Demon's Labyrinth, Seiryuu City, DesuMachi Planet…
Hachiman and his group continued moving forward despite Sora's earlier blunder. Now though she was actively taking the lead the beastkin trio in fighting the monsters. Hachiman on the other hand stayed near the rear, occasionally applying shields over them when needed.
The reason Sora was charging ahead was simple. 'I already messed up once. And once Mei-nee learns about it… I'm done for. So I'll enjoy what's left of my freedom.'
At the moment, the three kids and Liza were fighting a giant frog-like monster. Sora swung a massive hammer with a purple‑diamond she named as "Kuru‑Kuru Hammer," a gift from Herta after Sora begged her with puppy‑dog eyes to make one for her like the one her puppets used in combat.
"Take this! Kuru‑Kuru hammer!!" Sora shouted, spinning the hammer before slamming it into the frog.
"Gruu!!" Champ's eyes lit as he followed up with a solid punch, dropping the monster's HP to around 10%.
Seeing the chance, Liza thrust her spear straight into the frog's mouth with all her strength. Pochi and Tama jumped from opposite sides, landing clean dagger strikes to its head.
The giant frog collapsed helplessly, its HP hitting zero under their combined assault.
"Now that's what you call teamwork," Sora declared proudly. One hand rested on her hip while the other held her Kuru-Kuru Hammer like a trophy. "Alright, everyone, you all did a great job!"
"Yes!" Liza smiled brightly, her tail swaying with joy.
"Ay!" "Nano desu!"
Tama and Pochi raised their hands in cheerful celebration.
'Hmm, looks like leveling up really helped these three,' Hachiman thought. 'Their performance is completely different from before.'
Just as Hachiman noted, in only a few hours inside the labyrinth, the once weak and timid beastkin girls were now confidently fighting at the front. Even Tama and Pochi—who originally had no skills or combat experience—had grown from level 2 all the way to level 10, along with Liza.
"Hachi-nii!!! There's a house here!!" Sora shouted, pointing excitedly at the far wall.
"Huh?" Hachiman's eyes widened. "Wait for me, Sora! Don't do anything reckless!"
He ran toward Sora, Pochi, Tama, and Wan‑chan. When he arrived, he was surprised to see the house wasn't in terrible condition. The roof may had been cleanly cut in two, but the foundations and walls were still intact.
'It was probably swallowed up when the labyrinth formed earlier,' Hachiman thought, glancing at the minimap in the corner of his vision. 'Unfortunately… there are no human signs.'
Deciding what to do, he turned to the others. "Alright. Liza, dismantle the frog monster. Champ, guard her. Sora, Tama, Pochi—follow me inside so we can check what's left. Wan‑chan, stay here and guard the entrance."
"Roger~!" Sora saluted.
"Roger, nyaa~!" "Roger nano desu!"
Tama and Pochi copied Sora and saluted enthusiastically.
"Understood, Master," Liza nodded.
"Arf!" Wan‑chan barked.
"Gruu," Champ hummed.
With everyone moving to their assigned tasks, the group entering the house stepped inside. There were no corpses—only scattered belongings. From what Hachiman saw, this must have been the home of a wealthy family. He went his way towards the stairs leading to the second floor while Sora and the two kids went to check the ground floor.
Hachiman found two ornamental short swords displayed at the pedestal of the stairway which surprisingly had a decent in attack power when he checked them with his appraisal skill. And in true cliché fashion, he even found a hidden safe behind a wall painting. He casually broke the lock off with his bare hand and checked the inside.
He found a couple of bags with a decent amount of gold and jewels, he also found a small vial labeled Dragon Powder. He pocketed a modest amount of jewelry and money, but left the big items—statues, artwork, and anything too bulky—where they were.
After exploring the second floor, he stumbled into a library-like room filled with books, scrolls, and even potion bottles scattered across the tables. Flipping through a few of them, he realized everything was about magic. One scan of a scroll confirmed it as a Magic Scroll.
Since he had no idea how to use any of it, he simply stored everything in his inventory. He could let Hajime and the others deal with it later.
"...Yep, I totally feel like I'm scavenging items in a game now," Hachiman muttered.
As if acknowledging him, his system chimed.
[Skill Acquired: Excavation]
[Skill Acquired: Treasure Hunting]
[Skill Acquired: Treasure Chest Unlocking]
Hachiman stared blankly. He didn't even have the energy to tsukkomi at how perfectly timed the notifications were.
Down at the ground floor Sora and the girls were at the kitchen. Sora found a magic tool called a Tinder Rod, perfect for starting a fire. She also discovered water jugs, oil, spices, and plenty of usable cooking ingredients.
Since everything was still in good condition, she stored the lot in her inventory. She was definitely not planning to use any of it to bribe Mei into softening her punishment. Absolutely not. She just didn't want to waste food. Really. That was the truth!
"Tama, secure all the pans and tableware! Mei-nee will like those!" Sora said absolutely without any ulterior motives.
"Aye~!" Tama replied, immediately getting to work.
"There is cheese and dried meat here, nano desu!" Pochi pointed out excitedly.
Sora glanced over where Pochi is pointing at, and spotted large loaves of bread, three lumps of cheese, and smoked meat laid neatly on the table. After using appraisal to confirm the food wasn't rotten, she sliced pieces for Pochi and Tama.
"Let's eat the rest together with everyone," Sora said.
"Ay!"
"Yes! It's delicious no desu~."
Sora packed everything into a bag and asked Tama and Pochi to help her carry it. As they stepped out, they met up with Hachiman, who was descending from the pedestal holding two short swords and a few potions.
"It's Master, no desu!"
"We found food~"
"Seems like you found quite a lot of good things, huh," Hachiman said as Pochi and Tama proudly showed him their haul.
"Ehem! We are a great team after all," Sora declared, puffing out her chest with a smug grin. "What about you, Hachi-nii? What did you get?"
"Hmm, aside from these swords, I picked up some books and scrolls about magic—and a few magical ingredients," he replied as they walked out of the house.
When they stepped outside, Liza and Champ were already waiting beside Wan-chan. The dismantling of the frog monster had finished a while ago, and they had been waiting for the group to return.
"Liza!" Sora called out. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"We are back, nano desu!"
"We brought back cheese and meat~!"
"It's fine, Sora-sama, as long as you are safe," Liza said with a bow, before turning to Hachiman. "Master, I have a request... Is it alright for me to light a fire?"
Hachiman raised a brow. "Fire in an underground place? What's your reason?"
Liza fidgeted, cheeks turning red. "U-Um… well, I want to eat the frog's meat… I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. But is that safe to eat?" Hachiman asked.
"Yes, it's fine. I've dismantled and eaten a frog from the same family before. Some organs are poisonous, but as long as we avoid those, it's safe. The only danger is if it isn't roasted properly…" she explained.
"Hmmm…" Hachiman pursed his lips, thinking. 'Well, even if we're underground, there's airflow, and we climbed up a good distance. Oxygen shouldn't be an issue.'
"Alright, go ahead," he agreed.
With permission granted, Liza instructed Pochi and Tama to cut the frog's legs while she gathered wood blocks and chips from around the room. Sora stopped her from using flint and proudly pulled out the Tinder Rod she'd found earlier, using it to start the fire.
She also took out from her inventory a bunch of cookingware and tableware along with oil, salt, and spices that she got inside the house and handed them to Liza. Much to Hachiman's growing exasperation. When she caught him staring at her, Sora quickly turned away and attempted to whistle… but no sound came out.
'This girl... is she planning on giving those to Mei as a peace offering?' Hachiman thought.
Before long, Tama and Pochi were holding the frog legs high above their heads, eager and excited.
"Meat~"
"Nano desu~"
Both of them chimed happily, their voices almost humming with excitement. Liza cut the meat into pieces and lined them up on the frying pan after adding a bit of oil. She sprinkled salt, pepper, and the spices Sora had handed her. Soon enough, the smell of fried meat filled the room. Pochi and Tama leaned forward, little drools forming at the corners of their mouths. Even Sora looked curious and interested.
After cooking for a while, Liza pierced the roasted meat with skewers and offered them to Hachiman and Sora.
"Thank you, Liza," they both said as they accepted the food.
They exchanged a quick look, then looked down at the frog meat. Taking a small breath, mentally preparing themselves, they each took a bite. After a few chews, Sora and Hachiman's eyes lit up—it tasted far better than they expected.
"Wow! It's way better than I thought it'd be~!" Sora said.
"Yeah, it tastes similar to chicken, alright," Hachiman added.
Seeing their reactions, Liza let out a small breath of relief. Hachiman glanced at the three girls, noticing they still hadn't started eating.
"Stop staring at us and eat already. If you don't eat and rest properly, we're not getting out of the labyrinth," he told them.
After that, Pochi and Tama began eating the meat straight from the frying pan. While Liza wasn't just frying—she was also properly enjoying her share. Laughing at the scene, Sora pulled out the bread and cheese they'd taken from the house.
She sliced the bread, added cheese, and placed some of the meat inside. Then she took out a jar of mayonnaise from her storage and added a generous amount, creating an impromptu frog‑meat sandwich. Seeing her, Hachiman grabbed a slice of bread as well, along with some butter and eggs.
Using the Trailblaze™ camping cooking set, he made an omelette, placed bread over the pan to toast it, then layered cheese, frog meat, and a drizzle of barbecue sauce on top. He fixed the sandwich, flipped it once more to finish toasting, then finally lifted it and took a bite.
"Hmm! Now that's good food," he muttered, pulling out his Max Coffee and taking a sip before continuing to eat.
"Kuu, I lost…!" Sora muttered. Watching Hachiman make his sandwich somehow made hers taste less impressive.
Noticing the stares of the three beastkin girls, Hachiman raised a brow as he took another bite. "Feel free to use the bread and cheese, alright?"
"We can?!" all three asked in unison.
"Yes," Hachiman replied simply. "And you can use the sauces and eggs too, if you want to.""
After that, the cycle of dismantling, frying, and eating repeated for about thirty minutes, their little banquet ending only when the last of the fuel burned out. At Liza's suggestion, they wrapped a lump of cooked meat in cloth and stored it away for later.
Once they finished eating, Hachiman prepared a warm bath for everyone to wash off the grime of the labyrinth. He also handed Pochi, Tama, and Liza fresh clothes, insisting they throw away the rags they'd been wearing. After cleaning up, exhaustion finally caught up with them.
Pochi and Tama curled up against Sora, using Wan‑chan's body as a warm cushion while they drifted off. Liza slept seated, leaning gently against a broken section of wall. Hachiman sat nearby, watching over them with a small, content smile.
—----
Demon's Labyrinth, Mei's side.
Like on Hachiman's side, Mei and her group were also resting in the rooms they had secured. For a group of nearly twenty—most of them civilians—it was impressive how smoothly their progress had been. Because of that, Mei's reputation as a 'hero' was quickly solidifying in their hearts.
Even with Auna and the others supporting her, most of the enemies they encountered were defeated by Mei almost instantly. The rest of the group mostly focused on tending to the injured or giving relief to the people they managed to rescue. But in the past few rooms, all they found were corpses—no survivors left.
On the bright side, just like Hachiman's team, they eventually found a small inn-like house where they decided to rest. They also encountered the same type of giant frog monster. When a butcher in their group asked if Mei could kill it while keeping the body intact—since it could feed their large group—Mei agreed without hesitation.
After the monster was killed, the butcher quickly dismantled the frog, preparing the meat for cooking. Since they were lucky enough to be inside an inn, there was a functioning stove and plenty of usable ingredients.
Wanting to destress herself, Mei stepped forward and took charge of the kitchen. Her mind, however, kept drifting—worrying for Kagura, for Hachiman and Sora, even the sudden 'earthquake' earlier. Before she knew it, her body slipped into autopilot.
Everyone watched in awe as Mei worked. What they assumed would be a simple meal slowly transformed into an elegant spread. The fragrance alone made several people pause mid‑task, and even those who had offered to help froze as they realized just how skilled Mei truly was.
By the time Mei snapped out of her cooking trance, she blinked in surprise. Without even realizing it, she had already prepared several different dishes—from simple roasted frog meat, to a proper steak, to a beautifully baked creamy quiche. The entire room stared at the feast, throats bobbing as their stomachs growled loudly.
Feeling shy under their collective gaze, Mei scratched her reddened cheeks. "...Ah… eh… Well… shall we eat?"
After a short prayer—each according to their own faith—they finally began to eat. And the instant the first bite touched their tongues, something exploded inside them. The texture and taste of the frog meat transformed completely; instead of monster meat, it tasted like the finest dish from a palace banquet.
Several people froze mid‑chew, eyes widening as flavors wrapped around them—no, around their whole existence. Even the pious Auna, usually prim and proper, let out a sound so un-ladylike that she immediately slapped both hands over her mouth, mortified.
Thankfully, no one noticed. Because everyone else was having their own equally embarrassing reactions. Some trembled, some slumped forward, some let out noises they would never admit to.
Mei watched with her mouth slightly open. For a moment, she wondered if she had accidentally mixed something… questionable into the food. She quickly checked the dishes she made and the status of everyone eating—but there was nothing abnormal.
'What just happened?!' she thought, completely bewildered.
When they finally snapped out of their daze, they continued eating with flushed cheeks, each taking small, shaky breaths as they tried to hide the embarrassing sounds escaping their lips.
'Seriously… what is happening to everyone?!' Mei thought again, both confused and increasingly worried.
Meanwhile, everyone had their own thoughts.
'I… I can't believe I made such noise!' Auna cried internally as she continued to eat, shoulders trembling. 'If someone heard that, I—I won't be able to marry anymore, Yukel!!'
'T-To think someone like me could make such a girlish tone!' Viscount Velton lamented as he took another bite. 'But why?! Why?! I can't stop eating! My dignity—!'
'Kuuuh…! Such a devastating impact!!' the Garleon priest thought, clutching his chest dramatically as he shoveled in another mouthful. 'I can't believe these were made from simple ingredients found in a tiny inn!'
Mei, still confused, cautiously asked, "Is… is everyone alright? All of you suddenly reacted so weirdly?"
""WE ARE OK! PLEASE DON'T MIND US!! ALSO—CAN WE HAVE SECONDS, PLEASE?!!""
Everyone—from Auna, to Viscount Velton, to the priest, to the rescued civilians—answered in perfect unison, startling Mei so hard she almost dropped her fork.
She instinctively leaned back, a small shiver of unease running through her. Their eyes were shining a little too brightly.
"O-Of course… t-there's plenty of seconds you can get…" she managed, feeling a mix of flattery and mild horror.
Their meal continued in complete silence afterward, the only sound coming from utensils scraping eagerly against plates. No one dared speak—they were too focused on eating, cheeks red and eyes dazed.
Sighing softly, Mei decided to ignore their uncanny reactions and focus on her own food.
'I just hope that Hachiman and Sora-chan are eating well.' she thought, a little knot of worry tightening in her chest.
'Heh, if you're that worried, why not just ask him directly?' her Herrscher self teased.
'Ah… that actually slipped my mind.' Mei muttered to herself as she pulled out her terminal and opened their messaging app.
Her smile instantly stiffened. The group chat showed 99+ unread messages. Ever since the "incident" where she and Hachiman casually called each other by name, the entire crew went wild—celebration-level wild.
Questions, teasing, memes, theories… well the usual chaos with the crew. And Hachiman, in true Hachiman fashion, disappeared right after dropping the bomb, ignoring every call from Noah and the others. Mei had escape too, switching her terminal to silent mode and pretending the world didn't exist.
Even her private messages were filled. Elysia, Kiana, Lumine, Sirin—everyone had pinged her. The Girls-Only group chat was even worse, with multiple tags aimed directly at her.
Mei ignored all of them and tapped on Hachiman's profile instead.
[Mei: Hi, how are you and Sora? I hope everything is alright on your side?]
She expected silence. Or him conveniently "not seeing" her message for the next three hours.
So when the reply notification popped up almost immediately, Mei actually froze.
Her eyes widened for a second before she forced herself to stay calm and opened the message.
[Hachiman: Yes, we are doing fine. Sora and the beastkin girls are sleeping and resting at the moment. After we had our meal.]
Only then did Mei exhale in relief, her shoulders relaxing as she typed her reply.
[Mei: That's great. I'm also having dinner right now with my group. We found a small inn and are using it as a temporary shelter.]
[Hachiman: ahh, same with us. We found a house and used it as a shelter as well.]
[Hachiman: By the way, how is your group? Any issues arise there?]
Mei blinked at his sudden question. His tone felt a little too serious for casual small talk.
[Mei: Hmm, nothing I guess? Well, aside from their strange politeness and almost… reverent attitude toward me, everything is fine. But…]
[Hachiman: But..?]
She hesitated. Part of her wanted to keep it to herself—out of embarrassment—but she knew Hachiman would worry more if she hid it.
[Mei: Well, everyone reacted strangely after taking a bite of the food I made… They all… well… let out some embarrassing sounds…]
[Hachiman: ...]
[Hachiman: You cooked food and… let them eat the same food you made?]
Mei blinked at his reaction, confused.
[Mei: Yes? Is something wrong?]
[Hachiman: ....]
She stared at the screen, perplexed by his sudden silence.
[Mei: Hachiman?]
[Hachiman: Sorry, it was nothing.]
[Mei: ???]
[Hachiman: Really, don't mind it. Also, don't worry about your companions. They're fine. They just experienced the Foodgasm and… well, weren't prepared for it.]
Mei choked on her food the moment she read that word. She coughed hard as her face turned bright red.
"Mei-sama! Are you alright?!" Auna rushed over, handing her a cup of water.
"D-don't worry, Auna-san. I'm fine. I just choked," Mei replied with a strained smile.
"If you say so…" Auna murmured, still unconvinced but returning to her meal.
Once Auna looked away, Mei snapped her attention back to her terminal, glaring at the screen.
[Mei: Geez!! Just what are you saying?! I choked on my food because of your weird words!!]
[Hachiman: ???]
[Hachiman: What? I didn't say anything strange though?]
[Mei: You DID!! You said that Food…gasm!! Whatever that word is!!]
[Hachiman: hmm, it seems that you are still clueless huh. Well that's fine as well. It's kinda adorable after all.]
Mei's cheeks went bright red. 'This man!!'
[Mei: Seriously!! Just what are you saying you fool!!]
[Mei: Calling me a-adorable or something! and even that embarrassing word!!]
[Hachiman: Hee… really now? How cute.]
[Mei:!!!!!!!!]
Mei's shoulders trembled, her food completely forgotten. Her cheeks were red as a tomato, practically steaming.
"Mei-sama? Are you truly alright? Your face is completely red," Auna asked again, even more worried this time.
"I-I… I'm fine! R-really!! I just remembered something embarrassing!" Mei blurted out, waving her hands frantically. Wanting to escape the topic entirely, she added, "More importantly—after eating, have everyone rest and sleep for a few hours. Only after that will we continue our way out."
She tried to sound calm, but her voice cracked halfway through.
"Haaa… if you say so," Auna replied, still skeptical but backing off.
As soon as Auna turned away, Mei bit her lip, her eyes burning with determination.
'Hachiman!!! I will absolutely get my revenge later!! I'll make you blush and squirm in embarrassment!!' Mei vowed fiercely in her thoughts.
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