Bonus Short Stories

The Bunny Girl’s Strength Knows no Bounds

Tio gave Hajime a look of longing, begging to be punished. Hajime and the others were lounging in the living room of Vandre Schnee’s palace, recuperating after their long ordeal. Tio was sitting on the floor beneath Hajime and giving him puppy dog eyes, her finger in her mouth. She had the look down perfect, and that pissed Hajime off. It seemed Tio was still hoping Hajime would punish her for revealing that she’d secretly wanted to use him to kill Ehit. But, of course, Hajime had known that from the start, so he had no intention of giving her what she wanted.

“Hajime... Hajime...”

A refreshing voice interrupted Hajime’s annoyed thoughts. He turned to Yue, who was sitting next to her, and asked, “Yeah?”

“Will you... punish me?”

“......”

Alright, I’ve gotta calm down. Just stay cool, take Yue to that bedroom over there, and...

“Hajime-kun, you better not do it.”

The moment Hajime saw Kaori’s stand appear behind her, he regained his composure and nodded. The masked demon looked even more vivid than before. Is she using evolution magic to make it real or something?

Shifting his attention away from Kaori, Hajime turned back to Yue and cocked his head.

“Ahem. Where’d that come from, Yue?”

It seemed almost as if he’d changed the topic because he’d been scared of looking into Kaori’s accusing eyes any longer.

“Mmm... Because I was thinking of entrusting you to Shea.”

It appeared Yue was asking to be punished because she’d let her fear for the future get the better of her. And since Tio was asking for punishment, Yue didn’t want to be left out. She gave Hajime a pleading look, similar to the one Tio had given him moments before. Then, she turned around and stuck her cute butt up in the air, as if asking Hajime to spank it, and licked her lips.

“Disintegrate!”

“Mmm!?”

A flash of silver light shot toward Yue. A second later, the sofa disintegrated. Yue only barely managed to roll away in time to avoid the blast. Cold sweat poured down her forehead and she rounded on the culprit.

“Kaoriii!”

Kaori turned to Yue with a smile that didn’t extend to her eyes.

“Yes?” she asked innocently, causing Yue to seethe with anger. Both of their expressions were bloodcurdling enough to make children cry.

“Calm down, Yue. As for your punishment... Didn’t Shea already punish you enough?”

“Mrrr...”

Reluctantly, Yue flopped down on another, undamaged sofa. Smiling wryly, Hajime turned to Shea.

“But I’ve gotta say... I’m impressed you managed to fight Yue to a standstill, Shea.”

Yue’s wounds regenerated instantly, she could cast advanced-level magic without incantations, and above all, she could use all kinds of ancient magic. Honestly, Hajime had been amazed to hear Shea had grown strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Yue.

Half-embarrassed, half-proud, Shea blushed, her bunny ears flopped back and forth. “Hehehe, I thought I was gonna die back there.”

“Would you mind giving us more details of your fight?”

The moment Tio asked that, everyone’s ears perked up.

Yue folded her arms and recounted in a slightly trembling voice. “Even when I tried to freeze her in ice, she just punched her way through my magic...”

“Wait, seriously? You were able to stop Miledi’s golem with that magic!”

Hajime was even more surprised now. But he, and everyone else listening, soon realized that was just the tip of the iceberg.

“When I tried to stop her with gravity magic, she just ignored the pressure with fighting spirit...”

“W-Well, she does specialize in body strengthening magic... But still, that’s amazing. Your gravity magic can even push me back, Yue...” Kaori replied in awe.

“She smacked my Draconic Thunder into oblivion...”

“W-Well, if she covered her warhammer in mana, that would theoretically be possible...” Tio mumbled.

“And she stopped my spatial magic attacks with just her body...”

At this point, Hajime and the others were beginning to wonder if she was still a beastman. However, Yue wasn’t done talking about Shea’s exploits yet.

Supposedly, every single one of Shea’s attacks had broken the sound barrier. Supposedly, all of her wounds had healed in seconds, even serious ones. Supposedly, even though she had little affinity for it, Shea had been able to use evolution magic on her body strengthening magic, making her so fast even Yue couldn’t follow her movements. Supposedly, she’d managed to make use of her innate rabbitman ability to manipulate her presence while doing all of that, making her even harder to track. And even when Yue did manage to hit Shea with a spell, she apparently just withstood it without taking damage. Supposedly, her battle cries alone had been loud enough to give Yue concussions.

The list went on and on. Yue’s eyes glazed over as she recalled all of the feats Shea had accomplished, and everyone turned to Shea in shock.

“Aww, you’re making me blush with all that praise, Yue.”

Shea really was blushing. In fact, she looked absolutely adorable, hiding her face behind her ears. But behind that cute exterior...

“Shea, can you stand over there for a second?” Hajime asked casually.

“Hm? Is this fine?”

Shea stood against the wall as requested. The moment she did, Hajime drew Donner at the speed of light and fired at her. Though he’d only fired a rubber bullet that wasn’t accelerated by his Lightning Field railgun, Yue and the others were still shocked to see that he’d shot at Shea.

“Whoa.”

Almost reflexively, Shea grabbed the bullet aimed at her shoulder. Yue and the others shivered. She’d actually just grabbed a bullet out of the air.

“Jeez, what was that for, Hajime-san!?”

Even when she was pouting, she looked cute. Thinking maybe the last bullet had been a fluke, Hajime fired one more just in case. There was a metallic clang as Shea blocked it with her fist, and everyone stared at her in shock.

Yue’s Magic Lessons: Part 2

While everyone was lounging around Vandre Schnee’s living room and recovering their strength, Suzu suddenly walked up to Yue.

“O-Onee-sama! Can you tutor me in magic!?”

Suzu clasped her hands together in front of her chest, looking almost like she was praying. Her eyes gleamed with expectation. Yue, who’d been attempting to seduce Hajime, turned around with a “Huh?” Embarrassed, she quickly straightened her back and pretended she hadn’t been about to pounce on Hajime.

“You want me to teach you magic?”

“Yep. I managed to get myself a familiar, but metamorphosis magic is still hard to control...”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because you’re the best, Onee-sama!”

Suzu’s looked at Yue with something akin to hero worship in her eyes. Yue blinked a few times, then puffed her chest out proudly. She was enjoying the praise.

“Mmm... Well, I wouldn’t say I’m the best,” she muttered, but she was kicking her legs back and forth happily. However, her elation was short-lived. A second later, two of her friends came to rain on her parade.

“Suzu-san, I’m saying this for your own good. You shouldn’t ask Yue-san to teach you.”

“I concur. Suzu, you would be better off learning from me than Yue.”

“Shea!? Tio!?”

Shea and Tio each laid a hand on one of Suzu’s shoulders. Yue gave them a hurt look, while Suzu just turned around blankly.

“U-Umm, Sheashea? Tio-san? Why’re you saying that?”

“Because Yue-san is the worst teacher ever!”

“Furthermore, she is such a natural genius that you will only be discouraged!”

“Shea!? Tio!?” Once upon a time, Shea and Tio had attempted to learn magic from Yue. But in the end, Yue had been stumped, wondering why concepts that seemed exceedingly elementary to her eluded her pupils. The fact that she hadn’t been acting out of arrogance had actually crushed Shea and Tio’s spirits and made them feel stupid. Incidentally, this was how Yue had tried to teach Shea and Tio:

“So, you gather your mana with a bwaaah, then you go all pew pew! After that, you need to follow up with a fwoosh! Simple, right?”

It was little wonder that Shea and Tio had been stumped. Yue turned to Hajime with teary eyes. She pointed at Shea and said, “They’re being mean to me.”

“Taniguchi. I’d recommend learning from Tio too. She’s the best teacher among us.”

“Huh!?”

Yue slumped to the ground. She’d never expected Hajime, of all people, to betray her.

I see... Everyone will betray you eventually... That’s just how people are. You were right, copy... she thought to herself. She crawled over to a corner of the room and huddled there, hugging her knees. And as she sulked, she glared at Hajime, Shea, and Tio.

“I hate you guys...” she mumbled. Then, she buried her head in her knees. Suzu looked from her to Shea and the others, while Shizuku laughed dryly and Shea and Tio just shook their heads in exasperation. Hajime, on the other hand, looked pained, as did Ryutarou and Kouki for some reason. Kaori alone seemed happy by this turn of events. Grinning, she walked over to Yue, humming to herself as she did and looking absolutely ecstatic.

“Yue-sensei!” she exclaimed in a singsong voice. Shizuku looked up at the ceiling in exasperation while everyone else took a few steps back, expecting another fight to break out.

“Die, Kaori...”

“See, there’s your problem! It’s because you’re always so mean to people that you suck at teaching.”

On the surface, it seemed like Kaori was giving sound advice, but it was obvious from her expression that she was glad to have finally grasped one of Yue’s few weaknesses. It was only around Yue that Kaori was ever this belligerent. Still, Hajime missed the days where she was the gentle goddess of his high school.

“Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t you try teaching me? For example... how about you teach me how you changed your hair color with metamorphosis magic? What do you say?”

“Tch... You’re just going to laugh at me and call my explanations incomprehensible!”

The only thing Yue was willing to teach Kaori was the meaning of pain. She lunged at the healer, but Kaori was used to Yue’s violent outbursts, so she simply caught Yue’s fist and said, “Now now, stop playing around and teach me properly.”

Yue glared at Kaori for a few seconds, but then seemingly changed her mind and decided to play along with Kaori’s charade.

“First, you squeeze your mana like all bwaaah. Then, you start kneading it like paaa. And finally, all that’s left is to drop it out with a fwoosh!”

Shea and Tio turned to Suzu, as if to say “See, her explanations are incomprehensible.” Suzu’s expression stiffened and she gave them a nervous smile. Shizuku’s reaction was much the same. Neither of them had expected the perfect vampire princess to have such a glaring flaw. However—

“Umm, so I just go bwaaah, then paaa, then fwoosh... I did it!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”

Everyone’s eyes practically popped out of their skulls as they stared at Kaori. She’d actually succeeded in turning her silver hair black by following Yue’s incomprehensible explanation.

“See, you’re not bad at teaching at all, Yue. I got your explanation right away!”

“R-Really? You understood what I said?”

“Of course! You just go bwaaah, then paaa, then fwoosh! It’s a piece of cake!”

“Yeah... It is!”

Yue’s depressed expression transformed into a grin. She got to her feet and pointed at Shea and Tio, puffing her chest out so hard that it looked she was about to bend over backward all the while.

The two of them were still reeling from this revelation when Kaori added, “What’s gotten into you two? Why’re you being so mean to Yue?”

“W-We’re not trying to be mean, we just...”

“I-Indeed... How is it you can understand Yue’s explanation, anyway?”

Kaori cocked her head and replied in a confused voice, “I mean, her explanation’s just so simple, isn’t it?”

Tio clutched her chest and pitched to the ground while Shea’s eyes glazed over.

In the silence that followed, Suzu timidly said, “You really are good friends with Yue-oneesama, Kaorin.”

This time, Yue and Kaori didn’t deny it. They couldn’t. For once, they were in agreement. And so, Yue-sensei descended once more.

“Shea, Tio, Hajime. Shizuku, you too. On your feet!”

Yue’s damaged pride had recovered, and she was raring to teach once more. No one could stop her now. Hajime and the others exchanged glances, then wearily got to their feet.

“Alright, now repeat after me! Bwaaah, paaa, and fwoosh!”

Of course, no one repeated those words. After all, it would have been far too embarrassing to say meaningless sounds like that. However, Yue was a merciless teacher.

“I said repeat after me! It starts with bwaaah! Got it? Bwaaah! Now say it!”

“B-Bwaaah....”

“Bwaaah!”

Only Kaori seemed to be enjoying the impromptu lesson. Smiling, she raised her hands up in the air, making what was presumably a ‘bwaaah’ motion with them.

“I can’t hear the passion in your voice! Again! This time, say it with heart!”

Yue’s lesson continued for quite some time, making Hajime and the others all die inside.

Arifureta Magic Academy: Daddy, a Transfer Student, and a Victim

The ten-year-old prince of Heiligh, the kingdom that housed the infamous magic academy, had fallen in love. At least, that was what the rumors said. Supposedly, he’d come to the academy’s entrance ceremony as a guest and fallen in love with one of the students at first sight. Naturally, the students had started gossiping about who might be the potential future queen of Heiligh. The rumors only grew more pronounced when the school announced that Prince Lundel would be attending the academy from that day onward. He was the first member of the royal family who would be attending the academy. It was obvious to the students that he’d come here to chase his first love. And everyone wanted to see who he’d chosen. Ordinary student Hajime Nagumo absentmindedly listened to the students gossiping around him as he walked down the halls.

“I’ve finally found you, Hajime Nagumo!”

But he came to a stop when someone suddenly called out his name. Turning around, he saw the prince staring at him. He seemed to have a bone to pick with Hajime. The nearby students all stared at Lundel in surprise, then turned to look back accusingly at Hajime. They seemed to believe he’d done something to stir up trouble again. Of course, Hajime felt insulted that they believed all the previous commotions had been his fault.

“Good morning, Your Highness. Did you need something from me?”

A few of the watching students burst out laughing. Polite speech didn’t suit Hajime at all. Lundel was so focused on Hajime that he didn’t even notice the surrounding students’ reactions. He strode forward and declared, “I-I need to speak to you about your girlfriend!”

So the rumors were true!? The prince really did come here to chase after a girl!? the students thought. More and more people started gathering in the hallway.

And, at the same time, the students thought, Wait, what does the prince’s first love have to do with Hajime Nagumo?

Hajime himself was wondering the same thing. Girlfriend? I have a girlfriend? Hang on, does this mean the girl the prince is in love with has something to do with me?

His mind racing furiously, Hajime came to a horribly misguided conclusion. Hang on, is he talking about Myu!? No way!

Myu had been the new student representative during the entrance ceremony, and she was Hajime’s adopted daughter. Everyone had seen her call Hajime “daddy,” so they knew she was related to him in some way. It all makes sense now... He’s gotta be talking about Myu! So you’re trying to lay a hand on my daughter, huh, you royal punk?

Hajime was a textbook case of a doting parent. He met the prince’s resolute gaze with a withering glare. Lundel, as well as the nearby students, all flinched back.

“Someone deploy a barrier! I’ll get the underclassmen to safety!”

A weary upperclassman, used to dealing with the frequent incidents at school, started evacuating people from the area. Meanwhile, Lundel was lost in thought. H-He’s trying to cow me with that glare. He really doesn’t want to hand over his girlfriend—Kaori.

Indeed, the girl Lundel had fallen in love with was Kaori. He’d been swallowed whole by one of Yue’s lightning dragons during the entrance ceremony, and afterward, the priestess had come to heal his injuries. He’d fallen for the saintly looking healer at first sight. Of course, he had no idea that Kaori had been part of the reason that the brawl at the entrance ceremony had occurred in the first place, or that she, along with Shea, Yue, and Tio, was considered one of the school’s four problem children. Indeed, it was only because he didn’t know what lay underneath Kaori’s saintly exterior that he’d fallen in love with her. And thus, he’d come here to see what kind of man Kaori’s sweetheart was.

“I’ve... heard about you.”

He has? From who? Myu? Come to think of it, she is part of the elementary branch student council, and they were all there to greet the prince when he was first admitted to the school. She must have talked about me then. Well, if he’s after my daughter, there’s no need to be polite to him.

Hajime’s misunderstanding grew even deeper, and he growled, “Oh? And what’ve you heard, huh?”

His lips curled up into a fearless smile.

“I-I asked her to marry me, but she said she couldn’t because she was going to marry you.”

Myu wants to marry me? Oh wait, she’s probably just going through that phase all girls do where they say they want to marry their dad. Oh Myu, you’re so cute and...

“She said she’d win your love by any means, get you to knock her up, and start a happy family with you! And that she’d crush any rivals that stood in her way!”

“Wait, seriously!?”

Uhhh, Myu, are you that obsessed with me? Hang on, did you really use those words? I’m kinda shocked...

Cold sweat poured down Hajime’s back as he tried to process this new information. He needed to rethink how to interact with his daughter.

“Hajime Nagumo! Answer me this! Do you intend to reciprocate her feelings!?”

Lundel was determined to see this through, for the sake of his beloved Kaori. On the other hand, Hajime was panicking now that he’d learned of his daughter’s forbidden feelings. The spectating students had at this point heard the full story from the members of the newspaper club who’d come to see what was happening and knew that Kaori was Lundel’s crush. But none of them knew that Hajime had made a grave misunderstanding. They were waiting to see what Hajime’s response to Lundel’s sincere question was. They wanted to know if Yue was his only love, or if he meant to take Kaori for himself too. Naturally, Hajime answered Lundel truthfully.

“I have... zero interest in reciprocating her feelings!”

Oooooh, he really said it! While the students were whispering animatedly to each other, Lundel’s eyes began to glimmer with hope. However, that hope was short-lived.

“But I have no intention of giving her to you, either!”

“What?”

Lundel wasn’t the only one surprised by that. The onlookers were as well.

“Like hell I’ll hand her over to some rando like you!”

What do you mean, “rando”!? He’s a prince, for crying out loud! One of the most influential people in the kingdom! the students thought simultaneously.

“So even though you don’t plan on accepting her feelings, you’re still going to keep her tied to you!?”

“Hmph, she’s just that important to me. Besides, she’s still young. It’s too soon for her to be thinking of marriage. I won’t allow you to have her!”

How selfish can you get? Especially when you already have Yue-sensei!

But while the students were seething with jealousy, Lundel was thinking something else entirely. Y-Young? How is Kaori too young? What is he talking about? Does he mean she’s still immature?

He, too, was beginning to misunderstand.

“I-Incidentally, what do you mean when you say she’s young? She doesn’t look that way to me...”

The onlookers nodded in agreement. They turned to Hajime, waiting for his reply.

“I mean, just look at her. She obviously looks young.”

“Sh-She does? A-Are you sure? I guess her face is a little childish, but...”

Both Lundel and the other students didn’t really agree with Hajime’s assessment there.

Wondering how Myu could possibly look mature to anyone, Hajime added, “If you don’t think she looks young, I’ll prove to you that she acts young. For starters, look at how spoiled she acts.”

“R-Really!? Can you be more specific?”

The students were also very curious as to how Kaori acted spoiled.

“Hmm... Well, for starters, she’s always asking for hugs.”

“She is!? Unacceptabelievable! I want to princess carry her too!”

“Uhhh, did you not hear me? I said hugs, like, you know, normal hugs. From the front.”

From the front!? What kinds of naughty things are you doing with Hajime, Kaori!?

“And she can’t even sleep by herself still, so she always sneaks into my bed at night.”

“She can’t sleep by herself!?”

“Oh, and she’s scared to go to the bathroom alone at night, so I have to go with her.”

“She what!?”

“Also, she can’t even wash her own hair properly.”

“She can’t!?”

Wait, Kaori-san, aren’t you a bit too old to be doing those kinds of things? the students thought. Lundel, on the other hand, had latched onto a different part of Hajime’s words.

“Hang on! How come you know she can’t wash her own hair!?”

Oh yeah, good point! Don’t tell me you two take baths together...

“Huh? Isn’t that obvious? That’s cause we take baths together.”

“You... what?”

Lundel was so shocked that he dropped to all fours. Meanwhile, the students shivered in terror. The way Hajime had confessed that so casually had made it clear to them that he was too much of a Chad for any of them.

“Get it now? She’s too young to be thinking about marriage still. At best, I’ll allow you to be friends with her. If you try to ask her for anything more... I’ll crush your balls.”

The male students all covered their privates and took a few steps back. On the other hand, the girls were all amazed at how bold Kaori was. I can’t believe she takes baths with Nagumo-san...

After a few seconds, Lundel recovered from his shock and got to his feet.

“D-Don’t think you’ve won just yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!”

He turned on his heel and ran away, tears streaming from his eyes.

After a few seconds, Hajime said, “Heh, he’s got guts, at least.”

Surprisingly, he was smiling. In the end, the misunderstanding was never resolved. But, as a result, Hajime’s appraisal of Lundel had risen.

After school, a certain trio visited Kaori.

“Kaoriiiiii, how dare you sneak into Hajime’s bed! Pay for your sins with death!”

“Kaori-san, I can’t believe you take Hajime-san to the bathroom with you at night! How could you be so lewd!?”

“Kaori, is it true that you snuck into Master’s bath? If so, death is a fitting punishment for you.”

“Huh!? Wh-What are you talking about!? Calm down, you three!”

“Kaori, I... I will still accept you! Even if you can’t wash your own hair, I still love you—!”

“Your Highness!? What the heck are you talking about!?”

Naturally, that incident ended with a section of the school getting blown up. Sadly, the misunderstanding never got resolved, and for days after, people would shoot Kaori sympathetic looks when they saw her in school.

Super Tio

“What... did you say?”

A shocked voice rang out through the living room of Vandre Schnee’s hidden palace.

“A-Are you okay!? Do you feel sick!?”

“Did the fear get to you!? Should I cast healing magic on you!?”

Trembling, worried voices followed the shocked exclamation. The first voice had belonged to Hajime, while the second and third came from Shea and Kaori, respectively.

“Are you not being a tad too cruel!?” Tio hotly protested.

Yue gulped, everyone’s gazes were fixed on her.

“Yue! Why do even you seem so shocked!?” Tio gave Yue a hurt look. And with trembling hands, Hajime—

“And Master, why are your hands trembling!?”

Hajime massaged his temples, then turned to Suzu and Ryutarou.

“Taniguchi, Sakagami... You’re sure that’s what you saw?”

“Yep. I know it’s hard to believe, Nagumo-kun, but... it really was Super Tio-san!”

“Yeah. The really scary thing is she was even more amazing than that time in Haltina...”

“Impossible.”

“Master, I am nearing the end of my patience. If you keep this act up, I really will punch you in the face.”

Tio cracked her knuckles, something no one had seen her do before. But Suzu continued to ignore her and exclaimed, “That was, without a doubt, Super Tio-san: Royalty Edition!”

This was the reason for the tension in the room. While they were having tea, Suzu and Ryutarou had told everyone about the regal, dignified Tio they’d witnessed during her trial. The story had left Hajime and the others speechless.

“Dammit, how come I keep missing it!? God, this is all your fucking fault!”

Hajime cursed as if he’d missed a once in a lifetime opportunity. He really wanted to see Super Tio, and this was the second time he’d missed his chance. He hung his head in despair, and Tio gave him a glare that was even more disparaging than Yue’s.

“I do not understand. I have always been this way. Even when we were in Haltina, I simply did what needed to be done. Why are you all acting as though this is some hidden side of my personality that never otherwise appears?”

Tio had a point, but it seemed she wasn’t aware of how ridiculous her normal actions seemed. Ignoring her question, Yue smiled reassuringly at Hajime and placed her hands over his.

“Now that I’ve obtained all the ancient magic, there’s nothing I can’t do...”

“Huh!? Can you really do it, Yue!?”

“Yep! Just leave it to me!”

Yue turned to Tio. Her obsession with Hajime was so great that she’d do whatever it took to grant his wish.

Sensing that her life was in danger, Tio quickly got up and muttered, “I-I have somewhere I need to be...”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Unfortunately, Yue circled around to cut her off.

“S-Stop—”

“I’ll make you show your true colors with spirit magic! Become normal!”

Tio screamed as a flash of white light filled the room. A moment later—

“Fufu, what a troublesome child you are.”

“Mmm!?”

When the light faded, Hajime and the others saw Tio carrying Yue in her arms. She looked admonishingly down at Yue, like a mother scolding her naughty child. Hajime swallowed his surprise and attempted to rile Tio up to see what would happen.

“Hey, pervert.”

“Master, why the acerbic words? Have I done something to displease you?”

Instead of panting happily, she actually looked hurt. Hajime was so shocked he slid out of his sofa. Then, he glanced over at Shea and the others, who all nodded to him.

“It’s Super Tio-san!”

“My, you are all so energetic today.”

Tio smiled gently at everyone. This was, without a doubt, Super Tio.

“T-Tio? Can you put me down now?” Yue looked a little embarrassed as she asked.

“But Yue, even if you did this for Master’s sake, you still need to reflect on your actions.”

“Huh?”

“Do not ‘Huh’ me. You are the oldest person here, after me. If you do not act responsibly, what kind of example will that set for the others?”

“U-Umm... I’m sorry?”

Yue hadn’t expected to get lectured by Tio, of all people. Furthermore, Tio had a good point. There was nothing Yue could say to argue back, especially with how mature Tio looked. Seeing how easily Tio cowed Yue, everyone present realized that Super Tio was even more impressive than they’d imagined.

Suzu’s pupils turned into hearts and she whispered “Onee-sama...” in a husky voice. Even Kaori and Shizuku were enamored by this new, improved Tio.

Yue, who was still in Tio’s arms, glanced up at her and muttered, “S-So this is... a real dragonman... Amazing.”

Kouki was entranced by this new Tio as well. Ryutarou, however, was sitting in a meditative pose, repeating, “Don’t let her fool you! This is all a ruse!” to himself.

“Haaah, I forgot that this is what Tio-san is like when she gets serious. If only she’d act like this all the time, we... Wait, Hajime-san? What’s wrong?”

Shea had already seen Super Tio once before, and thus was less shocked. She turned to Hajime, but was surprised to see an expressionless look on his face. No, upon closer inspection, she realized he seemed almost frustrated. A second later, he got to his feet and pushed Suzu and Kaori, who were crowding around Tio, aside.

“Hey, Tio.”

“Yes, Master?”

Tio smiled gently at Hajime. However, he gripped both of her shoulders and shouted, “That’s not the reaction I want! This is all wrong! Tio!”

“Wh-What is it, Master? Please, calm down and—”

Though she was shaken, Tio quickly regained her composure and tried to calmly deal with Hajime. But he interrupted her with an anguished shout.

“You have to remember who you truly are!”

Even though it was his own fault Tio had become like this, Hajime couldn’t bear to witness Super Tio.

“You’re a pervert! A completely hopeless pervert!”

“E-Even if you are my master, I cannot allow you to—”

Hajime pressed down hard enough on Tio’s shoulders that they started to hurt. Tio, in turn, scrunched her face up in pain, but Hajime ignored her.

“You’re the only person in the whole world, no, the whole universe, who’d be happy to receive a pile driver in the ass!”

“Th-That was an unfortunate moment of indiscretion...”

“Wake up, Tio! You’re the kind of creepy pervert who’ll slide out of the bars of your cage and get your ass stuck and strip at inopportune moments! That’s who you really are!”

Yue and the others were speechless. They couldn’t believe Hajime was actually saying all of this to Tio when she was being serious for once. But, at the same time, he looked so desperate that they couldn’t bring themselves to interrupt him. They just looked back and forth between Hajime and Tio in confusion.

“You’re a worthless, perverted dragon who finds pleasure in even the most heinous of punishments!”

“...Heh.”

Huh? Is it just me... or does Tio-san suddenly look different... Shea though.

“You’re the beloved princess of the Klarus clan, aren’t you!?”

“Haaah... Haaah...”

“A Tio who’s just mature and understanding is like a hamburger without the patty! Or like flat soda! Or curry rice without the rice! You’re not Tio without the perverted parts of you!”

Tio looked up at Hajime, a look of ecstasy on her face as she waited for him to deliver the final blow.

“Return to your senses! I want the one and only super masochistic, perverted, Tio!”

“Aaaaaah! Please, insult me more, Master! Punish this perverted dragon!”

The old Tio had come back. Smiling, Hajime said, “Welcome back, Tio.”

Drooling, Tio smiled lovingly.

“I have returned, Master. And you have cleared yet another one of my trials. I love you.”

“I don’t love you, though.”

“Oh, Master...”

Tio and Hajime both chuckled. Everyone else watched on, thinking, You better take responsibility for this, Hajime.

However, at the same time, they hated how they felt a little relieved at the return of normal Tio.

Arifureta Fairy Tales: Aladdin

Long ago, there lived a poor boy named Aladdin. His parents had wasted all their money buying anime merchandise and had fallen into poverty. But Aladdin himself was an otaku, so he couldn’t really complain.

However, one day, a magician claiming to be a distant relative of his appeared before Aladdin. The magician was covered from head to toe in a long robe, even their face was hidden under a large hood. Though they claimed to be a relative, they seemed quite suspicious to Aladdin. In fact, he had never seen anyone more suspicious in his life. He was certain the magician was a swindler of some sort. And thinking back, he remembered there had been plenty of scammers recently who’d been going around telling people about how there were amazing jobs where they could make thousands of dollars a day doing relatively little work, when in truth they were running around looking for people to kidnap and bring back to brothels and the like.

Believing the magician to be one such scammer, Aladdin drew the pistol he carried for self-defense and pointed it at the magician. Surprised, the magician jumped back and lowered their hood. They looked Aladdin over more carefully, then said in a surprised voice, “Sorry... I lied. I’m not related to you. I’m your wife.”

The magician’s statement just made her seem even more suspicious. Naturally, Aladdin replied, “I see. That makes sense. When are we holding the wedding?”

It appeared he’d taken the magician’s words at face value. Unfortunately, her beauty had captivated him, preventing him from thinking straight. It was her fault for being so damn pretty. Even if this was some kind of marriage fraud, Aladdin would happily let this beautiful magician defraud him.

“This afternoon...”

The magician’s eyes sparkled. She wasn’t even thinking of defrauding Aladdin anymore. Initially, she’d approached him with the intent to scam him, but now all she cared about was becoming his bride. And thus, the pair were married just hours after their first meeting. But before they could hold their wedding ceremony, the magician asked one request of Aladdin.

“Before we get married... can you help me get a magic lamp from a cave?”

“What kind of magic lamp?”

“Mmm... Supposedly, a genie who can grant any wish lives within the lamp. If we have that...”

“If we have that, then what?”

“We’ll... be able to hold the greatest wedding ever.”

“Magician girl... are you a genius!?”

There was no one around to stop them. Aladdin and the magician headed to the cave for their first date, flirting all the while. They entered the cave together, and explored its depths, while talking about what other wishes they’d ask the genie for once they’d finished their wedding. They were tired of the desert, so they were thinking of asking the genie to build them a nice, white house on the coast. A house with a king-sized bed, of course. They neither tumbled into the abyss, nor had to worry about any seals, nor fight any dangerous guardians of the cave to reach the lamp. In fact, they found it quite easily. Believing they’d already succeeded, they grabbed the lamp and turned to leave. Unfortunately for them, trials often appear when one least expects them.

“Wait right there, Aladdin-kun! Don’t let that witch trick you!”

The princess of the country suddenly appeared at the entrance of the cave with a retinue of soldiers.

“How dare you trick Aladdin-kun into following you into this cave, you witch! What kind of obscene things were you planning to... I mean, what kind of naughty... I mean, what kind of horrible things were you planning to do to him!?”

“I’m worried about this country with you in charge!”

The magician glared at the princess, wondering how this country managed to run when its leaders were like this. She was, of course, unaware of the irony that she’d been acting basically the same way moments ago.

“Now come, Aladdin-kun! Marry me instead!”

Smiling, the princess proposed to Aladdin. The soldiers standing behind her all gave her disappointed looks. It was obvious they were worried for the future of this country as well.

Upon hearing the princess’ proposal, Aladdin said, “Uhhh, who the heck are you?”

He eyed the princess suspiciously. In truth, the princess had had her eye on Aladdin for quite some time now. One could even say she’d been stalking him. However, they’d never actually met before. But when the princess had seen a witch suddenly appear before him, she’d rushed out without considering how strange it was for her to chase after a man she’d never actually talked to. It was little wonder that the soldiers seemed so disappointed.

“Hmph, you seem to be misunderstanding something, Princess. Aladdin’s already my husband. Now, get out of here.”

The witch clung to Aladdin and grinned at the princess. Aladdin hugged the witch back, and the princess’ soldiers started urging her to return to the palace. However, the word retreat didn’t exist in this love-struck princess’ dictionary.

“Fine, now that it’s come to this, there’s no turning back! Come, genie of the ring!”

The princess rubbed the ring on her hand and chanted an incantation. A second later, a person appeared in midair.

“What is it, Princess? I have told you time and time again that I shall not recognize you as my master. You lack the sadistic temperament for it.”

Apparently the princess’ ring was a magical object that summoned a perverted, wish-granting genie.

“Pervert of the ring! Seal that witch in this cave! Then teleport me and Aladdin-kun to the castle!”

“As I said before, I have no intention of listening to... Oho!? Do mine eyes deceive me!? That young man over there seems to have the makings of a wonderful sadist! His sadist power levels are... over 9000!?”

It appeared the pervert of the ring had the special ability to measure the sadism levels of others. The moment she spotted Aladdin, her indifference toward the current proceedings vanished. By the time the witch realized this pervert was a threat, it was already too late.

“I have finally found the master I am fated to serve!”

“Pervert of the ring, please!”

“As you wish! Take this!”

The pervert of the ring snapped her fingers, and the princess, her soldiers, herself, and Aladdin all vanished in a puff of smoke. She’d teleported them all back to the princess’ castle. At the same time, there was a deep rumbling, and the entrance of the cave collapsed, trapping the witch inside.

“C-Curse you, Princess...”

The witch angrily stamped her feet. She had to get her beloved Aladdin back somehow.

You’ll pay for this, Princess... But before she could slaughter the princess or recover Aladdin, she needed to first get out of the cave.

“Hmph, you underestimated me.”

Once her anger receded somewhat, the witch suddenly remembered she still had the lamp. She pulled it out of her pocket and stared at it. No doubt the princess was too busy fawning over Aladdin to even consider the possibility that there might have been a second genie summoning item.

“Wait for me, Aladdin. I’ll save you! Come, genie of the lamp!”

The witch rubbed the lamp, and a pair of bunny ears popped out of it in a puff of smoke.

“The bunny of the lamp has arrived! You rang?”

The bunny girl fully emerged from the lamp, her voluptuous breasts bouncing up and down. Looking at them annoyed the witch, but she pushed her feelings aside and cleared her throat.

“Get me out of this cave.”

“As you wish! Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The genie fulfilled the witch’s wish through surprisingly physical means. She made a fist and punched through the rubble in one blow.

“Umm, next, can you take me to the castle?”

The witch asked hesitantly, worried her wish would be granted in a less-than-gentle manner.

“Your wish is my command! Come, get on my back! Hurry up now!”

“Uhhh, okay...”

The witch’s hopes that the bunny girl would teleport them like the pervert of the ring had were horribly dashed.

“Off we go! Dash like the wind!”

As the bunny girl promised, she did indeed dash like the wind. She brought the witch to the castle within seconds, and punched the hell out of any guards standing in her way. Then, she kicked open the castle gates and brought the witch to the princess’ room. Wordlessly, the bunny girl challenged the princess’ genie to a duel. After all, that was the only way to settle this feud.

And so, the bunny of the lamp and the pervert of the ring squared off, while the princess and the witch stared each other down. The battle began, and it was so ferocious that an entire section of the castle was destroyed in the ensuing turmoil. The soldiers guarding the castle began considering a career change, while the citizens in the city fled the palace’s vicinity.

“Aladdin-kun, if you marry me, you’ll be able to use the special magic of the royal family: authority! You’ll be able to grant all of your wishes, so marry me!”

“Mmm... what a vulgar approach. Don’t worry, Aladdin, I’ll grant any wish of yours myself.” The witch countered.

“Master, I’ll grant any of your wishes as well, so please make me your pet!”

“Aladdin-san! Don’t you want a bunny girl wife!? I’ll use force to grant any wish you have!”

All four girls professed their desire to grant all of Aladdin’s wishes. And, as he watched the castle get demolished around him, he voiced the only wish he had.

“I wanna go home...” he mumbled with glazed over eyes.

Some time later, rumors spread throughout the kingdom that a certain remote region of the desert was constantly being blown apart by four women who were fighting over a very fortunate, or perhaps very unfortunate boy. But despite their constant bickering, it appeared they were all good friends.

Vandre-san’s Secret Room

“Nagumooooooooo! Can you come over here for a sec?” Ryutarou’s voice echoed through Vandre’s palace. Hajime, who’d been reclining in the living room, turned around.

“What is it?”

Ryutarou, who still had boundless amounts of energy, had been exploring the palace along with Kouki and Suzu. It had been ten minutes since he’d set off, and judging by his panicked voice, it seemed like he’d gotten himself into some kind of mess. Hajime exchanged glances with Yue and the others, and they all gave him rueful smiles.

“Nagumo-kuuuuuuuuun!”

Suzu started calling for Hajime as well, but her voice seemed more full of curiosity than panicked.

“Good grief. Ryutarou and Suzu both have far too much energy,” Shizuku muttered to herself.

See, this is why everyone calls you their mom...

“Nagumo-kun?”

Shizuku smiled darkly at Hajime. It was as if she could read his thoughts.

“Seems they found something. Let’s go see what it is.”

It looked like Shizuku was about to awaken to her own stand, and that was the last thing Hajime wanted to have to deal with. And so, he quickly changed the subject and got to his feet. They found Ryutarou and the others standing around inside a small room in a corner of the first floor.

When Ryutarou spotted Hajime, he excitedly pointed to a spot on the wall and said, “Look! Look!”

He was pointing to a small passage that contained a staircase leading downward.

“The hell’s this?”

“So I was looking through this room, and when I crouched down to examine something, I accidentally smacked my head against this part of the wall.”

“Oh, and then it caved in to reveal this?”

Ryutarou scratched his head awkwardly and nodded. Apparently, he’d managed to hit a hidden switch with his head entirely by accident. And that switch had revealed this underground passage.

“A hidden room inside one of the Liberators’ houses... That does seem pretty interesting.”

“I know, right!?”

Ryutarou looked like an excited puppy. Suzu seemed just as eager to explore the hidden depths of Vandre’s palace. Kouki, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to restrain himself, but even he seemed curious. Yue and the others were interested in this hidden passage as well, so there seemed little reason not to explore.

“Maybe he hid some artifacts here like Oscar did with his Treasure Trove. We might as well swipe whatever we... I mean, make use of whatever’s available.”

“Mmm... There’s no point in trying to sound like we’re not stealing, Hajime.”

Shea and the others nodded in agreement with Yue’s assessment. Hajime ignored them and stepped into the passage. After they got going down the staircase, they found something in the landing below. There was a display case stuck inside the ice wall at the end of the passage, and sitting inside that display case was—

“Why glasses!?”

A pair of glasses. They were black-rimmed, and placed very delicately in the display case, as if they were extremely important. As Hajime approached, the bottom of the display case lit up, causing the lenses to glimmer with reflected light. The whole scene was obviously scripted, and it kind of annoyed Hajime that Vandre was trying to make it look like these glasses had been waiting for a worthy bearer for thousands of years.

“Oh, Hajime-san! Look, there’s an inscription on the ice!”

“Oh? Let’s see what it says... ‘Here sleeps my best friend.’”

“I-Is it just me, or is he making it sound like the glasses themselves are his friend?” Shizuku said as her expression stiffened, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

However, Hajime muttered, “No, that’s not it. These... These glasses are Oscar Orcus.”

“Hajime-kun, I think you might still be exhausted from making the key. Here, I’ll cast restoration magic on you.”

Everyone shot worried looks at Hajime as silver light rained down on him.

“Hang on, guys. You’re misunderstanding me. Oscar wrote about this in his journal. He said all his friends thought he loved his glasses so much that his soul secretly resided inside them.”

“Oh? So the Liberators were pranksters?”

Suzu’s guess was right on the money, though she had no way of knowing it. Even so, she could just imagine Vandre saying something like, “Since you’re actually just your glasses, I’ll leave you here to show you off to future generations!”

The party continued onward, following the passage as it turned. Once they rounded the corner, they found something new.

“I-It’s so cool!” the three guys all said simultaneously. It was rare for them to be in sync like that, but it made sense, considering what they were staring at. A blue, rose patterned sword made of ice. The inscription on the plinth the sword was thrust into read, “Blue Rose Frost Blade.” As the name suggested, the sword was made entirely out of ice. Furthermore, everything from the hilt to the blade had rose-patterned carvings engraved into it. It looked like a legendary sword waiting to be drawn by some chosen hero. Any man would have been excited to see something like this.

“N-Nagumo! Can I try pulling it out!?”

“What, but... No, you’re the one who found this place, Sakagami... Fine, you try first.”

“I wanna try pulling it out too, Ryutarou...”

“You already have a special sword, Kouki! You can’t cheat on it!”

“Don’t phrase it like that! Wait, hang on! My Holy Sword’s flickering!”

“See, Amanogawa? It’s telling you not to cheat.”

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from, Nagumo!”

The girls watched the boys fawn over the sword with exasperated looks. As far as they could tell, it was just a sword made out of ice. Sure, it was pretty, but Hajime’s missiles were way more powerful than it. Naturally, they didn’t understand the excitement boys felt upon seeing cool-looking anime swords.

“Hurry up and pull it out already, Ryutarou,” Tio urged.

“O-Okay, Tio-san.”

Ryutarou was surprised to hear Tio sound so exasperated. She was normally extremely accommodating. He quickly grabbed the hilt, and Hajime and Kouki gulped. Yue and the others watched with bemused smiles.

“Here I goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Ryutarou’s muscles bulged, but the legendary ice sword didn’t even budge.

“I’m next!” Hajime shouted.

“Hang on, you’re a gunner, Nagumo! I’m the swordsman, so I should go next!”

“Yeah, but you’ve already got a legendary sword! You can’t cheat on it!”

“Stop calling it cheating! You don’t have the right to talk about cheating, anyway!”

The two boys grappled for a few seconds, but then Suzu noticed something and walked over to the plinth.

“Oh, there’s more written over here. Let’s see... Only those who wish to eliminate glasses from this world can draw this sword. If you are found worthy, it is your sacred duty to destroy all glasses!”

Just how much did you hate Oscar, Vandre!? everyone thought simultaneously.

“B-But didn’t he put those glasses up on display earlier? He must have gotten those from Oscar-san, right? Surely they were friends, right?” Kaori asked, desperately looking about for a reason to believe that the Liberators had all been close.

Seeing her distress, Hajime muttered, “Come to think of it, Oscar mentioned in his diary that Vandre was half-demon, half-dragoman.”

“Oho? Is that so? Judging by all the ice around here, he must have been an ice dragon, no?”

“Yeah. And there was a sword similar to this one in Oscar’s workshop.”

“Hang on a second, Nagumo-kun. I have a bad feeling about where you’re going with this.”

“You guessed it. The sword was called Dragon Slayer.”

Those two must have fought like cats and dogs... Yue and the others thought to themselves.

“Hmm, but you know, when all’s said and done, it looks like they cared a lot about each other. I mean, they left behind these mementos of each other, didn’t they?”

Smiling wryly after saying that, Shea turned to Kaori and Yue. Everyone else’s gazes shifted over to them as well, and they all smiled knowingly at the two girls.

“I-It’s not the same situation! I really do hate Kaori!”

“I-It’s not the same situation! I really do hate Yue!”

The two of them responded in perfect sync. Then, they glared at each other, mad that the other had stolen their line. In retrospect, it was entirely possible Oscar and Vandre had shared an identical relationship...