Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 10 Read online

  Chapter IV: The Key to the World

  “I see... So you used to talk more like a princess, Yue.”

  “Huh!?”

  Once all the trials had ended, a staircase leading underground had appeared from within the ice tree in the center of the trial room. At the bottom had been a long corridor that the party was currently heading down. Yue had just finished telling Hajime about her trial and subsequent fight with Shea, and that was what he responded with. Surprised, Yue thought, That’s what you’re bringing up!?

  “Also, your original name was really long.”

  “Huh!?”

  That’s what you’re bringing up!? she thought again. Shea and the others all looked at Hajime in surprise as well. But Hajime ignored their nonplussed expressions.

  “Hey, Yue. Go back to talking like a princess for a bit.”

  “Wh-Why?”

  “I just wanna hear what you sound like when you’re all formal.”

  As usual, Hajime didn’t mince his words.

  “You can talk like a princess or a queen or whatever, I just wanna hear it. I know, why don’t you try saying ‘I live to serve the people,’ or something?”

  “Mmm... It’s embarrassing, so no.”

  Going by her expression, Yue wasn’t lying.

  “What about, ‘Hajime-san, you did well to clear this trial. I always believed in you. As a reward, I shall grant you any one thing you desire,’ then?”

  “That’s way too long... I don’t wanna.”

  Yue turned away in a huff. It was a testament to how embarrassed she was that she was refusing a request from Hajime of all people. Chances were she found it just as bad as Hajime would have if she’d asked him to start talking like he used to in his edgelord days.

  I guess when I think of it that way, it’s understandable. Hajime ruffled Yue’s hair affectionately and apologized for teasing her.

  Just then, Kaori snuck up behind Yue and said, “Come on Yue, what’s the big deal!? Why don’t you talk like a princess for us? Hey—”

  “Die, Kaori...”

  “Bwah!”

  Yue turned around and punched Kaori in the face. She flew backward in a tailspin, but then regained her balance faster than anyone thought possible and yelled, “What was that for!?”

  Yue ignored her and turned back to Hajime.

  “I was being serious too... Stupid Hajime.”

  Yue was worried that if she truly was more special than she’d realized, that perhaps she’d need to be sealed away again in the future. Of course, thanks to her fight with Shea, she wasn’t letting that worry get to her, but it was still a serious topic. Yue pouted, and Hajime smiled wryly at her.

  “My bad. But you know, don’t you think it’s kinda late to be realizing this? If you ask me, the way you used to act when you were a queen was way more interesting.”

  Yue blinked in surprise, her frown gone.

  “Did you already figure it out, Hajime?”

  “More or less. I mean, you’ve got the power to infinitely regenerate. I’m sure your uncle had plenty of ways to drain you of mana, so of course I’d wonder why he chose to seal you away instead of just killing you.”

  If only you were completely immortal, I wouldn’t ever have to worry about you being in danger... Hajime thought with a sigh. He noticed Yue was tearing up and added, “But you know, from what you told me back in the abyss, it was obvious you didn’t remember everything. It seemed like the shock of being betrayed was so huge that you just sort of spaced out and before you knew it, you were sealed.”

  “Mmm...”

  “So I figured, rather than try to make you recall all those traumatic memories, it’d be easier if I just got rid of anything that tried to hurt you. It doesn’t matter what you really are, I’ll still love you, Yue.”

  Hajime wouldn’t hand Yue over to anyone, and he’d kill anyone who tried to take her from him. Regardless of whether the world, or even the gods, wanted Yue dead, Hajime would stand by her. It didn’t matter what her circumstances were, Hajime’s conviction wouldn’t change. A world that made Yue suffer didn’t deserve to exist. And anything that hurt her, he’d destroy with extreme prejudice. Hajime’s eyes glowed with a bestial ferocity as he told as much to Yue. Even if it meant sacrificing the entire world, Hajime would choose Yue every time.

  In the face of such overwhelming love, Yue blushed and looked up at Hajime with longing eyes. She leaned forward and bit Hajime on the neck. Then, after sucking his blood, she moved up to kiss him on the lips.

  “Shizuku... What do you think you’re doing?”

  But before she could, a black sheath blocked her path. Yue turned to the owner of the sheath, Shizuku, with a glare. Shizuku looked away, flustered. It seemed she’d interrupted them unconsciously, and not intentionally.

  “U-Umm... Well, we’re still inside a labyrinth and the trial isn’t over yet so, you know? Save that kind of stuff for when we’re somewhere safe?”

  “What are you really thinking?”

  “I’m jeal— No, forget it. I just— No, not that either. Public displays of affection are bad. Yeah, that’s it.”

  Considering Shizuku refused to meet Yue’s gaze, it was obvious she was lying. Next to her, Kaori shouted happily, “I can’t believe you managed to stop Yue... You really are amazing, Shizuku-chan!”

  “Says the girl who just kissed me in public a few minutes ago.”

  Hajime looked over his shoulder at Shizuku, a teasing smile on his face. Shizuku blushed a deep crimson.

  “Err, that was, you know, I didn’t want to be the only one... who hadn’t kissed you,” she muttered quietly.

  Joining in on the teasing, Tio said, “And yet you settled for a mere peck on the cheek. Swordsmen are supposed to be bold and resolute. You should have taken Master’s lips by force if you had to.”

  “Th-That... would have been wrong. You need the right mood and get consent for stuff like that. Also, I’d prefer it if Nagumo-kun... was the one to initiate.”

  Shizuku looked down shyly as she said that last bit. She brought her black katana, the gift she’d received from Hajime, back and hugged it to her chest. Almost as if hinting to Hajime that was what she wanted to do to him.

  Incidentally, Shizuku had been walking three steps behind Hajime this whole time, matching his pace perfectly. Her ponytail bobbed back and forth as she walked, the hairpin that Hajime had made for her glinting in her hair.

  “......”

  Hajime stared at Shizuku as though she were some rare animal. Most of the girls who’d fallen for Hajime were extremely aggressive with their affection. Carnivores who would greedily devour Hajime for themselves given the opportunity. So he was pretty surprised that Shizuku was willing to be the passive one here. It reminded him of just how aggressive Yue and the others really were. Seeing Hajime’s expression, Yue shivered.

  “What unbelievable femininity... Shizuku Yaegashi, you truly are a monster.”

  As far as Yue was concerned, Shizuku was the girliest out of all of them. Kaori turned to Yue and grinned. She pushed Shizuku forward as if to show her off. At the moment, Shizuku was flustered by everyone’s comments and a far cry from the usual aloof, collected girl she seemed to normally be.

  “Mrrr...” Yue groaned and pushed Shea in front of her. Confused as to what was going on, Shea stood there blankly while Yue used wind magic and made her soft ears flop back and forth. She grinned back at Kaori, confident that her protege was just as charming as Shizuku.

  It appeared Kaori and Yue’s relationship had evolved to the point that they were fighting proxy wars. The two continued doing various things to try and prove that their best friend was the cutest.

  As always, Shea ended up being the one to mediate between the two of them. Or rather, try to mediate between them. The two continued arguing like cats and dogs, ignoring Shea’s attempts to calm them down. In the end, Shea got so fed up with them that she brought Drucken out and threatened them with it. When they saw her angry smile, Yue a
nd Kaori both froze. After a brief pause, both of them backed off and kept their gazes fixed firmly on the corridor ahead. Everyone else looked at Shea with newfound respect.

  Even Hajime was impressed. He thought back to the story Yue told him earlier and said, “But I’ve gotta say, I’m amazed you were able to fight evenly with Yue when she was being serious. Plus, you deserve a reward for giving her a good scolding when she needed one. What do you want, Shea?”

  “Huh? I-I don’t need anything.”

  Shea was definitely the MVP of this labyrinth conquest. Especially since she’d been the one to remind Yue of her own determination. Yue herself seemed to have no objections, and she glared at Shea.

  “Mmm... You’re the first person to ever slap me, Shea. Not even my parents slapped me before. I’ll never forget how much it stung. You deserve a reward for that.”

  “Is it just me, Yue-san or are you holding a grudge about that? Anyway, I can’t think of any special requests. I already have everything I want. I guess a handmade present might be nice? I only yelled at Yue-san because I personally couldn’t stand how mopey she was being.”

  In the past, Shea would have begged for a date, or for Hajime to take her virginity, but there was no need for that anymore. She smiled in satisfaction, looking oddly dignified. This time it was Kaori’s turn to be impressed with how charming Shea looked.

  “Unbelievable... Shea’s already become just as formidable a rival as Yue. In fact, she’s even more formidable now. How could I have overlooked this?”

  “U-Umm, Kaori? You don’t have to make it sound so dramatic.”

  “Shizuku-chan. We can’t just remain underdogs forever. We need to win our place by Hajime-kun’s side and reach that level of fulfillment.”

  “Err...”

  Kaori seemed unhappy with the fact that Shizuku was satisfied with just being able to confess to Hajime. She crossed her arms and put a hand on her chin, trying to analyze ways to win Hajime’s heart. Naturally, her eccentric behavior left Shizuku confused.

  A second later Kaori’s eyes flew open and she declared, “I know! We need to stop considering ourselves challengers and go on the offensive! From now on, we’re assaulters!”

  “Kaori... I realize you’re tired after your trial, but you need to calm down.”

  “Once this labyrinth’s conquered, we need to sneak into Hajime-kun’s bed, Shizuku-chan.”

  “What the hell are you saying!?”

  “Don’t worry. This trial helped me understand how to utilize this body’s full power. I should be able to do something about Yue and Shea.”

  “We need to do something about your brain first. Cast restoration magic on yourself right now, Kaori.”

  “I-I realize it’ll be a first for both of us... but we can do it if we’re together!”

  “Maybe I should knock some sense into you like Shea did to Yue.”

  Shizuku shook her head in exasperation as she watched Kaori clench her fists and work herself up. But imitating Shea wouldn’t be easy. Curing Kaori’s tendency to charge straight ahead would be a real ordeal.

  “Stop acting out a rom-com anime and keep walking, you two.”

  “How is it that meeting up made everyone even more tired instead of relieved?”

  Suzu and Ryutarou complained to Kaori and the others, fed up with their flirting. Chastised, the party resumed walking down the corridor. No monsters or obstacles barred their way, and Hajime was getting optimistic that they’d be able to reach the end without any additional trials. After about ten minutes, they reached a dead end.

  The ice wall in front of them had a heptagon-shaped crest carved inside it. Until now, Hajime had seen similar crests engraved somewhere near the end of each labyrinth. They were the personal symbol of each Liberator. As the party approached, the symbol started to glow, and the wall around it was covered in a film of light.

  Hajime tentatively touched the glowing wall, causing it to ripple. From the looks of it, this was the glow of a teleportation portal. Hajime turned back to his comrades and nodded to them. Yue and the others nodded back, ready. Hajime gathered his resolve and walked into the veil of light.

  “Looks like we didn’t get separated this time.”

  “Mmm... More importantly, look at that.”

  “Hrm, it seems we have truly reached the end this time.”

  “What a pretty room. That’s... a palace, right?”

  As the light faded, Hajime and the others found themselves in a wide-open room. Cylindrical pillars made of ice supported the square-shaped room, which was of course also made of ice. However, this ice was perfectly transparent instead of functioning like a mirror. Most striking of all, though, was the floor. It was filled with water at the center, something the party hadn’t seen at all since entering this labyrinth.

  This room was clearly kept at a warmer temperature than everywhere else. The surface of the lake was bubbling, meaning that there was a fountain pumping water in from somewhere. Miniature islands dotted the lake, connected to each other by a series of stepping stones made of ice. Flowers bloomed on the island, and the room looked more like a park than anything. And at the very center of the lake sat a palace. It was solemn and beautiful, its walls engraved with elaborate murals of nature and flowers.

  The party felt as though they’d been transported to a fantasy dreamland where parks were made of ice. For a while, the party simply enjoyed the view in stunned silence. But then Hajime took his Air Zone off, and everyone returned to their senses.

  “Yeah, it’s not cold anymore. It’s a bit chilly, but honestly, the weather’s nice.”

  That could mean only one thing.

  “No doubt about it. We’ve made it to the end. This is where Vandre Schnee lived.”

  Hajime double-checked his compass just in case, then smiled. Suzu’s eyes welled up with tears.

  “We... really did it... Hic...”

  She was overcome with emotion. It had taken every ounce of her strength and willpower to get this far. Her reaction was only natural. Shizuku and Ryutarou wore similar expressions as well.

  “We beat the labyrinth...”

  “Yeah. I thought I was gonna die so many times, but we made it.”

  “You wouldn’t have gotten in so many sticky situations if you just stopped to think before charging forward.”

  “Haha, I guess. But I mean, I made it, so who cares, right?”

  Shizuku gave Ryutarou a chilling glare, but then the two of them smiled at each other and laughed. Suzu joined them as well, and the three friends slapped each other’s backs, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Kaori, Shea, Tio, and even Yue smiled at the sight. Most surprisingly, Hajime closed his eyes and smiled as well.

  “There’s no traps or anything, right Nagumo?”

  Ryutarou took a step toward the palace, then thought better of it and turned back to Hajime.

  “What, you didn’t enjoy getting turned into a popsicle?”

  “C-Can’t we just forget about that? Anyway, even I’m not dumb enough to make the same mistake twice.”

  Never again would he suffer the shame of leaving his crotch exposed to his party members. Chuckling as he remembered that incident, Hajime scanned the stepping stones with his Demon Eye and strode forward. He made it to the palace’s island without incident. Right in front of the palace proper was a detailed magic circle. He stepped into it and nothing happened, so he guessed it was the shortcut that would teleport them back to the surface.

  The palace itself was constructed of opaque blue ice, a stark contrast to the clear ice that made up the rest of the room. Hajime looked up at the pair of double doors that served as the entrance to the palace. A crest shaped like a snowflake was carved into the center where the two doors’ handles would be. That was Vandre Schnee’s symbol.

  Hajime pushed at the doors, and they opened effortlessly. The fact that they didn’t creak was proof that Freid had been here recently.

  “Mmm... This looks a lot like Oscar’s house, doesn�
�t it?”

  “Yeah, it does. Though this one’s even bigger and fancier.”

  The basic construction of the area was pretty similar to how Oscar’s house had been, though. It was just larger and filled with more unnecessary decorations. Everything from the chandeliers made of ice, to the banisters and room doors were filled with fancy carvings of nature. If Oscar had been someone who believed true beauty lay in simplicity and functionality, then Vandre was clearly the opposite.

  Hajime had read in Oscar’s journal that he and Vandre hadn’t really gotten along, and now that Hajime saw Vandre’s house, he could easily imagine the two of them arguing about aesthetics and the like.

  I get the feeling they were kind of like... Hajime glanced over at Yue and Kaori. They both gave him questioning looks. He shook his head, indicating that it was nothing, and picked the compass up again. He wanted to know which room had the magic circle that would teach him this labyrinth’s ancient magic.

  “Straight ahead, huh?”

  Taking the lead, Hajime walked down the hallway, cutting through the center of the first floor. They passed a few rooms on the way, but most of them were simple bedrooms with wooden and metal furniture. The ice walls were cool to the touch, but weren’t actually cold. Much like Hajime’s Air Zones, it seemed they’d been enchanted to control the temperature around them. Admiring the palace’s craftsmanship, the party arrived in front of a door that was larger and thicker than the rest.

  “This has gotta be it.”

  Hajime pushed the door open without hesitation. And as he expected, the magic circle he was looking for was inside. Suzu and Ryutarou turned excitedly toward Hajime, asking for permission to go in. Seeing no reason to blueball them, Hajime nodded and they all stepped into the circle.

  Like always, the labyrinth read through their memories and, those who were deemed worthy, had how to use Vandre’s ancient magic poured directly into their brains. Feeling a little dizzy, Suzu, Ryutarou, and Shizuku stumbled as the secrets of metamorphosis magic, the last ancient magic left to learn, poured into their minds. Once the process was over, they turned to each other, smiling. But just then—