"I hope you keep your word."
Felt sighed. "Put that weird power away and I'll give you the thing."
"No problem."
Under Aqua's disgusted stare, Hayashi Maki canceled his magic domain.
That "magic domain" was basically him instantly flaring his mana and taking control of all the mana in the area.
This world is saturated with mana, and every living being has mana in their body.
And now that he had Aqua's Water Authority, Hayashi Maki could also seize all the moisture in the air at will, forming a powerful water domain.
Of course, Water Authority had far more applications than that.
Watching him bully a little thief girl, Aqua only curled her lip and didn't stop him.
After all, the brat had just stolen something.
What really shocked her was Hayashi Maki's strength.
He'd just arrived in this world, supposedly a fresh transmigrated "hero," yet already had this absurd level of power.
She really had found a goldmine.
Once Hayashi Maki withdrew his domain, Felt finally let out a breath.
The next second, she lightly kicked off the ground and bolted.
"Run, Rom!"
But before either of them could get far, they were frozen in place again.
Hayashi Maki sighed.
"Little brat, do you ever learn? Still trying to be clever at a time like this?"
"U-uh… mister… I was wrong, please let us go!"
Being pinned down by an overwhelming force was terrifying enough to make Felt want to cry.
"Mister, don't hurt her. We'll give you everything!"
Rom had already realized fighting back was useless. All he could do was beg Hayashi Maki to spare Felt.
Hayashi Maki was just about to say something when there was a knock at the door.
Knock knock!
"Who's there?"
Felt swallowed hard and automatically called out.
A heartbeat later, the door was kicked open.
A silver-haired girl stepped in, practically shining in the doorway.
"It's me. I'm here for something that was stolen from me. Could you please return it? It's very important."
Emilia spoke seriously, raising her hand. Several ice crystals floated in front of her, ready to launch at the slightest provocation.
"It's you! Damn, you actually chased me all the way here? You're really persistent!"
Felt's face went dark the instant she saw her.
"But hey, miss, the thing you want already belongs to this guy. If you want it back, talk to him."
Her eyes flicked, and Felt promptly tossed the insignia to Hayashi Maki.
Emilia frowned, her gaze turning sharp as she looked at him.
"I remember you! So you are working with that sticky-fingered kid. You must've deliberately sent me the wrong way earlier, didn't you? Ugh…!"
Feeling betrayed, Emilia was furious. The ice around her flared, growing larger and sharper.
Hayashi Maki caught the insignia and suddenly lunged toward her.
"Look out!"
Shk!
"Ah!"
Emilia was tackled to the ground, still mid-anger, when something warm dripped onto her cheek.
"Y-you… you did that to…"
She saw his abdomen—ripped open, flesh torn, blood pouring out.
"Not the time to talk. Felt, watch out!"
Hayashi Maki pushed himself upright and slammed his fist upward, toward the ceiling above Felt.
There in the rafters, a woman in a black bodysuit, with a full, curvy chest and long black hair, crouched with twin curved blades in hand, staring coldly down at everyone.
Clearly, she'd been aiming to strike Felt from behind and got knocked out of position.
"Ah! That's the client who hired me!" Felt blurted. "What the hell is this supposed to mean!?"
"Heh. You've got some nerve," the woman said lazily. "I hired you to retrieve an item, and now you've let the original owner chase you all the way here. To keep things tidy, I'll have to kill everyone present."
This was the infamous assassin and mercenary known as the Bowel Hunter, Elsa.
As soon as she'd spoken, Elsa blurred forward.
In a flash, her blade slashed straight across Aqua's stomach.
"Ah!"
"OW OW OW OW OW!"
Aqua clutched her belly and dropped to the floor, eyes brimming with tears as she wailed.
But Hayashi Maki immediately noticed there wasn't even a scratch.
A goddess's defense was not something a mere assassin could pierce.
The pain, though—that was very real. Aqua's body was soft, but every sensation was completely human.
Elsa also felt that something was wrong.
Her blade hadn't cut into flesh at all—no resistance, no give.
Without time to dwell on it, she sprang backward, leaping away from Aqua.
A heartbeat later, the floor where she'd been standing exploded into rubble.
Hayashi Maki's counterattack had landed.
Emilia quickly snapped back to reality and raised both her hands, sending a barrage of ice spikes flying toward Elsa.
But the Bowel Hunter's movements were liquid and precise; Emilia couldn't land a hit.
"Hehe… little girl, you're a half-elf, aren't you? I've never opened up a half-elf before. I wonder if your intestines are any different from everyone else's?"
"I have no intention of letting you find out!" Emilia shot back, expression cold as she unleashed more magic.
"Puck! Help me!"
"On it, Lia~"
At her call, a small, gray-furred cat spirit popped into existence at her side.
Puck raised his fluffy paws and joined Emilia, launching icy blasts while also raising shimmering barriers whenever Elsa's blades came too close.
Meanwhile, Hayashi Maki had already healed his wound. He was currently stroking Aqua's hair to calm her down.
"Uu… Hayashi Maki, it really hurt! She actually tried to slice open my stomach—she's awful!"
"Hey, she didn't manage to pierce you, right? I'll rub it for you, it'll feel better."
And with that, he put his hands on her belly and started massaging.
Felt watched, utterly speechless, dagger clenched in hand.
"Mister! Is this really the time to be feeling up a woman's stomach!? Weren't you all cool and amazing earlier? Get back in there and help!"
"Exactly!" Puck chimed in. "Lia and I are giving it everything we've got, and you're over there relaxing? That's pretty unfair, don't you think?"
"…Haha, sorry, sorry," Hayashi Maki said, hands raised in a gesture of surrender. "I just thought it'd be nice to give a certain pretty half-elf a chance to shine for herself."
He nodded toward the battlefield.
"Besides, you two did freeze her, didn't you?"
Elsa's face twitched. "What?"
She glanced down, only now realizing her feet were frozen solid to the floor.
Puck grinned smugly. "My magic isn't just for show, you know. Good eye, kid. Alright, let's finish this!"
He and Emilia summoned a massive pillar of ice that surged forward, swallowing Elsa's position in an instant.
A few seconds later—
Hayashi Maki appeared at Emilia's side, one arm wrapping firmly around her waist, the other flaring with magic as he blocked a curved blade aimed right at her throat.
Puck's pupils shrank.
"She's still alive? That's a pretty ruthless escape method, especially for a woman…"
Elsa landed lightly a short distance away, her movements as graceful as ever.
Blood dripped from the raw edges of her ankles—but the bleeding was already slowing, the flesh beginning to knit under some twisted combat instinct.
To escape, she had sliced off the flesh of her own feet to slip free of the ice.
This woman really was a monster.
Emilia was still shaken, only now noticing she was being held firmly against Hayashi Maki's chest. Her cheeks flushed pink.
"Um… th-thank you… for saving me."
"No problem. Just lending a hand," Hayashi Maki replied with an easy smile. "Oh, and for the record, I'm not working with that little thief there. I didn't lie to you earlier—Felt really did run in the direction I pointed out."
"Eh? Really?" Emilia's emotions tangled for a moment.
Puck nodded. "He's not lying, Lia. This kid checks out."
"My time's up. I can't keep fighting," the spirit added. "If things really go south, you must summon me again, okay?"
"Mm, I understand. Thanks for your hard work, Puck. I'll handle the rest from here."
"Idiot daughter, this isn't about 'handling it' with effort…" Puck muttered, exasperated. He turned to Hayashi Maki.
"Hey, kid. Think I can ask you to look after my hopeless daughter for a bit?"
"Of course," Hayashi Maki said lightly. "Being able to protect such a beautiful girl is my honor."
"Good… then I can relax a little…" Puck gave him one last, searching look before dissipating.
He had seen the vast, unfathomable magic coiled inside Hayashi Maki, and he recognized that there was no ill will toward Emilia. That was enough, for now.