Chapter 2: Roar of Revolution (Part 1)

If you were to ask a resident of Hoelscher's capital to describe the city, they would all give you the same answer: It's a mess.

The core of the capital had an organized layout with unadorned buildings lining the streets at regular intervals. But as they city had grown, houses and buildings had cropped up haphazardly, leaving the outer fringes a disorganized maze. Thanks to that, the streets were a jumbled mess as well. Numerous back alleys and side streets mixed together and connected with the main thoroughfares in baffling ways.

The entire city seemed like a sized-up version of Horaud, with the majority of residents looking like rough adventurer-types. Open-air stalls littered the streets, with their owners hawking their wares in loud, coarse voices.

Despite which, the city didn't seem in any way run-down or gloomy. If anything, there was an overwhelming sense of freedom to the place. Anyone and everyone did what they wanted however they wanted. Everyone was responsible for their own actions, but otherwise did as they pleased. As if they held to freedom as a creed to live by.

The Hoelscher Empire was a relatively new nation, founded only a few hundred years ago by the mercenary group that was instrumental to winning the last great war. Little wonder that it was a nation of fighters that valued strength above all. Almost every citizen knew how to fight, and considered their strength a point of pride. Some thought of that as barbaric, but others saw it as heroic. The empire also held the largest arena in the continent, and tournaments of all kinds were held multiple times a year.

"Oi, what the hell—Gah!?"

As always, thanks to Yue and the others Hajime attracted a lot of attention within the city. A number of hoodlums had already tried to pick fights with him, only to be crushed each time. The guy who'd come up to Hajime just now had been sent spinning through the air as well, before faceplanting onto the ground and getting a mouthful of dirt. What was surprising about this city was that no one batted an eye at Hajime's ostentatious displays of violence. Fights broke out every other hour here, so the citizens were used to it.

"Ugh, I'd heard rumors but... the capital really isn't a nice place."

"Yeah, this place makes my skin crawl. I'm glad we were summoned in the kingdom."

"Well, Hoelscher is known as a militaristic nation. I'm not surprised even those not part of the army are experienced fighters. It stands to reason the citizenry here to be more belligerent than in other nations. Though I must say, this is not the kind of place I would want to live in."

From the sound of it, Shea, Kaori, and Tio didn't like the capital one bit. Yue didn't say anything, but she nodded in silent agreement. Kouki and Ryutarou, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the atmosphere. Shizuku, however, kept a close eye on her surroundings while Suzu hid behind her. It appeared this country wasn't popular with the girls.

That being said, Kouki and the others didn't exactly like it either. It was a bit too gritty for them, especially since they'd come from a peaceful country like Japan.

The biggest difference between the empire and the capital, though, was the presence of slaves. Shea watched with a pained expression as a group of them walked past.

"Just ignore them, Shea. We've got more important things to worry about right now."

"Yeah, I know..."

But Shea couldn't help but stare. She couldn't stand seeing her brethren locked up in cages or being brought out to be bought and sold. Because of Hoelscher's lax policies, the slave trade had flourished. Even beastmen children were captured and sold. Even if she wanted to avert her eyes from it, Shea couldn't. Everywhere they went they saw slave markets or groups of slaves being taken away.

"Shea, are you okay?" Yue asked worriedly and squeezed Shea's hand. Hajime walked over and pinched her cheeks as well. Seeing their concern for her heartened Shea, and bunny ears flopped around happily.

"I won't forgive them. How could fellow humans do something... so vile." Behind Hajime, Kouki came to a halt and grit his teeth. In Heiligh, the church's influence was everywhere, which meant the people's prejudice against beastmen was strong. However, because their hatred for beastmen was so great, they couldn't even stomach keeping them as slaves. Hence why Kouki and the others hadn't seen any in the kingdom, and why seeing them here affected them so badly.

Still, there's nothing we can do about it right now... I swear if Amanogawa tries to pull something I'm just going to pretend I don't know him. Well, as long as Shizuku the Rational's with them, she won't let them do anything stupid. She won't... right?

Hajime glanced over at Shizuku. Noticing his gaze, she looked back at him. He surreptitiously pointed to Kouki. Sharp as always, Shizuku picked up on what Hajime was trying to say with just that. She grimaced, and with a tired sigh, nodded. Shizuku sidled up to Kouki and whispered something to him. Kouki's expression turned sour, but he reluctantly nodded. Shizuku breathed another sigh, this time one of relief, and patted her chest. She then noticed Hajime smiling wryly at her, and glared at him. Hajime pretended not to notice and averted his gaze.

In an attempt to patch up the strained atmosphere, Kaori blurted out, "Oh yeah, didn't the emperor propose to you when he visited the kingdom, Shizuku-chan?"

"...Now that you mention it, I do remember something like that happening," Shizuku replied with a frown. She hadn't wanted to be reminded of that memory. The target of her glare changed from Hajime to Kaori. Why did you have to go and bring that up? Kaori hurriedly bowed her head in a silent apology.

The girls all turned to Shizuku with devilish grins on their faces. Meanwhile, Kouki's expression grew more sour. For once, Shizuku looked as unhappy as he did. Normally, being proposed to by royalty would be something to celebrate, but Shizuku didn't seem the least bit delighted about recalling that particular memory. It appeared she wasn't a fan of Emperor Gahard.

"More importantly, Nagumo-kun. Where exactly are we headed?" In order to fend off the army of girls who no doubt wanted to pry for details, Shizuku changed the subject. She knew they were here to find Shea's father, but she hadn't heard how Hajime planned to do that.

"Well for now, we're going to the adventurer's guild. If I flash my gold rank at them, they'll probably be willing to share all of their info with me."

"Do you think they've been captured?"

"I'm not sure. It's possible they got thrown in jail, or made into slaves... but they might also just be in hiding somewhere. Even if the capital isn't on high alert, you can tell the guards are being oddly vigilant. It's possible they were able to sneak their way in, but now have no way to get out..."

As Hajime had mentioned, the capital's guards appeared to be patrolling the streets in force. On top of that, they were doing thorough examinations of everyone who entered the city, and had posted entire squads to watch the walls. Patrols within the city were being done by three-man teams, and they were checking every nook and cranny of the city, including back alleys.

Hajime guessed the increased security was due to the recent demon invasions. It was because security had been so tight that Par and the others had yet to find an infiltration point. No rabbitman who wasn't a slave would be allowed entry into the city, and there was a limit to how many pretend slaves Hajime could bring with him. For that reason, the reinforcements Hajime had brought with him were waiting in the shadows of a rocky outcropping at the outskirts of the city.

To be honest, I'm kind of wondering how Cam managed to get in here himself. Though Hajime had said he wasn't sure what had happened to them, it was more likely than not that they had been taken. Rabbitmen possessed the best stealth skills among the beastmen, and Cam's family had honed those talents to the limit. No matter how tight security was, they should have been able to ferry messages in and out of the city. The fact that they hadn't meant they'd probably been captured, or otherwise incapacitated.

Naturally, Hajime didn't expect the adventurer's guild to just tell him where Cam was. But there was a good chance he might find some rumors on their whereabouts, or the circumstances of their capture there.

Hajime stretched out his hand and pinched Shea's cheeks again. Though her mood had improved considerably, Shea still looked a little worried.

"Don't worry, Shea. Even if they got caught, there's no way the empire would just execute such rare rabbitmen. They'd probably want to interrogate them first, at least. And if they've been caught, that means all we've gotta do is free 'em again. I promise you, even if I have to burn this entire city to ash, I'll get them out of here."

"Yeah... Leave it to us, Shea. We'll grind them to dust."

"Hajime-san, Yue-san..."

Through the course of their journey, Shea's, Hajime's, and Yue's bonds had grown very strong indeed. After all, Shea had been with the pair of them the longest.

"Wait, wait, wait, you're not really going to burn the city down, are you? Your expressions look serious, but that was totally a joke right? Right? Please say it was a joke!" Shizuku cried, pale-faced. She could appreciate the loyalty the three of them showed for each other, but that didn't mean she could just ignore their declaration to slaughter thousands.

Kaori placed a hand on Shizuku's shoulder and shook her head. In a mournful voice, she uttered something rather depressing.

"Shizuku-chan, I'm sorry, but it looks like the capital's done for..."

"You're just giving up!? Kaori, you're a healer! You can't just ignore the plight of the people! You healed all those people back at Verbergen, right!? Why're you giving up now!?"

Do you really hate the empire that much, Kaori... Shizuku had thought that Kaori's violent tendencies only appeared when Hajime was concerned, but it appeared that wasn't the case. Before she worries about healing others, she should focus on healing her own heart.

As the group continued joking with each other and walking down the main street, they noticed their surroundings begin to change.

Many of the buildings they were passing by now had been reduced to cinders, and rubble littered the streets. According to the snippets of conversation they heard from passerby, it appeared the monsters that had been kept locked up in the coliseum had suddenly transformed into powerful, vicious, beasts and rampaged through the city. These monsters, some of which had been over thirty meters tall, had destroyed entire sections of the capital, and slaughtered the squads sent out to eliminate them.

The demons had taken advantage of the confusion to assault the castle in an attempt to take Emperor Gahard's life. In Hoelscher, the emperor was effectively the strongest person in the country. Which was why the demons' assassination attempt had actually been thwarted, and they'd had the tables turned on them. After which the emperor had personally led a charge into the city and annihilated the monsters as well. However, there had been a great deal of civilian casualties before Gahard had been able to kill them all. In order to repair the damage to the city, the empire had captured a massive quantity of beastmen slaves. Everywhere Hajime looked, they were slaving away, laying the groundwork for the city's restoration.

It appeared the adventurer's guild was on the other side of the devastation, so they would have to cross it whether they wished to or not. Which meant they'd have to pass through the field of slaves as well.

Beastmen toiled without rest while their imperial overseers hurled curses at them. It was a tragic sight to behold. They'd been forced to bear the brunt of the consequences of the damage done to the capital. No matter how physically strong beastmen might be, even they wouldn't last long under such harsh conditions.

The fact that they continued to raid the sea of trees to replace all the beastmen who died to overwork rather than let them rest made it clear that the empire didn't even think of them as human. Though it was hard to tell if that was because of religious prejudice, or because of their ingrained doctrine of "survival of the fittest." As they walked, Hajime and the others saw a young dogman, barely ten years old, trip over a brick, sending the wheelbarrow of rubble he was holding falling to the side and spilling its contents everywhere.

It seemed he'd injured his leg in the fall, as he curled up in pain and made no motion to get up. The nearest overseer glared angrily at him and walked over, his club raised. His intentions were clear. Naturally, everyone's favorite ally of justice couldn't let this stand.

"Stop right—" Kouki dashed off toward the soldier. But he slowed to a halt as he watched what happened next. There was a faint whoosh, and a second later the imperial soldier pitched forward, falling headfirst into the pile of rubble. There was painful thud, after which he lay motionless on the ground. He'd been knocked unconscious.

His fellow soldiers hurried over to him. After a cursory examination, they shook their heads in confusion. Then, annoyed and trying to get as little of his blood on them as possible, they grabbed their comrade by the arms and carried him off. Everyone had forgotten about the dogman.

He watched them go, dumbfounded, for a few seconds before returning to his senses and scrambling to his feet. He quickly gathered up all of the rubble he'd spilled and resumed transporting it like nothing had happened.

Kouki stared blankly, just as surprised as the boy had been. He came to with a start when Hajime called out to him from behind.

"I don't really care if you want to stick your neck out for other people, but could you at least do it in a way that doesn't cause trouble for us? Or even better, do it in a way that doesn't get noticed."

"Ah... Did you do that, Nagumo?"

Hajime nodded silently. He'd used his prosthetic arm's needle gun to knock the soldier out. Though Hajime had managed to save the boy before Kouki could even lift a finger, his attitude irked Kouki. Worse, Hajime had flipped Kouki's preachy switch.

"What do you mean, don't cause trouble for you? What's so wrong about wanting to save people, huh? Didn't you save that kid just now yourself?"

"More like I just solved an issue before you could blow it up. If you pick a fight with the imperials here, you're going to have to deal with their whole army. We're trying to look for people here, and making a huge fuss is not going to help with that. I'm begging you, just don't make a scene." Once again, Hajime emphasized that he didn't want anyone making a ruckus. He waved dismissively at Kouki, indicating the conversation was over. Kouki didn't take too kindly to that, and once again attempted to impress his ideals onto Hajime.

"Don't you feel anything for those poor beastmen being abused over there!? Look! Even now they're suffering!"

"Oi, Yaegashi. Do something about this moron. You're supposed to be in charge of him, aren't you?"

Of course, Hajime wasn't completely heartless. He'd saved Myu before, and if he saw children suffering, he did feel like he should help them if he could. Adults he could care less about, though.

However, he also had the discipline to properly prioritize things. Helping a few slaves here would make finding Cam harder, or possibly result in him being killed, so he turned to Shizuku for help in handling Kouki. Shizuku rubbed her temples in frustration and turned to Kouki. Before she could say anything though, he interrupted her. It seemed Hajime turning to Shizuku for help irritated him as well.

"Shizuku's got nothing to do with this! I'm talking to you right now, Nagumo! If you care so much about Shea-san, then how come you can't share even a little of that concern for those beastmen suffering out there!?" Heads turned at Kouki's loud outburst. Some of the imperial overseers came over to see what was going on as well. So long as Cam might potentially be in enemy hands, the last thing Hajime wanted was a fight with the empire. It would put their lives at risk.

Hajime narrowed his eyes and glared at Kouki. A powerful wave of Intimidation washed over him.

"Amanogawa. I said it before, but I really don't care about your opinion, and I don't feel like arguing with you about what's right and wrong. We're not comrades, we're not friends, and we definitely don't believe in the same things, so I have absolutely no intention of doing something just because you say so. All I did was allow you to accompany me for a bit. I suggest you quit trying to pick a fight. The next time you do something stupid... I'll break your arms and legs and send you back to the kingdom."

"Wha—"

Hajime canceled his Intimidation and continued with a sigh.

"On the other hand, I have no intention of convincing you to change your ways. As long as you're not causing any trouble for us, you're free to do as you like. But I won't allow you to do anything that might put Cam and the others in danger. Also, don't ask stupid questions. There's no way I'd see other beastmen the same way I see Shea."

Hajime shook his head and turned away. Slavery was a natural part of life in this world. While it was true the beastmen here were being horribly mistreated, the citizens here would see Hajime and the others as the bad guys if they tried to save them. To them, freeing a slave was akin to stealing.

If one wanted to help slaves in these circumstances, they needed to be prepared to see it all the way through. They needed the resolve to fight the entire empire, and force a society to never use slaves again. Unless they were able to manage that, their efforts would only make things worse. Even if they managed to free some slaves now, the empire would just come down even harder on the beastmen afterward, and make their lives more of a hell than they already were.

Hajime had no idea if Kouki understood that or not, but it seemed he was unwilling to give up. Even now, he continued to glare daggers at Hajime's back.

"I know it sucks, Kouki. But we gotta go, for now at least."

"Right now we need to focus on Shea-san's family."

Kouki sighed. He knew Ryutarou and Suzu were just trying to comfort him, and it only made him feel worse. Seeing as he wasn't moving, Shizuku also called out to him.

"Kouki."

"...I know."

He nodded reluctantly. Hajime was more than capable of sending them all back home with a snap of his fingers. Kouki knew that he needed to get stronger. Strong enough to stand by his ideals. Stronger even than Hajime.

But in order to that, in order to obtain the ancient magic, he needed Hajime. No matter how much Hajime's methods sickened him, Kouki had no choice but to grin and bear it. As sticking with Hajime was the fastest way to get stronger.

Kouki swallowed down his complaints, repeated to himself to hold it in, and silently followed after Hajime.

"That boy seems to be struggling to sort out his emotions."

Tio strode up beside Shizuku and flashed her a smile.

"...No one's ever as simple as they look."

"Indeed they're not. Someone like you, who notices more than most has your fair share of hardships too, I imagine. Especially as you seem unable to abandon anyone who needs help."

Shizuku gulped when she saw Tio's serious gaze. Her usual perverted personality was nowhere to be seen.

"Feel free to ignore the prattling of this old woman if you wish, but... I think you should let yourself loosen up. If you spend all your time looking after others, you'll lose sight of your own desires. Besides, do you see that? You'll keep worrying those who care about you if you don't relax sometimes."

"Huh?"

Shizuku followed Tio's gaze.

"Shizuku-chan, are you alright? You keep making this scary face."

Kaori was standing right in front of her, a worried look on her face. Only when she looked down did Shizuku notice that Kaori was holding her hands.

"Heh, thanks for worrying about me, Kaori. But I'm alright. Well, I am a little worried about Kouki. But now that my best friend's got the body of a God's Apostle, I can count on you if anything happens, right?"

"Yep, just leave it to me, Shizuku-chan!"

Thanks to Tio's words and Kaori's presence, Shizuku was able to let go of the tension that had been building up inside her. She followed after Hajime, her steps lighter than before.

With Kouki and the others still struggling with their thoughts, the party arrived at the adventurer's guild. The empire's guild branch was more of a bar than a proper guild. Tables were strewn about haphazardly among the wide main hall, and there were two counters at the front. The first was a standard reception counter, though the girl manning it had a far more wild look to her than the girls who'd been at other guilds Hajime had seen. The other counter was a fully stocked bar. Though it was still noon, half of the patrons were already drunk. If you've got that much free time, why don't you help out with the reconstruction effort? Hajime thought to himself.

As always, when Hajime and the others stepped through the front doors, everyone turned to look at them. More specifically, everyone turned to ogle Yue and the others. Hajime didn't want to deal with this right now, so he activated his Intimidation right from the start and walked up to the reception counter. However, the adventurers in the empire were cut from a different cloth than those in Horaud or the capital. Instead of fainting, they instantly went on their guard. The lady at the counter had none of the cute cheerfulness the other guild receptionists had. She just stared lazily at Hajime, her gaze clearly saying "get on with it."

"I'm looking for information. Did any beastmen go on a rampage in this town recently?"

The receptionist stared suspiciously at him. Hajime knew it was a strange question to ask. If he'd wanted to find slaves, he would have been better served going to the merchant's guild. Besides, no slave would be able to go on a rampage. Their slave collars would put a stop to any resistance they might attempt. Furthermore, there were no beastmen in the city that weren't slaves. Which meant the thing Hajime was asking about should have been an impossible occurrence.

In the end, the receptionist pointed to the bar counter on the other side. Hajime couldn't tell if she was tired of dealing with him, or if that was just standard procedure here.

"Go ask the guy over there." Hajime looked where she was pointing and saw an old man with gray hair quietly polishing glasses. Well, I guess it is the standard in RPGs to gather information at bars. After foisting the work off onto her coworker, the receptionist turned away, signaling that she was done talking. Hajime smiled wryly and headed over to the bar.

The adventurers stared intently at Hajime and the others, sizing them up. Quarrelsome as always, Ryutarou responded by glaring back at every one of them. On the other hand, Suzu hid behind Shizuku and clutched at her sleeves. It was actually rather cute.

Hajime stopped in front of the barkeep and asked him the same question he'd asked the receptionist. However, the barkeep ignored him and continued polishing his wine glass. Hajime narrowed his eyes dangerously, which finally got the man to respond.

"This is a bar. Kids don't belong here. And unless you're here to order alcohol, I've got nothing to say. Now get out."

Sheesh, that's as clichéd as it gets. But Hajime personally liked this particular cliché. The barkeep had the entire act down, including continuing to polish his glass long after it was sparkling. I bet this means he'll take a liking to me if I down a whole bottle in front of him. Excited at the prospect of acting out the role of an RPG protagonist, Hajime plastered on a stoic frown and slammed some coins on the table.

Hajime didn't notice how badly his chuuni tendencies were leaking out at that moment. Nor did he notice the exasperated look Yue gave him. After all, Hajime loved clichéd stuff like this.

"Alright, we'll do it your way. Barkeep, give me a bottle of the strongest stuff you've got."

"If you throw up, I'll toss your sorry hide out of here."

The barkeep's eyebrows twitched in surprise, but he didn't refuse Hajime's request. He grabbed a bottle off the shelf behind it and placed it in front of Hajime. The reason why he'd agreed was because the aura of Intimidation Hajime was giving off, coupled with the wary stares of the surrounding adventurers, had clued the barkeep in on the fact that Hajime was no ordinary kid.

Hajime brushed the bottle with his fingers, slicing the top off. The grace with which he did so caused everyone watching to gasp. Even the barkeep was surprised.

The pungent smell of alcohol wafted up from the open bottle, and both Kaori and Shea wrinkled their noses. Kouki and the others covered their mouths and took a few steps back.

"N-Nagumo-kun? Are you really planning on drinking that? I wouldn't recommend it."

"Y-Yeah. You're totally going to throw up. I feel like throwing up just smelling it."

"If you're going to drink Hajime-kun, can't you at least pick something that tastes better?"

"Kaori-san's right, Hajime-san. Why did you have to pick the worst-smelling one there is..."

Shizuku, Suzu, Kaori, and Shea all tried to talk him out of it. Even Yue tugged gently on Hajime's sleeve when she got a whiff of how bad it smelled.

"I can hardly ask for quality alcohol if I'm planning on chugging it down. That's like blasphemy." Hajime snuck a glance at the barkeep as he said that.

As he'd hoped, the old man was smiling slightly. I knew he'd understand! This barkeep is clichéd through and through! Hajime ignored the complaints of the girls and began guzzling down the foul-smelling concoction. Hajime and the barkeep were in perfect sync.

You watching this, barkeep? I'm sticking to the cliché, so you better like me after this. Hajime's chuuni soul manifested in the form of a mini-Hajime inside his mind. Said mini-Hajime started clutching his left arm like he was trying to hold in some unspeakable evil.

Hajime's gulping was the only noise inside the vast guild hall. In the span of a few seconds, he'd emptied the entire thing. He slammed the empty bottle back down on the counter, and grinned at the barkeep. "Happy now?"

"Alright, alright. You're a proper customer now."

The barkeep raised both hands in surrender, but his smile grew wider. What a wonderful, bitter old man.

"Hajime. Are you satisfied?"

"Yeah."

Hajime turned to Yue and nodded, the same giddy grin still on his face. He knew it was clichéd, but being able to act out a scene like this had been one of his dreams.

As an aside, no matter how much Hajime drank, he would never get drunk. One of his skills was Poison Resistance, which counteracted alcohol's effects. Back in Japan, his father had taught him how wonderful liquor could taste, and he'd actually become a fan of drinking. So it was a little disappointing that he'd never be able to experience drunkenness again.

"So, do you know anything about what I asked? I'm willing to pay for the info, of course."

"Don't worry about payment. Downing that bottle was payment enough for me. Would the beastmen you're referring to happen to be rabbitmen?"

"...Looks like you know something after all. Tell me the details."

It appeared coming here had been the right choice. According to the barkeep, there had been a big manhunt to capture runaway slaves a few daysago. During that manhunt, a group of insane rabbitmen had beaten down squad after squad of imperial soldiers, then tried to make their escape. Unfortunately, there had only been a few dozen of them, and a few hundred imperial soldiers. Eventually they'd been surrounded and overwhelmed through sheer force of numbers. All of them had been captured and sent to the castle.

Their rampage had actually become the talk of the town, so Hajime could have asked basically anyone in the city and obtained the same information.

"The castle, huh...?" Hajime turned to Shea. As expected, her expression was dark. She knew what fate awaited those who were caught trespassing in the capital. Cam and the others didn't have a bright future ahead of them.

The fact that they'd been taken alive meant there was still hope though.

Male rabbitmen weren't as popular as sex slaves for obvious reasons, though there were a few nobles whose interests lay in that direction. However, there was almost no demand for older men like Cam, who were already in their forties. However, these particular rabbitmen had attacked the empire. Shea had expected them to be executed on the spot once they'd been captured. That would have been the normal punishment.

If the empire hadn't done so, it was because they saw some value in taking Cam and the others alive. Which meant chances were, they were still alive even now. Hajime squeezed Shea's hand under the counter in an attempt to reassure her. Yue, too, grabbed her other hand and squeezed gently. Encouraged by their support, Shea turned to them and nodded resolutely.

The barkeep turned to Shea and examined her with great interest. There weren't many rabbitmen with blue hair like her. He could more or less guess her relationship with the rabbitmen the empire had captured earlier. Hajime knew the barkeep had caught on, but he didn't stop his questions.

"Barkeep. What can you tell me about the imperial castle? I'll pay whatever you want."

"That's not the kind of thing you should be joking about, kid... Though I guess you're not joking..."

Hajime smiled at the barkeep, but this time the smile didn't reach his eyes. He'd had his fun earlier, now it was time to get serious. The barkeep faltered, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He felt as if he was being stared down by a hungry predator.

If he wasn't careful about his answer, he would be branded a traitor to the empire. The adventurer's guild might have been an independent organization beholden to no nation, so technically the barkeep couldn't actually betray the empire. But the empire was his home, and more importantly, if word of this got out to the emperor, they wouldn't let him off lightly.

It was an implicit rule among adventurers to turn a blind eye to any potentially unsavory things one of their own were planning. But this still wasn't information the barkeep wanted to part with.

That being said, he could tell from the pressure this young man was emitting that refusing to answer would not end well for him. So, as a compromise, instead of explaining things himself he reluctantly decided to sell out—err, tell—Hajime about someone who could help him.

"Look for a man in the fourth patrol squad called Nedil. He used to be a prison guard in the palace."

"Nedil... Alright, I'll go find him. Thanks, you were a huge help."

Hajime knew the barkeep would have reservations about answering, and it was entirely possible he just didn't know anything. So he was glad the barkeep had pointed him to someone who did.

The barkeep breathed a sigh of relief as Hajime strode out of the building under the watchful eyes of every adventurer in the room. As they walked down the main street, Shea turned to Hajime and asked, "Umm, Hajime-san. Did you ask about the castle because..."

"Yeah. I'm planning on figuring out where the prison is, and sneaking in tonight. Yue and I will handle the information gathering, so the rest of you just find a place to eat or something. We'll be back in a few hours."

Shea and the others looked at him in confusion.

"Hm? Why just you two? Shouldn't we all go together... Wait! Don't tell me you plan on sneaking off with Yue-san so you can do naughty things like you always do!"

"Wha!? Is that why, Hajime-kun!? No, I won't allow it! How could you think of such a thing when Shea's family is in trouble!?"

"It's simply unfair that only Yue gets to partake. Master, allow me to join in as well."

"Like hell that's why! And stop shouting that kind of stuff in the middle of the street. Do you all take me for some kind of repressed horndog or something!?" Hajime retorted hotly. The scene was made even more misleading by Tio caressing her butt and squirming suggestively. Just then, someone tugged on his sleeve. Hajime turned to see Yue blushing and looking up at him.

"We're going to do it outside?"

"No we're not."

"Then are we finding somewhere inside to do it?"

"No, we're just not doing it, so drop the subject already."

"Hmph, fine. I'll just have to prepare for a night raid then."

"By night raid, you mean our plan to infiltrate the castle, right? Right?"

Yue's jokes were always like this. At least, Hajime hoped this was a joke. Surely Yue licking her lips seductively and looking at Hajime like he was a piece of prime steak were all part of the act.

Shizuku and the others, who weren't used to these exchanges, looked on in shock.

"Sh-Shizushizu, what do I do!? I just heard something crazy right now! I can't even process it!"

"I suspected that was how their relationship was... But to think Kaori hasn't done it yet. How should I handle this? Should I cheer her on as her best friend, or tell her she's too young for this sort of thing? I'm not sure... This is beyond my abilities to handle!"

Despite her perverted attitude, Suzu was surprisingly pure. She blushed bright red and hid behind Shizuku. Meanwhile, Shizuku herself was fretting over Kaori like a mother worried about her daughter. On the guys' side, Ryutarou was glaring at Hajime while cursing him under his breath. Kouki had taken such a huge shock that he was staring lifelessly out in the distance. Finally, nondescript citizens A, B, C, etc. all the way up to Z stood rooted to the ground, captivated by Yue's seductive smile.

What kind of crazy fetishes does she have!? Blood pounding, Hajime tried to resolve the misunderstanding as calmly as possible.

"You guys, cut it out. I'm taking Yue because if this Nedil guy doesn't want to talk, we're going to need some 'persuasion' to convince him he should. And she's the best at that. Plus she can use restoration magic."

"I can use restoration magic too, so..."

Hajime cut her off by shaking his head. If Nedil was part of the army, there was no way he'd be willing to talk. So they'd have to torture the answers out of him.

Kaori may have been more than skilled enough with restoration magic, but she was wholly unsuited to torture. Shizuku realized that as well, and tried to placate her best friend.

"Kaori, leave this one to Yue."

"Shizuku-chan..."

Kaori had more or less figured out what Hajime had in mind as well. And normally, she would have argued back. She was tired of letting Yue carry the burden of doing all the dirty work. After all, Kaori's aptitude for restoration magic was even higher than Yue's. It wasn't so much that she wanted to insist on going with Hajime everywhere, that she just didn't want Yue to have to shoulder everything.

But right now, Shea's family was in danger, and every second counted. They didn't have time to waste while Kaori argued her point. So Kaori gave Yue an apologetic look and obediently backed off. Yue shrugged her shoulders, indicating that there was nothing to be concerned about.

Once everything was decided, Yue and Hajime strode off into the crowd. Before they vanished from sight, Shea called out to them.

"Hajime-san, Yue-san! Umm..." She faltered, unable to find the right words to say. Hajime smiled gently at her. He knew he'd told her not to hold herself back around him, but that didn't change the fact that she'd gotten them wrapped up in this mess just before they'd headed off to another labyrinth.

In the end, she couldn't figure out how to express what she was trying to say, and returned Hajime's smile.

"Try to keep it in your pants, okay!"

"You ruined the moment, you worthless rabbit!"

Hajime yelled back and pulled Yue—who was giving Shea a thumbs-up—along with him. Before long, he'd vanished into the crowd.

A few hours later, Hajime and the others sat around a table in a restaurant in some corner of the city. The atmosphere around the table was chilly, and the source of the discord was of course, Hajime. Ever since Hajime and Yue had returned from their intelligence-gathering, the girls had been giving him cold stares. If looks could kill, Shea's and Kaori's glares would have ended Hajime's life a thousand times over. In fact, even he was a little scared of them right now. Especially since he could see the demon stand forming behind Kaori.

"It looks like the two of you had a lot of fun."

"Is it just me, or is your skin glossy now, Yue? I wonder why that might be. Hey, would you mind telling me how you got it like that? Well?" Their monotone voices were so terrifying all the nearby guests had left. Ryutarou and Kouki had attempted to make their escape as well, but Suzu had caught them with a barrier. Both of them were now sitting meekly in their chairs as they watched events unfold.

Tio had just sighed wearily when she'd seen the two of them, but surprisingly even Shizuku was glaring daggers at Hajime. He could understand why Ryutarou and Kouki had wanted to flee. When they'd returned from their excursion, Yue's skin had looked glossier than before, while Hajime appeared rather haggard.

In other words, it was obvious that they'd gotten it on while they'd been out collecting information.

"Don't misunderstand. The reason Yue looks like that is because she drank my blood."

"What?"

Seeing as they all seemed to be misunderstanding, Hajime sighed and began to explain. Shea and Kaori looked at Hajime with shocked expressions. They hadn't been expecting that.

"You didn't really think I'd go on a fucking spree now of all times, did you? I'm not a dog in heat, you know. Do you guys really think that little of me, huh?"

"Ahahahaha, of course not. We knew that. R-Right, Kaori-san?"

"Y-Yeah! Of course we did, Shea. Restoration magic takes up a lot of mana, so of course I knew something like that might happen."

Unable to bear Hajime's angry stare, the two of them averted their gaze and tried to play innocent. Satisfied, Hajime turned to Shizuku and Suzu. They blushed furiously and turned away. It seems they too had gotten the wrong idea.

"Haaah... Well, whatever. I got the information I was looking for. We're going to infiltrate the prison Cam's in tonight. Apparently they're under pretty tight watch, but that shouldn't be a problem for us. The only people going into the castle are going to be me, Yue, and Shea. It'll be best to have only people who can mask their presence or use teleportation magic in case anything goes wrong. Kaori, I want you and the others to wait outside the capital with Par and the others. Once we get Cam's group out, we'll be teleporting them directly to you."

"That's not a bad plan, but... Are you sure your information's accurate? What if that Nedil guy was lying to you?"

Shizuku voiced a rather reasonable concern. However, Hajime just shook his head.

"Not possible. We crushed his balls in front of his eyes, restored them before he lost consciousness, then did it again over and over until he finally talked. No guy could withstand that kind of torture. Even I felt kinda bad for him after we were done. Poor guy was a mess."

If you felt bad about it, why'd you do it!? Kouki and the others thought. They would have said it aloud, but they could tell from Hajime's plastered on mournful expression that anything they said would be ignored. So they just sighed instead. Shizuku mentally patted herself on the back for not letting Kaori go this time.

What truly scared Kouki and Ryutarou was how Yue didn't seem to think anything at all of destroying a man's balls over and over. It seemed the rumors they'd heard in the capital, that she was the legendary "Ball Crusher" were true after all. They swore in their hearts never to cross her. At the same time, they covertly covered their nether regions.

"Hey Nagumo... I know it's a bit late to be asking this now, but if the emperor's got Shea-san's family captive, can't we just ask him to let them go? Lily should be in the castle right now, and I am technically a hero, so... I'm sure we could persuade them if we just talk it out..." It was more than just "a bit late." But he did have a point. Not even the emperor could flat-out refuse a request from the hero, especially if Liliana gave her support to his cause. Hajime could show off his overwhelming strength to force the emperor to negotiate too.

However, there was one flaw.

"And how are you planning on compensating him for letting them go?"

"What?"

"Not only did Cam's guys infiltrate the city, they killed the empire's soldiers. And the fact that rabbitmen like them could fight on even footing with the empire at all is an anomaly. We can't pretend to be acting under god's orders, either. The princess would have told the emperor the truth about that by now. You really think he'll release them for free just because we asked?"

"Well..."

"It's obvious he'll ask for something in return. Way more than we want to pay too. The empire's gotta save face somehow if it releases Cam. There's no way they'll just let him walk out of here without getting their money's worth. Plus, it might make it harder for the princess to negotiate for aid. You sure you still wanna just go in and ask?"

Kouki fell silent. Hajime did have a point. Naturally, Hajime didn't care how it might affect Liliana's negotiations, and honestly if the emperor had asked him for reparations he'd let him eat a faceful of missiles. The only reason he'd opted for breaking Cam and the others out of prison instead of attempting negotiations was because doing things this way was less of a hassle. After all, if it was likely to devolve into a fight anyway, might as well go in guns blazing.

"Leaving the money aside for now, you're right that causing trouble for Lily... wouldn't be good. But, still..."

Kouki felt that since he was part of this party for now, he had to contribute somehow. After the incident with the slave boy, he'd been itching to prove he could be useful too. Sensing that Kouki was about to cook up another troublesome idea, Hajime turned back to Shizuku. She noticed his gaze and shook her head. It seemed it was too late for her to stop his rampage.

Worried that Kouki might do something colossally stupid to "help" Hajime during his infiltration, he quickly devised a way to redirect Kouki's energies.

"Hey, Amanogawa. There's something I need you to help me with..."

"Wha!? Did... you just... say you need help? No way..."

Hearing the word "help" come from Hajime's mouth had shocked Kouki speechless. Ryutarou and Suzu were both stunned as well. They couldn't have been more surprised if they saw a UFO in the middle of town. That was just how rare Hajime asking for help was to them.

Hajime had expected that reaction, so while it irked him a little he was able to keep his emotions off his face.

"You know what, on second thought, forget it. I shouldn't ask you to take on such a dangerous job. Forget I asked."

"W-Wait! Please! At least tell me what it is!"

Kouki fell for Hajime's act hook, line, and sinker. "Well, the castle's supposedly under extremely heavy guard. That's going to make sneaking in difficult. In order to increase our chances of success, we're going to need a diversion. Something like that stunt you pulled before when you tried to save that slave kid. We need someone to start a commotion to draw away the guards. But now that I think about it, it really is too dangerous. Don't worry about it."

Of course, Hajime and the others would have no problems sneaking in no matter how tight the watch was. A diversion certainly might help, but it was by no means necessary. This was just the most believable excuse Hajime could come up with to make Kouki feel like he was helping. If Kouki was going to go on a rampage either way, Hajime would at least like to control the way in which he did. Whatever it took for him to not follow after Hajime.

"Make a commotion... by saving those kids... Sounds good. I'll do it, Nagumo! Let me handle the diversion!"

"O-Okay, if you're sure. Thanks man... I guess you really are a hero."

Shizuku, sharp as always, saw through the whole act. She glared angrily at Hajime He couldn't tell if she was mad he'd deceived her childhood friend, or because he'd effectively volunteered her for this pointless diversion as well. Hajime pretended not to notice and opened up his Treasure Trove.

"Alright, if you're willing to cooperate, let me give you some things that'll help. Here's a gift for the justice-loving hero and his team."

Hajime pulled out a few chunks of ore and transmuted them into four masks. They completely covered the face and came in different colors. Red, blue, yellow, and pink. Much like the masks of a certain set of rangers. Hajime had made sure to keep the masks breathable, and the eyeholes large enough to not obstruct the wearer's vision. Such detailed transmuting wasn't something any Synergist could do. It was a rather pointless display of skill, but Hajime liked to be thorough about everything he did.

"Nagumo... What are these?"

"Can't you tell just by looking at them? Masks."

"...Why'd you make them?"

"You do realize it'd be a problem if the hero went on a rampage in the imperial capital for no good reason, right? We need to hide your identity. That's what the masks are for. You know, heroes always wear masks to hide their faces. In fact, a hero is their mask. I even made them different colors so you could tell each other apart."

"Uhh, I get that you're enthusiastic about this, but... well, I guess you're right that we need to keep our identities secret. It'd be bad if we caused trouble for Lily... but you know..."

Kouki stared at Hajime the sentai lord with an exasperated expression.

"Don't worry, great hero (snicker) You get to be red, the leader's color."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Sakagami, you get blue. The calm and collected blue ranger. I debated giving you black, but I think blue fits better after all. You should be glad I put so much thought into this."

"O-Okay? I don't really get it, but I guess I'll take it."

"Cool. Now Taniguchi, you're going to be..."

"P-Pink, right? It's a little embarrassing, but..."

"Yellow. The most forgettable one. Also, the one who gets excited too easily. I'd say it suits you perfectly."

"...Do you hate me or something, Nagumo-kun?"

"And finally... for Yaegashi we have..."

"Hold it right there, Nagumo-kun. The only color left is... You're not serious, are you?"

"Of course I am. Yaegashi, you get pink. This is the color that's best for you."

"I refuse! Besides, aren't there plenty of other ways to hide our identities that don't require wearing masks? Can't we just wrap some cloth around our mouths or something!? You're just toying with us, aren't you, Nagumo-kun!?"

Hajime shook his head in mock disgust. Shizuku's eyebrows twitched angrily. She didn't enjoy being treated like an unruly child.

"Listen up. This is the best way to completely hide your identity 100%! Not only do they have metal fastenings that will never come undone unless you take them off yourself, they even absorb impact damage. Plus, they're lighter than air and impervious to pretty much any kind of slashing attack!"

"I-I can't believe you managed to make something so impressive in an instant... Why do you have to put your crazy skills to use in the weirdest of ways?"

"Yaegashi, everyone knows that aloof, calm beauties like you have a secret soft spot for cute things. It's practically required. Or well, more like Kaori told me. But the point is, you like cute things. That's why I decided you should get pink. Be grateful."

"Wh-What's with that arrogant attitude... B-Besides, it's not like I'm that into cute... Anyway, Kaori! Just what did you tell him!?"

"Ehehe, just all the things I find cute about you, Shizuku-chan. Like how your room is filled with stuffed animals..."

How could my best friend betray me like this!? I mean I guess I never told her not to tell people or anything, but why'd she have to blab to Nagumo-kun of all people!? Shizuku glared at Kaori, who was blushing shyly. Unfortunately, everyone's favorite hero decided now was the best time to add fuel to the fire.

"Come to think of it, you've always been fond of animals. Like bunnies, and cats... Small, cute things mostly."

"!?"

"Oh yeah, wasn't your phone wallpaper a cute bunny too, Shizushizu?"

"!?"

"And any time we go to the arcade you always go straight for the UFO catcher games. You've gotten pretty good at them too."

"!?"

"I get it now. So that's why you're always sneaking glances at my bunny ears, Shizuku-san."

"N-No!"

"Go on, Yaegashi. Take it. Pink... embodies you." Hajime held out the pink mask while giving Shizuku a warm, gentle look. For some reason, everyone else was looking at her like that too. As if they were watching proudly over their daughter's graduation. The atmosphere made rejecting the mask near impossible.

"What the heck is with you guys... Let me just say this now, I really don't like pink that much. I'm only taking it because I have no choice, it's not like I actually want it. Also, everyone likes small animals, okay? It's not just me, so there's no special meaning behind me liking them too... Hey, quit looking at me like that, guys!"

Ears bright red, Shizuku reluctantly accepted the mask. Upon seeing how hard Shizuku was trying to hide her embarrassment, Shea sidled up to her and whispered, "I don't mind letting you touch my ears, if you want."

A broad smile split Shizuku's face, and she forgot all about how mortified she was.

In truth, the reason Hajime had pushed the masks so hard was because he wanted revenge. He was hoping that by sending a group of colorfully masked kids to rampage around the capital, they'd create a legend that was even more cringy than the nicknames the Haulia had tried to give Hajime.

He still hadn't forgotten how they'd been laughing at him back then.

Unfortunately, even if this worked it wasn't like anyone would associate Shizuku and the others' nicknames directly with them. But for now, this was the best he could manage. Yue could tell that Hajime's real reason for the masks was because he wanted to get some petty revenge, and she gave him an exasperated look.

That night. In a dark corridor, where no light reached, there was a row of rooms whose walls were metal bars. The bars were made of a special, extra-sturdy ore, and were reinforced with magic circles that kept inhabitants of the room trapped within. Whoever was stuck in these rooms would have a hard time getting out. The entire corridor reeked of blood and filth, and it was clear the rooms were dirty even if one couldn't see them.

This was the state of Hoelscher Castle's dungeons. They had been designed to mentally whittle down prisoners, driving them into a corner psychologically and physically. As one would expect of the empire's most secure dungeon, the walls were nigh unbreakable, and magic circles were arrayed throughout the corridors to prevent anyone from escaping.

All of the traps in the dungeon were designed to be non-lethal, but as excruciatingly painful as possible. They were setup so that both those who might try to escape and those who might be trying to sneak in would have to deal with multiple layers of them. Some traps were even hidden within the walls. Unless one knew the specific chants that dispelled these traps, they would have a hard time moving around in here. If someone was left alone in this hell, they would go crazy in a single day. There was no light, it smelled godawful, and there was no hope of escape. Even the guards who watched over the dungeon mostly stayed in the guardroom outside and avoided going near the prisons as much as possible. The only time they went inside was during their scheduled patrols.

And yet, on this night, cheerful voices rang out within the dungeon of despair.

"Hey, how many of yours did they break today?"

"All of my fingers and two ribs... you?"

"Heh, looks like I win. They broke all of my fingers and three ribs."

"Hah, that's the best you've got? They took out seven of my ribs, and my cheekbones... Oh, and one of my ears."

"Seriously? What the hell did you say to them, man? They said we might be useful later so they're not supposed to touch our ears..."

"Nothing special. They kept on asking me 'Who's the one who sent you' and stuff like that. I got tired of their nagging so I just told them, 'Your mom. I just came here to see how my kids are doing, you know.'"

"Whoa, no wonder they snapped."

"But wasn't it that emperor guy who told them not to touch our ears? They're probably gonna get in deep shit for disobeying orders..."

"Yeah, those bastards are totally getting executed. Kakaka, serves those fuckers right!"

The recently captured Haulia were competing to see who'd been tortured the hardest. As the empire wanted them alive their more serious wounds had been treated with healing magic, but they had still been beaten to within an inch of their lives. And yet, they seemed as lively as ever. Of course, that was just their way of withstanding the situation they'd been put in. They hadn't gone crazy or anything. Far from it. They'd just been prepared for this from the moment they'd attacked the capital. Now that they had been captured, there was no future for them. Either they would be executed, or they'd be turned into slaves. And they would rather commit suicide than live as slaves, so either way they wouldn't live very long. If they were made into slaves, they would be forced to fight their own comrades. Death was preferable to that.