Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter SS3

Myu’s Demonic Army (Prologue) 

Half a day had passed since Hajime had gone into his workshop and activated the Hour Crystal, which meant it had been about five days for him. He was currently taking a break and eating lunch with Myu and Remia. 
“And that’s why there are a bunch more people who want to marry Mommy now!” 
Myu said excitedly, crumbs of food spilling from her mouth. She was regaling Hajime with tales of what had happened in Erisen after he’d left. Listening to her stories was the best rest he could ask for. Remia looked less happy with Myu’s stories, since they mostly involved revealing her embarrassing secrets. 
“U-Umm, Myu? Would you mind telling stories about something other than me?” 
“Come to think of it, there were a lot of guys hitting on you while we were around, too. There’s probably even more who thought they might have a chance after I left. Sorry, I guess my leaving caused you a lot of problems, huh?” 
“O-Oh no, not at all. In fact—” 
“That’s not true! There were tons of guys who wanted to marry Mommy before too! Back then, she had a hard time saying no, but now she just says, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m waiting for my husband to return to me, ufufu,’ and everyone gives up!” 
“Myuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, didn’t I just say to stop telling stories about me?” 
Remia clamped a hand over Myu’s mouth, forcibly shutting her up. 
“You don’t have to hide these things from me, you know? If anything, I’m glad you’re using my name to make life easier for yourself.” 
“I-I’m sorry. If I didn’t go that far, the men of the village would have forced me into a group marriage meeting...” 
“A group marriage meeting? You mean a bunch of them want to marry you at once?” 
“To be precise, there’s about twenty of them. Apparently, there used to be 100, but they had some kind of tournament and thinned the numbers down to twenty. I really didn’t want to get cornered into something like that, so I ended up saying I was waiting for you. I’m really sorry.” 
Hajime could see why Remia had wanted a concrete reason to turn them all down. At the same time, he was amazed by how popular Remia was in her village. 
Blushing slightly, Remia moved her hand off of Myu’s mouth and said, “Myu, why don’t you tell some stories about your friends instead?” 
She was clearly trying to change the subject, but Myu happily took the bait. 
“Hey, Daddy. Did you know I made a new friend!?” 
“Oh? I thought everyone in Erisen was already your friend?” 
“They’re not from Erisen! I met Seaman! He said he’s your friend too, Daddy!” 
“You meant Sea-san!? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since he lives around there.” 
In a strange twist of fate, it appeared Myu had become friends with the same fish with a human-face that Hajime had met back in Fuhren, and then again in the Sunken Ruins of Melusine. The two were sworn friends who called each other by the nicknames Sea-san and Young Haj. 
“He said his wife scolded him and told him to go play with his kids,” Remia mentioned casually. 
“Seriously?” 
“Personally, I’d rather he go somewhere else, since he teaches Myu a lot of strange things.” 
Remia cupped her cheek with one hand and shook her head. Hajime thought Sea-san’s advice would be good for a growing girl like Myu, but Remia seemed to believe otherwise. 
“Daddy, Sea told me that a man should always choose a wife that’s older than him, but not one who’s dom-i-nee-ring! He really knows a lot!” 
“The hell is that guy teaching little kids?” 
“Don’t worry, Daddy! Mommy’s an older woman, but she’s not dom-i-nee-ring at all! You’re not, right, Mommy?” 
“Oh my. Of course I’m not, Myu. But I told you to forget all about that, now didn’t I?” 
Remia’s smile was terrifying. Myu looked down apologetically and Hajime idly thought, Honestly most guys would probably end up henpecked by— 
“Hajime-san, is there something on your mind?” Remia asked sweetly. Her sixth sense was uncanny. 
“Uh, no, nothing,” Hajime stammered, averting his gaze. He ended up looking at Myu, and the two of them shared a nod of understanding. 
“Oh my, are you two excluding me now? That’s not very nice.” 
“Myu, do you have any other stories!? I’d really like to hear them!” 
“Yeah, I have lots and lots!” 

Father and daughter were in perfect sync. They deliberately avoided meeting Remia’s pointed glare as Myu continued talking about her friends. 
“Umm, I also met D-kun!” 
“D-kun? Hang on, is this person a boy?” Hajime asked, shivering all the while. 
Are boys already hounding my cute little daughter!? I’m not gonna let some rando be Myu’s boyfriend! 
He finally turned back to Remia, but she just smiled awkwardly and shook her head. 
“I’m afraid I don’t know who this D-kun is, either. I’ve never seen them. Myu’s description is hard to understand, and according to her, they’re scared of everyone who isn’t her.” 
“That’s hella sus. Hey, Myu, who is this D-kun?” 
“Mmm, he’s floppy!” 
“Floppy!?” 
“Oh, and when you feed him, he goes ‘brrr’ and gets big!” 
“That doesn’t sound like a normal lifeform!” 
“He was as big as my hand at first, but in ten days he got as big as me!” 
“Okay, now it just sounds dangerous!” 
Aren’t you giving your daughter a bit too much freedom here!? Hajime thought, turning back to Remia. 
“I thought it might be dangerous at first too, but I talked to Seaman-san a while back and he said that while this D-kun is indeed a monster, it’s gotten extremely attached to Myu. It even acts as her bodyguard when she’s out swimming.” 
Hajime gently tried to suggest looking for other friends, but that caused Myu to immediately tear up and shout, “D-kun’s a good boy!”, so he gave up. It seemed Myu was able to communicate with this D-kun as well, which meant there probably wasn’t any danger. 
“The truth is, when the apostle came to kidnap us, I saw it try to protect Myu. The sea suddenly got stormy and it shot a translucent tentacle at the apostle.” 
“Seriously? Wait, hang on. The seas got stormy, it’s tentacle was translucent, and Myu calls it D-kun?” 
Hajime’s expression went wooden as he thought back to what else shared all of those characteristics and he muttered, “I-It can’t be... M-Myu? Does D-kun have, like, a proper name?” 
“Hm? Yep! He says it’s Devourer!” 
“Oh my gooooooooooood!” Hajime screamed in English, covering his face with his hands and looking up at the ceiling. 
Devourer was the name of the ancient monster that had attacked Hajime and the others after they’d finished making their way through the Sunken Ruins of Melusine. Hajime thought he’d burned it to ashes, but apparently, a fragment of the monster had survived. Moreover, it had been traumatized by Hajime and was now afraid of people. 
How is it that all of Myu’s friends end up being so weird? First my golems, then Sea-san, and now the fucking Devourer of all things? Come to think of it, when Myu first escaped into the sewers, she somehow ended up right underneath me and Shea... Maybe she has a knack for drawing weirdos to her. 
“I guess that means it wasn’t a coincidence that we ended up finding her. Her mysterious power reeled us in.” 
Still smiling awkwardly, Remia said in a conspiratorial whisper, “She’s actually been like this for as long as I can remember. It’s not just people, she attracted sea creatures even as a baby. She has more than a few friends who I’ve never seen, too...” 
“I see...” 
Hajime and Remia both looked down at Myu, who cocked her head to one side and stared blankly back at them. 
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that our daughter is special!” 
“Yes, indeed! My daughter is quite special! Ufufu!” 
In the end, both of them decided it didn’t really matter what this special trait of Myu’s was as long as it wasn’t hurting her. 
“Yay, Mommy and Daddy are getting closer.” 
Indeed, a new bond had been forged between the two of them on that day. That bond wasn’t exactly romantic, but they did see each other as family. Myu’s eccentricities had brought them closer together as parents. If nothing else, they were determined to share the unique struggles of raising a girl like Myu. 
“I’ll be counting on you from here on out, Remia.” 
“Likewise, Hajime-san. I need you to have my back.” 
Granted, they sounded more like warriors exchanging oaths on the battlefield than parents, but regardless, Myu was happy to see them getting along.