Preparing for the Decisive Battle

A lone figure stood in a large room that was dimly lit by green glowstone. A massive

pair of double doors opened behind him. There were two rows of pillars in the room,

spaced apart at even intervals.

The wide space was reminiscent of a temple. But its solemn majesty was marred by

how badly damaged the room was.

The figure silently stared at the room's far wall, envisioning the object that had once

rested there.

A hesitant voice called out to him from behind, interrupting his reverie by saying,

"Hajime-kun."

Hajime looked over his shoulder and replied, "Kaori. How's it looking?"

"Everything's going smoothly. In fact, I even managed to get more materials than you

asked for. Thanks to the compass, I can instantly tell where the best ore deposits are

located. And none of the monsters here are a threat."

"Well, you do have the body of an apostle, so that's no surprise."

A day had passed since they'd left the Demon Lord's castle.

Hajime had shoved all the demons in a special prison he'd found in the castle that cut

off all magic, then locked them in there with a week or so worth of food. After that, he

returned to the Schnee Snow Fields to dig up the artifacts he'd hidden earlier. And

once that was done, he'd immediately teleported to Heiligh, where he'd downed all

the mana potions available, as well as had the nation's best doctors provide him with

their mana.

Meanwhile, Liliana had explained the situation to her subjects and gotten everyone

ready to evacuate.

He'd also taken everything of value from the capital's warehouses to craft the artifacts

people needed right away, including the high-speed travel ones he gave to the

emissaries who needed to visit other nations.

Once he finished all that, he'd returned to the Reisen Gorge and used Oscar's ring to

open up the shortcut leading to his house at the bottom of the labyrinth. He'd left Myu

and Remia there, then gone resource collecting with Kaori.

He'd already restored his Demon Eye and prosthetic arm with the materials he'd found

in Oscar's workshop. And so, he'd chosen to use his extensive knowledge of the

labyrinth combined with his Synergist skills to find good spots to excavate while Kaori

made use of the Compass of Eternal Paths. They gathered materials at a breakneck

pace, and in just a day they'd already amassed several dozen tons of ore.

"It's a shame I couldn't find any Divinity Stones large enough to produce Ambrosia…

The ones outside Oscar's house were marble-sized at best."

"Well, it is a legendary treasure, you know? If anything, I lucked out by finding the one

I did so early on in the abyss. The fact that you even found small fragments of them is

good enough. Nice work."

"I'm glad I could help," Kaori said with a smile. Then, she handed her Treasure Trove

over to Hajime, stood beside him, and examined the mound of rubble piled up by the

far wall.

"This is where you first met Yue, isn't it?"

The half-melted pile of metal was all that remained of the cube that had trapped Yue

for centuries.

Hajime nodded, his eyes vibrant and clear. Gone were the dark emotions that had

eventually sublimated into a nihilistic rejection of everything. Instead, his eyes were

full of hope as he recollected fond memories.

"When I first saw her, I thought I'd stepped into a horror movie or something. It was

pitch black, and the only thing I could see was her crimson eyes staring at me. And

then, when I got closer, I saw her hair was long and wispy, like a ghost's. You know,

when Yue first cried out for help, I almost just shut the door on her and moved on. I

thought that nothing good could've come from getting involved with a dangerous girl

like her."

"Hehehe… I guess it must've been pretty weird to find a girl down here in the middle

of the abyss."

"I know, right? Besides, back then the only thing I cared about was surviving. Thinking

back on it now, I'm surprised I even bothered to help her at all."

Kaori chuckled again and stated, "And now she's so important to you that you'd

destroy the world to get her back. Life sure works in mysterious ways, huh?"

"Tell me about it."

Hajime and Kaori closed their eyes as the conversation came to a close. They both

thought about Yue in that moment. She was the girl he loved most, while she thought

of her as a dear friend.

The two of them eventually opened their eyes at the same time, their pupils burning

with fierce resolve.

"We'll get her back," Kaori whispered.

"Yeah, no matter what," Hajime replied.

They quietly tapped their fists together after hardening their resolve.

"Oh yeah, uh… I've been giving this some thought and…" Hajime suddenly mumbled

those words awkwardly.

"Hm? What're you talking about?" Kaori asked with a puzzled look.

"Kaori, I think you should stay back here when we head to the Sanctuary."

"Huh? Why…? Oh. You're worried Ehit might deactivate me again?"

For a moment, Kaori was so hurt that tears sprung to her eyes, but then she caught on

to Hajime's reasoning.

"Yeah. I have come up with some artifacts to resist his power, but I'm not sure how

effective they'll be. He's the one who made that body of yours, so it's honestly hard to

tell."

"You… have a point."

Kaori understood where Hajime was coming from, and his concerns were valid. Plus,

if she returned to her original body, she wouldn't be strong enough to survive within

the Sanctuary. That being said, it still hurt being told that she shouldn't accompany

him to the final battle. Kaori's desire to get Yue back was just as strong as his, after all.

Hajime saw her pouting and added, "Please don't make that face. Look, even if we get

Yue back, it won't mean anything if the students down here die, right? I mean, I might

not care, but I'm sure you'd be sad. Besides, I need someone to protect Myu and Remia.

I plan to leave them here, in Orcus' house, but there's no guarantee even this place is

safe."

"Ughhh," Kaori groaned. But she couldn't argue. Aside from Hajime, Shea, and Tio, she

was the only one capable of fighting apostles on equal footing. Besides, since Hajime

had spread propaganda that claimed the attacking army was composed of "fake"

apostles led by a fake Ehit, it would help morale for Kaori to stand on the frontlines as

a "real" apostle.

Most important of all, Kaori's main strengths lay in healing. Hajime could give the

armies of Tortus the firepower they needed to fight on equal footing with Ehit's forces,

but he couldn't replicate Kaori's magical abilities. If she stayed back, she'd be able to

keep casualties to a minimum. The more she thought about it, the more she realized

Hajime was right.

"Haaah, I guess I have to. It doesn't sit right with me, but I don't want to burden you

guys. Plus, there are a lot of people I want to keep safe here, too… Fine, I'll protect

everyone until you guys return. And I won't let anyone lay a finger on Myu-chan or

Remia-san, I swear!"

"Thanks. It's reassuring to know you'll be here to protect everyone."

"Yep, you can count on me," Kaori said with a somewhat forced smile. But a second

later, she realized something and her smile became genuine.

"Mhm, you can definitely count on me! I'll protect Ai-chan-sensei and Lily too!"

"Why're you bringing those two up?"

"Oh, and I'll keep Yuka-chan safe as well, of course!"

"What does Sonobe have to do with any of this?"

"Don't you think it's time you stopped playing dumb?"

"...…"

Kaori gave Hajime a Yue-tier glare and muttered loud enough for him to hear, "There's

a bunch of other girls who look like they're infatuated with you now… I can't believe

you're such a womanizer, Hajime-kun. I haven't even become someone special to you

yet, but you're already adding more girls to your harem. I'm gonna tell Yue when she

gets back."

Kaori gave Hajime a petulant look, and he raised an eyebrow. He wasn't annoyed by

her attitude or anything. Honestly, he was more surprised at himself for wanting to

deny what she'd just said.

Hajime squatted down and reached for the mound of crumbled sealstone that had

once been Yue's prison.

"You know, I really felt that punch back then. Pretty sure that was what snapped me

out of it."

"Huh? Oh, you mean when you went all edgy? Uh, sorry about that. It must have hurt,

right?"

It took Kaori a second to figure out what Hajime was referring to, but once she did, she

looked down apologetically.

Vivid crimson sparks skittered across the floor. Hajime had used his transmutation on

the pile of sealstone. Back then, destroying the prison had taken every ounce of

strength he possessed, but now the sealstone's mana-resistant properties didn't seem

to affect him at all.

As he turned the rubble into stacks of palm-sized cubes, he shrugged his shoulders

and said, "That punch shook me to my core. And so did the words you said."

"Uh, umm, I might have gotten a bit carried away…" Kaori mumbled and fidgeted about

as she prepared for a scolding. However, Hajime's next words caught her by surprise.

"I'm pretty sure no one else could have moved my heart like you did."

"Huh?"

"Well, I guess Shea and Tio might have been able to, but that's about it. If anyone else

had done the same thing, it wouldn't have worked."

"You mean…"

"I guess you're more special to me than I realized."

"Hajime-kun…"

Hajime finished processing the sealstone and rose to his feet. Sure, he'd come here to

reminisce, but his main objective had been to secure a large supply of sealstone.

Kaori looked up at him, and his kind expression reminded her of the old Hajime she'd

known before he'd fallen into the abyss. That made her heart start to beat faster.

"Thanks, Kaori. Thanks for always thinking of me. I figured I should say that before I

go off to kill a god."

"Don't say that. You make it sound like you're never coming back."

"Haha, I guess that did sound a little ominous. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."

Kaori shook her head and replied, "It's fine. I should be thanking you, too. Your words

made me really happy."

Kaori knew it was too soon to celebrate. But still, she was happy that her feelings had

finally gotten through to him, and that she'd become a source of strength for him. Tears

welled up in her eyes, but she told herself she wouldn't cry before the decisive battle

and lightly joked, "Hehehe, I'll have to brag to Yue when she gets back. I wonder what

she'll say when I tell her I finally reached the same level as Shea?"

"She's just gonna bully you again, you know that, right? I dunno why, but she really

likes messing with you."

"Ugh, it's probably because she likes seeing my reactions. Just thinking about what

she'll do is making me mad. I need to find a way to get back at her before she returns."

"I can already tell she's gonna turn the tables on you and make you go crying back to

Yaegashi."

"Jeez, why do you look so happy about that, Hajime-kun!?" Kaori yelled and puffed her

cheeks out. Hajime simply chuckled and shrugged his shoulders in response.

The conversation died there, but the silence was far from uncomfortable. The two of

them stood side by side, reminiscing about Yue.

After a few minutes, Kaori suddenly muttered, "Oh yeah… There's something I've been

wondering about. Hajime-kun, is it just me, or have you been transmuting this whole

time without any magic circles?"

It hadn't been important enough for Kaori to bring up earlier, but she had seen Ehit

destroy all the magic circles in Hajime's shoes and clothes.

Wait, doesn't that mean he made his existence-erasing chains without any magic circles?

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you that I can do the same thing as Yue now. All I have to do

is imagine the magic circle in my mind to cast my Synergist spells."

"Wait, when did you learn a skill like that?"

Hajime tossed Kaori his Status Plate. He'd gotten a new one at the royal palace to

replace the one he'd lost. Kaori caught it, and her jaw dropped open when she saw

what it said.

"It's one of the Synergist job's derivative skills. It's called Image Composition. It lets

me use imaginary magic circles to cast spells. Apparently, that's the final derivative

skill of my job."

Hajime had pushed himself to the limit in order to resist Ehit's Divine Edict, and in

doing so had reached the peak of Synergy through willpower alone. However, that

wasn't the only new ability he had obtained.

"Umm, Hajime-kun? What about this skill here? Transcendence, I mean. It seems to be

one of Limit Break's derivative skills."

"Oh. Put simply, that skill raises the limit of my talent."

It didn't increase any of Hajime's stats, nor did it grant him any special abilities.

However, it vastly increased the cap on all of those things by upgrading his latent

talent. His new theoretical maximum was far higher than any human was capable of.

Given time, his strength could surpass the power of the gods.

It was a skill only true masters of their craft could acquire. Hence why its name was

Transcendence. It boosted the natural talents someone was born with to an immense

degree and granted the wielder an average person's talent in fields of magic they had

no affinity for.

However, it was such a difficult skill to use that it was unlikely anyone would be able

to activate it more than once in their life, even if they acquired it.

"There's one thing I'm sure of now that I have that skill. My Synergist abilities have

finally surpassed Oscar Orcus'."

That was why Hajime had been so confident that he'd be able to make enough weapons

for everyone within three days, as well as create an inferior version of the Crystal Key

all by himself. If he combined his strengthened abilities with evolution magic, he

would be able to surpass the greatest Synergist in history, Oscar Orcus.

"Before, I had a hard time transmuting sealstone. Because it dampens magic, I couldn't

even keep much of it in my Treasure Trove. Though, I guess I wouldn't have kept it

even if I could've, since it seemed to bring back bad memories for Yue. Anyway, the

point is, I can easily mold it however I want now."

"I-I see… Hehehe, I guess Ehit really messed up by not killing you when he had the

chance."

"Yep. By the way, I'm planning on making a unique artifact for you too, Kaori."

"I'm looking forward to it."

While they talked, Hajime finished storing all the sealstone inside his Treasure Trove.

And with that, he finally had enough raw materials to begin the real work.

It was time to start mass-producing weapons. But just as he turned around to leave,

Hajime spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

"Hm? What's this?"

There was a small crest engraved onto the floor where the sealstone had been.

"What did you find, Hajime-kun? Is that… a crest? It looks just like the one we saw in

the Frost Caverns. Vandre Schnee's…"

Kaori cocked her head to one side. Hajime nodded and took out the teardrop-shaped

pendant they'd received for clearing the Frost Caverns. The moment it left his

Treasure Trove, they noticed a change.

"Are they… resonating with each other?"

A high-pitched whining noise filled the room. And a second later, the pendant and the

crest on the floor both began to vibrate.

Hajime felt a tug in his palm and looked down to see the pendant slowly inching

toward the crest. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a small hole in the crest just large

enough for Vandre's pendant.

"Kaori, just in case, get back."

"O-Okay. Be careful."

Kaori took a step backward, and Hajime placed the pendant into the depression. A

moment later, the crest began to glow… and a metallic grinding noise resounded as a

section of the floor rose. It formed a stone pillar about thirty centimeters in diameter

and stopped rising once it was about waist-height. A section of the pillar slid back to

reveal a small opening.

"I never knew there was something like this here. I guess you wouldn't be able to open

whatever this is without first beating the Frost Caverns…"

"It seems that way. Since it was right underneath Yue's prison, I get the feeling this is

something related to her."

Sitting inside the pillar was a colorless, transparent jewel the size of a pinball. It looked

like a miniature version of the crystal balls seers used. Hajime picked it up and

examined it from all sides. And after a few seconds, he figured out what it was.

"This is that same projection artifact Oscar and the others used to play the messages

they recorded to the people who cleared their labyrinths."

"I see… There's only one person who would leave something like that here."

"Let's see what the message says."

Hajime channeled a little mana into the crystal. Dark golden light filled the dim room,

blotting out the illumination of the green glowstones.

Hajime and Kaori squinted, and a familiar figure emerged from the whirlpool of light.

The message he delivered was filled with resolve, repentance, and overflowing love.

And at the end, he made one deeply moving, heartfelt wish before disappearing.

The light began to fade, leaving Hajime and Kaori alone with their thoughts. Kaori's

face was streaked with tears. It was difficult to describe what exactly they were feeling,

but the message had left a deep impression on them.

"We have to show this to Yue…" Kaori muttered.

"Yeah, definitely. Kaori, you keep this. I don't want to risk this getting broken when we

invade the Sanctuary."

"Sure. I promise to keep it safe."

Hajime handed the crystal to Kaori and she held it close to her chest.

"Now then, we don't have much time. Let's head back so I can start mass-producing

artifacts."

"It's weird to hear that when normally, nations would go to war over just one artifact."

Hajime shrugged his shoulders and took one last look around the room where he'd

first met Yue. When his gaze reached the spot where she'd been sealed, he closed his

eyes for a brief moment. He then turned around and left the room without looking

back.

Kaori gracefully followed after him. She closed the doors behind them, plunging the

room into darkness once more. However, the darkness that filled the room was warm

and inviting, not cold and desolate.

Hajime and Kaori returned to Oscar's house, which was hidden in the deepest section

of the labyrinth.

Oscar had carved an alcove out of the slate-gray rock for his house and the

surrounding garden, and the moment Hajime and Kaori stepped into that alcove, Myu

poked her head out of one of the house's third-floor windows and smiled at him.

"Daddy, Kaori-onee-chan! Welcome back!" Myu exclaimed as she ran down the stairs,

out of the house, and jumped into Hajime's arms.

"I'm back, Myu."

"We're back, Myu-chan."

Hajime and Kaori had spent the whole day gathering ore, so Myu had felt lonely.

Though neither Hajime nor Kaori had gotten any rest since leaving the Demon Lord's

castle, Myu's dopey smile was enough to blow their exhaustion away.

As they walked into the house, the sound of slippers slapping against the floor echoed

across the walls. A moment later, Remia walked into the foyer. She was wearing an

apron over her dress and had a ladle in one arm.

"Welcome home, Dear. And you as well, Kaori-san. I'm glad to see you're both safe."

"Th-Thanks," Hajime stammered.

"Excuse me? 'Dear'? You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, Remia-san?"

"Would you like dinner, a bath, or your wife and daughter?"

"Okay, you're definitely doing this on purpose! Stop using those cliched lines! Also,

don't just casually include your daughter in that!"

"Oh my, Kaori-san. I was simply asking if he wanted to spend some quality family time

with us. Ufufu, what in the world were you imagining?"

"I-I wasn't imagining anything weird! Really, I mean it!"

"In that case, Dear, would you prefer having Kaori-san instead?"

"What!? M-Me!? Quit teasing me, Remia-san!" Kaori yelped that and glared at Remia,

who just chuckled. It seemed her true goal had been to fluster Kaori, not Hajime. Older

women like Yue and Remia loved bullying Kaori.

Hajime gave Kaori a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and said, "Look, let's just leave it

at that, Remia. We don't have much time, so I'm afraid I'll have to head straight to the

workshop. Please bring my food there."

"I see… You haven't slept at all, but I guess I can't really ask you to rest. If you don't

push yourself here, we won't survive what's coming."

She'd tried joking around with Hajime and Kaori in an attempt to get them to relax,

but unfortunately, it hadn't worked. Though she was worried about their wellbeing,

Remia knew there wasn't any time to rest.

"Very well, I shall bring you your food once it's ready. Oh, the princess left a message

for you as well. She said things are progressing smoothly."

Remia had been handling all correspondence while Hajime was out gathering

materials. Shizuku had already succeeded in convincing Gahard to join the alliance.

And with the queen's help, Liliana had convinced the capital's residents of the danger

they faced, then started evacuating them to the empire while the empire's troops

teleported in.

Construction of the fortress was ahead of schedule as well.

I guess focusing on getting Nomura and the other builders' artifacts done first was the

right call.

Hajime had, much to Liliana and the nobles' chagrin, raided the royal treasury and

transmuted all the artifacts within it into artifacts suited to Kentarou and the other

earth magic specialists.

Remia had also received a message from Verbergen. It appeared Suzu and Ryutarou

had managed to convince Ulfric and the other elders to join the fight. As for the

Haulia… Well, they hadn't even taken any convincing. Once their preparations were

complete, the beastmen would travel through the portal to Heiligh.

"I see… Looks like everything's going better than planned."

"Aiko-san's speeches apparently helped a lot. The people love the Fertility Goddess.

She even used the portals to travel to the empire and Verbergen to give speeches there

as well. Plus, it helped that the new pope sanctified this as a proper holy crusade."

"The new pope's some old dude the princess specifically brought over from the middle

of nowhere, right? Well, he's the leader of the church now, so I guess it makes sense

that people would listen to him. If he's backing Sensei, it makes sense that no one

would doubt her."

Liliana had a surprisingly good eye when it came to judging people's character. Not

only that, but she was a skilled leader as well. Hajime had to admit she was far more

competent than he'd given her credit for. She was resolved to save her country, and

though she lacked experience, the queen and her advisors were there to assist her.

There was no one better suited to lead humanity during this crisis than her.

"What about the people I sent to the other nations?"

"There has been no word from them, I'm afraid. Nothing from Tio-san, either."

"Well, I didn't expect much. Even with artifacts, you can only travel so fast."

There were a few students, as well as several knights, working directly for Simon, the

new pope, who had traveled to various regions as official Heiligh ambassadors. They

all used Skyboards, a new artifact that Hajime had developed. As the name suggested,

they were surfboards that let the user surf through the sky. They wrapped the user in

a spatial magic barrier to cut down air resistance and used gravity magic to emulate

flight. Their average cruising speed was around 200km/h, though those with larger

mana pools could accelerate them to 300km/h. However, they took a lot of mana to

operate, and average people needed frequent breaks when using them. Still, Hajime

surmised that everyone should have reached their respective destinations around

now. Once they did, they could easily open a portal back to Heiligh and return instantly.

"Thanks for the update. And sorry for making you take over communications. I know

you're not used to this kinda stuff."

"You have nothing to apologize for… If anything, I'm happy I can help in some way. I

owe you so much… And I am your wife."

"You're definitely not my wife."

"Now now, don't sweat the details."

"This is a pretty damn big detail."

"Ufufu…"

"Uh, umm, anyway…" Hajime backed down, realizing that he had no means to break

through that smile of Remia's. He also didn't want to argue in front of Myu. And

honestly, Remia seemed to be enjoying the act, so he saw no reason to force her to

drop it.

Well, as long as Myu's a part of my life, we're basically family… Hajime justified his

decision to himself, then passed Myu over to Remia. He gave her head one last pat

before heading over to Oscar's workshop.

The workshop was large enough to fit a football field. It also had a bunch of tools that

facilitated efficient transmutation, making it the perfect space for a Synergist.

Once inside, Hajime pulled a veritable mountain of raw materials out of his Treasure

Trove and said, "Now then, let's see how much we can accelerate things. Kaori, I'll need

your help."

"Sure thing! Leave everything to me!"

Hajime transmuted a giant crystal pillar in the center of the workshop. Kaori circled

to the other side of it and the two of them looked at each other through the transparent

pillar.

Hajime wanted to at least partially alleviate the time crunch he was under, which was

why he'd asked Kaori to accompany him. She was the most proficient user of restoration

magic, which controlled time.

"Ready? Let's do this— Transmute!"

"Chrono Rupture!"

Crimson sparks and pale violet light intersected at the center of the pillar.

Chrono Rupture was a restoration magic spell that stretched out time. Because of how

entwined it was with the true nature of restoration magic, it was one of the hardest

spells to master. In fact, it was impossible for normal humans to ever acquire it.

In the same way that Hajime had overcome his limits and unlocked Transcendence,

Kaori had reached new heights with her restoration magic. What they were

attempting was only possible because they were both masters of their respective

fields.

Hajime's crimson sparks ran down the length of the pillar, binding Kaori's violet mana

to the crystal. After a little while, her hair started whipping around her head slower

than usual. Everything in the workshop seemed to lose its color.

"Ngh… Hajime-kun."

"That's enough, Kaori. Good job."

Kaori doubled over and rested her hands on her knees, panting. Though they'd only

been casting for a few seconds, they'd used up a lot of mana.

"Haaah… Haaah… D-Did it work?"

"Yep. From the looks of things, I can stretch time to about… a factor of ten. If I was by

myself, I would have been lucky to even make time move twice as slow. Thanks. This'll

make things a lot easier."

"Haaah… Thank goodness."

Hajime smiled tiredly. The transparent pillar now exuded a faint crimson light. Kaori

blushed at the praise and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now that we made it, we should probably give it a name… Hyperbolic Time Chamber

sounds good, right?"

"You shouldn't steal names like that. Why don't we just call it Hour Crystal?"

"But that doesn't sound as cool…"

"Jeez, who cares about how cool it sounds? Come on, get to work! I'll go get more ore

for you!"

"Fine…"

Despite feeling unhappy with Kaori's naming sense, Hajime nevertheless nodded and

activated the Hour Crystal. Like before, everything in the workshop became slightly

less colorful. So long as the crystal was active, time within the workshop moved ten

times slower than the outside world. One hour inside it equaled only six minutes

outside.

Myu and Remia suddenly walked into the workshop at that exact moment.

"Daddy, we brought you food!"

"Oh my, it feels rather strange in here."

Remia was carrying a tray piled high with sandwiches. She'd made food that was easy

to eat with one hand so as not to disturb their work. Hajime motioned to Remia to wait

a moment, and she retreated to the workshop's entrance together with Kaori and Myu.

"Well, Oscar Orcus, it's time to prove that I've surpassed you," he declared with a

confident smile.

In many ways, Oscar was Hajime's mentor. Not only had he granted Hajime creation

magic, but he'd also left behind an enormous amount of research notes and artifacts.

Though they were separated by millennia, Hajime considered Oscar his master. And

like any good student, he wished to surpass his master. After all, if Hajime wished to

achieve what Oscar and the Liberators couldn't, he had no choice but to do that.

"Transmute!"

Crimson sparks filled the entire room. They made it look as though the workshop was

studded with bright red rubies. The magic circles Oscar had drawn all began to glow

as they activated, and Hajime engraved new ones into specific locations to add to the

design. Magic circles dotted the ceiling, the walls, and the floor. Once he had finished

them, he crafted one massive three-dimensional magic circle to encompass all of them.

A second later, the mountain of ore began to undulate.

Hajime had used Ore Desynthesis to refine the various metals he'd gathered, then

activated creation magic to imbue each one with the appropriate magic. He'd also

made use of Accelerated Transmutation to continually speed the process up.

Refined ingots enchanted with ancient magic appeared one after another. And the

moment each one finished, it vanished because another one of the magic circles was

teleporting each ingot to its designated location.

Hajime then personally took those refined ingots and started transmuting them into

all sorts of equipment. In seconds he'd made a sword, a shield, a spear, a helmet, a suit

of armor, some bullets, and a few other weapons. He swiftly appraised each one to

make sure there were no defects, then sent each type of equipment to a different magic

circle.

Once that was done, the refined ingots started getting teleported to those magic

circles, which then used the model swords, shields, etc. to create duplicates using the

newly arrived materials. Moreover, the completed duplicates were sent to another

circle that opened up a portal in the ground to transport them to the kingdom.

"H-Hajime-kun… Did you just…?" Kaori muttered absentmindedly, staring at the

workshop in awe.

"Yeah, I turned the entire workshop into a huge artifact. It's an automated weapons

factory now."

Indeed, the whole process wasn't too different from factories back on earth. So long as

there were enough materials, the original weapons that served as blueprints remained

in place, and Hajime kept supplying the factory with mana, it would continue refining,

crafting, and teleporting equipment indefinitely.

No wonder Hajime-kun seemed so confident when he said he could make enough

weapons for everyone.

The concept of mass production probably hadn't existed in Oscar Orcus' time. This

was a style of Transmutation only someone from a post-industrial society like Hajime

could've created. And best of all, time moved ten times slower within this workshop,

so dozens of artifacts popped through the kingdom's portal every minute. Hajime had

no doubt Liliana was staring at the growing pile of legendary-tier artifacts with awe.

"I can leave this alone and it'll keep chugging, so I guess I can afford to take a short

break. Remia, Myu, sorry for the wait. Let's eat now."

"O-Okay!"

"Oh my, I'm not sure the proper words to express my amazement even exist."

Remia's reaction was hardly surprising. A second ago, Hajime had been surrounded

by magic circles glowing in geometric patterns, waving his hands like a conductor

leading an orchestra. He'd seemed like a magician from a fairy tale, creating wonders

one after another with just a snap of his fingers. But now, he looked like a normal boy

again as he reached for a sandwich and muttered, "Man, I'm starving."

Hajime spent an hour recharging, though he continued transmuting simple things

while he ate. Once he'd consumed enough food to last him a day he said, "Okay, now I

need to start making Sensei and everyone else's special artifacts. I've also gotta make

some of the bigger weapons that shoot down huge groups. Kaori, can you get me some

more ore?"

"Of course! But Hajime-kun, make sure you rest properly once you're done. We've got

tons of time now, thanks to the Hour Crystal."

"Yeah, I know. Myu, Remia, I want you guys to stay in contact with the others. Time

moves slower in here, so I might miss important developments. Let me know if

anything happens. I'll be too focused on work to notice on my own."

"Okay!"

"Very well. When should I next bring you food?"

"Two hours from now should be good."

"That'll be almost an entire day for you. Are you planning to work the whole time?"

Remia gave Hajime a worried look, while Kaori smiled threateningly at him.

He awkwardly averted his gaze and retorted, "Look, it's going to take everyone time to

get used to their new artifacts. If I don't send them over as soon as possible, they might

not be able to use them to their fullest."

He had a point. The faster Hajime got everyone their specialized artifacts, the more

proficient they'd be with them.

Kaori and Remia nodded reluctantly, though they still looked worried. But before they

could say anything else, Hajime started transmuting.

"There's no guarantee this house is entirely safe. It's possible Ehit or someone else

might take control of people we know and send them here to attack us."

However, the chances of that seemed exceedingly slim. Ehit had called this his final

game. He didn't see the destruction of Tortus as a war. In his eyes, it was just a way to

stave off boredom. Due to that, Hajime doubted he would go through all the trouble of

pinpointing his location and sending assassins after him.

That being said, it was still better to be safe than sorry. And so, he decided to create

the prototype for a new weapon he'd designed. That way, Remia and Myu would have

some protection.

Hajime visualized the structure in his mind, then projected a hologram of that

visualization into the center of the workshop. As the hologram solidified, he waved his

hands like a conductor again, and crimson sparks jumped around the mountain of ore.

The mountain wriggled like an egg that was just about to hatch. Beams of red light

shot out from the center, and a pair of arms reached out of it. They pushed away the

mountain of unrefined ore, revealing a three-meter tall metallic creature with eight

legs. Its upper body resembled an asura, with six arms and a demonic face.

Deadly weapons jutted out of its back and torso, while its eyes gleamed crimson, as

did the large jewel encrusted in its chest.

"Y-You just keep making crazy things one after another, huh?"

"Woooooow, it's so cool!"

"Huh? Y-You think this looks cool, Myu? Your mother's a bit scared of it…"

Kaori and Remia looked a bit creeped out, but Myu's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Hajime grinned at Myu, handed her a small ring, and said, "This golem's made mostly

of ore, but it uses a few monster parts and is powered by a mana crystal, so it's halfmonster. Normally, you control it with spirit stone, but you can give it verbal commands

too, if you want. It's been programmed to listen to anyone wearing that ring."

The golem was a living weapon that was a mixture of monster and machine. However,

it had no will of its own, and wouldn't move without orders. Hajime had created it by

combining creation magic with metamorphosis magic.

He'd gotten the idea for it from the scorpion monster he and Yue had fought when they

first met. That thing had been powered up by ore in its carapace, but since Hajime was

a Synergist, he'd done the opposite and created a machine which he'd upgraded with

monster parts.

"You're giving it to me?"

"Yep. This is your personal golem, Myu. No one else can use it."

"Mine… and mine alone… Whoaaaaaa…"

Myu really took after Hajime. The idea of a special weapon only she could use got her

blood boiling.

The ring absorbed mana from the surroundings, much like the equipment Hajime had

made for the Haulia. It was also enchanted with spirit magic to ensure that once a user

was registered, no one else could use it. Hajime had meant it when he'd said this golem

belonged solely to Myu.

Remia seemed to want to tell Myu to put the golem back where it came from, but she

couldn't find the heart to.

"Well, Myu, I'm counting on you to keep watch now!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" Myu said that and gave Hajime a crisp salute, which made Remia and

Kaori burst out laughing.

He then turned to them with a smile and said, "I'm counting on you two as well. I'm

gonna need to concentrate, so unless it's an emergency, don't come back until two

hours are up."

They nodded to him and strode out of the workshop. Myu followed behind them,

sitting on the shoulder of her new pet golem.

Once they were gone, Hajime's smile vanished, and he looked up at the ceiling.

Loneliness and anger marred his expression.

After a few seconds, he took out the small shards of Divinity Stone that Kaori had been

able to find. He also withdrew all the ore he'd collected from his Treasure Trove.

"Yue…" he whispered, his voice full of too many emotions to count.

A second later, a whirlpool of crimson mana erupted from him.

One hour later (in normal time).

"Ahhh," Hajime groaned softly as he soaked in the bath where he'd once climbed the

stairs to adulthood with Yue. He looked like a zombie.

It hadn't been two hours yet, and Hajime hadn't finished making all the artifacts he'd

planned to. And yet, there he was relaxing.

"Daddy!" Myu shouted, tottering over to where Hajime was. He smiled gently at her

and like always, she jumped at him. He hurriedly got to his feet to catch her.

"Hey, that's dangerous, Myu."

"Hehehehe… I'm sorryyy."

It was obvious from her tone that Myu wasn't the least bit sorry. Shaking his head,

Hajime slowly lowered her into the bath to let her get used to the temperature.

She let out a sigh of contentment and closed her eyes. Myu looked absolutely adorable,

and Hajime started combing his fingers through her emerald-green hair.

In response, she smiled and let him have his fun for a few seconds before suddenly

frowning and shouting, "Wait, no! Bad Daddy! I still haven't forgiven you!"

"I said I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to make you guys worry."

"I don't believe your sorries anymore!" Myu shouted as she puffed her cheeks out

indignantly and pointed up at him. The effect was ruined somewhat by the fact that

she was still sitting on Hajime's lap, though.

The reason Hajime was relaxing was because a few minutes ago, Remia had entered

the workshop and found him collapsed on the floor… in a puddle of his own blood.

Naturally, she'd screamed when she'd seen him covered in cuts and bleeding from

every pore, so Myu had rushed in. When she'd seen the state Hajime was in, she'd

started sobbing.

Remia had hurriedly contacted Kaori, who'd rushed back and used restoration magic

on Hajime. His injuries had been almost as bad as they were back at the Demon Lord's

castle, and it had taken all of Kaori's considerable healing prowess to bring him back

from the brink of death. When Hajime had finally opened his eyes again, Kaori had

breathed a sigh of relief. But the first words out of his mouth had been, "Did it work?

Yes! My trump card's finally complete."

Obviously, Kaori, Remia, and Myu had gotten quite angry and gave him a long lecture

about taking better care of himself, but Hajime had just brushed them off, saying, "My

bad. But I'm fine now, don't worry."

Not only that, but he'd also tried to go straight back to work, since Kaori had been kind

enough to share her mana with him.

That was the last straw. The three girls had lost their patience, dragged Hajime out of

the workshop, and forced him to take a bath and rest for a bit. They knew he wouldn't

let himself rest if he stayed in the workshop.

"It's my job to watch you! No working in the bath!"

"Look, even I wouldn't do something that inefficient."

Hajime was telling the truth, but Myu didn't look convinced. His latest stunt had truly

damaged her trust in him.

"I'm going to be watching you in the workshop, too!"

"Seriously?" Hajime murmured as he leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. He

didn't feel like he'd pushed himself too hard. If anything, he'd just done what he

needed to do. But as a result, he'd nearly died and needed Kaori to save him, so he

couldn't really argue.

That being said, he had no intention of stopping. If he didn't do everything in his power

to make this rescue plan a success, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He was

going to pour every ounce of his being into this final battle.

If it was for the sake of getting Yue back, no price was too great. However, he wasn't

sure how he could explain that to Myu in a way she could understand.

Myu stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "Daddy, when Yue-oneechan comes back, let's all take a bath together! I want you to make a bunch of bath

toys!"

She splashed around in the water to emphasize her excitement.

"I can't do anything to help, but I can think of all the fun things we'll do later! So let's

play lots when Yue-onee-chan's back!"

"Myu…"

Hajime was perceptive enough to understand why Myu had suddenly brought that up.

He'd been wondering how he could explain himself to her, but she'd seen right through

him all along.

Even though she was powerless to help, she was still doing her best to find some way

to ease her beloved father's worries. And in order to cheer others up, she first had to

act cheerful herself.

Myu was a strong girl. She had absolute faith that if she told Hajime about her hopes

for the future, he'd make them all come true. And that meant he couldn't afford to kick

the bucket here.

Upon seeing her cheerful smile, Hajime scratched his head, smiled right back at her,

and said, "Yeah. We'll do all sorts of fun things once Yue returns, so make sure to think

of some good games. I'll come up with a lot of interesting toys, too."

"Okay…" Myu replied, emulating Yue's speech quirks. She sounded so cute that Hajime

started unconsciously patting her head.

The loneliness he'd been holding in this whole time lessened just a little, and Hajime

was able to truly relax for the first time since Yue's abduction. But just then, Remia

and Kaori walked into the bathroom.

"My, it seems like you two are enjoying yourselves. Mind if we join you?"

"H-Hajime-kun, I-I hope this is okay."

"I figured this was gonna happen when Myu came in."

They had both wrapped towels around themselves, but those towels weren't covering

much. Unsurprisingly, they were blushing with embarrassment.

Technically, this wasn't Kaori's real body, but she was still embarrassed about being

seen naked. Normal apostles were so artificially perfect that they looked terrifying,

but she somehow looked beautiful.

However, she wasn't exuding sex appeal the way Remia was. Remia even let out a quiet

moan as she dipped her toes into the water, accentuating her charm. Any guy other

than Hajime wouldn't have been able to control themselves. Of course, Remia would

never take a bath with a guy like that in the first place.

"Should I get out?" Hajime asked pointedly. Though, it hadn't even been five minutes

since he'd started his bath.

A hint of worry crossed Remia's expression and she hurriedly replied, "If we're

bothering you, we'll leave. But I feel like you shouldn't be alone right now. If you're by

yourself, you'll end up thinking depressing thoughts, won't you? I just thought it would

be easier for you to relax if we were all here by your side. You can't overcome sorrow

through willpower alone."

"...…"

Hajime had no room to argue, seeing as Myu had just been trying to cheer him up.

Besides, when he'd been left to his own devices, he'd pushed himself so hard he'd

nearly died again.

"You need to be with people who care about you when you're feeling down. When I

thought you died, it was Shizuku-chan who helped me pull through. I know I can't

replace Yue, but I still want to be there for you. If I don't do at least this much, then Yue

will mock me forever."

Smiling, Kaori walked over to Hajime's side. Without Shizuku, she definitely would

have given into despair when Hajime fell into the abyss. And so, she knew that Hajime

needed someone better than anyone else.

Hajime couldn't bring himself to refuse the girls' kindness, and he smiled tiredly at

them.

"Thanks. Honestly, if I don't pull myself together, Yue'll be mocking me forever, not

you."

"I can't imagine her ever making fun of you."

"Ufufu. Yue-san loves you too much for that, Hajime-san."

The three of them chuckled as they reminisced about Yue.

"Mrr…" Myu murmured.

"Hm? Looks like Myu's getting sleepy."

Her eyes were half-closed and she was resting against Hajime's chest. She hadn't slept

a wink since they'd left the Demon Lord's castle, so it was amazing she'd lasted this

long.

"Guess I should clean her up and put her to bed before she conks out."

Hajime hadn't spent too long in the bath, but he felt refreshed all the same. He was still

planning on taking a short nap in the workshop to regain his strength, but his mental

exhaustion had disappeared entirely.

Smiling, Remia noticed Kaori was glancing nervously from Hajime to the shower area.

After a few seconds, it suddenly hit her.

"Very well, then. In that case, Hajime-san, why don't you let me wash your front for

you while you wash Myu?"

"I can wash my back my— Wait, did you just say front?" Hajime said that in an icy tone

and glared at Remia, but she just smiled warmly at him.

"Yes, I imagine Kaori-san would like to wash your back. Isn't that right, Kaori-san?"

"What!? Remia-san, what're you saying!? Y-You can't wash h-his front!"

"My, would you prefer to do it instead?"

"M-Me!? W-Wash Hajime-kun's f-front…?" Kaori mumbled those words as her gaze slid

down to a particular body part of Hajime's. Shortly after that, her face went beet red.

"Morons. No way I'm letting you guys wash me."

"But Hajime-san, think of how much Kaori-san has done for you. She's working so hard

to get you more materials, too… Don't you think she deserves a reward?"

"Remia-san… Thank you…"

"You've got a point, but I'm not Tio. Only perverts would let someone else wash their

dick."

"I'm sure Kaori-san would consider it an honor, though…" Remia said that as she

turned to Kaori, who averted her gaze. Judging by Kaori's expression, she agreed with

that sentiment.

"Kaori… I misjudged you."

"Please don't give me that pitying look!" Kaori said that, then squatted down and hid

her face underwater.

Sighing, Hajime got up and took Myu over to the shower area. As he left, he heard

Remia say, "Kaori-san, I heard from Myu that 'Kaori-onee-chan is an assertive woman.'"

"Myu-chan said that!?"

"Now is the time to be assertive, is it not?"

"W-Well… Wait, why does it have to be now!?"

"Very well, I shall compromise here. The three of us can wash Hajime-san's front

together."

"I guess it'd be less nerve-wracking if we all… Wait, what!? Did you just say the three

of us!? What on earth do you plan on making Myu-chan do, Remia-san!?"

"Oh my… Ufufu…"

"You can't just laugh this one off!"

Poor Kaori. Everyone likes messing with her.

The scary thing was that despite her complaints, Kaori seemed to enjoy being teased.

Even when Yue pulled pranks on her, it looked like she was having fun.

I guess Yue's conditioned her to enjoy being toyed with.

Of course, Hajime would never say that to her face. Still, he was glad Remia was helping

Kaori cope with her loneliness the same way she'd helped him.

"When Yue gets back, Kaori's life is going to be hell, huh?"

"Mrr?" Myu groaned and groggily looked up at Hajime while he washed her hair.

Your mom and Yue have a lot in common, it seems.

About a day later, Shea arrived.

"Hajime-san, I'm back!" she shouted as she burst through the door of Hajime's

workshop.

Judging by how excitedly she was hopping up and down, Hajime guessed her mission

to enlist Miledi Reisen's assistance had been a success.

Her eyes sparkled with joy when she saw that Hajime had managed to remake his

prosthetic arm and eye.

Smiling, Hajime turned to her.

"Welcome back, Shea. I take it you were able to find Miledi?"

"Yep! Apparently, some apostles went to attack her before I got there, but…"

"Seriously? Did she come out okay?"

"Yeah, she wiped the floor with all of them. Her private room and golems were all fine.

It turns out she's really scary when she's fighting for real."

"I guess it makes sense, since she's a Liberator and all."

"Exactly. Unfortunately, Miledi-san said she can't leave her labyrinth without careful

preparation, so I wasn't able to bring her back. But she said she'd be there for the final

battle, along with her golem army."

Shea had a wistful look in her eyes as she said that.

I can't believe someone as unbelievably annoying as Miledi actually sat down to have a

serious conversation with Shea.

Noticing the incredulous look on Hajime's face, Shea smiled sadly and said, "I know

what you're thinking, but she might finally be able to achieve her ultimate dream.

When I told her we were planning on bringing down Ehit she looked… happy isn't

really the right word. Sorry, I can't think of a good way to describe it."

"I see… It's probably not something that can be put into words."

Miledi Reisen was the leader of the Liberators. Even after her comrades had died, she'd

transferred her soul into a golem and continued waiting deep in that ravine for

thousands of years. No matter how things ended up, she'd spent her entire life

working up to this decisive battle. Hajime doubted anyone living in this era would be

able to understand her feelings.

"Oh, but she started acting super annoying again pretty fast. She was only quiet for a

minute, then she started saying crap like, 'I see, I see, so you came here to beg for my

help. Well, I guess I am the world's prettiest and smartest mage. It sure is tough, having

people ask me for help even after all these millennia. But don't worry, I'll save you

guys! You better be grateful! Go on, get down on your knees and prostrate yourself

before me!' So I brought her down with a heel kick and reminded her of her place. By

the time I left, she was the one prostrating before me!"

"I-I see."

"Anyway, she said she needs to preserve her strength before the final battle so since I

couldn't bring her over I nabbed all the stuff that looked useful from her labyrinth."

Shea grinned mischievously as she patted the bulging sack slung over her shoulder.

Hajime had no doubt she'd basically robbed Miledi the same way he had when they'd

first cleared her labyrinth. He could just imagine Miledi crying in a corner while Shea

looted the place.

"How about you, Hajime-san? How are things on your end? I heard from Remia that

time moves slower in your workshop and you've already spent ten days in here."

Shea looked around the workshop, her ears twitching excitedly as she watched the

automated production line create countless weapons and teleport them away.

"I've been making sure to eat and sleep, so I'm in perfect condition now. As you can

see, artifact production is going smoothly. More importantly, what'd you bring back

from Miledi's place?"

"For starters, this thing," Shea said as she sat down on a nearby chair and put a small

white marble on the table. "This is the anti Divine Edict artifact."

"Err, what are you talking about?"

Is that supposed to be its name? Even the names she gives things are annoying. Maybe

she just does this to tick Ehit off.

Fortunately, the artifact itself had been made by Oscar, and like all things Oscar had

made, it was high-quality.

Still a little put off by the name, Hajime picked up the marble and started analyzing it.

"Wow, this is impressive. It's basically an interference device."

Shea cocked her head inquisitively.

"That Divine Edict of his is just a really powerful spirit magic spell. It imprints the

caster's will onto the soul of the target, forcing them to obey all commands. The reason

Ehit prefaces each of his commands with his name is because it provides a locus for

the spell and forces the target's attention onto him."

"I see… Is that also why the spell gets stronger when he uses that longer name?"

"Yeah, I'm guessing that's his true name. Which is why this… this… Fuck it, I'm not

using that stupid name Miledi gave it!"

"Why don't we come up with a new name for it?"

It was impressive how Miledi managed to annoy Hajime even when she wasn't there.

"Hmm, let's call it Soul Shell for now. It surrounds the user's soul with their own will,

dispersing the force of Ehit's commands."

"Oh, so that's why you called it an interference device."

"Yeah. Oscar even thought up a contingency in case the artifact gets stolen from you

too. With this, we're one step closer to beating Ehit. Good work, Shea."

"Hehehe, I'm glad I could help."

Hajime smiled at Shea, and her ears flopped back and forth happily. Really, he should

have been thanking Miledi for handing this over, but Hajime refused to thank her for

anything. Shea probably felt the same way.

"Oh, I got this too."

"A dagger? It feels pretty powerful. What's it—? Holy shit."

The next thing Shea brought out of her sack was a small dagger with a black sheath.

Hajime gasped in surprise as he unsheathed the dagger and stared at its sky-blue

blade. It looked as though the blade had been molded out of sapphire.

He could tell from a glance that this wasn't one of the few holy swords passed down

through Tortus' history. No, the oppressive aura emanating from the blade was

something only concept magic could produce.

"It's called the Godslayer Dagger. The concept magic it's imbued with is the ability to

kill gods."

"I guess this is one of the three concept magic artifacts Lyutillis said the Liberators

were able to make. Tch, I can't believe Miledi was hanging onto it this whole time. If

she had something like this, she should have given it to us from the start."

"I told her that too, but she just said 'Huh? Didn't you say you weren't gonna bother

killing god? Why would I give a god killing weapon to someone who's not interested

in fighting god? Now, if you want this, you better lick my boots and apologize for

blowing up my room last time! Maybe then I'll think about giving it to you, mwahahaha!'"

"I see…"

"Yep. But don't worry, I hit her with that lariat move you taught me and blew up her

room again to remind her of her place. She upgraded her defenses since the last time

we saw her, but it wasn't enough to escape my iron fist! Hehehe, making her bow down

before me felt so good!"

"I-I see…"

Man, Shea's become vicious. I probably shouldn't let her get close to Miledi again, huh?

Hajime didn't want to see Shea turn into a merciless tyrant who beat up anyone who

annoyed her. Naturally, he didn't realize the irony in that wish.

"By the way, the third artifact they made was called the Arrow of Boundaries… and it

was what they used to open a path to the Sanctuary, but it was lost when they were

defeated."

The Liberators had made a few inferior copies of it though, and Shea had brought one

of those back. Of course, the inferior version wasn't capable of forcing open a path to

the Sanctuary, but combined with Hajime's inferior version of the Crystal Key, it might

just be enough.

"Oh yeah, Miledi-san warned me that the Liberators were chased into hiding by the

people of the world before they got a chance to fight Ehit, so she's not sure how

effective the Godslayer Dagger will be. But she said that it absolutely won't harm Yuesan's soul, so we should be able to make use of it."

"That's reassuring. I designed a trump card of my own, but the more options we have

the better. If this dagger won't hurt Yue, then it's definitely worth keeping around."

As Hajime slipped the dagger back into its sheath, Shea frowned unhappily and said,

"Though I wouldn't trust it too much. Apparently, the Liberators made this while

wasted. They were mad that they weren't able to use their god killing concept magic

on Ehit, so they started drinking and began competing to see who could come up with

the best insult for Ehit. Eventually, they passed out… and when they woke up the next

morning, this dagger was sitting on the table."

"Are you telling me they made this by mistake?"

"They weren't thinking straight by the time they crafted this, so the only emotions

packed into it are 'Die, Ehit, you fucking bastard.' That's why it won't harm anything

except him."

"Now that I can believe. I feel like I know how those guys must have felt. This is gonna

help a lot in getting Yue back safely. Miledi may be an annoying bitch, but I guess I

should thank her after all this is over."

"I know, right? Though I feel like I'll end up beating her up again once I'm done

thanking her."

Hajime and Shea sighed as they envisioned Miledi's irritating smile.

Seeing that that was the last of Shea's presents, Hajime dumped the artifacts into one

Treasure Trove, then brought out another.

"Here, I made a new Treasure Trove for you. I put all the new artifacts I made for you

in it, including a new hammer."

"Hell yeah! I've been waiting for this!"

Shea's ears perked up and she immediately summoned her new weapon, Villedrucken.

"Hauuuuuuuuu. I missed the feel of cold, hard metal in my hands. Nothing beats

flattening enemies with a giant hammer."

"You're starting to scare me."

Shea rubbed her cheek against the warhammer, an ecstatic expression on her face.

"Oh, you're back, Shea-onee-chan! Welcome back!" Myu said with a smile as she poked

her head into the workshop.

Smiling, Shea turned around and said, "Myu-chan! I'm ho… me?"

Her smile stiffened when she saw the many-legged golem Myu was riding.

"Umm, Myu-chan, where did you get that creepy-looking golem?"

"Daddy made it for me! This one's called Bell-chan. That one's Sa-chan, the one over

there is A-chan, the one next to it is Lu-chan, that one's Ma-chan, and those two are

Lebi-chan and Baru-chan!"

"How many do you have!?"

A shiver ran down Shea's spine as more golems filed in behind Myu. There was

something inherently creepy about them that repulsed her.

"I made one to guard Myu and Remia, but these guys are more versatile than I thought,

so I ended up making a few more. Honestly, even I don't understand how they're so

strong, and I made them."

"Isn't that a bad thing!?"

Their full names were Belphegor, Satan, Asmodeus, Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, and

Beelzebub. Myu had come up with all of them, as well as their nicknames. Hajime

wanted to believe it was just coincidence that a girl only four years old had come up

with the names of the great biblical demons, but with Myu, you could never be sure.

"Myu, remind me again where you came up with those names?"

"Mrr? You're so weird, Daddy. Bell-chan just looks like a Bell-chan, Sa-chan looks like

a Sa-chan, and everyone else looks like their names too. That's all."

"Uh, yeah…"

"These things are definitely bad news, Hajime-san!"

Hajime was beginning to seriously worry that some ancient horror had possessed his

daughter.

"Guys, say hi to Shea-onee-chan!"

"Eeek!"

Shea shrieked as the golems all struck a pose and shot out rainbow-colored smoke

from their backs. They were like a power rangers unit made up of the seven deadly

sins.

"Hajime-san, why are they posing like that? It doesn't look like Myu-chan's ordering

them to. Did you design them to do that?"

"This isn't my doing. Also, Myu isn't skilled enough at controlling them to make all

seven do different poses like that."

"I don't trust those golems, Hajime-san!" Shea exclaimed as she pointed ominously at

the golems, her hair standing on end.

"Look, I get where you're coming from. Honestly, I'm starting to worry I added too

many monster parts to them and they've become autonomous now. But I mean, just

look…" Hajime said with a helpless shrug.

"They're all really cool, right!?" Myu said with a beaming smile, and the golems visibly

blushed. They were Myu's loyal pet dogs.

"Myu's in love with them, and they're not malfunctioning in any way. In fact, they're

stronger than I expected them to be. I feel like it'd be wrong to scrap them."

"What if some of Ehit's goons are possessing them?"

"Yeah, I thought of that too, so I tried insulting Ehit a bunch in front of them, but they

didn't react. I even showed them recordings of Ehit's descent in the Demon Lord's

castle and made them smash the recording devices."

The golems had been more than happy to step all over the videos of Alva and Ehit.

Their enthusiasm had honestly surprised Hajime. He guessed they had a deep-set

hatred of Alva and Ehit now, since the videos had shown the two of them hurting Myu.

Of course, Ehit had been possessing Yue at the time, so it meant Hajime had been

forced to watch the golems happily stomp all over pictures of her.

"Well, I guess that proves they're not Ehit's pawns at least."

"Yeah, no one who follows that guy would dare step on pictures of him. My guess is the

monster parts of the golem are developing personalities of their own."

The real reason Hajime had made more was because he'd been confused as to why his

first had started becoming more autonomous. But every subsequent one he'd made

ended up doing the same thing, and before he knew it he'd made seven without

coming any closer to understanding what he was doing wrong. The golems from the

eighth onward had all functioned as intended too, like mindless drones.

"Oh, right! Daddy, I came here to tell you that Kaori-onee-chan and the others came

back!"

"Ah, thanks for letting me know."

"Mhm! Oh, but Suzu-onee-chan was acting kind of weird."

Suzu and Ryutarou had completed their mission in Verbergen about half a day back

and had been here in Oscar's labyrinth since. Right now, they were taming the

monsters of the abyss, with Kaori guarding them while she collected ore.

Are they having trouble turning the monsters into familiars or something?

Hajime explained to Shea what Kaori and the others were up to and headed for the

front entrance with her.

"Shea, you're back! I take it everything went well?"

"Yep! Nice to see you too, Kaori-san!"

Smiling, Kaori ran over and hugged Shea. However, Suzu and Ryutarou remained

standing by the gate that divided Oscar's house from the dangerous labyrinth. They

seemed reluctant to step past it.

"It's nice to see you safe and sound, Suzu-san. Were you able to convince my dad— I

mean, the Haulia clan and Verbergen's elders to join the fight?"

Seeing as they weren't moving, Hajime and the others walked over to Suzu and

Ryutarou. As they got closer, Hajime could see Suzu was looking anywhere but at him,

and he heard Ryutarou quietly mutter, "Let's just get this over with."

"Umm, things went well, Sheashea. The people of Verbergen never believed in Ehit to

begin with, so when we told them the fate of the world depended on this battle they

believed us right away."

"Yeah. Some of them were worried they wouldn't stand a chance against Ehit's armies,

but when we told them they'd have your artifacts, Nagumo, they changed their tune.

The Haulia… are with us too, I think?"

"What do you mean, you think?" Shea asked with a suspicious look.

Ryutarou flinched visibly… and after a few seconds of waffling, he finally made up his

mind and said, "Okay, so they're down to fight, but, umm… when I told them we needed

their help, they broke down in tears."

"My dad did?"

"Not just him, Sheashea. The whole clan did. Then, they started chanting 'Kill them!

Kill them! Kill them!' which was what really scared us. Apparently, they're extremely

moved because they get to finally fight by their boss' side. Their chanting was so loud

they pushed back the mist a little bit, even."

"...…"

"I never realized this is what happens when you train people Sgt. Hartman style. Their

eyes were bloodshot… and they looked so happy at the prospect of killing people. All

the animals in the vicinity passed out because of how strong their bloodlust was. Some

of them even had heart attacks."

"I'm sorry my family's so crazy."

The color drained from Suzu and Ryutarou's faces and they started shivering as they

recounted their encounter with the Haulia. The rabbitmen had managed to strike

terror into their hearts.

Honestly, the Haulia had reminded Suzu of the religious fanatics that believed

wholeheartedly in Ehit. Except the cute rabbitmen all put their faith in Hajime instead.

Sometimes, I wonder whether or not Nagumo-kun's worse than Ehit, she thought to

herself.

For the Haulia, there was no greater honor than fighting alongside Hajime. The fact

that Hajime was personally asking for their help was enough to bring many of them to

rapture.

"Those guys are probably excited as hell. I just hope they don't cause trouble for the

other nations in the alliance…"

"I can't imagine how many ulcers Ulfric is going to have by the end of this."

"Oh yeah, Sheashea, Nagumo-kun. Ulfric-san's already taking a bunch of stomach

medicine."

"...…"

Shea's ears drooped, while Hajime awkwardly averted his gaze. They had no doubt at

least part of Ulfric's worries stemmed from the fact that his daughter had become a

pervert. Moreover, since Shea refused to give her the time of day, she'd taken to

sneaking into the Haulia's village so that Cam would "punish" her.

Hajime and Shea knew they were directly responsible for this, so after exchanging a

quick glance, the two of them unilaterally decided to change the subject.

"Anyway, Taniguchi, have you been able to tame any strong monsters!?"

"Myu-chan said you were acting weird… Is everything okay!?"

"Urk…"

Now it was Suzu who awkwardly averted her gaze. And so, Hajime turned to Ryutarou

instead.

"I didn't get a single one! Turns out I'm not really good at the whole taming thing,"

Ryutarou replied with a self-deprecating smile.

Hajime fired a rubber bullet at him and gave him a cold glare as he clutched his

forehead and writhed around on the ground. Before he could dish out any more

punishment, however, Kaori grabbed his arm and shouted, "W-Wait, wait, wait! It's not

like they didn't make any progress at all! Suzu-chan was able to tame a few familiars

and Ryutarou-kun learned of a new way to use his metamorphosis magic!"

"Oh? If you guys are getting somewhere, why didn't you say so?"

Hajime turned back to Suzu, who gave a little start and broke out in a cold sweat.

"W-Well, I do feel like I've gotten a lot of strong monsters, but…"

"What's the problem?"

"Umm, so one of the monsters I tamed is a giant centipede that shoots out acid."

"Oh, that guy. There's a similar monster in early floors, but this one's a lot stronger.

Instead of using its body parts as projectiles, it can just straight up shoot acid from its

torso. I got pretty freaked out the first time I saw one."

"S-Same. I also tamed this large bee that can fire explosive needles."

"I remember those too. The things they shoot out are more like mini missiles than

needles. I nearly got engulfed in flames the first time I fought one."

"Another monster I tamed is an ant that can burrow underground."

"Those guys are really good at surprise attacks."

"Also, I tamed a praying mantis that shoots wind blades from its legs."

"What else?"

"A spider and a moth."

"Why all the bug-type monsters?" Hajime asked with a curious look.

Suzu covered her face with her hands and started sobbing.

"I don't know! For some reason, the only monsters my metamorphosis magic works

on are bugs! There's something wrong with this labyrinth! In the forest, I managed to

make so many cute furry friends!"

It appeared she wasn't doing it on purpose. Suzu had only made all the bug monsters

her familiars because she'd had no other choice. Hajime couldn't help but feel pity for

her.

All the monsters she'd tamed looked utterly disgusting. But the monsters there were

far stronger than anything living on the surface. While they might not be able to handle

fighting apostles, they'd at least be an even match for Freid's monsters and Eri's

undead warriors.

"Err, on the bright side, maybe your enemies will be creeped out by them too and show

an opening?"

It was rare to see Hajime console anyone, much less someone not part of his harem.

However, his sympathy only hurt Suzu more, making her crouch down and begin

doodling in the dirt.

"Are you saying I should show these to Eri? I want to talk to her, not scare her away.

Hic… Everyone's going to think I'm disgusting now…"

"Th-That's not true, Suzu-chan! Besides, you were able to get one furry familiar,

right!?"

In Kaori's desperate attempt to cheer Suzu up, she accidentally blurted out something

she shouldn't have.

Panicking, Suzu got to her feet and shouted, "You were supposed to keep that secret,

Kaorin!"

She shot a surreptitious glance at Hajime, something that didn't escape his notice.

"Huh? What do you mean, secret? What's going on here, Taniguchi?"

"Eeek!"

Hajime glared coldly at Suzu, and she hurriedly backpedaled away from the gate. She

then turned around and huddled protectively over something.

Hajime narrowed his eyes, his expression making it clear that Suzu was in for a world

of hurt if she didn't talk. Suzu did her best to avoid meeting Hajime's gaze, while Kaori

smiled awkwardly.

Before Hajime could ask again, Myu suddenly said, "Hm? What's that, Bell-chan? Huh?

There's a strong monster past the gate?"

It appeared Myu was capable of communicating with her golems now.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Hajime muttered. He cleared his throat loudly and

turned to Myu.

"Umm, Myu. I don't think Bell-chan can talk…"

"What do you mean? Everyone can talk. They can move on their own, too. Come on,

Daddy, you should know this."

"I should? H-Hey, Shea, Kaori, Taniguchi, Sakagami, am I just tired? Are those golems

actually talking?"

Everyone shook their heads in response.

Hajime rubbed his temples and asked hesitantly, "By the way, what exactly did the

golems say?"

"Umm, Sa-chan said, 'That bastard's got a nice fighting spirit.' A-chan said, 'Yeah, he's

got guts. It looks like he'll take on anyone that looks strong, no matter who. But he

really needs to learn his place. A punk like him should be bowing down before the

princess.'"

"They talk in full sentences?"

"Oh, and Lu-chan says to you, 'Don't sweat the small stuff, Master. Love and peace is all

that matters.'"

"Seriously!?"

Hajime was growing more afraid of his creations with each passing minute.

Did I infuse these guys with spirit magic by accident? Or did some wandering spirits go

inside them when they were created? I feel like I didn't make any mistakes, but…

The scariest thing of all was that Myu seemed to consider the golems' actions natural.

Though, the fact that a girl as sensitive to malice as her wasn't afraid of them probably

meant that the souls inhabiting these automatons were benign.

They all call her "Princess," too… I can probably trust them to watch after Myu, but…

"Daddy, there's a bunny here!" Myu shouted as she peeked over the gate to see what

Suzu was trying to hide. She put her hands on her head and did a bunny ear imitation.

"Hm? Yeah, of course there's a bunny here," Hajime said, turning to Shea. She waved

her ears back and forth, emphasizing her bunny-ness.

"No, I mean a fluffy white bunny!"

"Yeah, I know. Taniguchi isn't really doing a good job of hiding it."

Sighing, Hajime turned to Suzu. She could tell from the look in his eyes that the jig was

up. But she refused to give up the creature in her arms. In an attempt to smooth things

over, Kaori said, "U-Umm, Hajime-kun. H-He's not a bad bunny, really. In fact, he's

special. He really admires you and…"

"Huh? He… admires me?"

Realizing this might be her one chance to save her furry friend's life, Suzu shouted,

"Yes, he does! Besides, what happened isn't his fault, so please don't shoot him when

you see him! He's the only cute thing that my metamorphosis magic worked on!

Please!"

"Now I'm just confused," Hajime muttered.

Smiling wanly, Ryutarou signaled for Hajime to follow after him.

Hajime stepped past the gate and took a look at Suzu's bunny. It had long ears and

dark crimson eyes. Red veins crisscrossed the rabbit's white fur. But they didn't

pulsate like those of other monsters, and instead glowed softly.

The most striking feature of all though was the bunny's abnormally large legs. Though

it looked slightly different from the ones Hajime remembered because Suzu had tamed

it, the major features were the same.

"Kyu!"

The bunny's cry was no different from what he remembered either. This rabbit was

undoubtedly the same species as the one that had damaged Hajime's left arm and

nearly killed him before the bear appeared. Of course, it wasn't the exact same rabbit,

since Hajime had gotten his revenge on that one.

The reason Suzu had tried to hide it from Hajime was because she was worried he'd

slaughter it on sight.

"It's not like I'm gonna kill your familiar just because it's from the same species that

attacked me."

"R-Really? Do you mean it, Nagumo-kun? I can keep him?"

"He's not a dog, and I'm not your dad. Though, don't these guys live on the earliest

floors? Don't tell me you went all the way up looking for a cute monster you could

tame… Actually, I guess you wouldn't have had enough time for that."

But then, how'd she run into that guy? Hajime shot Suzu a questioning glance as he

thought that, but before she could answer the rabbit leaped out from behind her and

hopped over to him. It had been watching him warily and keeping its distance, so

Hajime was surprised by the sudden change in attitude. He grabbed the rabbit by the

ears and lifted it up to eye level.

"Kyuu! Mokyuu! Ukyuu!"

It wasn't trying to attack Hajime, but he couldn't exactly tell what it was trying to do.

He gave it a puzzled look, and Suzu stepped forward to interpret.

Metamorphosis magic allowed the user to understand a little of what their familiars

were thinking and feeling. The degree to which they could depended on the strength

of the familiar and how long the person had been with it. Unless they'd spent years

with a familiar, they could only get a vague understanding of its thoughts.

Under normal circumstances, anyway.

"Umm, he's saying, 'My king, it is an honor to finally meetcha! When I realized I could

become even stronger by pledging myself to your comrade, I willingly became her

familiar. I can't wait to fight with ya. A-Also, would ya be so kind as to grant me a name,

my king?' Don't give me that incredulous look, that's really what he's saying!"

"Okay, even if it is, why're you adding the weird accent?"

"Because that's how he sounds to me!" Suzu protested, her face bright red.

Everyone turned back to the rabbit. It certainly seemed possible that was what it was

saying, judging by the look in its eyes. They seemed to be pleading with Hajime.

"Okay, well, we're wasting time out here. Let's get back into the workshop first."

Why are all these crazy things happening right before the final battle? I guess they're

mostly good things, but still…

Hajime returned to his workshop, a worried expression on his face.

Once everyone was inside, Hajime activated the Hour Crystal and sat down at the main

table.

Remia brought everyone tea, then went back to the kitchen with Myu to make dinner.

Suzu took a sip of her tea before she began explaining how she'd met this rabbit.

At first, Suzu had been depressed that the only monsters she could tame were insects,

and was losing her motivation to keep going. She managed to tame a flock of pretty

butterflies at the very end, which brightened her mood somewhat, and began the

journey back to Oscar's house. As she was going back, she spotted a strange rabbit. It

was warily hopping from shadow to shadow, doing its best to stay out of sight. That in

and of itself wasn't strange, but the way it did so felt oddly human.

Not only were its mannerisms strange, but it was also a known fact that monsters

never left their home floor. However, this rabbit hopped down the stairs to the next

floor without hesitation. That put Kaori on edge and she got ready to eliminate it, but

then something unexpected happened. The rabbit spotted Kaori and the others, but

instead of attacking, it seemed happy to see them.

Its ears started flopping back and forth, and it even broke out in a cheery jig. It looked

relieved too, as if it had finally found safety.

It cautiously made its way over to the party, making sure not to make any sudden

movements. The way it had hesitantly looked at Kaori and the others, as if asking

whether or not it was okay to get any closer, had been so cute that Suzu was instantly

smitten.

After taming all these insects, she'd finally found an adorable rabbit… One that wasn't

hostile, even.

Kaori had still been on guard, but Suzu ignored all warnings and ran over to the bunny.

She held a hand out to it and declared, "I've made up my mind! Please be my familiar!"

Incidentally, her first impression of the rabbit had been that it was a creepy creature

she didn't want to get near.

Regardless, the rabbit had been taken off guard by Suzu's sudden confession, and it

cocked its head in a very human way.

Seizing her chance, Suzu had started gushing about all the reasons why the rabbit

should become her familiar. The way she'd talked, she'd sounded like a creepy stalker

who'd cornered her favorite idol.

"I'll feed you three, no, four times a day and make sure you have a nice place to sleep.

I'll give you weekends off and even give you a salary! If you need more time off, we can

negotiate! Not only that, I'll use my metamorphosis magic to upgrade all of your stats!

You'll become way stronger! You won't find an opportunity like this anywhere else!

This is your one chance to find a wonderful home, comrades you can trust, and a oncein-a-lifetime powerup!"

Kaori and Ryutarou had both been flabbergasted. For starters, they doubted this

rabbit could even understand Suzu. Indeed, it could not, and Suzu turned back to Kaori

and begged her to use spirit magic to let them converse.