Haruhiro

"Once you die, there’s nothing left... the door to every possibility is closed. So, is it that strange that I want as few people to die as possible? If there’s no other way, then so be it, but if you’ve got something you can do, I think you ought to do it."

- Haruhiro, volume 6

Haruhiro (ハルヒロ, Haruhiro) is the main character of Hai to Gensō no Grimgar. After the death of Manato, he becomes the leader of his group. Though many initially perceives him as nothing special, he makes fast judgment in dire situations when overseeing a battle and gives quick tactical orders. Despite his tactic mind, he carries an inferiority complex with his fighting abilities and constantly compares himself and his team to stronger parties.

Appearance


Wavy brown hair and brown eyes, he would describe himself as "average". His most distinctive feature are his eyes, which always look tired, even though he isn't actually tired (in the anime version, he doesn't look that tired). Thus, he was given the  Thief name: Old Cat.

Personality
Haruhiro is an awkward person at first, steadily becoming more reliable and outgoing as the story progress. Though he is still awkward with new people as shown with Merry after Manato died. Before Manato's death he had taken on a support role in the group where he tries his best to keep morale up despite their poor earnings.

He's a bit sarcastic and cynical at times, usually with Ranta. This is more of a defense used due to his natural shyness. He took on the role of leader after Manato died despite having no aptitude for it, only doing it in order to survive with his friends. After assuming the role of leader, Renji offer's the party one gold piece, a sort of gift since Manato had died. Haru refuses, thinking they should earn the money themselves. Ranta then got more like a 'jerk' a short while after Haru assumed leadership often doing things his own way despite the risk to himself. When Haru confronts him about it, Ranta says that he doesn't want to just be one of their friends. He said he does his work as a team member and to leave it at that. Later on when fighting in the mines, Ranta states that Haru tends over complicates things and tries too hard to be like Manato.

As the leader of Team Haruhiro, after Manato's death, he is seen stumbling around in the role. He constantly compares himself to others and cannot shake the feeling he is one holding everyone's potential back, especially after various members receive invitations to join other parties. He does his best to stay calm under pressure and tries to look at the bigger picture. This aspect of him is especially apparent in battles as he continuously calls out enemies and gives orders to his teammates making sure no one takes on more than they can handle.

After assuming the role of leader, Haruhiro has become more mindful of his party members as seen when he notices Merry constantly checking her left wrist for the spell, 'protection' and when he pools the team's money to buy armor for Moguzo. This awareness also led him to learn the skill, 'assault' to make up for the team's lacking front line and attack power.

Before Grimgar
Haruhiro lived in an unnamed town with his childhood friend and neighbor Choko. Unbeknownst to Choko, Haruhiro liked her ever since preschool. Haruhiro often helped her in getting close to her own crush but never admitted his own feelings. He also had an older brother that he shared a room with.

Level 1
At the start of the series Haruhiro is first seen in Alterna tower, along with him were twelve other people apparently having no idea where they are, or who they are. Brittany, the commanding leader of the Alterna Frontier Army Volunteer Soldier Corps Red Moon, introduced them to Grimgar and gave them an option to join the reserve force for ten silvers. Having no other options, they all accept and Haruhiro formed a party with his fellow recruits: Manato, Moguzo, Yume, Shihoru and Ranta. His teammates chose their respective guilds while he chose the Thief's guild. The group had a slow start, still adapting to their surroundings. They hunt in Damlow and kill 0 - 2 goblins everyday. Eventually they were able to get stronger, acquiring new skills and buying new equipment. While hunting for goblins, they encounter a plate-armored goblins and a hobgoblin. Overconfident, they engage them and were quickly over-whelmed, they were late to realize this and as they retreated their leader and priest, Manato, got was injured by an arrow died from blood loss.

His death had a heavy impact on Haruhiro and the party spent the next few days grieving. Appointed by Manato himself before his last breath, Haruhiro becomes the new leader. Kikkawa introduces Haruhiro to Merry, a party jumper, as their new priest. Haruhiro and the others weren't used to how Merry operated in battle and this caused a conflict between everyone. The tension was ended when Hayashi told them about Merry's past and they began to accept each other. with an efficient priest on their side now, they were ready to face the plate-armor and hobgoblin. They struggled at first but with their new equipment, skills and a reformed approach in battle they were able to kill the plate-armored group and hobgoblin to avenge Manato.

Level 2
After witnessing Renji's team in action, Haruhiro convinces his team to hunt in the Cyrene Mines. They spent the next couple days adapting to the new environment until they decided to face Deathspot, the boss of the Cyrene Mines. In the boss level they unexpectedly encounter Merry's old teammates under the Undying King's Curse. Haruhiro was struggling with his counterpart, Ogu the thief of her old party. Merry helped them through removing the Undying King's Curse and eventually they were able to defeat them.

Haruhiro decided to retreat for now come back again but Deathspot suddenly appeared and scattered them, leaving Ranta by himself. At the upper floors they were finally able to reunite with Ranta and as they were about to rest, Deathspot came in and tried to attack them. Seeing no way out, Haruhiro decided to hold off Deathspot to let the others escape when the Gleaming Line miraculously appeared and showed Haruhiro the final blow to Deathspot. The team rejoiced after the death of Deathspot and obtained its bounty.

Level 3
After their victory over Deathspot, Haruhiro keeps looking for the gleaming line only to be distracted. They are informed of a new batch of recruits and along them is Choko, a quiet girl who comes up and stares at Haruhiro during their first meeting. Choko's party sleeps in the same lodging as Haruhiro's. The next day Ranta informs Haruhiro of a Red Moon Directive, a campaign invasion to Dead Head for one gold. Initially reluctant himself, Haruhiro refuses to make a decision immediately and gives the group a day to decide.

While thinking, he meets Choko again. Their exchange is a bit awkward at first but they find common ground through their shared class as thieves. Choko tells Haruhiro she and her team are taking on the order. The next day, Haruhiro convinces himself he wanted to take on the challenge anyway for the experience and reward, claiming Choko was only the last push. As the vote happens, Ranta and Moguzo raise their hands followed by Haruhiro and Shihoru. Shihoru herself wasn't paying attention and only voted with Haruhiro. Later in the night, Ranta asks the boys if they're interested in anyone and guesses that Haruhiro is interested in Yume. Haruhiro decides not to say anything only stating in his mind that out of the two girls who appeared in his head, Yume was not among them.

On the day of the invasion, Brittany explains the details to all reservists and places Choko's party and Haruhiro's in charge of the ladders, which angers Haruhiro and his teammates. With a little struggle, Haruhiro's and Choko's party are able to place the ladders unto the walls. The main force fails to breach the front gate and leaves the reservists on their own. Despite the power of team Renji, Haruhiro's and Choko's teams are forced into a melee with Haruhiro ordering his party members to protect Choko's party. They are able to charge inside the keep with the help of Kajiko's force who had broken through on the other side. Exhausted, the volunteer soldiers are spurred to life with the promise of 100 gold for Zoran Zeshuu, an orc warlord, and 50 gold for Abael, an orc sorcerer. Kajiko's Wild Angels split off while Team Renji rushes up the watchtower with a couple parties following after them. Haruhiro contemplates waiting on the first floor where it's safe but decides to go up, leaving Choko's team with the others who decided not to go for the bounty.

Haruhiro finds Team Renji in trouble and orders Ranta and Moguzo to protect the two girls of Renji's party. With his mind at ease, Renji is able to fight without holding back. The watchtower is clear but there's no sign of Zoran Zeshuu. A voice screams out and warns the volunteers of the battle below. Haruhiro rushes down the spiral staircase leaving his party members behind.

They find several dead reservists scattered on the floor and Zoran Zeshuu and his orc guard. Renji and his party engage Zoran Zeshuu and some of his guards. Haruhiro desperately looks for Choko and sees her being protected by one of her party members, a paladin nicknamed Mr. Tall. He can do nothing but watch as Mr. Tall is thrown aside and Choko is cut down by one of the orc guard.

Haruhiro instantly begins to recall his memories centering around Choko. He remembers his constant attempts to push her closer to her crushes despite his own love for her and even with his help, Choko never enters a relationship with anyone. Haruhiro recalls visiting a vending machine during the summer hoping for a chance meeting with Choko. One day, she asks him who he loves. He lies to her, knowing he isn't very good at it, and promises to tell her when he finds someone he loves.

Haruhiro's party tries to help but is overwhelmed by Shamans and Zoran's honor guards. After a few short fights against the orc guards, the party retreats back to the top of the watchtower. Haruhiro contemplates waiting for help to arrive and almost breaks down from the pressure of being the leader. He, however, recovers because of his wish to look cool in front of his teammates. After scouting out the situation downstairs, he rallies his teammates and head back to the first floor.

The Wild Angels arrive moments later and assist with the battle against Zoran Zeshuu. Haruhiro calls for Merry to heal Renji and sends Moguzo to hold the line against Zoran Zeshuu. Unable to participate in the battle against Zoran Zeshuu, he opts to hunt down Abael managing to corner him with his own trick while Ranta lands the finishing blow.

Haruhiro turns his attention to the fight against Zoran Zeshuu and quickly manages to spot an opening in the orc's right side. With some coordination they kill Zoran Zeshuu. Merry rushes over to Haruhiro and helps him to his feet. As everyone celebrates, Moguzo collapses.

Level 4
Waking up from a dream, Haruhiro finds Moguzo's bed empty and is gloomily reminded of his comrade's death. During the day he is instructed with proceedings of handling Moguzo's belongings and death certificate. Because the death certificate requires a signature from everyone in the party, Haruhiro recruits Shihoru to accompany him to inform erary. The atmosphere between them is awkward and any attempts made by Haruhiro to start a conversation is quickly shot down by Shihoru's short responses. He begins regretting his decision to bring her along and thinks they aren't very compatible. Once they find out Merry isn't anywhere to be found, Shihoru tells Haruhiro her feelings on Moguzo's death. She despises herself for feeling almost nothing and Haruhiro denies that she's a bad person, coming to the conclusion that Manato's death was the biggest shock she could have received. Merry appears afterward and tries to run away. They easily catch her as she's drunk. She yells at them to leave claiming she doesn't want to see them. Haruhiro accepts this but tells her to meet with them the next morning at eight. Before she enters her home he tells her, “We aren’t done yet. It’s okay to stop and stand still, but we have to move forward.”

The team assembles at their usual spot around eight o'clock and waits until ten but they don't see Mary. They come the next day and again she doesn't show. Ranta suggests barging into her room but is quickly shut down. On the third day, Merry is the first to arrive which surprises the group. She looks small and entirely out of it but Haruhiro counts it as a victory. They didn't beg her to come, they didn't force her to come, she came out of her own free will. They rush to greet her and Yume goes in with a flying hug. She tells Merry that she and Shihoru are planning to move to the place she lives in so that they can be together.

Haruhiro takes the party to Damuro to face goblins thinking that an easy, known enemy would be good practice for fighting without a tank. The outing is less than successful as Moguzo's death still has a hold on the party and causes Haruhiro to overexert himself. He's hit with two poisoned arrows and they are forced to return early. Haruhiro and the rest of his party decided to spend ten days learning skills to increase their offensive power. During that time Kuzaku, a.k.a. Mr. Tall, a paladin who is the surviving member of Choko's party, asks Haruhiro to join the party. Haruhiro does not want to him outright, as he still harbors some resentment for his failure to protect Choko, but is also unable to bring himself to replace Moguzo. He gives Kuzaku a vague answer and hopes he won't turn up again. A few days later, Haruhiro and Merry are the first to show up at the front gate. They wait several minutes but Ranta and the others are nowhere to be seen. Haruhiro begins to fear they won't show up at all when suddenly Kuzaku appears. The atmosphere changes immediately as Merry and Kuzaku both are unable to look at each other. They're saved when Ranta, Yume, and Shihoru arrive. They welcome Kuzaku and Haruhiro is left to wonder about the relationship between the two.

Deciding to change it up, the party heads out to the Lonesome Field Outpost in order to gain experience at the Wonder Hole. In their first trip inside they're targeted by the three weakest species living in the Wonder Hole. While the monsters aren't difficult by themselves, they come in large numbers which forces the party to retreat. They buy two tents, one for the girls and one for the boys as the journey back to Alterna would take too long.

Haruhiro, while never saying it, feels as if Kuzaku doesn't do enough, at least when compared to Moguzo. While sneaking out of his tent, he sees Kuzaku and Merry talking together. He's not close enough to hear and convinces himself he doesn't want to hear it anyway.

Their next trip into the Wonder Hole leads to a much more dangerous situation as Haruhiro and the group takes on more than they can handle. Despite his efforts, they're surrounded and he has to go fully on the offensive to survive. Luckily, Soma and his team save them from death. After a short exchange between Haruhiro and Soma, Haruhiro and the rest of the group are offered the chance to join the Day Breakers. He accepts on the group's behalf and is given a communication device. Before Soma and his team leave, he tells them to first defeat an Ustrel to explore more of the Wonder Hole.

Time passes and Team Haruhiro now runs through the territory of the three weakest species to train against Muryans, an ant-like species. Although the Muryans are stronger than the previous monsters, they are far fewer in number. While the fight isn't difficult nor dangerous as the team can retreat back to another part of the Wonder Hole where the Muryans won't follow, Haruhiro grows increasingly frustrated at Kuzaku's lack of initiative as he only does what's given to him.

They finish their exploration into the Wonder Hole for the day and gather for drinks. Kuzaku is berated by Ranta for failing to be like Moguzo, a good tank. Though Ranta's words are harsh, Haruhiro doesn't stop him as he also agrees.

They return to the Wonder Hole the next day and battle Muryans again. A little bit into the fight they notice the Muryans stop and retreat into their holes. The group immediately goes into high alert as an Ustrel slowly trudges toward them. They hide within the Muryan's holes and Haruhiro takes the initiative as the group's scout to observe the Ustrel. Things turn out badly and the group rushes out to help Haruhiro. Kazuku loses his shield in the ensuing battle and they soon realize they're no match for it and choose to hide instead. Ranta distracts the Ustrel while the others flee.

Haruhiro and Kuzaku hide in a demihuman hole. Haruhiro thinks for ways out of the situation but with Kuzaku in the state he's in, it's impossible to wait out the monster. As Haruhiro goes out Ranta is nowhere to be seen. He grabs the attention of the Ustrel while Kazuku rushes to the girls to get healed.

The fight is long, with everyone except for Merry attacking, but they finally manage to defeat the Ustrel thanks to Haruhiro's observation of the Ustrel's tiring legs.

Level 5
Takes place four months after the events of volume 4. Team Haruhiro has grown significantly since their early adventures into the Wonder Hole and are easily taking down Ustrels. After going further into the Wonder Hole, Team Haruhiro meets the Tokkis, a six member party lead by Tokimune, near a new hole inside the area. During their repeated adventures in and out of the Wonder Hole, Haruhiro finds himself the target of the Giantress, Mimori's, affection. She tells him to call her Mimorin and asks him if he'll be her pet to which he rejects. After a few days of working together, they discover the Dusk Realm. They agree to meet the next day and explore it together but are left behind by the Tokkis as they try to claim glory for themselves.

Kikkawa returns to the Wonder Hole from the Dusk Realm injured and alone. Merry heals him and he tells Haruhiro and the others about the cultists who ambushed them and of how priest magic does not work in the Dusk Realm. Haruhiro, despite feeling the sting of betrayal, decides to launch a rescue. Haruhiro heads in with the full intent on leaving Kikkawa and the Tokkis behind if things get rough.

As Kikkawak leads them deeper into the Dusk Realm they stumble across one-eyed dog monsters. Yume tells everyone to stay back as she tries to gain its trust. She fails and everyone jumps on it before it can escape. Dozens more of the same monster appear and the group is forced into a circle formation with Merry and Shihoru in the middle.

They manage to escape from the dogs and find the place where the rest of the Tokkis took shelter. Haruhiro goes ahead by himself and sees the bodies of one-eyed cultists. They hear screams and rush over. A fight ensues and all the cultists are killed, however, only two Tokkis are there, Tada and Inui. Haruhiro and the others learn that Mimori and the others ran away to protect Anna, the mascot and priest of their group.

While they search for Tokimune, Mimori, and Anna, the other Tokkis warn Haruhiro and his team about the cultist wielding a sword. Another fight takes place shortly after and the cultist with a sword appears. The cultist is stronger, faster, and smarter than the others but is taken down with teamwork. Ranta throws his weapon away and claims the cultist's sword.

Haruhiro has the idea to climb the building and quickly does so. He spots the three other Tokkis and leads the rest of the group toward them but a new enemy, a four meter tall giant, appears that they have to deal with. Tokimune and the other two girls leap down from the rooftops to assist and they all pound away at the giant. Mimori gets hurt in the fight and Haruhiro supports her as they run away. He gets severely wounded and fades in and out of consciousness imagining Manato, Moguzo, and Choko, as they carry him back to Grimgar.

The next thing he remembers is being healed by Merry's sacrament. They banter back and forth a bit, Inui telling Shihoru he loves her, Tokimune saying he owes them, Ranta complaining about his sword, and at the end of it, Mimori tells Haruhiro that he isn't pathetic and it's cute that he tries so hard. Mimori, this time, properly asks Haruhiro to go out with her and he responds with an, "I'm sorry."

Level 6
After defeating a few cult members, a giant, and a brief bout with Kuzuoka, Team Haruhiro and Tokkis finish their day's earnings and return to their camps. Haruhiro finds himself outside unable to sleep due to Ranta's snoring and the rowdy volunteer soldiers. He begins wishing to one day live alone, reflecting on his heavy role as a leader but he keeps his feelings to himself as he does not want to rock the boat. He discovers a secret meeting between Kuzaku and Merry with Kuzaku leading Merry away by the hand and, despite trying to be supportive in his thoughts, Haruhiro could no longer lie about his feelings for Merry claiming that if it had been anyone else in the party, no matter the pairing, his heart wouldn't hurt that much. He never admitted his crush on Merry before because he knew he'd never be able to get her to like him. He accepts his one-sided crush and tries to move on.

The team decides to go back to Alterna and learn new skills. While there, Haruhiro finishes his training and is invited out by Mimori and Anna under the assumption that Kikkawa would also be coming along but finds out they tricked him. Mimori confesses to Haruhiro again and Anna pressures him to accept. He wants to put her down gently, because he likes her as a person, but knows he has to be firm. Tears stream down Mimori's face after his rejection and she asks him if he'd maybe feel the same way about her in a year or so. Haruhiro responds saying that tomorrow is always uncertain.

Haruhiro receives an invitation from Soma to meet soon and, surprisingly, another famous team, Team Akira, is part of the Day Breakers. The Tokkis bring up the Giant God and Soma and Akira accept. Though reluctant, Haruhiro joins in as well so as not to lose face in the Day Breakers.

Haruhiro's team, along with the Tokkis, are made to dig a huge footfall trap in order to take down the Giant God who is estimated to be around 300 meters tall. Despite their best efforts and the constant usage of spells from Mimori, they're unable to make it deep enough before they lose steam and even the Tokkis aren't able to hold up their enthusiasm. Bored out of his mind, Tada screams a challenge at the hydra being led around by Akira's team. Everyone turns to run as the Hydra shifts its attention to them. They stop at a safe distance and Haruhiro confronts Tada about his reckless behavior. They literally butt heads and despite Haruhiro's meek nature, he doesn't back down from the heated exchange. Tada ends the clash by laughing and complimenting Haruhiro.

They decide to return to one of the towns in the Dusk Realm set up by residents of Grimgar. The town is mostly deserted filled with only volunteer soldiers there to take down the Giant God. A short fight breaks out between two notable soldiers and ends with them laughing it off. Their good mood is short lived when they see hundreds of cultists and giants charging toward the town.

Haruhiro falters after seeing their sheer numbers but regains his composure thanks to encouragement from his teammates, Merry in particular. He swears he won't let anyone else die and they prepare for battle.

The fighting is hectic and everyone scatters as soon as the white giants come charging in. Haruhiro runs away with Ranta, a four meter tall white giant chasing after them, but can't quite escape. He decides to turn and slip through the giant's legs.

He begins looking for the rest of the team and finds them easily enough except for Should I who is nowhere to be seen. They run around the battlefield screaming her name when Haruhiro gets an idea of where she might be. He and the others quickly rush to the valley while the other volunteer soldiers fight back white giants and cultists. As they reach the valley, cultists rush them forcing Haruhiro, Kuzaku, Ranta, and Merry to turn and fight while Yume goes to bring Shihoru out from the valley.

A long fight ensues with Haruhiro doing his best to support the team and thin out the numbers of the cultists and giants. They trick one giant into falling down the valley and eventually regroup with the Tokkis. All the adventurers take a stand together until a hydra comes, sending everyone into a panic. Soma's and Akira's team arrives just in time and revitalizes everyone's spirits by engaging the hydra head on and pushing it back.

As Soma and Akira, along with some of their party members, fight, Haruhiro speaks with Gogh who suggests they retreat to which Haruhiro urges him to fight on because he'd rather no one give up their lives so that the others can escape. Gogh accepts his request and relays it to Akira and Soma who both agree. The volunteer soldiers push back the hydra before two more reach them. They run and eventually Team Haruhiro is separated from the main group.

Haruhiro and his team meet up with Lala and Nono and follow them to a new world due to the Giant God blocking the way back to Grimgar.

Level 7
Upon entering this new world, Haruhiro and his team are abandoned by Lala and Nono. They have trouble finding their way in the new world, which is in perpetual darkness, but stumble across a body. They rummage around finding a coin and some evidence to suggest the body isn't human. Later on, as team Haruhiro continues forward, they feel eyes on them. Yume is suddenly attacked. The assailant flees and the team gathers around Yume as she bleeds heavily from a wound on her neck.

Merry makes the sign of Luminaris casting Sacrament and, to their surprise, it works and Yume is saved. Concerned about future attacks, the team hurries down from where they came and stumble across a town with masked guards in the watchtowers. After realising that they just had to cover their faces to enter the city Haruhiro and the group walks in and gains access to the well by giving the black coin, Haruhiro picked from the corpse.

After a couple of harsh days in this new place Haruhiro and the rest find another human, Unjo, who tells them about the dead ones, by killing which they might earn coins. Soon after, when they more or less get acclimatized to this way of life, Unjo shows them to Kinuko-sama, which appears to be a doll from their original world, before all of them came to Grimgar.

Right after that Unjo shows Haruhiro and his group the orc city, the place where he got in Darunggar. Since it seemed as an impossible task to go through the city unnoticed, Haruhiro wonders, if they could stay in this world. Before he could decide anything Soma calls and beckons them to return to Alterna. Resolved to return to Grimgar, Haruhiro regularly and thoroughly scouts the city to find a way to sneak past orcs into Grimgar. Eventually they team up again with Lala and Nono and, after running away from orcs and fire-breathing dragon, Haruhiro winds up unjured alone in the cave, that leads to Grimgar. There he encounters an orc, who is much stronger than Haruhiro himself. After a reckless 'Assault' Haruhiro manages to emerge victorious and later finds his comrades.

Level 8
Upon their return to Grimgar, Haruhiro and the rest find themselves in an unknown territory shrouded in a dense fog. As Haruhiro and Yume scout around the area while the team rest in a cave, the two are discovered by a volunteer soldier named Kuro, one of the many reservists that Soma mentioned back in Darunggar.

Haruhiro decides to stick to Kuro and help Rocks a bit with their fight against Forgan. In the evening Haruhiro and Yume find out that the rest of their group are no longer in the cave. He and Yume later meet Kuzaku with Shihoru and find out that Ranta has joined Forgan and Merry was held captive in their camp. Having prioritized to rescue Merry, Haruhiro agrees to give his left eye to Setora in exchange for her help to find Merry.

Haruhiro and the rest join Rocks in saving Arara. As Rock and Arnold engage in an intense fight, Sakanami swaps places with Haruhiro to let the latter slip past Forgan members into their camp unnoticed. Haruhiro, following Setora's nyaa, Kiichi, kills the guard and frees Merry. Immediately after that Ranta along with Takasagi gains gains up on them and the duel between Ranta and Haruhiro starts. Despite apparent disadvantage Haruhiro wins the fight and seriously wounds Ranta. With the distraction, provided by Kuro, Haruhiro and Merry manage to run away from Takasagi and get to their rendezvous point in the cave.

Level 9
Haruhiro with Merry and Setora finds Shihoru and Tsuga scarcely fending off against a wyvern and decides to fight it in order for them to survive. As they fight, Kuzaku and Yume join the frey. Haruhiro manages to damage the wyvern's eyes and escape with the rest.

Level 10
To avoid entering former Kingdom Arabakia, now swarming with orcs, Haruhiro and his group head east, to the sea shore, to go around Kuaron Mountains. In the meantime they are getting pursued by a group of guorellas, and, after breaking away from pursuit, they happen upon Jessie Land. Not long after that the guorellas attack the village, which results in Merry's death.

Level 11
With Jessie's help, they manage to fend off and kill the guorellas. Jessie, by sacrificing himself, revived Merry. Afterwards Haruhiro's group continues their journey to the east.

Level. 12 There Begins a Legend of an Island and a Dragon
After leaving Jessie Land, Haruhiro and his group head east, to the seashore. Upon reaching it, they encounter a ship, that has run aground and its pirate crew. After a fight with Momohina Haruhiro and his group become members of K&K. Not willing to maintain this status quo, Haruhiro makes a deal with K&K: if he and his party help out the island to quench the dragons' wrath, they will be released from the pirate company.

Eventually they find out that the reason behind the dragons' attacks is a stolen dragon egg, which they later recover. When Haruhiro chanced upon finding a dragon near the dragon nest, he tries to fight against it. However, as he tries to lodge out his dagger that he stab into the dragon, the emerald creature spreads its wings to fly. Not willing to fall to his death, Haruhiro clings onto the dragon and rides it as they soar hundreds of meters above ground. He witnesses the islands and the vast beautiful ocean high from above and is in awe of the breathtaking scenery. A moment later, the dragon lands somewhere in a deserted area of the town and allows Haruhiro to dismount without much fuss. In return, he carefully pulls out the dagger. He finally gets a closer view of the emerald-colored dragon and remarks its elegant beauty with admiration. Still holding unto the dragon egg, he returns it to the dragon and watches it pick it up with its mouth and fly back to its nest.

Since then the city hadn't been attacked. Haruhiro and his group have been released from K&K and been given 100 platinum (1000 gold) coins as compensation for their work. The party then sails to the free city of Vele to continue their journey to Alterna, save Yume, who decided to stay with Momohina for half a year in order to learn from her.

Level. 13 The Heart, An Opening, A New Door
Upon arriving in Vele, Haruhiro and the rest encounter a trader Kejiman and decide to work as his bodyguards on his way to Alterna.

On one night of this unfortunate journey Haruhiro discovers Leslie Camp. Following Kejiman, who thoughtlessly entered the Leslie Camp, Haruhiro and the rest of his party end up summoned in another world, later revealed to be called Parano. Haruhiro's party gets scattered because of an attack from dream monsters. Haruhiro falls asleep during the fight and upon awakening finds out that he is being protected by Alice from the dream monster he created.

Alice lends Haruhiro her mask to protect himself from sweet winds that make people fall asleep. En route to her hideout Alice gives Haruhiro a quick rundown about Parano.

After walking for a while with Alice, Haruhiro suffers a brief mental breakdown and verbally comments his opinion that his life in Grimgar is just a dream. He continues about talking how he thinks his comrades - Manato, Moguzo, Yume, Merry, Ranta, Kazuku, Setora and Shihoru - actually do not exist. But he is repeatedly saved by Alice from dying or becoming a trickster.

In Ruins No.6 - their destination - Haruhiro and Alice encounter a hostile man Ahiru, who brings a huge number of buildings down on them. Haruhiro and Alice survive nonetheless, thanks to Alice's shovel.

Alice then brings Haruhiro to the Iron Tower of Heaven, which can conveniently be used as Parano's navel, since it is very high and is one of the few landmarks in Parano that do not mutate (change its form and location), so that Haruhiro could use it as a reference point in this world, while acting alone. Afterwards two of them go in Ruins No. 2 to visit a trickster Haname, an acquaintance of Alice, but Haruhiro decides to bid farewell to Alice and go search for his comrades. Just when they are about to part ways, Haruhiro is attacked by Kejiman, who's apparently completely become a dream monster. And right before Alice could terminate this monster, infuriated Haname appears and brings about tempest and chaos, since Kejiman stepped on a flower, thus incurred Haname's wrath. While Kejiman is brought aloft by the storm, Alice deploys the shovel's skin like a tent to hide Haruhiro and herself from the storm. There she reveals that Haruhiro apparently possesses Resonance magic type that basically makes others' magic stronger. Alice then decides to help Haruhiro in the search for his comrades, provided that he helps her with his magic.

Level. 14 Parano-mania
On their way to the Castle, where the King resides, Haruhiro and Alice go through the Scarlet Forest. There they encounter a huge dream monster, who throws them far away to the Doll Town. Escaping the Doll Master Nui, they leave the town.

After leaving the Doll town, the two arrive at Ruins No.5, where they meet Ahiru. After a small talk with Alice, Ahiru agrees to help them defeat the King.

Ahiru was sent to ascertain the situation with the king, while the duo waits near the exit from the castle in Ruins No.7. Eventually they see Io, Tonbe, Gomi, Kuzaku, and then Ahiru, followed by shadows, coming out of the exit. While Haruhiro wanted initially to meet up with Kuzaku, he decides to follow Alice to the Iron Tower of Heaven, where they are supposed to meet up with Ahiru, free of shadow's pursuit. As they climb the tower, Haruhiro and Alice notice that they are followed by the Doll Master, Ito Nui, Alice's former friend. Haruhiro asks Alice to distract Nui, while he would try to touch the latter. The plan succeeds, and Haruhiro sees Nui's memories and thoughts through his Resonance magic. While he fails at reverting Nui back from her trickster state, Haruhiro manages to stop her and when he comes to, Nui has already passed away. The two of them put Nui's body to rest and meet up with Ahiru. They decide to find Kuzaku and the rest and together defeat the King in order to access the door, which allegedly leads out of Parano.

The three of them go to the Valley of Earthly Desires, the Sanzu River and lastly, the Mimic Town, Ruins No.4 to find the others. In the Mimic Town they find Setora, Merry, Io, Tonbe, Gomi and Kuzaku, who's about to become trickster after killing too many dream monsters. Haruhiro manages to stop his transformation through his Resonance magic and escape the town with the rest.

Upon reaching a safe distance from the town the group encounters Shihoru, who's completely turned into trickster. Haruhiro tries to revert her back, but to no avail. Then Setora comes to aid and encases Shihoru into her golem Enba.

Afterwards they eventually reach King's hall and proceed with their plan of distracting the King while Haruhiro attempts to make physical contact with the King to employ his magic. Haruhiro botches the first stealth attempt at neutralising the King and the battle ensues. Haruhiro succeeds with his second attempt, and everyone, except Ahiru, goes through the door, upon which the King has been resting.

Going through the door leaves everyone unconscious, except Haruhiro, who is, nonetheless, unable to move. He hears a man's voice, allegedly, belonging to Ainrad Leslie, who orders Hiyomu to distribute memory-wiping drugs. Despite Haruhiro's futile resistance Hiyomu successfully gives drugs to all in Haruhiro's and Io's groups. After a while, everyone wakes up with complete memory loss, the same one they had upon their first arrival in Grimgar.

Level. 15 A Fleeting New Game Plus
Haruhiro awakens in darkness with complete memory loss, the same one he had upon his first arrival in Grimgar. Kuzaku, Setora, Kiichi, Merry, Shihoru, Io, Tasukete, Gomi, Hiyomu are with him as well in a similar position. Merry, however, did not lose her memory and had full recollection of past events. She gave the rest the quick rundown of who they were, except Hiyomu, about whom she new nothing. That, coupled with the fact that Hiyomu introduced herself as Hiyo, then let her real name slip, as well as her instigations of the group to continue, hinted Haruhiro that Hiyomu hides something.

Haruhiro took the lead and went along the corridor, past iron door, climbed a stair at the end of another corridor and went into a room behind another iron door. He and Tasukete investigated the room, found among other things a strange blackish handle, sticking out of the wall, which he didn't touch. Hiyomu then proposed going up the next set of stairs.

When Haruhiro and Tasukete climbed the stairs, they found themselves in another room, full of shelves and jars. There was also a man with helmet, armor and sword, sitting on the stairs, leading further up. The man noticed them but didn't say anything or move at all. Haruhiro tried to gage his reaction by approaching the table in the room and taking the map, lying there. He also walked around the table, but the man still did nothing. When they went down the stairs and recounted what happened there, Haruhiro kept an eye on Hiyo's reactions. They were exaggerated, making Haruhiro even more suspicious of her. Merry seemed not to trust Hiyo either.

When they all got up in the room, the man wasn't there anymore. They ate and Merry told them about map of Grimgar that Haruhiro had taken. When Shihoru asked where they were exactly, Haruhiro decided to pull the handle they saw below, like a lever. As he announced that, Haruhiro looked at Hiyo, who sighed and looked unamused anymore. That convinced Haruhiro that Hiyo was a liar.

Abilities
As a Thief, Haruhiro excels at surprise attacks and distractions. He cannot hold the attention of enemies like a Warrior, but he can play a support role for the Warrior. Taking aggro from the Tank for a long enough amount of time that he can recover. One of Haruhiro's strengths is his analysis ability. By analyzing an opponents movements and actions he can find habits or weak points and exploit them. Unfortunately, he can sometimes get distracted by this while fighting an enemy. Haruhiro has been referred to as a "good thief" by Jessie-Smith after he used perfect stealth to backstab him.

Thief Skills:

 * Lock-Picking (Pick): One of a Thief's first skills that is simply learning how to pick locks.
 * Hit (Slap): A basic attack that can cause someone to lose their balance or drop their weapon if aimed at their wrists. Like all Thief skills, this works best from behind or by surprise.
 * Stealth Walk (忍び歩き, Sunīkingu): A skill that allows Thieves to be undetected by moving supernaturally silent.
 * Backstab (背面打突, Bakku Sutabu; lit. Back Infliction): A signature skill of Thieves that allows them to stab the back of opponents for massive damage, Haruhiro uses this move more than most Thieves.
 * Swat (蠅叩, Suwatto; lit. Fly Strike): A melee skill that causes opponents to lose their balance and fall to the ground. Less likely to work on especially strong or tough enemies. Particularly effective for parrying attacks in a duel.
 * Widow Maker (蜘蛛殺し, Supaidā; lit. Spider Kill): A grappling technique of balance and agility that involves joint locks to instantly lock oneself onto a target (usually from behind) and then mortally wound them. Even without a weapon, Haruhiro can still gravely injure an enemy by breaking their arm/leg or lethally snap their neck. Haruhiro also uses Widow Maker to immobilize an opponent to have someone else deal the finishing blow.
 * Arrest: A martial art technique utilizing an arm bar with a leg sweep to immobilize an opponent.
 * Assault (強襲, Asaruto): A method that aims to kill. It is a flurry of attacks that does not allow the enemy to respond. It is best used with Dual Wield.
 * Shatter (Kneeshatter): A kicking skill that causes enemies to fall over.
 * Stealth: The ultimate thieving skill. Allows the user to conceal their presence. The skill has three sub-parts: 1) Hide - Eliminate your presence, 2) Swing - Move with your presence eliminated, 3) Sense - To use your senses to detect the presences of others. Haruhiro has mastered this skill, earning praise from Jessie Smith.
 * Hitter: A strike to the opponents jaw with either the palm or a weapon. Haruhiro uses his sap or the pommel of his dagger.
 * Flinch: A technique which kicks debris into an opponent's eyes.
 * Gleaming Line (光る線, Sen; lit. Glowing Line): A mysterious and secret Thief skill that seems to come and go to all Thieves at random. It is a line of light that reveals a path to an enemy's exposed fatal area. Following the line allows a Thief to instantly kill in one strike. For Haruhiro, it immediately disappears whenever he changes his breathing rate or doesn't catch up to it, thus he follows it with his body already moving in.

Resonance Magic:
While on Parano, Haruhiro discovers that he can use the Resonance type of magic. On Parano, Haruhiro can make the magic of others more powerful.

Volume 1

 * At the end of his Thief training, Haruhiro was given: an old thief cloak, a used dagger, a used set of thief tools, and a second-hand pair of thief boots.
 * Bought a used pair of cloth underwear and a used durable looking hemp bag for a total of 55 coppers.
 * He later buys a second hand leather chest protector, belly band, hand and leg armor.

Volume 4

 * He purchases a new dagger and a sap.

Volume 7

 * Finds a short sword to replace his lost dagger.
 * Bought new dark colored, snakeskin leather armor.
 * Found a stiletto in the Herbesit's underground that he wields in his right hand for skewering attacks. He also looted a knife with a hilt guard off of a dead on to use with his left hand for sweeping, slashing, and stabbing attacks.

Volume 12

 * Due to the constant use Haruhiro has replaced his dagger and stiletto with a dwarven dagger he found from an abandoned weapons crate.
 * The dwarven dagger Haruhiro picked has a blade with a wavy and flame-like in shape.

Merry
While at first Haruhiro is put off by Merry, he makes an effort to be friendly and get to know her better, and urges the group to do the same. As a result, Merry begins to bond with the group, and warms up to Haruhiro in particular. When he notices that Merry sometimes returns to Shelley's Tavern after the group retired for the evening, Haruhiro looks for reasons to return and drink alone with her. Despite their ability to talk openly, Haruhiro remains convinced that he's unworthy of Merry's attention, and mentally reprimands himself for thinking he could be anything more than a comrade.

Merry is often a quiet pillar of support for Haruhiro, offering a subdued smile or a silent nod to encourage him. Though she doesn't often voice her gratitude for him, she genuinely believes no one can lead them better. While their one-on-one talks can be awkward (due to Haruhiro's insecurities), it is very obvious that they care for one another. He does harbor feelings for Merry, but he's only able to admit this to himself after he mistakenly believes that Kuzaku and Merry are in a relationship.

Merry is constantly frustrated by and fearful of Haruhiro's tendency to disregard his own safety and well-being. Haruhiro is aware of her worries, and often wonders if his actions will make Merry upset, even if such thoughts ultimately don't prevent him from throwing himself into dangerous situations. Twice (during Volume 7 and Volume 13) she has given him "demerits" for being reckless—though, he's unsure whether to regard this as a punishment or a reward, since he enjoys the attention he gets as a result.

From Volume 9 and onward, it is clear that Merry has developed feelings for Haruhiro, though he continues to be unaware of it. At the same time, Setora forces Haruhiro to act like her lover, causing increasing jealousy and frustration for Merry, and embarrassment for Haruhiro. After Merry dies (in Volume 10), a devastated Haruhiro openly admits to Setora that he loves Merry (in Volume 11), though he believes his feelings to be completely one-sided. As a result, he is willing to risk anything when Jessie Smith offers a way to bring Merry back from the dead.

Nevertheless, Merry and Haruhiro share several moments in Volume 12 where they are obviously captivated by one another. On two separate occasions, they meet late at night and quietly embrace. However, neither of them have been able to openly speak of their mutual feelings, and in Volume 13, Haruhiro misunderstands Merry's comments, leading him to believe that Merry wishes to remain just close friends.

She is the first person to call Haruhiro, "Haru". (Setora is the second.)

Yume
Haruhiro is on very good terms with Yume. Though he does find Yume physically attractive, he respects her as a fellow partner and has come to love her like a sister. After Manato's death, they open up to each other and become close. They are also very good in battle as a pair and are usually working together. He sees Yume as the 'healer' of the team since her upbeat and social personality creates an animating atmosphere around her.

More than any of the other women he interacts with, Haruhiro is physically comfortable around Yume. The two have often hugged, and Haruhiro will hold Yume's hand when she's feeling tense or worried, or place his hand on her shoulder when he encourages her.

Ranta
He has a complicated relationship with Ranta, and they often banter with each other with Haruhiro as the tsukkomi  and Ranta as the bokkei . While he value's Ranta's skill, his personality makes him very difficult to get along with. After Haru assumes leadership Ranta gets more difficult to be around, driving a wedge in their relationship.

As the party becomes more experienced, Haruhiro learns new ways to motivate Ranta, or goad him into doing what is expected of him. However, as Ranta's skill increases, so does his friction among the rest of the party. Haruhiro does his best to ignore Ranta's foul attitude, managing it as best he can in order to keep the party operating, but eventually begins referring to Ranta as a "piece of trash." However, Yume helps him realize that, for better or worse, Ranta is like family to them even if he's horrible to be around.

After Ranta seemingly betrays and leaves the party to join Forgan, Haruhiro fights Ranta in a duel while trying to rescue Merry. Haruhiro injures Ranta's shoulder, and nearly stabs a stiletto in his eye before Merry stops him. Instead, they flee, leaving the injured Ranta with Forgan. Afterwards, based on Merry's tale, Haruhiro chooses to believe that Ranta didn't genuinely betray them, and had only joined Forgan to save Merry's life. After parting ways, Haruhiro occasionally finds himself thinking about what Ranta would be saying in a given situation, or how he might be doing at the moment, while still harboring distaste towards him.

Shihoru
Prior to Manato's death, Haruhiro hardly had any interaction with Shihoru as both were too shy to talk to each other. However, after Manato's death Haruhiro has opened up more to her and Yume in attempt to become a leader, and finally pays attention to their fighting styles and trying to learn more about them.

Haruhiro and Shihoru eventually learn to lean more on each other, with Shihoru becoming someone that Haruhiro often looks to for support and advice. She is highly perceptive of her fellow party members, and seems to be more aware of Haruhiro's doubts as a leader and works hard to encourage him. She was also the first person to recognize that Haruhiro had feelings for Merry, even though he strongly denied it at the time. She tends to know when Haruhiro is closest to his breaking point, and has provided a shoulder to cry on when he needs it.

Shihoru's ability to think clearly in stressful situations allows her to take charge when Haruhiro unable to. He increasingly views her as the party's second-in-command, looking to her for simple nods and silent gestures to help him make decisions on the spot.

Manato
Haruhiro seemed to look up to Manato during their brief time together, seemingly looking upon him as an elder brother figure. On multiple occasions Haruhiro sought to broach difficult subjects with Manato only to flinch at the final moment and say something else. Haruhiro attempted to protect Manato during a scavenging mission and took an arrow from a Goblin meant for Manato. However just as they escaped the ruins an arrow took Manato in the back and he bled to death before he could be taken to the Chapel. Haruhiro feels responsible for this, as shown by his insistence at paying for the funeral costs and being the one to disperse Manato's ashes. Manato's final words to Haruhiro are 'Counting on you'.

Moguzo
Haruhiro was on good terms with Moguzo, and knows that he fulfills a key role in their group as a Warrior. He even went so far as to suggesting that everyone help buy a helmet for Moguzo when he noticed that he was very protective of his head during battle. He also enjoys Moguzo's cooking and is often seen drinking with him at the pub and shopping at the market with everyone else in his free time.

Kuzaku
A new reservist after Haruhiro's generation who was in the same party as Choko. He is the only surviving member of his party after the Twin Snake campaign. Afterwards, he joins Haruhiro's party to fill in the role of being the party's tank. Early on, Kuzaku is an incompetent tank, unable to make up for the shortcomings of the team, annoying Haruhiro. However, Kuzaku learns to fill that role by risking himself for the others, earning him the respect of everyone in the party.

Although Kuzaku does not know it at first, Haruhiro is wary and somewhat jealous of him, mistakenly believing that Kuzaku is in relationship with Merry. This mistake is what helps Haruhiro first understand that he also has feelings for Merry. Later, when Haruhiro confronts him in Volume 7, Kuzaku admits that he had confessed to Merry, but she had rejected him without hesitation.

Kuzaku respects and admires Haruhiro greatly, to the point that Haruhiro is sometimes embarassed and uncomfortable with how much Kuzaku looks up to him. Still, Haruhiro is often encouraged by Kuzaku's overwelmingly positive outlook, and is sometimes envious of him. Kuzaku is so genuine in his hero worship of Haruhiro, that after being rejected by Merry, Kuzaku seems to accept and push for Haruhiro and Merry to admit their feelings for each other.

Choko
A new reservist recruit after Haruhiro's generation whom he knew from his previous life. Though he and Choko didn't meet until Volume 3, Haruhiro had already remembered the name Choko during Volume 2, as someone who was very important to him in his life before Grimgar.

They both instantly recognized each other when they first met, though neither could remember their shared past. When they met, Choko immediately began calling him "Hiro," which felt familiar to both of them. Because of that familiarity, he developed an immediate interest in her.

When he discovered that her group was joining the Twin Snake campaign, he convinced the rest of his party to join as well. Haruhiro's and Choko's parties were both assigned to Green Storm Force, and Haruhiro made it a point to look after her. He stepped in to rescue her on more than one occasion, even briefly holding her tight when he saved her life. Unfortunately, when Zoran Zesh and his orcs began their counterattack, Haruhiro watched as Choko was cut down.

Witnessing her death at Deadhead created a brief flashback of their previous life as childhood friends. The two made for an odd pair, always meeting at a vending machine near where they both lived. Haruhiro had feelings for her before they came to Grimgar, referring to her as the only person he had loved for as long as he could remember. In his memory, it is heavily implied that she also had feelings for him, but wanted him to stop being "wishy-washy" and admit his feelings for her first.

Renji
Although Renji and Haruhiro meet each other very scarcely, Renji seems to have a respectable acknowledgement of Haruhiro.

Soma
Haruhiro's clan leader. While he deeply admires Soma, Haruhiro can't help but feel a certain sense of powerlessness and inferiority upon witnessing the former's skill. Soma appears to care for and respect Haruhiro as an equal, still trying to contact him even months after Haruhiro's disappearance into Darunggar.

Mimori
Mimori has feelings for Haruhiro—though she initially states that she wants to "raise him as a pet"—and she insists that he refer to her as "Mimorin." She eventually confesses to him after his party rescues the Tokkis from the Dusk Realm in Volume 5. Though he rejects her, she doesn't give up. During Volume 6, with the help of her teammate Anna-san, she corners Haruhiro into spending time with her. Despite his repeated rejections, she explains that she will continue to love him. He eventually relents and agrees that she's not wrong to hold on to her feelings, but she shouldn't wait for him to return them.

Despite their complicated relationship with one another, Haruhiro remains friendly but guarded toward Mimori. He is genuinely touched by her feelings for him, but he doesn't want to do things that might give her false hope or the wrong impression.

In a Volume 8 bonus story, Mimori is devastated after the events in the Dusk Realm, when Haruhiro and his party are missing and the portal between the Dusk Realm and Grimgar has been destroyed. While Haruhiro and his party is presumed dead, Mimori is unable to get over the loss, refusing to eat and flying into a rage when her comrades suggest that she forget Haruhiro. Months later (shown in a Volume 9 bonus story), she attempts to cope with her loss by writing numerous unsent letters to Haruhiro. Some time after that (seen in a Volume 10 bonus story), she continues to mourn Haruhiro and begins recklessly using her growing magic power, to the point where she often endangers the rest of her party.

As shown in a Volume 12 bonus story, before coming to Grimgar, Mimori and Haruhiro were in the same class in school. They met when he helped Mimori take out the trash one day. Haruhiro reminds her of her pet dog, Peter-kun.

Setora
Haruhiro initially offers his left eye to her in exchange for her help in Merry's rescue. His boldness in the proposal spawns Setora's interest in him and requests Haruhiro to be her lover. Her appearance reminds him of Choko.

Setora does not take his eye but instead, forces him to play as her lover. Haruhiro is uncomfortable with the prospect but cannot refuse as she helped them save Merry. Setora begins to develop genuine feelings for him and even tells him that she loves him in volume 12, although she has been avoiding him since she saw how he felt towards Merry in volume 11.

Gallery
See Haruhiro/Image gallery

Quotes

 * "I felt like I had a lot of things I wanted to ask Manato."
 * "We're not gonna die... Like hell any one of us will."
 * It's a battle of life or death, and I'm still alive. So I'm not going to give up, and I'll keep living. I'll keep living until I die.

Trivia

 * Haruhiro has shown to have conversations with Manato, his team's first Priest who had died. This shows he has mental difficulties either inherent or brought on by emotional trauma.
 * Haruhiro finally accepts his feelings for Merry but decides to be only comrades as this option is best for their future and the team's.
 * Haruhiro's favourite kanji is "地"(ji) for "ground". He doesn't like anything about it, but he liked most of the words and expressions it showed in, like "to have one's feet firmly on the ground".

Who do you want Haruhiro to end up with? Yume Shihoru Mary Others