Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter SS2

The Compass That Points to One’s Desires 

Three girls stood in front of the imposing gate that served as the entrance to Verbergen. Yue, Tio, and Kaori. They gazed out into the mist that surrounded the city, waiting for someone. Finally, the people they were waiting for appeared from beyond the fog. 
“Oh, looks like we made it.” 
“You did it! That artifact is amazing, Hajime-san!” 
Hajime was holding something shaped like a pocket watch in his hands, while Shea was looking down at it in admiration. Yue and the others crowded around him, and Hajime started explaining the results of his experiment. A few seconds later Shizuku, who happened to be passing by, spotted the group huddled together. 
“Oh? Kaori? And Nagumo-kun as well. What are you all doing out here?” 
“Ah, Shizuku-chan...” Kaori beckoned to Shizuku with a smile, inviting her to come closer. 
“We were experimenting with the Compass of Eternal Paths.” 
“That artifact we got from Haltina’s labyrinth? Oh, were you trying to see if it can guide you where you want even through the fog?” 
“Sharp as always, I see. That’s exactly right, Yaegashi. And it turns out it can. I tried going to the Haulia village and back using just the compass, and I didn’t get lost even once.” 
Meaning that not even the fog, which confused all but beastmen senses, affected the compass. In a way, Hajime had made history by being the first human to navigate the sea of trees on his own. 
“Huh. Looks like concept magic is even more amazing than I thought. I guess it makes sense though, considering it’s even more difficult to use than ancient magic...” 
“Yeah. Anyway, I’m gonna experiment with it some more. I want to see what else you can do with this compass.” 
Shizuku nodded in understanding. Since she was already here, she figured she may as well observe Hajime’s experiments. 
“Now then, according to Haltina, this can help you find things too...” Hajime gave his comrades a look that seemed to say “Any volunteers?” and Yue raised her hand. It appeared she’d lost something. Everyone watched curiously as she took the compass from Hajime and poured some mana into it. 
“Where are my panties?” 
“You can’t just ask that, Yue!” Kaori’s instant response showed just how much more in sync the two of them were now. The compass’ needle spun a few times, then came to a stop pointing directly at Hajime. 
“Huh? Me? Oh yeah...” Hajime fished through his pocket and pulled out a risque pair of panties. Those were undoubtedly Yue’s. 
“Why? Why do you have her panties!? Why!?” Kaori repeated herself like a broken record. Her eyes glazed over and her demonic stand flared up behind her. On the other hand, Shizuku looked at Hajime like he was some kind of pervert. 
“N-Nagumo-kun. Even if she is your girlfriend, that’s a little... creepy.” 
“Hey, Yaegashi. Don’t make it sound like I stole her panties or something. She took these off and gave them to me herself.” 
“That’s even worse! Honestly, the misunderstanding would have been better!” 
“Why!? Why do you have her freshly worn panties!? Why!?” 
Shizuku backed away while Kaori broke down completely. She reached down for her own panties and started taking them off. 
“Kaori, I understand your feelings, but believe me, you will come to regret that decision later. Calm down.” Fortunately, Tio was there for the assist. Kaori gave up on gifting Hajime her own panties and put them back on. 
“Sorry Yue, I totally forgot to give these back to you. They’d get dirty if I just left them on the floor, so I put them in my pocket... Actually, if you thought you’d lost them, why didn’t you just ask me?” 
“Mmm... I was feeling so good I totally forgot. But now it feels a little breezy so put them on for me.” 
Hajime knelt down like it was the most natural thing in the world, and in response, Yue raised one leg like it was the most natural thing in the world. 
“Alright Yue-san, that’s enough. You can put them on yourself.” 
“Hm? But...” 
“But?” 
“Sh-Shea?” 
“Yes?” 
“...I’ll put them on myself.” 
To everyone’s surprise, Yue caved to Shea’s pressure. Despite her smile, Shea’s gaze was clearly saying “You’re an adult, so you should at least know this isn’t the time or place for this thing.” After officially becoming Hajime’s lover, Shea had grown far more intimidating. Yue shot Shea a nervous glance as she took her panties from Hajime and put them on. She looked like a naughty child who’d just been scolded by her mom. 
“Th-This is the first time I’ve ever seen Yue like this...” 
“I-Indeed. Shea truly has become invincible.” 
Shea’s terrifying gaze swung over to Hajime. The monster of the abyss awkwardly averted his gaze, then cleared his throat and changed the topic. 
“Alright, now that we know it can find things as well...” 
“You just ran away right there, didn’t you?” 
“Yaegashi, shut up. Anyway, we know it can find physical locations and things no problem, but I’m curious how far the compass’ interpretation of a ‘place’ goes.” 
Tio gave Hajime a thoughtful look and said, “You wish to know if it can point to an abstract location or concept, do you not?” 
“Mmm...” Yue raised her hand again. Kaori gave her a suspicious look, but in the end, the group decided to let her try again. Yue glanced at Kaori and activated the compass. 
“Where’s the stalker?” 

“What’s with that question!? I’m not Hajime-kun’s stalker!” 
“Umm, Kaori-san? Yue didn’t say anything about whose stalker she was looking for.” 
Kaori, who’d immediately assumed Yue was referring to her, looked up in shock. Like before, the compass spun a few times before coming to a halt. 
“Huh? It’s not pointing to me?” 
“Impossible... who other than Kaori could possibly...” 
Yue looked in the direction the compass was pointing and spotted Altina poking her head out from behind the gate’s pillar. She was staring intently at Shea. 
“Hiii!? Altina!? What are you doing here!?” 
Happy she’d finally been noticed, Altina sprinted over to Shea and grabbed her arm. Shea’s ears flattened around her as the elven princess gave her a beaming smile. 
“I was looking for you, Shea. I want you to toy with me some more.” 
The fur on Shea’s tail and ears stood on end at Altina’s suggestive phrasing. 
“I see. If multiple things fulfill the conditions set out by the user, the compass will pick the one that fits best.” 
“Hajime-kun!? I swear I’m not a stalker, so please don’t treat me like one!” Hajime ignored Shea’s plight and Kaori’s insistence that she wasn’t a stalker, and handed the compass to Altina. 
“Perfect timing. Let’s see if someone who doesn’t have any mana can use the compass if it’s already active. Altina, tell the compass something you want it to find for you.” 
Altina tilted her head quizzically, but did as she was told. After thinking for a few seconds she spoke up. 
“My future, I guess?” 
The needle spun a few times and stopped in the direction of Tio. 
“This compass... is so accurate that it’s scary.” 
“Mmm...The Liberators must have been monsters too if they could make something like this.” 
Tio was certainly a pioneer of perversion and in that sense Altina’s senior. According to the compass, Altina would one day walk down the path of masochism and eventually fall as far as the woman before her. While Altina herself didn’t fully understand the details, she did seem to vaguely realize that Tio was the role model she needed to aspire to. Altina glanced bashfully at the legendary black dragon and uttered a single bashful word. 
“Tio...onee-sama?” 
“I’m uncertain how I should feel about this...” 
Hajime left Altina and Tio to their own devices and turned to the rest of his comrades. 
“Anyone else got any interesting questions?” 
The others lapsed into thought. 
“How about...” Shizuku muttered quietly, and Hajime snuck the compass into the palm of her hand. 
“How about asking who the most important person to us is? We might end up with some surprising answers.” Shizuku’s eyes went wide in surprise as the needle started to spin. 
“Hey, how come it’s—” The needle came to a stop on Shizuku’s black katana. 
“I see. So you’re a high school girl who loves swords, huh? Nice.” 
“You’re purposely phrasing it in a way to cause misunderstandings, aren’t you!? This just happens to be a partner I can entrust my life to!” 
The girls gave Shizuku pitying looks. She claimed it was important because it was her fighting partner, but it was entirely possible she treasured it so much because it was a gift from a certain someone. 
“Oooh, I got one! What about our innocence? Can we ask the compass where it went?” 
Considering how omnipotent this compass was, it was possible it might even be able to answer that. The moment Hajime thought that, the needle began to spin. It appeared Shea had activated it. When it finally came to a stop, the entire party looked curiously in the direction the needle was pointing. 
“Hiii!? What do you want with me!?” 
The compass was pointing toward a young bunny girl about the same age as Shea. Judging by the basket in her hands, she was on her way back from picking fruits and flowers. Her ears flattened behind her; she was clearly terrified of Hajime and the others. 
“Umm, are you—” 
“Hiii!? I recognize that hair color! You’re the headhunter Haulia princess, aren’t you! I’m sorry, please don’t kill me! I’ll do anything, just let me go!” 
“Wha?” Shea stared blankly at the bunny girl cowering before her. She was exuding this “don’t bully me aura,” which honestly made Hajime and the others want to bully her more. 
“A gentle and peaceful bunny girl who avoids conflict... I see.” Hajime nodded to himself and glanced over at Shea. She didn’t seem all that happy at being treated like a monster by a girl her own age. Though she was annoyed more at herself than anything, she took it out on the other girl. 
“Y-You weakling! And you have the gall to call yourself a rabbitman!? Don’t cower before your own people, you maggot!” 
“Hiii!? Please don’t get angry! Forgive meeeeee!” 
The bunny girl scampered away like a hare. 
“Get back here, you pansy! I’ll teach you what it means to be a rabbitman of Haltina!” Shea chased after the other bunny girl, acting much like Sergeant Hajime had months ago. 
Hajime looked down at the compass in his hands and muttered, “Looks like this really can find everything.” He couldn’t help but be impressed by the Liberators’ godlike creation.