Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 6

by Ryo Shirakome

The building was heavily guarded by a contingent of soldiers who glared warily at Hajime as he drew close. Though their expressions softened when they saw it was Shizuku who’d brought him there.

  No one challenged them, so Shizuku led them to a spacious marble hall inside the building. At its center stood a cylindrical artifact with magic circles engraved on its sides.

  It would have stood two meters tall at its full height, but something had smashed it in the middle. The top half lay in ruins a short distance away.

  A number of men and women milled about the artifact, scratching their heads and muttering to themselves. They were probably the people originally charged with repairing it.

  “Oh, if it isn’t Shizuku-dono. What brings you here?” An old man with an impressive mustache walked over to Shizuku. He appeared to be in his mid-sixties, and had the look of a veteran craftsman. Judging from his tone, he and Shizuku knew each other relatively well.

  “Good afternoon, Volpen-san. I’ve brought a Synergist who might be able to repair the artifact here.”

  “Truly? Do you mean that boy standing next to you?” Volpen turned his gaze to Hajime and examined him. Though he didn’t say it to Shizuku’s face, he doubted this young boy could do something so difficult.

  Volpen was the head of Heiligh’s Synergists, and the best craftsman the country had. The barrier-generating artifact was a relic from the age of the gods, and even someone with his considerable amount of skill was having trouble finding a way to repair it. That was why he found it difficult to believe a teenage boy would be able to accomplish the task.

  Hajime ignored him completely and began weaving his way through the other craftsmen. He reached the ruins of the artifact and placed his hand on the cylindrical pillar. First, he cast Ore Appraisal.

  “Huh, I see now... No wonder it’s such a tough barrier.”

  “Hmph, what can a brat like you accomplish?” Volpen harrumphed dismissively, but Hajime had already understood the principle behind the artifact that had protected the capital for centuries.

  He put both hands to the stone and began transmuting. Red sparks ran down the length of the pillar, and the pieces started knitting themselves back together. The speed and accuracy of his transmutation left Volpen and the other Synergists stunned.

  “It’s beautiful...” Shizuku muttered, entranced by the red sparks dancing through the air. This was the first time she’d seen Hajime transmute anything.

  “Well, there you go.” Less than a minute later, the artifact had been perfectly repaired. Hajime poured a little of his mana into it to reactivate the barrier. Particles of white light rose up from the cylinder, diffusing into the air.

  A soldier ran into the artifact chamber and reported that the third layer had been repaired.

  “Unbelievable... You repaired an ancient artifact so easily...” Shizuku smiled wryly and explained to Volpen that Hajime was, like her, summoned from another world.

  “No wonder...” Volpen muttered.

  When Shizuku mentioned it was Hajime who had made her katana as well, a predatory gleam appeared in Volpen and all the other craftsmen’s eyes. Hajime ignored them and started walking toward the room that housed the next artifact.

  But Volpen and the others weren’t going to let him leave so easily. Not after such an envious display of skill.

  “Please wait! Take me as your disciple! I’ll do anything!”

  “Whoa! Wh-Where the heck did that come from? And stop clinging to my legs! You’re creeping me out!”

  Volpen continued begging, and his disciples decided to join in. They clung to Hajime’s legs, rooting him place. Disgusted by the horde of old bearded men rubbing their faces against his legs, Hajime tried to kick them all off. But they were surprisingly stubborn, and held on with all their might.

  In the end, he was forced to use Lightning Field to shock them all off. Still they crawled after him, squeezing out every last ounce of their strength. Unable to ignore them any longer, Hajime finally told them no directly.

  “Look guys, I’m leaving the capital tomorrow and I have no idea when I might come back. The last thing I want right now is a disciple, and honestly I probably couldn’t teach you anything even if I did take you on.”

  “But you repaired that artifact with such ease. Not only that, you were the one who created Shizuku-dono’s weapon. I couldn’t even begin to guess how to construct such a thing. If you would just teach me your secrets...”

  “That’s because I used creation magic along with Transmutation. You guys can’t use magic like that, so...”

  “No way...” Volpen’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. The artifact that protected the capital was actually enchanted with spatial magic, which was why the barrier it produced was so powerful. Because of that though, normal transmutation had little effect on it. With enough people working at it for long enough, it could be partially restored enough to be usable, but never fully repaired.

  Thinking he was finally free, Hajime turned to leave the room. But though Volpen looked defeated, he hadn’t given up yet.

  “That doesn’t change the fact that your Transmutation skills are beyond anything I’ve ever seen! Please, teach me all you know!”

  “God you’re persistent!”

  A craftsmen’s dedication to his art was not to be underestimated. Volpen was the kind of person who’d go to any lengths to improve his skill.

  In the end, Hajime had to repair the other artifacts while listening to the pleadings of the kingdom’s finest Synergists. It was a surreal feeling to have a train of wailing old men following after him.

  Somehow the rumor spread beyond just this building, and more and more craftsmen started trickling in to beg an apprenticeship of Hajime. He got so fed up that he threw them all past the city walls, but they just kept coming back, like zombies.

  Hajime knew it was probably a bad idea to send all of the capital’s capable craftsmen to the hospital while the city was still being repaired, so he attempted to flee instead. However, the Synergists Guild’s information network had tracked his every move. No matter where he ran, Volpen and the others were there waiting for him. They piled on question after question, and it was clear they wouldn’t leave him alone until he answered them.

  Hajime spent the better part of the afternoon playing an impromptu game of hide-and-seek as he attempted to escape the Synergists’ clutches.

  “Damn, how are you guys still finding me? I’m using Hide Presence and everything!”

  “Hahaha, such skills are meaningless against a craftsman’s intuition!”

  “Your passion for your art betrays your location, Nagumo-donoooooo!”

  “Haaah... Haaah... We can sense the supremacy of your skill from miles away!” When it came to sensing like-minded people, the Synergists were even better at it than Hajime.

  Hajime seriously considered using Donner and Schlag on them. They were creeping him out so much that he almost would rather kill them then let them touch him.

  Eventually, news of the commotion reached the castle. All of the Synergists had left their post at once, and the city had devolved into chaos. Liliana had to head out personally to restore order, so the craftsmen were convinced to give up.

  “Yaegashi... you could have helped, you know. They’re your friends, aren’t they?” Hajime trudged back to the palace and glared at Shizuku, who was enjoying a cup of tea.

  Yue, who was sitting next to her, got up to pour Hajime a cup as well. She really was devoted to Hajime.

  So devoted that when a horde of bloodthirsty craftsmen had started chasing him around the city, she’d surreptitiously left along with Shizuku.

  “Don’t ask for the impossible. It’s true that I got to know them pretty well since they did some work on the katana you gave me, but there’s no way I could have gotten them to stop.”

  “You must be tired, Hajime.” Yue walked over to Hajime and tenderly took his head into her arms. He hugged her back, and then carried her over to his seat.

&nb
sp; “Now that is just unfair. Yue left you too, so how come...”

  “What are you talking about? There’s no way I’d treat you and Yue equally, is there? There’s a lot of things that would piss me off if you did it, but if Yue did it I wouldn’t care.”

  “Well, seeing as she is your girlfriend, I can understand that, but... I still want to punch you in the face.”

  Just because Shizuku could understand the difference in their treatment didn’t mean she had to like it. Besides, even if it was natural for a couple to flirt with each other, it still irked her to see them flirting in front of her face.

  Hajime sat Yue on his lap and started feeding her tea cakes. I’m totally just a third wheel here, aren’t I? Shizuku thought to herself. Just as she was about to flee to the safety of Kaori’s room, Hajime’s door was flung open with a bang.

  They all turned to see a young, blond-haired blue-eyed boy standing in the corridor. He couldn’t have been more than ten years old.

  He glared at Hajime, his glare growing in intensity when he saw Yue sitting on Hajime’s lap. It seemed their intimacy bothered the boy.

  “You monster! How dare you do that to Kaori! A-And why are you off playing with other girls when you have her... Unforgivable!” The prince of Heiligh, Lundel S. B. Heiligh, stalked into the room.

  He balled his hands into fists and rushed at Hajime with a primal roar. He wasn’t going to be satisfied until he punched Hajime.

  Hajime casually plucked a sugar cube from the tea tray next to him and flung it at Lundel. It flew faster than Lundel’s eyes could follow and smacked him squarely in the forehead. He fell to the ground, the back of his head slamming into the floor. Then, he cradled his head in his hands and rolled around the on floor in pain.

  Finally, he recovered enough to stand up and charge at Hajime again, so Hajime fired off another sugar cube. This one hit Lundel with such force his head snapped back. The cube bounced back up in the air while Lundel soared a few meters back before crashing into the floor.

  “Y-Your Highness! How dare you do that to the crown prince!?”

  “I’ll kill you for that!”

  “Men, protect the crown prince!”

  Lundel’s bodyguards poured into the room and rushed at Hajime.

  Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Each guard was met by a sugar cube that sent them flying in a beautiful somersault.

  But Lundel and his guards were both tougher than Hajime expected, and they got back up. Impressed by their persistence, Hajime grabbed one giant handful of sugar cubes and fired them all off.

  Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Sugar cubes slammed into the guards at the rate of a machine gun. Lundel and his guards spasmed on the ground, as if they were having a seizure.

  Though Hajime made sure not to use too much force, the cubes still hurt.

  Shizuku watched on in shock as Hajime continued tormenting the prince and his guards. By the time she finally returned to her senses enough to try and stop him, everyone was lying on the floor writhing in pain.

  Hajime stopped once he’d ran out of sugar cubes and surveyed the damage. Lundel was lying on the ground bawling his eyes out.

  He hadn’t been seriously injured, but the barrage of attacks had broken his soul.

  His guards rushed up to him, trying to reassure him.

  “Don’t worry, Your Highness, the wounds aren’t too deep!”

  Just then, Liliana stepped into the room and analyzed the scene. Shizuku was scolding Hajime for going too far, while Hajime ignored her and continued sipping his tea. Yue sat on his lap, stuffing herself full of tea cakes. Lundel was crying on the floor while his attendants tried to console him.

  She massaged her forehead, more or less understanding the situation from that single snapshot.

  “Looks like I was too late...”

  “Princess. I think your brother’s a little mentally unstable. Think you could take care of him for us?”

  And whose fault is it that he’s like this!? Liliana wanted to yell at Hajime, but it was partly Lundel’s fault for starting things, so she just heaved a heavy sigh and went to comfort Lundel instead.

  The source of Lundel’s anger was of course what had happened to Kaori.

  When he’d seen how different Kaori looked, Lundel had demanded to know what had happened.

  The answers he’d received basically pointed to Hajime being the culprit. That alone had made him pretty angry, but when he’d seen how fondly Kaori spoke of Hajime, his rage reached a fever pitch and he’d gone after him.

  Then, when he’d seen Hajime, the man who had forced Kaori into a new body (or so he’d convinced himself), the man who Kaori loved more than anyone else, wrapped around the arms of another girl he’d completely lost it and rushed at him.

  He’d fully believed himself the brave knight rescuing the poor princess from the clutches of the demon lord. Sadly, the demon lord he was up against was far stronger than him.

  Lundel hadn’t even been able to get close to Hajime. He’d been beaten down with one hand, and a trayful of sugar cubes. It was the shame of such a humiliating defeat that had left him in tears, not the pain.

  He sobbed into Liliana’s chest, crying her name over and over.

  Maybe I really did go too far. Hajime thought as he scratched his cheek awkwardly.

  Shizuku shot him another angry glare. Yeah, that was probably really immature.

  Sadly, Lundel’s travails were far from over. For it was then that Kaori walked into their room.

  “Oh, Prince Lundel. And Lily, you’re here too...? Wait, is Lundel crying!? What’s wrong!?”

  “K-Kaori!? Uhh, I-I wasn’t crying in my sister’s arms or anything...” Lundel quickly extricated himself and wiped his tears. No man wanted to be caught crying in his sister’s arms by the girl he loved.

  Kaori could easily tell what had happened when she saw Hajime, Shizuku, and Liliana’s expressions. She rebuked Hajime, but in a way that did more damage to Lundel than her intended target.

  “Jeez... Hajime-kun. Don’t go making the prince cry. You shouldn’t be bullying little kids.”

  “Hey, he’s the one who came at me. I just thought I’d punish him a little for it...”

  The fact that Hajime had never been taking him seriously in the slightest shocked Lundel. But what hurt him even more was the way Kaori had talked about him. Lundel clutched his chest and groaned in pain.

  “Punish him... Did you at least go easy on him? Remember, the prince is still a child!” The searing pain in Lundel’s chest grew tenfold. Being treated like a child by the woman you loved was the greatest shame a man could suffer.

  “Of course. I just flung a few sugar cubes at him. Look, he’s not even that hurt. You don’t really think I’d pull my gun out on a kid, do you?”

  “But he was crying in Lily’s arms... Plus, look at how red his forehead is. How could you ruin his cute little face? I know he’s a little prone to misunderstanding things and rushing in without thinking, but Lundel’s a good kid at heart. You should be nice to him...”

  And now Kaori was pointing out how cute he looked. Furthermore, she’d clearly seen through the fact that he’d been crying in his big sister’s arms. Lundel fell to all fours and hung his head in despair.

  “Uh oh...” Lily muttered to herself. Shizuku and Lundel’s bodyguards begged Kaori to stop. Any more of her inadvertent verbal barbs, and they were worried she might really kill him.

  Unfortunately, Kaori wasn’t done yet. She went over to Lundel and spoke in a voice filled with worry,

  “Are you okay? See, Hajime-kun, you were too hard on him...”

  “No really, I’m fine. More importantly, Kaori... What do you think of me?” Though he was covered in scars, Lundel worked up the courage to ask the question burning in his heart.

  “What do I think of you? Let’s see... I’m kind of jealous of Lily, I guess. I wish I had a rambunctious little brother like you.”

  “Gah... L-Little brother...”

 
; Kaori delivered those words with a smile, but they were poison to Lundel’s ears.

  Why do you have to rub salt in the poor kid’s wound!? Shizuku yelled to herself. She implored Lundel to quit before he hurt himself any further with her gaze.

  Lundel, unfortunately, had far too much foolhardy courage to stop now. His father had died only a few days ago, and until just recently he’d been crying into Liliana and his mother’s arms every night. But just the other day he’d made a promise at his father’s grave. That he’d be strong. And he wasn’t going to turn back on his word. He would be king one day. He couldn’t let himself be so weak that a little pain could deter him.

  “So then... you’d rather be with him? What’s so good about that guy anyway!?” Lundel glared daggers at Hajime. It was obvious he thought himself the better man. Even now, Yue was nestled in Hajime’s lap. You couldn’t blame Lundel for thinking of Hajime as a terrible womanizer.

  Sadly, Kaori had set her heart on Hajime and Hajime alone.

  “Huh? Wh-What’s this all of a sudden? Jeez, that’s so embarrassing. But, fufu, yes, I suppose I would. He’s the man I love the most in the world. As for what’s good about him, well... everything. Fufu...”

  With that, Lundel’s hit points finally reached zero. He sunk to all fours again, his entire body trembling.

  Kaori worriedly rubbed his back, but he slapped her hand away and struggled to his feet. Once he was up, he dashed straight for the door.

  Before departing for good, he turned back at the doorway and screamed.

  “I hate you alllllllllllllll!” After that, he dashed down the hallway and out of sight.

  Tears glistened in his eyes as he fled from the room. His screams echoed loudly through the halls.

  His dumbfounded bodyguards returned to their senses and hurriedly chased after him.

  “That’s youth for you.”

  “D-Don’t sound so unconcerned... It’s your fault he’s crying right now.”

  “Nah. I mean, I guess I started it... but Kaori’s the one who finished him off.”

  “Grr, I can’t deny that...”

  Hajime and Shizuku bantered with each other as they watched Lundel’s first love wither away in a spectacular fashion. Kaori made to go after Lundel, but Liliana stopped her. Kaori had done enough damage. Liliana knew her brother would eventually have had his heart broken by Kaori, so she was prepared for this. She’d just sleep together with him tonight and comfort him like usual. Lundel would be the king of Heiligh very soon. It was probably best he experienced having his heart broken once or twice before he had to deal with the rigors of kingship.