An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"Sorry, I'll come back to the Q&A later."

Remia, seemingly overly anxious, asked reflexively. Hajime, after saying this to Remia, picked her up with one hand. Remia let out a small, mournful cry of "Ah!" and couldn't help but hug Hajime's neck.

Hajime jumped back, and at the same time, Remia heard an ominous sound of breaking wind. She turned around in surprise, only to see the Grim Reaper swinging his scythe.

It turned out there wasn't just one Grim Reaper. No, not even two. Grim Reapers emerged from the walls and the ground in all directions. In an instant, the two of them were surrounded by more than twenty Grim Reapers.

"Hold on tight, I'm going to be a bit aggressive."

"Okay, okay."

Hearing Hajime's sharp and heavy tone, Remia obeyed Hajime's words reflexively.

—Ahhhhhhhh!

The Grim Reapers unfolded their terrifying black liquid bodies and roared.

The Grim Reaper was probably declaring war, and the wind of a battlefield immediately blew at the scene.

Even with the Mystic Eye, the Magic Stone couldn't be seen, and the nature of the black liquid was unclear. It was a mysterious creature whose will was unknown, but if it had murderous intent, there was nothing to say.

"I don't have time for filth."

As the Shinigami attacked, a red light erupted from Hajime's hand. Instantly, seven crosses appeared in the sky. With Hajime at the center, the cross-shaped floating cannons spread out in all directions like petals.

They opened fire at the critical moment, and as the gunshots rang out, flashes of death flew out.

Even the mysterious creatures seemed unable to withstand the powerful bombardment of the dual shock waves of physical and magical power.

The Shinigami's bodies exploded, and tar like blood radiated outwards.

Hajime jumped back on the spot, and a Shinigami appeared from beneath his feet. Without even looking, Hajime shattered it with Donal's explosive bullet, and at the same time, with precise and rapid shooting, he killed five more Shinigami that flew from the air.

Seizing the moment Hajime landed, scythes swung simultaneously from front, back, left, and right. Hajime ducked, then spun his gun mid-air to reload.

Hajime spun like a top, his right foot as the axis, and simultaneously pulled the trigger with lightning speed. The ensuing result was, of course, a red flash of light, creating a cross, with four Shinigami flying off in embellishment.

"Stop getting in my way and go to hell."

Hajime's mouth opened like a crescent moon, his pupils contracted, and a ferocious murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

The powerful pressure from the abyss monster instantly frightened the Death Gods.

Seeing Hajime in battle up close for the first time, Remia gasped. But strangely enough, she didn't find it frightening.

Because Remia understood that such an intense battle did not put much of a burden on Remia herself, which was proof that Hajime was considerate of her. However, this was certainly one of the reasons, but the biggest reason was that Remia could sense Hajime's anxiety and anger, and Hajime's anger and emotions came from his concern for Myuu.

“Hajime-san…”

"Lemia, cover your ears! I'm going to kill them all."

Remia was about to say something, but she didn't know what she wanted to say, so she simply followed Hajime's words.

Hajime then took out the rocket launcher, the "Alcorn," and mercilessly fired at the incoming Shinigami, bombarding the surrounding ground as well. The aftermath of the explosion caused the ruins to collapse, razing everything within a radius of over a hundred meters to the ground.

Afterwards, nothing was left, and there was no trace of death.

He didn't dare to be careless and looked around for a while at the widening view. Finally, his shoulders relaxed and he put away Alcorn.

"I'm sorry, Remia. Myuu and I haven't reunited yet, and you were the first one to notice."

"Eh? Ah...Is that so?"

After a while, Remia realized that Shigeki was continuing the previous topic, and she couldn't help but show a worried expression.

"This is a very vast city. I confirmed it from above, but I couldn't see the edge of the city."

While this is just speculation, based on the distance calculated from high-altitude observations, this city has a radius of at least thirty kilometers. This might be fine on Earth, but based on Todas's standards, this is no longer the size of a city.

"That city is probably the center of this ruined city, as the broad roads stretching east, west, south, and north do indeed start from that city. Anyway, let's destroy the surrounding buildings and head towards that ruined city."

The huge crossroads centered on the abandoned city. If one took one of the main roads, even from a distance, they would be able to see the center, so the missing people must be heading that way. This was Hajime's judgment.

Furthermore, the area Hajime and Remia were in seemed to be on the north side of the "abandoned city," so this road must be the "Northern Main Road." This was based on a sign Hajime had spotted before reuniting with Remia, with the words "Northern Main Road" written on it in very faint handwriting. Hajime was able to decipher the unknown text thanks to his "Speech Comprehension" skill.

"One, destroying while advancing?"

"Yes, because the gunshots and explosions can let others know my location... Although if they are on the south side of the abandoned city, even the gunshots may have to be quite close to the abandoned city to be heard, but... it's better to do something than nothing."

What worried Hajime was the "wall" that came into view when he checked out the capital from above.

With the abandoned city at its center, a wall stretched from east to west, dividing the area into north and south. It was a massive wall that looked like the Great Wall of China raised to two hundred meters.

The purpose of the massive wall is unclear, but from a distance, the southern side appears to have fewer large buildings than the northern side. Perhaps due to different uses, or perhaps due to some event, the southern side has collapsed more severely than the northern side.

In short, the huge wall is very likely to block the flash and sound.

That being said, it's certainly better to do something than nothing. Of course, just to be on the safe side, Hajime also used telepathy to call his companions and dispatched a Raven reconnaissance aircraft (Ornis) to investigate and confirm safety.

"Won't we be attacked by something like that just now?"

Hajime's strategy of revealing her position was too radical, and Remia's cheeks twitched uncontrollably. Remia's common sense might break before her own.

"I'll kill them all, no problem."

"Yes, is it..."

The killing declaration was said so easily that even Remia couldn't get over it, but she was sweating coldly.

Ignoring Remia's reaction, Hajime lowered her to the ground. Then, the pain she had forgotten about came back, and Remia let out a "Ouch!", gasping for air from the pain.

"? Why are you barefoot?"

"Because it would hinder running..."

"……I see."

Hajime understood how anxious Remia was, so he just replied with one word, stomped his foot on the ground, and activated "Alchemy", which immediately raised a makeshift chair.

Hajime helped Remia sit down, knelt on one knee, and gently picked up Remia's scarred foot. He used his knees instead of the treatment table and placed her foot on his knees.

"Mr. Hajime?"

"Let's do the treatment first. I don't know magic, but at least I have recovery potions and a first aid kit."

"It doesn't matter to me. The important thing now is to find Myuu first."

Remia resolutely refused treatment, but Hajime looked at her quietly and said:

"Do you want her to witness it again?"

“──!”

Remia didn't ask what she had witnessed, because she knew exactly what Hajime was talking about. Just as Remia said she "didn't want to be separated from Myuu again," Myuu surely didn't want to see her mother injured again. Seeing Remia in her current state, Myuu would surely be heartbroken.

"It will be fine soon."

“…Yes, um… Hajime-san, thank you for saving me.”

"Because you are Myuu's mother."

Hajime himself probably wanted to find Myuuka as soon as possible to protect him, so his treatment was extremely swift and his responses were cold.

However, after hearing what Hajime said, Remia's expression softened. Hajime's mind must have been filled with thoughts of Myuu, which instantly made Remia feel much more relaxed and warmed.

That's probably why──

"Myuu...is she alright?"

It was a pointless question, impossible to answer. Remia simply tried to ease her anxiety as much as possible, or perhaps seek comfort from Hajime.

"Of course she'll be fine. She has first-rate courage and bravery, and she's very smart, too."

Hajime answered without hesitation. He believed in his own strength and that of his companions, and also in Myuu's own strength, and had no doubt that they would meet again in the future.

Remia thought, Ahhh... this person is really strong.

This wasn't the fierce and violent toughness I'd just mentioned. This person possessed a kind of mental toughness that came from believing in the future they wanted, willing to risk everything for it.

Remia realized deeply that it was that kind of strength that made her daughter who loved to act spoiled become strong.

My daughter probably grew up because she admired this man's strength and wanted to become stronger.

That's why she calls this person "Dad" with respect and love.

While feeling happy about her daughter's growth, as a mother she also felt a little jealous and unwilling, so she couldn't help but say some mean words.

"As expected of a father, you understand your daughter very well, dear?"

Remia smiled softly, chuckling. As everyone knows, that smile made it difficult to tell what she was really thinking.

Well, will he get impatient and angry? Or will he feel speechless and bothered...

Remia looked at Hajime with a bit of nervousness, but Hajime didn't look at her and answered directly:

"Myuu isn't here, why are you saying that?"

Remia closed her mouth in surprise. After treating one foot, Hajime took up the other, but Remia's attention was focused on something else.

"Have you noticed it a long time ago?"

"Is that the reason you just laughed it off?"

Remia called Hajime "dear", and even when asked if she was serious, she would never tell him the answer.

I always brush it off with a gentle smile, and the reason is...

"Is it because of Myuu?"

Remia nodded, looking apologetic.

It wasn't that Remia didn't want to speak, but she couldn't speak the truth.

Of course, it was impossible for Remia to recognize a man she met for the first time as her husband, let alone fall in love at first sight.

But how should she tell Mu?

That man is not your father, and mom will not be with him.

Remia couldn't bring herself to say that. Myuu, who had never called anyone "dad" before, was calling someone "dad" for the first time. How could Remia say that?

So, in front of Myuu, Remia deliberately acted like she liked Hajime, so that Myuu could see that her parents were in harmony. That being said, there were girls around Hajime who genuinely liked him, and lying to them and saying he was serious would be too rude.

So Remia always remained silent and just smiled it off.

Until the day of separation that will come sooner or later.

"I'm really sorry for causing you trouble..."

In front of her benefactor, she still put her daughter first, taking advantage of her benefactor's kindness and causing trouble for him.

As Remia said, she bowed her head and apologized to Hajime.

"Yue and the others probably understand, so don't worry about it."

The treatment seemed complete. Hajime patted her feet; both were clean. While there were many wounds, they were all shallow, so the healing potion seemed sufficient. Hajime also took out the "short boots" (for the female members) from the treasure chest and gave them to Remia.

Hajime's attitude was truly blunt. Remia put on her boots, stood up, and, looking at Hajime's back as he began to establish a visual connection with Ornis, asked in confusion:

"Aren't you angry?"

Hajime looked back at Remia and said only one sentence.

"Because it's for Myuu."

Shi shrugged and said so. Myuu was a child who loved and respected Shiu, and Shiu was not so narrow-minded as to nitpick over what her mother did for her.

Looking at Hajime's back, Remia was speechless. She was confused about herself.

"Huh? This is..."

Hajime seemed to have discovered something, and immediately after saying this, he saw golden magical light near the abandoned city.

"Let's go, Remia!"

“Okay, okay!”

Hajime stretched out his hand to her, which must mean that Hajime was going to carry her on her journey again.

Remia’s body moved quickly, as if she had no hesitation in handing it over to Hajime. She seemed to trust him even more.

But strangely, the resistance in her heart increased. However, her resistance did not come from disgust, but on the contrary, it was because she felt more shy than before.

Anyway, what mattered most now was her beloved daughter, so Remia threw the shame into the ocean of her heart and hugged Hajime tightly.

Then, with a loud bang, Hajime's footsteps caused the ground to shake violently, and the scenery was immediately thrown to the back.

Even though Hajime was carrying her through the air at an incredible speed, she surprisingly didn't feel uneasy.