Chapter 7 is here. This the last part of the Opening Act. Future chapters are narrated in first person, principally Hajime's PoV.
Leave reviews if you can, if you find grammatical errors tell me to fix it.
Arifureta Shokugyou de Sakai Sakyou is property of Shirakome. If I was the owner things would have been better.
In the training grounds, summoned students were found brandishing weapons or casting magic. For people that have never used weapons in their lives (except for Shizuku and Kouki) or magic, their proficiency already surpassed the beginner phase. Most of them are what is considered regular in just half a month.
Hajime too was training there, learning how to use a short sword (or an oversized knife) without hurting himself. While he isn't going to beat even a child in swordplay anytime soon, he is better than when he started and couldn't even hold the sword correctly.
A week ago with the help of Kaori he realized that locking himself in his room wasn't healthy, and that there were things worth to fight for. Specially returning home. Also, that he was turning into a hikikomori, and potentially a neet perturbed him.
This last week he passed his time doing physical training, keep reading books, doing physical training, practicing with his transmutation in the workshop, doing physical training, spending time with Kaori, sometimes with Shizuku and two times with the princess Liliana who was in that moment hanging out with Kaori. Did he said physical training?
To get back to their world they are supposed to defeat the devils and their new army of monsters. To help them in such endeavor, they count with 'Ehit's blessings', that put them above most of Tortus humans. Except for him of course, because who knows, maybe he offended that god somehow.
That's why he was here in the open, exposing himself to the harsh attitude of his classmates when he could have stayed indoors and ignore them. Did he mention how much he misses his room.
And talking about harsh.
He felt a sudden impact hit him square in the back and he stumbled a few steps forward. He managed to avoid falling, but chills ran down his spine as he saw how close he had been to impaling himself on his sword. He frowned as he turned back and saw the usual group of four all wearing the same obnoxious expression.
Daisuke Hiyama was standing behind him, together with the rest of the petty four, as Hajime liked to call them. Ever since he started practicing out here, the four of them had taken every opportunity they could to bully Hajime. They were half the reason he found training so depressing, with the other half being how pathetic his stats were.
"Yo, Nagumo. What are you doing? You know that sword's totally useless in your hands anyway, right? I mean, come on, you're a total weakling!"
"Hey man, that's going too far. I mean, you're totally right though, Hiyama… Gyahaha!"
"Why do you even bother coming to training every day? I'd be way too embarrassed if I were you!"
"Hey, Daisuke. He's just so pitiful… Don't you think we should help him out with his training a little?" Hiyama and the others laughed hysterically, as if Shinji had actually said something funny.
"Huh? Come on, Shinji, don't you think you're being a bit too nice to him? Well, I'm a nice guy too, so I guess I don't mind helping out."
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I'm also a super nice guy, so I'll pitch in. Man, you better thank us, Nagumo. We're taking out some of our precious time to help out a weakling like you."
They put their arms around Hajime's shoulders in a false gesture of kindness and dragged him away to an inconspicuous location. Most of his classmates noticed, but they pretended not to see anything.
"Oh no, I'm fine by myself. You don't have to waste your time on me." Hajime tried to refuse, though he knew it was pointless. This was far from the first time, even back in school they did this some days he wasn't fast enough at leaving school.
"Huh!? Here I am going out of my way to train your sorry ass and this is what I get? I can't believe you! You should be on your knees thanking me!"
As he said that, Hiyama punched Hajime in the side, hard. Hajime groaned in pain as he felt Hiyama's fist sink into his soft flank. Hiyama's group had steadily been getting more and more violent with him as of late. While it might've been natural for hormone-driven boys in puberty to go mad with power once they got their hands on some, that made it no easier for the one who had to bear the brunt of their lapse in sanity. Though it was not as if there was anything Hajime could do to fight back. All he could do was grit his teeth and try to bear it.
Eventually, they brought him all the way to a secluded corner of the training grounds that couldn't be easily seen, then Hiyama thrust Hajime down to the ground.
"Come on, get up. It's time for some fun training." Hiyama, Nakano, Saitou, and Kondou all surrounded Hajime at those words. Hajime bit his lip in frustration as he stood up.
"Guah!?"
He felt something crash into his back as soon as he rose to his feet. Saitou had hit him with the sheath of his sword. He hit the ground again, eating dust, and groaning in pain.
"Hey now, you can't sleep there. You'll get burned if you do! Burn all that stands in my way — Fireball."
Nakano unleashed a fireball at Hajime. As the impact he'd just received made it impossible for him to get back up right away, Hajime frantically rolled to the side, barely avoiding the incoming fireball but not the heat of it causing him to hiss in mild discomfort. It wasn't over though, Saitou had predicted Hajime would dodge, so he'd cast another spell in his direction.
"Keep away my foes Oh wind — Wind Sphere." The hardened mass of wind hit Hajime like a sledgehammer just as he was getting up, which made him double over in pain as he was blown back a few meters. He collapsed to the ground once more, throwing up.
The magic they had cast were all low-level spells with simple incantations. But even weak magic like that can hit harder than a pro boxer's punch.
"Tch, I can't believe you're so weak. Are you even trying, Nagumo?" Hiyama lazily kicked Hajime in the stomach as he said that. Hajime desperately tried to keep his stomach from emptying itself entirely.
The bullying disguised as "training" continued for a while longer. Hajime bit his lip, cursing his own powerlessness. He was weak back in their world and he is still weak in here. Maybe he should have fought back, even if he knew he was too weak to truly achieve anything.
There is the problem again. He is weak. During childhood he was too young to understand it. In elementary school, he experienced his chuunibyou phase, practicing special moves, believing himself invencible, yet subconsciously avoiding the mean looking boys in the school.
It was secondary when he finally gained self awareness and understood the ways of the world. He witnessed violence, he saw it personally. There are three parts involved, the aggressor(s), the victim(s) and the witness(es). He did his best to stay in the background, not drawing attention to himself. He managed to keep a relative peaceful period sans some situations outside his control.
His plan for High School was to lay down and be the most inconspicuous guy in the class (second only to Endou).
Then 'she' appeared and his plans came crashing down. Her presence drew the class attention to him. Her attitude toward him made the boys hate him the girls scorn him. She caused him troubles from the first day.
It was awkward when she started associating with him. He tried to keep his distance, but she did her best to befriend him. Before he knew it, he found himself talking with her more often than not, even with the threat of increased bullying he kept talking with her. As expected the bullying get worse.
Did he resent her for it? Maybe at the start.
Do he perhaps regret meting her? Never. He may have a large list of things he regretted but meeting her isn't one of those.
They keep hitting him. The pain was turning unbearable and he was ready to faint.
But in that moment. She appeared.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
Hiyama and the others paled when they heard that voice. It was only natural. After all, it belonged to the girl they were all smitten with, Kaori. And not just her. Shizuku, Kouki, and Ryutarou were all with her.
"Umm, please don't misunderstand anything. We were just helping Hajime with his training…"
"Nagumo-kun!"
Kaori ignored Hiyama's excuses and ran over to Hajime, who was huddled on the ground, coughing. Hiyama and the others had ceased to matter at all to Kaori when she saw the state Hajime was in.
"Training, huh? Wouldn't you say that was a bit too one-sided to be called training?" Shizuku uttered those words in an icy tone.
"We were just…"
"Save your breath. No matter how unfit for battle Nagumo-kun may be, he's still our classmate. Make sure you don't do it again," Kouki calmly interjected.
"If you've got time to be messing around, then work on your own damn skills instead!" Ryutarou bellowed.
Hiyama and everyone else started giving different excuses as they smiled awkwardly and beat a hasty retreat. Kaori cast some healing magic on Hajime, and he gradually felt the pain recede.
"Th-Thank you, Shirasaki-san. You saved me."
Hajime smiled painfully and Kaori shook her head at his words, her eyes filled with tears.
"Do they always do things like that to you? If so, I'll…" Kaori glared angrily in the direction Hiyama and the others ran off to, but Hajime hurriedly stopped her.
Back in Japan she never noticed the signs of bullying. It only happened where she couldn't see and when she wasn't near. After, it was Hajime himself who hid any evidence left, acting as usual in front of her. Because he didn't want her to know.
"No, no, it's not always this bad! I'm fine, really, so please don't mind me!"
Here was much more difficult to pretend nothing happened. They were careless today. It won't happen again.
"But…"
Kaori didn't seem fully convinced, so Hajime smiled and said, "I'm fine, really." At those words, Kaori reluctantly gave in.
"Nagumo-kun, if anything else happens, please, for Kaori's sake too, tell us right away."
Shizuku said that with a sidelong glance at Kaori, a strained expression on her face all the while. She did know what happened, she wasn't stupid, she too was conscious of Hajime intentions and did her best to help him in keep Kaori in the dark.
Hajime was about to thank her for her concern, but the resident hero had to go and ruin the mood.
"But you know, Nagumo, you need to put in some effort of your own. You'll never grow strong if you keep using your weakness as an excuse. I've been hearing that you're spending all your time in the library or out the castle when we're not training. If I was in your shoes, I'd spend every spare moment training to get stronger. I really think you need to start taking this more seriously, Nagumo. Don't you think Hiyama and the others might have done this because they were trying to fix that frivolous attitude of yours?"
No matter what Hajime did, Kouki always interpreted it like that. Hajime was dumbstruck for a moment before he remembered that Amanogawa was the kind of person who believed that all people were inherently good, and filtered everything he saw through that world view. To Kouki, it was actually unthinkable on a fundamental level that humans could be so cruel. If that was how he saw everything, then it stood to reason that he believed there was a proper reason behind all cruel acts. "Maybe the problem was with the person they were attacking!" was a natural conclusion to draw with that kind of mindset.
Kouki's words contained no real ill will. His warnings toward Hajime were actually sincere, in fact. That was why Hajime no longer possessed the strength to even try and correct Kouki. Besides, it was pointless to say anything to someone so convinced of their own righteousness.
Shizuku knew that as well, so she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a sigh before apologizing to Hajime.
"Sorry about that. Kouki at least means well."
"Ahaha, yeah, I know. Don't worry about it." Hajime smiled and replied with the same reassuring words he always did. He slowly stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes.
"Anyway, it's almost time for training to start. Shall we head back?" They all walked back to the training grounds together at Hajime's insistence. Kaori kept shooting him worried glances, but Hajime pretended not to notice. As a man, it felt somewhat wrong to let himself be doted on by a girl the same age.
As they returned to the training grounds, Hajime breathed a sigh for the umpteenth time that day. The road ahead certainly looked grim for him.
Normally the students were given free time after training until dinner, but Captain Meld held them back after training had ended on that day. The students all looked at him curiously, and once he had their attention, he proclaimed loudly.
"Tomorrow, as part of your practical training, we will be going on an expedition to the Great Orcus Labyrinth. I'll prepare all the necessary equipment you guys will need, but don't think this is going to be anything like the monster hunts you've been going on outside the capital! You guys better prepare yourselves! Get as much rest as possible tonight so you're ready! That's all, dismissed!" He kept his announcement brief, then left right after he had delivered it..
The Great Orcus Labyrinth. It was a massive dungeon said to span a hundred floors. As it was one of the seven great labyrinths, the deeper one went, the stronger the monsters they faced. Despite the dangers, it was a very popular training spot for adventurers, mercenaries, and new troops alike. The main reasons for that were because it was easy enough to measure the relative strength of the monsters one would have to face based on the floor they were on, and the harvest of mana crystals. The first floors monsters cores were worth very little, but the quality of the mana crystals increased the lower you go.
Hajime stood at the end of the line of chattering students and looked up at the sky. Very grim indeed.
The next day and eight hours in a carriage later, Hajime and the others arrived in the outpost town of Horaud, together with Captain Meld and a few of his knights. It was a small town that primarily existed to service the adventurers who traveled there wishing to challenge the Great Orcus Labyrinth. As the labyrinth was also used as a training arena for new soldiers, the kingdom maintained a state-run inn at the town, which was where the students were all staying.
Hajime was glad to see a normal room for once, and happily dived into his bed with a relieved sigh. Every other room had at least two people in it, but Hajime had one all for himself.
"Wow, lucky me," Hajime muttered, somewhat disappointed. He really did feel a little lonely in his room in the castle recently.
Tomorrow they would all enter the labyrinth. The plan was to go no further than floor twenty, which according to Captain Meld was still high enough that the knights would be able to protect him. All Hajime could say in response were apologies for how much of a burden he was. He honestly would've preferred if they left him behind and went on by themselves… but he didn't have the courage to say that to Captain Meld, considering the atmosphere and all.
Hajime started reading the picture book he had borrowed that described some of the monsters that inhabited the lower levels of the dungeon. After a while, however, he decided he would need as much rest as he could get, so he planted himself down in bed despite the early hour. The skills he'd developed in school to allow him to sleep in any situation still worked even in another world.
But just as he was dozing off, he heard a knock on his door that broke him out of his stupor. Though he had mentioned it was still a little early, that had meant early forhim, who was used to pulling back to back all-nighters. It was actually quite late forthe people of Tortus. Suspecting the unexpected late night visitor might be Hiyama and the others,Hajime tensed , his fears vanished when he heard the voice on the other side of the door.
"Nagumo-kun, are you awake? It's me, Shirasaki. Can we talk for a bit?"
Hajime stiffened up for a second before hurriedly rushing over to the door. He quickly unbolted and opened his door. Standing on the other side was Kaori, wearing nothing but a cardigan over her pure white negligee.
"Is this the start of a erotic dream or something?" Hajime was so shocked he unintentionally said aloud what was going on his mind.
"Huh?" Kaori looked at him with an expression blankly and confused, so she must not have heard him right.
"Ah, umm, it's nothing. Anyway, what's up? Do you have a message for me or something?"
Hajime composed himself as best he could and asked what she wanted while trying to avoid looking at her as much as possible. As much of a 2D advocate as he might've been, Hajime was still a teenage boy. Kaori's appearance was a bit too stimulating for him.
"No. I was hoping we could talk for a bit, Nagumo-kun… But I guess I'm being a bother, aren't I?" Kaori choice of words and tone felt dejected somehow.
"…Come on in." Hajime could see that something was wrong, the gloomy atmosphere wasn't normal. This wasn't a typical visit, this was something more important. He invited her to the room.
"Thanks!" Kaori stepped inside without any hesitation, then sat down at the table by the window.
Still somewhat confused, Hajime began reflexively brewing some tea. Brewing might have been a bit of an overstatement, however, as it was just some crappy black tea he made by dumping some teabags into a pot of water. He made enough tea for the both of them and offered Kaori a cup. Once the tea had been served, he sat down across from her.
"Thank you." Despite the terrible quality of the tea, Kaori still accepted it graciously.
She gently brought the cup to her lips, and the moonlight illuminated her figure as she did. Her black hair glowed faintly in the silver light, wreathing her in a halo. She looked almost like an angel.
Hajime stared, captivated in a purely platonic manner by her mysterious aura. He finally returned to his senses after Kaori put the cup down with a clink. In an attempt to calm himself down, Hajime downed his cup of crappy black tea in one big gulp. He choked a little as the deluge of liquid poured down his throat. Well, that was rather embarrassing.
Kaori chuckled as she saw him sputter. In order to distract himself and her from the embarrassment, Hajime quickly started talking.
"So, what do you want to talk about? It is about the dungeon trip tomorrow?" Kaori nodded in affirmation, and her smile was replaced by an unbelievably grave expression.
"I want you… to stay here when we go to the labyrinth tomorrow. I'll convince the instructors and the rest of our classmates, so please, don't go!" Kaori grew more and more heated as she spoke, and by the end she was leaning forward into Hajime, pleading with him.
Hajime keep quiet for a moment, Kaori was obviously worried for him. She didn't want him to die in the dungeon, what is a likely outcome considering his lack of fighting ability. Like all others she didn't had faith in him, neither did he for that matter, but it hurts when your only friend tells it in your face.
"Umm… I do realize I'm just slowing you down, but… I don't think they'll let me skip out after I've come this far already." Hajime said in a self depreciating tone.
"That's not it! It's not because I think you're a burden or anything!" Kaori hurriedly tried to correct Hajime's misunderstanding. Realizing she'd gotten a bit too heated, she placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. After calming herself down, she softly muttered, "I'm sorry," and began talking once more.
"Umm, you see, I just have this really bad feeling. I was sleeping just a moment ago, and… I was having a dream… I was standing in a black space... then I saw you, Nagumo-kun... you were walking straight somewhere... with each step we drifted further apart... I called your name, but you wouldn't answer me… and no matter how much I ran, I could never reach you… Then at the end…" Kaori faltered, afraid to say what happened next, but Hajime calmly pushed her to continue.
"And at the end?"
Kaori bit her lip and looked up at Hajime with tears in her eyes.
"…You vanished…"
"I see…"
Silence filled the room. Hajime stared at Kaori, who was hanging her head again. That certainly sounded like a sinister dream. In this world filled with magic there are various skills that allow to see the future. Kaori had none of those. In the end, it was still just a nightmare. A nightmare that filled her with anxiety and worry. A nightmare tied to him, born from his weakness, his fault.
He spoke as gently as he could, trying his best to reassure Kaori.
"It was just a dream, Shirasaki-san. We'll have Captain Meld and his veteran knights with us, along with some ridiculously strong people like Amanogawa-kun. Or rather, since all of our classmates have so high stats and magic ability, I actually pity our enemies a little. You probably just had that kind of dream because you've been seeing just how really weak I am up close recently." Hajime's words only seemed to make Kaori even more worried
He was obviously failing in making her feel better. His lame try of joke instead had the contrary effect. He needed more than mere words.
"And… And if you're still worried…" Hajime felt a little embarrassed, but he still looked Kaori in the eyes, then muttered "... Can you protect me?"
"Eh?" Kaori was dumbstruck.
Hajime was aware of the embarrassing it was for a man to ask such a thing to a girl. In fact, he was blushing bright red from how embarrassed he felt. The moon was shining bright, so the inside of the room was lit well enough that Kaori must've easily been able to see how red he was as well.
"Your job is Priestess, right, Shirasaki-san? That's a job that excels in healing magic and support, isn't it? So no matter what happens to me... even if I get fatally injured, you should be able to heal me, Shirasaki-san. So will you protect me, please? That way I'll be fine no matter what happens." Kaori stared at Hajime for a long time after hearing his words. Hajime knew he couldn't turn his eyes away in a situation like that, so he held Kaori's gaze despite nearly dying from the embarrassment of what he'd just said.
Hajime had once heard that people's worst fear was the unknown. At the moment, Kaori was scared because she didn't know what was really going to happen him. So even if it was just for her own peace of mind, Hajime wanted to give her the confidence that she could handle anything that came at him, regardless of what it was.
Kaori and Hajime stared at each other for a few moments, but she finally broke the silence with a smile.
"You never change, do you, Nagumo-kun?"
"Huh?" Hajime tilted his head quizzically at Kaori's words, and Kaori chuckled at his confusion.
"Nagumo-kun, you met me for the first time in high school, right? But you know, I've known you since the second year of middle school."
Hajime's eyes went wide when he heard that. He racked his brain, trying to remember where he had met her before, but turned up blank. Kaori chuckled again when she saw him groaning to himself.
"I knew you, but you didn't know me… I first saw you when you were kneeling on the ground, so it's natural you didn't see me."
"Kn-Kneeling!?" 'When happened that? '
She saw him in such a pathetic state!? Hajime squirmed in embarrassment for a totally different reason when he heard that. Frantically, he tried to remember where was he kneeling in public and why. Kaori continued her tale while Hajime went through a pantomime of weird expressions.
"Yep. You were prostrating yourself in front of a bunch of delinquents. You didn't stop even when they spat on you, or poured juice on you… or even stepped on you. Eventually they just gave up and left."
"S-Sorry you had to see something so unsightly…"
Hajime wished he could just melt into the floor. This was almost as bad and awkward as that time his mom had found his porn collection and neatly organized it on his shelfhaving. He could only smile weakly.
However, Kaori looked at him kindly, with not an ounce of scorn in her gaze.
"That's not true. It wasn't unsightly at all. In fact, when I saw it, I thought you were a really strong and kind person, Nagumo-kun."
"…Huh?" Hajime couldn't believe what he had just heard. Certainly didn't seem like the proper impression to get from watching a scene like that. If someone else of their classmates were to know of that, he would be blackmailed or ridiculed still more than usual for a month. He knew Kaori wouldn't do something like that, but he expected her to at least a joke or two about it.
"I mean, you did all that for the sake of a little boy and his grandmother, didn't you, Nagumo-kun?"
At those words, Hajime finally remembered. Something like that had indeed happened during his middle school days.
A little kid had bumped into some delinquents and the takoyaki he'd been eating had spilled over their clothes. The guys he had bumped into all snapped, and the boy started crying while his grandmother cowered in a corner. It had been quite the scene.
Hajime was just passing by at the time, and he'd planned on ignoring the commotion.
However, even after the boy's grandmother gave the delinquents some money, most likely as an apology for ruining the jeans, they continued harassing them. In fact, they got even worse and by the end of it just snatched the poor lady's wallet right out of her hands and wanted her to give them more.
It was at that point that Hajime's body had moved instinctively. He must have some kind of hero complex, because it wasn't the first time his body acted before his mind was made. So, having drawn the attention of the delinquents, it was up to him, to save the old lady and the child somehow.
But of course, he was someone who hated violence. The only thing about fighting he knew was that it was cool when it happened in movies and games and not so cool in real life, specially when you were at the other side of a fist. So he did the only thing he could, prostrate himself before them and beg for mercy. It was, of course, unbelievably embarrassing for him, but also surprisingly embarrassing to the ones he was kneeling to. In fact, it was so embarrassing that they couldn't stand it. And as planned, the delinquents did eventually just leave.
"It's easy for strong people to solve things with violence. People like Kouki-kun can easily fling themselves into trouble and just fight their way out of it… but few people who're weak have the courage to stand up for others, and even fewer could bow down like that for someone else… You know, I was always scared back then… I always made excuses for not helping other people by telling myself things like 'I'm not strong like Shizuku-chan,' so when I got in trouble, I always waited for other people to come save me instead."
"Shirasaki-san…"
"That's why I think you're really the strongest out of everyone here, Nagumo-kun. I was really happy when I saw you again in high school, you know… I wanted to become more like you. I wanted to talk to you more, to learn more about you... to know you better. Though you always just fell asleep whenever you were at school…"
"Ahaha, sorry about that." Since he'd finally realized what draw Kaori toward him, and why she held him in such high regard, Hajime blushed and smiled awkwardly.
"That might be why I'm so worried. You might do something reckless again for someone else's sake, Nagumo-kun. Just like you did when you took on those delinquents… but fine." She gazed at Hajime resolutely.
"I'll protect you, Nagumo-kun." In that moment Kaori made a vow she'll never forget.
Hajime looked Kaori in the eyes, then nodded, accepting her resolve.
"Thank you."
Hajime smiled bitterly atthe exchange. Their roles as boy and girl had been completely reversed. Though Hajime had to admit, Kaori made for a great hero. That would've made Hajime the heroine, though. As a guy, he wasn't quite sure how to feel about that, so all he could do was smile.
They chatted for a while longer, and then Kaori went back to her room. When Hajime finally sank down into his bed, his mind was working furiously. He had to find something he could do at all costs, and rid himself of the "worthless" stigma. He couldn't stay the protected princess forever. Hajime renewed his resolve as he drifted off to sleep.
Kaori had returned to her own room after leaving Hajime's. She felt much better than when she left her room. Abd she had to much to talk with Shizuku.
Hidden in the shadows a figure watched how Kaori left Hajime room and headed toward her own.
'Why, why, why is always him? why you don't look at me?' That person inner thoughts went in turmoil. He couldn't understand how real feelings worked, having not experienced them himself.
'If he wasn't here, she would have to notice me.' The ideas in his head turned more dark each second.
'Yeah, it's time for him to leave the stage.'
Nobody was there to watch his face twist into a horrifying expression.