"Um, um, Hajime-san?"
"How should I put it...Welcome back, Shia. It's great to have you back."
"Ah... yes! I'm back!"
Without needing to be told anything, Shia could sense Hajime's "welcome back," and the strong embrace he held her in, telling her—this is where you belong. Shia grinned, a smile that seemed both embarrassed and incredibly happy, captivating everyone who saw it.
As usual, Hajime held Yue on his right and Shia on his left, the three of them happily discussing their dreams. Then, another piece of amber glowed faintly, as if another person had broken free from the cage of the dream known as sweet temptation and returned to reality.
"That piece of amber, I remember it was..."
As Hajime said this, Yue used magic to illuminate the light source into the air, illuminating the now liberated figure.
After a brief pause—
“Aaaaaah!! Master’s punishment is not so gentle! Go back and practice again!”
“““…”””
It goes without saying that the person who screamed loudly and raised her fist to the sky upon waking up was Tio.
From her words, Hajime and the others could probably guess what kind of dream she had. They couldn't help but look at her with contempt, speechless. Hajime's eyes were especially cold, as if they were frozen in the tundra. He wondered what this guy had let him do in his ideal world.
Tio's back shivered at Hajime's gaze, and she turned around with an intoxicated expression. But when she saw the extremely cold look in his eyes, her body trembled even more.
Then, the moment Tio's eyes met Hajime's, she ran out immediately like a dog that had discovered its owner.
"Master, I'm back! Please pamper me!"
Tio's movements remained unchanged from when she transformed into a goblin. She leaped towards Hajime with Lupin-style speed.
Of course, Hajime pulled out his Donner and shot.
“Ahhh!?”
As the gunshots rang out, Tio did three backflips in the air, and after the back of her head landed on the ground, she let out a wail of pain that was almost like a gasp.
Of course, Hajime stepped on her too. Hajime put his foot on Tio's back as she writhed in pain, trying to stop her disgusting movements.
"What on earth did you make me do in my dream, you useless dragon?"
"Aaaaah! That's it! That's it! I tried so hard to return from this fake world, only to be greeted with gunfire and trampling! And with those eyes that looked at me like I was trash! This exquisite pain, not a bit of the innocence of a fake! This is the master of my life!"
“…Go to hell, you pervert.”
“Ah ...
Tio’s joyful cry seemed too much for Hajime to bear, and Hajime caused a powerful [Thunderbolt] to explode. Tio’s body bent over from the electric shock, and then, with white smoke billowing out, she fell limply.
She looked dazed, a perverted expression that would almost make the NCC say, "This can't be broadcast!" Although she looked incredibly happy, that was not what Hajime wanted.
"Ahahaha... Even the Great Labyrinth can't understand Tio-san's sexual fetish? I clearly cooperated with the pervert to create an ideal world, but not only did Tio-san scold me, she even let me off with the excuse that I couldn't satisfy her..."
"...Salute to Hartina!"
Yue Chao saluted the void, and felt that Hartrina in her heart seemed to return the salute with tears in her eyes.
"Oh my~ Master's reward is such a treat. As expected, the real Master is the best."
Tio stood up again with smooth movements as if nothing had happened.
Hajime was about to shoot her again for saying something disgusting, but—
"..."
Hajime stopped his hand and looked at Tio's expression.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Master, are you obsessed with me? Hehe."
Tio was smiling broadly, but after a pause, Hajime sighed and patted Tio's head. Tio showed a surprised expression, and Hajime said to her:
"If you want me to fall in love with you, then don't force a smile. It's much better to have your usual perverted expression than to force a smile. Anyway... welcome back, Tio."
Tio opened her eyes wide, then covered them with her hands as if in surrender and replied, "...Yes, I'm back, Master." Then, as if to hide her blushing cheeks, she turned her head away.
Yue and Xia also seemed to notice it at this time.
Tio is a long-lived dragon-man, which means that among this group of people, she has seen the most, heard the most, and experienced the most past events.
"If I could change the past"—she must have thought this countless times.
To Tio, the ideal world that the Great Labyrinth showed her was filled with everything she had lost over the long years. It could be said to be a world like a treasure.
When Tio woke up, she paused for a moment because she wanted to keep her overflowing emotions within her heart. And she was making such a fuss as usual in order to bury those emotions even deeper within her heart.
The slightest hint of emotion from Tio was noticed by the sharp-eyed Hajime.
"Ms. Tio, welcome back."
"...Well, welcome back, Tio."
"...Shia, Yue, I'm back."
Seeing Tio's shy look, Hajime and the others smiled with warmth as if they had seen something rare. Seeing Hajime and the others' reactions, Tio's cheeks blushed even more.
After a while, other amber began to glow.
The next person to come out was Kaori. As Hajime and the others approached her, they saw her breathing slightly and opening her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Hajime and the others around her.
However, when Kaori's eyes met Hajime's again, her blood seemed to boil, her face flushed instantly, and she quickly retreated to the wall.
Kaori had never kept such a distance from Hajime before, so Hajime was more confused than surprised. He didn't know what was going on, so he looked at Yue and the others.
Kaori sensed Hajime's confusion and quickly clarified the misunderstanding with him.
“Ah, no, no! Hajime-kun! Just now I was a little… how should I put it… Anyway, no, I wasn’t hiding from you!”
"No, I don't mind... Anyway, it must be related to the dream, right? What kind of dream did you have?"
“Eh? What kind of dream is this? That’s… wuaaaaa.”
Hajime said with a wry smile. Kaori was about to answer him, but after a pause, she blushed with embarrassment, uttered an incomprehensible cry, and crumbled to her knees. She covered her face with her hands, as if she couldn't face Hajime.
Seeing Kaori's reaction, the female members roughly guessed what kind of dream she had, and their reactions were different. "Oh~" Tio was genuinely amused, a malicious smile on her face. "...Kaori-san, really." Shia's cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked away.
The moon is...
"...Kaori is a reserved woman."
Yue showed a contemptuous look and scolded Kaori with harsh words. Kaori shuddered, her face flushed, and she hurriedly defended herself.
"I, I'm not a stuffy girl, don't say weird things!"
"...Then tell me what kind of dream you had?"
"T-That's... nothing, just normal everyday life."
“…I see, you’re attacking Hajime as usual.”
“I didn’t attack Hajime-kun! I just pushed him down, and then it was Hajime-kun who took the initiative… ah!”
"...Kaori is forbidden from approaching Hajime. Hajime will be in danger."
“It’s not dangerous! Hajime-kun, it’s not like that, okay? I won’t attack Hajime-kun, okay?”
"Okay, okay, I got it."
“Wuwu~~”
It seems that Kaori and Hajime had "a lot of things" happen in her dream. According to Kaori, they didn't make it to the end. Kaori barely resisted the temptation (?) and returned to reality...but she seems to have had a sweet and sour youth.
Kaori frequently stole glances at Hajime, appearing rather shy. Her naive reactions seemed to trigger Yue's abusive nature, and she whispered something into Kaori's ear, seemingly trying to provoke her sense of shame. At Yue's bullying, Kaori covered her ears and shook her head in protest, looking like a poor mouse cornered by a mischievous cat.
"Well, anyway, this way we've all successfully escaped from the dream."
"Yeah, then what are the Heroes going to do?"
Shia breathed a sigh of relief and asked Hajime. Her gaze was fixed on Kohaku, who was housing Kouki and the others.
"Let me think... Ultimately, the only option is to break the amber and save them. But let's wait for them to come out on their own. Otherwise, there's no point in them coming here."
"How long do we have to wait?"
"I think a meal and some rest should be enough. In my case, I should have been able to get through it normally, but in my rage, I couldn't help but use my power to destroy that world. So I only have a little magic power left, and I want to rest."
“…Why are you being so reckless, Hajime-san?”
Shia looked at Hajime, seemingly overcome by his impulsiveness. Because their usual stance had been reversed, Hajime's expression was bitter.
"I've been reflecting on this. It seems I've been acting impulsively since I started challenging this great maze."
"Ah~ Well, it's because they keep using Yue-san to attack you..."
"But I can't make excuses, because in a sense, this could become my weakness. It seems difficult, but I want to take this opportunity to overcome my weakness."
Shia looked at him with admiration as Hajime displayed a positive attitude. Then, as if she had thought of something, she ignored Yue, who was still bullying Kaori, and Tio, who was looking at her with envy, and quietly asked Hajime:
“Um… Hajime-san…”
"Um?"
"If the same thing happened to Miss Yue and I... would you be angry on my behalf as well?"
Although Shia looked away, the rabbit ears were still pointed towards Hajime. Even if she couldn't get the same treatment as Yue, would Hajime be angry for her when she was being used? - Shia really wanted to know the answer.
Hajime was tempted to play it off for a moment, but when he saw Shia glance at him with an uneasy look, he scratched his cheek. Unlike the previous situation, Hajime answered with a frank heart this time:
"I destroyed the dream world not just for Yue. You also existed in that world... If it weren't for Shia who's here right now, I wouldn't be able to accept it."
"Ah... hehe, so that's it."
Shia smiled happily, patting the rabbit's ears and wagging its tail. Shia's cute behavior made Hajime reach out and touch it naturally.
Afterward, Kaori finally couldn't stand Yue's bullying anymore and ran to Hajime to cry. Shia, with a cheerful air, comforted Kaori, Yue puffed out her chest contentedly, and Tio... just ignored her. Hajime and the others rested, ate, and waited for Kouki and the others to be released. But after what felt like three hours, no one had come out yet.
"It's almost time to make a decision..."
“…Yeah, indeed.”
"Yeah... If we don't put an end to this, it'll never end."
Hajime stared at Kohaku and was finally ready to force Kouki and the others to leave. Yue and Shia knew there was no other way and agreed, but Kaori intervened.
"But... can't we wait a little longer? If it's Shizuku-chan, they'll definitely be able to..."
Kaori knows better than anyone how desperate Shizuku and the others are, so she hopes they can conquer the Great Labyrinth and obtain the Age of Gods magic.
As long as there is a magic of the Age of Gods, the chance of survival will be greatly improved. In order to return to Japan safely, Kaori also hopes that Shizuku and the others can become stronger.
In his heart, Hajime also hoped that they could grow into excellent combat forces.
So seeing Kaori's pleading eyes, Hajime shrugged and decided to wait a little longer.
Kaori smiled happily at this, and then tried to approach Hajime as if nothing had happened, but Yue stopped her as if nothing had happened. Then, a piece of amber finally glowed.
"That Kohaku is... Shizuku-chan!"
"As expected, Yaegashi was the first to come out."
"Well, since Shizuku is a reliable person, it's not surprising."
Seeing the amber gradually melting, Kaori rushed over. Shizuku, though moaning softly, soon woke up and sat up with Kaori's help.
"This is...Kaori, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me, Shizuku-chan, welcome back."
"Really? I'm back. Phew, I feel so tired..."
Shizuku sighed deeply and tiredly, then shook her head as if to shake something off. Then she smiled at Kaori and said, "I'm back."
At this time, Hajime and the others also came over.
"You slept for a long time, but I'm glad you passed it."
“Huh? Ah, Nan-Nangumo-san… Y-yes, that’s great.”
For some reason, whenever Hajime started talking to Shizuku, her eyes would wander and her words would become hesitant.
Seeing Shizuku's reaction, Yue and the others looked surprised. Shizuku coughed as if to hide her mental turmoil, and looked around as if to hide the slight blush on her cheeks.
“…It seems Kouki and the others haven’t come out yet.”
"Yes, we came out a few hours ago, and the only one who came out so far is Shizuku-chan."
"Really? This is a very difficult trial. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
"Don't worry, Miss Shizuku. Congratulations on coming out. I would like to ask you a question..."
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