The Kingdom was unusually noisy as crowds of people were talking and chattering.
Usually youād express it as āeveryone is livelyā but, if you looked at the facial expressions of the people in the Kingdom, youād notice that the majority of those people had sorrowful and dark expressions. The invasion of the Kingdom was truly an unexpected event.
Itās been 5 days since that day, the sense of loss and sorrow still lingering in the peopleās chests were bringing pain to their hearts. However, that still doesnāt stop them from working on the reconstruction, that was surely āThe strength of peopleā.
On the main street of the Kingdom which was filled with sorrow and strength, a man with white hair and an eyepatch was buying something hotdog-like (because something that wasnāt a sausage was inserted instead) and chewing on it as he walked towards the guild headquarters, it was Hajime. Only Yue and Shizuku was by his side. After going to the guild headquarters they were going to repair the great barriers, Shizuku volunteered to guide them to the artifactās location.
Shia and them were house sitting at the Royal Palace. It was judged that it would be better to not needlessly stimulate the people with the appearances of another race walking through the Kingdom, so they volunteered to stay behind. Even if the Kingdom citizens know that the ones that attacked them were Majinzokuās, right now theyāll likely indiscriminately target them because they āarenāt humansā.
The Kingdom were high believers of the church, to begin with, besides the Demi-human slaves, there were hardly any other race but humans. Thatās the judgement was proper. Right now if youāre just judging by appearances then Kaori counted as human so she was currently helping Aiko and them who were busy helping Ririana, and Teio was sleeping in order to refill the magical power sheās used up continuously for the past several days.
[The guild headquarters isā¦ā¦in the end, what do you plan on doing there?]
Shizuku asked Hajime as she was also similarly chewing on a cheese flavored hotdog.
[N? Ahh, I thought Iād just send a message reporting that the request was completed. Although itās something that should be done directly with words, itāll be far too troublesome to travel from Fuyuren towards the Sea of Trees. If I send a report through headquarters theyāll properly deal with it]
[ā¦ā¦By reportā¦..are you talking about that child called Myu? Come to think of it, I donāt see her appearanceā¦ā¦]
After Shizuku was slightly disappointed and lowered her eyebrows, they explained that Myu was safely reunited with her mother. Was she done in by Myuās cuteness after only meeting momentarily? [I wanted to hug herā¦ā¦.] Shizuku muttered. However, after hearing Yueās words, her eyes opened up widely.
[ā¦ā¦Itās fine. Youāll meet again. Since Hajime will be taking her with us to Japan]
[ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦Hai? What does this mean Nagumo-kun?]
[What do you mean what does this mean, itās exactly as said. Iāve made a promise with Myu. I said Iād take her with me to my hometown]
[Ehā¦noā¦butā¦..Myu-chan is a Umininzoku*Sea person* right?]
Hajime shrugged his shoulders like there was nothing wrong while Shizuku was baffled.
[I understand what youāre saying, but its not that much of a problem? There are lots of ways around it, and if thereās none then just make one. Isnāt it often said? something like, Whether or not itās possible, or whether you can do it or not]
[Thatās, ma~a, thatās certainly true butā¦.]
[To begin with, isnāt it too late now? Shiaās got usamimiāsā¦..and Yueās not even albino but she has sharp canines and bright red eyes. If you look in the long-term, her appearance wonāt change eitherā¦..You probably didnāt even think about it when I said that I was going to bring both of them back to Japan]
As Hajime made his points, Shizuku certainly had a wry smile now. Yue who was besides him had a faint smile on her face. She was quietly holding onto the hem of Hajimeās clothes with her hand. Faintly, a sweet atmosphere began to drift. When Shizuku was hit by the atmosphere, her temperature went up a bit, [Thanks for the meal], she said while fanning herself.
And while glancing over to the side at the two harmonious people, Shizuku was convinced that whatever happens Hajime will somehow find a way through it all even though she had no evidence, when she thought about the steep path which her best friend was traveling on, Shizuku began to become troubled and her eyebrows became an ?.
[ā¦ā¦.Are you properly looking after Kaori?]
[N~? Thatās something you should ask the actual person herself. No matter what I say, I donāt actually know how she feels? Ma~a, for me, just as promised, I donāt intend to be cruel]
Shizuku suddenly became more worried after hearing those words. If you looked at Kaoriās appearance then, somehow or another she understood what the answer was without hearing it, [You overprotective guy], she said as she looked towards Hajime.
Shizuku was feeling somewhat shameful and as Hajime showed signs of being amazed at the remarks, Yue suddenly dropped a bombshell.
[ā¦ā¦Because heās like that he was assaulted. Hajime, hang in there]
[O, oh]
[Eh? Please wait a moment. Was assaulted? Who did to who?]
[ā¦..Kaori did to Hajime. It seems that during the confusion she stole a kissā¦..darn that Kaori]
[Ka, Kaori didā¦..no wayā¦.right, Kaoriās already gone up the stairs towards adulthoodā¦.]
Before she knew it, her best friend had powered up in various meanings, Shizuku had distant eyes and her cheeks cramped up. As if she was left behind she began to feel lonely.
[ā¦..Aiko is also dangerous. Be careful Hajime]
[ā¦..Thereās no way thatās true]
Hajime quickly averted his eyes away from Yueās sharp glance, he was one beat too slow in denying that possibility. Shizuku who regained herself as the 2 people talked, thatās right! with a sharp glance just like Yue, she thoroughly questioned Hajime.
[Somehow, youāre talking as if youāve realised it? And? Nagumo-kun, what have you done to Ai-chan?]
[Oi, kora. Why are you already assuming that Iāve done something]
[Ever since the day that Ai-chan came back to the Kingdom sheās been acting funny. ā¦ā¦Whenever she spoke of you she blushed. ā¦ā¦.I highly doubt that it was because you repelled that large army. Something definitely happened while still at the town of Ulu? Sa~a, truthfully spill it out! Itās an important matter of whether or not Kaoriās rivals will be increasing!]
[No, like I said, Iā¦..]
Shizuku who had heated-up, [do~u, do~u], and trying to suppress it, she began to try and get ideaās out of Hajime. Then there, Yue while expressionless, exposed it all.
[ā¦ā¦They kissed. Dense guy]
[! Nagumo-kun! People like you! The other party is a Sensei!]
[Wait, calm down. Iāll explain it so, donāt grab my neck, donāt shake me!]
With a, This high-grade flag architect!, expression, Shizuku began to shake Hajime, and then Hajimeās story of the lifesaving act that was performed at Ulu was told. Due to the poison, Aiko couldnāt drink the medicine on her own, because the situation called for urgency, he forcefully made her drink it.
Since then it further increased when Shimizu was shot and she was rescued from the isolation tower at the head temple, with Yue adding onto it, Shizuku became convinced. Ahh, donātā¦.fall Ai-chan.
[Ma~a, I understand that it wasnāt completely intended to happen butā¦..Nagumo-kun, you look as if youāve somehow figured out Ai-chanās feelings. Since when have you found out?]
[ā¦ā¦Since the time when I was taking care of Sensei after she blew up the head temple and killed Ishtar and his group. ā¦ā¦.Because she was looking at me with strangely feverish eyes, It couldnāt be though~ is what I had thought butā¦..As expected, it was like that?]
[ā¦..Itās like that]
[Itās like that right]
Towards Shizuku and Yueās confirmation without hesitation, the emergency which was pushed into the corner of his mind came up again as Hajime looked up towards the sky. What are you going to do? is what the glances from both sides said to him, Hajime started thinking of ideas as he groaned out, [U~n]ā¦ā¦
[Un, letās neglect it]
is what he concluded with.
[ā¦..Ma~a, I donāt think Aiko-chan will be taking on the offensive. Rather than dealing with it poorly, just leaving it as is might be betterā¦..]
[Ah? ā¦ā¦Ahh, itās just like you said. That personās a teacher so she has her commitments to keep. Since Iām a student, pretending that I havenāt noticed it is the best course of action]
Actually, it was simply too troublesome to deal with, so as Hajime said out the plausible reasons he was averting his eyes somewhat and that fact was seen through by Shizuku who was staring at Hajime.
Shizukuās glance showed that she was through with the topic and ate all that was left of the hotdog, then Hajime and them finally reached the adventurers guild headquarters in the Kingdom. The building had a feeling like it wasnāt inferior in history or scale when compared with Fuyurenās branch. When the entrance opened up, there were a lot of adventurers going in and out busily. The amount of requests in the Kingdom likely shot up after the invasion after all.
Hajime and them entered the guild and walked towards the ten rows of large counters. Though it was jammed packed with adventurers, as expected, the receptionists of the headquarters showed splendid skills in their procedures and the lines continued progressing at a fierce rate. In addition, the receptionists were all beautiful women. Right, they were incredible beauties. There was also a cute child as well. An incredibly cute child. *I assume by child theyāre talking about a woman and not a kid, however in text it was child so iāll leave it as such*
However, Hajime was not one to fall for such honeytraps. After all, Hajimeās lover was someone who wouldnāt lose out in cuteness nor beauty, she was the perfect beautiful woman. Even now, she was the happy and cute woman holding onto Hajimeās hand. There was no chance that heād ever be fascinated by other women.
Thatās why, Hajime was thinking that heād want to be given a break from the traps while breaking through happily and gayly. Because he really wonāt be fascinated by any other woman other than Yue after all.
After having enough of Shizukuās amazed expression while beside them, Hajime finally reached the receptionist. As he took out his status plate he also took out to submit the documents proving that Myu was safely returned to Erisen.
[Though Iāve come to report a completed request, is it possible for the head the Iruwa branch to report it to the Fuyuren branch from headquarters?]
[Hai? ā¦.A nominated questā¦ā¦right? Iām sorry, please wait for a momentā¦ā¦]
The receptionist tilted her neck a little in puzzlement from Hajimeās words. It was a proper reaction because a nominated quest from a head of a branch would never be given out to just any adventurer. Currently, the adventurers who were doing their procedures next to Hajime were looking at him in surprise.
When the receptionist received Hajimeās status plate and looked at the contents, her clarified expression was destroyed and became just like the adventurers who were surprised. And after comparing the status plate and Hajimeās face numerous times, she stood up in a panic.
[Are you without a doubt, Na, Nagumo Hajime-sama?]
[? Ahh, itās exactly as written on the status plate]
[Iām deeply sorry but, would you please come into the reception room? On the occasion that Nagumo-sama visited the guild, weāve been informed to bring him insideā¦ā¦Iāll immediately call the guild master]
[Ha? No, I just want to request that the completed report gets sent to the head of the Iruwa branch. Besides, Iāve got plans to go and repair the great barrier after this. Please pardon me from the trouble]
[Eh, eh~, thatāll put me in a troubling positionā¦..Iāll immediately, immediately, call the guild master to come so, please wait for a moment!]
With that the receptionist disappeared into the interior while leaving behind all of Hajimeās paperwork and status plate with a speed which seemed that it could generate enough force to make a ~Pew~ sound. Hajime became disappointed. Yue and Shizuku patted Hajimeās shoulder as if saying, ma~a, ma~a.
Although Hajime was told to wait for a while, he wondered if this was more troublesome and if he should just report directly to the Iruwa branch? as he thought this, an old man with a beard appeared with the receptionist from a while ago. When Hajime saw the old man he was convinced. He was absolutely the kind of old man who while tossing away his clothes to show his muscles, turn into a macho-oldman while raising out a shout, [Funānu~ua!].
That old man with the weird atmosphere was definitely the guild master and from the moment he appeared the guild suddenly rapidly became noisier. When the guild master called out to Hajime, the commotion spread out to the entire guild.
It appears that the guild masterās name was Barusu Raputa. It was a name which somehow sounded like itāll being a person into ruins. Somehow it wasnāt as bothersome as Hajime had first expected, his glance seemed to indicate that he wanted to talk with Hajime about the report to Iruwa.
No matter which town he travels to and whatever incidents occurred, he had a feeling in his chest that everything would turn out alright but, that was expecting too much.
[Barusu-dono, wonāt you introduce them to me? If itās someone whoās being eyed by the guild master then, by all means, Iād like to become an acquaintance? Especially because as a gentlemen, it would not do to not greet those lovely women?]
The person who said such affectionate lines while coming closer besides Hajime and them was a bond pretty boy. 4 beautiful women were following behind him. When the surrounding adventurers saw him they began to whisper between themselves. The reason was because he was a āGoldā rank adventurer named Abel. It seems that his second name was āFlash Bladeā.
With that, Barusu announced that Hajime and Abel were both āGoldā rankers. The surrounding noise became incredible in an instant which caused Hajime to have a purely troublesome expression. Hajime was about to take Yue and Shizuku and immediately leave the guild but, Abel definitely had an interest in Shizuku and Yue so he had no intentions of allowing them to leave so easily.
Or rather, does no one notice that Shizuku was in the Heroās party? Hajime thought with a questionable face. While disregarding Hajimeās current state, Able called out to Hajime with a refreshed face and laughingly.
[Fu~n, youāre āGoldā huh~. You seem quite young thoughā¦ā¦just what kind of hand did you play? Thereās no way it was a proper method right? Ahh, since it wasnāt a proper method you canāt say it out here huhā¦ā¦sorry for not being considerate enough?]
*Itās imagery, heās human lol*Abel was spitting out poison while smiling. At this point, Hajime had completely discarded the thought of fighting with Abel. It was because he judged that he wasnāt worthy enough to be an opponent. Yue and Shizuku also realised what Hajime was thinking and also tried to quickly leave the guild.
[Ma~a, wait a bit. Just because Iām a real āGoldā doesnāt mean you have to run away. Itās not like Iāll eat you? Ma~a, since you might not be able to stay around, leaving is fine but, how about I go out for a meal with those girls? Iāll show them what a real āGoldā is?]
So Abel says as he blocks them off. His eyes were convinced that if he invited the women they would absolutely not refuse. However, considering what Abels words sounded like in front of the 3 cheatsā¦ā¦it sounded absolutely ludicrous. Since Barusu knew of Hajime and their true identities, his face was trembling and shaking.
[Oi, Yaegashi. Taking care of these unfortunate pretty boys is what youāre in charge of right? Iāll leave it to you, the specialist, this is just like a degraded version of Amanogawa]
[Whoās the specialist of what. To begin with, what are you saying about another personās childhood friend. Kouki isnāt ā¦ā¦.this disappointing? ā¦..Maybe, surelyā¦..heās not that pitiful and regrettable]
[ā¦ā¦Shizuku, you say some unexpected things sometimes. But I intensely agree]
The 3 people were having an extremely natural conversation while being through with Abel. Heās probably never received bad treatment ever since he obtained āGoldā. The other women were also glaring scowly at Yue and them.
As expected it was becoming a riot so Hajime was thinking about starting a countdown before blowing away all members that were laughing, including the guild masterā¦ā¦while Hajime was having such dangerous thoughts, an unexpectedly deep voice spoke out like a young girl called out to Hajime and them.
[Ara~a~n, Isnāt it Hajime-san and Yue-oneesama over there?]
Hajime felt chills from the mysterious voice and immediately took a defensive stance with Donner pulled out. And the one who appeared when Hajime and them turned around wasā¦ā¦
[Wh, what is this monster!?]
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[Who~is, who could ever confuse San-chiās face for a monster!?] *This line is definitely wrong it was a mess, SAN?????????????????????????????????*
Abel shouted out instinctively towards the mass of muscle with wide open eyes! It had thick muscle armor throughout its entire body and face just like what youād see in comics and was around 2 meters in height. Yet it had itās red hair tied up to make twintails with a cute ribbon and what they were wearing was a so-called Yukata dress. There were lots of frills attached onto it. They were fluttering around a lot. The thick legs were wonderfully exposed.
For a moment, Hajime had thought that it was the monster, Christabel, from Brook town but, it appears to have been a different person. Unless that guy had a shape shifting abilityā¦..
[Hi~i, st, stay away! Who do you think I am! Iām the āGoldā ranked āFlash Bladeā Abel! If you come any closer than this, Iāll cut you down here!]
[Ma~a, thatās terrible! To be called a monster on our first meeting and killedā¦.youāre the same āGoldā as manager but youāre treating me quite differently~*