Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest: Short Stories (Premium) Read online

  However, Yue’s pity only served to put cracks in Hajime’s pure heart. Don’t tell me I’m actually becoming some kind of delusional idiot?

  No matter what the truth was, a bullet, once fired, could never be taken back. Half desperate, he started taking out all the other arms he’d developed. Among them were a dragon-shaped hand, one that fired water blasts from its fingers, and even one that transformed his left arm into Squall’s gunblade. But the only reaction any of those ever elicited from Yue was a pitying smile.

  Finally, Hajime crumbled into a sobbing heap, and Yue simply sat there patting his head, saying, “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She comforted him until he finally regained his senses.

  Just what, exactly, she had meant by “It’s okay” was something he didn’t want to think too deeply about.

  It was late at night. There was a single figure working in the darkness, inside a hidden room whose entrance was covered by a shelf.

  “It’s finally done,” Hajime muttered softly. Sitting before him was a silver-haired girl. One could tell with just a glance that she wasn’t human. Where her ears would have been were instead metal rectangles that kind of resembled antennas.

  Her hard, metallic eyes bore no signs of sentience, either. That was only natural though, as she was a cleaning golem Oscar had made long ago.

  However, her features were still quite human. She had on a navy blue one-piece dress and a pure white apron. There was a headdress adorning her hair as well. In a word, she was a maid.

  “Oscar. It was because you dreamed of making her real that you strayed so far from reality. That was your mistake. However, I have the knowledge granted to me by the 2D world. By making her somewhat unrealistic, she grows closer to the ideal... This is the answer you sought after for so long!”

  Hajime whispered to himself triumphantly. Anyone who had seen him at that moment would have been pretty creeped out by him. However, his passion for this maid golem was real. When he had first discovered Oscar’s notebook and this golem, he had decided to inherit Oscar’s pure spirit of inquiry and complete what Oscar had begun. He had worked on her late into every night, making sure Yue didn’t find out. He surely deserved a few moments to admire his own craftsmanship after all the hardships he went through to complete her.

  However, as he was basking in his own handiwork—

  “...Found you, Hajime.”

  Light filled the room as he heard a familiar voice call his name. He jumped with a start, then stiffly turned to look back at Yue.

  “Y-Yue... what are you doing here? I could have sworn I felt your presence in the bedroom still.”

  “I was wondering where you were going every night. Not only did you sneak away using Hide Presence, you even left behind an artifact that faked your presence, too. I didn’t think there’d be a secret room here... but fortunately this artifact helped me find you.”

  “So you used my own artifact against me.”

  Hajime ground his teeth, angry at his own carelessness. In the meantime, Yue gazed silently at the maid golem. Hajime gulped guiltily. He felt like a husband caught cheating on his wife.

  “Hajime, if you liked maid uniforms you just had to tell me.” There was a little jealousy in her tone. It seemed she really was jealous of this inanimate golem. However, it wasn’t what she was thinking. In order to clear up the misunderstanding, Hajime began explaining himself.

  “Yue, allow me to explain. I don’t actually have a thing for maid uniforms. This is about art.”

  “...Art?”

  “Correct. A maid that’s also a golem. In other words, a golem maid is every man’s dream. Those two factors combined are what make it art. Just a maid or just a golem are nothing on their own. While they may have a certain appeal, only when put together as a golem maid do they become a true object of worship for men worldwide.”

  As he spoke, Hajime grew more and more heated with his words. Yue listened to it all seriously and nodded knowingly once he’d finished. “I understand,” was all she said. Hajime let out a relieved smile, but then an instant later a blazing fireball flew past his cheek.

  There was a thunderous explosion, and Hajime quickly turned around to see his precious golem maid burned to ashes.

  “H-How could you...”

  Hajime crumbled to his knees as he gazed upon the charred husk of what had once been a golem maid. Then he turned to Yue, who had started casually walking away, and asked in a voice full of sadness, “Yue, why? Why would you do that? What did that poor golem ever do to you?”

  “You’ve been acting weird recently, Hajime. You needed a little traini— Ahem, I mean lesson.”

  It was true that Hajime’s obsessions with things that were “every man’s dream” was starting to get a bit excessive. It might have been brought on in part due to the dead end he’d hit in regards to his transmutation, but if he didn’t drag himself back to reality, he’d be stuck in a fantasy land forever. The fact that he was actually sad at the destruction of an inanimate golem was proof enough that he was already almost too far gone.

  Having the girl he loved tell him “you’ve been acting weird” to his face brought him back to his senses, though. Meanwhile, Yue picked up one of the maid uniforms lying around and brought it up to see if it would fit. She did a little twirl and licked her lips seductively as she looked at Hajime. Her sex drive was in full throttle.

  Her next words blew away whatever might have survived of Hajime’s reason.

  “Shall I teach you just how much better a real maid is than a mechanical one, Master?”

  “......” Cold sweat ran down his forehead.

  For hours later, Hajime’s screams could be heard echoing throughout the bottom of hell. Thanks to the loving embrace of Yue, Hajime was able to return from the depths of his delusions.

  A Nightmare in the Abyss

  Two people were standing around, facing each other in a vast hall that looked like a grand temple. One of them was wearing flowing silvery robes with matching silver hair, and had in their hand a silver sword to match. The other was dressed in all black, had an eyepatch, and a prosthetic arm. The black-clothed figure had a revolver in their hands.

  “I congratulate you on making it this far, Madness Parade of the Crimson Fang. Or would you prefer I call you Chaos Disaster?”

  “Hmph, call me what you will. That name is naught but what others have heaped upon me. Though I am willing to admit my capacity for destruction rivals such a moniker. You shall meet your demise here, God of Origin. Or would you too prefer to be called by your more commonplace name, Chaos of Darkness?”

  —Holy crap, why do these names sound so nonsensically cringy?

  The black-robed man tore off his eyepatch to reveal a dazzlingly blue eye.

  “Now is the time to awaken, my steel-clad demonic arm!”

  At the same time as he shouted out, the silver-clad figure grew silver wings from their back and their silver sword glowed with a distinctively silver light.

  “Very well. I admire your arrogance. Few so brazenly challenge god. As a reward, I shall engrave eternal suffering into the essence of your very soul!” That was all the silver figure shouted back.

  Oh my god, it just keeps getting worse.

  As their fight began, the black-clad man screamed out an incantation.

  “Oh crimson flash, heed mine call and devour thy foes— Crimson Cutter: Sacrosanct Resonance!”

  The silver-haired man replied in kind, then shouted out one spell.

  “Hmph, pathetic... Return all of creation to the primordial abyss— Karmic Absolution!”

  They continued going back and forth like that for some time, their intense attacks creating a grand battle that would probably be the only one of its kind.

  I can’t take it anymore... Make it stop, please.

  Finally, after the silver-clad man’s third transformation, the black-robed man had awoken to his ultimate true power, and they had unleashed not only both of their trump cards but both of their finishing
moves. Then, the black-clad figure let out a resounding cry of victory. He smiled triumphantly, covered from head to toe in wounds no mere mortal could ever hope to withstand...

  “Heh, that was quite the enjoyable fight. In deference to your formidable strength, I shall grant you a gift to take with you to the afterlife. My true name, the name no one else knows... I am the Crimson Flame White Demon’s—”

  Please, just kill me now. Anything, anything to make it stoooooop.

  “Make it stoooooooooooooooooooop!”

  “Hajime!? What’s wrong, are you okay?”

  Deep within the labyrinth, Hajime threw off the sheets covering him and leaped to his feet, his breathing rough. Yue also got up in a panic and gently hugged Hajime in order to calm him down.

  “Th-That was a terrifying nightmare... Yue, can I ask you something?”

  “...What?”

  “If I ever start becoming one of those delusional crazies, use your Azure Blaze to bring me back to my senses, please.”

  Yue realized Hajime must still have been suffering from the effects of the nightmare, as whatever he was saying didn’t make any sense. Still, she nodded in order to reassure him.

  “...Okay. Leave it to me. If you ever start becoming one of those delusional crazies, I’ll make sure to stop you.”

  Neither of them realized they had been misunderstood by the other, Hajime talking about the sight from his dreams and Yue about him becoming a monster, but... Hajime calmed down after that, which was enough to satisfy Yue, so they both went back to sleep in each other’s arms.

  As long as Yue was around, Hajime was safe from falling over to that side... probably.

  The Holy Goddess’ Descent unto Paradise

  The abundance of goods lining every shelf and bookcase made the interior of the store feel rather cramped, despite the rather large amount of floor space. In the background, a popular anime song was playing, loud enough to be heard but not enough to be obtrusive. This store was famous nationwide for its selection of anime, manga, and other such products.

  Naturally, the inside of the store was filled with pilgrims making the trek to this holy land. Most of them could be classified either as “warriors” or as “gentlemen.” A few of them had brought their friends along as well, and the store was filled to the brim with heated arguments about who was best girl or what the anime of the season was.

  Within that eternal battlefield there existed a single haven of peace and quiet. At the very back of the store was a special section roped off behind a pair of curtains. A big “No minors allowed” sign was printed on each curtain. As one may have guessed, it was the adult section of the store.

  No matter how hardened a veteran one was, their voices naturally grew hushed as they entered, and they instantly began worrying about the gazes of others around them. Even the anime song playing in the background seemed stifled in such hallowed ground.

  However, today, that tranquil atmosphere was abruptly shattered.

  “W-Wait, Kaori. You can’t just go in there!”

  “B-But Shizuku-chan...”

  Two girls’ voices interrupted the silence. Their clear, high-pitched tone sounded just like the ringing of a bell. The warriors within all dropped what they were doing and timidly peeked out from behind their shelves. There was a single slender, feminine finger poking in from behind the curtains.

  The men present all simultaneously thought, Wait, don’t tell me she’s coming in here!? Damn, that means there’s no way out!

  “No buts. The all-ages version is sold out, so just give it a rest already.”

  “But... Nagumo-kun’s father’s company made this game. What if Nagumo-kun also played the... e-eighteen plus version of the game?”

  “L-Look here. You wanted to get this game so you’d have something to talk about with Nagumo-kun, right? Are you planning on talking about the s-sex scenes with him in class or something? I think he’s more likely to run in the opposite direction if you try. Though maybe not for the reasons you think.”

  In order to have something to talk about with her crush, Hajime Nagumo, Kaori had come here today to buy the game Hajime’s father had produced. However, because of its overwhelming popularity, the all-ages version was already sold out everywhere, and there were only a few copies of the 18+ version left. And even that was only because a few of the stores had accidentally ordered more stock than they had intended.

  Considering her age, Kaori wouldn’t be able to buy the 18+ version anyway, but straightforward and fearless as she was, she was still determined to try.

  “I-I know. But still... don’t try and stop me, Shizuku-chan! Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!”

  “Yes, but this isn’t that time. Hey, no, wait, stop!”

  There was a collective intake of breath as the warriors witnessed a girl burst through the curtains. For a moment everyone was at a loss for words, but then the muttered whispering began.

  “Holy shit, she’s hot...” and the like.

  The first sight that greeted Kaori as she barged into the 18+ section was a full size poster of a scantily-clad girl. She blushed to the tips of her ears, and then hurriedly looked down when she saw the dumbfounded gaze of every man in the section focused on her. Shizuku, who was standing behind her, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out. However, Kaori wouldn’t be deterred, and with her misguided resolution she said, “I-I won’t lose here!” before taking another step into the forbidden sanctuary.

  Shizuku kept desperately trying to pull Kaori back, but she was too embarrassed to be able to utilize much of her strength. And so, she was unwillingly dragged along behind Kaori, like a little girl lost in another world.

  “Ah. S-Shizuku-chan, I found it!”

  “W-What? Can you please stop dragging me farther in?”

  Heedless of her pleas, Kaori continued dragging Shizuku, who had tears in her eyes, deeper into the holy land until she reached the game she sought. As she picked it up and looked at the cover, Shizuku suddenly let out an embarrassed squeal. The reason, of course, being that there were a lot of girls in suggestive poses plastered on the front.

  Shizuku quickly averted her gaze, but Kaori nonchalantly flipped the box over to see what was on the backside. As she examined the illustrations, she said something terribly tactless without much thought.

  “H-Huh? Shizuku-chan, don’t you think this girl looks a lot like you?”

  “What!? D-Don’t be ridiculous! I would never get on all fours with my butt sticking out like that!”

  Shizuku, diligent as always, made sure to actually look before retorting, even though it made her blush bright red. However, her voice had been slightly louder than intended, and there was suddenly a spray of red as someone collapsed behind a shelf. That was soon followed by a shrill scream of “Don’t die on me, man! Damn, the bleeding just won’t stop!” It appeared someone had a bit too overactive an imagination.

  “B-Besides, don’t you think this girl looks a lot like you, Kaori?”

  “No way! I-I’d never do something so embarrassing as get on top of a man looking like that!”

  There was another fountain of red as a second man collapsed from behind a different shelf. A second later someone screamed out, “Medic! I need a medic!”

  It was then that a savior descended among the gathering of hardened warriors.

  “Excuse me, miss. I’m sorry, but you need to at least be eighteen to purchase these goods. Can I kindly ask you to leave?”

  It was the advent of the manager. The thirty-something manager had decided it would be bad for business if a part of his store got turned into a mountain of corpses, and had wisely chosen to interfere. The remaining warriors were all certain his authority would be enough to deter the two interlopers.

  However, their opponent was stronger than any of them had realized. Shizuku was bowing her head furiously in apology, her words choked with tears, as she tried to drag Kaori out of the section. However, Kaori was not so easily turned away. Even w
ith tears streaking down her face, she still thrust the game box out at the manager and made her request.

  “I-I’d like to buy this, preashe!”

  The manager’s expression faltered and he tried to insist that you needed to be eighteen to purchase this product, but Kaori came back with a most unexpected counter.

  “I-It’s for my dad!”

  What kind of dad would make their daughter buy their porn! Everyone present thought the same thing. Kaori herself must have realized how flimsy an excuse it was, as she then continued, saying things like “It’s his birthday present!” and “We were going to play it together!” Her excuses only made things worse, though. At this point Shizuku was so embarrassed that she buried her face in her hands, wishing she were dead. Finally, Kaori ended things with a, “Please, won’t you let me buy it?” Her puppy dog eyes and pleading drove the manager to his limits.

  “Excuse me for a moment.” That was all the manager said before running behind a shelf and spurting out a torrential nosebleed. He was just as much of an otaku as anyone else there, and thus just as susceptible to Kaori’s charms. Wails of “Bossssssssss!” could be heard coming from the few warriors who were still left standing.

  On that day, in her quest to purchase a single game, Kaori piled up a mountain of corpses of both customers and store clerks alike.

  Dreams of Family

  The pleasant aroma of grilled meat and soy sauce wafted through the air. There was a forty-odd year old lady standing in the kitchen, an apron wrapped around her waist and her hair tied back in a ponytail.

  The woman, Sumire Nagumo, was busy skillfully preparing a meal. She raised her head up to the ceiling and yelled.

  “Hajime, Dear, it’s feeding time!”

  After a brief silence, a pair of footsteps could be heard heading down the stairs.

  “Can you please just call it dinner like a normal person, Mom?” Hajime Nagumo displayed an annoyed face as he entered the kitchen... There were dark bags under his gentle eyes. He took a peek at what his mom had made while helping her set the table, and his eyes began to sparkle.