Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 8

by Ryo Shirakome

  “It truly is a blessing to be able to enjoy Master’s rewards. The real Master is truly peerless.” Tio bounced back from Hajime’s attack looking no worse for the wear. Annoyed, Hajime took aim with Donner to put another bullet in her, but then stopped.

  “.....” He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Tio’s expression.

  “Hmm? What seems to be the matter, Master? Have you finally fallen for my beauty? Nufufu.”

  Tio flashed him a winsome smile, and Hajime breathed a prolonged sigh. He stepped in close and patted Tio on the head. She looked at him blankly as he did that, so he spoke his mind.

  “If you want me to fall for you, don’t force yourself to smile. Even your usual perverted expression is better than that. Anyway... welcome back, Tio.”

  Tio’s eyes went wide in surprise, and she blinked a few times before covering her eyes and blushing in embarrassment.

  “Mmm, thank you, Master,” she muttered. It was then that Yue and Shea noticed what Hajime had already puzzled out. Out of everyone here, Tio was the one who’d lived the longest. As one of the near-extinct dragon tribe, she’d seen the most horrors and experienced the most suffering. She undoubtedly had more regrets than the others. Considering all she had lost, the illusion the labyrinth had shown her must have been far more wonderful than anything it could have shown Hajime or the others. It would have been a veritable treasure trove, filled with all the people and things she’d lost over the centuries.

  That was likely the reason why it had taken her longer to wake up than the others too. However, she’d tried to act normal in an attempt to cover up the feelings she’d bottled inside. It was only thanks to Hajime’s sharp perception that he’d noticed something was off.

  “Welcome back, Tio-san.”

  “Mmm... I’m glad you’re back, Tio.”

  “Shea, Yue... Thank you.” Hajime and the others smiled at Tio’s bashful response, which made her blush even harder.

  A short while later, another one of the amber coffins began to glow. It appeared the next person to escape the world of illusions would be Kaori. Hajime and the others rushed over as she gasped for breath and opened her eyes. When she spotted her friends standing around her, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, when her eyes met Hajime’s, she blushed bright red and backpedaled all the way to the wall. This was the first time she’d ever backed away from Hajime, and he was somewhat confused. He turned to Yue and the others, hoping they might have an explanation. Worried about what they might say, Kaori hurriedly tried to explain her odd behavior.

  “Ah, u-um, it’s not what you think, Hajime-kun! I just, uh... Anyway, it’s nothing really! I’m not trying to avoid you or anything!”

  “I don’t really mind... Something must’ve happened in your illusion to make you act like that, right? What the heck did you see in there?”

  “Huh? Um, I...” Kaori’s blush spread all the way up her face, and she trailed off. With a garbled groan, she squatted down on the ground and cradled her head. She couldn’t bring herself to meet Hajime’s gaze.

  The other girls were more or less able to guess what kind of illusion Kaori had been based on her reaction. Tio grinned and said “Oho...” while Shea blushed and muttered “So bold, Kaori-san...” while looking away. Yue, on the other hand, pulled no punches.

  “Kaori, you pervert.” She glared coldly down at Kaori, who twitched and hurriedly tried to deny it.

  “I-I am not! D-Don’t just accuse me like that!”

  “Then what kind of dream were you in?”

  “W-Well... I-I was just living an ordinary everyday life.”

  “I see... An ordinary everyday life where you seduced Hajime every night.”

  “I did not! I might have pushed him down at first, but after that, it was Hajime-kun who... Ah!”

  “You’re too dangerous to be allowed near Hajime anymore.”

  “Th-That’s not true! Hajime-kun, don’t listen to her, okay? I’d never do anything like that to you.”

  “Yeah yeah, I know, don’t worry.”

  “Ugh...”

  It seemed Kaori had done quite a few naughty things with the Hajime in her illusion. Apparently, Kaori had shaken Hajime off and escaped just before they’d gone all the way, but she still seemed to be regretting that choice a little. The entire time she was explaining her dream, she shot covert glances at Hajime to judge his reaction. That only made Yue want to tease her more, and she whispered something into Kaori’s ear that caused her to cover her face in embarrassment again. Yue was like a cat, toying with her food before she went in for the kill. And Kaori was the poor mouse caught in her clutches.

  “Anyway, looks like all of us managed to escape safely.”

  “Yep. What are we going to do about the hero and his friends?” Shea asked as she glanced over at the remaining amber coffins.

  “Let me think... Worst case, we can always break them out, but for now, let’s wait and see if they can break out with their own strength. If they can’t, then there was no point bringing them here in the first place.”

  “How long should we wait?”

  “However long it takes for me to eat and rest up, I guess? I could have broken out of the illusion the normal way, but I got kinda pissed and used all my mana to smash it by force, so I need to rest for a little bit anyway.”

  “Why do you always do things like this?” Shea said with a sigh.

  Hajime never thought he’d see the day he’d be lectured by Shea of all people.

  “I know I know, it was dumb. I’ve been letting this labyrinth rile me up way too easily.”

  “Yep. But well, I can see why you’d be mad, since it keeps using Yue-san as bait...”

  “That’s not a good enough excuse. If I keep letting this stuff get to me, it’ll turn into a weakness that can be exploited. It’s gonna be hard, but I’ll try and learn how to keep my cool in here.”

  Hajime’s resolve truly was admirable, and Shea watched him with admiration. Then, after a quick glance over at Yue, who was still bullying Kaori while Tio watched on, she leaned in close to Hajime and whispered something.

  “Umm, Hajime-san?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If I ended up like Yue-san had... would you have gotten mad on my behalf, too?”

  She then looked away, embarrassed, though her ears were still pointed in Hajime’s direction. Even if he wouldn’t get as mad about her fake being used to manipulate him as he would if it were Yue, she still wanted to believe it would at least upset him. Hajime thought about giving a noncommittal answer, but after seeing the faint glimmer of hope in Shea’s eyes he scratched his cheek awkwardly and decided to speak honestly this time.

  “The reason I felt like shattering that shitty illusion wasn’t just because of Yue. You were in my dream as well. And well... I didn’t want any Shea except for the one sitting in front of me.”

  “Ah... Ehehe, I see.” Shea smiled, and her tail and ears began wagging back and forth. He reaction was so cute that Hajime reflexively started fondling her again.

  Afterward, Kaori came crying to Hajime when she couldn’t take Yue’s bullying anymore, and Shea disentangled herself from him to comfort her. Meanwhile, Yue puffed her chest out proudly and Tio... Well, Tio’s reaction wasn’t important. Regardless, the five of them continued horsing around while they ate, and before they knew it three hours had passed. However, none of the hero’s party had awoken.

  “Guess it’s about time...”

  “Mmm... Yeah.”

  “I guess that’s that. It’s not like we can keep waiting forever.”

  Hajime looked at the coffins, considering how best to forcibly remove Kouki and the others from them. Yue and Shea both seemed to agree that there was no point in waiting any longer too. However, Kaori didn’t.

  “Can... Can we wait just a little bit longer? I’m sure Shizuku-chan won’t let something like this beat her...”

  Kaori understood best just how desperately Shizuku and the others wanted to clear this labyr
inth and obtain ancient magic of their own. After all, having even one would help them tremendously in gathering the others. Also, Kaori personally wanted Shizuku and the others to get stronger because she believed they’d help in finding a way back home.

  For his part, Hajime wanted them to grow stronger as well, in preparation for the battles to come, so he shrugged his shoulders and agreed to Kaori’s plea. Kaori smiled and attempted to hug him, only to be blocked by Yue. While the two of them were grappling with each other, one of the coffins started to glow.

  “That one’s... Shizuku-chan!”

  “I figured Yaegashi would be the fastest.”

  “Indeed, Shizuku has a good head on her shoulders. It does not surprise me that she discovered the illusion first.”

  Kaori forgot her previous quarrel and dashed over to Shizuku’s coffin. Shizuku groaned and opened her eyes, and Kaori helped her into a sitting position.

  “This place is... Kaori?”

  “It’s me, Shizuku-chan. Welcome back.”

  “So I made it back to reality. Phew... That was tiring...”

  Shizuku sighed and shook her head. She then smiled at Kaori and muttered, “Thanks.” Seeing that she’d awoken, Hajime and the others walked over as well.

  “You sure took your sweet time. Still, I’m glad you made it.”

  “Huh? Oh, N-Nagumo-kun... Y-Yeah. It was tough, but I managed somehow.” For some reason, Shizuku started stuttering when she talked to Hajime.

  Yue and the others stared suspiciously at her, since the reaction was definitely odd. Shizuku coughed a few times to hide her strange behavior and examined her surroundings. However, she couldn’t hide the faint blush that had appeared on her cheeks.

  “...So Kouki and the others are still inside?”

  “Yep. We got out a few hours ago, but you’re the only one who’s escaped since then, Shizuku-chan.”

  “I see. It certainly was a grueling trial. Sorry I made you guys wait so long.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Shizuku-san. If anything, you should be glad you made it through. Also, if you don’t mind, there’s something I want to ask you...”

  “Thank you, Shea. And feel free.”

  Shizuku felt a sliver of dread from Shea’s tone, but she tried her best to remain calm. However, the one who ended up asking was not Shea, but Yue.

  “......”

  “Wh-What is it?”

  “.......”

  “Um, I won’t know what you want if you just stare at me like that, Yue.”

  Yue was standing right next to Shizuku and staring intently at her. She neither moved nor blinked nor showed any kind of expression. She just stood there and stared. There was something intimidating about being stared at silently from point-blank like that. Despite Yue’s beauty, Shizuku couldn’t help but feel a little terrified.

  Shizuku tried to avoid Yue’s gaze, but it bored into her whether she met it or not. Finally, Yue asked the question on everyone’s mind.

  “Shizuku... what kind of dream did you see?”

  “Huh? It was a totally normal one. I was just living my everyday life like a normal girl.”

  “Normal? Who else was in it?”

  “Everyone. Everyone I know anyway.”

  “I see...”

  Shizuku met Yue’s gaze as she said that. Her voice neither wavered nor trembled. However, her vague reply made it clear that she didn’t want to go into details about the contents of her dream. Yue and the others understood that, so they decided not to press her any further for now. Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief as she realized Yue was backing off.

  The party then brought Shizuku over to the center of the room, where they’d prepared some tea. Tired as she was, Shizuku was grateful for the break. As she sat down, she muttered to herself.

  “I can’t believe I was a princess. And of all the people, the prince had to be...”

  Few people heard her quiet grumbling.

  A few hours later, Shizuku had fully recovered. None of her remaining party members had escaped from their coffins, so Hajime decided it was time to finally break them out by force. They couldn’t afford to delay their progress any further. Either Hajime or Yue could have easily smashed the amber, but they decided to leave it in the hands of the person most suited for it.

  “Alright Kaori, we’re counting on you. Just make sure you don’t accidentally disintegrate their bodies too.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. If I’m not in the middle of a fight, I can control the power perfectly.”

  Kaori placed her hands on the amber and started pouring her mana into it. Her silver mana glinted like moonlight inside the dim tree trunk.

  “Disintegrate.”

  Kaori had no need to say anything to cast her spell, but she did anyway to help her focus. The amber didn’t melt like it had for the others, but instead withered away and dispersed as it was broken down into particles too small to see. It took only a few minutes to disintegrate the amber surrounding Kouki, Ryutarou, and Suzu. Worried that the unorthodox method of freeing them might have affected their bodies somehow, Kaori ran a diagnosis on them, but it appeared they were in perfect health.

  “...Huh? Kaori? Shizuku? Where am I? I thought the two of you were...”

  “Huh? Where is this? I thought I was...”

  “Huh? No, Eri, don’t...”

  Before long, the three of them woke up from their respective dreams. As they hadn’t realized they were in the middle of an illusion, they were confused by the sudden change in scenery.

  Suzu’s hand was stretched out toward the ceiling, and it was obvious from her words what it was she was trying to grab onto. She must have been dreaming about Eri. Considering how much Eri’s betrayal had hurt Suzu, it was hardly surprising that she hadn’t been able to break free from her dream.

  Shizuku and Kaori watched Suzu with pained expressions on their faces. Suzu was always the one who acted the most cheerful out of everyone, but that betrayal had left deep scars on her heart. Scars that hadn’t fully healed yet.

  “Are the three of you alright?”

  “Suzu-chan...”

  Finally, the three of them started to realize that what they’d been seeing until just now was an illusion. Each of them had a different reaction to that knowledge. Ryutarou looked a little depressed, but then scratched his head awkwardly and spoke wistfully.

  “Well, I guess that’s just how it is.”

  Kouki, on the other hand, looked darkly at the ground and balled his trembling hands into fists. Suzu tried to play it off with a smile, but everyone could tell her smile was hollow. Unable to bear seeing it any longer, Kaori and Shizuku hugged Suzu tight.

  However, it appeared the labyrinth wasn’t going to give them time to come to terms with their feelings. Another magic circle began to glow underneath their feet. It appeared once all members broke free of their amber coffins, the challengers were sent on to the next stage.

  “Amanogawa, Taniguchi. There’s no time to reflect on your visions. If you don’t pull yourselves together, the things you desire will fall forever out of your reach.”

  “Ah... You don’t need to tell me twice.”

  Y-Yeah, you’re right!”

  There was a blinding flash, and Hajime and the others were once again teleported.

  The party found themselves once more in a sea of trees. Unlike before though, they could see the ceiling and had a clear guidepost for where they were meant to go. From what Hajime could tell, this space was similar to the forest he’d encountered in the Great Orcus Labyrinth and was situated in an enclosed, underground space. While most of the trees were of uniform size, there was one further in that was much larger than the rest. If this room followed the same pattern as the others, that was where their next teleportation circle was.

  “Looks like we all made it together this time,” Hajime said as he looked over the party. He’d been worried they’d get hit with more fakes, but it appeared that had been a needless concern.

 
“Hajime, are there any fakes?”

  “Nope, everyone’s real. At least, that’s what my eye and my instincts tell me.”

  “If you think we’re fine, then we’re definitely fine Hajime-san.”

  Shea and the others relaxed visibly. The party then set off through the dense jungle toward the large tree in the distance. Hajime glanced back to make sure everyone was still with him and noticed Kouki and Suzu both had dark expressions still. Hajime could understand why Suzu still wasn’t over her dream. Going from an illusion where your best friend was still with you into a reality where she’d betrayed and nearly killed you was about as traumatic as it got. The dream had likely reopened the emotional wounds that had barely begun to heal.

  That still left Kouki, however. Hajime had no idea what he’d seen, but judging by Kouki’s sunken eyes, and the neutral expression he was struggling to keep, it must have left quite the negative impression on him. That, or he was frustrated at failing to overcome yet another trial. But while Hajime did sympathize, this was a labyrinth. A murderous maze where the party could be thrown into a life-threatening situation at any moment. If Suzu and Kouki kept carrying that emotional baggage with them, they wouldn’t last long.

  “Amanogawa, Taniguchi. Are you guys really serious about tackling this labyrinth?”

  “Wha!? O-Of course we are!”

  “Huh? Y-Yeah, I am!”

  Hajime’s sharp glare pierced through the both of them. Ryutarou seethed at Hajime’s caustic words, but before he could come to his friends’ defense, Hajime continued.

  “This is a labyrinth. Death lurks around every corner. We might be thrown into hell at any second. If you can’t focus anymore, you may as well give up here. Otherwise, you’ll die.”

  “W-Wait, I...”

  “Regardless of your reasons, the fact of the matter was that you couldn’t clear the last trial. At the very least, you need the determination to pass all the others if you want to survive. And I don’t see that determination from either of you. If your will’s been broken, then you’re worth less than dead weight.”

  “......”

  “I’m not sure if I can or not, but I’ll try to open a portal back to the surface from here. If I can’t, I can create a barrier around you guys to keep you safe until we return. So decide, here and now. Are you willing to do this, or not? I won’t let anyone with halfhearted feelings continue on with us.”