An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

While Hajime was talking, he countered with Donal & Shulak, aiming at the red magic stone that looked like a core. However, the magic stone moved around inside Bachuram as if it had its own will, making it difficult to aim.

Seeing how they responded to the challenge, Longji no longer wanted to be surprised by the artifacts that Hajime possessed and Yue and the others' magic, so he decided to ignore them in a somewhat self-deprecating manner and asked Hajime about his chances of winning in a calm manner.

"Hmm... Yeah, no problem, I caught it."

Hajime casually answered Langji's question, narrowing his eyes as he followed the movement of the magic stone. He slowly holstered the Hulak, gripped the Donal with both hands, and assumed a shooting stance.

Hajime straightened his right hand, holding the gun, bent his left elbow, and placed his feet one in front of the other, in the shooting stance known as the Weaver stance. Hajime intended to use Donald to execute a precise shot.

Hajime's eyes narrowed sharply like an eagle, as if he had completely grasped the movement of the magic stone.

After a beat——

BANG! A dry cracking sound echoed, and a flash of light shot through the air. The magic stone, ignoring inertia and changing direction, seemed to collide with the flash of light itself, striking it squarely.

The electromagnetic cannon's impact and heat instantly destroyed the magic stone, and the water that made up the oasis of Bachuram lost its power and returned to normal water. A huge amount of water poured down, stirring up waves in the oasis. Langji and the others watched the scene.

“…Is it over?”

"Yes, the oasis no longer reacts to magical energy. However, even if the cause of the pollution is eliminated, it doesn't mean the oasis is purified."

Hearing Hajime's words and seeing the culprit who caused Ankaji's demise being defeated so easily, Longji and the others felt like they were dreaming. Despite this, the culprit was indeed eliminated before their eyes, and one of Longji's subordinates hurriedly conducted a water quality assessment.

"how?"

"...No, the water is still contaminated."

Langji asked expectantly, but his subordinates shook their heads in disappointment. Since even those drawing water from the oasis had been infected, Langji had anticipated that the water might still be contaminated. However, after the destruction of the oasis of Bachuram, the remaining water was still contaminated, a fact that seemed to leave Langji unable to conceal his disappointment.

"Don't be so depressed. Now that the culprit has been eliminated, the water will no longer be polluted. Fresh water will continue to flow from the underground water veins. As long as the sewage is properly drained, the oasis will soon be restored to its original state."

Tio spoke soothingly to Longi and the others, and they, too, gathered themselves together, demonstrating their resolve to rebuild. Their unity, centered around Longi, revealed a deep love for this country among the inhabitants of Ankaji. Perhaps it was precisely because of their harsh environment that they cultivated such a strong sense of patriotism.

"...But what exactly is that monster that looks like Bachuram... Could it be a new type of monster that flowed into the oasis through the underground water veins?"

Langji regained his spirit and looked at the Oasis in confusion.

The one who answered him was Hajime.

"Based on my speculation...it's probably the work of a demon."

"!? Demon? Hajime-san, you must have some basis for saying that, right?"

Hearing Shi's words, Langji showed a look of surprise, but quickly regained his composure and urged Shi on. Shi ensured a clean water source and eliminated the culprit. Langji seemed to have respect and trust in him, no longer seeing the initial suspicion in his eyes.

Hajime speculates that Oasis Bachuram is a new monster created by the magic of the Age of Gods. This speculation is due to the uniqueness of Oasis Bachuram, but also because the demon attempted to kill Ai Zi in [Ur Town] and attacked the hero's group in Orcus.

I'm afraid the demons and monsters are about to complete their army. They're now investigating and attacking dangerous and uncertain factors, as well as key strongholds in the northern continent, before the battle begins. The beloved child can significantly alter the food supply, and the hero is a being summoned from another world by the Holy Church to fight against the demons and monsters. Taking action against both is strong evidence.

Furthermore, Ankaji served as a relay point for the supply of seafood from Enisen, and also provided a large supply of fruit and other foods, making it a crucial food hub. Furthermore, if attacked, its location in the middle of the desert would make it difficult to call for help. It's not surprising that the demons would target Ankaji.

After Hajime told Langji these thoughts, Langji hummed for a while with a bitter expression.

"I've heard about the monster, and I've been investigating on my own, but... I didn't expect them to be able to control a monster like that... I underestimated them."

"It can't be helped, right? The capital probably hasn't received any information about the new monster yet, and the attack on the hero and his companions happened only recently. Right now, there's probably a lot of talk going on everywhere."

"Have the enemies finally made their move? Hajime-san... You may call yourself an adventurer, but whether it's your divine weapon or your immense strength, you're just like Kaori-san..."

Hajime didn't answer, merely shrugged. Langji, believing there must be some hidden reason, didn't press the issue. Whatever the reason, Ankaji had been saved by Hajime and the others. There were other, more important things to do with their benefactor than to question him about useless matters.

"...Mr. Hajime, Miss Yue, Miss Tio, Lord of the Principality of Ankaji, Longy Foward Jegen, on behalf of the nation and its people, expresses our gratitude to you. You have saved this country."

After he finished speaking, his subordinates, including Langji, bowed their heads deeply to express their gratitude.

A lord shouldn't bow easily, but regardless of whether Hajime was an "Apostle of God" or not, Longi would undoubtedly bow in gratitude. Even though they'd only spent a short time together, Hajime understood his strong sense of patriotism. Because of this, his subordinates, upon seeing Longi bow to the self-proclaimed adventurer Hajime, didn't stop him, but joined in the bowing. His son had indeed inherited this quality; their words and actions were practically identical.

Seeing them bow and express their gratitude, Hajime smiled broadly.

"Yes, you must thank me sincerely and never forget my great kindness."

He boasted about his kindness with all his might and felt no shame at all.

Lang basically thought that he would modestly say, "Oh, don't worry, this is what a human being should do." and then make a request without leaving any trace, so he couldn't help but be stunned with surprise.

In fact, Lang Ji originally intended to reward the savior of the country, so he did not care about Shi's attitude. However, he did not expect Shi to be so straightforward, which was really beyond his expectations.

As far as Hajime was concerned, this matter was due to Kaori's request, and since Myuu had to be left here, it was necessary to ensure Ankaji's safety, so Langji didn't need to thank him that much.

However, since it was rare for the other party to thank him, and if he ran into trouble, it would always be better to have more people to help him, Hajime decided to actively promote his favor. Although Hajime thought that if it was Langji, he would be honest and trustworthy, Langji was also a politician, so it was best to obtain the other party's promise first.

"Yes, yes, of course. Our descendants will remember this... But there are still many patients in Ankaji who are suffering... Could you please save them too?"

As a politician or aristocrat, intrigue and scheming were commonplace for Longji. He was somewhat perplexed by Hajime's blunt statement, but eventually seemed to understand, giving a wry smile and a nod. To save the infected, he once again commissioned Hajime to retrieve the "Serenity Stone."

"That's no problem. I have something to do at Gulun Volcano anyway. But how much should I take?"

"Would you accept the commission? Someone, come here and bring the information."

Seeing Shi's ready agreement, Langji breathed a sigh of relief and ordered his subordinates to bring over the information, informing them of the current number of patients and the number of treatments needed. It seemed that a very large number would be needed.

"We need a lot of it. Do you want us to send someone to help carry it?"

"No, that's not necessary. I have a divine tool that can be used for large-scale transportation. Even experienced merchants are crazy about it."

"...I see you're omnipotent now. This is God's will, isn't it?"

Is there anything the man before him can't do? Langji could only laugh dumbfoundedly.

Meanwhile, Kaori and Shia are surprisingly active at the medical center.

Kaori gathered the most urgent patients within a ten-meter radius, extracted magic power from them all, and stored it in the magic crystal to delay the disease. At the same time, she performed recovery magic to restore their weakened bodies.

Shia, using her extraordinary strength, carried the incapacitated patients in one go. Rather than driving the carriage, she piled the patients into it, lifted them along with the carriage, and took a shortcut through the building, traveling to and from the other facilities. Rather than moving them to different facilities, it was more efficient to gather the most urgent patients together and treat them all at once.

However, this method also had its drawbacks. Seeing the supposedly weak bunny-eared girl do something impossible, many people, believing they were suffering from a disease or hallucinations, rushed into the hospital in despair, causing even more chaos.

Seeing Kaori continuously casting advanced magic and performing multiple healing spells simultaneously as if it were natural, the staff at the hospital were not only amazed, but also held a deep respect for her. Now, they all follow Kaori's instructions and treat the patients.

At this time, Hajime and the others came in front of the group centered around Kaori. The medical staff and patients were about to salute Langji who accompanied them, but Langji waved his hand to stop them and stood in front of them.

"Everyone, please listen to me! The cause of the oasis pollution has just been eliminated! It may take time, but our oasis will recover! Furthermore, we've successfully preserved our water supply! We have more than enough to sustain us until help arrives. Adventurers like Jin have accepted the commission and are willing to help us collect the Serenity Stone! Please hold on for a few more days! Let's work together to overcome this difficult time!"

Langji delivered his speech in a pleasant and deep voice, worthy of being a noble who ruled a key point in the northern continent. His speech was powerful and forceful.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he was saying, but seeing the lord's cheerful expression, they gradually understood.

The next moment, a roar of joy, loud enough to shake the building, erupted. With so many dead and no safe water in the desert, the people, once despairing, now smiled again. Patients and their families hugged each other, shedding tears of relief. Hospital staff patted their colleagues on the shoulders, rekindling their efforts. Everyone expressed their sincere gratitude for their assistance.

At this moment, Langji glanced at Hajime. Hajime noticed his gaze and realized his intention, and his cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

"Lord, you..."

"Don't worry. Even if Mr. Hajime doesn't come back, we'll just be a little desperate."

The implication was, "If you don't lend a hand, we'll die, okay? You really have to keep trying! You have to complete the commission and come back!" While Langji could only rely on Hajime and was grateful to him, the stakes were grave, potentially costing tens of thousands of lives. Langji's subtext was a threat to Hajime: if all these happy people, all those thanking him, perished—"You wouldn't want to feel that guilt, would you?" Even if this threat was simply an appeal to Hajime's conscience, a desperate attempt to prevent him from escaping.

"You have a really bad personality."

"If you don't have a bad personality, you can't be called a noble."

Hajime gave a wry smile, and Longi shrugged. Hajime wasn't particularly offended. As the lord of a principality, such precautions were natural. If he didn't take any precautions, Longi would be untrustworthy. But the biggest reason was—even if Ankaji ultimately perished because of Hajime's escape, Hajime wouldn't feel guilty. At most, he would sigh, "What a tragic event."

Hajime turned his gaze away from Langji and walked towards Kaori.

"Kaori, we're heading to capture the Gulun Volcano now. How much longer can they hold out?"

"Hashi-kun..."

Kaori's smile brightened upon seeing Hajime, but it quickly turned serious, her gaze fixed on the air. Perhaps having calculated everything, she looked at Hajime and replied, "Two days." Kaori judged that two days was the limit of the patient's endurance, both in terms of magical power and physical strength.

“Hajime-kun, I’ll stay here to treat the patients, so I’ll leave the Jingyin Stone to you. I’m sorry… I know Hajime-kun doesn’t care about this world…”

"It's nothing, it was just a passing thing. Don't worry about it. This is my own decision... and I can't leave Myuu in a place where people keep falling ill, right?"

"Haha, yes, I'm counting on you. I'll take good care of Myuu."

On her way to Ankaji, Kaori heard Hajime's story about the Mad God and the purpose of his journey. She also learned that even if it meant leaving the world to perish, he would return to his homeland. If Kaori disagreed with Hajime's approach, she could have returned to Kouki and the others. However, after understanding everything, Kaori remained committed to following Hajime.

The same thing happened this time. If Hajime decided to leave Ankaji to die, Kaori would try to persuade him, but if it didn't work, she would still give up on saving Ankaji.

However, it was also true that she wanted to do her part for the people of Ankaji, so when Hajime made his decision, Kaori couldn't help but look at him with pleading eyes. Kaori wasn't so arrogant as to assume that Hajime would make a decision based on her feelings, but when Hajime caught Kaori's gaze, he smiled wryly and shrugged. This suggests that Kaori must have influenced Hajime's judgment to some extent.

Her emotions were extremely complicated, almost as if she was restraining Hajime for her own willfulness.

Kaori couldn't help but apologize to Hajime, but he waved it off nonchalantly. As if reading Kaori's feelings, Hajime explained it was his decision and told her not to worry about it. Seeing Hajime's cold attitude, yet still caring about her and displaying his fatherly love as if nothing had happened, Kaori couldn't help but look at him with eyes filled with trust and love.

"I'll do my best too, so please come back safely. I'll be waiting for you..."

“…Okay, okay.”

Seeing Kaori narrow her eyes lovingly, like a wife saying goodbye to her husband who was about to go to the battlefield, Hajime couldn't help but stutter when he answered.

Kaori's words and actions were originally very direct. In Japan, she also denied Kouki's misunderstandings, or suddenly said shocking words to Hajime, causing a storm of jealousy in the classroom...

Such actions had become a daily routine, and they became even more blatant after the day she confessed.

Hajime couldn't help but look away, but where his gaze went... he saw Yue.

Yue looked at Hajime with the cold eyes he had seen before, staring at him closely. Hajime couldn't help but turn to the other side, only to see Kaori, who was smiling and full of emotion...

Seeing the aura emanating from Kaori, everyone's idol Myuu suddenly said something surprising:

"Kaori-nee is just like Yue-nee from before~ Kaori-nee, do you want to kiss Hajime-papa too?"

"Oh my? Myuu, did you see that?"

"Hmm? I saw it through my fingers. Yue-nee is so cute~ Myuu also wants to kiss daddy~"

"Hmm~ You haven't even kissed me yet? Let's talk about it when I grow up a little bit."

“Eh~”

While feeling warmed by Myuu's childish words, Hajime unreasonably lost his temper at Tio and said, "You useless thing!" As expected, the useless dragon excitedly said, "What a wonderful look!" But that matter was not important at the moment.

Because the lady Hannya who appeared beside Hajime and tapped his shoulder with a large sword was a "certain ability" of Kaori whose origin and principle were unknown, just like a substitute for 0.

"...What's going on? Hajime-kun, weren't you supposed to be working? Why were you kissing Yue? Why did it come to that? Was the kiss necessary? While I was desperately trying to treat these patients, were you two having fun? Did you forget about me? Or did you split up with me just to be alone?"

The light in Kaori-san's eyes faded, and she stared at Hajime with Hannya on her back. A cold sweat immediately broke out on Hajime's cheeks. He tried to explain that the kiss was a casual act of blood-sucking, not a separate action, but Yue stepped forward before he could speak.

Hajime hoped that Yue would clear up the misunderstanding, but in this situation, only a fool would expect Yue to do so.

Yue looked at Kaori from the front, his hands on his hips, his chest puffed out with confidence, a smile on his lips——

"...Hashi is delicious."

And said so.

“Ahaha, ahahahahaha!”

“Haha, hahahahaha!”

The sinister laughter of the two beautiful girls echoed throughout the hospital. The staff and patients, who had until then considered Kaori a saint, all retreated, turning their heads away, trying their best not to look at them.

It's no wonder. With Miss Hannya brandishing a knife behind her, who would still consider her a saint? Furthermore, those confronting her also have dark clouds and a dragon emitting lightning behind them, so it's understandable that they would look away.

Kaori and Yue glared at each other, laughing. Hajime sighed, walked over to them, and flicked their foreheads quickly. Bang! A dramatic sound echoed, and Yue and Kaori were hit on the forehead. They couldn't help but groan and squatted down. They looked up at Hajime with tearful eyes, wondering, "What are you doing?" Hajime looked like he couldn't stand them.

"Kaori, I'm not going to do that kind of thing with Yue, so I split up with her. You should understand that, right? And Yue is my lover. No matter what we do, you have no right to ask. You understand all that, don't you?"

"Well... that's true... but emotions can't be controlled by reason..."

Despite being frustrated by Hajime's criticism, Kaori still opened her mouth to refute him. Hajime sighed again and corrected Yue, "Don't confront her." However, Yue turned her head away and said, "This is a women's war... Hajime, don't interrupt." She ignored Hajime's correction.

Seeing the two women suddenly become jealous of each other, Langji and others were completely confused about the situation; Xia looked back at her own situation and thought, "My presence seems to be very weak recently"; Tio was still gasping for breath: Mu was angry again because of the quarrel between Yue and Kaori.

Hajime gave up on cleaning up the mess and decided to head to the Gulun Volcano. Although Hajime had already discussed this with Langji beforehand, he not only asked Kaori, who was busy at the medical center, but also asked Langji again to take care of Myuu. Seeing the relationship between Hajime and the others, Langji smiled wryly and readily agreed to take care of Myuu.

Even though she had discussed this with Myu beforehand, the moment she realized Hajime and the others were about to leave, Myu lowered her head in loneliness. Hajime squatted down, matching her eye level, and slowly stroked her head.

"Myuu, we're leaving. Be a good boy and stay here."

"Wow, Myuu will be a good boy, so you have to come back soon, Daddy."

"Okay, I'll be back soon."

Myuu clutched the hem of Hajime's shirt tightly with both hands, fighting back tears as Hajime gently comforted her. Seeing them like this, regardless of race, anyone would have guessed they were father and daughter. The air, previously chilled by jealousy, now warmed. Hajime gave Myuu a push on the back, urging her to join Kaori, then gave the order to Yue, Shia, and Tio to set out.

As Hajime was about to turn and leave, Kaori called out to him.

“Ah, Hajime-kun…um, be careful on your journey.”

"Okay, Myuu, I'll leave it to you."

"Well, and um... can you give me a kiss? Like a goodbye kiss...?"

"...Of course not. Why are you suddenly saying something like that?"