“You’re hopeless. It’s kind of pathetic how off the mark you are.”
Red sparks flew off of Hajime’s body as he said that. His mana spread to every corner of this fake world, painting everything crimson. Since this was a trial, he reasoned that once he cleared it he’d be thrown out of the illusion automatically. And while he’d more or less guessed what the clear conditions were, this particular trial had pissed him off enough that he’d rather smash through it by force.
“Why don’t you want to stay?” Yue asked, confused. Seconds later though, the emotion vanished from her expression. Now she truly did resemble a doll. Hajime continued pouring mana into his surroundings as he glared angrily at Yue.
“That’s simple. Compared to the real Yue, you’re worthless. There’s nothing in the world I want more than the real Yue!” Hajime growled through gritted teeth. The vast amount of mana he was expending was taking its toll on his body. However, it was taking an even greater toll on the world around him. Cracks had already started to form inside the illusion. Hajime then activated Limit Break and squeezed out all of his remaining mana at once.
“That goes for everyone else, too. They’re all a bunch of troublemakers who never listen to what I say. Sure, maybe they’re not ‘ideal’ comrades, but I am who I am because of them. I only made it this far because they were by my side. Your ‘ideal’ fakes could never hold a candle to them!”
The illusion groaned under the weight of Hajime’s mana, which had covered it so thoroughly the entire world seemed red. And finally... it shattered. Shards of the illusion rained down all around Hajime, pieces of broken glass falling from the heavens. They glinted in the light like diamonds.
As the constructed world began to fade, the fake Yue smiled quietly at Hajime. It was the illusion’s final flare of light before the darkness swallowed it forever. That smile wasn’t the kind of smile Yue would ever make. It belonged to someone else entirely. Hajime had a guess as to whose smile that was, but his consciousness was fading rapidly and he lacked the energy to think any further.
“You pass. There’s no value in a world that’s always as you want it. And there’s no meaning in happiness you didn’t earn. Even if it’s painful, even if you feel like you can’t bear it at times, it’s only through overcoming harsh realities one after another that you will achieve true happiness. Never forget that.”
The voice that spoke to him sounded nothing like Yue’s. Hajime couldn’t even tell if it belonged to a guy or a girl. However, he could feel an unbelievable amount of warmth from it. Just before he lost consciousness, Hajime retorted.
“Hah, I don’t need you to tell me that. ...But I’ll keep it in mind, I guess.”
Though Hajime’s sight had already clouded over, it seemed to him that the person he was talking to smiled at that.
Chapter III: Grab Hold of Hope
Hajime felt something cold and hard digging into his back. The unpleasant sensation jolted Hajime’s hazy consciousness awake.
“...Where...”
Hajime shook his head, got to his feet, and examined his surroundings. The room he was in was pitch-black, but as he had the Night Vision skill, that was no impediment to him. A cursory glance told him he was inside the trunk of a tree, but one that was about twice as large as the one they’d entered after the Treant battle. There was one other significant difference between this trunk and the other. This trunk wasn’t empty. Rectangular objects had been placed at regularly spaced intervals along the circumference of the trunk. Each one was large enough to fit a person inside it.
They’re like coffins. From the looks of it, Hajime had awoken from within one of the aforementioned coffins. Aside from that, the room was empty. There didn’t appear to be any exits either. Hajime examined the coffins to either side of him, then dashed over to the one on the right.
“This... looks like amber.”
Lying inside the coffin was Yue. Not Yue in her transfigured goblin state, but the old, original Yue. She was suspended in some kind of strange, yellowish-brown semi-solid. As Hajime had said, the strange substance resembled the kind of amber people often found preserved fossils in. At first, Hajime had worried she might have been dead, but then his Sense Presence had picked up on Yue’s heartbeat. Furthermore, this Yue didn’t appear to be a fake. This was without a doubt, the real Yue.
There were a total of nine amber coffins in the tree trunk. Hajime checked each one in turn, and as he’d expected he found the rest of his party encased inside them.
I guess we were all teleported directly into them after the fight with the Treant. Hajime thought back to the illusion he’d been trapped in until just now. That dream had been like a Venus flytrap. Had he let himself be lured too deep inside, he would never have escaped. Chances were, everyone else was seeing similar visions. If they managed to escape from that world of sweet illusions, they’d likely break free of the amber as he had. At the very least, that was the conclusion Hajime came to after examining the coffins.
“Well, at least Yue and Tio are back in their original bodies. All that’s left is to see if they can make it back on their own or not... though I guess there’s no need to worry on that front.”
As far as Hajime could tell, everyone had been returned to their original forms the moment the party had cleared the floor the Treant was guarding. Hajime sat down on the edge of Yue’s coffin and reached out toward her. Naturally, the amber prevented him from touching her, but he still caressed the area above her face.
“Hurry up and return to me, Yue. It’s been ages since I heard your real voice...”
Hajime toyed with the idea of smashing the amber, but even if that released Yue from her illusion, it would likely result in them failing the trial and thus failing to clear the labyrinth.
“...But you know, Yue looked damn good in a school uniform. Shea too... I’m amazed dream me was able to keep his composure with those two around. I should ask them to wear them when we get back to Japan.”
Just then, Yue’s amber began to glow. Hajime took his hand off it and put some distance between himself and the coffin. Before long the light faded and the amber started melting away. The liquified amber vanished into the sides of the coffin as if being absorbed by them. In less than five minutes, it was all gone.
After confirming that Yue was still breathing, the last of Hajime’s worries disappeared and he gently lifted her up. He didn’t want to leave her lying there in the cold. And more importantly, he just wanted an excuse to hug her. As he brushed the hair out of her face, Yue’s eyes slowly blinked open.
“Welcome back, Yue. How’re you feeling?”
“Mmm... Hajime?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Yue still seemed a little dazed, but her gaze didn’t stray from Hajime. Even after she was fully alert, she continued observing him carefully.
“Are you the real Hajime?”
“I can probably guess why you’re asking that, but... it’s better if you decide that for yourself. Do I look like the real Hajime or a fake?”
From her reaction, Hajime had no doubt that a fake version of him had appeared in Yue’s illusion. It made him happy to know that he was part of Yue’s ideal world.
“Just so you know, I’m certain the Yue in my arms right now is the real Yue.”
Yue blinked in confusion a few times, then smiled faintly as she realized what Hajime was trying to say. Like Hajime, she was happy to know that she had been part of his ideal world. Her expression softened and she questioned his resolve.
“How can you be sure?” Yue already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. It was important that she heard it from Hajime’s mouth.
Hajime understood that as well, so he shrugged his shoulders and replied.
“Because I don’t sense anything off about you. Something deep inside my souls telling me that the Yue in front of me right now is the one who’s special to me.”
“Fufu... I feel the same way about you, Hajime. I can tell you’re the real one. Sor
ry, I asked such a pointless question.”
“It’s fine, you just woke up after all.”
Hajime shrugged his shoulders, and Yue wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her back and squeezed her tight. Cough!
“How was the me in your illusion?”
“You looked great in my school uniform.”
That hadn’t been the response Yue was expecting, but she chuckled regardless. It was funny how easy Hajime’s mind was to read.
“Mmm... I’ll wear it for you sometime, then.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it. How about you, how was your illusion?”
Cough! Cough!
Yue buried her face in Hajime’s neck and kissed it over and over.
“...You looked great sitting on the throne in royal robes.”
“Sorry, I’d be willing to wear royal robes for you, but I don’t think I’ll ever sit on a throne. Actually, why the heck was I even on a throne?”
“Because I was the queen. And we already had 11 children.”
“What the heck kind of fantasy was that!? And why the hell’s our family so big!? Are you planning to make a soccer team out of just our kids!?” Hajime so so shocked he pulled Yue off him and stared at her.
Yue licked her lips seductively in place of a reply. Hajime’s heart skipped a beat and his ironclad confidence in his ability to keep his cool no matter the situation wavered a little.
“Fufu, look forward to it...”
“...Hah, I guess I’m no match for you, after all, Yue.”
Cough! Cough! Cough!!!
Hajime threw up his hands in defeat, and Yue smiled playfully in response. Now this is the Yue I remember. Hajime wrapped his arms behind Yue and hugged her tight. Yue was longing for the same thing he was, so she obediently closed her eyes and lifted her chin. Hajime was captivated by her soft, rosy cheeks, bewitching lips, and the tiny tongue that occasionally darted out between them.
The two of them leaned into each other, their lips drawing closer and closer. Just before they touched, however, the two of them were interrupted.
Ack! Cough! Cough! Hic! Ack! Cough!
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
They thought they’d just been imagining the coughing they’d been hearing, but it seemed not. Unable to ignore it any longer, the two exchanged glances and, after a brief pause, turned toward the source of the sound. Standing there was none other than Shea.
“Look, I know, I know, you don’t want me around anyway. Even though I worked so hard to come back to reality... this is what I’ve returned to. Ugh... I even tried to remind you guys I was here by coughing... But you... just ignored me... Reality is just too cruel.”
Her bunny ears were drooping, and she was sobbing uncontrollably. Hajime couldn’t help but pity her a little. It appeared Shea had awoken not long after Yue, but as the two of them had had eyes only for each other, so they hadn’t noticed her. Truly, it was a shame.
Shea tottered over to a corner of the room, sat down cradling her knees, and sulked. However, Hajime didn’t miss the suggestive glances she occasionally threw his way.
Whatever the case, it had been cruel of them to ignore Shea right after she’d completed her ordeal and shattered her illusion. And so, Hajime and Yue smiled wryly to each other and went to comfort Shea. After a few minutes of fondling her ears, her tiny tail was wagging with excitement. As Hajime caressed her soft fur, he spouted words of comfort.
“Yep, a Shea without bunny ears just isn’t any good. Shea’s only Shea because she has those. In fact, without them, she wouldn’t be Shea. The ears are Shea’s true essence.”
“Umm, I have no idea what you’re trying to say, but I’m more than just my rabbit ears. Though you’re obsessing them even more than usual today, Hajime-san. Did something happen inside your illusion?”
“Yeah, dream you didn’t have any bunny ears. You were just a boring Shea.”
“Mmm... does that even still count as Shea?”
“Excuse me Yue-san. While I admit my ears are my trademark, I’m still me without them.”
A chill ran down Shea’s spine. They don’t really care more about my ears than me, do they? Hajime then asked her what kind of illusion she’d been shown, and Shea explained that she’d been living in a world where all of her family, even the ones the empire had killed, were alive and well. Even her friend Mona, who’d died when she was young, had been there. On top of that Hajime and Yue had been with her as well. She’d spent her days living happily in the sea of trees with everyone.
Incidentally, Yue’s illusion had been one where she hadn’t been betrayed and her nation still stood. On top of that, Shea, Kaori, and Tio were all her friends while Hajime was her husband, and as she’d mentioned before, they had 11 kids.
“As for me, I’d never been summoned to this world and was living my life peacefully with Yue and Shea in Japan. I guess the labyrinth wanted to show me a world where I didn’t have to suffer through Orcus’ labyrinth, but still had all the happiness I’d found along the way.”
“I see... That definitely sounds like an ideal world.”
“...How did you break your illusion, Shea?”
Shea grinned at that question and replied.
“Well, I couldn’t just deny who I am, not that I wanted to anyway, so I just told Haltina ‘How dare you use my family to manipulate me, you cheating monster!’ and started smashing everything.”
“I see...” Yue nodded in understanding. Hajime smiled and nodded as well. In her illusion, Shea had likely been the same weak girl she’d been before meeting Hajime and Yue. That was probably what she hadn’t been able to accept.
“Since I met you guys before the empire found us in my illusion, we all started living together without having to fight anyone. So I spent all my time being protected by you two. But you know, I think deep down I knew there was no way I’d really be allowed to stay with you guys if I was that weak. I mean, it was nice that Hajime-san said he’d protect me, and I was happy when Yue-san said she’d take care of everything... It really felt good letting myself get spoiled. But the more time I spent like that, the more it started to feel wrong somehow... and before I knew it, I’d decided to fight for myself. Together with all of you.”
“So that’s how you got back...”
“That’s right! I want to keep fighting together with you two, Hajime-san, Yue-san. Even if it means I have to go through even more painful things in the future.”
She’s become a lot tougher now... Hajime thought to himself.
When they’d first met, she’d just been a worthless loser of a rabbit, but now she’d changed completely. And the impetus for her change had been her desire to stand together with Hajime and Yue. That, and her love for Hajime specifically. Though Hajime didn’t feel the same about Shea as he did about Yue, he couldn’t deny that he felt something for her. He wrapped his arms around Shea’s head and hugged her close. Yue, who’d already guessed Hajime’s feelings, smiled kindly.
“U-Umm, Hajime-san?”
“What’re you getting all flustered for...? Welcome back, Shea. You did good.”
“Ah... Thank you!” Shea grinned. Though Hajime hadn’t said it, he’d clearly been implying that she belonged with them. Her smile was so pure and full of happiness that Hajime couldn’t help but be charmed by it.
The trio huddled together in a group hug and continued talking about their respective illusions. After a few minutes, another one of the amber coffins began to glow. Another one of their comrades had broken free of the prison of temptation and returned to reality.
“I’m pretty sure that coffin had...” Yue increased the intensity of her magical light, illuminating the figure breaking free of its amber cage. And after a few more seconds—
“Pathetic! Master would never punish me in such a lukewarm manner! If you wish to mimic him, you must do better than that!”
“.....”
Naturally, the person shaking her fist in the air was none other than Ti
o. That outburst had been enough to give Hajime and the others a decent idea of what kind of illusion Tio had been seeing, and they all glared coldly at her. Hajime’s gaze, in particular, was colder than the Siberian tundra. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of things I was doing in her dream.
Upon realizing she was being watched, Tio shivered with excitement. She turned around, her expression ecstatic. When she realized who it was staring at her, her smile grew wider. She locked eyes with Hajime and ran over to him like a puppy dashing toward her owner.
“Masteeeeeeeeer, I have returned! Praise meee!” She tried to knock down Hajime the same way she had back when she’d been a goblin. Naturally, Hajime responded with a rubber bullet from Donner.
“Awah!?” There was a loud bang, and Tio flipped backward through the air. She landed headfirst into the ground and groaned in rapture. Hajime’s next course of action was to step on her. It was the only way he could stop her from writhing in such a creepy manner.
“Damn perverted dragon. What the hell did you make me do in your illusion?”
“Nhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah this is what I longed for! Oh, to be shot and stepped on the moment I return to reality! To be gazed at as if I’m nothing more than trash! A fake could never hope to grant me such exquisite pleasure! This is the Master I know and love!”
“Die, you damn pervert.”
“Abababaaba!”
Unable to listen to another word, Hajime jolted Tio with a surprisingly powerful Lightning Field. She arched her back, spasmed for a few seconds, then fell to the ground. White smoke rose from her limp body. Her expression was so disgusting that it couldn’t be described without needing to be censored. That being said, she certainly looked happy. Of course, her happiness only made Hajime angrier.
“Ahaha... I guess even the creator of a labyrinth couldn’t understand Tio-san’s fetishes. Haltina tried to create a pervert’s ideal world, but in the end, Tio-san escaped because it wasn’t good enough.”
“Haltina, you have my respect.” Yue stood up straight and saluted. Hajime could have sworn he saw a vision of Haltina salute back with tears in their eyes.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 8 Page 14