Boy Meets… Worthless Rabbit?

In a certain location there existed a dark cave where the rays of the sun never reached.

The inside of the cave was so silent that one could not even hear the rustling of insects.

There was no sign that human hands had ever shaped the rock, and the walls, floors,

and ceiling all appeared naturally formed. Still, despite the exceedingly natural

semblance of the cavern, it had not a single entrance or exit. One unnatural aspect of

this otherwise nature-shaped cave.

It was, of course, possible that an air pocket had given way to this enclosed space in

the ground. However, there was just one other irregularity sitting in the cave's center

that made it quite obvious that this cavern was man-made. A complex and detailed

circular geometric pattern carved into the ground. In other words, a magic circle. Were

anyone of this era to lay eyes on such a sophisticated circle, their jaws would surely

drop. Some of the more faint-hearted might even collapse on the spot. That was just

how impressive a circle it was.

Had it ever been discovered, then it would have been enshrined as a rare national

treasure, but as it was it sat languishing under centuries of dirt in the dark cavern. It

clearly hadn't been activated in ages. The magic circle sat there quietly, waiting for its

destined master to appear, just like the sacred sword Excalibur.

Then, for the first time in god knows how long, it began to glow. Tendrils of scarlet

mana began tracing their way around the circle's inscriptions. The light was faint at

first, no more than a pinprick, but it continued growing in intensity until the entire

room was set ablaze with scarlet light.

Finally, there was a blinding flash. The brilliant red light drove away the last vestiges

of darkness huddling in the corners of the cavern. It was a truly awe-inspiring sight.

Anyone present would have been convinced that whatever was coming from the other

side of the circle couldn't possibly have been human.

However, the light eventually began to fade, and two figures that at least appeared

human materialized in the center of the circle.

"What in tarnation?" One of the figures spoke, his ridiculous outburst destroying the

aura of solemnity.

As the light faded and darkness reigned once more in the cavern, the boy who had

spoken looked around in disappointment. He was, of course, none other than the

earthling who had been consigned to the depths of hell by one of his classmates during

an excursion in the Great Orcus Labyrinth— Hajime Nagumo.

Hajime had delved a further hundred floors past the hundredth floor that was thought

to be the end of the labyrinth, and had discovered Tortus' secret from the creator of

the labyrinth. In the house of the man the gods had labeled a maverick, Hajime had

discovered a magic circle that would take him back to the surface.

The mere thought of being able to return to the surface had left him elated after having

spent months in the harsh environs of the labyrinth, where he had to risk life and limb

every day just to survive. He had unconditionally believed that what awaited him on

the other side of the magic circle was warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. Instead, all

he found when he opened his eyes were the same rock walls he'd been gazing at for

the past few months. But yelling about it in a strange accent wasn't going to achieve

anything either.

As Hajime was wallowing in his despair, he felt someone tug on his sleeve. He turned

to look down at the girl standing next to him, a quizzical expression on his face. The

girl was so short that she barely came up to his chest.

She had wavy golden-blonde hair, and crimson eyes reminiscent of the red moon. Her

lips were a light pink, and her skin was as white as porcelain. At the moment her

eyelids were drooping sleepily. But despite that, she still looked like an exquisitely

crafted bisque doll. She was, of course, Yue— the girl Hajime had rescued from

imprisonment deep in the pits of hell, and the girl with whom he had first begun to

climb the stairs of adulthood.

In order to comfort him, Yue gently started explaining the situation.

"It's a secret passage… so he probably had to hide it."

"…Oh yeah. You've got a point there. This leads straight to one of the Liberators'

hideouts, so it makes sense that he'd need to keep it hidden."

Hajime scratched his head awkwardly. Can't believe I got so excited that I didn't even

realize something that simple.

Then he poured a little mana into his Treasure Trove, an artifact that opened a gate to

an interdimensional room where he could store and withdraw things, and pulled out

a green glowstone flashlight. Both Hajime and Yue could respectively use their innate

abilities or magic to deal with the darkness, but doing something routine like this

helped calm Hajime down.

Yue chuckled, realizing exactly why he was doing this. Not because she was making

fun of him, but because she thought it was kind of cute. For the sake of his own pride,

Hajime pretended not to hear her and instead swept his flashlight across the cave.

"Hm? What's that?" He stopped his pale green flashlight at a part of the wall that

looked distinctly different. There was a perfectly straight vertical line running up the

wall, and it stopped at a palm-sized heptagon carved into the wall. A different symbol

adorned each of the vertices, and one of them was something the pair had seen quite

often over the past few weeks. It was Oscar Orcus' personal crest.

Hajime pulled the proof of them having conquered the labyrinth, Orcus' ring, out of

the Treasure Trove and held it up to the heptagon. With a grandiose boom, the stone

wall parted, revealing a secret passage.

Hajime and Yue nodded to each other and stepped forward into the passage. They

didn't find any forks in the road, so they just kept going. There were a few more sealed

doors and traps along the way, but Orcus' ring opened or disabled them all

automatically. Both of them were on their guard, but that proved unnecessary as they

continued without incident… until finally they spotted a faint light in the distance.

It was the light of the outside world. Sunlight. The light Hajime had spent the last few

months, and Yue had spent the last few centuries, craving.

When they realized they were but a few steps from basking in it again, they came to a

halt and looked at each other. Unable to contain their joy, they grinned and started

running toward the light at the same time.

The light grew bigger as they got closer. Soon, they could feel wind blowing in from

outside. It was nothing like the stagnant air they'd been forced to breath for ages. It

was fresh and full of life. For the first time ever, Hajime realized what people meant

when they said the air tasted delicious. Both of them burst out into the light at the

same time. Onto the sweet, sweet surface.

More specifically, the part of the surface that was known to most as an execution

ground. It was nigh impossible to use magic beneath these odd cliffs, and deadly

monsters inhabited the bottom of the gorge. The gorge ran anywhere from one

kilometer deep at its more shallow ends, to two kilometers deep in places. It could

span anywhere from nine hundred meters wide to eight kilometers wide, depending

on the area, and it ran all the way from the Gruen Desert in the west to the Haltina

Woods in the east. People called it a great gash in the earth dividing the north and the

south.

Its formal name was the Reisen Gorge. And the cave Hajime and Yue had just exited

was located at the bottom of it. But even if they were deep in the bottom of a ravine,

they could still at least see the sun shining high overhead, and the wind rushing

through carried with it the familiar scent of soil and life. No matter how harsh a place

they had found themselves in, it was at least still the surface.

Hajime and Yue's smiles slowly grew wider as they gazed up at the sun with awe. And,

despite how expressionless she usually was, Yue's smile was if anything even wider

than Hajime's.

"We… really made it back…" Hajime lowly muttered, his voice thick with emotion.

"…Yeah." Yue's response was just as expressive. The reality of their escape finally

washed over them, and they tore their gazes away from the sun to look back at each

other. They stood that way for a second before hugging each other tight and screaming

at the top of their lungs.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! We did iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

"Yeah!"

Hajime lifted Yue up and started twirling her around. Their smiles were completely

out of place in the location that had been dubbed hell by the rest of the world. At some

point Hajime tripped on a rock, sending them tumbling to the ground. But they found

even that funny and started laughing hysterically while lying spread-eagle on the floor.

By the time their laughter had finally run out… they were surrounded by monsters.

Hajime stood up amidst the howls of monsters surrounding him on all sides and

grumbled to himself.

"Sheesh, how rude can you get? You could have let us enjoy ourselves a bit longer." He

pulled out Donner and Schlag before pausing for a second and tilting his head.

"Wait, I think I remember reading something about magic not working down here."

Back when he had just been summoned he had been paying close attention to his

classes during training and remembered the inability to use magic being one of its

main features.

"…It'll get dispersed. But that shouldn't be a problem," Yue replied. The reason people

couldn't use magic in Reisen Gorge was because the mana that went into the formation

of a spell was dispersed before the spell could activate. Yue's magic was no exception,

either.

However, Yue was still an ancient vampire princess that had once been feared as one

of the strongest creatures in the world. She possessed a massive amount of mana, and

now she had the magic stone accessory series at her disposal. All she had to do was

cast a spell so large and powerful that the gorge wouldn't be able to disperse all the

mana in time. Hajime smiled wryly when he heard how confident she sounded.

"How much more does it take?"

"Hmmm… About ten times as much."

So I'll need enough mana for an advanced class spell just for something simple, huh? That

would affect his range greatly.

"Ah, in that case I'll handle these guys. Yue, you just focus on keeping yourself safe."

"Aww… But—"

"This is like the worst possible place for a mage like you. You're at a huge disadvantage

here, so just leave it to me."

"Okay… If you say so." Yue reluctantly backed off. She was having a hard time accepting

being left out of their first battle on the surface. It probably hurt her pride a little too.

She was clearly pouting, after all.

Though it hurt him to say it, Hajime nonetheless put Yue out of his mind for the

moment and fired Donner. He hadn't even looked as he smoothly brought Donner up

and took perfect aim at his target. His movements were so fluid that the monsters

didn't even realize they were under attack. By the time they finally did, one of their

comrades had already had its head blown clean off. The rest of them all froze stiff,

unable to grasp what had just happened. Only the gunshot's echoes broke the silence.

As long as he used ten times as much mana, Hajime could still activate Lightning Field,

the spell essential to using his railguns. He smiled fearlessly as he surveyed his

opponents.

"Well, I wonder if you're any tougher than the enemies I faced down below… Let's find

out, shall we?" He brought his right foot back and slowly lowered his waist while

crossing his guns in front of his chest. His artificial left arm was thrust slightly forward,

and Schlag was held just a little lower than Donner. With his two guns he would now

be able to cover his back and front simultaneously. Hajime placed his prosthetic limb

a bit further out than the rest of his body in order to deal with any unexpected

situations. This stance was the fundamental aspect of the gun fu he'd pounded into his

body after long hours spent training in the abyss.

There was a murderous gleam in Hajime's eyes once he finished settling into his

stance. His pupils were cold, emotionless pools, hardened by the harsh conditions he

had lived through.

That chilling gaze alone was enough to cause all the monsters present to take an

involuntary step back. They could all feel it instinctively. The person they'd picked a

fight with was a ruthless "beast." The pressure was so great that a normal person

would have fainted from the intensity of his glare alone. Eventually one of the

monsters was unable to stand it and let out a wild roar before leaping forward.

"Graaaaaaaah!" However, not even a second later there was another loud bang and the

second monster had its head blown off without even a chance to react. The headless

monster slid to a halt, crumpling lifelessly on the ground where it stopped. A faint wisp

of smoke rose from Donner's muzzle. Hajime didn't even spare the pitiful husk on the

ground a single glance. His swirling torrent of bloodlust was already directed at the

remaining herd. What followed was more of a massacre than a battle.

Hajime didn't let a single one of them escape. Yes, each and every one of them cleanly

had their heads blown off. As the gunshots echoed louder and louder, the monster's

desperate cries grew fainter and fainter. In a mere five minutes, the ground was

littered with corpses of monsters.

He spun Donner and Schlag's cylinders, reloading them both before returning them to

the holsters strapped to his legs. After that, he tilted his head slightly as he surveyed

the mountain of bodies.

Yue trotted briskly up to him.

"…What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just feels like that was too easy… I'd heard the monsters in Reisen Gorge

were ferocious and brutal, so maybe we came out somewhere else?"

"…You're just too much of a monster, Hajime."

"That's a pretty harsh way of putting it. Well, I guess that just means the monsters in

the abyss were way stronger."

Hajime shrugged his shoulders indifferently and shifted his gaze from the monsters to

the canyon walls.

"Now then, we could probably scale these walls easily enough, but… what do you

think? They say one of the seven great labyrinths is in Reisen Gorge. Since we're

already here, wanna look around a bit while we head to the forest?"

"…Why the forest?"

"I mean, who wants to go to a desert after all that time surrounded by rock? Besides, I

bet there's more towns on the forest side."

"…Okay. You have a point there." Yue nodded in approval. Judging by how weak the

monsters were, it was clear the gorge wasn't the labyrinth itself. Which meant there

must have been a proper entrance somewhere. Hajime's Aerodynamic and Yue's wind

magic would be more than sufficient for scaling the walls, but they'd have to search

the gorge eventually, so there was no reason not to do it now.

Hajime poured a trickle of mana into the Treasure Trove that he was wearing on his

middle finger and pulled out Steiff. It was a large, American-style vehicle with a black

body. Unlike motorcycles back on earth, it didn't use gasoline to run as fuel: it was

powered purely by mana. Thanks to that it ran quieter than an electric car.

He had actually been hoping for a louder engine, since to him that was way cooler, but

he only knew how to make simple engines, so he wasn't able to make a more

complicated combustion one. He could control Steiff's speed by adjusting his mana

output. Due to Reisen Gorge's mana-scattering properties, he wouldn't be able to keep

it running for long.

Hajime stylishly mounted his motorcycle. Yue hopped on behind him, sitting

sidesaddle. She wrapped her arms tightly around Hajime's waist. Once she was

situated, she patted his stomach lightly with her arms and he quickly started pouring

mana into Steiff.

Reisen Gorge ran from east to west with almost no north-south variation. There were

almost no side routes either, so it was quite difficult to get lost.

As there was no worry of losing their way, Hajime drove Steiff forward at a leisurely

pace as they looked for anything resembling a labyrinth entrance. He had transmuted

a machine to the bottom of the motorcycle that smoothed out any ground before the

wheels hit it. Normally, an American-style bike would have a hard time dealing with

such rough terrain, but thanks to his transmutation they were able to drive through

the valley floor smoothly.

"Feels nice to ride like this, right, Yue?"

"…Yeah. It really does."

They were riding through the wind, basking in the light of the sun, and inhaling the

smells of the surface world. For them, that was more than plenty to make their drive

pleasant. Yue happily leaned her head against Hajime's back. Throughout their

leisurely drive, Hajime's hands alone kept moving. He didn't miss a single shot as he

continually dispatched the groups of monsters that came to attack them.

After a while, he heard a ferocious roar off in the distance. It was more intimidating

than the others. At the very least, it was stronger than the monsters they'd faced in the

gorge so far. With their current pace, they'd run into it in about thirty seconds.

Hajime poured more mana into Steiff, rounded a large curve, and found a massive

monster waiting for him at the end of the bend. It looked similar to the dinosaurs

Hajime had faced in the labyrinth, but this one had two heads. It was a two-headed T.

rex. But what was even more surprising was the rabbit-eared girl hopping to and fro

beneath it, desperately trying to escape its clutches.

Startled, Hajime stopped Steiff and gazed at the girl curiously.

"What on earth is that?"

"…A bunny girl?"

"I get that, but why is she here? Are bunny people the type that live in gorges?"

"…Not as far as I know."

"Then, is she one of those criminals that get thrown down here as punishment? I read

that Reisen Gorge is a famous execution grounds."

"…Hmm. Maybe she's an evil rabbit?"

Hajime and Yue had a casual conversation while they watched the bunny girl run for

her life. Neither of them seemed interested in saving her. It wasn't because they were

seriously worried that she might be some kind of dangerous criminal that was thrown

down here. Hajime simply didn't have any interest in strangers. He just thought saving

her would have been more trouble than it was worth.

Truly, this was a far cry from the old Hajime. Even if he hadn't been the least bit

capable, the old Hajime would have still tried to save her.

The situation was different from when he'd saved Yue. He didn't sympathize with this

bunny girl's plight one bit, and since he could see no benefits to saving her, he felt no

desire to. If he helped everyone that begged for it, he'd be old and wrinkled before he

could focus on his own goals. Besides, this world was nothing more than a prison to

Hajime. With a few exceptions, he had no interest in helping any inhabitants of this

world.

However, it was then that the bunny girl spotted Yue and Hajime. She got blown back

by the two-headed T. rex and crashed into a nearby boulder, but she recovered quickly

and scuttled behind it, staring at Hajime all the while.

The T. rex brought its claws down again, this time blowing the entire boulder away

along with her. She tumbled backward, using that momentum to run as fast as

possible… Right toward Hajime and Yue.

There was quite a bit of distance between them still, but the amplified echo of the

gorge let the bunny girl's words reach him.

"Finally! I finally found youuuuuuuu! Pleashe shabe meee! Eek, it's gonna kill me! I'm

gonna die! Shabe me, pleashe! I'm begging you!" Tears streamed down her face as she

ran with all her might. The two-headed T. rex chased after her, intent on devouring its

prey. At the rate things were going, she was destined to be dinosaur food before she

ever got to Hajime and Yue.

After being pleaded with so earnestly, Hajime…

"…She 'finally' found us? That's an odd choice of words. Also, she's got a train of

monsters chasing after her. Seems best not to get involved."

"…Yeah. Seems like a pain."

…still had no intention of helping her. Even her heartfelt cries couldn't reach him. In

fact, they just made things worse.

When she saw them turn away from her, the bunny girl realized they had no intention

of helping, so even more tears started rolling down her cheeks. It was amazing how

her eyes never seemed to run out of liquid to pour.

"Waiiiit! Pleashe don't abandon meeeee! I'm begging youuuuu!" she yelled, even

louder this time. If Hajime did nothing, she really would get eaten. Or she would have,

if it weren't for the fact that it bared its fangs at Hajime too. Once the T. rex noticed

Hajime's existence, it rested its hungry gaze on him and roared angrily.

"Graaaaaaaaaaah!" Hajime wasn't about to let that one go.

"What was that?" The monster had threatened his life. It wanted to eat him. Hajime's

body instinctively reacted to its bloodlust. This enemy bars your path! And enemies that

get in your way are to be killed! Those were the only words his mind screamed at him.

As it continued chasing down the bunny girl, the T. rex opened one of its jaws wide.

Despair filled her eyes as she turned and saw countless rows of teeth bearing down

on her.

"Ah, so this is where it all ends…"

But an instant before she became dinosaur chow— Bang! A sound completely alien to

her reverberated throughout the gorge. A red streak passed right between her two

twitching bunny ears. The speeding bullet flew right into the T. rex's open maw and

mercilessly pulverized its skull as it passed out the other end of one of its heads.

The destroyed skull sank to the floor, sliding a little before coming to a stop. Unable to

maintain its balance, the T. rex fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

The shockwave of the impact sent the bunny girl flying again… Directly toward Hajime.

"Kyaaaaaaaa! H-Help meeee!" She reached her arms out to Hajime as she hurtled

toward him. Her face was a mess of tears, and her lady bits were shamelessly exposed

for all to see. But even then, any normal guy wouldn't have hesitated to save her.

"Hell no, get away from me!" However, our esteemed hero simply wheeled Steiff back

a bit to avoid colliding with the bunny girl.

"Eeeeeeh!?" Still screaming in surprise, she fell to the ground a few inches in front of

Hajime with a sickening thud. She lay spread-eagle on the ground, her body

occasionally twitching. It appeared she was still conscious, but couldn't move due to

the pain.

"…What a pathetic rabbit." Yue said such harsh words nonchalantly, her head peeking

out from behind Hajime's shoulder to watch. Meanwhile, the two-headed T. rex had

successfully ripped its deceased head off, leaving just a normal T. rex with an extra

neck sticking out at an odd angle.

With its balance thus restored, the one-headed T. rex roared ferociously. That roar was

enough to shock the bunny girl to her feet. She was unexpectedly tough. Her face still

a mask of tears, she moved surprisingly swiftly and hid behind Hajime.

It seemed she was determined to rely on him until the end. While it did make sense,

since she'd die for sure on her own and Hajime had clearly dealt with its other head

even if she didn't know how… her ironclad faith in him still felt a little unnatural.

Not only was this their first meeting, Hajime was a human, a member of a race that

despised her people. Normally someone in her situation would have just used Hajime

as bait and ran off. The reason she wasn't was because she seemed to have some

unknown reason to trust him. Hajime suddenly remembered the words she'd said

when she first saw him. That she'd "found" him. He had definitely found that odd. But

the way she kept clinging to him had started annoying him, so instead of questions,

what came out of his mouth were insults.

"Hey, you. You walking joke of a bunny girl. I never said you could use me as a shield.

Come on, don't you have the courage to at least try a suicide rush before forcing your

problems onto other people?" Hajime said, clearly annoyed by the bunny girl clinging

on to his coat for dear life. He really didn't mince his words anymore. Behind him, Yue's

hands were pressed up against the bunny girl's cheeks as she tried to push the girl off

him.

"I-I don't have that kind of courage. And besides, if I let go you'll just try to abandon

me again, won't you?"

"Obviously. I have no reason to save some annoying bunny girl I don't even know."

"A-An instant rejection!? How can you say that…? Isn't there a shred of goodness left

in your heart? You wouldn't really leave an innocent beauty like me to die, would you?"

"I left my humanity behind in hell. And what kind of person has the gall to call

themselves a beauty?"

"Th-Then if you save me… I-I'll do a-a-any one thing you ask!" She blushed as she said

that. The whole thing was very, very cleverly played. Had the image not been ruined

by the tears and snot running down her face, it would have actually been perfect. She

hadn't been lying when she called herself a beauty either. Beneath all the grime and

tears, one could tell she really was quite pretty. Any normal guy would have fallen for

it even if they knew it was a trick. Unfortunately for her, Hajime was no normal guy.

"No thanks, I'm good. And get your filthy face away from me; you're getting my shirt

dirty." His savagery knew no bounds. It was enough to make one doubt he had any

human compassion left at all.

"F-Filthy… You didn't have to put it like that… I can't believe you! I am not—"

"Graagaaaaaah!"

"Eek. P-Pleashe sha—"

Angry at being ignored, the T. rex let out a bestial roar, interrupting the bunny girl's

protests. It then bent low, preparing to charge.

The bunny girl screamed hysterically and tried to wedge herself between Hajime and

Yue. Thoroughly annoyed by that point, Yue tried to kick the bunny girl off of Steiff,

but even after her face was covered in shoe prints she refused to let go. Her tenacity

was truly commendable.

The T. rex grew steadily more enraged as they continued to ignore it, until finally,

unable to stand it any longer, it charged forward.

Hajime reflexively brought his arm up and took aim at the T. rex's forehead. A gunshot

followed not even a second later, and a red streak of light flashed by as the bullet

pierced the T. rex's skull.

Its charge was abruptly cut short, and it fell on its side with a thunderous crash.

"Eh?" The bunny girl unconsciously let out a confused gasp. She peeked out from

behind Hajime's back to make sure the T. rex was dead.

"I-It's really dead… You killed that Dihedwa in a single shot…" Her eyes were as round

as dinner plates. Apparently that two-headed T. rex was called a Dihedwa.

Even as she looked down at the Dihedwa's corpse in shock, Yue relentlessly continued

to try and kick her off. However, her firm grip on Hajime wouldn't budge. Tired of

having her ears whack his eyes every few seconds, Hajime brought his elbow down on

the back of her head.

"Hawugh!?" She screamed incoherently and started writhing on the ground while

moaning, "My head. My heaaaad." Hajime gave her one last cold look before

nonchalantly pouring mana into Steiff.

She must have sensed the flow of mana because the bunny girl instantly hopped back

up and ran to Hajime before he could leave.

"You're not getting away from me!" For a bunny girl, she was surprisingly hardy.

"Thank you very much for saving me earlier! My name is Shea. I'm a member of the

rabbitmen tribe, Haulia! I know this is presumptuous of me, but could you please save

my family as well!? Please, I'm begging you!" And quite pushy as well.

Hajime gave the desperate bunny girl a sidelong glance, then sighed heavily. Of course

the first thing he'd run into after escaping hell would be this nuisance.

Seeing his exasperated expression, the bunny girl, Shea, fretfully repeated her plea

even louder.

"Please, you have to! I'm begging you, you have to save my family!" By the end she was

practically shouting. It seemed her family was in dire straits as well. Hajime finally

realized why she was so persistent. Her plea was so heartfelt that even Yue stopped

trying to kick her off for a moment.

When he saw just how desperate she was, Hajime reluctantly shrugged his shoulders.

Thinking he'd finally agreed, Shea breathed a sigh of relief. In reality… Hajime simply

activated his Lightning Field.

"Ababababababababaa!?" He had controlled the voltage so it wouldn't kill her, but it

would at least leave her paralyzed for a while. The shock made her rabbit ears and fur

all stand on end, like a cartoon character. After he released the spell, Shea fell to the

ground, twitching all the while.

"You never know. Give it your all, and maybe you'll be able to save them yourself. Good

luck, I guess. Alright, Yue, let's go."

"Okay…" He left behind some generic words of encouragement, if they could even be

called that, and began pouring mana into Steiff once more. However…

"I-I'll never let you get away!" Like a zombie, Shea dragged herself to Hajime's foot and

clung to it for dear life. Surprised, Hajime accidentally stopped sending mana to Steiff.

"What are you, some kind of zombie? I made that shock pretty strong… so how are you

still able to move? You're seriously starting to creep me out."

"…Yeah. She's creepy."

"Hic… why do you two have to be so mean… First you elbow me, then you kick me, and

now you shocked me! Don't you think you're being a little cruel!? I'm against violence!

If you want my forgiveness, then please save my family!" Even in her anger she didn't

forget to throw in her request once more. It actually was a little scary how she seemed

completely unharmed. The word "hardy" no longer did her abnormally sturdy body

justice. That wasn't the only thing weird about her, either: she also kept muttering odd

things like "If I mess up here, the future'll change," to herself.

Hajime had considered just starting Steiff up and shaking her off, but her absurdly

strong body and those prophetic mutterings of hers had finally sparked his curiosity

a little. Besides, he had a sinking feeling that even if he tried to shake her off, she'd

somehow cling on anyway… and even he wasn't so heartless that he'd drag her around

until she was a horrific bloody mess.

So he finally, reluctantly, decided to hear her out.

"Fine, fine, what is it? I'll at least hear you out, so let me go. And quit wiping your face

with my coat." Shea broke out into a beaming smile the moment those words left his

mouth, and she started surreptitiously wiping her face with his coat. She really had no

restraint. Hajime elbowed again to get her to stop, eliciting another strange squeal

from her.

"Hagyuun! Y-You hit me again… Even my father never hit me. I can't believe you'd keep

hitting such a beautiful girl over and over… Don't tell me you prefer men? Is that why

my feminine wiles didn't work on you earlier? That has—" Hajime brought his boot

down on Shea's head before she could slander him any further. A vein stood out on his

forehead.

"Who the hell are you calling gay, you damn rabbit! And how do you all know these

words!? You and Yue both, who taught you these things? Anyway, I can't tell if your

feminine wiles were supposed to be an actual attempt at seduction or a joke, but the

only reason they don't work is because I've already got a girl far prettier than you by

my side. I honestly don't get what gave you the idea you could beat her in the first

place." Hajime turned back to look at Yue as he said all that to the bunny girl. She was

blushing bright red, her hands cupping her cheeks as she squirmed shyly.

Her golden-blonde hair sparkled dazzlingly in the sunlight, and her slightly flushed

porcelain skin was flawless enough to charm any man that saw it.

She was no longer emaciated and weak from her long imprisonment either, as she had

been when he first met her. On top of that, her clothes were far more fitting as well.

She had on a frilly white dress shirt and a black mini-skirt, also with frills. Covering it

all was a white coat with blue lining. Adorning her feet was a short pair of boots and

knee-high socks. Each article of clothing was one Yue had sewn using the old clothes

they'd found in Oscar's room combined with materials harvested from monsters. They

were enchanted to grant her heightened stamina, and functioned very well as

defensive gear.

By the way, Hajime was decked out in a black coat with crimson lining, and the rest of

his outfit was also a combination of red and black. His left sleeve was joined to the

shoulder by a kind of special adhesive he'd crafted from monster parts, and could be

easily detached. He usually stowed it away in the Treasure Trove during fights to leave

his prosthetic arm completely unencumbered. That sleeve was Yue's masterpiece.

Shea faltered slightly after looking up at Yue.

They were both admittedly extremely beautiful women, but which one was more

beautiful was a subjective decision that came down more to one's preferences more

than anything. Objectively speaking, they were both about equal.

Shea had long blue-white hair, and azure eyes that sparkled like sapphires. Her

eyebrows and eyelashes were both blue-white as well. They complemented her pale

skin quite nicely, and as long as she stayed quiet most people would find her quite

alluring. Her limbs were slender, and her glossy rabbit ears and round tail only added

to her charm. Any fan of bunny girls would break down in tears of joy at the mere sight

of her.

Most conspicuous was… the one thing Yue lacked. Namely, boobs. Shea's in particular

were huge. The torn-off scraps of cloth barely covering them did more to emphasize

their presence than hide them. Without anything to hold them in place, they jiggled

suggestively every time she moved. Veeery suggestively. Just to remind everyone they

were there.

Basically, she had every right to call herself beautiful. Hajime was the weird one for

being so put off by her. The old Hajime would have done a Lupin Dive straight into

those soft valleys of hers, while screaming "Rabbit ears!" However… Well, anyway, his

current indifference had definitely hurt Shea's pride a little. And thus, she said the one

thing that was absolutely taboo…

"Y-Yeah well… I beat her in boobs at least! That girl's as flat as a board!"

—Flat as a board.

—Flat as a board.

—Flat as a board.

Her accusatory shout echoed over and over throughout the gorge. Yue suddenly went

silent, her earlier blush vanishing in an instant. Her bangs hid her expression as she

slowly dismounted Steiff.

Hajime simply looked up at the sky and brought his hands together, offering a small

prayer for the poor bunny. May your rabbit ears rest in peace… In all fairness, Yue

wasn't quite that flat, but her boobs certainly were on the small side. They weren't like

the sheer cliffs that currently surrounded the party.

Shea cowered before Yue like a mouse in front of a cat. Yue's next words were barely

whispers, but everyone heard them surprisingly clearly.

"Any last words?"

"If I apologize, will you forgive me?"

"...…"

"I'm sorry, I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!"

"Storm Gust."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

Shea was swept up in a whirlwind and flung high up into the sky. Precisely ten seconds

after her screams faded away, she fell to the ground with a wet plop.

Her head was buried in the ground, and her limbs flailed wildly as she struggled to

free herself. She resembled a certain cartoon character, looking like that. It really was

a shame that a beauty like her carried herself so pathetically. Her tattered clothes had

been ripped up even further, and they could barely be called clothes at that point.

Upside down as she was, her private bits were exposed for all to see. Even a hundredyear-long love would fade if someone saw their loved one in such a state.

Yue wiped an imaginary bead of sweat off her brow, as if to congratulate herself on a

job well done, before trotting back to Steiff and remounting it.

"…Do you like big boobs?"

Now that was a loaded question if Hajime ever heard one. He was about to answer yes,

but thought better of it when he saw the bunny girl still doing her best impression of

a dog with its head stuck in the ground. He didn't want to end up like that.

"…Yue, the size isn't what's important. It's about whose boobs they are."

"...…"

He decided to dodge the question entirely, so he gave an answer that was neither yes

nor no. What a coward. Yue closed her eyes and pondered that for a minute, before

apparently accepting his answer and situating herself in the back seat.

Hajime could feel cold sweat running down his back. He cast about for a topic to break

the awkward silence, but nothing came to mind. Even MasterCard couldn't buy what

he needed here.

As he was looking around, trying to find something to talk about, he noticed Shea had

finally got her hands on the ground and was now earnestly trying to get her head

unstuck. Fortunately, that made for a great topic.

"She's still going… That girl has to be some kind of zombie. No matter how strong your

body is, no normal person would be fine taking that attack…"

"...…Yeah."

Though it did take her longer than usual to reply, she still at least gave him one. Hajime

breathed a sigh of relief as Shea popped out of the ground, her face and hair matted

with dirt.

"Ugh, that was terrible. This scene wasn't in my predictions, either…" Shea tearfully

patted down her tattered clothes before crawling back to where Hajime and Yue were

waiting. She still looked unhurt.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Being unhurt after all that isn't normal… Just what

are you?" Seeing that they were finally ready to listen, Shea settled herself down

comfortably under Hajime's puzzled gaze. Her expression grew serious once she'd sat

herself in front of Steiff. Though it was a bit too late for anyone to take her seriously…

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Shea Haulia, the daughter of the Haulia tribe

chieftain. The truth is…"

In essence, this was what Shea's story boiled down to. Shea's tribe, the Haulia, were a

member of the rabbitmen subspecies of beastmen. There were a few hundred of them,

and they lived in a village hidden deep within the Haltina Woods.

Though they possessed excellent hearing and were skilled at hiding themselves, their

stats were a lot lower than most other beastmen. Plus, they had no other special traits

to speak of. Because of that, they were considered weak by many others of their kind.

In general they were a kind, peace-loving race that treated the whole of their village

like family and cared deeply for each other. Most of them were also very good looking,

but unlike elves which were renowned for their beauty, the rabbitmen were more

known for their cuteness. Many collectors in the Hoelscher Empire coveted them for

that very trait, so they were a popular target for slave traders.

Among those rabbitmen, one of the tribes, the Haulia, had given birth to a strange girl.

Rabbitmen generally had dark blue hair, but this girl was born with very light blue

hair. Furthermore, she was an anomaly among beastmen, as she had mana running

through her body. What was even more shocking was that she could directly

manipulate that mana, and even use a certain special magic like most monsters.

This, of course, caused a huge uproar within the village. This was unheard of in the

entire history of rabbitmen—no, in beastmen history as a whole. Under normal

circumstances, anyone with the same power as monsters would have been persecuted

and ostracized. But this girl had been born to the one race that valued family above all

else. The one race that treated an entire village of hundreds as one big family. Which

was why the thought of abandoning her never even crossed any of the Haulia's minds.

However, the forest was home to its own country, Verbergen, which was located deep

within the sea of trees. If any of their ruling class learned of the girl's existence, she

would surely be executed. Such harshness was indicative of just how badly the

beastmen hated monsters.

And so, the Haulia decided to raise the girl in secret. Sixteen years passed. However, a

few days ago, someone from the outside learned of the girl's existence. In order to

escape Verbergen's retribution, the entire village decided to flee the forest.

With no set destination in mind, they decided first to head for the mountains in the

north. Their reasoning being that they would be able to live off the land there. The

mountains were harsh, but it was still better than being sold off as slaves in the

Hoelscher Empire or executed by Verbergen.

However, the very empire they were afraid of destroyed all of their plans. By an

extreme stroke of misfortune, they ran into imperial soldiers right outside the forest.

There was no way to know if they were on patrol, or just on a routine training exercise,

but in the face of a battalion-sized army they had no choice but to flee to the south.

The men stayed behind to give the women and children more time to escape, but the

gentle rabbitmen couldn't hold a candle to the battle-hardened soldiers of the

Hoelscher Empire, and in no time at all over half of them had been captured.

As a last ditch measure, the group ran toward Reisen Gorge in order to avoid complete

annihilation. They hoped that the inability to use magic around it would give the

soldiers pause, and their caution would overrule their desire to capture more slaves.

It was a complete gamble. There was no telling if the soldiers would tire before the

remaining rabbitmen were eaten by stray monsters.

However, contrary to all expectations, the imperial troops continued to give chase. At

the eastern and western ends of the gorge were stairs cut directly into the cliffs,

allowing one to descend safely. Most of the troops went back, but they left a battalion

to guard the stairs. Once the rabbitmen came under attack by monsters, they would

have no choice but to run right back into the waiting soldiers' arms.

As expected, monsters eventually came to attack the rabbitmen. Deciding they would

rather surrender to the Hoelscher Empire than be eaten, the Haulia were ready to run

back even if it meant slavery. However, the monsters would not allow them such a

luxury, and instead chased them deeper into the ravine. And so, the rabbitmen were

trapped within the gorge, forced to constantly run around to survive.

"…Before we knew it, our group of sixty had been whittled down to forty. At this rate

we'll all be killed. Please, please you have to save us! I'm begging you!" The grief on

Shea's face was nothing like the comedic expressions she'd had before when she was

crying.

Once she finished her story, Hajime nodded.

"I see." That simple, short statement was all he said in response. It seemed just like

Yue and Hajime, Shea was another one of the misfits of this world. The reason she was

so resilient was because she was most likely unconsciously strengthening her body

with mana manipulation. Maybe it was a form of atavism like Yue's ability.

Satisfied that the mystery had now been cleared up, Hajime looked squarely at Shea

and, after careful deliberation, gave his reply.

"No." Time itself came to a halt. Or at least, that was what it felt like.

Shea's mouth opened and closed wordlessly, her mind unable to comprehend what

had just come out of Hajime's mouth. It was only when Hajime started getting ready

to power up Steiff again that she finally came back to her senses and started

protesting.

"W-W-Wait a second! Why!? Isn't the normal reaction to smile reassuringly and say

'Oh, you poor thing, don't worry. I'll save your tribe!' or something!? Even I'm starting

to get fed up with this! What kind of heartless monster abandons a beautiful girl alone

in this dangerous gorge!? Hey, quit ignoring me. I won't let you get away no matter

how hard you try!" Hajime ignored Shea's complaints and tried to start Steiff again,

but was stopped when the bunny girl threw herself at him once more. The solemn

rabbit that had been sitting there moments ago vanished, and the worthless one

returned to take its place.

No matter how hard he tried, Hajime couldn't shake her off his leg, so he finally sighed

exasperatedly and glared at the rabbit.

"So what do I get out of saving your family?"

"Y-Y-You want a reward?"

"You've been exiled from your old kingdom, are on the run from the Hoelscher Empire,

and are considered dangerous elements by every other member of your species. So

far, it sounds like all I get for saving you is a heap of trouble. Besides, even if I do get

you out of this gorge, where are you going to go? From the sounds of it, you're all

doomed to get captured anyway. So are you going to ask for my help with that too?

Protect you from the Hoelscher Empire until you make it all the way to the

mountains?"

"Umm, I-I… B-But!"

"We have our own goals too, you know? Carrying someone as troublesome as you

around would make our job harder."

"But… But I saw you protecting us!"

"…You mentioned something like that before too. What do you mean, you saw? Does it

have something to do with your special magic?"

"This isn't the future I saw!" Shea wailed tearfully at how stubborn Hajime was being.

Hajime guessed that her strange utterances had something to do with why she was

acting independently from her tribe.

He wasn't exactly dying to know what it was, but since he'd heard her out thus far, he

figured he might as well ask. Shea was dumbfounded by Hajime's question for a

moment, before realizing this might be her last chance to convince him. Gesturing

wildly, she began explaining.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yes! My special magic is called Future Sight, and it lets me see into

possible futures. As in, if I choose x, y will happen kind of… It also just activates by

itself when I'm in danger. Though, the futures I see aren't absolute… Still, I promise I'll

come in handy! You'll see danger coming thanks to my Future Sight… I used it back

there too! It showed me a vision of you guys saving me! I'm so glad the future I saw of

meeting you two actually came true!"

As she had explained, Shea's Future Sight was a special magic ability that let her see

what future outcomes would result of certain choices. However, it consumed a great

deal of mana, enough to usually leave her exhausted after use. It also activated

automatically whenever Shea was in danger. Whether or not this danger was a direct

threat to her, or something that would indirectly harm her didn't matter. This took up

a great deal of mana too, but not nearly as much as activating it voluntarily did.

Specifically, it only took up a third as much.

From the sound of it, Shea had seen a future where Hajime was protecting her and her

family. Which was why she set out to find him.

"If you've got an ability like that, how did those Verbergen guys find you? Shouldn't

you have been able to avoid them because you can see the future?" The smile Shea

gave Hajime was one he couldn't read. He couldn't tell if it was self-deprecating, sad,

or simply her trying to act tough. It might have even been all three. Even her voice was

inscrutable.

"…The future is something we always have the power to change. At least, that's what I

believe. But there are some things you can't change no matter how hard you try… I

realize that again every time I fail to change something. I couldn't change the one

future I really wanted to. Maybe if I'd just tried a little harder, I could have…"

"You…" Hajime couldn't fathom what it must feel like to know the future. If it was a

future one desired, of course they'd happily be counting down the days until it came.

But what if the future one saw was full of tragedy? Could they really just sit there and

accept it as inevitable? He couldn't tell earlier because of her energetically annoying

personality, but maybe Shea had been lashing out against it all this time. And up until

now, there must have been countless other visions she couldn't prevent either. That

was the burden this bunny girl had to bear.

Even right now, her precious family was being captured and killed before her eyes

because she couldn't do anything about the future she saw. That explained why she

tried so hard to enlist their help, no matter how much they abused her. She was trying

to achieve that "little harder" she couldn't before.

Shea Haulia was literally betting the fate of her entire tribe on being able to enlist

Hajime's help. For the first time, Hajime's expression clouded over. He certainly could

understand the feelings of someone crawling desperately forward for the sake of their

desired future, trying to survive the only way they knew how. However, when he

thought of his own goals, he began to feel a little conflicted. That was how much

Hajime had changed.

Finally, he decided that no matter how hard she begged, he'd just forcibly leave her

behind… But before he could start Steiff, Shea found herself an unexpected ally.

"…Hajime, let's help her."

"Yue?"

"Oh! I knew you were a good person when I first saw you! I'm sorry for calling you flat

earlier!"

Shea's eyes sparkled excitedly, while Hajime's were filled with feelings of

bewilderment, as they both looked at Yue. But before anything else could happen,

Shea's unnecessary comments earned her a slap from Yue. The serious atmosphere

from earlier had all but vanished. It was only natural, though. Despairing one second

and jumping for joy the next was just how Shea was.

Yue turned away from Shea, who was rubbing her stinging cheek, and explained her

reasons to Hajime.

"…She can guide us through the sea of trees."

"Aaah, you've got a point there." There was a dense fog that permeated Haltina Woods,

and only the beastmen could navigate their way properly through it. Having a bunny

girl guide would certainly be a great help. They did have a makeshift plan for

navigating the forest themselves, but it was pretty rough and there was no guarantee

it'd work. Worst case, they could have captured a beastman and asked them to be their

guide, but having someone who would willingly guide them would be easier on their

conscience.

Considering how troublesome Shea's request was, though, Hajime still hesitated to say

yes. But Yue's next words blew away all of his hesitation.

"…Don't worry. Together we're stronger than anyone." Those were the same words

he'd said back in Orcus' room. They'd hold nothing back against anything that stood

against them, even if it was the whole world. As long as they had each other's backs,

they'd be stronger than anyone. Hajime smiled wryly; he never thought he'd have his

own words thrown back at him in such a manner.

Having the rabbitmen's help would definitely make navigating the woods a lot easier.

Of course, that came with the caveat that they would become embroiled in the

Hoelscher Empire and rabbitmen's little war. Hajime had no intention of purposely

sticking his nose into trouble, but avoiding the simplest option because it came with

some obstacles went against his personal creed. Enemies that stood in his way were

to be killed.

"You're right. You're absolutely right, Yue. We'll use everything we can. And kill

everyone that gets in our way. That's all there is to it."

"Yeah." Yue replied with her trademark as Hajime gently patted her head.

"Did they forget I'm still here?" Shea muttered to herself as she watched the two of

them flirt. Finally, Hajime turned around to look at Shea.

"Rejoice, you stupid rabbit. We're hiring you as our forest guide. In return, we'll

guarantee your family's safety. You better not have any complaints." He was agreeing

to her request, but the way he phrased it made him sound completely like a mafia boss.

Though, perhaps it was fitting as Shea had just gotten the cooperation of the kind of

demon that took down hordes of monsters without batting an eye. For her part, she

was overjoyed that she'd safely managed to bring about her desired future.

"O-Of course not! Thank you so much! Hic, really, dank you shoo mush!!" This time she

was crying tears of happiness. But for the sake of her comrades, she couldn't afford to

celebrate for too long. She quickly regained her composure and stood up.

"U-Umm, really, thank you so much for agreeing to help! M-May I ask what your

names…"

"Huh? Oh, I guess we didn't introduce ourselves yet, did we…? I'm Hajime. Hajime

Nagumo."

"…Yue."

"So Hajime-san and Yue-chan, then."

Shea repeated them to herself a few times to make sure she didn't forget. However,

Yue didn't seem satisfied with the way she was being addressed.

"…Call me Yue-san, you stupid rabbit."

"Fweh?" It was rare for Yue to order anyone around, and Shea clearly hadn't been

expecting it either. It appeared Shea had thought Yue was younger than her, which was

why she'd called her Yue-chan. But once Yue explained that she was an ancient

vampire princess, Shea got on her knees and started begging for forgiveness. It

appeared that Shea had managed to get on Yue's bad side. Though Hajime couldn't

exactly tell why Yue held such resentment against Shea… Just because she was always

staring hatefully at a certain part of Shea's body didn't mean that had to be the reason!

"Hey, get on already, you stupid rabbit." In the end, Hajime decided to ignore Yue's

complex entirely. Shea looked at Hajime blankly. That was hardly surprising.

Motorcycles didn't exist in this world. All Shea could tell was that this was some kind

of vehicle. Timidly, she edged herself onto the bike behind Yue.

The back seat was made of monster leather, and because of how small Yue was there

was more than enough space for Shea too. Shea wrapped her arms around Yue,

surprised by how soft the seat beneath her was. As she did so, her two deadly weapons

pressed against Yue's back.

Yue jumped a little as Shea's soft mounds made contact with her back, and she

suddenly stood up and crawled over Hajime so she was sitting in the front. She was

small enough that Hajime had no problem reaching over her to drive. It looked like

having Shea's boobs press up against her made Yue uncomfortable. She sullenly

leaned back against Hajime, and all he could do in response was smile awkwardly.

"Huh? What's going on?" Shea asked, clearly confused. But then she cheerfully sidled

forward and hugged Hajime's waist instead. Unlike Yue, Hajime didn't even notice and

nonchalantly started up Steiff. He definitely didn't even notice Shea's boobs pressing

up against him. That was an undeniable fact.

Unaware of the turmoil in their hearts, Shea inquisitively peeked her head out from

behind Hajime's shoulder and asked a question.

"U-Umm… I was so caught up in getting you to help that I forgot to ask, but… what is

this thing? Is it some kind of carriage? Also, Hajime-san and Yue-san, both of you used

magic back there, right? I thought you couldn't use magic inside the gorge…"

"I'll fill you in on the way."

That was all Hajime said before gunning Steiff's accelerator, sending them speeding

through the gorge. Shea let out a terrified scream as she watched the bike effortlessly

tear its way through the rough terrain. The canyon walls sped by as they raced through

the ravine.

Shea had her eyes firmly shut for the first segment of the ride, but her fear slowly

began to give way to excitement as she got used to Steiff's speed. Every time Hajime

rounded a curve or dodged a boulder she'd let out an excited squeal, since she'd finally

plucked up the courage to open her eyes and all.

On the way, Hajime briefly explained what Steiff was, how Yue could use magic inside

the gorge, and that his weapons were something akin to artifacts. By the time he'd

finished his explanation, Shea's jaw was hanging wide open in surprise.

"W-Wait… does that mean you two can also directly control mana and use specialized

magic?"

"Yep, we can."

"…Yeah."

Shea stared at them in astonishment for a few seconds before suddenly burying her

face into Hajime's shoulder, and then subsequently bursting into tears.

"…Now what? First you get all excited, then you get depressed, and now you're crying…

You're just one big bundle of emotions, aren't you?" Hajime said.

"…Is it too late to save her?" Yue added.

"What do you mean too late to save me? Save me from what? I'll have you know that

I'm a perfectly normal girl… I was just so glad to find out… to find out that I'm not

alone…"

"...…"

She must have felt terribly alone thinking she was the only person in the world with

the same power as a monster.

Obviously, her family must have showered her with a lot of love if they were willing to

hide her for sixteen years and then even abandoning their home for her sake. However,

despite all that, or perhaps precisely because of it, Shea must have always been

tormented by the fact that she was different from everyone else, which led to her

loneliness.

Shea's words must have resonated with Yue, as she suddenly lapsed deep into thought.

And while it was slight, her expressionless face grew even paler than usual. Somehow,

Hajime could just tell what she was thinking about. Chances were Yue saw a lot of

herself in Shea. They both had the ability to use specialized magic and control mana

directly, and neither of them had anyone they could have truly called a "comrade" in

their own time.

However, there was one definitive difference in their circumstances. Yue hadn't even

had a family that loved her. She wasn't exactly jealous of Shea per se, but there still

were a lot of complicated feelings swirling about inside her. And besides, Shea had

been able to find her comrades far sooner than Yue ever did. From Yue's perspective,

Shea must have been quite blessed.

Hajime gently patted the top of Yue's head. For Hajime, who had been born in the

peaceful country of Japan and raised with love by both of his parents, it was impossible

to truly understand the despair Yue must have felt at not only being the only one of

her kind, but also being forced to bear the solitary title of queen. Which was why he

didn't know what to say to her. All he could do for her was remind her that she wasn't

alone anymore.

He may have been transformed in that labyrinth, but he still had enough of his old self

left to remember to be kind to those close to him. And the one who had preserved that

humanity of his was none other than Yue. Had he not met Yue when he had, there

would certainly have been nothing human about him left. Hence, Yue was currently

Hajime's only remaining pillar of support. As proof, the only reason Hajime planned

on keeping his promise with Shea was because of her. He was even ready to fight back

against the empire if they started targeting the Haulia clan.

While Hajime's attempts at comforting Yue were pretty clumsy, his heartfelt feelings

got across to her, and she relaxed the tension she hadn't realized she'd been holding

in and leaned back into Hajime's lap. She was just like a cat looking to be stroked by

her owner.

"Umm, did you forget about me again? Shouldn't you be saying something like 'You

must have had it tough, being all alone this whole time. But it's okay now, because I'm

by your side,' or something? I'm clearly depressed right now, so shouldn't you be

cheering me up? This is like the easiest opportunity to get on a girl's good side. But no,

you just go and ignore this perfect chance and start flirting with someone else. You

guys are starting to make me feel lonely! Let me in too! Besides, you two…"

"Shut up, you worthless rabbit!"

"…Okay… Hic…"

Shea suddenly started yelling in Hajime's ear in a tearful voice, but she was quickly

silenced by Yue and Hajime. Though, to be fair, it was pretty cruel of the two of them

to keep flirting when there was a crying girl sitting right behind them. Worse, they got

mad at her when she was well within her rights to get mad at them. However, Shea's

one redeeming feature was her hardiness. She had already mentally switched over to

a new goal. That was how fast she rebounded from failure. Alright, first I'm gonna get

them to call me by name. I finally found the comrades I've been looking for, so there's no

way I'm letting them get away that easy!

They continued like that for a while, alternating between Shea growing noisy and Yue

and Hajime yelling at her to pipe down, until finally they heard the roars of monsters

in the distance. Quite a few of them, too.

"Ah! Hajime-san, we're almost to where everyone else is waiting! Those monsters'

howls must mean that… th-they're close! Father and the others are very close!"

"Quit yelling in my ears! I can hear you just fine. I'm gonna speed up now, so hold on

tight."

Hajime poured more of his mana into Steiff, accelerating it even further. The canyon

walls merged into a gray blur as they sped by at an incredible pace.

There was so much mana going into Steiff that the entire bike was glowing crimson. It

took only thirty seconds to get to the source of the howling. Hajime rounded one final

curve, drifted around a boulder, and saw a number of rabbitmen under attack by a

group of monsters.

Screams of terror echoed throughout Reisen Gorge. The rabbit ears were all scurrying

to hide behind boulders or squeeze into crevices. A number of rabbit ears could be

seen sprouting behind various boulders. From what Hajime could tell, there were

around 20 pairs. All told, it seemed like there were around 40 people running around.

Terrorizing them from above was a group of flying monsters, a breed that had been

rare even in the depths of the abyss. They resembled the wyverns common in fantasy

games. Their bodies were around three to five meters long, and sharp claws studded

their legs like the spikes on a morning star. Their tails too, were spiked.

"H-Hyverias…" Shea said in a trembling voice. It seemed those wyvern-like raptors

were called Hyverias. There were six of them in total. Currently, they were circling high

above the rabbitmen, as if appraising their prey.

Finally, one of them decided to make a move. It dove toward one of the boulders some

rabbitmen were hiding behind, did a flip in midair, and sent its tail crashing down onto

the boulder with all the force of gravity behind it. With a thunderous impact, the

boulder was shattered to pieces, and screams echoed from the exposed individuals as

they scurried away as fast as possible.

Tired of waiting, the Hyveria opened its jaw wide, attempting to eat the slowest of the

rabbits. Specifically, two of them. One of the youngest children's legs had given out on

them and one of the men had stayed behind to try and protect him.

Despair flickered in everyone's eyes. Everyone thought that the both of them were

doomed to be Hyveria fodder in another few seconds. However, someone had arrived

who wouldn't allow that.

The monster of the abyss had given his word that he would protect them, so protect

them he would. Bang! Bang! Two gunshots reverberated throughout the gorge. At the

same time, two crimson streaks shot through the sky. The first passed cleanly between

the brows of the Hyveria that was trying to eat the pair of rabbitmen. Its head

exploded into a thousand flesh chunks, and its body veered to the side of the cowering

group as it fell to the ground, raising a dust cloud in its wake as it slid across the

canyon.

There was a terrifying howl behind them at the same time. Without even the time to

process what had just happened, the rabbitmen all turned to the source of this new

noise to see that another one of the Hyveria's had gotten a claw blown clean off. It had

somehow managed to sneak right behind the cowering pair of rabbitmen.

It had probably hoped to launch a sneak attack on the pair while their attention was

focused on the Hyveria coming at them from the front. The second bullet was what

had blown its arm off. With its balance destroyed, the second Hyveria crumbled to the

ground, writhing in pain.

"Wh-What…" The adult rabbitman's gaze flitted from the dead Hyveria in front to the

one screaming in pain behind him, his jaw open wide in absolute amazement.

A few more gunshots followed right after, and the Hyveria that was writhing on the

ground was turned into a pincushion. It gave one last pitiful high pitched scream

before it died, its torso more or less blown to bits by that point. There was another

resounding thud as it collapsed.

Enraged at the deaths of their comrades, the remaining Hyverias all attacked at once.

The rabbitmen, frozen stiff with fear, suddenly heard a noise completely alien to them.

Their sensitive rabbit ears picked up on a strange high-pitched keening, like the sound

of something letting off steam. As they all turned as one to see what was the source of

the sound, they saw a strange black vehicle of some sort rushing toward them at high

speed. There seemed to be three people riding atop it.

One of which was a girl they all recognized. She had disappeared earlier this morning,

and the entire clan had been out looking for her. Worried about her family as she had

been, there was none of the usual cheer in her expression that morning. She must have

felt responsible for her clan's plight, as her expression had been filled with guilt.

Everyone had assumed the reason she'd vanished was because she was worried about

them and had headed out to try something rash. Because of that, they had foregone

caution in their haste to find her, and had been caught by the Hyverias. They had

expected to be wiped out there without ever finding her, but… There she was, standing

at the back of the weird black vehicle, waving happily. Her usual innocent smile was

plastered on her face again. Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"Everyone… I've found help!" Her familiar voice brought them all back to reality, and

the fact that they really were saved finally hit them. And as it did, they all yelled out

her name.

"Shea!?" Hajime clicked his tongue irritably as he watched Shea happily wave to her

family. He, of course, didn't let Steiff's speed drop at the distraction.

It wasn't her happiness that bothered him, but the fact that she was leaning all her

weight against him in order not to fall off, which of course meant that every time she

happily jumped up and down, her dreadnought-class boobs whacked into the top of

Hajime's head. In fact, the reason he had missed his second shot earlier was because

her boobs had distracted him.

Annoyed by her continued jumping, Hajime grabbed Shea by what remained of her

clothes. She looked down at him questioningly. Because he was still facing forward,

she couldn't tell what kind of expression he had, but for some reason she had a bad

feeling about this. She questioned him in a timid tone.

"U-Umm, Hajime-san? What's wrong? Why are you grabbing my clothes like that?"

"If you're just going to get in my way, I'd rather put your energy to good use in helping

me out."

"Wh-What do you mean… P-Put it to good use how?"

"Oh, nothing much, just throw you to the pack of starving monsters."

"W-Wait, what…? Ah, please don't lift me up like that. Please stop looking like you're

about to throw meeee." Shea struggled helplessly against Hajime's iron grip, but his

strength stat was over nine thousand! She never had a chance.

Hajime drifted Steiff with just one hand, then used the centrifugal force of his turn to

lob Shea at the group of Hyverias flying overhead.

"Have at them, you worthless rabbit!"

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Shea flew through the sky with a surprising amount of speed. Her screams could be

heard throughout the gorge. Her family all yelled out in alarm, their eyes open wide.

In fact, this turn of events was so surprising that even the Hyverias were taken aback.

Even when she was right in front of them, they did nothing more than stare at her,

their bodies stiff with surprise.

That moment of hesitation was what Hajime had been waiting for. The still Hyverias

made for great target practice. Four gunshots rang out, and four Hyveria heads were

blown into oblivion.

It was all so sudden that they didn't even have time to cry out in pain before they were

dead. And so, four headless corpses fell to the ground. Hyverias were considered even

more dangerous than the Dihedwa Shea had encountered earlier, but Hajime dropped

the entire flock like it was nothing. Having seen such an overwhelming display of

power, the rabbitmen were at a complete loss for words.

But the screams of a familiar girl brought them back to their senses.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Save me pleaseeee! Hajime-saaaaaaan!" They all quickly

started running to where Shea was landing, but Hajime easily outstripped them all

with Steiff, and drifted to a halt underneath her landing point before suavely plucking

her out of the air. He then unceremoniously dropped her onto the ground.

"Owie! Ugh, you don't have to be so rough with me, you know? I demand better

treatment. I want you to treat me nice like you do with Yue-san." Teary-eyed, Shea

began protesting her rough treatment. It wasn't like Shea had any particular romantic

feelings for Hajime. She had just met him a few hours ago, after all.

However, the fact that he was the "hope" she had seen in the depths of despair led her

to have a great deal of unwarranted trust in him. Regardless of how brusquely he

treated her, she seemed certain he wouldn't break his promise. Besides, Hajime was

the same kind of anomaly that Shea was. That alone was enough to make her feel a

sort of kinship with him.

Furthermore, he treated Yue, who was also an anomaly like her, very tenderly. Despite

the short time they'd known each other, that much was obvious to Shea. Frankly

speaking, Shea was jealous of their intimacy. So it wasn't love, but just a desire to be

pampered.

Her short stint as a flying bunny girl had left her clothes even more tattered than they

already were. She really did look pitiful, sobbing on the ground dressed in nothing but

rags. Maybe I did go a little too far… Hajime thought. Reluctantly, he reached into his

Treasure Trove and pulled out a spare coat that he then dumped on Shea's head. He

was tired of her bursting into tears at every little thing.

However, Shea was surprisingly pleased by the gift. She stared at him blankly for a

moment before realizing that he'd given her a coat, and beamed happily as she

wrapped it around herself. It was a white coat, and looked identical to the one Yue was

wearing. Yue had sewed the extra in hopes of getting Hajime to match outfits with her.

"O-Oh my! Hajime-san, you should be more honest with yourself! Giving me a coat that

matches with Yue… Are you trying to make a move on me? Well, unfortunately, I'm not

that easy. There's an order to these things, you know?" Shea fidgeted shyly as she

played with the hem of her coat. Feeling his annoyance rise up again, Hajime silently

pulled out Donner and fired it at Shea's forehead.

"Hakyun!" The bullet he had fired was coated with a rubbery leather farmed from

monsters and was packed with far less blastrock. It was meant for non-lethal shots.

However, it still hurt, and Shea arched back from the impact of the blow before she

collapsed to the ground and rolled around in pain, screaming "My head… My heaaaad!"

Of course, being as sturdy as she was, Shea quickly recovered and started hotly

protesting her treatment once more. Hajime shut her up in the usual fashion, and the

rabbitmen all started crowding around Shea before the cycle could continue further.

"Shea! You were safe!"

"Father!"

The first one to reach Shea was a rabbit-eared man in his mid-forties, with cropped

navy blue hair. Though as far as Hajime was concerned, there was no value in putting

bunny ears on an old dude. He watched as Shea spoke with her father, taking in how

strange this looked from an earthling's perspective. Once they were done reaffirming

each other's safety, they both turned to face Hajime.

"You would be Hajime-dono, correct? My name is Cam Haulia. I'm Shea's father, and

the chieftain of the Haulia tribe. You have my deepest gratitude for saving both my

daughter and the rest of my tribe. And I've heard that you're even going to assist us in

our escape… As both a father and a chieftain, I simply cannot thank you enough." The

rabbitman named Cam bowed his head deeply as he finished. Behind him, the rest of

his tribe followed suit.

"Well, thanks are all well and good, but don't forget, you're going to be guiding us

through the sea of trees after this. Also, I'm surprised you all trust me so easily. I

thought humans and beastmen didn't get along too well…" He had almost forgotten

because of how eclectic Shea was, but the beastmen were supposedly being

persecuted by the other races. In fact, the reason they were stuck in this gorge in the

first place was because of humans. Yet despite that, they were all bowing their head to

Hajime, another human, and truly seemed to believe he would save them. While it may

have been true that he was their only hope at this point, he still found it suspicious

that they seemed to harbor no resentment toward him at all, and that they were so

easily willing to accept him.

Cam smiled awkwardly as he replied.

"You're someone Shea trusts. That's why we're also putting our faith in you. We're all

one big family, so…" Hajime was half amazed, half completely dumbfounded. No

matter how kind a people they might be, trusting a complete stranger simply on the

word of one of their own showed an utter lack of wariness.

"Ehehe, don't worry, Father. Hajime-san might be cruel towards women, demand

compensation for everything he does, and mercilessly use people as bait, but he'd

never break a promise or trample on the hopes of someone else! I'm sure he'll protect

us!"

"Hahaha, I see, I see. So what you're saying is he's just shy. In that case, we're in good

hands."

At Cam's words, the surrounding rabbitmen all started murmuring at once. Sentences

such as "I see, he's just shy," and the like. They all nodded to themselves while gazing

kindly down at Hajime.

Hajime angrily pulled out Donner, but before he could do anything, he got blindsided

by a surprise attack.

"…Yeah, Hajime's really shy (in bed)."

"Yue…"

His face cramped up at that, but he figured if he kept arguing for too long they'd just

have more monsters to deal with, so he instead focused on getting everyone ready to

leave. Once all forty-two rabbitmen were ready, he started leading them to the gorge

exit.

They ran into many monsters along the way, as a caravan of defenseless rabbitmen

made for an easy target, but not a single monster got past Hajime. Any time something

that threatened them showed up, Hajime would promptly shoot it down without

mercy.

With every gunshot, another of Reisen Gorge's ferocious monsters met its end, unable

to put up even a modicum of resistance. The rabbitmen were all astonished at how

easily he dispatched monsters that others would struggle to even escape from. Before

long, they all respected him for his overwhelming strength. The little bunny children

all stared at Hajime with glowing eyes, like he was their hero.

"Fufufu, Hajime-san, look! All the kids are staring at you! Why not give them a little

wave at least?" Seeing how uncomfortable Hajime was at being adored by the children,

she started poking fun at him. An angry vein pulsed on his forehead, and he wordlessly

fired Donner at her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Awawawawah!?" The rubber bullets headed straight for her feet, and Shea had to do

an impromptu tap dance to avoid them. Having gotten used to this spectacle, Cam only

smiled wryly while Yue just looked tired of the ongoing skit.

"Shea seems to have taken quite a liking to you, Hajime-dono. To the point that one

would suspect she might… Well, I suppose she is getting to that age now. As her father,

I do feel a little sad about it. But I'd be relieved if it was you I entrusted her to, Hajimedono…" Cam seemed to be completely unconcerned about the fact that his daughter

was still being shot at, and tears pooled in the corners of his eyes as he spoke about

her growth.

"Someone save meee," Shea screamed, but the other rabbitmen also just watched with

warm expressions as she danced around a storm of bullets.

"There's something wrong with you guys. You look at this and that's what goes through

your heads?

"…They're weird."

As Yue had said, there was definitely something odd about these people's idea of

common sense. Or perhaps they were naturally inclined to be airheads. Though there

was no way to tell if that was something specific to the Haulia clan in general, or

applicable to all rabbitmen.

Soon enough, the party arrived at the staircase that would lead them out of Reisen

Gorge. Hajime used his Far Sight skill to scout out the area, and his first impression of

the stairs was that they were quite an impressive feat of engineering. The staircase

was actually a series of switchbacks cut directly into the cliff face. Each switchback

went about fifty meters before turning. Past the staircase was the sea of trees, of which

only a glimpse could be seen from down in the gorge. It would take an average person

about half a day to go from the exit of the gorge to the entrance of Haltina Woods.

Shea realized Hajime must be doing something to magnify his sight, so she timidly

asked him,

"Do you see any imperial soldiers?"

"Not sure. It's possible they gave up and went home, but…"

"U-Umm, if we do run into them… Hajime-san… what will you do?"

"What do you mean?" He tilted his head in confusion, and Shea took a moment to steel

herself before continuing. The other Haulia members all perked up their ears in order

to listen in.

"Our opponents this time wouldn't be monsters, but soldiers… Other humans like you,

I mean. Will you really be able to fight them?"

"Worthless rabbit, didn't you say you saw me helping in the future you got a glimpse

of?"

"Yes, I did. I definitely saw you fighting imperial troops, Hajime-san, but…"

"Then what's there to be worried about?"

"I'm not exactly worried; I just wanted to make sure. Protecting us from the empire

might make you into humanity's enemy. I was just wondering how you felt about

fighting your own people…"

All of the Haulia silently gazed at Hajime. The smaller children obviously didn't fully

grasp what was going on, but they could tell the atmosphere was tense and that all the

adults were looking at him, so they did too.

However, Hajime was completely unfazed by the serious atmosphere and answered

frankly.

"I don't really see a problem with it."

"Huh?"

Despite Shea's serious tone, Hajime replied casually, without a hint of doubt.

"I mean, what's wrong with turning all of humanity into my enemy?"

"B-But I mean, they're your people, aren't they?"

"Aren't you guys being chased by 'your people' right now, too?"

"I mean, I guess that's true, but…"

"Besides, I think you guys are misunderstanding something."

"What do you mean?" This time it was Shea who tilted her head in confusion. The other

Haulia were all puzzled as well.