Everyone quickly looked away, or rather, turned their entire bodies away. In many ways, they couldn't bear to look at him.
Hajime glanced at Kouki, "Amanokawa, you're a friend of this guy, right?" Implicitly, he was asking him to find a solution. However, Kouki's gaze shifted for a moment, and he began to pretend to be wary of the situation. His attitude was like, "I'm protecting the defenseless Ryuutarou! So I'm a bit busy right now!" He was trying to evade the situation.
Kaori let out a "Hmm~!" sound, distanced herself as much as possible, and stretched out her hand with all her might to treat Ryuutarou. Her eyes were tightly closed, and she turned her head away with all her might, her determination to "never look" evident.
"...Kaori, you're really going too far. You were the one who beat him up so badly."
"I'm distracted because Yue is bothering me!"
"...Well, you're shirking responsibility. Come on, Kaori! You need to take responsibility and face your injuries properly! Come on, hurry up!"
"No, no! Because they'll see! I don't want to see anyone other than Hajime-kun!"
“…You’re truly unfit to be a healer. Come, watch, carefully observe his healing! Imprint anything other than Hajime in your eyes!”
“No! I don’t want it! Yue is an idiot! Don’t push me! Ah!? Is this gravity magic!? Stop it! Don’t force my eyes open!!”
Yue kept pushing Kaori towards Ryutaro and used gravity magic with great force to try to open Kaori's eyelids.
Yue set the gravity magic to a very small range, never hurting the opponent, but still exerting a clear effect...
This is truly a skill worthy of the name of genius, even though it is used in a completely unnecessary place.
"...Tsuki-san and Kaori-san are indeed very close."
"Although it's Yue who's teasing Kaori most of the time, but... they do play around a lot."
"That's basically a form of friendship, like a quarreling friend."
Hajime and the others watched Kaori and Yue's childish quarrel with smiles on their faces, chatting while watching them. Hajime's expression was especially loving.
Yue usually behaves maturely most of the time, but when she's with Kaori, she immediately becomes like a child. Now, even though she's arguing with Kaori, her expression is like that of a lively and happy child.
In a sense, compared to Shia, who is recognized as Yue's best friend, Kaori and Yue may be more like ordinary friends.
As for Hajime, Yue, who usually acts like an older sister, certainly makes him crazy, but to be honest, the contrast between Yue and her usual childish side is also irresistible to Hajime. Although it can also be said that Yue is Hajime's favorite no matter what kind of Yue she is...
On the other hand, next to the warm atmosphere, Ryutaro was still lying on the ground, rolling his eyes and exposing his lower body.
Ryutaro is firmly rejected by his childhood sweetheart and treated like a punishment by the person he fell in love with at first sight. This day he spent in another world will surely become an unforgettable dark story in his seventeen-year-old history.
"...The punishment is severe enough, isn't it?"
"How tragic..."
"Ryuutarou...I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."
Shizuku, Ling, and Kouki turned their heads away with all their might, expressions of sympathy plastered on their faces.
Five minutes later.
Ryuutarou finally regained consciousness and put his clothes back on (the clothes were new clothes that Kouki had put on him before he regained consciousness). He apologized for his reckless and foolhardy behavior. For some reason, Ryuutarou felt that everyone seemed to be feeling both pity and sympathy for him. In short, the atmosphere was very strange, and he tilted his head in confusion.
"Hey, Kouki, what happened?"
"! No, it's nothing. You don't need to worry about anything, Ryuutarou."
The peace of mind of a close friend must be protected. The beauty (?) of friendship obscures the glory.
So Hajime said directly:
"You were naked, rolling your eyes, and passed out until just now."
「!?」
“Nagumo!?”
Kouki seemed to be blaming Hajime, "How could you say that!?", but seeing their reactions, Ryutaro realized that it was the truth.
Ryutaro looked around, and the moment he saw the female members trying their best to look away, he immediately knelt on all fours.
Over Ryuutarou's head, everyone could almost see the dark clouds from Yue's summoning of the Thunder Dragon. His usually cheerful personality seemed false, and a gloomy aura emanated from him. It was as if he were under a gravity spell, ready to collapse at any moment.
Hajime impatiently pushed away the accusing Kouki and said:
"For someone like Sakagami, if he doesn't feel pain, he'll do it again."
"That's too painful. Could you at least be more tactful about it?"
"I'm speaking up on your behalf, you who got away with it. Why should I bother with that?"
As they argued, the gentle Tio cast soul magic, and light shone down on Ryutaro from above. The faint light descending from the void seemed to be guiding his soul to heaven.
Hajime, standing by, waved his radiance and asked Yue:
"Yue, I want to confirm, with your strength, can you handle the forced transfer just now?"
"...It's difficult, because it's faster than I can deploy it. Besides, I don't know how large the range of the forced transfer is, and how many times it will happen in succession. If I were to fight them all, I think the amount of magic power consumed would be undeniable."
"I think so. The only other common method left is..."
Hajime slowly unsheathed the Shurajane. Although Guanghui and the others were shocked, Hajime paid them no particular attention. After sending out an electric current to recharge the gun, Hajime aimed at the ice wall of the maze in front of him and pulled the trigger.
Judging from the feeling when looking down from above, the ice walls that make up the maze are all ten meters high and about two meters thick, which is not thick enough that Shurajan or Alcorn cannot break through.
As expected, the red flash of the electromagnetic acceleration anti-object rifle easily penetrated the ice wall and even shattered several ice walls inside the maze.
However, perhaps it was as expected. The large hole created absorbed the surrounding ice and filled up in an instant. Its regeneration rate was far faster than that of frost monsters.
"They must have taken precautions. After all, destroying the wall and walking straight towards the end is a basic routine."
"Hajime-kun, I've never heard of that kind of scheme. If you do something like that on Earth, you'll be reported to the organizer."
Kaori, who had recently forgotten Earth's common sense, made a very common-sense rebuke. It seemed that her common sense still barely survived.
In terms of ignoring the maze's rules, Hajime was no different from Ryuutarou, and Kouki and the others looked at him with cold eyes.
Hajime, wary of a counterattack from the maze, ignored the common-sense gazes of Kaori, Kouki, and the others and put the Shurajane away.
"As long as you don't push yourself too hard, there won't be any penalties? If that's the case, there might be a lot of gray areas to navigate."
Since we have a compass, wouldn't it be fine to just attack normally? The gazes of Guanghui and the others grew even colder, but Hajime ignored them and walked through the archway without hesitation.
A sudden wave of tension washed over Guanghui and the others. Even though they knew there was nothing wrong, because of what had just happened with Ryuutarou, they couldn't help but be cautious, worried that something might go wrong the moment they entered the maze.
"What's wrong? Nagumo-kun, are you okay?"
Hajime stopped Shizuku from asking questions with one hand, while staring at the compass in his hand.
The passage immediately split into two paths, one leading to the left and one to the front, forming an inverted T-shaped intersection. However, the compass glowed faintly, and the needle turned a circle, pointing to the passage on the right.
"Well, I can rest assured for now. I was a little worried that the compass might not work except in this maze."
"I've considered that possibility... but this compass is a product of conceptual magic of a higher order than the magic of the Age of Gods. Even the Liberator himself can only create three, so I don't think it should be a problem."
Tio followed Hajime through the archway, she breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke, and Hajime nodded in confirmation with the same reassurance.
At the same time, Hajime couldn't help but smile bitterly. If he had obtained this compass earlier, it wouldn't have been so difficult in the [Lesin Great Labyrinth].
Shia and Yue, who had experienced the same hardships, seemed to empathize with Hajime's thoughts.
"Wow, if I had this, I wouldn't have to be afraid of Miss Meredith."
"...Hmm, she probably left the compass in Hartner on purpose. Damn Meredith."
Yue's guess might be correct.
As long as there's a compass, it becomes a large maze that can't even be called a maze. Because of this, Meredi and the others must have left the compass in Hartrina, where the prerequisite for entry is to conquer four or more large mazes, in order to prevent it from being easily conquered.
Although they knew this, they couldn't accept it openly, remembering the many times they'd been teased in the Great Labyrinth of Lesin. Shia's lips pursed into a duckbill, as if in anger, and Yue puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
Perhaps only those who have gone through that big maze, or should I say experienced how annoying Meredith is, can understand this feeling.
"They sometimes mention that name. Seriously, what exactly happened to them in the Great Labyrinth of Lesin?"
"Although I feel a little lonely not being able to share the same memories, but... the resentment between the three of them is very deep, it seems best not to interfere."
Hajime patted Yue and Shia's shoulders to comfort them, while Kaori and Tio looked at them, wondering what a strange personality the Liberator, Meredith, had that these three people cared so much about.
Guanghui and others also passed through the archway and entered the maze, and were finally about to start conquering the vast maze.
Although I won't get lost in the maze thanks to the compass, it will probably take quite a while to navigate through the maze of several square kilometers.
It is also extremely cold here. Although the water will not freeze immediately, it will definitely be a very harsh journey if there is no special air zone.
"It feels quite oppressive."
"Yeah, and this wall seems a little strange. It's transparent and clean, but I can't see what's behind it..."
Shizuku looked up at the ice wall and said this, while Suzu beside her moved a little away from the ice wall with an uneasy expression.
It was indeed correct, and it was indeed a strange ice wall.
The high transparency was the same as before, and so beautiful that not even a bubble could be seen. The faint reflection of people's figures was also the same, but the passage next door was invisible. Considering that each wall was two meters thick, this design would not normally be possible. The reason for this design must be more than just to make the maze look more like a maze.
Kaori showed a disgusted expression and expressed her suspense:
"That zombie just now came out from behind the wall..."
"Hmm, it might be the same mechanism. Some monsters in large mazes can completely conceal their presence, so be careful of surprise attacks."
"It's okay, Miss Kaori! Leave it to my rabbit ears! You don't have to be so scared. Just use my super powerful rabbit ears and I won't miss any opponent no matter who they are!"
"Y-yes! Thank you, Shia. But you just mentioned ears twice..."
Kaori thought... that must be Shia's Perception-type ability. Although she was happy about her kindness, she felt a little uneasy when she heard the name.
Ignoring Kaori's complaints, Shia proudly puffed out her chest, then confidently patted it. Her breasts, swaying and undulating, were bound to ripple.
Not only Kaori, but also Suzu and Shizuku seemed uneasy. The gentle Shia, out of concern, wanted to ease their overly nervous emotions. However, Shia should have given a little more thought to her overly revealing outfit.
Instead of trying to relieve the tension, Kouki and Ryuutarou, driven by their male instincts, couldn't help but glance over. Hajime glared at them, his gaze a murderous ray.
Although the two of them looked away at the same time in tacit understanding, they were in a very tense state.
“Really, Shia, you should be a little more self-aware…”
Hajime tried to remind Shia, but his attention was drawn to Shia's gravity magic. He stared at the still swaying breasts with the same seriousness as if he were appreciating a masterpiece.
Ever since he realized and admitted his feelings for Shia, Hajime couldn't help but react to Shia's sexy actions.
“…Hajime-kun? What are you looking at? Tell me.”
"Ahem! Uh~ Next is the left side."
When I turned around, I saw Kaori with her pupils dilated. Miss Hannya must be ready to make her appearance.
Hajime coughed deliberately to cover it up, while shifting his gaze towards the compass.
Yue seemed amused and chuckled. Tio squeezed her chest, emphasizing her presence... but forget about her. Shizuku glared at Hajime with a cold, "What are you doing?" look. Hajime ignored them and continued on his way.
Shia's cheeks flushed at Hajime's reaction. Then, she hugged herself with her arms and twisted her body shyly.
"Hajime-san, you really do like my breasts. But you can't do 'that'! Now, please focus on conquering the Great Dungeon. Otherwise... if I have my breasts played with like that, I'll get weak again! And then I won't be able to conquer the Great Dungeon."
"Shia, could you please shut up for a moment?"
Hearing Shia's sudden confession, Kouki and the others, along with Kaori, whose eyes were dull and whose Hannya was already halfway present, and Tio, who was full of interest, looked over with trembling, shyness, and a hint of jealousy.
Hajime's cheek twitched slightly, but he stared straight ahead, remaining silent. It seemed he was exercising his right to remain silent.
Instead, Yue looked at Hajime with his usual cold eyes.
“…Hajime, did you do ‘that’? Shia is the first time she’s called…Hajime a beast.”
"Because I couldn't control my rationality, I couldn't help but do 'that' to her, just like I did to Yue..."
Hearing the conversation between Hajime and Yue, Kouki and the others thought gloomily, "So, what is 'that'?!"
Despite their accumulated experience, the people here were all adolescent boys and girls, and they were all very well-behaved teenagers. They couldn't help but react to the stimulating and erotic world of adult life right around them. Furthermore, since they were surrounded by people of the same age, their reactions were even more intense.
"H-What should we do? Shizuku-chan! For the sake of the future, we should ask Xixi-chan what happened to her!? Right!?"
"Calm down, Suzu! You're so flustered you've caught Kaori's catchphrase!"
“… Kouki, I respect you as a hero, so I have a favor to ask of you! Go ask Nagumo what ‘that’ is!?”
"How can I even ask that? Besides, that's not what a hero means!"
Everyone's behavior became suspicious, and just as they were hesitating whether to ask in detail about "that", Hajime suddenly stopped.
In an instant, a huge explosion sounded, and a flash of light flashed across the red-faced and panicked Suzuto.
Looking closely, Donal's gun was pointed backwards. It seemed as if Hajime had just fired his rifle so quickly that it didn't even leave an afterimage.
“…Huh?”
Ling's eyes were filled with tears and she was shaking constantly. She touched her head with both hands.
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