"I'm here, Hajime-kun."

"Kaori, are you okay..."

Seeing Kaori approaching with a smile on her face, Hajime breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Hajime's reaction, Kaori smiled brightly and leaned against Hajime.

"I'm so scared..."

"yes……"

"Yeah, so I want you to comfort me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Kaori wrapped her arms around Hajime's neck and hugged him. When their noses were almost touching, she stared at him with moist eyes, and then slowly moved closer...

There was a click sound, and the muzzle of Donal's gun was pressed against Kaori's temple.

"W-What are you doing?"

Kaori seemed to be in a state of great distress, and Hajime narrowed his eyes fiercely, with murderous intent in his eyes.

"What? Kill the enemy, of course, just like you're about to do."

After saying that, Hajime pulled the trigger without hesitation, and Donal fired a bullet that shone with red light, mercilessly piercing Kaori's temple and causing an explosion.

There was a clang as a rusty dagger fell to the ground. It was the object that had fallen from Kaori's hand, and it was also the object she had taken out of her sleeve when she hugged Hajime.

Hajime made clattering footsteps as he approached the fallen Kaori. Kaori sat up and said to Hajime in a voice trembling with fear:

“Hajime-kun, why are you doing this to me—!?”

However, Hajime shot another magic bullet at Kaori without saying a word.

"Don't speak with Kaori's voice or use her body without permission. I can clearly see that a piece of scum has taken over her body."

Indeed, Hajime's Mystic Eye Stone revealed a woman who looked like a ghost, possessing Kaori as if she were overlapping him. Perhaps realizing her cover had been blown, the ghost, bearing Kaori's appearance, cast aside its previous expression of fear and instead revealed a sinister smile.

“Hehe, even if you knew, there’s nothing you can do… This woman is already mine—!?”

The undead said as he tried to stand up, but Hajime pushed him to the ground and straddled him.

"Wait! What are you going to do? This woman is yours! Are you planning on hurting her?!"

"You idiot, didn't I tell you to stop talking and moving? I don't mean to hurt Kaori. The magic bullet won't harm the flesh. Only you will feel the pain if it attaches to her."

"If I'm destroyed, this woman's soul will be destroyed too! Is that okay with you?!"

Hearing this, Hajime pondered for a moment. While she might be bluffing, Hajime had no way of confirming it. Normally, Hajime would hesitate and be unable to strike. The undead thought the same thing, and with another sly grin, he ordered Hajime to retreat.

Hajime's answer was to shoot magic bullets.

Perhaps feeling pain, Hajime could see the ghost's pained expression over Kaori. Seeing Hajime preparing to fire another magic bullet, the ghost shouted anxiously:

"Are you crazy!? Are you done with this woman?!"

"Shut up, undead. Even if I stop attacking as you say, I still can't take Kaori's body back. And on the other hand, as long as I don't destroy you, Kaori's soul won't be destroyed, right? So I just don't kill you, and torture you until you come out of your own accord."

Hearing Shi's decisive words, the female ghost was so shocked that she couldn't speak. Seeing Shi's eyes filled with murderous intent, her whole body stiffened.

"You attacked someone 'important' to me. I won't let you be destroyed so easily. I will use every possible means to prevent you from disappearing, causing you all kinds of pain, but I won't allow you to go crazy. Although you are my enemy... I will never let you die so easily."

Red magic emanated from Hajime's body, stirring his white hair. A storm of murderous intent and magic erupted, yet Hajime's eyes remained as cold as ice.

He felt an unprecedented rage, revealing his cruel side. Simply killing his enemies was no longer enough to satisfy him.

Hajime's killing intent was so strong and terrifying that the female ghost attached to Kaori froze up and could do nothing but stare at Hajime.

Only at this moment did she realize that she had attacked a monster that she was absolutely not allowed to attack, and had touched a taboo that she was absolutely not allowed to touch.

With the muzzle of Donal's gun pressed against the undead's forehead, the undead woman could only desperately pray for her to disappear as soon as possible. Thinking of what kind of "treatment" she would receive next, she wanted to disappear from this world as soon as possible.

The undead were originally formed by the degeneration of their attachment to the human world, but the breath they now emit is so terrifying that it makes the undead even forget their attachment to the human world.

—I want to disappear! I want to disappear! I want to disappear! I want to disappear! I want to disappear! I want to disappear!

As the cries of the dead echoed, Hajime was about to pull the trigger when Kaori's body suddenly glowed. It was the radiance of the abnormal state recovery magic "Manten". Kaori had prepared the magic in advance as a precaution, using it as a "delayed activation".

When the undead was confused by the sudden situation, a voice came from within his body.

——It’s okay, I will send you off safely.

As these words rang out, the light shone even brighter, a pale violet-colored glow enveloping the undead soul, slowly rising toward the heavens. The undead soul's consciousness gradually faded, and in a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere, it completely vanished from this world.

After a while, Kaori's eyelids fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes.

Hajime rode on Kaori's back, peering into her eyes from above. As Kaori's body began to glow, Hajime's Demonic Eye Stone saw the ghost gradually fade. He temporarily withdrew his killing intent and checked to see if the ghost still lingered within Kaori.

Hajime pressed on Kaori, his face close to hers, his eyes looking directly into hers; Hajime's eyes were serious, mixed with worry and relief.

Kaori looked into his eyes and her body moved naturally.

She suddenly raised her face and pressed her lips against Hajime's. Although it was just a touch of lips, it was indeed Kaori's first kiss.

Hajime heard the ghost say, "Kaori's soul will be damaged." As a precaution, he focused on "observing" whether the ghost was still possessing Kaori, so he couldn't avoid this perfectly natural kiss. Hajime was shocked and his whole body froze. Kaori's lips quickly separated from Hajime's.

"What are you doing?"

"That's probably an answer."

"answer?"

"Yes, to answer Hajime-san's question earlier...why I followed you, and whether I will continue to follow you in the future."

As soon as she finished speaking, Kaori smiled at Hajime. It was Kaori's usual smile as warm as the sun, no longer the forced smile she had put on after coming here.

In fact, during the possession, Kaori still retained consciousness, and it felt like being locked in a glass house looking out. Therefore, Kaori also clearly saw Hajime's unprecedented rage and madness, saw him say that he was an "important" person, and vent his anger on his enemies for his own sake.

Seeing Hajime like that, Kaori felt an overwhelming urge in her heart, and recalled the uncontrollable feeling she had when she confessed her love to him.

No matter what others say, no matter how much trouble it causes Hajime, Kaori will stick to this willful feeling. She wants to show Hajime how she feels.

Kaori couldn't stand the fact that she was the only one missing from the girls surrounding Hajime; she didn't want to imagine a future where she wasn't by Hajime's side. Kaori knew that her power was far inferior to Yue and the others, but even so, she wanted to prove that her feelings were no less than theirs.

"I like Hajime-kun so much, so I want to be by your side from now on."

"...You're only making yourself miserable, aren't you? You're not like Shia. The moon is also indispensable to Shia."

"Yes, I want to be all mine. I hope you only have eyes for me. I get jealous of Yue, and I also feel inferior... and sometimes I feel uncomfortable."

"In that case..."

"But, at least I'm sure that if I back down now, I'll definitely regret it. I came along because I was convinced from the beginning... that staying with Hajime-san was the best choice for me. Although I seemed to have lost myself when I saw the gap between myself and Yue, it doesn't matter now."

Kaori held Hajime's cheeks between her hands and smiled brightly at him.

Hajime's expression was complex, one of both confusion and resignation. Since this was Kaori's decision, and she believed it was the best course of action, Hajime had nothing to say. Everyone's happiness was different, and Hajime couldn't, and shouldn't, decide for Kaori what constituted happiness.

"...Is that so? Since Kaori thinks it's fine, I won't say anything more."

"Well, I'll cause a lot of trouble to Hajime-kun, but please don't hate me."

"It's too late to say that now. Whether at school or here... you're always a troublemaker."

"You're going too far!"

"Is that so? Kaori doesn't read people's expressions at school. She talks to me nonchalantly, saying shocking things without realizing it. People around her are full of murderous intent towards me, but Kaori is completely oblivious. And she even runs into the boys' room in the middle of the night in her thin pajamas..."

“Ugh, I, I hadn’t realized I had a crush on Hajime at that time, I just wanted to talk to you… As for running to Hajime’s room, well, looking back on it, I feel pretty embarrassed too…”

Kaori blushed and covered her face with her hands. Hajime stepped away from her, helped her to her feet, and patted her shoulder with a wry smile. When the mist dissipated, the magic circle in the deepest part of the cargo hold began to glow. Hajime walked towards the magic circle.

Kaori clutched Hajime's sleeve tightly. A closer look revealed her gait to be a bit unsteady. Perhaps due to the spirit's presence, her senses seemed to be a bit dulled. Since she had no physical abnormalities, she would probably recover soon.

"Let's take a break."

Hearing Shi's proposal, Kaori suddenly smiled, as if she had thought of a good idea, and then asked Shi to turn his back and jumped on his back.

"……What are you doing?"

"Shouldn't we hurry? We don't know how long the magic circle's effects will last. If we delay any longer, the fog might come back. That's why I asked Hajime to carry me."

Her words did make sense. Hajime scratched his head helplessly and said, "I really can't do anything about you," and then carried Kaori on his back and walked towards the magic circle.

Kaori wrapped her arms around Hajime's neck, hugging her tightly and pressing a part of her body against him.

I won't mention the specific part, but as Hajime tried his best to ignore the soft touch on his back, a sweet voice rang in his ears. Kaori's lips were almost touching his ears, exhaling warm breath and whispering softly:

"Hashi-kun... please repeat what you just said."

"What did you just say?"

"Yes, you're angry because he attacked 'someone'?"

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

"Really? Tell me what will happen~"

In a sense, the atmosphere between the two of them was like a flirtation. Hajime, carrying Kaori on his back, stepped forward step by step and stepped into the magic circle without hesitation.

The faint light illuminated the sea, and the sea surface above the roof was covered with waves.

At the center of this space stood a temple-like structure, supported by four massive pillars. The spaces between the pillars were open and unenclosed. In the center of the temple, an altar-like area was painted with intricate and intricate magic circles. Furthermore, the temple was surrounded by seawater, connected to it by a tunnel extending outwards from the sea. At the front of the tunnel was a circular area, also painted with magic circles.

Now one of the four magic circles glowed slightly, and after a burst of strong light, two figures appeared on the magic circle, namely Hajime and Kaori.

"This is... huh? Is that a magic circle? Have we finished conquering it?"

"Uh, what's the problem?"

"No, I just didn't expect to be able to clear it like this. Compared to the other large mazes, it feels a bit simple... I thought that at least the Pseudo-Naked Sea Butterfly would appear at the end..."

Hajime couldn't help but show a surprised expression when he realized that he had arrived at Mei'er Melkine's secret residence. Kaori looked over his shoulder and replied with a wry smile:

"Well, Hajime-kun, this place is already difficult enough, right? For example, the first underwater cave. Most people can't afford a submarine, so you'll have to constantly expend a lot of mana to get through it. If you're unlucky, you might even drown. Monsters like the Naked Sea Butterfly are incredibly powerful enemies. Physical attacks are ineffective against supernatural phenomena, so you have to rely on mana. Not only that, but you have to break through a swarm of enemies while exhausted, right? This level of difficulty is already incredibly difficult."

"Hmm, now that you put it that way, it seems to be true..."

"Besides, the people in this world have devout faith. If they saw that crazy scene..."

"Is it possible that just seeing that scene would be the end of it..."

To sum up Kaori's accusation, it was that Hajime was too strong. Hearing her words, he realized that if it weren't for the final attack by Freed at the Grun Volcano, Hajime and his team could have successfully conquered it without any harm, so he agreed with Kaori's statement.

It was only then that Hajime realized that they had arrived here before joining Yue and the others. So, what was their current situation? At this moment, as if seeing through Hajime's thoughts, the magic circle in front of the right passage suddenly lit up.

After a burst of bright light, Yue, Shia, and Tio appeared on the magic circle, and the timing was just right.

"You're just in time, are you all right?"

"Hmm, Hajime, are you guys...in trouble?"

"Ah, are you okay, Miss Kaori?"

"Hmm? Is Kaori injured? Didn't you use recovery magic to heal her?"

Hearing Hajime's call, the three said they were fine and looked worriedly at Kaori who was carried on Hajime's back. Kaori replied:

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I was half acting like a spoiled brat to Hajime-kun."

Kaori smiled brightly and declared without hesitation.

Yue narrowed his eyes upon hearing Kaori's answer; Shia said, "That's so enviable, I want Mr. Hajime to carry me on his back too"; Tio seemed to find it very amusing, with a strange smile on her face.

"Hey, Kaori, can you stand up already?"

"Hehe, actually, I could have walked on my own from the beginning... Sorry."

"Hey, come down quickly."

Kaori smiled a little apologetically, and Hajime put Kaori down with a helpless look on his face, and walked towards the temple to meet Yue and the others.

"And then? What happened? Hmm? Tell me, Master, something must have happened between you and Kaori, right? Tell me, what happened? Tell me everything, eh!?"

Tio continued to ask with a smile. That look was so annoying that Hajime was furious and swung his palm at her. Tio was hit so hard that she lost her balance and fell to the ground in a sexy position, her cheeks flushed and she gasped with excitement.

"It's been a long time since I last felt this powerful. Fufu~ Master, can you punish me a little longer? Or should I say, can you just kick me?"

Tio said this with hope, but Hajime and the others chose to ignore it and headed towards the altar inside the temple. Although they heard the words "One more, just one more! Please, hit me again" from behind, they all tried their best to pretend they didn't hear.

"...And then? What happened?"

Yue asked the same question as Tio, but her eyes were not looking at Hajime, but at Kaori. Kaori met Yue's gaze, smiled happily, and just like she always did in the classroom, she dropped a verbal bomb -

"I just kissed Hajime-kun, that's all."

"……oh."

“Eh!? Really!? Who initiated the kiss!? Who initiated the kiss!? Could it be Hajime-san!?”

Yue's voice became deeper after hearing Kaori's answer, while Shia asked excitedly.

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