Time slows to a crawl. I have no idea how long I spend staring at my phone, but by the time I come back to my senses, my battery’s nearly dead. The sun’s set, too, and my room’s dark. The light from my phone is the only light in the room.
Normally, I find the mechanical light of an LCD screen to be cold, but right now it feels surprisingly warm and gentle. But then the battery dies and the light vanishes.
My cell phone won’t be turning on again. At least not until I get home. I wipe my tears with my sleeve and get to my feet. I open the closet and put my phone back into my uniform pocket.
I feel like I have something supporting me now. My heart no longer feels trapped in a haze of unease. The warm light of my LCD display has settled inside me, guiding me forward.
It was thanks to that light that I was able to ask Shirasaki-san to protect me the night before we entered the labyrinth, as embarrassing as it was. It was thanks to that light that I was able to tell her I’d be fine. To be honest, I thought she looked beautiful when she smiled at me in the moonlight.
If nothing else, I’m grateful to Mom and Dad for giving me the courage to reassure her. But at the same time, I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. I didn’t listen to what you told me. When I should have ran, I chose to stay and fight. In the end, I couldn’t prioritize my own life. I knew it was dumb to try and fight that giant Behemoth. When I was falling into the abyss, all I could think about was how sorry I was for failing you guys.
From there, I changed. Thinking back on it, it was probably those words from my parents that helped me endure all those hardships down in the abyss. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to stand back up to challenge the Claw Bear.
“Don’t give up! Make sure you come back to us no matter what!”
Even when my heart and soul had been crushed, I still held on to those words. Which was why I—
“Hajime?”
I slowly opened my eyes and found Yue staring down at me.
“Sorry, I fell asleep.”
“Mmm... It was only for five minutes.”
Shaking the sleep out of my brain, I looked around. I was in the living room of the ice palace at the end of the Frost Caverns. Taniguchi and the others had just come back and everyone was resting.
I guess I fell asleep while everyone was talking...
“You made a lot of faces in your sleep... Are you okay?”
Yue clambered onto my knees and I looked into her eyes. She stared sleepily at me, her crimson eyes glowing faintly. I brushed her blonde hair back and stroked her cheek.
When I first met her, I thought she was as radiant as the moon, illuminating the darkness of the abyss. That was why I gave her the name Yue. A few other names, like Tsukuyo, Luna, and Selena had popped into my mind as well, but Yue was the one that seemed to fit best.
Just recently I’d learned what her original name was. Aletia. I couldn’t imagine what she must have felt when she threw that name away and asked me for a new one. But at the very least—
“Yue.”
“Mmm?”
The happy look she gave me whenever I called her by her new name reassured me that I’d made the right choice. I was confident I’d gifted her a new name that was much better than her old one. Names held power. They could be used as a curse to restrict people... or in my case, to bind two people together.
When Aletia became Yue, she was reborn. Despite carrying the deep trauma of betrayal, Yue had nevertheless trusted me. And when she’d smiled at me for the first time, she’d bound me to her. I stopped being a mindless monster and turned into the vampire princess Yue’s partner. It was thanks to her that I could be both the monster of the abyss and also human.
In truth, choosing to answer Yue’s pleas to save her was one of the biggest turning points in my life. Meeting Shea was another. But back then, it was Yue who’d convinced me to let Shea tag along.
Likewise, my meeting with Tio was the same. It was because of Yue’s words that I began to question my personal creed of killing everyone who opposed me and decided to spare Tio. All three of them followed me without complaint when I wanted to go save Myu and Kaori, too.
Like my fake had said, I might be using Yue as an emotional crutch. At the very least, she was the one person I knew I’d never be able to hold a candle to.
Smiling to myself I muttered, “Thank you.”
“Mmm? Mmm... Mmm...”
Yue cocked her head for a second, then smiled at me. That smile made it clear she’d understood everything I was trying to say.
“You should enroll in school once we get back to Japan, Yue. I want to see you in a school uniform.”
“Mmm... You got it.”
I’m looking forward to it. I wonder what Mom and Dad will say when I introduce Yue to them? They might be even happier about the fact that I brought Yue back than the fact that I came home. Nah, not might. They’ll definitely be happier about that. Those two otaku love cliched crap like vampire princesses and stuff.
“I’ll do my best to impress your parents...”
“Sounds good.”
“I need to ask them how many grandkids they want, too...”
“S-Sounds good...”
“And I need to apologize...”
“Huh? Apologize for what?”
“‘Mother, Father, please forgive me! I stole your son’s virginity before asking you whether or not you accept me as his bride!’”
“Yue-san, please don’t say that. I’m begging you.”
Crap. I’m gonna have to teach Yue about how Japanese customs are different from here before we go back. Especially since Mom and Dad would actually play along if she started saying stuff like that.
The last thing I wanted was to bring chaos to my house. I opened my mouth to explain to Yue how talking to my parents was going to work, but before I could say anything, she was lifted off my lap.
“Sheesh! I take my eyes off you for a second and you’re all over him again!”
Kaori was the one who’d lifted Yue up, and she threw the tiny vampire girl onto a separate sofa.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Yue said coldly as she launched herself at Kaori. Kaori responded in kind, and Shea was forced to jump in and mediate between the two of them again.
Tio and Yaegashi were so used to the sight that they barely even spared the three of them a glance. As I watched them, I thought back to my journey up till now.
The first thing that flashed through my mind was my first meeting with Shea. At first, I’d only helped the sobbing useless bunny girl because I’d wanted her to guide me through the sea of trees. But then that same girl who’d been terrified of fighting managed to beat up Miledi’s Golem. Honestly, I was impressed.
And then afterward, she jumped in without hesitation to save Sensei, even though she didn’t know anything about her. All because Sensei was someone I cared about. Then, when she fought against her sworn enemy, the Hoelscher Empire, she was so dazzlingly bright that even I was captivated by her.
If anything, she’s better at seduction than I am. She managed to capture Yue’s heart and mine... There was no doubt that it was this clairvoyant bunny girl with more pluck than any protagonist I’d ever read about that had brought color and joy to our lives.
“Shea.”
“Yeah? What is it? I’m kinda busy—”
“Thank you.”
Despite how much we rejected her in the beginning, she stubbornly stuck with us. She even managed to make me fall for her. Shea stopped trying to pin Kaori’s arms behind her back and looked blankly at me. Her surprise was so cute that I smiled.
“C-Come on! Surprise attacks like that aren’t fair!”
She started fidgeting, her tail swishing back and forth. Then, she covered her face with her bunny ears, embarrassed. It looked like she’d been able to figure out how deep my gratitude for her ran as well. Her embarrassed reaction really was cute though.
Unfortunately, I’d need to find some way to hide her ears when we w
ent back to earth. Regardless of whether people thought they were real or fake, her ears combined with her looks would attract too much attention from other guys. Actually, considering Cam was converting all the rabbitmen in the forest into merciless assassins, Shea might actually be the last super cute bunny girl left.
I guess that’s my fault, huh?
“Shea... Uh, I’m sorry.”
“I think I can guess what you’re apologizing for, but in that case, shouldn’t you sound a bit more sincere?”
Shea slid her ears off her eyes and glared at me. I looked away, feeling too guilty to meet her gaze. That aside, I’d need to tell Mom and Dad all about Shea as well.
I should tell them about Altina too. Those two looove elves... If I recalled correctly, Dad was insisting that his dev team put elves into the most recent game he was working on. In fact, one of his employees had come to me to convince Dad to stop, since the game they were developing wasn’t set in a fantasy world.
Hmmm...
“Hey, Shea.”
“Yue-san, Kaori-san! I’m having a moment with Hajime-san here, so could you stop pulling on my— Oh, what is it, Hajime-san?”
“I’m thinking of kidnapping Altina and gifting her to my dad. What do you think?”
“I think you’ve lost your mind!”
Hey, that’s rude. Don’t look at me like I’ve actually gone insane. Oh no, now she’s asking Kaori to cast restoration magic on me. Aaand Kaori’s doing it.
“Let me explain. Dad’s a huge fan of elves. Especially seductive elves. Though, I guess Altina’s more of a masochist than a seductress. Still, I’m sure he’ll like her. If we put her in a cage and kept her as a pet, she’d probably be harmless, right?”
“Kaori-san! We need more restoration magic, now!”
Can you please stop casting that on me! The light’s blinding...
“Think about it. Dad’ll be happy. And Altina’ll be overjoyed to be your pet, Shea. It’s a win-win situation.”
“No, it’s a lose-lose situation!”
Shea smacked me on the head. I don’t get it. What’s the problem?
“Master, why settle for her? I would gladly be your—”
“I want to introduce you as one of my comrades, so rejected. I can’t treat you the same way I treat Altina.”
“O-Oh, I see...”
Tio fidgeted in embarrassment. Blushing, she muttered, “You’ve been acting so kind to me recently, Master. I’m not sure how to react...”
I guess telling Tio the truth is more effective at keeping her in check than treating her like dirt... I thought back to my first meeting with Tio. It all started with me trying to drive a stake into her ass. As a result, she turned into a huge pervert.
Wow, that’s really all there was to that meeting. There weren’t any emotional scenes or anything...
“Wh-What is it, Master? Please don’t stare so intently at me.”
If she knew all I was thinking was that we really don’t have any emotional memories together and that me trying to stick a stake into her ass is the most vivid memory I have of us, she’d probably be mad, huh? Actually, she’d probably get turned on...
I was worried that Tio’s clansmen would get mad at me when we went back to see her family. I hoped they wouldn’t blame me for turning their princess into a pervert. Oh yeah... I totally forgot Tio was royalty until just now.
“Hey, Tio.”
“Wh-What is it?”
“Do you want me to fight god for you?”
When I asked that, the room fell quiet. Yue and Kaori stopped fighting, and Shea and Yaegashi looked from Tio to me and back again. The blush vanished from Tio’s face and she gazed solemnly at me. Her draconic eyes, brimming with intelligence and endowed with the power to see the truth pierced through me.
After a brief pause, she smiled and said, “I appreciate that you care so much for me... Truly, I do.”
Tio brought a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. She looked so stunning that everyone’s breath caught in their throats.
“It’s true that my clan has dreamed of the day someone would appear to strike down god for us.”
“Yeah. The whole reason you left your village was because you wanted to see if that time had finally come, right?”
“Indeed. At present, you are the only one capable of fighting god, Master.”
“Thought so.”
“However...”
Tio spoke firmly, with conviction.
“Forcing people to fight when they do not wish to would go against the dragonman creed.”
“......”
“Master, I am glad that you are willing to ask me what my wishes are, despite your desire to return home being so strong that you were able to craft concept magic around it. But answer me truthfully. Do you wish to kill god for the sake of this world?”
“Nope, not really.”
I answered immediately. I had no interest in fighting for the sake of thousands of people I didn’t even know, or a world I didn’t care about. For better or worse, I’d always prioritize the people close to me.
However, if, after I returned home, there came a time where Tio had to return to Tortus and fight to protect her family...
“Then there would be no meaning in asking you to fight,” Tio said gently, with a smile.
“You have already made other promises you need to keep, have you not?”
“Yeah.”
I promised Yue I’d show her my hometown. I promised Myu that as well. Shea and the others all wanted to go to Japan as well. I’d promised everyone I’d take them there, and I intended to keep that promise.
“In that case, you must fulfill those first.”
Man, Tio’s way more mature than I am...
I glanced over at Amanogawa. He twitched, then looked away, pretending he didn’t notice me staring at him. He’d been going on about how he’d save everyone from god for a while now. I had no idea what was going to happen in the future, but I knew a guy like him would never give up. There was also the possibility that someone else with as much potential as Amanogawa showed up in Tortus and cleared all the labyrinths as well.
However... I thought back to our time in the Grand Gruen Volcano. When I’d been gravely injured by Fried or whoever, Tio had transformed without hesitation, even though it meant her existence would become known to the world. So if the time ever came that Tio had to go back and fight...
“Tio.”
“Yes?”
“We’re going home... to Japan.”
“I see.”
“I want to show you my hometown too. I want to introduce my parents to the dragonman who helped me so much in this world.”
“I-I see.”
“I want to go back to living a peaceful, normal life. But if the time ever comes that you need to go back to Tortus to fight...”
“Yes?”
Everyone gulped, looking worriedly from Tio to me. However, I had eyes only for Tio, and she likewise was looking only at me.
After a brief silence, I said resolutely, “Then I’ll make a new promise with you.”
“A new promise?”
“Yeah. As for what kind of promise... Well, we can decide that when the time comes.”
“Indeed, we can... Thank you, Master.”
Tio covered her face with her sleeves, while Yue and the others grinned at her. They crowded around her, trying to get a peek at her expression. Right now, Tio was nothing like the calm, Super Tio she became when things got serious, or the usual perverted dragon she normally was.
Hey, Sensei. I made the right choice, didn’t I?
When I’d first met Tio, Sensei had lectured me. She told me that if I abandoned anything and everything that wasn’t important to me, that I’d end up living a lonely life. That my choices wouldn’t bring happiness to me, or the people I cared about.
In the end, my priorities still hadn’t changed. I wasn’t capable of fighting for justice or equality or abstract ideals like that. But at the ve
ry least, I was willing to fight for the things that were important to the people I cared about. After all, it was only thanks to Tio and the others that I’d made it this far.
I watched with a smile as Yue, Shea, and Kaori tried to peel Tio’s hands away from her face. Then, I looked over to Yaegashi and the others, who were also watching the scene with a smile. Seeing how happy everyone was made me feel relaxed. My emotions must have been showing on my face, since when Yaegashi turned to me—
“Ah...”
She stiffened up. After a second of shocked silence, she suddenly blushed. Wondering what had gotten Shizuku so flustered, Kaori and the others turned to me as well. When they saw my face, they stiffened too.
“What?” I asked Yaegashi, feeling a little embarrassed.
“I-It’s nothing... Just... you looked surprisingly gentle for once, so...”
Confused, I touched my face. My expression didn’t feel any different. I turned questioningly to Yue, and she nodded in agreement.
What the hell? You guys are making me blush... I quickly tried to change the topic.
“Oh yeah, I’ve gotta do something about your body too, Kaori.”
“Huh!? Wh-What do you mean... ‘do something about my body?’”
Blushing, Kaori glanced over at a nearby wall. I was pretty sure there was a bedroom behind that wall. I opened my mouth to say something, but Yue beat me to it.
“You damn pervert... Hajime’s talking about what he’s going to do with that body you’re in right now after you go back to your original one!”
“Oh! O-Of course that’s... I-It’s not what you think, Hajime-kun! I wasn’t expecting anything at all! Besides, I’d like to have my first time with Shizuku-chan present, too! I’m not a pervert! Please believe me!”
Yaegashi glared at Kaori, as if to say, “Don’t include me in your delusions!” Meanwhile, I spotted Amanogawa trembling off in the corner. Sakagami and Taniguchi noticed he was acting off too, then exchanged a look. They both wanted the other to go and calm him down.
This is one lively party we have here. I remember way back then, when Kaori and Yaegashi were the idols of the class. I never thought both of them would end up falling for me. Especially Kaori...
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 10 Page 23