Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 5 - Chapter 1

1. Sometimes Like a Wild Animal in Heat

The enemy was—black.

No, not black; blackish, and he wore something that looked like a raincoat.

He stood at maybe 2.5 meters. Pretty tall.

More or less, you could have called him humanoid.

He had a head that was oddly small, as well as arms and legs. His shoulders were awfully broad. His body shape couldn’t have been more of an inverse triangle.

He was holding a weapon with a long handle. The blade was like a thick, sturdy knife, and, well, it was basically a naginata. He was leaning over, using his naginata like a cane as he walked.

There was no sound to his steps, and even as his naginata dragged along the ground, it made no noise. For some reason, he was silent. It was a mystery why, but Haruhiro had just decided to accept that was the way it was.

“Well, shall we?” Haruhiro asked.

Kuzaku let out a deep breath, lowering the visor of his close helm. Whew...

From deep inside Ranta’s skull helm—its visor had a skull-like design, so as a servant of Lord Skullhell, that was what Ranta had decided to name it—there was a low, menacing laugh. He had become fond of laughing like that, recently. Maybe he thought it made him sound cool. Maybe he was an idiot. Yeah, probably the latter. He had always been an idiot, and he probably always would be.

Yume drew an arrow from her quiver, nocking it to her elven composite bow. She was still better with her machete than her bow, but she had purchased a new bow along with her new machete a little while back. She’d learned two archery skills, too. Even if she wasn’t the best suited for it, she seemed to be trying to do something about that.

Merry checked the glowing mark on her left wrist that indicated her Protection spell was active, then made the sign of the hexagram. “O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you... Assist.”

Instantly, another little hexagram of a different color appeared on Kuzaku’s left wrist.

The enemy must have heard Merry’s chanting. He was coming their way, picking up speed as he approached.

Shihoru began to chant and draw elemental sigils with her elfwood staff. “Ohm, rel, ect, delm, brem, darsh.”

A hazy black elemental erupted forth, and it enveloped Shihoru’s body thinly. Armor Shadow. It would only work once, and there were limits to what it could handle, but it could neutralize an attack. For a lightly armored mage, it was a defensive spell that could make a world of difference.

The enemy was already getting close. Soon, he would be in striking range with his naginata.

“Get out there, Kuzaku,” Ranta said.

Rather than respond to Ranta’s spurring him on, Kuzaku moved forward with big, relaxed strides.

The enemy swung his naginata. Kuzaku didn’t back away. He stopped, and held out his shield. He didn’t so much block the naginata as knock it aside with his shield. It wasn’t the Block skill, it was Bash.

There was an incredible clashing sound, and the enemy’s naginata was knocked flying.

Kuzaku thrust out his sword towards the enemy’s exposed torso. The enemy leapt back with hardly a sound.

Yume let loose an arrow. It struck him in the left shoulder.

Haruhiro headed to the enemy’s right side, while Ranta tried to advance on his left. The enemy didn’t like that and withdrew even further.

“Now!” Merry cried. Of course, everyone knew what she meant.

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...”

He emitted that bizarre sound. Both of his arms stretched. During that interval while they were stretching, he was wide open.

“Press in!” Haruhiro called.

Haruhiro circled around behind the enemy. Kuzaku put his shield up in front of himself and charged. Ranta was—

What, again? He sure likes doing that.

“Bwaheheheh...! Slice...!”

He swung a longsword—which Ranta had decided to name Betrayer, just because its hilt was blackish and it kind of suited it, but was only of decent quality otherwise—as if he were drawing a figure-eight, a sword skill that was certainly showy. If it were any dread knight other than Ranta using it, it might have even looked beautiful. Ranta’s vulgarity lowered the grace and dignity of the Slice skill. But that was fine, as long as he wasn’t dragging down its power as well.

Betrayer sliced up the enemy’s right arm. Kuzaku’s longsword gouged the enemy’s flank, as well. The enemy’s left arm and head were tough, but the rest of him not so much; a blade would go through.

By the time the enemy’s arms had extended to half again their original length, Haruhiro had taken up position behind him. He wouldn’t attack immediately. It wasn’t time yet.

While Haruhiro was lying low, Kuzaku and Ranta moved in closer and closer. When the enemy was in long-arms mode, infighting was the best strategy.

Yume fired off another arrow, hitting him in the right shoulder.

Is he coming? Haruhiro thought.

About two seconds later, the enemy tried to pull back, but Haruhiro was right there in the direction he was trying to retreat. It seemed he had forgotten that Haruhiro even existed.

Haruhiro had been using Sneaking to try and get the enemy to forget, or to not notice him. It had paid off. Haruhiro was able to cling to the enemy’s back, stabbing his dagger into the enemy while he was still processing what had just happened. Haruhiro gave the dagger a sharp twist and he tore it free, then stabbed it back in again.

The enemy was probably going to do a vertical jump to try to throw Haruhiro off. He bent his knees and lowered his hips. That was a sign it was coming.

Haruhiro leapt clear before the enemy jumped.

The enemy sprung into the air for a half-hearted jump, then immediately lowered his posture again.

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...”

Both arms shrunk. That was another opening.

“Punishment!” Kuzaku shouted.

“Hatred!” Ranta bellowed.

Kuzaku and Ranta both sprang at the enemy at practically the same time, swinging their swords down diagonally. Kuzaku’s longsword struck the enemy hard on the head, blowing away his hood, while Ranta’s Betrayer dug into his right shoulder. After that, they both got in another two or three hits, then pulled back when the arms finished shrinking. The metallic skull that was his head was now clearly visible.

“Jess, yeen, sark, fram, dart!”

It was Shihoru’s Falz Magic. Lightning. The enemy was struck by the bolt and twitched.

His mouth opened, but his teeth were clenched tight.

Chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik.

He started clicking his tongue.

“Kuzaku!” Haruhiro called.

Kuzaku replied, “Yup,” and charged at the enemy.

The enemy was in the middle of raising his left knee. That was the motion he made when preparing for a jumping knee kick. When Kuzaku crashed into him with his shield, the enemy was knocked over.

“Nicely done!” Ranta yelled with a vulgar laugh as he attacked the enemy.

Kuzaku was using his longsword to whale on the enemy, too.

Haruhiro made a decision. Let’s finish him here. He wasn’t really trying to set a record for time or anything, but it seemed pretty doable, and even if the enemy fought back a little, the party could more than recover from it.

Was he being overconfident? No. This was an enemy they had fought several times now. They more or less had what made this one different from the others down by now. Actually, they were well aware of how little variance there was between the different members of this race.

The ustrels.

He wasn’t getting carried away, and after the first time they’d met this kind of monster, Haruhiro never would have imagined a time would come when he might think this.

They’re no match for us now, he thought confidently.

“We’re ending this!” he shouted.

When Haruhiro made that declaration, Yume drew her machete and closed in. Merry readied her short staff, not leaving Shihoru’s side.

The ustrel, of course, was trying to get back on his feet, but every time he did, Ranta would jeer and kick his arms or legs out from under him, keeping him from getting up.

Ranta always does these things with such glee, thought Haruhiro. It must come from his nasty personality.

Kuzaku was focusing his onslaught on the ustrel’s head and neck, not so much slashing him as bludgeoning him. Kuzaku had always been blessed with a tall, strong body. When Kuzaku swung down his longsword with all his might, the destructive force behind it was considerable. He lost the ability to talk when he got focused, but that wasn’t a shortcoming. Kuzaku silently continued grinding down what life force remained in the ustrel.

“Meow! Raging Tiger!” Yume called.

This skill of Yume’s, where she did a somersault followed by a powerful blow on the enemy, was pretty dangerous. Every time he saw it, Haruhiro thought, It’s amazing she’s not scared to do that.

While keeping an eye on his comrades, Haruhiro occasionally stared at the ustrel’s back. This was, well, just a habit. No matter what they were up against, if he observed closely, he could figure out what kind of creature it was—or at least he felt that way. It was only that he felt that way, and it couldn’t possibly be true, but it was strangely calming to stare at his enemy’s back.

Once in a while, a strategy would come to mind as he did it. Like, This guy seems weak here, or, He has this idiosyncrasy in the way he moves, or, This is where we ought to attack him.

And then, rarely, he would see that line. To be more precise, it was a dim light that was something like a line. It seemed to be a visualization, of sorts. My opponent will move like so, and has this sort of a weakness, so I should do this. It was a sort of instantaneous prediction. One he processed as if it were a single line.

Setting aside the question of whether it was actually a line or not, apparently everyone had these sorts of visualizations. Generally, they were easier to see when in a difficult situation. In some cases, he had heard it was possible to see multiple lines. In other words, some people were able to instantaneously make multiple predictions.

It differed from person to person. By a lot, actually.

Regardless, it was an ability every thief had. Nothing special.

Of course it wouldn’t be, Haruhiro thought. I’m fine with that, really. Haruhiro wasn’t disappointed at all. A special ability that only I have. It would be nice to have one, of course, but I doubt I’m going to have one. And, as a matter of fact, I don’t. That’s all there is to it. I don’t have what I don’t have.

That said, if you were to say I—we, have nothing, that wouldn’t be true at all. We might come up short in the quantity, quality, and variety of what we have when compared with a genius, but even ordinary people don’t have nothing. They have to make do with what they have. There are things ordinary people can do. Ordinary people can grow. We can get stronger in our plain, ordinary way.

There was a harsh, screeching sound. The ustrel was already foaming at the mouth and chattering his teeth. He was on the verge of death.

“Take that, and that, and that, and that, and that!” Ranta yelled.

He vigorously stabbed Betrayer into the ustrel’s back over and over. Kuzaku backed away, looking to Haruhiro. Haruhiro nodded. There was no need to waste more energy than they needed to. The ustrel was dying. Ranta could handle the rest. Ranta loved thoroughly tormenting a dying enemy and then snuffing the life out of them.

It wasn’t like Haruhiro didn’t question if he should really be acting like that, as a person, but his cruel mercilessness had helped them occasionally. Of course, if you asked Haruhiro whether he liked the guy or not, the answer would be that he truly hated him with every fiber of his being.

“Oh, yeahhhhhh!” Ranta shouted, mounting the motionless ustrel and starting to do something. Probably trying to get his hands on some loot.

That said, ustrels were not a good source of money. The only things they had that were worth a good price were their metallic skulls and the naginatas they carried. Both of those were bulky, and not worth the trouble of hauling back. Especially the metallic skulls. They might look like helmets, but they were actually something like an exoskeleton, and they couldn’t be taken off, so you had to carry them back with the head still inside. They had tried it just once, but for all the effort involved, they’d been disappointed with the minimal return on it. Haruhiro never wanted to do that again.

What Ranta wanted was to take a piece of the ustrel’s body, just because keeping trophies was his disgusting fetish—no, not really. Dread knights took an ear, claw, or other small piece of the enemies they personally killed to give as an offering to Skullhell. They would accumulate vice that way, which let them learn dread knight magic and fighting skills, or strengthened their dread knight magic with Skullhell’s blessing.

Well, he’s a brute, Haruhiro thought.

In a group of twenty volunteer soldiers, you would be lucky to find even one dread knight. It was easy to see why there were so few of them.

I couldn’t stand doing that, Haruhiro thought. Unless it really suits your personality, you can’t go on as a dread knight.

Worse still, even if you couldn’t go on, anyone who became a dread knight could no longer change to another job. They were forced to swear their loyalty to Skullhell alone, and to never betray him so long as they lived. In other words, their code said they couldn’t stop being a dread knight. If he left the guild, his fellow dread knights would chase him down. He’d be killed.

Scary. Dread knights were too damn scary.

“Uhehehehe!” Ranta cackled, lifting up something coated in blackish blood. A tooth from the ustrel, apparently. Haruhiro covered his mouth with the back of his hand, fighting the urge to vomit.

Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be just fine. The job really suits him. Actually, he’s a dread knight to the core. It’s his calling, I’m sure of it.

With Ranta’s work done, Haruhiro and the party decided to leave the ustrel’s remains and move on. This was the edge of the muryan nest. The muryans would clean up the body, no doubt.

The Wonder Hole. It had been more than four months ago that they’d first set foot here.

Honestly, it wasn’t very profitable. Actually, they were using all their earnings on food, drink, baths, equipment, and occasional trips back to Alterna to learn new skills.

The Lonesome Field Outpost had a branch of the Yorozu Deposit Company and, if they were willing to ignore the high fees, they could withdraw money they had on deposit at the main branch, but their savings hadn’t grown at all. Worse than that, Haruhiro’s had gone down, and he wouldn’t be surprised if his party members’ had, too.

We can go in a bit deeper now, Haruhiro thought. Kuzaku’s gotten used to the party, and he’s now a functional tank. Each of us have gotten stronger in our own way, to the point that we can easily wipe the floor with an ustrel. We’re making steady progress... maybe?

It’s hard to say. I think we’re going at a good pace, though. Sometimes things don’t go well, and that can be a real mess. There are times when I agonize over what to do, too. Then there are also times when I just accept that thinking too much isn’t going to change anything, and focus on that day’s work.

Are things okay like this? he wondered. The answer to that question changes every once in a while. Right now, yeah, it’s fine, or at least not bad, I’d say.

Not bad. At least, it shouldn’t be.

Haruhiro was standing at the front of the group, keeping a watchful eye on the area around them as they progressed through the muryan nest with its many side tunnels. Because that ustrel had appeared, the muryans had all retreated. They wouldn’t show themselves.

“Man...” Ranta said with a sniff of his nose. “Things have gotten, I dunno, kinda repetitive, haven’t they? Lately, that is.”

“...Here he goes again,” Shihoru said with a sigh.

“Huh? Did you say something, saggy tits?” Ranta asked.

“Th... They are not saggy!” Shihoru exclaimed.

“I dunno,” Ranta said. “I haven’t seen them. You’d have to let me check ’em out for myself. Yeah, that’s it. That’s what you’ve gotta do. Can’t say for sure that they aren’t saggy otherwise. Am I right, Kuzacky?”

“Could you stop it?” Kuzaku asked. “Don’t call me that.”

“Kuzackyyyy!”

“What are you, a little kid?” Kuzaku asked.

“I. Am. An. Adult. I’m an adult, no matter how you cut it. I’m so adult, I’m way too adult. You can tell that, right, Kuzacky?”

“Man...” Haruhiro said, cursing himself for butting in when he knew it would do no good and it was best to just stay quiet. Of course, he cursed Ranta even more than that. Half a billion times more. “Can’t you do anything other than bother people? Aren’t you ashamed to live like that, as a person?”

“I’m not ashamed, clearly,” Ranta said. “I do it with pride, and you know it. I live without showing restraint towards anyone. Can’t you tell that, you moron?”

“You’re a fine example of evil thriving,” Merry said coldly.

“Your hate,” Ranta said with a deep, sinister chuckle, “it gives me strength. Do you get it? That’s because I’m a knight of darkness, a dread knight. I am the darkness. Got it? By the way, Yume, Shihoru’s tits, they’re saggy, right?”

“Huh?” Yume furrowed her brow, and then, probably without thinking, brought her hands to her chest and made a gesture like she was lifting something heavy. “Wait, there’s no way Yume’s gonna tell you that, Ranta, you perv!”

Haruhiro hastily looked away. His eyes met with Kuzaku’s by chance. They had an unspoken conversation.

“...Just now, they looked pretty heavy...”

“Yeah. Really heavy...”

No, no, no, no, no, Haruhiro thought insistently. Stop. It’s awkward thinking about that sort of stuff with my comrades. It’s better if I don’t think about it. I shouldn’t think about it. If I think of them as men and women, it really does get awkward. But, well, with Kuzaku—

Haruhiro glanced over to Merry. Hmm. I wonder. I don’t really have any decisive evidence one way or the other. Not that I’ve tried to find any. I mean, they’re free to do what they want, yeah? That’s why, though I don’t know what’s going on for sure, Kuzaku leaves the tent at night sometimes. When I quietly follow him, sometimes he and Merry are talking outside. Just the two of them. I’ve spotted them doing that a number of times.

I dunno, but it feels like they’re making surprisingly little progress...? Though, that said, it’s not like they aren’t both conscious of each other in that way.

Of course, they’re free to do that stuff. Haruhiro told himself that they should do whatever they wanted. He had only tailed Kuzaku those first few times because he’d been concerned for the man, as a later addition to the party. Like, that he might be feeling out of place.

I mean, wouldn’t anyone worry in a situation like that? Haruhiro thought. I’m supposed to be the leader and all. So, from that, it seemed like Merry’s giving him advice, and I thought, “Oh, good.” But, is it just advice she’s giving him?! Is that really all?! If they’ve got something going on, I wish they’d tell me! I wish they’d stop sneaking around behind my back! I mean, I’m curious... I do feel that way somewhat, but, well, I guess it’s fine?

It is fine—isn’t it?

Like, you know, it’s fine while they’re getting along and all, yeah? But, if they break up or something, won’t that be awkward? Or maybe they’ll be able to compartmentalize?

Will they? Haruhiro didn’t know. I don’t have the experience. No, I don’t remember life before coming to Grimgar, but I probably don’t? That’s what it feels like. I definitely didn’t have a ton of experience. That much I can say for sure. There’s no way a guy like me was popular with the ladies. I mean, I’m not now. Sometimes, I get the feeling that Yume, Shihoru, and Merry don’t even see me as a member of the opposite sex. And what’s wrong with that?

It was actually more convenient that way. It meant that when something happened in the party, Haruhiro was the only one who could approach the girls with the same emotional distance that he did the guys. If things got bad between some of the others, Haruhiro could stand in the middle and try to mend fences.

It’s a pain in the butt, and I do wonder why I should have to, but I’m the leader, he told himself. I have to accept it. I’m well aware that I lack what you’d call leadership skills. But a good comrade, a relatively good friend, someone who values the harmony of the party, and who, even if he can’t pull everyone along with him, finds a way for us all to struggle forward together, that sort of central figure... that’s what I aspire to be.

Well, I think that’s what I’d like to be, if I can. Only if I can.

“Saggy tits,” Ranta sang. “Saggy, saggy tits. Saggy. Tits. Saggy. Tits.”

If I didn’t have stupid, stupid Ranta, and his weird, crappy song, it probably wouldn’t be that hard, you know? I’m gonna Backstab you, pal, Haruhiro thought viciously. No, ignore him, just ignore him. That’s always for the best. Everyone’s figured that out by now. Even Shihoru’s holding it in. Sorry, Shihoru, that you have to put up with that piece of trash. They aren’t even sagging. They don’t sag, right? Though, if they’re that big, you can’t fight gravity forever...

No, no, no, stop. Haruhiro shook his head.

The stone walls ahead were neatly carved out to look like buildings. No, not like, they were buildings. Quite impressive ones, at that. They had almost reached the kingdom of the devils.

“Ranta, we’re passing straight through, got it?” Haruhiro asked.

“...Yeah, I know already,” Ranta said. “You don’t have to tell me every single time. I just messed up a little bit that first time.”

And because of it, we ended up in real trouble, thought Haruhiro.

Haruhiro and the others set foot in the kingdom of the devils, which resembled a temple carved into the side of a cave. From the windows of the buildings, someone—many someones—was looking their way.

Not humans, of course. While they were built similarly to humans, their legs and nether regions were covered with thick fur, and they had goat-like horns on their heads. They all had staves that they carried with them everywhere. They were called staves, but some were like bludgeoning instruments, while others had spear or sword-like blades on the end. They were all quite imposing.

Baphomets. Also known as devils.

“Hello, hello,” Ranta said with a forced smile, and then the exact same voice came back.

“Hello, hello,” a devil said.

Ranta hadn’t repeated himself. It was the work of a devil. They didn’t necessarily understand human language, but they were amazing at imitating voices.

“Hey, stop that!” Yume cried, jabbing Ranta in the back.

Another devil spoke in Yume’s voice. “Hey, stop that!” it said.

The devils weren’t especially friendly towards humans, but they weren’t hostile, either. However, whenever a human said something, they would imitate them like this. It wasn’t clear why. They might have thought it was amusing, it might have been a natural trait of theirs, or perhaps they were looking to see how people would react. Honestly, it was a bit irritating.

All the devils would do was watch humans, thoroughly imitating their every utterance. Before they’d reached this kingdom of devils, Haruhiro and the party had acquired that information. Frustrating though it might be, so long as the party didn’t start anything themselves, having their voices imitated would be the worst they would have to deal with. In that case, all they had to do was shut their mouths. If they were silent, the devils would be, too.

Of course, that had been the plan. The devils had a great love for architecture and sculpting, and they valued their staves highly. However, aside from their staves and stone crafts, they had little of monetary value. There were a lot of them, too. Killing them would be pointless.

Despite that, after being imitated just a few times, Ranta had snapped and started shouting.

The devils must have interpreted it as a hostile action, because they had come and attacked. Haruhiro and the others had managed to escape somehow, but ever since then, whenever they approached the kingdom of the devils, the devils would gather around to intimidate them. In fact, they had been attacked twice and forced to retreat. Haruhiro had thought they were going to die one of those times.

They went through the valley known as the domain of the three demi-humans to reach the muryan nest, but without passing through the kingdom of the devils, they couldn’t go any further. The kingdom of the devils had a complex layout. No matter how capable a party was, it would be difficult to get through it if they had to fight devils all the time. That was why they maintained good relations with the devils. Everyone did, and Haruhiro had meant to do the same, but because Ranta acted like a total moron, the devils hated them now. Worse yet, the devils seemed to have good memories, and they weren’t about to forget what Haruhiro and his group had done. Even if they tried to wait for that enmity to die down, there was no telling how long that might take. Haruhiro and the others had tried everything to get the devils in a better mood.

“Ugh, these guys piss me off... can we just kill ’em?” Ranta muttered in an oddly cheery tone.

“Ugh, these guys piss me off... can we just kill ’em?” the devils imitated.

“He’s a certified idiot,” Shihoru said darkly.

“He’s a certified idiot,” the devils imitated.

“Seriously, man, cut it out...” Haruhiro said with a sigh.

“Seriously, man, cut it out...” the devils said, even replicating his sigh perfectly.

“But, seriously, this has got to piss you off,” Ranta cackled. “Ha ha ha!”

“But, seriously, this has got to piss you off. Ha ha ha!”

“You can just plug your ears,” Merry said, her tone colder than ice.

“You can just plug your ears,” the devils imitated, no less cold than her.

“How about you try not talkin’ in the first place,” Yume said.

“How about you try not talkin’ in the first place.”

“Shut up, Tiny Tits.”

“Shut up, Tiny Tits.”

“Don’t call them tiny!”

“Don’t call them tiny!”

“This is going to drive me crazy...” Kuzaku muttered.

“This is going to drive me crazy...”

“If this is enough to drive you crazy, you sure are weak, Kuzacky! You beanpole!” Ranta hollered.

“If this is enough to drive you crazy, you sure are weak, Kuzacky! You beanpole!”

“Please, would you just shut up?” Haruhiro said, plugging his ears so he wouldn’t have to hear the devils imitating him. It didn’t help.

“Please, would you just shut up?”

I can still hear them pretty well, you know, Haruhiro thought. Is there something special about the devils’ voices? I don’t know why, but putting my hands over my ears barely blocks their voices. I’m not Kuzaku, but I really do feel like this is driving me crazy. Actually, if Ranta would just keep his mouth shut, nobody else would say anything. This is Ranta’s fault. Everything is always Ranta’s fault.

Haruhiro struggled to maintain his sanity as they walked through the kingdom of the devils. There were lights shining out of the windows, so it was fairly bright, but the roads were narrow and twisted, making it hard to see ahead. Sometimes what he thought was a road wasn’t a road, too. There were a lot of dead ends. If he let his guard down, they’d get lost in no time. He had considered trying to make a map, but he had to give up on the idea. He didn’t have a good grasp of distances or direction, so it would be too hard to draw a map. It would probably be impossible, short of measuring everything out.

A low-end estimate for how long it took to pass through the kingdom of devils was 40 to 45 minutes.

I think we’ve been walking 45 minutes already, Haruhiro thought.

The cave’s temple-like buildings had ended a little ways back, and it had grown darker. Haruhiro pulled out a lantern to light their way.

“Huh...?” he said.

That’s weird. Haruhiro stopped. He shined his light around the area.

“This is the mineshaft, isn’t it?” he asked. “It should be...”

“How should I know?” Ranta spat out. “You’re the one leading the way, Parupiro. We’re following you because we trust you. If you’re saying you’ve betrayed our trust and taken us to some weird place you don’t know, then that’s a big problem, pal, a big one. It’s your responsibility! Now ritually disembowel yourself to apologize, you moron!”

“We took the right path... or we should have,” Shihoru ignored Ranta and agreed with Haruhiro. “If I’m not wrong, at least...”

She didn’t sound all that confident.

“Hmm.” Kuzaku turned around. “I don’t think you’re wrong. Personally, that is...”

Again, not sounding very confident.

“Wait, hold on,” Yume looked around restlessly. “This isn’t the mineshaft? Wasn’t the mineshaft like this?”

As for Yume, it seemed she didn’t even remember what the mineshaft she had already visited several times looked like...

“There’s something different about it...” Merry said, cocking her head to the side, “...maybe?”

She didn’t sound confident at all.

“It’s wrong,” Haruhiro said, sure about that now.

The mineshaft.

It was called the Grimble Mineshaft, to be precise.

The name came from creatures called grimbles that lived in this area. They were like huge rats, but with rock-hard skin and shells on their backs. Some rare individuals had gold, silver, and diamond in their shells, which of course sold for a high price. However, because of excessive hunting, their numbers had dwindled—or that was the common belief, but it seemed that their population was showing a recovering trend recently.

That was what Haruhiro and the others thought, anyway. This was their seventh trip to this mineshaft. The past six times, they hadn’t seen any diamond grimbles, but they had spotted a gold grimble once and a silver grimble on four separate occasions. They clearly weren’t on the verge of extinction. While they hadn’t managed to catch any yet, even the silver shells were worth a lot of money, so what was the harm in trying?

However, whether it was gold or silver shells, it would be best if, once they succeeded in catching one and gained the necessary know-how, they managed to gather as many as they could and sell them all at once. If it looked like there was money to be made, a number of other parties would probably rush to the mineshaft. If that happened, Haruhiro and his party probably wouldn’t be able to compete. They needed to make a tidy profit before then.

That was their plan. And they had come to the mineshaft to catch gold or silver grimbles.

That was how it was supposed to be, Haruhiro thought. It’s been three days, though.

They couldn’t afford to spend multiple days in a row doing nothing but search for grimbles. If they went too long without fighting a difficult battle, their combat senses would start to dull.

Three days since we last came here, Haruhiro thought.

“This wasn’t here,” he said. “Not last time.”

Haruhiro turned his lantern towards what should have been a rock wall. The light was sucked into the darkness and vanished. It looked pretty deep.

“...This hole,” Haruhiro said.

“Like! I! Said!” Ranta shouted emphatically. “You got it wrong! Boroborwo! You took the wrong path! This isn’t the mineshaft, man! I mean, they call it a mineshaft, but it’s just an ordinary maze-like cave-like thing! They’re all over the place! This place just looks similar! That’s all it is! Use some common sense!”

“No, but...”

I didn’t take the wrong path—I don’t think, Haruhiro thought. I’m confident... But, well, why is this hole here when it shouldn’t be?

It was three meters across, and more than two meters high. There was no way they could have overlooked it. If they’d passed by it, they would have been guaranteed to notice. It was a big, round hole.

Haruhiro looked left and right. Because, like Ranta said, the mineshaft was like a natural cave, with nothing special about it. It had no special characteristics that made it stand out, nothing that he could use to recognize it at a glance. So, though he couldn’t say anything definitive, aside from the existence of this hole, it was no different from before, he thought.

“Someone,” Yume said absently. “They came and dug it, don’t you think? This hole.”

“Like they could!” Ranta kicked the ground. “Who’d dig a hole! Here in the Wonder Hole! Like anyone has the time! Think a little before you talk!”

“You say that, but the Wonder Hole, it’s just a big hole, too!” Yume shot back.

“Hm...?” Ranta crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. “Now that you mention it, I guess so...?”

“It might not have been a human,” Shihoru said in a conspiratorial tone. “There could be all sorts of creatures here digging...”

“Wow,” Kuzaku said, poking his head into the hole. “Sure is dark. Y’think there’s something in there?”

“Hold on.” Merry pulled on Kuzaku’s arm. “That’s dangerous.”

Yeah, just show off how close you two are, Haruhiro thought— Or that’s something I may or may not have thought. No, I’m not thinking it, okay? It’s just really awkward. Though, it’s something I could warn you not to do, you know? Uh... maybe?

But, when Haruhiro cleared his throat a little, Merry seemed to snap to her senses, turned around, and let go of Kuzaku’s arm.

Huh? Huh, huh, huh? Haruhiro thought. Why is she awkwardly trying to put some distance between herself and Kuzaku, I wonder? Maybe it really is awkward for her? Did I get in their way? Maybe I should say sorry? Not that that’s what I was trying to do.

Haruhiro sighed.

I should stop, he thought. I mean, it’s almost like I’m jealous. Not that I am. I mean, yeah, I was interested in Merry. There was a time when I felt that way. But, well, she’s clearly out of my league, you know? Though, if I had to say whether I like or hate her, I’d say I do like her. Like, if Merry asked me to go out with her, obviously, I’d say yes. But that’s as far as it goes.

I wish she’d just come out and say, “Actually, the two of us are going out.” That’d make it easier for me to accept.

Actually, doesn’t it bother everyone else? Like, they’ve got to have more or less noticed, right? That something fishy’s going on between Merry and Kuzaku? Like, it’s plain to see, isn’t it? Or does everyone else just not care? Maybe I just care a little too much?

Maybe I’m just horny? Haruhiro wondered, half-mocking himself. Horny. If I said I was like a wild beast in heat, that’d be too blatant. I feel like that’s not quite it anyway. What is it then? I want to be in love? To have a girlfriend? Yeah, maybe that’s it.

I want a girlfriend.

—Not that I could get one.

“Yeah, this is the place,” Haruhiro said. “This is the mineshaft.”

Haruhiro looked to each of his comrades. He thought, I want to dropkick Ranta. But other than that, my current party is more precious to me than anything.

“But there’s a hole now,” Haruhiro said. “I dunno why. The question is, what do we do about it?”

Now’s not the time to be saying that I want a girlfriend. When I think about Moguzo, somehow, I feel like it might be too early for me, too. I don’t meet a lot of new people, so it’s not like I have options. Besides, if I let my heart get distracted by silly things and have my head in the clouds, that’d be a big problem. I’ve got to keep myself together.

“It could be a new discovery,” Haruhiro concluded.

When Haruhiro said that, his comrades, Ranta in particular, got excited.

A discovery.

Someone must have discovered the Wonder Hole in the first place. Then, as exploration had progressed, there had been further discoveries inside the Wonder Hole, which continued to this day.

For instance, Soma, the head of the group Haruhiro and the others were, technically, members of, the Day Breakers, was always exploring uninhabited lands to find a route to the former kingdoms of Ishmal and Nanaka. He and his party were discovering unknown places and creatures every day.

Fundamentally, the glory of new discoveries would go to parties like Soma’s, which were always pushing deeper and deeper. However, the Wonder Hole was infinitely vast. It was said that even the valley of holes, the muryan nest, and the kingdom of devils hadn’t been fully explored, especially since natural disasters or the actions of the creatures that resided in it could cause the Wonder Hole to change at times. There was no way to anticipate where those changes might happen.

In other words, even Haruhiro and his party had a chance of making a new discovery. This hole could very well be it. On the other side of this hole, there might be a whole other world that nobody knew anything about.

“What do we do about it? Man—” Ranta licked his lips. “I don’t even need to say it, do I? There’s only one thing for it.”

“I have a bad feeling...” Shihoru clutched her staff close, shrinking into herself and trembling.

“Is it my fault?!” Ranta shouted. “Is it my fault, huh, saggy tits?!”

“I told you, they’re not saggy!” Shihoru shouted.

“And I told you, show me!”

“Oh...?” a voice said.

“Huh?” Haruhiro furrowed his brow.

Who had that “Oh...?” just now come from? It had been a guy’s voice. But not Ranta’s, or Kuzaku’s.

Haruhiro turned around. He could see a light from a lantern or a similar piece of lighting equipment.

Someone was coming their way from the direction of the kingdom of the devils. Not just one person. He couldn’t tell the exact number, but it was a party.

“Ah!” another man shouted.

“Huh?” Haruhiro reacted with surprise. This time, it was a voice he recognized.

Someone rushed out of the unfamiliar party and ran over to them.

“Hey, hey! Harucchi! If it isn’t my ol’ pal, Harucchi! What a dinky-coink! Oh, was that one too hard to get?! I mean a coinkydink, a coincidence! And what a coincidence it is, us meeting up here! It’s me, me, little ol’ me! Kikkawa! Yay, yay! Let’s have a rah-hoo for chance encounters! Get it?”

They had met up with Kikkawa.