Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume SS - Chapter SS2

Remia’s True Intentions 

“Oh? What’s that, Nagumo-kun?” Shizuku asked, pointing to a black, square lump of metal sitting on the living room table. The group would soon be leaving the Frost Caverns, so Hajime had emptied his pack to reorganize it. 
“Oh that’s... a good luck charm,” Hajime’s expression softened as he spoke. Hearing that, Suzu’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together. 
“Ah, it’s one of those, isn’t it? You keep it in your breast pocket at all times, so when someone tries to stab you, you can pull it out and say, ‘This thing saved my life!’” 
“Do I look that cringe to you?” Hajime replied, flicking Suzu on the forehead. She flew backward, and Kaori quickly cast healing magic on her with an apologetic smile. 
“The metal thing is just a puzzle box, actually. The good luck charm is inside,” the healer explained. 
“You... really treasure whatever’s in there, huh?” 
“Well, it was something he got from Myu-chan, so it makes sense,” Shea chimed in. “I got one, too!” she said excitedly and started rummaging through her Treasure Trove. After a few seconds. she pulled out a glittering white seashell pendant. Yue, Kaori, and Tio had all received similar seashell pendants, and they proudly took theirs out. Hajime reached for his box, deciding to unveil his charm as well. 
“Transmute.” 
The azantium lid split apart, revealing a smaller box nestled inside. This box had a small indent in one corner; a slide puzzle. Hajime dexterously moved the tiles around into the correct configuration, and the front of the box fell open with a satisfying click. Within lay yet another box. 
“What are these, matryoshka dolls?” Shizuku asked incredulously. 
Hajime ignored her and entered the correct combination to the dial lock that protected this box, then opened the box inside that as well. That one shot out a barrage of poison darts, which he dodged. The box after that blasted lightning at him, and the one after that required fingerprint authentication, and the one after that needed a voice-activated password, and so on and so forth. 
“How many boxes are there!?” 
“Just how important is that charm to you!?” 
Eventually, Shizuku and Suzu couldn’t hide their exasperation any longer. Fortunately, Hajime was finally on the last box. 
“Oh? You have two? A white one and a peach-colored one?” 
“Yeah, but this one’s from Remia. She probably just made it because Myu asked her to.” 
Technically, Remia had helped make the charms Yue and the others had, too. She’d asked a craftsman friend of hers to make the chains for the seashell pendants, so every one of the charms were a joint Remia-Myu production. However, the fact that Hajime had two charms meant his were special in some way. Even if he tried to play it off, Yue and the others knew his second charm hadn’t just been an afterthought. 
“Is that really the only reason? No, I can say with certainty that it is not!” Yue said definitively. 
“Why are you talking like that, Yue? Anyway, she probably just wanted to thank me for bringing her daughter back to her. She’s a lot like Myu in that regard—” 
“You don’t understand a thing, Hajime-kun!” 
This time it was Kaori who objected. She pointed at Hajime, mimicking the pose of a certain great detective. As Hajime opened his mouth to argue, Shea and Tio piled on him as well. 
“I’m pretty sure there’s a reason other than gratitude!” 
“Indeed. Though even my discerning eye cannot see through her docile facade, my woman’s intuition is telling me that there is definitely something more to that charm she gave you!” 
“Wait, hang on. Are you telling me there’s something between Nagumo-kun and Myu-chan’s mother?” Shizuku asked as she shot Hajime a look of disbelief and he sighed in exasperation. 
“Like hell there’s anything between us. Sure, she calls me ‘darling,’ but she only does that for Myu’s sake. Besides, you can tell she’s joking, since her attitude’s been like that from the start and—” 
“Five days after we arrived, she seemed to be more bashful around you...” Yue interjected quietly. Shea and the others nodded in agreement. 
“Yeah, that’s true. She was always nice to Hajime-san, but it didn’t feel like she saw him as a man until then.” 
“Yep. I guess it’s because she’s an adult? It definitely felt like she was trying to be considerate of us and not take the whole married couple act too far.” 
“Indeed. Whenever she deflected our questions about whether she was serious about Master, she seemed quite composed.” 
“However!” Yue, Kaori, Shea, and Tio said simultaneously. 
“After the fifth day, she didn’t have that composure anymore!” 
“When we made fun of her relationship with Hajime-san after that, she actually got flustered!” 
“Yeah! Before, when Myu said things like, ‘I wanna sleep together with Mommy and Daddy!’ she’d just say, ‘Of course’ without batting an eye. But after that day, she started inviting everyone to sleep together!” 
“Indeed, she started keeping her distance from you after the fifth day onward, Master. But the fact that she felt the need to do that proves there is more to her feelings!” 

One after another, the girls started giving their testimony. Shizuku glared coldly at Hajime. 
“Nagumo-kun, I can’t believe you!” 
“Whoa, you really are a playboy, Nagumo-kun. I didn’t think you’d manage to make even a widow fall for you!” Suzu whistled. 
“Calm down, Yaegashi. It’s not what you think. We didn’t do anything... Well, I guess something happened on the fourth night that I can’t really remember, but at the very least we didn’t do anything improper that I remember.” 
His excuses were starting to get flimsy. Shizuku’s glare grew colder, and Hajime took out his anger on Suzu with another forehead flick. 
“Our memories of that night are missing too, so Hajime-kun isn’t to blame for that, but still, the fact remains that something changed after that night. And that’s a problem.” 
“Why, you ask? Because Remia-san is Myu-chan’s mom! Meaning...” 
“If Remia-san’s really after Hajime-kun, she’ll easily be able to steal the wife spot away!” 
“While we will be relegated to mere concubines!” 
“I never said anything about making you a concubine,” Hajime replied with an exasperated sigh, then took a thick book out of his Treasure Trove. 
Still glaring, Shizuku asked, “what’s that?” 
“It’s an accessory encyclopedia. I filched— I mean, borrowed— it from the royal library.” 
“You just said ‘filched,’ didn’t you!? I can’t believe you’re just stealing the kingdom’s stuff!” 
“Now, that’s just unfair. I did ask the princess for permission to borrow it, you know. Though, I didn’t tell her I’d be borrowing it for life.” 
“That’s called stealing! Poor Lily!” 
Hajime ignored Shizuku and opened up the encyclopedia. 
“I’m pretty sure different ornaments have different meanings, kinda like how flowers do back home.” 
Hajime was hoping he’d be able to find the seashell Remia had given him in the encyclopedia so he could prove once and for all that there was no romantic intent hidden within the gift. 
“Hmm... Here it is. In the language of seashells it means, ‘I wish you luck in your travels and pray for your safe return.’ Heh, Myu sure picked out a good shell for Remia...” 
Hajime grinned to himself as he skimmed through the encyclopedia. 
“Anyway, that proves the shells were just platonic gifts,” Hajime said with finality. But Yue and the others weren’t convinced. They snatched the encyclopedia and read through the entry for themselves. “It can also mean, ‘I hope to see you again’...” Yue muttered. 
Shea turned the page and said flatly, “And ‘May fortune smile upon you.’” 
Kaori added, “Also, ‘I’ll never forget you.’” 
“The peach-colored seashell is similar to the white seashell in that they both represent affection. However, the peach shell has a more romantic nuance to the affection than the white one.” 
The girls all glared at Hajime again. 
“Seriously, you guys are overthinking this. Besides, I’m not even interested in Remia.” 
Suzu, who’d finally recovered from the forehead flick, said, “You say that now, but I bet she’ll be all over you in a few more months, just like all the other girls!” 
“Taniguchi, outside, now. It’s time I taught you a lesson.” 
“Huh!? Wait, stooooooooooooooooooooop! Shizushizu, save meeeeee!” 
Hajime grabbed Suzu by the scruff of her neck and started dragging her out of the room. But while he’d tried to sound imposing, it had looked more like he was fleeing the stares of the other girls. 
The remaining girls exchanged glances. 
“So we’re agreed that Remia goes on the blacklist?” Yue asked quietly. 
“Absolutely!” Everyone else said in unison. 
Remia’s gentle smile flashed through all of their minds.