“Won’t that attract the attention of those things though?” Remia asked, her expression stiff. She was suddenly worried her sanity might not withstand traveling with Hajime.
“Don’t worry, I’ll slaughter them all if they come.”
“I-I see...”
As always, Hajime had no compunction about killing anything in his way. This time, even Remia couldn’t just brush it off with an, “Oh my.”
Cold sweat poured down her back. Hajime ignored her trepidation and lowered her onto the ground. As her feet touched the stone the pain she’d forgotten about came back in a rush and she gasped.
“Hm? Why’re you barefoot?”
“My sandals were making it hard to run, so I...”
“I see...”
Hajime instantly realized how desperate Remia must have been while searching for Myu. He stamped his foot on the ground, instantly transmuting an impromptu chair from the cobblestones. He then sat Remia down on it and knelt down in front of her. He picked up her bloodied and battered feet and carefully examined them. After a few seconds, he rested them on his knee.
“H-Hajime-san?”
“I’m just fixing up your feet. I can’t use healing magic, but I’ve got some potions and a first-aid kit.”
“I’m fine. Forget about me, we need to find Myu.”
Hajime slowly looked up at Remia.
“Do you plan on letting it happen a second time?”
“Ah!”
There was no need to specify what Hajime meant by “it.” Remia knew. Just as Remia had sworn she’d never lose Myu a second time, Myu was almost certainly thinking she never wanted to see her mother hurt a second time. If Myu saw the state Remia was in, she’d no doubt cry.
“Besides, it won’t take long.”
“Okay... Umm... Hajime-san? Thank you for saving me.”
“It’s because you’re Myu’s mom.”
Like Remia, Hajime wanted to start searching for Myu as fast as possible. Which was why he was treating Remia as quickly as he could, and responding curtly. However, his reply brought a smile to Remia’s face. Because it made it clear he cared about Myu as much as she did. Seeing his desperation warmed Remia’s heart. Which was why she found herself asking, “Myu’s... okay, right?”
It was a pointless question, since she knew Hajime didn’t have the answer. But she just wanted him to say something that would take the edge off her anxiety.
“’Course she’s okay. She’s braver than anyone I know. Plus she’s smart, too,” Hajime responded instantly. He believed in Myu the same way he believed in his comrades, and he didn’t doubt for a second that they’d all be reunited.
Ah... He really is a strong kid... Remia thought to herself. She wasn’t just referring to the overwhelming strength she’d just seen on display when he’d destroyed the reapers. Hajime had the strength of heart to believe the future he desired was always within his grasp, and give his all to make it happen. Remia could see it in him. It was that strength of his that had made her crybaby daughter strong, too. Myu had looked up to Hajime’s strength, and in trying to become more like him, she’d grown. That was why she called Hajime daddy even though she’d refused to call anyone else that. Though she was happy to see her daughter growing up, Remia couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of Hajime as well. And that birthed a desire to tease him a little.
“You sure understand our daughter well, darling!”
Remia put on her usual gentle smile. The smile that everyone praised, and that she used as a mask to deal with others.
Now then, is he going to get angry with me and tell me to stop pestering him, or just give me that exasperated look of his? Remia nervously waited for his reply, but Hajime didn’t even look up at her as he said, “Why bother keeping up the act when Myu’s not around?”
Remia closed her half-open mouth, unsure of what to say. Hajime had finished treating one foot and was moving on to the second, but Remia hardly even noticed the pain going away.
“You could tell it was an act?”
“What, the whole darling thing?”
Hajime had long since figured out why Remia was always dodging the question when people asked her if she was really into him or not.
“You were only doing that for Myu’s sake, right?”
Remia nodded apologetically. She hadn’t wanted to say the truth in front of Myu. She couldn’t. Of course, there was no way she’d actually fallen for Hajime at first sight just because he came back with her daughter. But she couldn’t bring herself to tell Myu that Hajime wasn’t really her daddy. Or that she wasn’t interested in him. After all, Hajime was the first person Myu had ever deigned to call daddy. So whenever Myu was present, Remia had made a big show of getting along with Hajime. However, there were plenty of girls around Hajime who truly were in love with him. And so she’d felt it wouldn’t be fair to them to lie and say she was sincerely interested in Hajime when they asked.
Which was why she’d settled for acting evasive instead, using her trademark smile. After all, she knew they’d part ways before long.
“I’m sorry... for causing you so much trouble.”
She felt bad for prioritizing her daughter even when she owed Hajime so much for bringing Myu back. For taking advantage of Hajime after all he’d done. Remia hung her head in shame.
“Well, it’s no big deal, really. I feel like Yue and the others have probably figured it out, anyway.”
Hajime finished treating Remia’s feet. All the cuts and scrapes had healed over cleanly. While there had been a lot of them, most had been shallow so a few healing salves had been enough. He then opened his Treasure Trove and took out a spare pair of women’s boots, which he handed to Remia. The whole time he seemed wholly unconcerned about her confession. Remia slowly pulled on the boots while Hajime turned around and started monitoring the feeds from his Ornises. As she looked at his back, she couldn’t help but wonder.
“Aren’t you mad?”
Hajime looked over his shoulder and replied, “You’re doing it for Myu’s sake.”
He shrugged as if to say that was reason enough. And for him, it was. He wasn’t so petty that he’d try to find fault with the methods Remia chose to support her daughter. Especially since he cared for Myu too. After hearing his answer, Remia found herself at a loss for words. She didn’t know what to think about Hajime anymore.
“Hm? Isn’t that...?” Hajime muttered, finding something on one of his feeds. He zoomed in to see an explosion of golden mana.
“Remia, let’s go!”
“O-Okay!”
Hajime held out his hand, making it clear he was planning on carrying Remia again. It made sense, considering he was much faster than her. However, Remia took his hand without hesitation. Almost as if she trusted him with her life. Strangely enough, though, Remia felt uncomfortable in his arms. Not because she hated him. No, rather for the opposite reason. Suddenly, the prospect of wrapping her arms around Hajime’s neck felt embarrassing. But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Her daughter’s life was still in danger. Remia pushed her embarrassment down and clung to Hajime. A second later Hajime kicked off the ground and the scenery started flying past. Though they were moving at insane speeds, Remia wasn’t at all afraid.
“Hajime-san, thank you very much. Truly, I mean it.”
She was thanking him not just for saving her back there, but also for everything he’d done for Myu. As always, Hajime didn’t look down to meet her eyes.
“You don’t need to thank me. I am sort of her dad, after all,” he replied lightly.
Remia chuckled to herself. This time, it wasn’t a pretend laugh, but a real one.
Meanwhile, Myu herself was...
“Mrr...”
Currently hiding behind a few pieces of rubble inside a small alleyway. There was no one else around. When Myu had awoken, she’d found herself alone in an eerie, abandoned city seemingly filled with malice. Any small child would have been too terrified to move, but not Myu.
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“I have to hurry and save Mommy!”
Myu bravely poked her head out from behind the rubble. She quietly glanced around. The strange malice that she’d sensed upon first waking up had thinned somewhat. And as far as she could tell, nothing was waiting to ambush her nearby. Myu took a deep breath. Then she resolutely got to her feet. Naturally, she was still scared. That much was evident by how she was trembling. Her eyes darted about fretfully as well. But even so, Myu took a step forward.
Just like Hajime had said, she was brave. As she strode forward, Myu thought about her beloved daddy. As well as the kind, strong, cool girls that traveled with him. Utilizing everything she’d learned in the short time she’d spent with everyone, Myu continued striding forward. Eventually, she exited the alleyway and moved onto the main street. The main street itself was littered with chunks of rubble large enough to be boulders, limiting Myu’s vision.
“Is that... a castle?”
At the end of the street, a good distance away, Myu saw a castle with a giant tower. Flanking the castle on either side were walls higher than any she’d seen before. The buildings around her were all in disrepair, and none were terribly tall. At most, they were four stories high. She’d seen Fuhren before when she’d been kidnapped, but from what she could tell, this ruined city was many times bigger than it.
“Mommy’s probably looking for me...” Myu muttered to herself. Though she was still disoriented, she forced herself to think.
“If she can’t find me she’d... probably go to the castle?”
As far as Myu could tell, that was the biggest landmark. It made sense that Remia would head there.
“Daddy’ll definitely go there.”
Of that, Myu was certain. While she might not have known the meaning of the word itself, she knew Hajime and the others always acted rationally.
“If I go there... I’m sure Daddy’s Ornis birds will find me! And then we can search for Mommy together. Or maybe he’s found Mommy already. I know there are bad things here, so I have to go slowly or they’ll see me...”
Myu made a small fist, confident that she could do this. Of course the dimly lit, menacing street was quite daunting to someone as young as Myu, but she motivated herself by thinking of Hajime.
“Daddy always said if you give up the adventure’s over! I can do this! I’m a big girl! Do your best! I can fly! Yes, we can!”
Myu didn’t really know what the last few phrases meant, but they’d sounded cool when Hajime had said them so she used them as encouragement. She was the daughter of the monster of the abyss, she wasn’t going to let anything stop her!
“This way.”
“HOIAejghoasjgoaigfj!?”
Just as she was about to take a bold step forward, she heard a mysterious voice, making her scream in surprise. Panicking, she quickly clapped her hands over her mouth and retreated to the safety of the rubble. Her heart was pounding wildly and there were tears in her eyes. For all her bravery, Myu was still a little girl.
“This way, girl of the sea.”
Myu twitched, but managed to suppress her scream this time. The voice sounded like it was coming from inside her head. She looked around frantically, but couldn’t spot anyone.
“Wh-Who might you be?”
Now she was using her mother’s politeness. Sadly, the disembodied voice didn’t say anything other than repeat, “this way.” It was obviously suspicious. But after calming down and thinking about it, Myu realized the voice somehow “felt” the same as the creature they’d seen the silhouette of.
“Are you the shadow?”
By shadow, she was referring to the massive creature that had brought them all here. Despite how large its presence had been, Myu hadn’t found it scary at all. In fact, she’d found it quite comforting. She’d felt the same sense of security around it that she did when she was swimming in the ocean.
“Hurry, child of the sea. Danger is coming.”
Exasperated by Myu’s continued inaction, the voice imparted slightly more concrete information. That was enough to convince Myu.
“This way?”
Somehow, she could tell which direction the voice wanted her to go in.
“I will take you to your brethren. To another strong child of the sea.”
“Do you mean Mommy?” Myu asked, but there was no reply. She shut her mouth and obediently followed the voice’s directions.
The rubble made it hard to walk, and Myu needed to be careful where she stepped, so she didn’t make too much noise. She followed the mysterious voice’s guidance, and whenever it said danger was near she stopped breathing and waited quietly for the dangerous robed figures to pass. To her surprise, she was much calmer than she expected. She was nervous of course, but only a little, and it made her thinking sharper. It helped that she’d already experienced being in a dark, dirty, dangerous place before.
Compared to her time in the underground prison, this was far better. She had a guide, and people she could trust looking for her. Plus, she wouldn’t have to escape into a sewer this time. Probably. Most importantly, though—
“I need to hurry and Mommy.” She had a mission.
Myu needed to find her mother, who was as powerless as her. The last thing she wanted was her beloved mom getting hurt because of her again.
“I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, the voice apologized to her. Myu suddenly remembered that the shadow had been asking for help, too.
“Mister Shadow, what’s your name? What do you want us to do?”
It was only at this point that Myu realized she hadn’t even asked the shadow what its name was. But the only reply she received was the same apology as before, and another plea for help. It appeared the shadow couldn’t communicate very effectively. Normally, that would have been strange, considering how immense a presence it had been, but Myu seemed to understand both that this was the case, and that it wasn’t strange.
“You must be really weakened right now...”
It occurred to Myu that it might have used up the last of its power to call everyone here.
“Seek out they who can create, they who can scar the flow of time.”
It sounded more like it was talking to itself than Myu. She was paying close attention to the voice as she walked, so she picked up everything it had just said, but half of the words had been too complicated for her to understand. Still, she was almost certain it was talking about Hajime. However, its next words threw her prediction off.
“Though they live in different times, the two shall share this moment. I have brought those who share your comrades’ powers here for that purpose.”
“T-Two?”
Myu was half-guessing what the voice was trying to say, so when it added clarifications that didn’t line up with her predictions, it left her completely lost.
“Mrrrr, right now all I can do is keep going!”
Myu pushed her questions aside from now and focused on the task at hand. The voice might be guiding her along the safest route possible, but carelessness could still lead to death. Just then, Myu heard a thunderous roar.
“Mrrr!?”
The earth shook, and she was knocked off her feet. A second later, there was another series of noises. Someone was fighting. Whoever they were, they were behind Myu. Probably two or three streets away at least. But they were getting closer. Myu was still quite far from the castle. And with the speed she ran at, they’d catch up to her in no time.
“Is it Daddy?”
She had a feeling it wasn’t. Myu knew what it sounded like when Hajime fought. And there were no gunshot sounds, or explosions, or streaks of red light. She guessed it was Yue, or perhaps Shea.
“Hurry, child of the sea! Your brethren are near!”
There was a sense of urgency in the shadow’s voice now. Myu, too, sensed danger closing in on her quickly and with a hesitant, “O-Okay,” she turned her back to the fighting noises and started to run. Whatever scary “things” she could feel were catching up to her fas
t. They’d probably been lured here by the sounds of fighting. Or maybe they’d finally locked onto Myu’s location. Either way, it was clear to Myu that they wouldn’t just pass her by like they did before. Though she wanted to cry, she gritted her teeth and kept her tears bottled up. If there was time to cry, there was time to run. She could no longer afford to care about where she stepped, and soon enough her feet were covered in cuts just like Remia’s had been. As a result, her speed dropped. And eventually, her feet caught against a loose piece of rubble and she tripped.
“Awaah!”
Tears sprang to her eyes as her knees slammed against the ground. Looking up, Myu realized she’d run all the way to a wide plaza. More importantly, though, she sensed something behind her. Raising herself into a sitting position, Myu turned around. Behind her, she saw a giant wolf with no fur glaring at her.
“Ah...”
Her voice came out as a soft whimper. She was too terrified to scream. Her instincts were yelling at her to run, but she was rooted to the spot. The creature stalking her was unbelievably grotesque. Worse, it had brought its minions with it. Smaller wolves loped out from gaps in the buildings, surrounding Myu. Chunks of rotten flesh dripped from the large wolf’s furless body, and it bared its fangs at her. But just as it leaped forward, a blinding flash of light filled Myu’s vision. A second later, the giant wolf was blown backward.
“A-A whale?”
Indeed, it was the whale who had intervened to save Myu. But now the whale was only two meters long, swam through the air, and was made of glowing particles of light. And it had just tackled the wolf out of Myu’s way. The wolf slammed into the building behind it and was buried under a mountain of falling debris. But it quickly blew the debris away with a gust of bloody wind, and let out a ferocious howl. A second later, its tiny minions rushed at Myu. The whale made of light slid down to where Myu was and overlapped its body with hers. The aura of light surrounding Myu blocked the wolves’ fangs, keeping her safe. It then flashed again, blowing the wolves back. Myu was safe for the moment, but she knew she couldn’t relax just yet.
“Uuu...”
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest: Short Stories (Premium) Page 19