“I decided long ago that the only man I would consider being with would be one who is stronger than me... However, there was no one like that in my village... That was my first time... being held down and humiliated... and then you did that to my butt... You were so rough. I can no longer get married... so you must take responsibility for this.” Tio gazed up at Hajime with moist eyes, her hands still squeezing her ass. The knights looked at him with a mixture of fear and disgust. Disgust because he’d clearly raped this poor woman, and fear because he’d been so violent with her ass.
Even Aiko, who knew the truth of the situation, was looking at Hajime reproachfully. Even Yue and Shea averted their gazes, as if saying “Well, that was a bit much.” Hajime had found himself surrounded by enemies before the battle even began.
“D-Don’t you have a mission you need to finish? Isn’t that why you left your village in the first place?” Desperate, Hajime tried to plead his way out of the situation.
“Indeed. But fear not. My investigation shall be made even easier if I travel with you. Truly, it would be killing two birds with one stone... I’m sure your travels will grow stressful at times. Would it not be wonderful to have someone to vent those frustrations on whenever you need to? You can be as rough as you like. Is this not a wonderful deal for you, my master?”
“I can’t possibly see how having a pervert join my party would be wonderful in any way.” Tio clung desperately to Hajime, but he flung her away. That earned him the wrath of the knights, the disdain of Yuka and the girls, the jealousy of the boys, and a lecture from Aiko about not engaging in illicit sexual relationships. However, for some reason, Will was looking up at Hajime in awe.
Around the time Hajime was growing tired of this farce, he sensed movement on the horizon and quickly grew serious.
“...They’re here.” Hajime turned toward the mountains and looked off into the distance. They weren’t visible to the naked eye yet, but Hajime’s demon eye was receiving their images from his drones.
The horde of monsters was large enough to bury the earth. There were Bulltaurs, other humanoid monsters, massive black wolves three to four meters large, six-legged lizards, pythons with needles growing from their backs, praying mantis-like things with scythes for arms, spiders with tentacles growing out of their engorged torsos, white serpents with horns growing from their heads— Even through a video feed, Hajime could tell.
The army was massive. They kicked up a tornado of dust as they passed, and swallowed up the ground before them like a wriggling black tidal wave. Their murderous red-black eyes glinted in the black mass, a sea of corrupted rubies. There were even more than he’d initially seen at the mountain. At a guess, there seemed to be around fifty to sixty thousand in total.
Worse, the sky was filled with flying monsters as well. They looked like a flock of pteranodons. They were smaller than the wyverns Hajime had fought, but the dark red miasma oozing from their bodies spelled trouble. He was certain they were stronger than the Hyverias he’d seen in the Reisen Gorge.
Among the dozens of pteranodons, one of them was clearly bigger than the rest. And while it was hard to make out, there seemed to be a human-shaped figure riding it. That’s probably the kid. I know Aiko doesn’t want to admit it, but chances are he’s Yukitoshi Shimizu.
“Hajime.”
“Hajime-san.”
Yue and Shea tensed up, guessing from Hajime’s sudden change in mood that the enemy was coming. He nodded to them before turning back to Aiko and the others, who were looking around nervously.
“They’re here. And there’s more than I expected. They’ll be at the city in thirty minutes. There’s a little under sixty thousand of them. There’s a lot of different kinds, too.”
Their faces paled when they heard there were even more than they’d initially expected. They exchanged uneasy glances. Hajime jumped to the top of the wall and turned back to them, a fearless smile on his face.
“Don’t look so worried, Sensei. A couple thousand more’s no big deal. Anyway, like we planned, you guys man the wall in case anything slips past. Though you probably won’t have to fight.” He spoke as casually as if he were on a picnic. Aiko squinted at his radiant confidence and responded to him in a worried tone.
“Okay... I know I’m in no position to say this since I’m the one who asked this of you, but please... stay safe...”
“Should we really leave it all to him?” “It’s still not too late to evacuate.” The knights muttered amongst each other, then began heading back to alert the town.
Aiko and the students turned to follow after them. They’d only gone a few steps when Yuka stopped. She was staring at the ground, a conflicted expression on her face. Atsushi and the others stopped too when they saw Yuka wasn’t following. Confused, they called out to her. However, Yuka didn’t respond. Instead, she steeled her resolve and turned toward Hajime and the oncoming horde of monsters.
“U-Umm! Nagumo!” She stuttered a bit, but still yelled as loud as she could. Hajime turned around, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise. He had thought she’d left with Aiko and the others. Yue and Shea turned around as well. Hajime silently waited for her to continue. Yuka hesitated for a few seconds, but then she found her courage again and glared sharply at Hajime.
“Th-Thank you! Thank you for saving me back then!” Yuka had finally managed to put her feelings into words. Her expression, her tone, and even the loudness of her voice made it sound like she was trying to pick a fight, but it was clear from her gaze that her gratitude was sincere.
Hajime tilted his head in confusion. He tried to figure out what he was being thanked for and came to the conclusion that it must have been saving her from Tio’s breath. Though that was mostly just a side effect of the fact that he’d had to protect Will. It took him a second to even think of it since back then they hadn’t even registered in his mind, nor had he really been conscious of the fact that he’d protected them too.
Yuka noticed that Hajime seemed to be thinking of the wrong thing, and hurriedly added to her statement.
“Umm, thanks for saving me yesterday too, but... I was talking about that time in the labyrinth, when you saved me from that Traum Soldier, and then stopped the Behemoth for all of us.”
“...Oh. You mean that time you were about to get your skull split open... I forgot that was you, Sonobe.”
“Umm, could you please not... describe it so graphically? It’s a kind of traumatic experience for me.” She covered her head, memories of that day coming back to her. Hajime stared at her expressionlessly, his head still tilted to one side.
“And?”
“Ah Umm... well... you see...” Yuka started stammering again, but then she took a deep breath to compose herself.
“I won’t waste this life you saved! Maybe you don’t really think anything of it, Nagumo, but I’ll still treasure this life you gave me!” It was the same thing she’d felt when she’d first resolved to stand back up again. It was only because Hajime, who’d been laughed at as worthless, had given his life for them that everyone else was still alive. In the end they’d found out he hadn’t actually died at all, but Yuka’s feelings hadn’t changed.
He’d still risked everything to save them. He’d put his life on the line for the sake of his classmates. She wasn’t going to waste that life he’d saved. Even if she was so weak she couldn’t even compare to Hajime’s pinky finger. Even if the events in the labyrinth still gave her nightmares. Even if she couldn’t be of any use in the battle to come. Even then, she’d keep trying.
Atsushi and the others all turned to Hajime and nodded solemnly as well. Their feelings were the same.
Hajime’s response was just two simple words.
“I see.” Then, he looked back to the monsters in the distance.
Yuka couldn’t even tell if he’d accepted her thanks, or if her resolve had meant anything at all to him. She simply stood there dumbly, unsure of what to do. Eventually, she turned around and began heading back to Nana a
nd the others.
Hajime felt stares from both sides. He glanced both ways and saw Yue and Shea smiling at him. After how harsh Hajime’s life had been since coming here, they were overjoyed to see this kind of warmth around him for once. They were also proud of how he’d done something that had left a positive impact on so many people.
Hajime scratched his head awkwardly and looked over his shoulder to say one last thing to Yuka.
“Hey, Sonobe.”
“Y-Yes?” She hadn’t been expecting him to say anything more and was so surprised that she jumped a few inches into the air. Everyone else was surprised too, though not to the same extent.
“You’ve got guts. I could tell even back then.” Despite having nearly been cut literally in two seconds ago, Yuka had still rushed to save the rest of her classmates without a second thought. And even now, despite the trauma she’d suffered, she still kept fighting. Hajime really meant it when he said she had guts.
“U-Umm...” Yuka stammered, unsure how to respond. She couldn’t figure out where Hajime was trying to go with his words. However, his next sentence cleared that up.
“A girl like you won’t die so easily.”
“......” Yuka stared silently at Hajime.
“Well, probably not, anyway,” he added, ruining the moment. Yue and Shea gave him exasperated looks, but they were still smiling. To a bystander, Hajime’s words probably seemed frivolous.
However, to Yuka they meant far more. They served to wipe away the dark sludge that had been gathering in the corners of her mind. And not just her. Atsushi and the other students had also first felt the fear of death when they’d seen Hajime fall. Hearing “You won’t die,” from the guy who’d actually almost experienced death carried far more weight than usual.
“...Thanks.” Yuka’s voice was barely more than a whisper, quiet enough to be carried away by the wind. She smiled at Hajime’s back before turning around and rejoining her friends. The other students all looked at her, unsure of what to say. Before they could say anything though, David shouted at them to hurry along. The students all responded with a cheerful “Roger!” and ran after him. They all looked somehow more energetic than before.
The only people left with Hajime now were Will and Tio. Aside from Yue and Shea, of course. It was obvious they had something they wanted to say as well, but they’d kept quiet until Yuka had finished.
Will dithered for a few seconds, unsure of whether he should say what he was thinking or not, but then he realized there wasn’t any time left. He shook his head, mumbled something to Tio, and then bowed to Hajime before hurrying to join Aiko and the students.
Hajime tilted his head in confusion, so Tio smiled and explained.
“He said that if I survive this battle he’ll forgive me for the deaths of his adventurer friends... And so, I humbly request that you let me assist you. My mana has mostly recovered, and even without transforming my flames and gales are quite powerful.”
The Holy Church looked down on dragonmen as subhuman and placed them in the same category as beastmen, but they were actually more like monsters in that they could directly manipulate mana. Sure, they weren’t like Yue, who could control all elements effortlessly without the need for chants or magic circles, but they could still at least use the magic they had an aptitude in without chants or circles.
Tio flashed her ample cleavage at Hajime in an attempt to convince him. He wordlessly pulled out one of his magic stone rings and flung it to her. She looked at it, puzzled, before realizing that it was a mana reservoir crafted from Divinity Stone.
“Master... to think you would propose to me before a battle... I... Of course my reply is—”
“Hell no. I’m lending that to you so you can be our turret. You better give it back when we’re done here. What the hell made you think I would ever propose to you?”
“...I see. So this is what they call a dark past.” Inwardly cringing at the fact that she’d once made the same joke as a pervert, Yue slumped her shoulders.
Hajime did his best to ignore Tio, who had completely tuned out Hajime’s words and was grinning at the ring in her hands. Finally, the demon army crested the horizon and grew visible to the naked eye. Soldiers gathered on the walls carrying bows, or papers with magic circles engraved on them. The battle would soon be upon them.
Before long the earth rumbled from the pounding of tens of thousands of feet. A massive cloud of dust followed in the wake of the monster army, which was now close enough that their howls could be heard by the men on the wall. Some of them clasped their hands in prayer, while others looked on, pale-faced.
Hajime stepped forward. He transmuted a pedestal for himself, then turned to address the townsfolk. He didn’t care too much for assuaging the crowd’s fears, but he wanted to avoid letting a panicked riot break out as that might have result in friendly fire.
Everyone’s gazes naturally focused on the white-haired boy glaring down at them, seemingly ignoring the horde at his back. Once he was sure he had everyone’s attention, Hajime sucked in a huge breath and spoke in a booming voice.
“Listen up, brave men of Ur! Our victory is assured!” The citizens looked at each other in confusion. Hajime ignored them and continued, his voice full of confidence.
“Why? Because we have a goddess on our side! Men, never forget that the great fertility goddess Aiko-sama stands with us!” The people suddenly started whispering excitedly to their neighbors. Aiko, who had been guiding people from the rear as per her guards’ instructions, suddenly turned around.
“So long as the great Aiko-sama stands with us, we cannot lose! She was sent to mankind by the heavens in order to lead us to victory and prosperity. And I am her sword and shield, an avatar born from her desire to protect the people! Behold! This is the strength of one who has received the goddess’ divine blessing, the strength of the holy sword!” Hajime pulled Schlagen out of his Treasure Trove, then placed it on its stand to stabilize it. He kneeled, carefully aligned his scope with one of the pteranodon’s that had gone ahead of the herd. The townspeople watched with bated breath.
Crimson sparks began running down Schlagen’s barrel. Within seconds the barrel was coated in a veil of scarlet, giving it a suitably ominous appearance. Then—
Schlagen proved its fearsome appearance wasn’t just for show.
Bang! The thunderous noise gave the onlookers a huge start. A single red streak blazed through the sky. It raced toward the pteranodon faster than the eye could follow.
Like a spear thrust unleashed from god himself.
The pteranodon never stood a chance. There wasn’t even time for it to dodge. A bullet faster than sound, powerful enough to pierce through the toughest steel, and coated with a diamond-hard full metal jacket, ripped through the pteranodon flying a few kilometers away. The shockwave was so powerful that it shredded the nearby pteranodons’ wings, sending them hurtling to the ground below.
Hajime continued firing shot after shot without pause. The sky was filled with streaks of death, each one obliterating another pteranodon. He purposely avoided the huge one carrying the robed figure, but made sure the shockwave of his nearby bullets sent them flying back.
The massive pteranodon lost one of its wings to the shockwave, and spun to the ground with a piercing shriek. The robed figure atop it was flung off and flailed wildly as he hurtled to the ground.
Hajime wouldn’t have an opportunity to let Aiko meet with the robed boy until after he’d cleared out the monster army, so for now he’d made sure he wouldn’t be able to escape. Aiko would probably be horrified if she learned one of her precious students had fallen, but Hajime had only promised to bring him back alive, not unharmed. And since he’d fired from such a huge distance, he doubted Aiko had even seen.
In the span of a few seconds, Hajime had annihilated the monsters’ aerial corps. Then, he rested Schlagen on his shoulder and calmly turned to the gathered citizens. Their jaws were hanging open in shock. However, Hajime merely grinned fearlessly
.
“All hail Aiko-sama!” He raised his arms up triumphantly, extolling Aiko’s greatness. A second later...
“All hail Aiko-sama! All hail Aiko-sama! All hail Aiko-sama! All hail Aiko-sama!”
“All hail our goddess! All hail our goddess! All hail our goddess! All hail our goddess!” In the eyes of the people of Ur, Aiko had become a goddess not just in name, but in truth. The citizens were no longer afraid. Each and every one of them looked at Aiko with eyes full of hope and worship.
Aiko blushed with embarrassment and started trembling. She looked up at Hajime and mouthed, “Just what do you think you’re doing!” Hajime, however, just shrugged nonchalantly and turned back to the oncoming army.
He’d had his reasons for hyping Aiko up so much. Firstly, to increase Aiko’s influence so that she would be more useful when the Holy Church and Heiligh turned against him. He had no doubt that they would feel threatened by his overwhelming might, and seek either to use him or to bury him. And at that time, Aiko would surely turn against them for his sake, like she had before for her traumatized students.
And with this incident, her fame as a holy goddess would spread. Even without Hajime promoting her any more, rumors would spread. Thus, Aiko would soon be more than just a useful tool for the Holy Church, she’d be the common people’s idol. Neither the Holy Church nor the king would be able to move against her for fear of inciting revolt. Furthermore, her leverage over the nobles and clergy would be massively increased.
Secondly, this way the townspeople wouldn’t be afraid of him for displaying godlike strength. They’d believe he was some kind of soldier sent by their goddess, turning their fear and suspicion into relief and trust. So, even when the Holy Church turned against him, he knew there’d be people willing to help him all the same... Hopefully.
Thirdly, as it was his teacher who had convinced him to do this, he wanted her to share in the responsibility of what she’d started.
Lastly, and most importantly, this had been the only way he could think of to avoid starting a full-scale panic. It was possible there might have been better solutions, but there wasn’t enough time to think. He had no doubt she’d scold him for this later, but this benefited Aiko too. Not only that, but this was a direct consequence of her own actions... or at the very least, that was how he was going to put it to her before making his escape and leaving her to deal with the aftermath.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 3 Page 19
