Songs in the Void: A Multiversal Score

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom, Carriage Ride to Horaud. 

Five days have passed since Tatsuo and James wiped out Freidhof from Fuhren and were promoted to Gold-Ranked Adventurers. Since then, the group spent two days in Fuhren shopping and seeing the sights with Myu. Then, they left to return to Heiligh. 

Meanwhile, Aiko, her students, and her paladin protection detail returned to Heiligh's Royal Capital. When they did, they were lucky enough to catch the Hero Party's Labyrinth Exploration team the day before they left for Horaud. And when they did, they let everyone know that Tatsuo and Sumire were still alive. 

While most people were relieved to hear that, Kouki was one of the exceptions. Instead, he made it a point to tell everyone that James was nothing more than a murderer. Because he killed Daisuke for no reason. And while there were a few people who listened to what he said, most of the students remembered Daisuke admitting to firing his spell at Tatsuo and Hajime on purpose. And that led to a lot of the students distancing themselves from him for reasons Kouki could not understand. 

Even worse for Kouki's psyche, Shizuku, in no uncertain terms, told Kouki that he was wrong, something that he could not understand. As a result, he found himself much more irritable after that. And he was completely unable to understand why. 

Unfortunately, that led to a certain bespectacled, black-haired girl hatching a plan to get rid of Shizuku for making Kouki so distraught. So, with the use of her specialty magic, [Necromancy], she send a message to someone in an attempt to get rid of Shizuku, who made Kouki look so lost. 

The next day, the Hero Party got in their carriages and started the trip to Horaud to continue climbing down the labyrinth, despite the fact that there was no reason to look for Tatsuo anymore. However, because they were nearing the ninetieth floor, they wanted to complete the labyrinth and maybe see the second half that they heard about from Aiko's retelling of her meeting with Tatsuo and Sumire. 

On a side note, Yukitoshi wass imprisoned when Aiko and her team returned to the Capital. Luckily, Aiko advocated on his behalf, as the punishment for treachery is usually death.

"*Sigh* I still can't believe that Soramoto and Minami-Sensei survived the fall off that bridge." Hajime, still feeling joy after finding out that Tatsuo, his best friend, was still alive, said with a smile on his face. 

"I know, it's great, isn't it?" Kaori replied in a bright tone while holding Hajime's hand. 

In response, Hajime squeezed Kaori's hand back and his smile widened. 

"I can't wait until we see him again." Hajime said. "I'll show him that the ideas he gave me were put to good use." 

As Hajime said that, he patted the bag he carried onto the carriage that contained his gear, two wrist mounted crossbows that do not hinder his movement in anyway, a set of light armor with metal that covers all the vital areas, and a pair of short swords that he worked his ass off to learn how to wield affectively when monsters get too close for his crossbows to be effective, and finally, a pair of gauntlets that the crossbows can be slotted into. Thee gloves also have [Transmutation Magic Circles] engraved on them so that he can use his magic when necessary. 

While that conversation was going on, Shizuku was sitting on the side of the carriage opposite Hajime and Kaori while staring blankly out of the window. In fact, ever since James left to go on the trip with Aiko, she has found herself doing that more and more. Partially because she did not realize how much James had affected her with his confession, and partially because she had truly grown tired of hearing Kouki insult him for something that she could not blame him for. 

"*Sigh*" Shizuku sighed audibly while rubbing the little wrinkle on her forehead. 

'I wish I had decided to go with Alaverus and Aiko-Sensei back then.' Shizuku muttered to herself. 'At least things would not feel so... Ugh! What am I even thinking? It's not like I even know him that well. I mean, how could I? Before we came here, he did not talk to me much because he and Kouki could never see eye to eye. Then, when we finally started getting to know each other, Kouki got in the way every chance he could.' 

"*Sigh*" Shizuku sighed once again. 

"Hey, Shizuku, is something wrong?" Kouki, unaware of the stress he had been putting on Shizuku asked in a genuinely concerned tone. 

"No, don't worry about it, Kouki." Shizuku replied. "I just have a lot on my mind." 

"Yeah, I understand." Kouki replied while nodding in understanding. "It must be about Alaverus, right?" 

Hearing that, Shizuku widened her eyes at the fact that Kouki actually understood what she was thinking. However, the next words out of his mouth made her want to sigh for a third time in less than as many minutes. 

"I mean, he tried to defend his actions of killing Hayama-Kun by saying that because of him, his cousin died." Kouki said. "But now that we know that Soramoto-Kun is still alive, it all sounds like he made it up to gain sympathy, doesn't it? He really is just a murderer. I bet he forced that confession out of him, too." 

In response, Shizuku could only shake her head. Meanwhile, everyone else on the carriage looked at Kouki like they did not know him. Everyone except for Eri, that is. Instead, she looked at him with fanatical devotion despite knowing that everything Kouki said had been made up to suit his own beliefs. 

However, the awkward silence brought on by Kouki's self-righteous words did not last long as everyone went back to their own conversations. On top of that, everyone whispered about the pair of boy and girl who sat in one corner of the carriage by themselves while talking awkwardly to each other. 

"Hey, Hajime-Kun." Kaori said quietly. "Do you think those two are ever going to stop dancing around each other and confess." 

The two Kaori was talking about were Ryutaro and Suzu. But Hajime did not know how to answer her question as he looked at them from the corner of his eyes. How could he be the right person to ask. He did not even notice Kaori's feelings, after all. Not while they were still on Earth, not while they were training before their first trip into the labyrinth, and not when Kaori came to his room the night before they went down in to the labyrinth. 

Hell, Hajime did not even consider that Kaori liked him until James outed Daisuke before throwing him into the abyss. And even then, it took a lot of thought before he actually believed it, despite all the care and attention Kaori was giving him after he thought Tatsuo died. 

"Who knows?" Hajime eventually replied in a noncommittal tone. 

Like that, the carriage ride continued. And just like their first trip to the labyrinth, the party arrived in Horaud just after sunset. They then went straight to the inn where they have stayed ever since that time. 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom, Horaud. 

"Finally, we're here." Suzu said as she hopped out of the carriage. "If the ride lasted any longer, Suzu was afraid she was going to break her butt." 

"Suzu, you shouldn't say that." Eri said in a reticent tone. 

"But it's true." Suzu whined in response. 

"Alright, everyone!" Meld said, raising his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "I don't think I have to tell you all this by now. But we'll start conquering the labyrinth first thing in the morning. So, make sure that you're well rested. Other than that, you're free to do as you like tonight." 

With that, the Hero Party shouted their understanding. Then, they started walking towards their rooms in the inn, as they had been using the same rooms ever since that first trip to the labyrinth. However, before they could get too far away from the carriages, all the students came to a stop. 

"No way..." Hajime muttered while looking at a certain vehicle parked near the carriages. 

"Is that a...?" Nagayama Jugo asked in a dumbfounded tone. 

"It's a car!" A young man with black hair that covered his eyes and wearing all black clothes shouted in surprise. 

Upon hearing that shout, everyone jumped in surprise. Then, they looked back at the source of the shout and sighed in exasperation. 

"Seriously, Endou-Kun, we need to put a bell on you, or something." Ayako, the girl that helped prove James' accusations about Daisuke correct back on the bridge, said in a joking tone while patting her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart. 

Ayako was not the only one scared by the young man's, Endou Kousuke's, exclamation, as he had a fairly thin presence. And that caused people to often overlook his presence. However, as someone with the [Assassin] Class, it worked in his favor in combat situations. 

Meanwhile, the person who was most affected by the sight of the car, or rather pickup truck, a GMC Hummer Ev Pickup truck, to be exact, was Hajime. Because he knew there was only one person in this world that would be able to make something like that. 

"He's here..." Hajime muttered, his emotions getting the better of him. 

"Huh? He? He who?" Kaori asked after overhearing Hajime's muttering. 

"He's here!" Hajime shouted again, not paying attention to Kaori's question. "Soramoto is here! He's staying in this inn right now!" 

Hajime's shout drew the attention of everyone else. And they all looked at him strangely. 

"What do you mean, Nagumo-Kun?" Shizuku asked in an expectant tone. 

"Yeah, tell us, Hajihaji." Suzu added. 

Immediately upon hearing Suzu's nickname for him, much of the winds was taken out of Hajime's sails. 

"*sigh* How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Taniguchi-San." Hajime asked in an exasperated tone. 

"And how many times do I have to tell you to call me, Suzu-Chan, like everyone else?" Suzu asked while resting her fists on her hips. 

"Anyway, I'm talking about Soramoto." Hajime said while ignoring Suzu's retort. He then pointed at the Hummer and continued. "I know you all recognize that. Or at least that it's a vehicle from our world. To be precise, that's a GMC Hummer Ev Pick-up Truck. And there's no way one of those should be here. Unless someone built it themselves. And there's only one person I know that could do that. And he's the only other person we all know with the [Synergist] Class." 

With that, the light of realization lit up in the eyes of all the other students. Then, most of them showed differing levels of excitement. They then noticed the CBR parked next to it when some of them went to take a better look at the Hummer. And that caused them to be even more excited. 

Meanwhile, Meld and the knights were still looking at the Hummer without being able to comprehend anything other than the fact that it was a vehicle of some sort due to the wheels they could see. Still, they had never seen such a carriage. And the fact that they could not see where the coachman would sit or where the horses would be connected to it confused them even more. As for the CBR, they had no idea what to make of it at all. 

"I told you Nagumo would be the first to realize that we were here." A male voice said from above. 

"I never doubted you, though." A second male voice said from the same direction. 

"It makes sense, he was the one you were closest to, after all." A third voice, this one female said from the same place as the first two. 

That short conversation cut through the excitement that was building among the students. They then went on guard before turning to look where the voices came from. When they did, they saw a trio of people, two males and one female sitting on the inn's roof and looking down at them with smiles on their faces. 

"Soramoto!" Hajime shouted. "Alaverus! Minami-Sensei! You're all here!" 

With that, Tatsuo jumped down from the roof of the inn, landing in front of Hajime who was running towards him. Then, when Hajime had gotten close enough, Tatsuo's gaze sharpened and he thrust his fist at Hajime. 

"The School of the Undefeated of the East!" Tatsuo shouted. 

"The Winds of the King!" Hajime replied on reflex while striking a pose. 

"Zenshin!" Both boys shouted as Hajime thrust his fist forward to connect with Tatsuo's. 

"Keiretsu!" Hajime shouted as he and Tatsuo began throwing punches at high speed. 

"Tempa Kyoran!" The two shouted in unison once again as they both threw punches at high speed. Then, as they threw their last punch and their fists met in the middle once again, they both continued. "Look, the east is burning red!" 

Then, as the two struck their final pose with their fists bumping, they both flared their [Energy] and mana, respectively. Then, from the point of contact, a bright flame of light blue and midnight purple began to rise from their fists while they held the pose for a while. 

Meanwhile, everyone else looked at them without knowing what to say. At the same time, Sumire and James both hopped off the roof before walking towards the reunited friends. 

"Ooh! Man, that gave me chills." James said with a wide smile on his face. "So fucking badass." 

"*Sigh* It must be a boy thing, I guess." Sumire said while smiling at how happy Tatsuo was to see Hajime again. 

"You know, I was expecting the light show to be red." Suzu said. 

"Yeah, they did say the east was burning red, after all.' Eri replied while trying to hide the disgust she was feeling now that James was in her presence. 

"Uh... What just happened?" Ryutaro asked while scratching the side of his head. 

"I have no idea." Kouki replied while watching Tatsuo and Hajime uncomprehendingly. 

"*Sigh*" Shizuku sighed while shaking her head with a wry smile on her face. 

In fact, Shizuku was quite aware of what just happened. She had seen that anime, after all. It was back when she was accompanying Kaori to get familiar with Hajime's hobbies. 

At that moment, Hajime realized what he had just done. Then, his face turned as red as a ripe tomato. 

"What exactly did you just make me do, Soramoto!" Hajime shouted in embarrassment while pointing an accusing finger at Tatsuo. 

However, before Tatsuo could reply, Kaori approached Hajime from behind and hugged his lowered arm with a smile. 

"That was great, Hajime-Kun." Kaori said excitedly. "You said you always wanted to do that. The School of the Undefeated of the East thing from Mobile Suit G Gundam, right? Now you finally got to do it." 

"And why does Kaori know what that was?" Kouki asked. 

"Because she actually cares about someone other than herself." Shizuku muttered under her breath. 

"No! No! No!" James said, wagging his finger at Kaori. "You got it wrong. It's Mobile Fighter G Gundam. Messing it up like that is heresy." 

However, it was not only James who was looking at Kaori with reproach. Tatsuo and Hajime were doing the same. And when she saw Hajime's expression, Kaori could not help blushing in embarrassment. 

"I knew that." Kaori said, trying to defend herself. "It's just all the other Gundam series are Mobile Suit-something. I just got a little mixed up." 

"Hahahaha!" Tatsuo and James laughed after seeing Kaori's expression. 

Then, while still laughing, Tatsuo took a step forward and patted Hajime on the shoulder. 

"Man, I gotta say, I didn't really believe it when James told me about you and Shirasaki-San." Tatsuo said while continuing to pat Hajime on the shoulder. "But I gotta say, you're really lucky, man. She's a real keeper. You better not let her get away." 

With that, Hajime once again blushed fiercely. Meanwhile, Kaori's's blush disappeared as she smiled brightly and hugged Hajime's arm a little tighter. 

"Anyway, let's head inside." Tatsuo said. "I'll tell you about what we've been up to since we fell into the abyss. I'll introduce you to the people we started traveling with since then, too." 

Tatsuo then led Sumire and James into the inn, towards the dining hall with Hajime, Kaori, the rest of the students, and the knights following them inside. Then, Tatsuo, Sumire, and James introduced the group to Aletia, Shea, Tio, and Myu before narrating their adventures after they were separated a little more than six months ago.