by Chuuni Suki
Humans thought the Devils were their enemies because they worshipped a different God, and discriminate against the unloved Demi-humans. This was what the Church taught. The Devil's felt the same. The Demi-humans, just wanted to live in peace. All the races were very exclusive.
(If going to the "Sea of Trees" is impossible, maybe I should head for the west sea. If I remember correctly, there is a maritime town called Erisen. If I can't see a Kemomimi, than I want to see a Mermaid. It's a man's romance. He wanted to try the seafood here too.)
The town is said to be off the coast of the western sea and a group of demi-human fishermen are there. This is the only demi-human group that is protected by the Empire. This is because 80% of the seafood the northern continent consumes is provided by them. It's pretty much a straight reason. I wonder where the religious reason to discriminate them had gone? When he heard the story, Hajime felt like he was a Tsukkomi at that.
Past the western sea is the large Guryuen Desert. In this desert is the great transist oasis the Dukedom of Ancarge and the Mountain of Great Flames. This Mountain of Great Flames is one of the 8 Great Dungeons.
The 8 Great Dungeons, are one of the most dangerous areas in the world. The previously mentioned Hartzena Forest is also one, and another is the Orcus Dungeon which is located southwest of the Hairihi Kingdom. The reason they were considered 3 of the 8 Great Dungeons is because it was recorded in history. The other 5 Great Dungeons have yet to be located.
One of the proposed Great Dungeon is the Raisen Great Canyon, which expands from the north to south of the continent. At the southern hinterlands, where snow and ice are prominent is another rumored Great Dungeon called the Schnee Snowfield.
(After all, the desert is impossible...no other choice but to look for slaves in the Empire. As expected though I have no confidence in treating someone as a slave.)
When mentioning Empire, it refers to the Hersha Empire. This country is a rising country that was formed by mercenaries that fought a large-scale war against the Devils 300 years ago. The Empire is known for employing mercenaries and is regard as a military centered nation, often adventurers congregated there. Advocates the supremacy of force and is quite the black country.
This Empire thought about the uses for Demi-humans, they concluded that the Demi-humans could be slaves.
The Hersha Empire existed to the east of the Hairihi Kingdom, and between these two countries is the neutral Fyulen Commercial City. The neutral city is an independent entity that does not rely on any country. Using its neutrality, the city was able to exert all of its management into economic expansion. If there is anything you want, the Commercial City is believed to have it.
(But, if I want to return I can't just run away. Crap, it's almost time for training!)
After all, it was just escapism of his current situation. Since it was almost time for training, Hajime left the library in a hurry. From the library, it was a short distance to the Royal Palace, on the way you can hear and see the bustle in the Royal Capital. There was the voices of children playing and shopkeepers advertising their wares. A distance away you can hear someone scolding a child, this was the picture of a daily peaceful day.
(Since there does not seem to be a war, can't they just return us.)
Hajime just dreamed of that impossibility. It was just escapism to the depressing times that were ahead.
* * *
When Hajime arrived at the training facility, there were already many students there. Some of them were chatting while others were doing some free practice. It seems like he arrived earlier than he thought. Hajime went to get a western-style sword, that was provided for at the side, and did some free practice while he waited.
Suddenly from behind, something surprised Hajime to cause him to move. By rotating he was able to avoid it but he broke out into a cold sweat at the drawn sword. Hajime looked back while he was frowning, he had a tired expression at this.
There they were, led by Hiyama Daisuke, was the Bastards Four (Hajime made it up). Since their training had started, they have been messing with Hajime whenever possible. They were half the reason why he felt depressed when training. (The other half was his incompetence).
"Yo, Nagumo. What are you doing? Even though you are useless with a sword. Seriously useless."
"Hey, that's so mean, Hiyama. Even if it's the truth~ Gya ha ha ha."
"Why do you even come to train every day? If I was you, I would be too ashamed to come. Hi hi hi!"
"Hey, Daisuke. Since this guy is so pathetic, why don't we help him practice?"
They laughed and grinned at that like it was the funniest thing in the world.
"Hey, you are so nice, Shinji. Well, since I'm so nice too, I'll help out~"
"Good idea. Since I'm super nice, I'll use my precious time to help. You should be thankful, Nagumo~"
Hiyama would take them to an area where other people would not see, while he acted friendly with Hajime and spoke. The classmates that noticed this would just turn a blind eye to it.
"Iya, I'm fine by myself. You can just leave me to myself."
Hajime tried to refuse gently.
"Hey, when we are going out of our way just to help the useless you, what are you saying? Seriously, I can't have that. You should just stay quiet and thank us for helping you."
As he said that, he struck Hajime in the side. Hajime jerked as a his face turned into a painful expression at the blow. At that point the Bastards Four did not hesitate to get gradually more violent with him. Although it was unavoidable since it was adolescence boys that suddenly realized they had power. Though it sucked to be the aim of their violence. Hajime had no power to resist them with. He just had to clench his teeth and bare with it.
When they arrived at an unpopulated area of the training facility that no one else had vision of. Hiyama bull rushed Hajime.
"Hey, let's hurry up and start. It's time for fun training."
At this moment Hiyama, Nakano, Saito, and Kondo surrounded Hajime. Hajime just stood there and prepared himself.
"Gua!"
At that moment, he got smashed in the back from behind. Kondo hit Hajime with his sword that still had its sheath. Hajime screamed and fell down face first, but they continued to press.
"Hey, why are you sleeping? Burn~! I command thee Fire, "Kakyu (Fireball)"."
Nakano casted "Fireball". Hajime, who was on floor because of the blow from Kondo, could not get up fast enough from the pain, so he desperately rolled to avoid the spell. However at this time, Saito had completed his spell.
"I command thee Wind, "Kazedama (Windball)."
The wind hit Hajime directly in the abdomen, and he fell on his back. A "blech" could be heard as Hajime vomited from the blow. The magic circle was a simple one at 10 cm in diameter.
Still there was enough power in that spell to knock out a pro boxer. The artifact was one for high aptitude and high magic power was supplied for by the Kingdom. Normally these would have been used in cooking or just making a breeze.
"Wow, so weak! Hey Nagumo, take this seriously~"
Hiyama kicked Hajime, who was crouching to vomit, in the stomach as he said this. Hajime did his best to control the feeling of vomiting welling in him.
The lynching, disguised as practice, continued for a while after that. Hajime tighten his jaw to endure the pain, while he thought in vexation to himself how weak he was. Normally at this point, even if you were no match, there would be a counterattack.
However, ever since he was small, whenever he encountered something like this, Hajime was not good at dealing with it and just backed off. Hajime would just tell himself to endure it. He thought it was better than fighting.
While some people may think that it was very kind of Hajime, but others would think he was pathetic for it. Even Hajime wasn't sure which it was.
The pain was getting unbearable, suddenly, a girls voice filled with anger rang out.
"What are you doing?!"
When the Bastards Four heard t
hat voice, they thought they were busted. They thought that because the voice belong to Kaori, who Hiyama liked. It wasn't just Kaori, the rest of the gang was there.
"Iya, don't get us wrong. We were just helping Nagumo practice."
"Nagumo-kun!"
Kaori totally ignored Hiyama, and Kaori rushed over to Hajime, who was coughing up a fit. The moment she saw Hajime's state, everyone else did not matter, like Hiyama.
"Practice. This is such a one-sided practice."
"Iya, that is..."
"Good excuse. Even if Nagumo can't fight, he is a fellow classmate. Don't do something this again."
"If you have so much free time, go train yourselves."
Not wanting to argue more, Hiyama and the others laughed deceptively and hastily left. Kaori healed Hajime with her healing magic.
"Thank you, Shirasaki-san. You saved me."
Kaori just shakes her head at him while looking teary eyed.
"Have they always been doing this to you? If so, I'll...."
Kaori's face formed into an angry expression and glares at the direction the Bastards Four left in, Hajime stopped her.
"Iya, it's not always like this. I'm fine, so don't worry about it."
"But..."
Hajime smiled at Kaori, who did not seem to be convinced. Reluctantly, Kaori decided to let it go.
"Nagumo-kun, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Kaori will agree to it."
Shizuku said this with a wry smile as she took up Kaori's side. Hajime just said thanks to that. However, someone decided to be a wet blanket with their Hero like quality.
"However, Nagumo should try harder. Being weak does not excuse you from trying to get stronger. If I heard correctly, after practice you just head to the library. If I was you, I would use the free time to get stronger. Nagumo, you should take this more seriously. I think Hiyama and his friends are just trying to correct your non-serious attitude."
How do I interpret that? Hajime was just stunned by it, Kouki was just a person that believed in the good of others, so he did not see what really was going on. He did not think humans were possible of such evils. He just thought that there was a good reason for them to act that way. When he looked at it, Hajime was possibly the cause. It seemed that was his process of thought.
Kouki did not have any malic or ill intent in his thoughts. He was seriously just trying to advise Hajime. Hajime did not have the energy to try to clear the misunderstanding. He thought it would be useless to argue with someone like Kouki, who had such a strong sense of justice.
Shizuku who understood everything just sighed at that and apologized to Hajime.
"Gomenasai ne? Kouki didn't mean any harm."
"Ahaha, it's okay. I understand."
Hajime replied with a smile. He got up to wipe his dirty clothes.
"Hora, training is going to start. Let's go."
Hajime urges everyone to head back to the training facility. Kaori still looked worried, but Hajime decided to pretend not to notice. As expected, as a man, he did not want to be babied by a girl.
When they reached the facility, a deep sigh was released because of the events today. The future looked bleak.
* * *
After training finished, usually they would have free time until dinner, but this time Meld held them back to make an announcement. The students wondered what he would say. Meld used a deep voice to announce.
"Tomorrow, as practical training, we will be venturing into the Orcus Dungeon. All the necessary items will be prepared for, the monsters outside the capital are totally different from training so please make note of that. Get ready! For today, just rest. Dismissed."
After saying that, he quickly left. The student were hustling and bustling at the announcement. Hajime just looked up into the sky.
(.....Really bleak.)
Chapter 4: A Chat Under the Moonlight
Still not the strongest.
Wanted to convey how it felt for someone that did not get their strength so easily given to them.
* * *
Orcus Dungeon.
This was a large labyrinth that consisted of 100 levels. As one of the 8 Great Dungeons, the lower you go, the stronger the monsters become. Still, this dungeon was a very popular place for mercenaries and adventurers. This place was also a great training ground for recruits. This is because it was easy to measure the strength of the monsters by the dungeon level. The monsters also have better quality magic stone than the monsters in the wilderness.
The magic stone is the core of a monster and it is this that provides them with powers. The bigger and better quality the stone, the stronger the monster is. These stones are what is used as raw materials to make magic formulas. The magic formation can be drawn to cast the spell, but they can also be drawn with the powder made from the magic stone. Using non-magic stone materials to make the magic circle diminishes the power by 1/3.
In brief, it was better to use the magic stone to power spells because it was more effective. In addition, a magic stone is used to make magic tools that is used in everyday life. There is a very high demand for these magic stones. Both the military and civilians needed it.
By the way, strong monsters with high quality magic stone can use special magic. Special Magic does not use magical chants or circles to perform that magic. The monsters cannot use a large variety of magic, but they do not require the incantation or circle. This special magic is the reason why monsters are dangerous.
The students and knights led by Meld arrived at the town, Horlad, that adventurers stayed at before they headed into the Dungeon. They used at an inn that was managed by the Kingdom, where recruits in training stayed at. Hajime, who had not seen a normal room in a long time, dived into the bed. All the rooms were designed for two people but only Hajime got a room to himself. He could be carefree here. He wasn't lonely by himself.
Tomorrow was the day they would challenge the dungeon. This time, they would only challenge the first 10 levels. If it is only that, even someone as weak as Hajime should be fine in behind cover. Still Hajime wanted to apologize for being a burden. Rather, he was glad to be out of the city...Hajime could not read the atmosphere.
For a while, Hajime read the monster reference book he got from the library. It was still early but he decided to sleep earlier. Hajime had already perfected his sleeping skill in his school life. When he was about to doze off, he heard someone knock on his door. Even if it was still early for Hajime who was used to all nighters in Japan, it was about midnight for Tortus. Wha, was it Hiyama? Hajime was a little worried. However, when he heard the voice, he relaxed.
"Nagumo-kun, are you still awake? It's me, Shirasaki. Can I bother you for a moment?"
What? For a moment he froze, but after he hurried to the door. He removed the lock and opened the door. Kaori was standing there with a snow-white negligee on.
"Say What??"
"Eh?"
When presented with such a scene, Hajime unexpectedly switched to a Kansai dialect and performed a Tsukkomi. Kaori was speechless because she didn't hear it well. Quickly he gathered himself, he tried not to stare too much at Kaori. Although he didn't have too much interest, he was still an adolescent boy. The current appearance of Kaori was slightly too stimulating.
"Iya, it's nothing. Eh, what's the matter? Did you have something to tell me?"
"No, I just wanted to talk to you. I wonder if I'm bothering you?"
"Come in."
Most likely, he thought it was about the trip tomorrow, but Kaori quickly shot down his thoughts. The upturned eyes was so explosive. It's super effective! She noticed the open door and invitation.
"Okay."
Without any caution, she entered the room happily. She sat at the table near the window. Hajime unconsciously prepares the tea while still being slightly confused. Even though it was really just something like a tea bag that imitated black tea. He prepared enough for both, and handed her own. Hajime took the set across from her.
"
Thank you."
Kaori took the offered fake tea and tasted it with joy. The moonlight that shone through the window illuminates her. It seemed like there was a halo around her glossy black hair, she looked like an angel. Without any lust, Hajime was fascinated with Kaori's purity. He recovered himself when he heard Kaori place down her cup. Hajime drank his tea to calm his mind. He choked a little as he drank too fast. How embarrassing.
Kaori giggled at his state. Hajime quickly struck a conversation to quickly hide his embarrassment.
"So, what did you want to talk about? Is it about tomorrow?"
To Hajime's question, Kaori nodded her head. Unlike her smiling face from just a moment ago, she started to brood.
"It's about the trip into the dungeon tomorrow. I want Nagumo-kun to stay here. I will persuade and explain to the instructors and everyone. So, please!"
She leaned over as she pleaded with Hajime. Hajime was perplexed. Even if Hajime was a burden, wasn't this a little too much?
"Eto, I know I'm a burden...but since I'm already here I don't think I'll be able to just stay put."
"You're wrong. I don't mean you're a burden."
Kaori tried to clear up the misunderstanding. Maybe I was too hasty, she thought. She put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath. It calmed her down a little. She quickly and quietly apologized.
"I just had a very bad feeling. When I was sleeping earlier, I was dreaming and you were there. When I called out to you, you did not even notice. When I chased you, I never caught up. At the end..."
She seemed afraid to speak the rest. Wanting to hear the rest, Hajime urged her to continue.
"At the end?"
With a jerk, Kaori lifted her head. Hajime saw her teary expression, and her biting her lips.
"You disappeared."
"I see."
They sat in silence for a while. Hajime looks at Kaori, who was still hanging her head. It really was an ominous dream, but it was just a dream. With just that, they wouldn't permit him to stay. If such a thing was allowed, there would be trouble from the classmates. If such a thing happened, he really would not be welcomed anymore. He had no choice but to go. To reassure Kaori, Hajime started to speak as gently as possible.
