Wasn’t their relationship something so special that she even entrusted her body and mind to him? Wasn’t they reliable partners that made him even wanted to stand side by side with her? Yue asked him those questions with face that looked like she was going to cry, with a voice that was fading into nothing.

「……You are my beloved lover.」

Hajime answered her while looking up to the ceiling with resignation . Yue’s gaze snapped toward him.

Hajime’s face at this time looked extremely awkward. It looked like he was angry to himself, but, there was also joy that oozed out from his face that he simply couldn’t hide. At the same time there was also love bursting out from his expression. It was truly a complicated expression.

He stared at Yue while at the side he summoned missile & rocket launcher “Orkan”. The enemies that appeared from the back of the passage were swallowed in flame and shockwave.

Inside that world that was decorated with deep red flame and dancing azure flame, the two of them simply stared at each other in their own world.

「……I’ll protect Yue, Yue will protect me. With that we are the strongest.」

「Eh?」

Those words that suddenly flowed out from him made Yue tilted her head.

「We promised.」

「Promise? Between you, and me?」

「Yes, the most important promise in the world. I promised that we will protect each other, overcome everything that come at us, and one day I’ll bring Yue to my birthplace.」

Did he mean Heiligh Kingdom when he said birthplace? In that case, she didn’t think that it would be that difficult to accomplish it. There would be no need for him to put on such gaze that looked like he was challenging an impossible task.

That was why, she guessed that this too must be one of the things that Hajime was hiding. But even knowing that, Yue looked at him as though he was a troublesome person and showed a heartfelt smile that was her best one yet today.

「I will……look forward to it.」

Because she thought that from the bottom of her heart. Because happiness that bewildered even herself welled up from inside her chest.

「Yue, I’ll leave my back to you.」

「Fufu-. Leave it to me!」

The “pseudo dragon” became even fiercer. Hajime too resummoned Cross Bits and Metzelei and backed up the attack to the open space. The golems were helpless despite their great number in front of the two who intensified their firepower.

「Muh, Nagumo Hajime! The enemy’s momentum is weakening!」

「It should be fine even if you just call me casually now shouldn’t it?」

「T-this isn’t the time to say that-」

Yue’s face reddened and she glared sharply at him. Hajime’s good mood smile deepened even more from that.

Even though the two weren’t signaling each other or anything, they started advancing with matching pace as though it was only natural.

They charged into the center of the open space in one breath. There wasn’t just another passage at the front, but also at the left, right, and diagonally above. Based from this place’s location within the ruins, perhaps this was a central intersection that connected to everywhere in the ruins.

「Ha, Haji, Hajie!」

「Hm? What?」

It seemed that calling him casually was extremely embarrassing for her. Yue spoke in small voice where she also bit her tongue at the end. That tickled Hajime-san’s sadistic heart.

「The enemy crowd is thinner over there!」

「More importantly, what did you say just now?」

Yue did her best to make a poker face even while her body was slightly trembling, but Hajime-san had no mercy. He was grinning.

「Ha – ji – me! Are you satisfied now! You insolent fellow!」

「I’m super satisfied.」

Hajime put on a genuinely satisfied smile. The hate and embarrassment inside Yue were already at the maximum. She could only groan cutely 「Uuuh, uuuuuu!」 without even any clear words.

「Y-you yourself! Enough with the fake name and use my true name alrea――」

「I can’t do that.」

「Instant reply!? Why is that!?」

Yue was dumbfounded, but Hajime’s terribly gentle expression shaved down her high spirits.

「Because that was what Yue wanted. She wanted me to call her with the name I gave her. Also, because she is treasuring this name from me.」

「I was……to this name?」

「Yeah. That’s why, please don’t introduce yourself. I definitely know your background but I don’t know your true name. For us, the name “Yue” isn’t a fake name.」

「……Is, that so」

She couldn’t imagine a situation where she didn’t tell someone she trusted her true name. But, she swallowed that doubt right now.

She would learn the reason after resolving this situation and regained her memory. That was why, she would believe this person right now.

「Yue, over here!」

「Eh!? Why to where there are a lot of enemies!?」

Hajime charged toward the passage where the enemies were concentrated the most. N-no, I’ll come along though……Yue said with twitching expression.

「Do everything that your enemy hate with thoroughness when fighting. That’s the basic of the basics.」

「Going to that way is something that the enemy will hate?」

「That’s my analysis. On the whole, the enemy’s movement smell like they’re following a manual. It doesn’t feel like there is anyone making the tactical decision in real time behind them.」

How the enemies were unable to encircle them just from taking a route that went through walls, how the giant golems attacked stupidly and caused the ground to collapse, those factors hinted at that conclusion.

「I see. Well, even if this is a trap by some chance, I will do something about it so you can be at ease.」

Fufuhn, Yue snorted. That cheeky smug figure looked truly adorable. Hajime thought that while lightly lifting up Yue with one hand.

That was because he had noticed that despite running with all she had, Yue’s breathing had gotten rougher.

It must be because she was maintaining highest class of magic that didn’t allow the enemy to give chase. It was a magic that she was using for the first time and it had bad efficiency, so her fatigue was also definitely piling up fast. Naturally Yue-sama became dissatisfied by the treatment.

「Wha-, I’m still not tired! T-to carry me like this……you’re treating me like a kid」

「That’s not it. Suck my blood, Yue.」

「EH」 She unconsciously let out an agitated voice. The current Yue had no experience of sucking someone else’s blood.

Because, the blood sucking activity of a royalty was considered as sacred. After all it was an act that allowed their lips to touch someone else, so it was only natural.

It wasn’t like they would die if they didn’t suck blood. She had experience receiving blood from her trusted maids, but even that was done with them pouring their blood into a glass.

To suddenly be told to suck the blood of a man……lewd! It’s scandalous-, was what she was thinking.

「Don’t worry. The usual you is a highly experienced vampire who would forcefully push me down and go kapuchuu~ even when I begged spare me.」

「Future meeee-」

Had she lost her modesty as lady somewhere! Yue was losing her wits inside. Sleeping in the same bed, discarding her true name, etc, she couldn’t help but thinking that her future self completely outrageous.

「What are you hesitating for. Your “Automatic Regeneration” won’t activate if your magic power run dry right?」

「Uu, I know! I know so……give me a bit of time to prepare mentally……」

She was stealing glances at his neck. Gulp, she swallowed her saliva. Her trembling lips approached, then she thought The situation is like this even though it’s my first kiss! And pushed herself away in a flash, but a part of herself also thought What are you doing wasting time even though the situation is like this!, then her lips slo~owly approached again.

「Tsk. More reinforcement. Though it’s great that the enemies’ density is showing the way.」

There was another intersection at the front. Naturally the large group was forming a thick defense formation. Conversely the amount of pursuer was getting obviously thinner. As though to say that the escape path was right there. It seemed that the golems really didn’t want to allow the two go any further ahead.

「Time’s up. Here, concentrate on your earring and draw out magic power from there.」

「Yes?」

A straightforward instruction came while she was still going au au in hesitation. She reflexively followed the instruction and her magic power became quickly replenished from the earring shaped magic crystal stone.

A silent hateful gaze stabbed at Hajime’s face from the side. And so he put her down too.

「We have to talk later.」

「That won’t be necessary if your memory come back. Yue, the left path.」

Yue responded instantly even while pouting in anger from the pointless embarrassing episode she just went through.

The “pseudo azure dragon” swiveled and charged toward the intersection. It paid no attention to the interception magic and laser beam that assaulted it when passing above the defensive formation, then it transformed the left passage where most of the enemies were concentrated into a sea of flame.

Hajime naturally fired a lot of rockets at the front. The barriers and physical shields were all blown away without exception, sending the golems to the azure flame hell behind htem.

Hajime and Yue didn’t slow down and charged forward. The azure flame parted to the sides as though to avoid them before converging again after they passed to become a coiling wall behind them.

It was a dead end ahead of the passage――no, it was connected to a cylinder shaped small room. It had the space with size that could be entered by four people. The sliding door was distorted as though it had been pried open. A damaged magic circle was engraved on the floor.

「That’s……so it’s like that!」

Hajime understood the true identity of the strange space from the magic circle.

「Yue, buy me some time!」

「Understood!」

Yue also deployed “Divine Severance” on top of the wall of “pseudo azure dragon”. Hajime didn’t even confirm what she was doing and rushed into the small room, then he slammed his hands on the floor.

「If it’s teleportation magic circle, it has been driven into my head directly.」

Yes, that magic circle was for teleportation using space magic. Hajime’s peerlessly accurate “transmutation” was perfectly repairing the damaged parts of the intricated magic circle.

「Kuh, still not yet-?」

The golems were attacking with even more fierceness. No, perhaps they should be called as desperate even. Their number was gradually increasing their firepower as they pushed on. The laser of a pyramid golem finally pierced Yue’s shoulder. She made an anguished expression from the pain, even so she let her ”Automatic Regeneration” took care of it while holding her ground.

Even so, her limit would arrive soon……it was just when she was about to get overwhelmed.

「Come! Yue!」

「Yes-」

Just in time. She responded to Hajime’s voice with a joyful look and turned around in a snap. And then she immediately leaped toward Hajime’s chest.

Right after that, Hajime poured his magic power into the small room’s magic circle and it activated. He had even improved the magic circle with addition so that other people wouldn’t be able to interfere with it. There was no more way to stop it.

The golems that forced their way in threw their swords in desperation but,

「A farewell gift」

「You are unbelievable, good grief……」

Hajime left behind several grenades along with those words. Then the two vanished while still holding to each other.

The swords hit the wall of the small room, at the same time, explosion. The recently resurrected magic circle became damaged once more right after that and lost its shine.

After that, only the golems that could only stand still at a loss were left behind.

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