Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter SS8

A Small Memory Between Uncle and Niece

[This short story contains spoilers, so please finish the main series before reading it!]

The southwest portion of the southern continent was one large wetland. Multiple rivers crisscrossed the swampy area, sunlight glinting off them. Monsters and animals of all sizes roamed the greenery surrounding the water.

“This is a pretty spectacular view,” Hajime said as he surveyed the wetlands.

“Mmm, we were lucky today. Normally, there’s a lot more mist. It used to help camouflage our nation,” Yue said, looking nostalgic.

Hajime smiled gently at her. He much preferred the expression on her face now than when she’d been trying to ignore all the memories she had of her homeland.

“Let’s go, Hajime... I think it’s this way.”

Yue took Hajime’s hand and led him through the swamp. The two of them looked like they were just out on a picnic with the way they admired the scenery as they passed by.

After a while, Yue pointed to a hill on the other side of the riverbank and said, “I-I think that’s it.”

Her memories had faded with the centuries and she wasn’t totally sure the top of that hill was the spot she was looking for, but she felt like she was close.

“Even if you’re wrong, we can just keep searching. Worst comes to worst, we can use the compass.”

“Mmm...” Yue mumbled and smiled at that, then started working her way up the hill.

“Oh, it’s here... It’s still here,” Yue muttered in wonder, her red eyes looking at a massive tree standing apart from the rest of the greenery. It wasn’t very tall, but the trunk was quite wide and its branches spread out to form a large canopy.

“Is this the place?”

“Mhm. I’m sure of it. This is an important place to me, Uncle Deen, and my father.”

Hajime was capable of teleporting back to Earth at any time now, but the two of them had come here to search for a place that held a lot of memories for both her and Dienleed.

“This is a good spot for his grave,” Yue muttered.

Indeed, they were searching for nostalgic spots so that Yue could build a grave for her beloved uncle. Of course, Dienleed had been dead for centuries now, so there were no remains of his left, but Yue had still wanted a gravestone to leave behind a tangible marker that he’d once lived.

Hajime nodded to her and pulled a cross out of his Treasure Trove. They dug the hole by hand, purposely choosing not to use magic out of respect for Dienleed, and planted the cross in a small hole near the roots of the tree. For a while, the two of them stared at the gravestone in silence...and before long, Yue started to reminisce about a particular moment she’d shared with her uncle here.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this spot?”

“Yes, uncle. I like it.”

A young Yue—who at the time was called Aletia—was sitting on the roots of the tree with her uncle, Dienleed. She had a napkin spread over her lap and a sandwich in her hands.

“It’s your birthday. We could have had a big party at the palace if you wanted...”

“We already had one, remember? I’m tired of sifting through expensive gifts with no thought put behind them and dealing with all the marriage proposals.”

Though she was still young, Aletia was the princess of a kingdom. Moreover, she was known to be a beautiful girl, and two years ago her special magic had manifested, making her a genius in all fields of magic. However, the king had officially banned anyone from asking for Aletia’s hand in marriage. Neither foreign dignitaries nor domestic nobles were allowed to break that rule. Unfortunately, most people thought he was just an overly doting father and had come up with various plans to try to indirectly give their proposals to Aletia at big public occasions like her recent birthday party.

“If I have to attend another party, my business smile is going to end up plastered onto my face forever,” Aletia said, pinching her sore cheeks to emphasize her point. Dienleed smiled sadly in response and shook his head.

“I know how tiring that must be, but I wasn’t suggesting a big public party. I was thinking it’d be a smaller affair where only friends and close relatives will be invited. If nothing else, I’m sure your maids and guards would love the chance to congratulate you.”

“That does sound like it could be fun, but...” Aletia pursed her lips, unsure of how to continue.

Over the past few years, Dienleed had spent a lot of time abroad. He’d even relinquished his title of prime minister to have more free time to do...whatever he was doing. There had been an entire year where he’d been gone without sending even a single message too. Dienleed was the adult Aletia trusted the most in this world, so not being able to see him for long stretches of time had left her lonely. More than anything though, she was getting worried. She could tell the way her beloved uncle looked at her changed. His eyes still had the same gentle warmth and love they always had, but now she could see worry flickering in them too. Whenever she tried to ask him what was wrong, he just deflected with a smile, and that bothered her too. She figured he must have an important reason for keeping his secrets, but that didn’t stop her from feeling left out.

“What, are you too busy to celebrate your niece’s birthday with her? You’ve barely spent any time with me at all these past few years!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, now that’s just not true! I even made sure to come back in time for your birthday this year, didn’t I?”

“Then just let me have my party here with you!” Aletia said with a huff, then stuffed the sandwich into her mouth. It wasn’t a very proper way of eating, and she would have been scolded for it in the palace, but Dienleed just smiled and said nothing. The fact that the girl he thought of as his own daughter preferred to spend time with him over opening rare and expensive gifts or speaking with the most powerful and influential nobles in the world, all of whom wanted her hand in marriage, made him quite happy.

“How’s my sandwich? I worked hard on my cooking over the past year, so I think it’s gotten pretty good...” Dienleed said.

“It tastes just as awful as always!”

“Hey!”

“You’re good at most things, but your cooking skills are awful.”

“Now that’s just rude! Besides, if you don’t like my food, you can just stop asking me to make it for you.”

“It tastes awful, but I like it anyway.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Man, I don’t get kids these days.”

Dienleed shrugged his shoulders, then started eating his own sandwich.

I don’t think it tastes that bad, he thought, cocking his head.

Seeing his expression, Aletia chuckled. She liked that she could just be herself around her uncle. Her parents doted on her so much that she felt like she couldn’t actually impose on them. The only person who scolded her when she was acting spoiled or gave her a proper response when she asked for something difficult was her uncle.

“I’m a bit worried for your future, you know? You’ll be an adult next year, but I haven’t heard about a single boy you like, Aletia.”

“Where’d that come from? Anyway, those men are all the same. It’s not my fault they’re boring.”

“Is there any kind of boy you’re looking for?”

“Not really, but...I guess there are some things I’d like to see in a guy.” Aletia paused there, then raised one finger into the air and started listing things off. “For one...I’d like it if he looked at me like I was some kind of strange creature.”

“That’s a rather strange thing to want, isn’t it?”

“I think I just want someone who’s not so enamored by me that they’re unable to say no when I ask for something unreasonable.”

“Aletia, are there even people like that out there? Have you gotten so many marriage proposals that your standards have gotten all messed up?”

“Actually, maybe it would be cool to find a guy who’d be willing to attack me when I get taken hostage because he knows I’ll regenerate!”

“Are you sure that’s what you want, Aletia? I’m really worried about your future now!”

Dienleed started lecturing Aletia about having better standards, and though she looked like she was listening to him, she was actually imagining how fun it would be to meet someone who matched that description.

“Yue?”

Hajime’s voice shook Yue out of her reminiscing. She turned to face him and smiled. It was hard to believe that she’d actually met a man who fulfilled all of the conditions she’d laid out back when she’d been teasing her uncle about the kind of guy she might like.

“What’s up?” Hajime asked.

“Mmm, it’s nothing.”

Hajime cocked his head slightly, prompting Yue to grab his hand. She then turned back to the gravestone that had Dienleed’s name carved into it and thought, Uncle Deen, I’ve finally found happiness, so please rest in peace.