After defeating the scorpion, they returned to their base after retrieving materials and meat from the scorpion and cyclops. They were troubled by the sheer size of the bodies, but after Yue who was exhausted after using highest grade magic drank some blood again, her strengthened body recovered splendidly in a flash and exhibited superhuman strength. Between the five of them, they were somehow able to bring the items back.
Incidentally, Hajime originally wanted to use this sealed room as their base, but the idea was discarded after Yue adamantly refused. It was no wonder. She had been imprisoned there for who knows how many years, it was only natural that she didn't want to stay there much longer. In order to replenish their supplies, they must stay there for a period of time. Hence, it would be better for her mental health if they left this sealed room as soon as possible. Just like this, they were currently chatting while Hajime and Tanaka were replenishing their supplies.
"In that case… doesn't that mean Yue is at least 300 years old?" [Hajime]
"…Breach of etiquette." [Yue]
"Hajime-kun, no matter what world, asking a girl her age is just rude." [Kaori]
Yue and Kaori stared at Hajime with reproachful eyes full of criticism. Talking about a female's age seems to be a taboo no matter what world it was.
From his memories when he was obtaining knowledge with Tanaka, Hajime recalled that the vampire race perished after a large-scale war three hundred years ago. Yue had probably lost her sense of time after being sealed in that dark room for such a long time. It wouldn't be surprising if anyone said that she had been sealed for a much longer time than that. She was sealed when she was twenty, to be called over three hundred years old after she was released, how could she accept it?
"Do all vampires live for so long?" [Hajime]
"…I'm special. 【Regeneration】, prevents aging…" [Yue]
According to her, after her inherent magic — direct magic manipulation and 【Auto-Regeneration】 — awakened at the age of twelve, she seemed to have stopped aging. Ordinary vampires also appear to live much longer than other races since they sucked blood. Even so, about two hundred years was the limit.
By the way, the human's average lifespan was 70 years, demonkin around 120 years, while demi-human's lifespan was dependent on the race. There are elves who lived for hundreds of years.
Yue was considered one of the strongest of her time in only a few years after she awakened to her atavistic powers. At the age of seventeen, she took the throne as the Queen of Vampires.
Indeed, her magic that melted the scorpion's shell was an attack that had little to no time delay just like Kaori when she casts healing and barrier spells. Moreover, she also had an almost immortal body. To the point that she would be called either a 【God】 or a 【Monster】. Yue was without a doubt, the latter.
Her uncle, who was blinded by greed, started spreading rumors that Yue was a monster. He tried to kill her in the name of righteousness, but because of her 【Auto-Regeneration】, he failed and hence, could only seal her in the underground instead. Yue was so shocked by the sudden betrayal that she did not put up much resistance and was put under some sort of sealing spell amidst the confusion. By the time she regained herself, she was already in the sealed room.
Therefore, that scorpion, the sealing method, and how she ended up in the abyss, she was completely clueless. Maybe there's a way out! Hajime, who held that kind of expectation, drooped his head in disappointment.
They also heard something pertaining to Yue's powers. According to her, Yue seems to have an aptitude for all attributes. When Hajime and Tanaka became aware of this, they muttered to themselves with a blank expression, "What, this cheat…" However, Yue was weak in close combat. All she could do was run around with her strengthened body as she rapidly fired off spells. Despite that, in the face of her powerful magic, it wasn't really that big of a handicap.
By the way, Yue was able to cast magic without any incantation, but she would mutter the names of the spell out of habit. Many people used unique activation words or actions to supplement their magic and get a clearer image. Yue was no exception.
As for her 【Auto-Regeneration】, it was classified as a Unique Magic. As long as she had any remaining magic power, she wouldn't die unless she was turned into ashes in an instant. Conversely, self-regeneration wouldn't work if she sustained any injuries in the state of magic depletion. In other words, because her magic power had been drained after being sealed for all those years, Yue would have died if the scorpion had hit her.
"Question…the most important thing, do you know anything about this place? Or any escape routes to the surface." [Tanaka]
"…I don't know. But…" [Yue]
She also seemed to not have any knowledge about this labyrinth. While feeling apologetic, she continued her story with what she knew.
"…It was said that one of the liberators made this labyrinth." [Yue]
"Liberators?" [Kaori]
Hearing an unfamiliar term, Kaori and the duo stopped with their transmutation work, so as to not make any disturbing sound as they turned their line of sight towards Yue. She, who had been watching them work, also shifted her line of sight. After nodding her head, she continued her story.
"Liberators… they are the followers of God that challenged him during the Age of God… Legend says they intend to destroy the world." [Yue]
Since Yue was an expressionless girl who didn't talk much, her explanations took a bit of time. On the other hand, Hajime and Tanaka still needed more time to resupply. Hajime realized his firepower was insufficient due to the fight with the scorpion. As a result, he was currently developing a new weapon, the same with Tanaka as he develops his own new weapon as he helps Hajime with transmuting. While working carefully, they were poised to listen to her.
According to Yue, during the Age of God, seven followers betrayed the god and plotted to destroy the world. However, when their plan failed, they each fled to the ends of the world. Those "ends of the world" were reportedly the current Seven Great Dungeons. This 【Orcus Great Dungeon】 was one of them. It is said that in the deepest part of the abyss was where the liberator lived.
"…If it is there, there might be a way out…" [Yue]
"I see. There is no need to expend so much effort to climb up the abyss. If it is a magician from the age of gods, it wouldn't be weird if they had some sort of teleportation magic to take them to the surface." [Hajime]
"Then all the more that we should hurry. I wanna get out of this forsaken place as fast as possible." [Tanaka]
They loosened up their cheeks when the possibility was presented before them. Hajime and Tanaka then returned their eyes back to the work in their hands. Yue also turned her eyes to watch them.
Jii—
"…Is it that interesting?" [Hajime]
"…(Nods! Nods! Nods!)" [Yue]
"Just seeing Hajime-kun work so focused really gets you curious, right?" [Kaori]
"Un!" [Yue]
Yue agreed, she just nodded her head strongly to express herself. The image of her wearing that oversized coat and the way her small hands were holding onto her knees was very charming. In addition, her unbelievably well-featured appearance made her look very cuddable.
(But, three hundred years old. As expected of a fantasy world. Loli-granny really exists…) [Hajime]
Even if his personality changed, Hajime hadn't forgotten his Otaku knowledge. As he unintentionally thought of something like that, Yue reacted to it.
"...Nagumo, it is obvious what you're thinking right now. You're being rude." [Tanaka]
And Tanaka, who was his friend that understood him on a close level, understood what he had been thinking.
"…Hajime, thinking about something strange?" [Yue]
"Nope, what's up?" [Hajime]
Hajime deceived her, but he felt that Yue's — or more precisely the woman's — sharp intuition was something to be afraid of. His inner self broke out in cold sweat as he continued to work in silence. Yue left it off at that and asked a different question.
"…You guys, why are you here?" [Yue]
It was a natural question. This abyss was a genuine land of demons. Other than magic beasts, there was nothing else.
Yue had mountains of questions for them. Why can they manipulate magic directly? Why can they use so many types of Unique Magic? How can they eat the flesh of magic beasts and still be okay? What happened to Hajime's left arm? Are they really human? What is the weapon Hajime is using?
Bit by bit, they answered all the questions patiently. Perhaps they might be longing for another being other than themselves, they did not seem annoyed at her questions. Looking from certain aspects, Hajime seems to be very fond of Yue, making Kaori show a darker and sinister smile at the sight of it.
Hajime started with when his class was summoned to this world. How he and Tanaka were called incompetent by everyone, and how he fell into this abyss and Tanaka with Kaori jumping trying to save him, after Hajime was betrayed by an unknown classmate during the battle against the Behemoth. No, it should be suffice to say that the so-called unknown classmate who was already known as Tanaka seems to keep remembering everything that happened so far and always fumes in rage silently at the thought of that guy actually trying to kill his friend.
And their transformation after eating magic beasts. The desire to fight the Talon Bear. About the potion (Sacred Water). About how they developed the modern weapons by basing them on the weapons they had seen in their homeland. As they recounted the events one by one, sniffles could be heard from Yue unwittingly. What happened? When they lifted their heads to look at Yue, she was weeping. Startled, they instinctively and Hajime reached out and wiped off her tears.
"What happened all of a sudden?" [Yue]
"…Sniffs…Hajime, Kaori...all of you… in pain… I also feel pain…" [Yue]
Apparently, she was crying for them. Hajime started to stroke her head with a bitter smile after he got over his shock much to the ire and jealousy of Kaori at the side.
(Shirasaki...you should really calm down...) [Tanaka]
(I. Am. Calm.) [Kaori]
"Just forget about it. The business with our classmates is inconsequential. Don't worry about the small stuff. After getting my revenge, then what? Rather than that, I want to put all my energy into surviving and finding a way home." [Hajime]
"Iya, Nagumo. I want to at least castrate that asshole. I won't be able to rest easily when that bastard is still there." [Tanaka]
"*Sigh* Do what you want, I don't even care about them anymore...well, except for one." [Hajime]
"Yaegashi...is it? I can understand that, she was the only decent person along with Shirasaki here in our class to befriend and be kind to us." [Tanaka]
"Shizuku-chan, I wonder if she's alright...I was hasty when I was only thinking of wanting to save Hajime-kun after you fall." [Kaori]
"...I can imagine her being sad because of your recklessness, Shirasaki." [Tanaka]
"Oh please, you say that but you were reckless too. Unhesitatingly jumping after Hajime-kun just to save him." [Kaori]
"Haha, I guess so." [Tanaka]
"But Shirasaki-san, I'm sure the steeled mind and caring Yaegashi-san should be okay. If it were her, she should be training hard to try and have enough power to come chase after you." [Hajime]
"Hn, I guess that's true...also, Hajime-kun..." [Kaori]
"Yeah?" [Hajime]
"I keep calling you by your first name...but just when are you going to call me by my first name too?" [Kaori]
"Ah...that is..." [Hajime]
Asked with an unexpected question, Hajime began to sweat bullets as Kaori smiled that didn't reach her eyes as she looked at Hajime.
"Hajime-kun…" [Kaori]
"Shirasaki-san that is-" [Hajime]
"There's nothing wrong with it right? You also call Yue by her name." [Kaori]
"But, Shira-" [Hajime]
"Hajime-kun, my name please." [Kaori]
"Okay…Kaori." [Hajime]
"Good, from here on out too, call me by name okay, Hajime-kun?" [Kaori]
"A-Alright." [Hajime]
Hajime could only agree at Kaori's unreasonableness, Tanaka seeing that only moved to the side so as to not get involved while Yue surprised at the boldness of Kaori.
—-
After knowing that they were planning to go back to their homeland, Yue jolted momentarily.
"…Going home?" [Yue]
"Hm? To our original world? Of course. We want to return… I, myself changed a lot but still… home… I want to return home with my friends here Tanaka and Kaori." [Hajime]
"…I see." [Yue]
Yue looked down with a sunken expression. Then muttered to herself.
"…I don't have a place… to return…" [Yue]
"""…""" [The trio]
Seeing Yue like this, they stopped what they were doing and started to contemplate. They weren't that dense. They had more or less felt that Yue was viewing them as a new place to return to (especially to Hajime, in Kaori's eyes). That was the whole reason why she asked them for a new name. Because of this, if they left this world, Yue would be alone again.
Hajime thought to himself: "Even though I have already decided that I will do anything to reach my goals, it looks like I'm still too naive," while he stroked Yue's head.
"Ah~ If that's so, want to come with us?" [Hajime]
"Eh?" [Yue]
"That would be good. It would be great if you come with us, Yue." [Kaori]
"Yeah~ Plus you with us, we won't have to worry because we will have each other's backs." [Tanaka]
Yue opened her eyes wide in surprise at their words. She was gazing at them with her moistened red eyes that looked restless. They began to feel flustered.
"No, I mean, to my homeland. Well, that's a world with only average humans. It might be inconvenient for races other than human, with the family registration and whatnot… also, with our current state, I'm not really sure what will happen… but in the end of the day, what is it that Yue want to do?" [Hajime]
Yue was stunned for a while, but her mind eventually caught up. She timidly asked, "Is that okay?" However, she couldn't hide the expectations dwelling in her eyes. Her eyes were literally sparkling, they could only nod their head with a forced smile. As if her expressionless face until now was a lie, a smile bloomed on her face. They were mesmerized.
Unable to look at Yue, Hajime and Tanaka devoted themselves to their work while Kaori stayed at her side to reassure her.
"Everything will be fine." [Kaori]
"Un." [Yue]
"..." [Yue]
Being comforted, Yue's eyes went back to what the two boys were working on.
"…What, is this?" [Yue]
Little by little Hajime and Tanaka were finishing up different parts with the transmutation. On the side there was a one meter long cylindrical pipe, a red bullet about twelve centimeters in length, and other parts scattered around.
This was the new weapon Hajime and Tanaka started developing as their new trump card, since Donner was lacking in necessary firepower.
"This is… an Anti-matter Rifle: Railgun version. You saw my gun, right? This is an even more powerful version. The bullet is specially made." [Hajime]
"This thing is theoretically strong enough to penetrate the hard skins or shells of monsters, and even that scorpion monster from a while ago will also be no more threat with this baby here." [Tanaka]
Just as they said, when all the parts were assembled together, a 1.5 meter long rifle was created. They were considering what they could do to increase the firepower of their weapons. Electromagnetic acceleration and combustion charge was the limit for the Donner. The final verdict was that Donner couldn't be improved much further anymore. So they had to create a new gun.
Naturally the answer to increase the power was a larger caliber, and the length of the barrel. And the result was an Anti-matter rifle. It could only load up to one shot but its theoretical power is enormous. In brief, its maximum output was ten times the destructive power of Donner. When an ordinary person fired with Donner, the repulsive force was enough to crush half of their body. Donner was that kind of monster gun.
The gun's name: Schlagen. In theory, it was about ten times more powerful than Donner… roughly. It was made with the scorpion shell. When he analyzed the shell with 【Mineral Appraisal】, this was the result:
Shtar Ore
High magic affinity. A special ore where its hardness is increased by the amount of magic power used.
Apparently, that scorpion's hardness was due to Shtar Ore's property. It probably had a massive amount of magic reservoir to fuel that armor.
They were thinking, "If this is an ore, will we be able to process it?" They gave it a try and were able to accomplish it effortlessly. If that's the case, they could easily break through the shell with his transmutation! Recalling the hard fought battle before, the two felt weak in the knees. This had turned into one of their bitter memories.
They had gotten their hands on a lot of excellent materials to work with, so the result was still all right. They could use these materials to make a sturdier barrel. While they were consoling themselves with this, Hajime fired Schlagen. Since Hajime now had more experience compared to the time when they made the Donner, the work progressed more smoothly.
They paid particular attention to the bullets. The bullet was made out of Taur Stone coated with Shtar ore. It could be considered a full metal cover… or something like that. In each cartridge, combustion powder was installed with a suitable ratio of compression. After one bullet was completed, as long as they had enough materials, they could use Transmutation Subskill, [+Replicate Transmutation], to mass-produce the bullets effortlessly.
While they talked with Yue endlessly without getting to the point, Schlagen was completed. The gun had a very powerful and brutal form. They finished their work as they indulged with self-satisfaction. After they finished the gun, they started to feel hungry, knowing that, Kaori began preparing the meal by grilling the scorpion and cyclops meat.
"Yue, the meal is almost ready… Would it upset your stomach by eating this? That pain is not to be made fun of… no, vampires should be fine with it, right?" [Kaori]
Since their daily meal consisted of magic beast meat, Kaori thoughtlessly invited Yue to eat with them. However, what if something happened to her after she ate it. While thinking like this, they cast a glance at Yue.
Yue stopped playing with their invention and shook her head to say, "I don't need the meal," to them.
"Well, since you survived for 300 years without eating, I guess there's no problem… Won't you feel hungry though?" [Hajime]
"Yes… but, it doesn't matter anymore." [Yue]
"Doesn't matter anymore? Did you already eat something?" [Tanaka]
Her empty stomach had already been satisfied? They looked at Yue with an astonished gaze. Yue pointed at Kaori.
"Kaori's blood."
"Ah, my blood. Does that mean a vampire doesn't need a meal other than blood?" [Kaori]
"…Food can also provide nourishment… but drinking blood is more effective." [Yue]
Seems like vampires could survive with just blood. She had sucked Kaori's blood earlier and was satisfied with it. Yue stared at them who looked convinced. For some reason, she was licking her lips.
""…Why are you licking your lips?"" [Hajime and Tanaka]
"..." [Kaori]
"…Kaori… delicious…but what about Hajime...?" [Yue]
"D-Delicious you say. I thought that I would taste terrible considering I've eaten so much magic beast flesh…wait a moment, what do mean "about Hajime?"" [Kaori]
"…Kaori has a sweet taste…but Hajime, how would you taste...?" [Yue]
'"…"" [Hajime and Kaori]
"*Whew* Safe~ Well then, good luck!" [Tanaka]
"OI!" [Hajime]
From Yue's description, Kaori's blood had a sweet, honey taste similar to a desert of various confectioneries. The first time she had sucked her blood, she fell into a trance. This wasn't their imagination. Having such a fine meal after starving for so long, getting infatuated was within reason. But what is the taste of Hajime?
However, Hajime wanted to stop her bewitching lip licking and Kaori went in front of him as if to protect him from danger. They realized Yue was past her prime. However, that childish figure coupled with the lewd act, it made them unable to calm down in a certain sense, and Kaori for some reason even though both of them are the same sex.
"…How will it taste?" [Hajime]
"Y-Yue...you can drink from mine, j-just not my Hajime-kun, okay?" [Kaori]
"…Please spare me from this." [Hajime]
In all sorts of ways, she might be the most dangerous companion. Hajime and Kaori broke out in a cold sweat.
And Tanaka who was ignored was amused at the sight, just eating at his own pace as he looked at the three.