“Even if I let you come, that doesn’t mean I’ll respond to your feelings, you know?”
“Don’t you know? The future’s not set in stone.”
Since she was someone who could see the future, she knew that for sure. Depending on one’s actions, the future could be changed.
“It’ll be nothing but danger.”
“Good thing I’m a monster, then. I won’t get in your way during fights.”
The elders had scorned her with that name once before, but now she wore it with pride. And it was all because she’d learned there were some things that couldn’t be done unless you were a monster.
“My goal is to return to my own world. You might never see your family again if you come with me.”
“I’ve already talked to them about that, but I still want to go. Dad understands too.” Shea felt nothing but gratitude for the family that had protected her for so long. She’d probably never be able to describe what she’d felt when the family she’d lived with all her life had sent her off with a smile after she’d told them her intentions.
“You might not have it easy living in my world.”
“I’ll say it as many times as I have to... I still want to go.”
Shea’s mind was made up. Mere words wouldn’t deter her anymore... No, they couldn’t deter her. That was just how strong her feelings were.
“......”
“Fufu, is that all you have to say? Does that mean I win?”
“What is there to even ‘win’ here...?”
“There is something. It means my feelings won you over... Hajime-san.”
“...The hell does that mean?”
She decided to reiterate her, Shea Haulia’s, intentions.
“Please take me with you.”
Hajime and Shea stared at each other for a while. Reflected in Shea’s sapphire eyes were Hajime’s own pupils. Finally...
“...Fine, do whatever you want. Damned weirdo.”
Whatever he’d seen in her eyes must have been enough to convince him, as Hajime finally gave in with a sigh.
A single shout of joy, followed by the unceremonious noise of someone blowing their nose echoed throughout the forest. Hajime could only smile wryly as he lamented the future that awaited him.
Shea cupped her cheeks and let out a strange series of laughs that sounded like “Ehehe! Uheheheh! Kufufu!” as she happily jumped with joy. Her serious expression from earlier had vanished without a trace.
“...Disgusting.” Yue muttered, unable to watch on any longer. Shea’s sensitive rabbit ears didn’t miss the whispered insult, though.
“Hey, just what’s disgusting here, huh? I can’t believe you... I’m just so happy that I can’t help it, okay? This is like the first time Hajime’s been nice to me. Did you see him? How he looked at the end there? I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw that. At this rate, I’ll be head over heels for him pretty soon.”
Shea was over the moon. In fact, she was probably over the stars even. Tired of her excited gaggling, both Yue and Hajime simultaneously opened their mouths.
“...Stupid rabbit.”
“Wha!? What was that!? Why can’t you just say my name already! Pleaaase, we’re even traveling companions now. Don’t tell me you’re going to keep using those terrible nicknames forever. You won’t, right?”
“......”
“Wh-Why are you suddenly going quiet... Wait, please don’t avert your eyes like that. Come on, it’s not a hard name to say. Shea. She-ah. Repeat after me. She-ah.”
They ignored Shea, who kept trying to get them to say her name, and began discussing their future plans. At which point Shea started clinging to them crying, “Please don’t ignore meeee... I’m one of you guys now toooo!” Just because they’d become companions didn’t meant they’d treat her any better.
And so, the noisy trio, mostly due to Shea, made their way through the fog to where the rest of the Haulia were waiting. They had cleared Hajime’s harsh trials, the proof of which was resting in their hands. Upon closer inspection, it was apparent that Cam was with them.
Shea smiled happily as she saw her family for the first time in a while. The last time she’d spoken with them was before the training had begun, when she’d told them her intentions. It had only been ten days, but with how harsh their training had been, that time felt like an eternity. To Shea, it felt like it had been months since she’d last seen them.
She made a beeline for her father the moment she spotted him. There was a mountain of things she wanted to tell him. But as she drew closer, her mouth reflexively snapped shut. Cam and the others had a strange aura surrounding them.
He gave Shea only a quick smile before turning back to look at Hajime. Then....
“Boss. We slaughtered the monsters you requested.”
“B-Boss? D-Dad? What’s with that way of talking... and why do you look so...”
Cam ignored his daughter’s confusion, then presented the fangs and claws of some of the forest’s more powerful monsters to Hajime.
“I thought I told you one was enough...”
Hajime’s final task for his students had been to take down one of the stronger inhabitants of the sea of trees as a team. But judging from the quantity of monster parts the rabbits had harvested, they’d easily killed more than ten. Cam grinned wolfishly as he replied.
“That you did, Boss. But as we were hunting our target, the damned thing’s friends showed up... Those bastards dared to bare their fangs at us, so we simply did what was natural. Isn’t that right guys?”
“That’s right, Boss. Those damned monsters need to learn their place.”
“We made sure none of them escaped. They all got what they deserved.”
“They were a bit of a pain to deal with, but... hearing their screams was all worth it. Fufu...”
“Maybe we should have hung them from the trees as an example to the others...”
“Well, we chopped them up into pieces, so that’s probably good enough.”
Each of their words were very unsettling. Their usual gentle expressions were nowhere to be seen. With a dangerous glint in their eyes, they reported the results of their mission to Hajime. Shea watched them all in amazement.
“...Who are you guys?” Suddenly, she returned to her senses and rounded on Hajime, as he was most likely responsible for the radical change in her family.
“Wh-What on earth is this!? Hajime-san, what did you do to them!?”
“C-Calm down... I didn’t do anything... This is just a result of their training...”
“No way! What kind of training would turn them into this!? They’re all totally different people! Hey, don’t you avert your gaze! Look at me!”
“...They haven’t changed that much.”
“Is that eye of yours just for show!? Look at them! They’re all staring at their knives with murder in their eyes! Look, one of them even named theirs Julia! They’re totally in love with their weapons! This is not normal!” Shea’s hysterical screams rang out through the sea of trees. Cam watched their exchange with a puzzled expression on his face. While Shea was yelling at Hajime, even more of the Haulia returned to the clearing. Each and every one of them had a somewhat... wild look to them. Even the women and children and elderly.
Hajime awkwardly averted his eyes from Shea’s glowering glare and tried to make excuses to explain away the situation. Realizing she wouldn’t get anywhere questioning Hajime, Shea turned to Cam instead.
“Dad! Guys! What happened to you all!? It’s like you’ve become completely different people! Even the way you guys talk has gotten scary... Come back to your senses, everyone!” Shea desperately pleaded with her father, and the dangerous glint in his eyes slowly faded away as his normal gentle expression returned. She let out a sigh of relief. However...
“What are you talking about, Shea? We’re perfectly sane. We’ve just come to learn something about the truth of this world. Thanks to our boss here.”
“Th-The truth of this wor
ld? What does that even mean?” Shea suddenly had a bad premonition, and Cam proudly puffed out his chest.
“90% of the world’s problems can be solved through violence.”
“You really are insane after all! My kind, gentle dad is gone for good! Waaaaaaah!” Unable to bear the shock of what she’d come back to, Shea ran crying into the sea of trees. But before she could vanish into the fog, she ran into a small silhouette. She let out a cry of surprise and fell on her butt. The figure she’d bumped into managed to retain their balance, and they held out a hand to Shea.
“S-Sorry. Thanks.”
“Don’t worry about it, Lady Shea. It’s only natural for a guy to help a girl.”
“L-Lady Shea?”
From the depths of the fog emerged the Haulia boy who had once loved flowers. Slung across his shoulders was a massive crossbow, and two knives and a slingshot dangled from a belt strapped to his waist. His smile was surprisingly nihilistic. Never in her life had Shea ever been addressed so formally. It was doubly shocking because she distinctly remembered the boy calling her “Shea onee-chan” in the past. He walked past Shea and gave Hajime a crisp, respectful salute.
“Boss! I apologize for returning empty-handed! However, I have a report to make! Permission to speak?”
“G-Go ahead. What is it?” When he saw the boy acting like a seasoned veteran, Hajime did have to admit that he might have taken his spartan training techniques a little too far. The boy nonchalantly continued his report.
“Sir! As I was pursuing the target, I discovered a battalion of armed bearmen. I located them on the route to the Grand Tree. I suspect they foolishly believe they can ambush us!”
“Ah, so they really came. I figured they’d try and track us down right away, but... I see. So, they actually have the gall to try and stop us right before our destination, huh? They’ve got guts... And?”
“With your permission, sir, we Haulia shall take care of them!”
“Hmm... What do you think, Cam? You heard the kid.”
Cam grinned that same wolfish grin, then nodded his head in agreement.
“With your permission, we’ll gladly destroy them. This is a good opportunity... to see how well we fare against opponents of their caliber. Don’t worry, we won’t bring shame to your name.” At Cam’s words, the other Haulia all began sporting bloodthirsty grins. Suddenly, it felt like even more of the rabbitmen were giving names to their weapons. Shea watched on in utter despair.
“...Are you sure you can do it?”
“We are, sir!”
The one who’d replied was the boy who delivered the initial report. Hajime closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.
“Listen up, men of the Haulia! Proud and courageous warriors! Today is the day you finally graduate from being worthless maggots! You used to be pieces of trash that were worth less than the spit on my boot! But that’s true no longer! With force you crush the irrationality of this world, and with cunning you run circles around any who would dare oppose you! You have been reborn as great warriors of the Haulia tribe! Now go, and teach those bear bastards that can’t think of anything but their misguided revenge who’s boss! They’re nothing but stepping stones in your path! Worthless bastards that don’t even deserve consideration! Build a mountain with their corpses, and plant your flag atop its summit! That flag is proof that you’re alive! That the Haulia are meek little rabbits no longer! Let all of Haltina Woods know of your existence!”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“Tell me, men! You are the most powerful warriors in all of Haltina! What is your wish!?”
“Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!”
“What is your specialty!?”
“Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!”
“And what do you do to your enemies!?”
“Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!”
“That’s right, slaughter them! That is what you achieved strength for! Fight for your right to live!”
“Aye aye, sir!”
“That’s the spirit! Proud members of the Haulia tribe, here are my orders! Search and destroy! Now go!”
“Yahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Waaaaaah, my family’s all goooone. They’re all deaaaad.”
At Hajime’s command, the Haulia all turned as one and ventured forth into the fog.
There was no trace of the old peace-loving race they used to be. Shea crumpled to her knees and wailed wordlessly. Her cries echoed throughout the forest. Even Yue couldn’t help but be moved by such a display of emotion, and she comfortingly patted Shea’s head.
Aiming to join his companions, the little boy ran out from behind Shea, but she called out to him to hold him back.
“Par-kun! Please wait! L-Look, there’s a pretty little flower right here! You don’t have to go with them...You can just wait here with me. What do you say? Don’t you want to stay?” If nothing else, she wanted to at least save this one little boy from going down the wrong path. She was desperately trying to entice him back with the promise of flowers. Why flowers? That was because he was none other than the same boy who had been so enamored with them before.
At Shea’s words, the young boy, Par, stopped. He breathed out an exasperated sigh and shrugged his shoulders. It was a bit of an exaggerated reaction considering the question.
“Lady Shea, please don’t dig up bad memories. I’ve already thrown away my past. That weak, flower-loving boy’s no more.”
For reference, Par was still ten years old.
“B-Bad memories? Thrown away your past? Umm, I don’t really get it, but does that mean you don’t like flowers anymore?”
“That’s right, I threw that love away along with my past.”
“But you used to love them so much...”
“Hmph, that was nothing more than the folly of youth.”
To reiterate, Par was only ten years old.
“Anyway, Lady Shea.”
“Wh-What?” Seeing how drastically the boy that had used to run around going “Shea onee-chan, Shea onee-chan” had changed left Shea nearly speechless. It had taken every ounce of her remaining consciousness to just reply to him. But those words she’d worked so hard to squeeze out only made things worse.
“Along with my past, I’ve thrown away that old, weak name of mine. I’m called Baltfeld now. Baltfeld the Executioner. Please use my new name from now on.”
“What!? Where’d a name like Baltfeld come from!? And what the heck is ‘the Executioner’ even supposed to mean!?”
“Whoops, sorry. My comrades are waiting, so I gotta go. See ya!”
“Hey, wait! Get back here! I’m not done— Holy crap, you’re fast! Wait! I said waiiiiiit!” Shea helplessly stretched her hand out to the fog, looking like she’d just been abandoned by her lover. But there was no reply; her machoified family had all marched off to war. And so, she simply hung her head and resumed her sobbing. The family she had known was gone. One couldn’t help but pity her plight.
Unsure of what to say to cheer her up, Yue could only smile awkwardly. Even Hajime uncomfortably averted his gaze. His wandering eyes caught sight of Yue, and she quietly muttered.
“...You’re amazing, Hajime. You keep doing things normal humans could never even dream of like it’s nothing.”
“Not really, it’s not like...”
“You brainwashed all of them without using dark magic... Unbelievable.”
“To be honest, even I think I went a bit too far. But I don’t regret it.”
For some time after that the only thing that could be heard in that part of the forest were the sounds of Shea’s sobbing. Meanwhile...
Regin Vanton was next in line to be the chief of the Vanton clan, the strongest among the bearmen. Rumor had it that he was one of the strongest bearmen in Haltina. He was the right hand man of the chief, Jin Vanton, who he practically idolized.
It wasn’t just Regin either. All the members of the Vanton clan, especially the younger ones, adored him. Jin’s broa
dmindedness and zealous patriotism, combined with his considerable strength, were the main reasons for his overwhelming popularity.
When they’d first learned of Jin’s fate, most of his clan had laughed it off as a bad joke. There was no way a mere human could have defeated Jin so easily, or hurt him so badly that he’d never be able to fight again. But when the proof was thrust before their eyes, they could no longer ignore reality. Jin’s weakened body lying in a hospital bed was irrefutable evidence of those claims.
Regin’s stunned disbelief upon first seeing Jin’s emaciated frame had quickly given way to seething rage. Swept away by his anger, he had stormed off to the Elders’ Hall and pressed them for details on the incident. Once he’d learned the truth, Regin ignored the elder’s warnings and told the rest of his tribe what he’d heard, urging them to follow him in getting revenge.
Thanks to the elder’s words, some of the bearmen chose to stay behind, but all of the hot blooded youths of the Vanton clan, along with a few others who’d been especially close to Jin, swore to join Regin’s revenge party. All told, about fifty people chose to follow Regin. As they knew the hateful human’s destination was the Sacred Tree, Uralt, they decided to lay in wait along the path leading there. Their reasoning being that getting cut down right in front of his goal would be that much more painful.
Their foes were nothing more than a ragtag group of rabbitmen led by a human. And even if that human had beat Jin, it must have been by way of some kind of underhanded sneak attack. In this deep fog he’d be even more handicapped with his senses in disarray, and those weak rabbitmen weren’t even worth counting as a fighting force.
Regin was a very skilled bearman. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have underestimated his enemies so. But his rage had blinded him from such prudence.
However, even if he was willing to admit his anger had made him act in haste...
“This is still too much!” Regin screamed, his voice filled with despair. The reason for his anguish stemmed from the fact that the rabbitmen, one of the weakest beastmen tribes in existence, had completely destroyed his army of bearmen, one of the strongest beastmen tribes in existence.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 2 Page 12