Adventure Quest - A11

A/N: Don't take this fanfic volume seriously; it's just a writing exercise for me and to help me. Butttttt it's also an Artiferia fanfic with some Yugioh elements on the side.

***

In the beginning, Yue had mercilessly stopped Shea anytime she'd attempted to get close to Hajime, but lately Yue had become a lot more lax about Shea's overtures. Even when Shea went for something big, like a kiss, Yue just pouted unhappily. 

Yue begrudgingly opened up to her, having seen how desperately Shea wanted to be with them and how much effort she had put in. From that day onward, Yue gave Shea permission to sleep in the same room as them.

What was truly amazing was that Shea had never held a weapon in her life until just a few weeks ago. In fact, she'd actively avoided conflict as much as possible. She was one of the rabbitmen, the race known as the weakest of the beastmen species, that hated fighting above all else.

She must have been scared that entire time in the labyrinth, and yet she'd never once said that she wanted to go back. In order to stay with Hajime and Yue, she'd braved the hell known as a labyrinth. She'd grit her teeth and pushed valiantly onward, crying all the while.

Because she cared that much about Yue and Hajime, her devotion had let her overcome her fear.

It wasn't that Yue hadn't been jealous. In fact, that was precisely why it had been so hard for her to accept Shea's feelings for Hajime. After all, she'd been pretty harsh on Shea too. But no matter how many times she was rebuffed, Shea kept on trying to befriend Yue (partly because it was due to Anam's drilling the focus on befriending Yue first).

On top of that, she'd shown her determination when she'd stuck with them through the entire labyrinth. Her constant efforts had moved Yue. Come to think of it, Yue didn't have any friends, did she now? Even before she had been sealed, she'd been busy leading her country. Her position hadn't allowed her to make any friends. She'd been a loner the whole time.

And so, the appearance of Shea, who had no ulterior motives in wanting to become Yue's friend, was a true blessing. That was why Yue had justified it to herself with "Well, if it's Shea, it's okay..." and let her get away with more and more.

So, while Shea got to sleep in Hajime's room for the night together with them, Gojo got his own room and to handle his business with Dark Magician Girl. This arrangement was fine, but what happened next was not. Both rooms shook the entire building throughout the night. You might think it was intentional, but initially, it wasn't.

Meanwhile, Dark Magician Girl was passionately riding Gojo, like a newborn kitten tasting milk for the first time. Well, could it really be called that? After all, this was a reborn Gojo—was he a virgin again? Such thoughts only made Dark Magician Girl even more passionate and excited throughout the entire night.

They had stayed in this town for a week to recuperate and relax before heading to the next labyrinth. However, Dark Magician Girl made sure Gojo didn't get much rest. Every time she made an appearance at dinner, she stirred up a commotion in the inn, only to dart into Gojo's room shortly afterward. Clearly, she wasn't fond of being in spirit mode.

These two protagonists had a lot to talk about and discussed a variety of things during their stay in Brooke Town. However, most of the time, Gojo enjoyed lazing around, getting high, and watching Hajime create things, occasionally adding his thoughts and making requests. He often asked Hajime how he felt about having a harem before and after he transitioned into his current edgy persona.

As an otaku, Hajime could mesh well with Gojo since no one else, except possibly Dark Magician Girl, could understand their conversations.

Today was the day we planned preparation before leaving town, but not before stopping by the adventurer's guild to check for any potential news related to labyrinths.

The door of the Brooke Adventurer's Guild opened with a cheerful clang, signaling the arrival of five people. Hajime, Yue, and Shea, already famous around town, entered first. Following them were Gojo and Anam, a duo quickly gaining their own reputation.

***

The door of the Brooke Adventurer's Guild opened with a cheerful clang, signaling the arrival of five people. Hajime, Yue, and Shea, already famous around town, entered first. Following them were Gojo and Anam, a duo quickly gaining their own reputation.

In the week they'd spent back in Brooke, countless scores of men had tried to profess their love to Yue, Shea, and Anam but they'd all been shot down.

For starters guys who have been hitting on Shea and Yue constantly resulted in all the men who hit with their balls crushed. And even some guys were shot in the balls by Hajime's gun constantly. This earned the trio the nickname "The Man Crushers," a reputation that Gojo found rather harsh.

But it was Anam and Gojo who garnered the most whispers and fearful glances. Anyone who dared to flirt with her would find themselves transformed into animals—birds, dogs, rabbits, even horses—by Anam's magic. Meanwhile, Gojo, would discreetly procure drugs like laxatives and aphrodisiacs from his Gate of Babylon, and force-feed them to the newly transformed individuals. The result was chaotic: animals driven into a frenzied state, mating uncontrollably with other animals and defecating everywhere. Even Hajime couldn't suppress a shudder as he witnessed the bizarre spectacle, and Yue and Shea found themselves unnerved by the sight.

The effects of Gojo's drugs, sourced from his Gate of Babylon, could last unpredictably long, adding to the victims' ordeal.

Though they hadn't registered a party name with the guild, people had taken to calling the other two the "The man destroyer."

After just a couple of days, word spread like wildfire through town: no one dared to approach Anam with hidden intentions. Those who did soon learned the consequences of disturbing them.

"Oh, all five of you are together today?" Old lady Catherine was manning the reception desk. The reason for Catherine's surprise was that this past week, Hajime had either come alone, Gojo and Anam fooling around, or Yue and Shea had visited as a pair.

Catherine had recently come to understand the group's dynamics better, especially regarding the curious encounter she'd had earlier. She realized that the person she had met before was actually Anam, who had transformed into Satoru Gojo. It was Anam who had crafted Gojo's identity based on the contents of a letter Catherine had read that day. Now, seeing the real Gojo, and after meeting the two countless times she had come to understand their characters.

Anam, in Catherine's eyes, was a selfless person with a limit to her patience. She was kind and steadfast but could only tolerate so much. Anam also enjoyed playing harmless pranks. On the other hand, the real Gojo was a confident, mischievous, and somewhat manipulative character. He was undeniably crazy and occasionally selfish, yet his deep care for Anam was evident to anyone who observed them closely.

But these two caused Catherine considerable headaches. She often wondered if Anam had truly found a good man in Gojo, given his unpredictable nature.

"Yeah. We're heading out tomorrow, but we wanted to come thank you for everything you've done for us first. Oh, and to see if there's any requests related to our destination." Hajime replied. That "everything" had included lending Hajime one of the guild's rooms for free. He had wanted to see what kind of stuff he could do by combining his newfound gravity magic with his creation magic, but he'd needed a wide open space for that. When he'd come to Catherine to ask where he could find one of those, she'd offered to let him use one of the guild's rooms for free.

"I see. Leaving already? Guess it'll get lonely here again. The town's been a lot livelier since you guys returned."

"Give me a break. I've had enough of peeping perverts, clothing store perverts, perverts begging Yue, Shea, and Anam to step on them, perverts stalking them and calling them 'onee-sama,' and idiots challenging me to duels… and let's not forget the perverts asking me and Gojo to choke the women to death. This town's full of nothing but them. Seventy percent of the people I've met are perverts, and the other thirty are idiots... There's something seriously wrong with this place." Hajime's complaints were more or less on the mark. Sona was one thing, but every time he'd gone to Crystabel's shop, he could feel a hungry gaze devouring him.

There were also four factions in Brooke that were constantly feuding with each other. The first was the "I want to be stepped on by Yue-chan" faction, the second was the "I want to be Shea-chan's slave" faction, the third was the "I want to become Onee-sama's apprentice" faction, and the last one was the "I want to be impregnated by the white hair boys" faction. Their names were rather self-explanatory, and the four factions were constantly competing for members.

Hajime and the others did their best to steer clear of all of them, though. Yue was already having nightmares about all the guys that prostrated herself before her, begging her to step on them. And Hajime had no idea just how some of the other guys had come to the conclusion that they wanted to be Shea's slave.

After all, beastmen were supposed to be discriminated against, and it wasn't clear how becoming her slave would help their chances with her, but trying to understand their motives was more effort than it was worth, so Shea just eliminated them.

Meanwhile, some of the female group's primary objective was trying to remove Hajime. One of the so-called "normal" ones had even tried to stab him with a knife, yelling, "How dare you leech off Onee-sama, you parasite! I'm gonna cut your balls off!"

And others not so normal ones were constantly trying to sneak into his bedroom at night, which led to Yue and Shea having to physically beat them up on a regular basis.

Gojo, using his Gate of Babylon, magically produced a house and established it as their residence. It was the only safe option for the group amidst the town's madness. Naturally, Hajime, Yue, Shea, and Anam also took refuge inside, finding it a welcome sanctuary from the constant barrage of unwanted attention.

Hajime grimaced as he thought back to his time in this town, while Catherine smiled sympathetically.

"Interesting in the worst way possible, maybe."

"So, where are you headed next?"

"Fuhren."

They continued chatting idly while Catherine rifled through the requests, looking to see if any involved Fuhren. Meanwhile, Gojo was busy teaching Shea how to assert dominance by making a T-pose. He entertained her with a made-up story of how this pose became a symbol of social standing back in his and Hajime's world (he just wants to see Shea do some dumb shit because she is gullible). Anam and Yue were happily discussing magic as they were all waiting for Hajime to finish.

Fuhren was the independent merchant state Hajime had read about when he first arrived. His next destination was the Grand Gruen Volcano, located in the Gruen Desert. Since the desert lay on the western edge of the continent, the five of them decided to make a quick stop in Fuhren, which was on the way. Once they cleared the volcano, their next destination was the labyrinth at the bottom of the sea, the Sunken Ruins of Melusine, even further to the west, past the desert.

"Hmmm, oh, here we are. Found something. There's a merchant convoy looking for guards. They've got room for one more person... What do you think? Want to accept it?" Hajime scanned the document Catherine handed to him. Like she'd said, it seemed to be an escort mission. His job would be to escort a medium-sized caravan, and it looked like they wanted around 15 guards. But in his group only Gojo is a registered silver rank adventurer though he doesn't really care about that crap. Hajime is the party leader and he is also a registered adventurer. And since Gojo is in his party, he makes the shot calls.

"It's fine if I bring these four with me, right?" Hajime asked.

"It should be alright… After all, most adventurers bring along a porter or slave to carry their luggage anyway." Catherine replied, turning to look at Gojo as she spoke.

"Oui, why did you have to look at me when you were saying that?" Gojo asked, striking a T-pose alongside Shea.

"Besides, Yue-chan, Shea-chan, and Anam-chan are quite strong. The convoy is getting a steal, hiring all of you for the price of one. I'm sure they'd happily let them tag along," Catherine said, turning back to face Hajime ignoring Gojo.

"I see. Hmmm, what do you guys think?" Hajime turned around, seeking input from his group members behind him. He'd personally been hoping for a delivery request. That way he'd be able to use his magic motorcycle to get them to Fuhren way faster than any caravan could. Purposely slowing down his pace just for a quest didn't really sound all that appealing.

"Me personally, I would never take that mission." Gojo said, adjusting his new blindfold. "It's a slow-ass caravan, after all. But you're the leader here."

He had recently replaced his sunglasses with a blindfold. It felt so much more comfortable to wear than glasses for long periods of time.

"I don't see why not. It sounds like one of those MMORPG things that give quests to the player!" Anam said enthusiastically. Her words made no sense to most of the group, but Gojo and Hajime understood what she meant.

"We're not in any hurry." Yue replied.

"Yeah. Besides, it might be fun to travel with other adventurers for once. Who knows, some of the veterans might be able to teach us a few things." Shea answered thoughtfully.

"I suppose it's true we're not in any real hurry, and it might not be so bad traveling with others..." Hajime nodded pensively and accepted the request.

Like Yue had said, they were in no rush to conquer the labyrinths. Hurrying too much could lead to a fatal mistake, and Shea was right that some of the adventurers might be able to teach them useful tricks for the road ahead.

"I suppose it's true we're not in any real hurry, and it might not be so bad traveling with others..." Hajime nodded pensively and accepted the request. Like Yue had said, they were in no rush to conquer the labyrinths. Hurrying too much could lead to a fatal mistake, and Shea was right that some of the adventurers might be able to teach them useful tricks for the road ahead.

"Very well. I'll let them know, so make sure you're at the main gate first thing tomorrow morning."

"You got it."

While Hajime was filling out the paperwork, Catherine shifted her gaze to Yue and Shea.

"You two better not do anything that'd make these girls cry, you hear? Even if you manage to escape my wrath, God will surely punish you if you do."

Gojo couldn't help but snort. "The only thing my wife is going to cry about is in bed getting her back blown—" Anam's face turned beet red as she hurriedly covered Gojo's mouth with her hand, pulling him out of the building before he could finish.

"You sure like lecturing people. Don't worry, I know." Hajime smiled wryly.

Catherine handed him a piece of paper. Puzzled, Hajime took it. 

"What's this?"

"It looks like you five have got a huge burden to bear. Think of this as my apology for all the trouble the townspeople caused you. If you ever get into any trouble with the guild branches in the other towns, just show that letter to them. It'll help you out." Catherine winked conspiratorially at Hajime. 

'Just who is this lady? One letter from her and even the adventurer's guild's upper management will fold?' Hajime was inwardly surprised.

"Oh, and don't ask me why. Every girl's entitled to a few secrets, don't you think?"

"Haah, alright. Thanks for the help." Hajime sighed and waved her off.

"Girls like an obedient man. I don't know what your future's got in store for you, but you better not die on me." For an old guild receptionist working in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Catherine sure had a lot of mystery surrounding her. A contented smile split her lips as she watched Hajime and the others leave.

***

The next morning. Reminiscing about the "pleasant" memories they'd had in this town, Hajime and the others made their way to the main gate. They found the caravan manager waiting for them, along with the other adventurers who'd accepted the request. It appeared they were the last to arrive, so when they got there the other adventurers all broke into a clamor. 

"H-Hey, don't tell me the smashers are coming with us!?"

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! The Destroyer is also here?!"

"Oh God, my butt won't stop trembling."

"That's just your withdrawal symptoms, man."

Some people were happy to see Yue and Shea, others reflexively covered their balls and butts, and yet others tried to blame their alcohol addiction on Hajime and Gojo. Hajime frowned as he approached. Once he was closer, the caravan manager called out to him.

Meanwhile, Gojo suddenly pulled out a familiar pot and dashed towards the crowd, shouting in excitement for giggles. It was the very same pot he had used to force feed them drugs while they were transformed into animals. Instantly, those with PTSD bolted in raw, unadulterated terror.

'Starting to regret taking this mission,' Hajime's initial enthusiasm waning.

"You're the last guard, right?"

"Yep, here's the request paper." Hajime pulled out the form he'd filled out. The caravan manager glanced at it, nodded, and introduced himself.

"My name is More Nos. I'm the leader of this expedition. I've heard from Catherine that you're a very accomplished adventurer even though your rank is still blue. And I heard one of your team members even holds a silver rank under your command…" Then slowly turned to look at Gojo who was coming back with a happy smile on his face.

"Well, I'll try to live up to your expectations at least. The name's Hajime. The three behind me are Yue, Shea, and Anam. That crazy guy over there is Satoru Gojo." Gojo waved when he heard his name.

"Glad to hear it... By the way, that rabbit girl of yours... you wouldn't happen to be interested in selling her, would you? I'd be willing to pay more than a fair price for her." More looked over Shea appraisingly.

Not only did she have pale hair, a rarity for the rabbitmen, she was quite the beauty. As a merchant, it was in his nature to try and obtain rare goods whenever possible. And he was quite the excellent businessman, discerning instantly that Shea must have been Hajime's slave and moving right into negotiations.

"No, don't even try, man. I offered him 20 million gold bars for her before and he still declined. Get behind the line." Gojo lied as naturally as he breathed. He had never made such attempts before, but he was amping up the starting price for shitz and giggles.

Shea's ear twitched when she heard this and curiously glanced towards Gojo. What kind of bullshit is he spouting now?

"20… 20 million gold?" 

"Gold Bars." Gojo corrected.

"Goodness gracious, are you a hidden high noble?" 

"Eh..." Gojo paused, seemingly unprepared for the question. Dark Magician Girl, who was listening to his thoughts, snickered. After a moment, a golden portal appeared behind Gojo, spilling out a mountain of gold bars.

Gojo was really locked in on lying today and it really irritated Hajime for some reason.

This shocked the merchant even more, and even momentarily surprised Hajime, who thought Gojo had some form of spatial inventory as well. The merchant reached out to inspect the gold bars, confirming they were real. Then, with a snap of Gojo's fingers, they all disappeared.

"W—What was that?!" More wanted it. No, as a merchant he needs it. He didn't care about the gold, what he wanted was the gold ripple thing that spit out gold bars.

Gojo gave More a cold look, though More couldn't tell because Gojo had a blindfold on. Sighing and shrugging, Gojo explained, "Even this amount of money can't buy that rabbit demi-human." He shook his head as if it were useless. "Now I'm just adventuring with him in hopes I can cater to his favor and convince him to sell her to me." He then stared up at the sky as if the world was unfair.

'Now, what is this guy on this time?' The trio looked at him, deadpan. They seriously thought he was high again because he'd been eating weird things called 'edibles.' But Dark Magician Girl was the only one that gave Gojo a thumbs up, and Gojo returned the gesture.

A/N: Edibles are cannabis products that you can eat or drink to get high. Of course this product was made by the finest humans and it too was recorded and stored in the gate of babylon.

Gojo felt that he was a good guy trying to help Hajime and Shea out like this. But to be honest, they didn't need the help.

"You look like a shrewd businessman... I'm sure you already know what my answer is." Hajime answered. More turned to face Hajime as he tried to press onward, his hungry gaze fixated on Shea, but Hajime curtly turned him down.

Shea scowled unhappily and hid behind Hajime. Yue glared daggers at More. But from an objective viewpoint, More was simply doing what was natural for a businessman. Normally, one would assume any beastmen living outside the sea of trees had to be someone's slave. More wasn't to blame for his misconception.

"Oh, she seems quite attached to you... I see that you must treat her well. I promise to treat her just as nicely, so what do you say?"

A good judge of people, More could already tell Hajime wouldn't part with her, but the thought of the profits he could reap made him unwilling to give up so easily. He thought frantically for anything he could use as a bargaining chip.

Hajime could see where he was going with this, and repeated himself more firmly.

"Even if the gods themselves asked, I wouldn't part with her... Understand?"

"...Alright, I get it. I give up. Still, if you ever change your mind, please come to Nos' trading company first. Anyway, it's about time we set off. Ask the adventurer over there to fill you in on the details on the way."

Hajime's words had been quite dangerous. Had the Holy Church heard his declaration, they would have branded him a heretic. Technically, even the Holy Church admitted there were gods other than the supreme ruler, Ehit, and that the demons worshiped a different one, so simply mentioning that there were other gods wasn't a heretical statement.

But the way Hajime had phrased it, that all the gods were somehow equal, was borderline at best. That was why More had realized Hajime was serious about never letting Shea go. It also made him understand why Gojo's supposed offer of 20 million gold bars had been rejected (which was a lie).

While all that was going on, Gojo scooped up Dark Magician Girl and leaped onto the roof of the caravan, eager to enjoy the scenery. Dark Magician Girl cast a spell to ward off bugs, ensuring their peace. They had no interest of mingling with random adventurers; their goal was simply to take in the sights of this world at a leisurely pace.

Hajime trudged over to the wagon where all the other adventurers were gathered. They were all watching him in awe as he approached.

"Amazing... to go so far for one girl... That sent shivers down my spine, man!"

"I see now why everyone respects you as the duelist smasher. You won't forgive anyone who lays a finger on your girls... Heh, what a man."

"I hope someone says something like that to me one day." 

"Come on, you're a dude. No way anyone's gonnaaaaaa! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Hajime could feel a headache coming on and he tiredly rubbed his temples. 'Everyone living in Brooke is a moron.'

Suddenly, he felt something squishy press up against his back, and found himself being hugged from behind. When he looked behind him, he saw Shea resting her chin on his shoulder. She was blushing bright red and smiling triumphantly.

Look, there's no special meaning behind that, okay? Don't misunderstand."

"Ufufufufu... I know. Ufufufu~"

Hajime had just meant that he would never abandon anyone important to him, but even when he said as much to Shea she didn't look convinced. After all, the man she loved had just said he'd fight the gods to keep her. Regardless of his intentions, that would still make any girl happy.

Too late, Hajime realized he might have gone a bit overboard in his desire to cut negotiations short as quickly as possible. Yue tottered over to him and tugged at his sleeve.

"Hm? What is it, Yue?"

"Mmm... You looked cool, so it's okay."

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up." Hajime gratefully stroked her cheek, and Yue contentedly closed her eyes. Hajime stood in the early morning light, staring out at the road with two beautiful girls hanging off his arms.

***

It took roughly six days by carriage to go from Brooke to Fuhren.

They struck out from the road just before sunrise, and usually stopped to camp right before sunset. The first three days passed uneventfully. They were already halfway to Fuhren. Only three days left. Their progress had been smooth. Hajime had been entrusted with the rearguard, but he'd had no reason to draw his weapons the entire trip.

The fourth day passed peacefully as well, and they were stopping to make camp. Everyone was responsible for their own meals. The adventurers all ate while they stayed on watch for any incoming threats. None of them seemed comfortable taking their meals with the traders. It had pretty much become an unspoken rule that they ate separately.

Besides, since they were out on a request, the adventurers had all made sure to bring portable rations. The more extravagant food one brought, the more luggage they'd have to bring to prepare it. And in the case of a fight, that would just get in the way. In return, they usually gorged themselves on a feast once they completed their request and obtained their reward.

Or at least, that was what Hajime had heard from the adventurers he'd talked to on their second day out. While he'd been eating a scrumptious stew complete with a loaf of freshly baked bread on the side.

"Soooo good! Man, this is delicious. I don't care if you're a beastman or what, Shea, please just marry me!"

"Mmmph... Mmmgh... Gulp... Hey, get your hands off her! Shea-chan's my wife!"

"Pah, who'd marry a dirty little urchin like you? Learn your place, you commoner! By the way, Shea-chan, would you be willing to accompany me to dinner once we arrive in the city? My treat, of course."

"Th-Then I'll take Yue-chan! Yue-chan, please have dinner with me!"

"Yue-chan's spoon... Haah... Haah..."

The adventurers all heartily tucked into Shea's stew. On the first day, while the other adventurers had all taken out hardtack and dried jerky, the trio had pulled out pots and pans from Hajime's Treasure Trove and set about to cooking. The adventurers had all been drawn in by the pleasant smell, and they drooled with envy as they watched Hajime, Yue, and Shea chow down on a delicious meal. Finding it hard to keep eating, Shea had offered to share, and now this was what mealtime had become every day.

Of course, Hajime had had no issue eating his food while the adventurers looked on like starving dogs. He had had no intention of sharing, either. But as Shea had become the de facto cook of their party, she had the final say in all food-related matters. It wasn't like Hajime or Yue couldn't cook, but most of their food ended up relatively bland. Hajime was a guy, and Yue formal royalty, so neither of them were very well versed in cooking. And so, if Shea offered to share, Hajime couldn't exactly say no.

At first the adventurers had just been grateful, flocking like starving hyenas at mealtime to be delivered from their hell of hardtack and dried meat. But as time went on, they grew bolder and bolder, and now they were making passes at Shea and Yue every chance they got.

"You know," Gojo said as he pulled out his dinner from his Gate Of Babylon, while stealing a glance over the edge of the caravan. Dark Magician Girl sat on his lap, sneakily nibbling his perfectly seasoned lamb chop despite having her own. She couldn't resist, since it was right in front of her face.

Silently, Gojo scanned their surroundings from their elevated vantage point. "That whole town? Filled with the most unhinged weirdos. Almost drove me crazy."

Dark Magician Girl remained silent in response. She couldn't argue with him; he had a point.

"Huh? Where did my lamb chop go?" Gojo exclaimed suddenly, staring at his hand now holding a bare bone.

With her cheeks bulging, Dark Magician Girl chewed quickly, then turned to give Gojo a puzzled look. Her expression seemed to say, "Huh? How strange. I wonder where it went." Of course, it had nothing to do with her! After all, Gojo's hand was the one feeding her that lamb chop. So to reiterate it wasn't her fault!

"You sneaky little rascal!" Gojo exclaimed. "I wasn't feeding you!"

***

Two days later. A mere day before they reached the safety of the city, some brigands interrupted their travels. Shea was the first to spot them. Or hear them, rather. Her rabbit ears picked up the sounds of movement coming from the forest that bordered the path, and she quickly called out a warning.

On the other hand, Gojo spotted them first with his six eyes, despite his nonchalant demeanor. He didn't bother mentioning it, claiming it wasn't his concern. After all, scouting wasn't his role. Instead, he faithfully carried out his duty under the command of Hajime, tasked with safeguarding the caravan. As the monsters hadn't yet posed a threat to the caravan, he saw no reason to act. He wasn't even getting paid for this, can you believe that?

"Enemy attack! They're coming from the forest! There's more than a hundred of them!" The adventurers all stiffened up. It was true that their path took them right next to the forest, but it shouldn't have been that dangerous a place. Especially considering that it led to the most renowned trading city on the continent. They would have taken pains to make sure the highways heading to it remained safe. True, people still encountered monsters on the path, but they usually didn't run into hordes of more than twenty, maybe forty at worst.

"Shit, more than a hundred? I'd heard there hadn't been any monster attacks the past few weeks on the road... Could they just have been gathering their strength? Sheesh, you'd think the patrols would at least check the forest!" The captain of the guards, Gartima, grimaced and spat out a curse. They only had fifteen guards. Even if he counted Yue, Shea, Anam, and Gojo that only brought the numbers up to twenty. It didn't seem likely that they'd get out of the fight unscathed. They'd just get overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Gartima called for all the guards to halt, hoping that if they tried to hold the horde back here the merchants at least might manage to escape. However, Hajime proposed an alternative solution.

"If you're worried, how about letting us kill them all?"

"Huh?"

Hajime spoke casually, as if he was simply offering to go buy groceries. Stunned by how unbelievable a suggestion it was, Gartima could only manage a foolish questioning sound.

"Like I said, just leave them to us. We'll wipe em all out."

"B-But it'll be difficult just to protect the caravan as is... Umm, are you sure you can do it? The monsters that show up around these parts aren't that strong, but with that many..." 

"The numbers are no problem for us. Don't worry, our group will finish them in an instant." Hajime put a hand on Yue's shoulder. She didn't look very concerned either, choosing to simply affirm Hajime's statement. 

"Jujutsu Curse technique—" Before Dark Magician Girl could make her move, she was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Yue had moved forward and tapped Anam.

Dark Magician Girl paused, clearly puzzled by the interruption from Yue.

"Sorry… Could I try out a new spell I've been working on?" Yue asked, interrupting Anam's curse technique.

"Ohhhhh, a new spell? Go for it!" Anam exclaimed cheerfully. She was eager to see what Yue had conjured up.

Gojo sat cross-legged atop of the caravan, his head tilted as he narrowed his eyes at the scene unfolding before him. A large pack of wolf-like monsters, pale imitations of Fenrir, charged in a V-shaped formation toward them.

"Is someone controlling them?" Gojo muttered to himself, scanning the dense forest from where the creatures emerged. Despite his sharp gaze, he couldn't spot anyone orchestrating their movements.

"Alright. We'll do it your way." Gartima, the captain of the guard, addressed Hajime with a decisive nod. "It's alright if you can't get them all, as long as you lower their numbers enough. We'll get as many as we can with our own magic after that, and hopefully there'll be few enough left that we can take them down. Got that, guys?"

He presumed that even if they couldn't annihilate them all, with how confident Hajime looked they'd at least be able to whittle down their numbers a good deal. Perhaps it was worth letting them try instead of risking splitting their forces.

"Yes sir!" The adventurers all shouted in unison. None of them believed Yue could actually wipe them all out.

Hajime and Shea climbed up to one of the carriage's roofs. "Yue, I know you don't need to, but chant the spell. It'll be a pain to explain otherwise."

"Chant... the spell?"

"Uhh, do you not know how to?"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"That's only making me more worried..." 

Yue raised her right hand and pointed it at the forest.

"Illuminate the darkness with blinding crimson. Shatter the fetters of my eternal prison and break through all in thine path. We who would be the strongest call upon this power, and together we rend the heavens— Draconic Thunder!" The clouds that had gathered split apart as Yue finished chanting. A fearsome dragon forged entirely of lightning descending from the opening. It resembled a serpent as it snaked its way down to earth.

"Wh-What the..." Someone whispered in awe. The adventurers ignored the incoming onslaught of monsters, their attention entirely focused on the lightning dragon. Even the mages in the party had never seen nor heard of a spell like this. Their mouths were hanging open in wonder as they watched.

It wasn't just the adventurers who were looking up in awe, however. Even the bloodthirsty monsters stopped in their tracks and looked up, frozen in place by the sheer majesty of the dragon bearing down upon them.

At Yue's signal, it opened its jaws wide and hurtled toward the army of monsters.

Roooooooooooooooooar!

The dragon's bore down onto a clump of monsters, swallowing them whole. Without even an opportunity to fight back, they were all incinerated. Then, at Yue's command, the dragon coiled around itself, surrounding all of the monsters.

Any who tried to flee were consumed by the wall of lightning, leaving only ashes behind. The dragon opened its massive jaws once more. The monsters didn't even have time to feel pain before they were obliterated, some of them seemingly jumping into its maw of their own volition when they realized escape was impossible. The last thing they saw was the majestic dragon bearing down on them. Once they were annihilated, the dragon let out a thunderclap of a howl and dispersed into a thousand lightning bolts.

"...Hm. I overdid it." Yue casually said, though inside, she was buzzing with satisfaction.

"Holy crap, you externally manifested mana, shaped it through creation magic, inserted the gravitation element, and then gave it a lightning attribute through your own magic to craft this!" Anam exclaimed, marveling at Yue's mastery. It was clear to her how much effort Yue must have put into perfecting this spell in the guild's training room. However, the process Anam described was only somewhat similar to what Yue had just done; Yue had actually started with one of her most advanced spells and then modified it even further.

"So this is what you were up to while I was holed up in that guild room... By the way, Yue, that chant..." Hajime began.

"Yeah... I modeled it after our meeting, and our future." Though she spoke in the same deadpan manner as always, Hajime could tell she was rather proud of her achievement.

He smiled wryly and ran his hands through her hair. He'd wanted her to use an actual chant to avoid suspicion, but didn't have the heart to tell her off for it given how proud she looked.

This was Yue's original spell, made by combining gravity magic and lightning magic, Draconic Thunder. Specifically, by combining Reisen's gravity magic with the advanced level Thunder Hammer spell.

By giving the lightning proper weight, Yue could control its direction instead of just letting it strike straight and true. The reason she molded it after the mythical dragons Hajime had described to her was simply because she thought they sounded cool.

The area near its jaw was a gravitational field, which sucked in anything nearby. That was why it had looked like the monsters had leaped into it earlier. It took more mana than even the strongest advanced level spells to cast, but its power was proportionally more massive as well. It was clear Yue was proud of her achievement.

'Seeing how Yue's original spell works, I think I can make something similar,' Gojo thought. 'Even though I lack magic, mana, and elemental affinity, I can manipulate natural lightning from the sky and imbue it with gravitational elements, much like how Yue did it.' He reflected, recalling Sasuke Uchiha's Kirin lightning jutsu. Gojo envisioned crafting his own lightning dragon storm that would rain down from the heavens.

Dark Magician Girl, still in awe of Yue, turned to her husband when she heard his plan to try something similar. She couldn't believe he was considering replicating a technique from another world that he had seen online and then using the same method Yue had used to develop a new skill. She felt she could at least reproduce what Yue had done with dark and lightning attributes.

Even though these two (Gojo and Anam) haven't been into the guild training room once, they were able to come up with ideas on how to create something similar with just a glance after seeing it once. Which goes to show their monstrous talent.

Meanwhile, the adventurers finally returned to their senses. They turned to Yue and all started shouting at the same time.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, what was that!? What the hell was that!"

"Th-That thing... came from... from the sky and... I must be dreaming."

"Hehe, I'm going to get married once we get to town."

"I know we just saw something insane, but keep it together, man. You don't even have any female friends, let alone a girlfriend."

"I just saw magic that was alive! If living magic can exist, then I can get married!"

"Look, magic doesn't normally spring to life, okay? That was clearly something weird."

"What was that, you bastard!? Are you calling Yue-chan weird!?"

"Calm down, everyone! Yue-chan's clearly just a goddess, that's all!"

"I see!"

Yue's spell had been so shocking that the adventurers had lost their wits. It was only natural. There was no magic in the world that could make living things. And freely manipulating a spell once it was cast was something even master magicians couldn't do. Honestly, just being able to use the Thunder Hammer spell was something only a few genius magicians could do.

"So fucking loud," Gojo complained, waving a dismissive hand at the adventurers.

Only the leader, Gartima, managed to keep his head. He sighed as he watched the others yell out "All hail our goddess Yue!" and walked over to Hajime.

"Haah, you have my thanks. Because of Yue-chan, we avoided any casualties.

"We're comrades. There's no need for thanks between comrades, right?"

"Yeah. I was just doing my job."

"Haha, I see... So, what exactly was that?" Gartima was curious too.

"...An original."

"W-Wait? You mean like your own original spell that you created? That looked like an advanced, no a master class spell."

"I didn't create it. I just merged spells."

"Merged? But just what spells could you possibly merge to make..."

"Trade secret."

"Well, I guess that's fair enough. No adventurer would easily give up their trump card like that." Gartima sighed again. He shrugged and returned to his comrades.

They resumed traveling, but now everyone looked at Yue with newfound respect.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and they reached Fuhren the next morning.

There were six people checking goods and identities at Fuhren's eastern gate. Hajime and the others got in one of the six lines as well. With how long it was, he guessed it would be a while before their turn. 

Hajime was lying in Yue's lap atop a carriage's roof, with Shea sitting next to him. Gojo, somewhat sad that he had to share the roof with their group. He lay with Dark Magician Girl, who was happily chatting and laughing with him.

In the meantime, Yue and Shea had managed to attract even more gazes. More was already talking with another merchant, pointing animatedly at Yue and Shea. Hajime had been intending to relax a while in Fuhren, but it seemed like their stay would be more eventful than he'd expected.

Hajime, Yue and Shea were slurping on what was called a "bubble tea." that Gojo brought out for them. Of course Hajime knew what this was and the other two didn't. What Hajime got was a damn classic bubble milk tea. Meanwhile, Yue was enjoying lychee fruit tea with popping boba, and Shea had opted for taro milk tea with herbal jelly.

Across from them, Anam and Gojo shared a drink, with Anam playfully stealing sips from Gojo's straw. Gojo rarely brought out these treats, because Dark Magician Girl had consumed way too many back in their own world.

Between sips, Hajime couldn't help but ask, "By the way, did you always have this spatial inventory back in your world?"

Yue and Shea turned their attention to Gojo, curious about his answer. Gojo grinned mischievously and placed a finger to his lips, hinting that it was a secret between them. Nearby, Dark Magician Girl rolled her eyes at the boys' geeky conversation, tuning them out.

Gojo's lips moved silently, conveying a message only Hajime could decipher.

"Seriously?!" Hajime exclaimed, jumping to his feet with excitement. He had figured out Gojo's reference—it was Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon from Fate. "No wonder it looked so familiar..." His shock was evident, but he quickly regained composure, honoring Gojo's wish for secrecy. Though he couldn't fathom why Gojo didn't want Yue and Shea to know, he respected his friend's discretion.

Yue and Shea were taken aback by Hajime's rare display of enthusiasm. His eyes were lit up with passion, something they hadn't seen before.

"...Hajime," Yue began. She was curious why her man was excited like that.

"I can't say," Hajime replied calmly, careful to maintain neutrality.

"Why?" Yue wanted to know even more now.

"You'll find out what this is when you visit my world," Hajime said with a smile, leaving the mystery hanging between them.

As Hajime and Gojo conversed with growing enthusiasm, the possibilities seemed endless. Hajime proposed that with the rare materials from his treasury, they could create remarkable inventions. Gojo countered, suggesting that once he (Hajime) collected all ages of god magic, their creations with his material could surpass even those possibilities.

Meanwhile, Shea and Yue exchanged glances, silently agreeing that Gojo must possess something akin to a treasure trove similar to Hajime's ring. Dark Magician Girl wasn't going to say anything as she shook her head at the two when they looked at her for answers.

"I don't plan on flaunting this noble phantasm of mine like that hero king. Besides, we're going to be heavily monitored in this world by the damned Ehit god soon. This is going to be one of my trump cards against him," Gojo happened to whisper this to Hajime.

Hajime didn't question why Gojo whispered but took the statement to heart, sensing the gravity of how strong this god was if he was their enemy.

***