An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"He's gone crazy! The crazy Alchemist Hajime has appeared!"

“…Hajime, wake up! — 『Bad luck』!!”

"How about a soul spell? If that can help me wake up..."

The mad alchemist was reduced to a stain on the ground. At this moment, Tio's soul magic descended, and a golden light suddenly shone. "How terrifying~~" Seeing Shizuku crying and Kaori comforting her, Ling asked a simple question:

"...Why on earth would Kaoru-chan and Shizuku-chan fall in love with Nagumo-san?"

"That's right!" Kouki and Ryuutarou nodded vigorously in agreement.

Ten minutes later, Hajime took a seat in front of Yue and the others.

"Hajime-kun, have you reflected on this? Have you?"

Because her friend was almost used as a test bed, Kaori showed a scary smile and asked Hajime to reflect on herself, and Hajime nodded in agreement respectfully.

"I know it's not a good idea for me to use Yaegashi as a test bed."

“…I’m a little bothered by the tone of your voice, which sounds like you’re reading an essay, but never mind. Since you’re reflecting on yourself—”

"So this time, I will carefully select the subjects."

"We're not talking about that right now, are we!?" Kaori complained.

Hajime ignored Kaori's complaints and looked away.

"Wait! Why are you looking at me!?"

Guanghui trembled and retreated.

"No, I mean, since this is a memory erasure experiment, our interests should be aligned, right?"

“… No, that’s not right. I won’t do that!”

"Kui-ki, you hesitated for a moment, didn't you?"

Hearing Ryutaro's question, Guanghui turned his head away.

“…Hajime, by the way, what is that silver tube for?”

"Of course, it's for fighting Japanese civil servants. In order to survive in society, it's better to have a household registration."

Enrolling in health insurance, obtaining various certificates, attending school or finding a job, etc., in other words...

"Forging documents, creating and falsifying data are all necessary actions. Rather than having an amateur like me do it, it would be more reliable to let the district office staff do it themselves."

"In other words, you're going to erase their memories and create new ones to replace them, or perhaps brainwash them?"

Shizuku wasn't the only one whose cheeks twitched; everyone else was the same. Hajime said happily:

"Yes, and also as a precaution against physical threats to Myuu—"

Small revolver, small bazooka, small sword, toy hammer, whip, steel wire, various grenades and cross-shaped floating guns for deploying barriers, anti-object rifles and special portals, etc.

"Are you planning on making Myuu go to war with some force?!"

Indeed, with all this equipment, they could form a personal army. Why would they want to give it to a little girl? That's not surviving in society anymore; it's a complete antisocial force. Everyone condemned Hajime.

However, facing Shizuku and the others who were so excited that they were about to form a "Team to Train Myuu-chan to Become a Normal Person", Hajime shouted in anger:

"What nonsense! How could such a cute child not be targeted?! My child is a world treasure!"

Of course, everyone, including Yue, let out an "Awww" and looked like they were seeing a really stupid dad.

Hajime shrugged helplessly at those who were confused about the situation and continued:

"Listen carefully, I'm sure there's at least one organization that's targeting Myuu."

How could such an organization exist? Yue and the others still looked defeated by Hajime...

"Soul sisters."

Shizuku, Kaori, Suzu, Kouki, Ryuutarou, and the rest of the Earth Team remained silent, their cheeks twitching. It seemed they weren't completely unsure... or rather, they had a rough idea.

Yue and the others remembered the otherworldly version of the Soul Sisters who mainly lived in the Kingdom of Heilig, but they didn't understand what that had to do with Myuu.

"They don't allow men to get close to Yaegashi, but at the same time, they also absolutely don't allow the existence of 'real sisters'. Because the iron rule they follow is that Yaegashi must be the 'older sister to all step-sisters'."

“…Hajime, I don’t understand what you mean.”

That's normal. Hajime ignored Yue's question and continued:

"Yaegashi, even if Myuu admires her as 'Sister Shizuku', can you still treat her like a soul sister or a neighborhood kid?"

Shizuku imagined it for a moment, then was speechless. Shizuku loved cute things, and Myuu was her beloved's goddaughter. No matter how she imagined it, she was sure she'd treat her with special regard.

"Who knows what jealous step-sisters will do...it will be too late by the time it happens!"

Hajime exuded a powerful aura, asserting his power with overwhelming force, and the silver tube even shone. Yue and the others looked at each other, saying, "Perhaps so," and swallowed their saliva...

“Or if she’s discovered to be a demihuman while being harassed, she could be targeted by an unknown organization at any moment. Aren’t you afraid of that happening? Is that all Myuu means to you!?”

A flash of red light appeared, and Yue and the others' eyes suddenly became somewhat distracted, and they all shouted, "Of course not!" Hajime activated the flash of the silver tube and shouted, as if to give the final word:

"So what are you going to do?! What can you do for Myuu!?"

Then, "...Well! I'll think about how to let Myu use magic!" "I'll teach her my fighting skills!" "I'll also teach her the double greatsword technique!" "Then I'll teach her the Yaegashi style!" "I'll teach her the trick to transform pain into power!" "Suzun will teach her the barrier technique!" "It's a rare opportunity, let's compile them all into a book!" "Leave it to me, Ryutaro! I will create a perfect secret book!" Yue and others, with dull eyes, shouted excitedly.

Seeing this, Shi took the silver tube and said:

"Well, there's still room for improvement, but it's practical enough."

He's gone mad, completely mad. Furthermore, the completed "Little Myu Super Enhancement Plan" is as thick as a phone book. The day Myu is transformed by the devil may not be far off.

Short Story Collection Bonus: What is Remia's mother's true intention?

"Oh my? Nagumo-kun, what is that?"

As they were about to leave the ice cave, Shizuku noticed a square piece of black metal on the living room table, probably while packing her luggage, and asked a question.

"Ah, that... that's a talisman."

Hajime's expression was filled with nostalgia and tenderness, and Ling clapped her hands when she saw the object.

"Ah, that's it! You put it in your arms, and when you get shot, you can say 'Thanks to this, I survived', right?"

"I don't have a Chuunibyou!" Hajime flicked Suzu's forehead, causing her to stumble back in pain. Kaori cast a healing spell on her and added with a wry smile:

"It's something like a box with a secret mechanism, right? It contains an amulet."

"That's quite a treasured possession... You treasure it, don't you?"

"It can't be helped, after all, it's a talisman given by Myuu-chan~"

I got it too! — Shia pulled out a necklace made of gleaming white shells from her treasure chest. Yue, Kaori, and Tio proudly took out similar necklaces. Then, perhaps wanting to show his own to everyone, Hajime picked up the black metal box.

“—‘Refine’.”

The metal on the surface—the world's hardest azantium ore—separated, revealing a box with a single square gap. It seemed like a sliding puzzle, and the locking pieces on the surface began to move rapidly. Finally, there was a click, and the surface separated.

Another box appeared inside. Shizuku and the others shouted, "Russian dolls?" and looked at Hajime with subtle eyes.

Hajime didn't care. He turned the dial on the side lock, opened the lid, and then unlocked the box inside. Poison needles flew out, and Hajime dodged. Hajime opened the box again, and electric shocks erupted. He unlocked the fingerprint lock, then opened the voice code box inside...

“How many boxes are there?”

"Is such strict defense necessary?!"

Shizuku and Suzu couldn't help but complain, and at the same time, the final seal was lifted.

"Oh? Only Nagumo-san has two? They're white and white peach colored."

"Yes, this one was given by Remia. Myuu probably begged her to give it to them as well."

Basically, Yue and the others' amulets also used special ropes prepared by a craftsman that Remia had asked her to know, making it a collaborative effort between mother and daughter. However, since Hajime's father was a special one, Myuu would have expected her mother to give him a gift as well. Hearing Hajime's explanation, Yue gave a cold look and objected:

"...Is that really the case? No, I don't think so!"

"Yue, your tone and personality are strange, huh? She seems very grateful to me, so maybe there's a sense of gratitude involved. Both mother and daughter are so distant—"

"Hajime-kun doesn't understand anything!"

This time, it was Kaori who objected. She pointed at Hajime, like a detective who had found the real culprit. "What's that..." Hajime was confused when Shia and Tio gave chase.

"I think it probably involves feelings beyond gratitude!"

"Well, although her catchphrase 'Aiya aiya hehehe' is an iron-clad mental defense that even I can't see through, but... my woman's intuition tells me that she is suspicious!"

"Huh? Wait, what does that mean? Did something happen between Myuu-chan's mother and Nagumo-san?"

Shizuku asked with an expression of disbelief. Hajime sighed as if he couldn't stand them anymore.

"How could anything happen? She called me 'dear' only for Myuu, as a joke. Her attitude hasn't changed since the first day—"

"...Since the fifth day, she's been looking unusually shy."

Yue said with a calm expression, and Shia and the others followed.

"Yes, she was very friendly at first, but it didn't seem like she was particularly aware of Hajime-san."

"Yes, in a sense, that's what you call a mature woman's response, right? I feel like she's very clear about the boundaries, and she's also considerate of our feelings."

"Well, when we asked her, 'Are you serious?', she easily responded with her catchphrase."

"Yeah!" Yue and others said in unison.

"...Aiyaaiyahahaha, there's obviously no room for error on the fifth day!"

"When I joked about her relationship with Hajime, her eyes were subtly shifting!"

"When Myuu says 'Daddy and Mommy' want to sleep together, she used to respond with a carefree 'It's okay with me, okay?' But starting on the fifth day, she changed it to 'Everyone, please sleep together, too.' It feels like she's hiding something!"

"I vaguely feel that after the fifth day, the distance between her and the Master has grown, but that's actually suspicious!"

“Huh? It feels like Remia-san is paying attention to Hajime?” Evidence of this situation kept appearing.

Shizuku glared at Hajime fiercely.

"Nagumo-kun! How can you be so shameless!"

“Wow, Nagumo-san is so strong! He actually hooked up with a widow. His level is too high—”

"Calm down, Yaegashi, you're overthinking it. Nothing happened between us—no, although I seemed to have experienced something incredible on the fourth night, I have no memory of it at all... but as far as I can remember, nothing happened between us."

It was like what a drunken man would say when he's lost his memory. Shizuku's eyes drooped higher and higher, and Ling's forehead was flicked a second time, causing her body to fall back again.

“…We have no memory of this either, so we can’t say anything. But that’s precisely why we can’t just ignore it. Because—”

"Ms. Remia is Myuu-chan's mother! In other words!"

"If Remia-san joins the war, she'll naturally become Hajime-san's wife!"

"Even I am still just a lover!"

"No, you're not my lover," Hajime said, pulling out a thick book from the treasure chest. "What's that?" Shizuku asked, somewhat annoyed.

"This is an ornament encyclopedia. I borrowed it from the Royal Library A—"

"You were going to say A just now, right? How could you just steal it out like that!?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I did get the princess's permission. I asked her if I could borrow it for a while. ...She just didn't say it was for life."

"That's called stealing! Lily will cry!"

Hajime splendidly ignored Shizuku's common-sense and conscientious complaints and flipped open the illustrated book.

"Just like the language of flowers, I remember that this illustrated guide also records the meaning of the materials..."

In other words, if we carefully investigate the meaning of the shells, we can prove that Remia was simply praying for a safe journey for them, with no other intentions.

"Let me see... I got it. Does the shell represent 'praying for good luck on the journey', 'achieving the purpose of the journey', and 'awaiting your return'? Myuu really gave me a good gift..."

Hajime touched the words with his finger and smiled gently. After a moment, he turned back to Yue and the others and said, "Well, nothing strange, right?" Yue snatched the Pokédex from him.

"...'I hope to see you again'."

Yue turned to the next item and read it with a very cold look, and Xia and others followed suit.

"'Pray for your luck'?"

"There's also a note saying 'I'll never forget', right?"

"White peach shells are a subspecies of white shells, and both represent affection. However, it seems that white peach shells are more commonly used between men and women, right?"

All the female members stared at Hajime with cold eyes.

"No, you guys are really overthinking it. Besides, I didn't mean that at all."