Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 5

by Ryo Shirakome

  “Duke, you...”

  “Don’t look so concerned. If you don’t come back, we’ll just fall into despair.”

  The implicit message of “If you don’t save us, we’re all dead, so you better not let us down. You promised you’d fulfill my request, so you better hold your end of the bargain,” hung in the air. Though he was grateful to Hajime, he had no one else he could rely on. He wanted insurance that Hajime would keep his end of the bargain. Hundreds of thousands of lives were on the line, after all. And so, Lanzwi had appealed to Hajime’s conscience. He’d hoped this would make Hajime feel too guilty about running away to try it.

  “You’re a crafty one, huh?”

  “You have to be, if you want to survive as a noble.”

  Hajime smiled ruefully and Lanzwi shrugged his shoulders. Though in truth, Hajime wasn’t really mad. He’d expected something like this. In fact, if the duke hadn’t tried to secure some kind of insurance, Hajime would have begun to doubt his competence. Though Hajime wouldn’t feel terribly guilty even if he did flee. The destruction of Ankaji and the death of its citizens wouldn’t really have weighed on his conscience.

  Hajime turned away from Lanzwi and walked over to Kaori.

  “Kaori, we’re gonna head to the Grand Gruen Volcano now. How long do you think you can keep this up?”

  “Hajime-kun...” Kaori smiled when she saw Hajime, but then her expression grew serious and she ran the numbers in her head.

  “Two days,” she replied once she’d done the math. That was the longest she could keep the patients alive for.

  “Hajime-kun, I’ll do everything I can here to heal the patients, so please bring the stillstone back as soon as possible. Also, I’m sorry... I know you don’t care about the people of this world, but I still...”

  “It was pretty much in our way, so it’s not a big deal. Besides, I agreed to help. I can hardly leave Myu behind in a city filled with corpses.”

  “Hehe, that’s right. She’s relying on you. Don’t worry, I’ll look after Myu-chan while you’re gone.”

  Hajime had explained everything he’d been through to Kaori while they’d driven through the desert. She knew about the mad gods and the fact that Hajime prioritized going home over everything else. He’d told her that if she couldn’t accept that she was free to return to Kouki’s party. But of course she’d elected to stay with him.

  Even if he’d decided to abandon Ankaji, she still wouldn’t have left his side. She would have tried to persuade him of course, but if he’d insisted she would have accepted his decision.

  That being said, she had still wanted to help the people of Ankaji. Fortunately, her puppy-dog look had been enough to get Hajime to agree to help. She wasn’t conceited enough to think that she could manipulate Hajime with her charms, but she was glad to know that her opinion at least had some influence on his decision-making.

  At the same time, though, she felt bad for basically forcing Hajime to go along with her own selfish desires.

  That was why she’d apologized. However, Hajime apparently hadn’t been all that bothered by the decision. He had seen through Kaori’s worries, which was why he’d told her that it had been his decision in the end. Kaori, too, could tell Hajime was just trying to be considerate. She smiled at him, her gaze full of trust and love.

  “I’ll do my best here, so come back safely, alright? I’ll be waiting.”

  “G-Gotcha.”

  She sounded like a housewife sending her husband off to war. It was surprisingly touching, and Hajime was at a loss for words.

  Even back in Japan, Kaori had always been straightforward. She’d talked to Hajime every day in class, ignoring Kouki’s warnings and the jealous stares everyone shot Hajime. Eventually, Hajime had gotten used to it, but she’d grown even more bold since confessing to him.

  Hajime blushed and looked away, only to find himself face to face with Yue.

  She was giving him an intensely cold glare. Hajime shivered. But when he turned back, he saw Kaori smiling at him again. Hajime despaired, trapped between two predators. It was then that Myu went and complicated things.

  “Kaori-oneechan, are you going to kiss Daddy like Yue-oneechan did earlier?”

  “Oh, you could see that, Myu?”

  “Hweh? I could see through the gaps in your fingers, Tio-oneechan. Yue-oneechan looked really cute. Myu wants to try kissing Daddy too.”

  “Hmm... Even I have not kissed Master yet. Myu, you’ll have to wait until you get older before you can do such things.”

  “Aww...”

  Hajime glared at Tio, though there was no way she would have been able to stop Myu from peeking. As always, Tio derived immense pleasure from being glared at. However, Hajime didn’t have any time to spare for her.

  That strange sword-wielding demon had appeared behind Kaori again, and it looked angrier than ever. The arrival of her logic-defying stand was always bad news.

  “Whatever could Myu be talking about, I wonder? Didn’t you go out to fix the oasis, Hajime-kun? So how come you were kissing Yue? What happened to doing your job? Or was kissing her part of your job? Don’t tell me you two were off having fun while I was working myself to the bone treating patients. You couldn’t possibly have done something so cruel to me, right? You didn’t just leave me to get some alone time, did you?” The darkness in Kaori’s eyes terrified Hajime. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He hurriedly tried to explain himself, but before he could say anything Yue stepped forward.

  He mistakenly believed that Yue would solve the misunderstanding for him, but expecting anything from Yue when she was like this was a mistake. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out, grinning triumphantly.

  “It was great.” That was all she said.

  “Ahahahahahahaha.”

  “Fufufufufufufufu.”

  Kaori and Yue’s laughter echoed through the hospital room. Until that point, the other doctors and patients had all seen Kaori as some kind of saint. But now that they’d seen her true colors, they backed away, pale-faced.

  It was only natural. It was impossible to believe someone who had such a demonic spirit in their possession could be a saint. Worse, a giant thunder dragon had started forming behind Yue as well. Everyone was too scared to see what would happen next.

  Sighing, Hajime walked between the two of them and flicked both of them on the forehead. It was just a flick, but he put quite a bit of force behind it. Kaori and Yue crouched down in pain, nursing their foreheads. They looked up at him reproachfully. Exasperated, he tried to explain.

  “Kaori. I didn’t suggest we split up so I could spend time with Yue. You should know that. Besides, Yue’s my lover. You don’t have any right to complain about what we do. You agreed to those conditions when you decided to come along.”

  “Um... I know, but... I can’t control my feelings...” Kaori hung her head, but she still tried to argue back. Hajime sighed again and turned to scold Yue.

  “And you, stop picking fights with her every chance you get.” Upon hearing his words, Yue turned away, sulking.

  “This is a fight between women... You have no right to interfere, Hajime.”

  “Is it just me, or am I being ignored more often now?” Shea lamented to herself as she watched. Tio was still lost in the throes of ecstasy, so she’d missed the confrontation entirely, but Myu wasn’t happy to see Kaori and Yue fighting again.

  It took some time before Hajime could calm everyone down, but finally they were ready to depart for the Grand Gruen Volcano. As Kaori would be busy tending to all the patients, Hajime asked Lanzwi to help her look after Myu. Lanzwi was still stunned at how convoluted the relationships between everyone in Hajime’s party were. Regardless, he happily agreed to help.

  Hajime had already told Myu beforehand that he’d need to leave her behind for a bit while he explored the volcano, but she still wasn’t happy about it. He bent down and patted her on the head.

  “I’m going now, Myu. Will you be a g
ood girl while I’m gone?”

  “Hic... I will. So please come back soon, Daddy.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Myu clung to Hajime’s shirt, trying her best not to cry. The way he comforted her was just like a real dad. People began to relax again. Hajime gave Myu’s back a little push, and sent her off to Kaori. Then he turned to Yue, Shea, and Tio, telling them to get ready.

  Before he could leave though, Kaori stopped him.

  “Ah, Hajime-kun... Stay safe.”

  “Will do. Take care of Myu for me.”

  “I will. Also, umm... Could you give me a kiss? A... goodbye kiss?”

  “Definitely not. Where’d that idea even come from?”

  “Not even on the cheek? Please?” Kaori blushed, but her voice remained firm. She knew that in order to stand any chance against Yue, she needed to be bold. She’d been relatively bold even back in Japan, but all of her restraints had disappeared after her confession.

  “Oh, give me one too!” Shea tried to grab Hajime’s attention, but he ignored her. He opened his mouth, planning to refuse, but Myu butt in before he could.

  “Myu wants one too. Myu wants Daddy to kiss her!”

  She had decided she wanted to join the fun as well. Hajime tried to explain why he couldn’t, but his words didn’t get through to her at all.

  “Do you hate me, Daddy?”

  Hajime could feel his heart melting at that.

  In the end, he ended up kissing Kaori, Myu, and for some reason even Shea on the cheeks. The doctors and patients all watched on fondly. Feeling too awkward to remain even a second longer, Hajime hurriedly left for the Grand Gruen Volcano.

  Tio had asked for a kiss as well, but Hajime had ended up just slapping her. Her panting had creeped him out way too much.

  The Grand Gruen Volcano. It was approximately 100 kilometers north of Ankaji. It was around 5 kilometers in diameter at its base, and rose to a modest height of 3000 meters. It wasn’t conical like most volcanoes, but shaped more like a dome. Its summit was flat, however, unlike most domes. Its slope was so gentle that it seemed more like a hill than a mountain. A really, really big hill.

  Though the Grand Gruen Volcano was one of the only well-known labyrinths aside from the Great Orcus Labyrinth, it wasn’t nearly as popular. It was more dangerous than the Orcus Labyrinth, and the monsters that roamed its depths had less valuable mana crystals inside them. However, the main reason for its unpopularity was how difficult it was to reach.

  It wasn’t just that it was in the middle of a desert.

  “It looks like Laputa.”

  “Laputa?”

  Yue and the others of course had no idea that Hajime was referencing a famous movie. Hajime just shrugged his shoulders and stared at the whirling sandstorm surrounding the volcano.

  Just as Laputa had been surrounded by a veil of thick clouds, the Grand Gruen Volcano was surrounded by a massive sandstorm. The wind and sand was so thick that it looked more like a spinning wall of dust than a tornado.

  However, that wasn’t all. Sandworms and other deadly monsters lurked within the storm. Fighting them off would prove difficult with how low visibility was inside. Hajime could see why most adventurers weren’t qualified enough to even make it past the sandstorm.

  “I’m so glad we didn’t decide to do this trip on foot.”

  “Even someone as sturdy as me wouldn’t enjoy marching through that.”

  Shea and Tio murmured their appreciation for Brise as they stared out of the windows at the howling storm before them.

  They wouldn’t be able to take their time conquering this labyrinth. The stillstone deposits on the surface of the volcano weren’t large enough to cure all of Ankaji, so Hajime would need to harvest the stone deep below as well. If this was anything like the other labyrinths, there’d be a shortcut leading outside at the center of the labyrinth. It’d be faster to conquer the whole thing than to fight their way halfway down, then double back. Once they were out, making it back to Ankaji would be easy.

  Hajime wasn’t that invested in saving the lives of Ankaji’s citizens, but if it was possible to save them without risking himself, then that sounded good to him. If nothing else, it would spare him from having to see Kaori’s and Myu’s tears.

  Hajime gunned Brise’s accelerator and charged into the storm.

  Once inside, their vision was blocked by a wall of brown that surrounded them on all sides. Just like the mist they’d seen in the Haltina Woods, the sandstorm cut their visibility to practically nothing. And since the sand could physically harm them, unlike the fog, it was even more dangerous. Even with magic barriers and good equipment, breaking through this wall of sand while surviving attacks from monsters was no easy feat.

  The sun’s rays didn’t penetrate down here either, so the only illumination was the green glowstone headlights Hajime had turned on. He slowed down to about 30 kilometers per hour. At that speed, he estimated they’d be out of the storm in another five minutes.

  Shea’s bunny ears suddenly perked up, and a second later Hajime’s eyes narrowed.

  “Hang on tight!” he yelled, before gunning the accelerator.

  Seconds later, three sandworms burst from the ground behind him. Hajime swerved from side to side, dodging their attacks. Once he was clear, he started speeding up again.

  With Brise’s speed, it made more sense to push straight through the sandstorm than try to fight all the monsters that got in their way.

  Two more sandworms erupted from the ground on either side of Brise, bearing down in a pincer attack. Their aim was perfect, and they were headed straight for Brise’s side doors. While the impact itself wouldn’t have been able to break the car’s armor, Hajime wanted to avoid getting flipped over. He was just about to turn hard into a drift when Yue and Tio stopped him.

  “Hm, leave this to us.”

  “Indeed, we can handle this, Master.”

  Hajime nodded and straightened the steering wheel. The sandworms were so close that the party could see them with the naked eye.

  However, just before they slammed into the truck, they were stopped.

  “Wind Blades.” Yue summoned a barrage of wind blades that cut through the sandstorm, heading straight for the sandworm on the left. The blades sliced right through it, cutting it in half. Blood spurted everywhere as the sandworm was split down the middle.

  The sandworm on the right suffered a similar fate as it was torn to shreds by Tio’s spell.

  “A wonderful display, Yue. You executed your magic magnificently.”

  “You’re pretty good too, Tio. I didn’t think you could use the sandstorm’s winds like that.”

  Wind Blades was a beginner level wind spell, but the amount of mana Yue and Tio had poured into theirs had given them the force of intermediate spells. On top of that, they had utilized the sandstorm’s winds in different ways to further increase its force. Skilled magicians didn’t just have vast amounts of mana, they also knew how to utilize their environment and pick the best spell for the situation. While it sounded simple, it was easier said than done. Yue and Tio had both spent years practicing these skills.

  The three sandworms that had popped up earlier caught up to Brise. Their underground speed was truly impressive. Annoyed by their persistence, Hajime activated one of Brise’s weapons. There was a loud clang from the back of the truck, and a couple of black, round objects rolled out from underneath it.

  The moment they got close to the sandworms trailing behind Hajime, they exploded. The ground shook from the force, and chunks of sandworm flesh flew through the air. Hajime threw out another handful of grenades, finishing off any survivors. One of the sandworms was blown in half, and its head whirled through the sky before it was swallowed up by the sand.

  “Wow, that was amazing. Hajime-san, how many different things did you add to Brise?”

  Shea watched from the rear window as Hajime’s grenades decimated the sandworms. He grinned wickedly as he respo
nded.

  “It can also transform into a giant human-shaped golem to fight.”

  “......”

  It sounded unbelievable, but knowing Hajime he might really have actually done it. Shea, Yue, and Tio all started looking around the car, searching for hints as to how it would transform.

  “I’m kidding. Even I wouldn’t go that far... Though I did want to,” Hajime added with a smirk. The girls were certain he’d do it eventually, even if he hadn’t already.

  As they drove further into the storm they found themselves being attacked by giant ants and giant spiders as well. But the combination of Yue and Tio’s magic, and Brise’s built-in weapons, made short work of all of them. The monsters didn’t even have a chance to fight back.

  Shea sulked in the back, lamenting her own uselessness. Hajime and the others ignored her, breezing through the sandstorm that was the bane of so many adventurers.

  After a few more minutes, Hajime and the others burst through the other side of the sandstorm. Up close, the volcano looked an awful lot like Ayers Rock, just scaled up. The center was surprisingly silent. Without the wind whipping the sand everywhere, they had a clear view of the dazzling blue sky. So this is what the eye of a storm is like, then?

  The entrance to the volcano was at its peak, so Hajime began driving Brise up its gently sloped side. The dark red rock sizzled and sputtered, vapors of steam rising here and there. Though it was an active volcano, it had never once erupted. Chances were, it had something to do with the fact that it was a labyrinth.

  Finally, the mountainside grew too steep for Brise, and Hajime reluctantly put it away. They’d have to finish the trek on foot.

  “Whoa... I-It’s hot.”

  “Mhm...”

  “Yeah. The stone’s even hotter than the sand was. Even if we didn’t have a time limit, this is one place I wouldn’t wanna spend much time in.”

  “Hmm, personally I find this temperature quite agreeable, but... it certainly is a shame I cannot suffer the heat as you can.”

  “Want me to drop you in some magma? Then you can suffer too.”

  Everyone except Tio found the volcano’s temperature suffocating. The effects of the heat were made even worse because of how stark a contrast it was from the air-conditioned car they’d been riding in so far. I probably shouldn’t have spent all my life in Japan holed up in my air-conditioned room. You reap what you sow, I guess.