He wasn't so surprised by Kaori's words and actions that he was speechless, but there was a part of Kaori's words that made him naturally want to refute.
Hajime squatted down in front of the cube in front of him—the remains of the Sealing Stone, and extended his hand towards it. At the same time, he said to Kaori:
"...That punch you gave me back then was truly painful. It was undoubtedly a powerful blow that woke me up."
“Eh?…Ah, that, uh, hurts a lot, doesn’t it? After all, that punch of mine was pretty serious…”
Hajime suddenly changed the subject, confusing Kaori for a moment, but she quickly realized that Hajime was referring to the time when Kaori beat him up when he lost control, so she looked embarrassed and apologetic.
Before her eyes, a bright crimson light suddenly appeared.
Hajime's magic power gradually seeped into the remains of the Sealing Stone. It had taken so much effort to inject it last time. It was as if the Sealing Stone's original property of "abnormally high resistance to magic" had completely disappeared.
Hajime refined the seal stone into a cube roughly the size of his palm. Seeing Kaori constantly stealing glances at him, he shrugged and said,
"That punch was incredibly effective, reaching deep within my body. And when you called me a coward, it really hurt me."
“Ah~ Ugh~ Ugh, I… uh…”
Kaori groaned in confusion. But Hajime's next words made her eyes widen.
"If it were anyone else, I'm afraid it wouldn't have had much effect."
"what?"
"I mean, if someone else did the same thing or said the same thing to me at that time, it wouldn't have affected me so deeply. Besides you, probably only Shia and Tio could do that."
"you mean……"
"Perhaps you're more than just an 'ordinary significant other'."
"Hashi-kun..."
Hajime's purpose in coming to this place wasn't just to immerse himself in memories with Yue, but also to "collect the Sealing Stones." Hajime gathered them at a faster pace and stood up.
Kaori saw Hajime's face. His expression was the same as before. It was a gentle and kind expression that Kaori missed, and her heart fluttered.
"Kaori, thank you. Thank you for always thinking of me... Before I fight that guy, I wanted to convey this to you no matter what."
"...Don't do that. It's like you're leaving a last will. It's unlucky."
"Haha, that's true. Sorry, that's not my style."
Hajime said with a wry smile. Kaori shook her head in denial.
"No, I think I should thank you. I'm really... happy."
It was too early to say that Kaori's affection had been reciprocated. However, at least her feelings had been felt by Hajime, and she had become a supporter of him. For Kaori, nothing could be more gratifying than this.
Tears welled up in Kaori's eyes at the thought. But with the final battle imminent, she absolutely couldn't cry. So, to hide her tears, she started laughing.
"Hehe, when Yue comes back I'll definitely tell her that Hajime-san is finally interested in me. At least my status has finally risen to the same level as Shia."
"You'd better not, or she'll tease you again. Don't be fooled by Yue's attitude, she actually loves playing with you."
"Wow, she must have enjoyed watching my reactions, so she always liked to tease me. Just thinking about it makes me furious. I guess I have to start planning my revenge on Yue after you leave for the Divine Realm."
"I can already see what will become of you. Yue will surely repay you double, and you'll end up crying to Yaegashi."
"Hate it! I see you're enjoying teasing me too!"
Kaori pretended to grit her teeth. Hajime snorted at her and shrugged.
A sudden silence fell between the two of them. However, the atmosphere wasn't awkward at all. In this peaceful atmosphere, the two of them thought of Yue together.
After a while, Kaori spoke up and raised a question that suddenly occurred to her.
“By the way… I was thinking about this when I was refining in the palace. Hajime-kun… have you never cast magic through a magic circle?”
Although I hadn't mentioned this before, the magic circles that Hajime had hidden in his clothes and shoes were all destroyed in the Demon King's Castle. Speaking of which, how did he create the chains of existence negation and the stone knife he used to threaten the demon people?
"Oh, you mean this. I use the same method as Yue. It's a skill that allows me to construct a magic circle using only my imagination—'Imagination Composition'."
"Eh? When did you learn this skill...?"
Kaori was confused. At that moment, Hajime threw something to her. It was a new status board he had brought from the palace.
Kaori quickly caught the status board, looked at the information displayed on it, and blinked.
"That's a derivative skill from Alchemy. Perhaps because I attempted Alchemy in such a critical state, I awakened two skills at once, one of which is 'Imagination Composition'. It seems to be the latest derivative skill."
At that time, Hajime was desperately resisting Esid's "Divine Word" at the limit of his ability, attempting to activate the Alchemy Magic at all costs. If he had pushed the limits of his talent and further improved his Alchemy skills, such a result would not be surprising.
Although she understood the reason, there was still one thing that particularly concerned Kaori.
"Um... Hajime-kun, your Limit Break now has a new derivative skill. Is this... 'True Craftsman'?"
"Oh, that, to put it simply, is to break through the limits of talent."
This will not increase the ability several times.
It doesn't bring any special abilities.
It can only greatly increase the upper limit of talent.
However, that upper limit is far beyond what humans should be capable of.
This skill has surpassed the level of being called a unique skill, and it is a level of divine skill unprecedented in history. No, it should be called a magical skill.
Reach the supreme realm with unparalleled skills.
Hence the name──
──A special derivative of the ultimate breakthrough.
This is a special derivative skill. From the moment it is acquired, one's innate talent is constantly maintained at a level beyond its original limit. Even in areas where one lacks talent, as long as the skill is activated, one can display abilities comparable to those of ordinary abilities.
Honestly, this is a subtle skill that may or may not be used. Under normal circumstances, I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to activate it again.
But, thanks to this skill──
"I'm pretty sure my transmutation skills are now even better than Oscar Orcus's."
The reason why Hajime was confident that he could create a crystal key (even if its performance was poor) and mass-produce a large number of weapons within three days without Yue's assistance was because of this skill.
To be honest, I achieved the effect of sublimation through my own efforts.
If combined with true sublimation magic, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Shi is now the pinnacle of refinement.
"I couldn't even refine this Sealing Stone before. It has the property of repelling magic, making it difficult to even store it in the treasury. However, Yue seems to hate it. Although she hasn't said it, she seems to not want to even look at it. So I left this Sealing Stone here... But now, it's as you can see."
"Ah, I see... Hehe, you once said that Esid wanted to kill you, but he didn't let you die. Looks like he should really regret it."
"I will also make the best divine weapon for you, so just look forward to it."
"Um!"
While the two were discussing this astonishing fact, Hajime had already completely completed the "refining" of the Sealing Stones and stored them all in the treasure house, leaving nothing behind.
Thus, the collection of materials was completed. The result was quite rich, even more than what was originally needed.
What Hajime had to do next was to continue mass-producing divine weapons. However, before they turned and left—
"Huh? This is..."
He discovered that there seemed to be some kind of emblem engraved on the floor directly below where the seal stone had originally been.
“Hajime-kun? What’s wrong? Is this… a crest? I remember it being the same crest as… Bandu Schnee’s in the ice cave…”
Seeing the familiar emblem, Kaori tilted her head in confusion. Hajime said nothing, nodded, and pulled out the "Ice Cave" strategy certificate from the treasure chest—a teardrop-shaped necklace.
Then──
"Is this... a resonance?"
A sound like tinnitus was heard, and the necklace and the emblem on the ground began to tremble.
Then, the necklace on Hajime's hand seemed to be drawn to it, slowly moving towards the floorboards where the emblem was engraved. The dim light made it hard to see clearly, but upon closer inspection, he saw a small hole in the center of the emblem, the same shape as the necklace's pendant, seemingly perfect for inserting it.
"Kaori. For now, just be alert."
"Uh, well, you have to be careful too."
Kaori took a step back, taking a stance. Once he was sure Kaori had retreated, Hajime inserted the necklace into the small hole in the floor. The emblem immediately glowed, followed by a metallic rubbing sound. The area of the floor where the emblem had been engraved began to bulge.
Finally, a cylindrical stone pillar with a diameter of about 30 centimeters was formed. The stone pillar rose from the ground and stopped when it was about the height of Hajime's waist. Then, a part of the side of the stone pillar automatically opened up.
"...Surely there's a mechanism like this hidden here. Apparently, only those who have successfully conquered the Ice Cave can open it."
"What on earth is this? Since it's underneath the moon-sealing block, I think it must be something related to the moon..."
Embedded within the stone pillars were minerals about the size of ping-pong balls. The minerals were colorless and highly transparent, resembling miniature crystal balls used by fortune tellers.
He picked up the ore and examined it carefully. He immediately saw its purpose.
"This... should be a sacred device used for recording images, the same type used by Oscar and the others."
"So... I only want one person to leave this thing in a place like this."
"Anyway, let's start it up and see what happens."
Hajime infuses the crystal ball with magic power.
Suddenly, the sealed hall that was originally illuminated by green light was suddenly engulfed by golden light with the color of the starry sky.
Hajime and Kaori narrowed their eyes. Then, the artifact began to play the images recorded within it, narrating the thoughts of the person who recorded it.
What they saw was—
The profound and boundless love, the boundless enlightenment and repentance, and the deep desire that shakes the listener's soul, are warm and heartwarming.
After about ten minutes, the moon-like light faded, and the recorded video disappeared. A lingering feeling filled Hajime and Kaori's hearts. It was hard to describe, but it was by no means disgusting.
Tears slid down Kaori's cheek, leaving a beautiful crystal line.
"We...must show this to Yue."
"That's right. Yue must see this thing no matter what... Kaori, you keep it. After all, we don't know what will happen when we go there."
"...Yes, I will keep it well."
Kaori took the beautiful crystal ball from Hajime's hand and carefully put it away, as if it were a treasure.
"Alright, time is running out. I need to get back to mass-producing the artifact."
"Mass-producing divine artifacts (legendary magical tools)... that sounds like a truly earth-shattering statement."
Kaori said this with a stiff smile. Hajime shrugged and once again looked around the place where he and Yue had met.
Close your eyes and pause for a short moment.
Then he turned around, opened his eyes, and walked out of the hall without looking back.
Kaori followed him silently.
After the two of them left, the sealed hall sank into darkness again.
However, what remained in the hall was no longer only the all-consuming cold darkness, but also a little bit of inclusive warmth.
Hajime and Kaori returned to Oscar's mansion, which was located deep inside.
As soon as the two entered this secret residence built into a hole dug in the rock wall, Miao immediately poked his head out from the third floor of the high-ceiling space, revealing a smile as bright as a blooming flower.
"Dad! Kaori-nee! Welcome back!"
Myuu came running with cute footsteps and threw herself into Hajime's arms.
"I'm back, Myuu."
"Xiao Miu, I'm back."
The two of them had been collecting without rest all day, so Myu must have missed them. Hajime held Myu in one arm, and Myu clung to his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could.
Myuu's face gently wrinkled as she smiled at the two. Seeing that smile, even though the two hadn't rested properly since leaving the Demon King's Castle, their fatigue instantly vanished without a trace.
At that moment, the clattering sound of indoor shoes echoed from a room deep inside the first floor. Remia emerged, wearing a pure white apron with lovely ruffles fluttering lightly, clutching a spoon. She looked every bit like a wife.
"Husband, Miss Kaori, welcome back. I'm glad you're all safe."
"Uh, well, I'm back."
"What do you mean by 'husband'...? Miss Remia, isn't this a bit too deliberate?"
"Do you want to eat first? Or take a shower first? Or... do you want us mother and daughter to stay with you first?"
“You did it on purpose! Okay, forget about this old-fashioned thing! And didn’t you say ‘mother and daughter’ at the end?! What do you want your own daughter to do!?”
"Oh my, Kaori-san, I meant to enjoy family time together. Oh, what are you thinking of?"
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