An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"Do you know how worried Teacher Xiao Ai is about you?"

Shimizu, far from reflecting on her actions, even cursed and complained about those around her. Atsushi, Nana, and Noboru were all furious, retorting one after another. Perhaps intimidated by their aura, Shimizu lowered his head even further and remained silent.

Junshi and the others were probably dissatisfied with Shimizu's reaction and became even more angry. Aiko comforted Junshi and the others and asked Shimizu in a warm tone as much as possible:

"I see, you're quite dissatisfied, aren't you? But Shimizu-kun, if you want to show everyone your worth, then I don't understand why you'd want to attack a town. If the town were attacked like that... many people would die... If you were just leading a lot of monsters, that would be fine, but attacking a town won't show your worth to anyone."

Hearing Aiko's obvious question, Shimizu raised his head slightly. Through his filthy, drooping bangs, he looked at Aiko with a pair of dark, cloudy eyes and a sinister smile.

"...You can show it...show it to the demon."

"What!?"

Shimizu's unexpected words shocked everyone present, including Hajime and the others, including Aiko. Seeing their reactions, Shimizu showed a look of great satisfaction. Although his voice was still weak, he began to speak with a stronger tone than before:

"While I was traveling alone to the [Northern Mountain Region] to hunt monsters, I encountered a demon. At first, I was naturally wary of him... but he wanted to talk to me. He made me realize my true value, and so I made a contract with him... and with the demon himself."

"A contract...? What kind of contract?"

He'd actually colluded with a demon who was hostile to them. Although this fact shook Aiko's heart, she still believed that the demon must have seduced her students, and she suppressed the anger that welled up in her.

Seeing Aiko's expression, Shimizu smiled smugly as if he had seen something very funny, and said something very shocking:

"...Hatayama-sensei...I'm going to kill you."

“…Huh?”

Aiko didn't understand what he meant for a moment, and she uttered a dumbfounded sound. The people around her were similarly stunned, but they understood the meaning of his words before Aiko did, and glared at Shimizu with intense anger in their eyes.

Shimizu flinched momentarily at the intense, angry stares from the students and guards. However, perhaps out of self-destruction, in order to escape their gaze, Shimizu continued:

"Why are you acting so foolish? Do you think the demons aren't targeting you? In a sense, you're more troublesome than the heroes. How could the demons leave you alone? Kill the 'Goddess of Plenty'... If I kill you and the other townspeople along with them, the demons will invite me to be their 'Hero'. That's the terms of the contract."

Qingshui seemed to recall what happened at that time, his mouth trembling, and his voice became louder and louder:

"That person said my abilities were exceptional, and it was a waste to be inferior to a hero. As expected, those who understand understand. He actually lent me incredibly powerful monsters, even building an army beyond imagination... So, so I thought I could definitely kill you! What the hell! What's going on?! How could we lose with an army of 60,000? How could there be weapons like that in another world?! W-Who the hell are you!"

Shimizu initially looked at his son, who was stunned by the student's words "I'll kill you," with a mocking expression. However, he became increasingly agitated as he spoke, and then turned his gaze towards Hajime and yelled at him.

Besides the gloom and inferiority in his eyes, there was more emotion than anger at not being able to follow his will, hatred for Hajime who was hindering him, and jealousy of his power. These emotions all mixed together, as turbid as mud, giving his eyes a crazy look.

Apparently, Shimizu hadn't realized the white-haired, eye-patch-wearing boy in front of him was his classmate, Nagumo Hajime. Since they'd never spoken before, it was unavoidable, but...

Shimizu glared at Hajime, seemingly pouncing on him, and continued to curse. Speaking of Hajime, who had suddenly become the target of his criticism, Shimizu peppered his rant with the words, "You're just a chuunibyou!" This deeply hurt Hajime, who stared off into the distance, as if escaping reality. This attitude, in Shimizu's eyes, seemed to say, "I don't even take you seriously," further fueling his anger.

Understanding Shi's mood, Yue patted his back from behind. Her tenderness made Shi want to cry.

Thanks to Hajime, who (??) ignored the solemn atmosphere and entered his own world, Aiko had time to recover from the shock. Shimizu cursed passionately, but she didn't have the courage to confront Hajime and stayed where she was. Aiko took a deep breath, took one of his hands, and said quietly:

"Shimizu-san, please calm down."

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

Shimizu was startled by the sudden touch and immediately tried to shake Aiko's hand away. However, Aiko seemed determined not to let go and tightened her grip on his hand.

"Shimizu-san... I understand how you feel. You want to be 'someone special,' and there's nothing wrong with that. As a human, it's a natural desire. And if it were you, you could definitely become 'someone special.' Because even if you're using the wrong methods, you're capable of such a feat... But you can't join the demons. That demon you mentioned took advantage of your feelings, and I would never entrust my precious students to someone like that!"

Perhaps unable to look directly into Aiko's serious eyes, Shimizu gradually regained his composure and lowered his head again, his bangs covering his expression. Seeing Shimizu's reaction, Aiko continued to persuade with a wish:

"...Shimizu-san, let's start over again. If you want to try again, I'll support you. If it were you, you could definitely fight alongside Amanokawa-san and the others. And one day, we'd all work together to find a way back to Japan, and go back together, right?"

Shimizu listened silently to Aiko's words, her shoulders trembling unconsciously. Yuuka, Atsushi, and the other knights of the escort all thought Shimizu was moved to tears by Aiko's words. In fact, Yuuka, the most tearful of the class, was already watching the two of them with tears in her eyes.

However, reality is not always as easy as one would like.

Shimizu lowered his head, his shoulders shaking. Aiko showed a gentle expression and leaned forward, wanting to touch his head. But Shimizu suddenly grabbed Aiko's hand, pulled her towards him, and wrapped his arm around her neck, strangling her tightly.

Then, he held his son, who couldn't help but moan, from behind, and took out a ten-centimeter needle from somewhere and put it against his son's neck.

"Don't move! Or I'll stab you!"

Shimizu screamed hysterically. His expression twitched like a spasm, and his eyes radiated the same madness he'd felt when he'd looked at Hajime. It seemed like his earlier trembling shoulders had been a smile.

Aiko clutched at Shimizu's arm, agonizing, but she couldn't pull him free. Those around her, heeding Shimizu's warning, desperately tried not to rush forward. From Shimizu's expression, it was clear he meant what he said. Everyone, with voices tinged with worry and regret, called out Aiko's name and cursed Shimizu.

Incidentally, Hajime finally returned to reality only now. He had been daydreaming until just now—avoiding confronting his own appearance. At this sudden development, he gave a look of, "Huh? When did it get to this point…?"

"Listen carefully! This needle is a poisonous one, taken from a monster in the North Mountain Range! If you prick it, you'll die in agony within minutes! If you understand, drop your weapons and raise your hands!"

Shimizu's frantic words made the people around him pale. Seeing the students and the knights of the escort completely stop their movements, Shimizu smirked and turned his gaze to Hajime.

"Hey, you, chuunibyou, that's you! Not the one behind you! I told you it was you! How dare you look down on me! Asshole! If you keep acting like that, I'll really kill her. If you understand, hand over the gun! And any other weapons too!"

Hearing Shimizu's overly rude address, Hajime couldn't help but turn around and yell, "Mr. Chuunibyou~ Someone's calling you~" He tried to dispel the allegation, but it was in vain, and a look of disgust crossed his face. Despite the pressing situation, Hajime remained unmoved, acting as if nothing had happened. This sight once again made Shimizu feel slighted, and he flew into a rage, frantically demanding that Hajime hand over his gun.

Hajime looked at Shimizu with a very cold expression when he heard his words.

"No, you keep saying you can do whatever you want if you don't want her killed... but you're going to kill the teacher in order to join the demons anyway, so you're going to kill her no matter what, right? Then there's no point in me handing over my weapons."

"Stop making so much noise! ​​Stop making so much noise! ​​Stop talking nonsense and just hand over all your weapons! Idiots like you should just listen to me! Right, right, hey, hey, I want your slave too, tell her to bring the weapons over!"

Hearing Hajime's calm response, Shimizu roared even more furiously. Having been cornered, he seemed to have lost his ability to judge. Shia shuddered at Shimizu's gaze, a look of disgust filling her face.

“Even if you use ‘Noisy Triple Burst’, it’ll just make people feel super disgusted… By the way, Shia, even if you feel disgusted, don’t hide behind me. Look at that guy, he’s got that scary expression on his face.”

"Because it's really disgusting... should I say it's physically unacceptable... Look, I'm getting goosebumps. It's so disgusting I can't even imagine it."

"Yeah, he wanted to be a hero, but his lines were just like those of the lowly thief who was easily killed by the protagonist at the beginning and used as a stepping stone."

They seemed to be trying to talk quietly, but their disgust naturally amplified their voices, allowing everyone to hear. Shimizu's mouth opened and closed, his face gradually turning red, then blue, and finally pale. This was a clear example of the changes in facial expression caused by excessive anger.

Shimizu's eyes were empty as he muttered to himself, "I'm a hero. I'm special. Everyone else is an idiot. It's their fault. It's okay, everything will go as I wish. Because I'm a hero, I'm special."

He suddenly seemed to have let go of something and let out a strange laugh.

"...Ki-Shimizu-san...please listen to me...it's okay...so..."

Despite the pain, Aiko continued to persuade Qingshui, who was showing his madness. However, the moment he heard her voice, Qingshui's laughter suddenly stopped and he tightened his grip on Aiko.

"...Stop talking nonsense and pretending to be a good person, you hypocrite! Just shut up! I'll just use you as a tool to help me escape from here."

Shimizu spoke in a dark, muddy voice, his gaze shifting back to Hajime. His eyes, devoid of any excitement, stared at Hajime, as if condensing all his negative emotions. Then, he glanced at the gun holstered on his thigh. It was obvious what he meant. If Shimizu didn't agree now, he might risk his own life. No, he might even imagine a better future for himself and kill his beloved son.

Hajime sighed, considering firing the steel cable at the moment of exchange, letting him and his beloved son take the "Tornado" together. At the same time, in order not to irritate Shimizu, he slowly reached out to Donal & Hulak.

Because Aiko was very short, he could hardly be used as a shield. With Hajime's speed of drawing his gun, he could shoot him before Shimizu noticed, but Hajime also wanted to take this opportunity to let Aiko taste a little pain.

However, the moment Hajime moved his hand downwards, the situation suddenly changed.

"!? No! Get out of the way!"

Shia shouted, and with her entire body strengthened in an instant, she moved at a speed almost as fast as the Earth Shrinking Technique and pounced on Aiko.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Shimizu immediately attempted to stab Aiko with the needle, but Shia forcibly pulled her away, as if to protect her from some attack, twisting her body to shield her. Almost instantly, a stream of pale blue water pierced Shimizu's chest like a laser, passing through the spot where Aiko's head had been.

Hajime, who was on the beam, used Donal to disperse the water laser—probably the water-attributed attack magic 『Break』.

Shia, holding her beloved son, continued to sprint, her shoulders sliding on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. After stopping, Shia groaned in pain and collapsed to the ground.

"Shia!"

Because the incident happened suddenly, everyone was frozen in place. At this time, Yue called out Xia's name and ran to her side with all his strength, standing in a position to protect Xia and her beloved child in her arms and prevent pursuit.

Hajime mentally thanked and praised Yue, who had acted according to his wishes without needing words. He held Donal in both hands and used his Farsight to follow the line of sight of the Broken. In the distance, he saw a man in black, with dark skin, pointed ears, and slicked-back hair, riding a large bird-like monster.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

After charging his energy for a split second, Hajime fired his electromagnetic cannons continuously at the flying monsters and figures.

The man with his hair combed back seemed to anticipate an attack. While checking Hajime's direction, he made the bird-shaped monster perform a *Barrel Roll, desperately dodging. (Editor's note: A maneuver combining both offense and defense.)

Though the monster relied on its superior mobility to dodge, it couldn't evade all the attacks. The bird-like monster's leg was blown off, and the man with his hair combed back seemed to have lost a hand. Despite this, they didn't fall, and their speed didn't even slow, as they fled without a backward glance. Their retreat after the attack could only be described as beautiful.

Hajime speculated that the person was probably the demon Shimizu had mentioned. He had already circled the town at a low altitude, as if using the town itself as a shield, and disappeared from sight.

Judging from his escape method, he seemed to have known Hajime's attack method. Thinking that his intelligence had already reached the demons, Hajime couldn't help but let out a bitter expression. He was fleeing towards Lake Uldia. If he had already escaped into the woods in front of the lake, tracking him with a drone would be difficult. And now, there was something more important.

"beginning!"

Yue must have noticed that the enemy had escaped, because her voice calling out to Hajime was different from her usual calm tone, and was filled with anxiety.

Hajime holstered Donal and ran to Shia's side without even glancing at the fallen Shimizu nearby.

Xia rested her head on Yue's thighs, lying on her back with a painful expression on her face. Aiko next to her also had a distorted expression on her face, and was held in Yue's arms.

“Hajime-san… Guuuu… I… I’m fine… Hurry up and save the teacher… She’s been pricked by a poisonous needle.”

A three-centimeter-diameter hole opened in Shia's side. While her body enhancements seemed to have stifled the bleeding, the cold sweat on her face showed she was in considerable pain. Despite this, Shia forced a smile and, in a trembling voice, urged Hajime to save his son first.

A closer look revealed Aiko's face to be livid, her limbs twitching. Perhaps having overheard Shia and Hajime's conversation, she shook her head frantically, her gaze demanding that Shiha save Shia first. She didn't speak because the poison had spread, rendering her speechless. If Shimizu's words were true, then she could only hold out for a few minutes at most. No, judging by Aiko's condition, she might not even last a minute. The longer she delayed treatment, the greater the risk of residual complications.

Hajime shifted his gaze from Aiko once again, nodded to Shia without hesitation, and took out a test tube container from the "treasure vault."

The people around them finally rushed to their side at this time, showing anxious expressions and making a commotion.

"Aiko, Aiko!"

“Why is this happening… Sensei! What should I do? What should I do? Nagumo! Sensei, Sensei is going to die!”

“Shi-Shia’s situation isn’t good either!? Damn it! It’s like this again!”

Yuuka and the other students, along with David and the others, were particularly distraught, falling into a state of semi-panic. Such reactions were natural when someone important was near death and seriously injured. Furthermore, in Yuuka's case, the scene and fear of Hajime's disappearance on that day probably kept flashing through their minds, terrified that another loved one would die before their eyes. They inquired about Hajime's safety, told him to step aside so they could examine his injuries, and even cast ineffective healing spells... However, even they, hearing Hajime's whispered "Shut up," were overwhelmed by his presence and retreated, remaining silent.

Hajime himself was somewhat surprised. He'd been so enraged by Shia's injuries; it was completely beyond his imagination. It seemed that, unconsciously, Hajime had come to regard Shia as a valuable companion. Therefore, he couldn't help but feel annoyed with himself for neglecting the possibility that the demon who had come into contact with Shimizu might still be nearby.

If that demon was planning to do something to Aiko and the others, he would have been most likely to do it when Hajime reached the front lines and caused chaos. However, nothing actually happened, so Hajime had assumed without any basis that the demon would not attack directly.

In fact, the demon had also intended to assassinate his beloved son during Shimizu's rebellion, but after witnessing the extraordinary fighting power of Hajime and the others, he fell into a state of confusion and lost himself, and missed the opportunity.

Then, just as he was looking for an opportunity to exploit, a conversation between Shimizu and Aiko began. He watched from a distance, thinking that if Shimizu could kill Aiko, he would let her do it. However, judging by their extraordinary strength, he figured they would seize Aiko at the last moment, so he used his specialized penetrating magic to shoot through Aiko and Shimizu.

However, despite his astuteness, the demon miscalculated one thing—he placed them on top of the beam, hoping with luck that this would eliminate the danger factor altogether. It was for this reason that Shia's unique magic was activated.

That's right, it was "future vision." Shia, behind Hajime, was of course also in the beam, so she saw Shimizu, Aiko, Hajime, and herself in the future, all being "broken" and pierced through at once.

Thanks to this, Aiko was able to avoid a future where she would be pierced through the head and killed instantly. This was the future Shia had sacrificed herself to change, so why would she risk her life to save Aiko, a person she barely knew? — Although Hajime was puzzled by this, he had no intention of letting the efforts of his valuable companions go to waste. Therefore, he used his limited "holy water" on Aiko without hesitation. Since there was no time, this was the most reliable method.

Hajime took Aiko from Yue's hands and placed her mouth around the container, allowing the sacred water to flow in little by little.

Aiko looked at Hajime, as if blaming him for not prioritizing Shia, but Hajime ignored her. Now, over Aiko's will and his own, Hajime prioritized Shia's feelings.

So he poured the holy water into her body without hesitation, but her whole body began to convulse and she became completely unresponsive, unable to drink it on her own. The water even seemed to enter her trachea, and she coughed violently and vomited it out.

"Tsk, this isn't good... there's nothing we can do."

Hajime judged that Aiko was unable to drink the holy water on her own, so he took the remaining holy water into his mouth and without hesitation, put it directly into Aiko's mouth using a mouth-to-mouth method.

「!?」

Aiko opened her eyes wide, and around Hajime, the wails and roars of men and women could be heard.

However, Hajime paid no heed and invaded Aiko's mouth with his tongue, entwining it with hers and forcing the sacred water in. There was no trace of shame or guilt in Hajime's expression, he simply did what he was supposed to do, a serious look on his face.

Soon, Aiko's throat finally began to move, a gurgling sound emanating from it, and the sacred water flowed into her. Then, the pain that had been gripping her body, along with the weariness and chill that felt like life was slipping away, were completely swept away. A light seemed to ignite at the center of her body, and heat coursed through her. Aiko felt the pleasure of immersing her frozen body in a fiery hot spring on a cold winter's day, and she shuddered.

As expected of the holy water, it is a miraculous water that can even prevent the physical destruction caused by consuming the flesh and blood of monsters. Its effect is extraordinary.

The kiss, which seemed both long and short, ended. Hajime left Aiko's mouth, a silver thread woven between them. Hajime stared at Aiko, observing her, to determine for sure whether the holy water had helped her escape from danger.

On the other hand, Aiko still hadn’t come back to her senses, and she stared at Hajime with unfocused eyes.

"teacher."

"..."

"teacher?"

"..."

"Hey! Teacher!"

“Huh!?”

Hajime called out Aiko's name, trying to check on her health, but she stared at him, completely motionless. Hajime, feeling impatient, patted her cheek and called out a little louder before Aiko finally let out a cute cry, coming back to her senses.

"Are you feeling unwell? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Eh? Ah, uh, um, well, I-I'm fine. I'm not feeling unwell. On the contrary, I feel quite comfortable... Ah, I-I didn't mean that! I definitely didn't mean that it felt good. It was the effect of the medicine (omitted)..."

"Really? That's good."

Aiko looked extremely flustered. After hearing her stammer that there was nothing wrong with her body, Hajime answered very decisively, and at the same time, he also decisively let go of the arm that was supporting Aiko and turned back to Shia.

Although she was confused by Hajime's attitude, Aiko quickly realized that now was not the time to get involved in such matters, and hurriedly turned to Shia.

Hajime took out another bottle of holy water and poured half directly onto Shia's wound. To get her to drink the other half, he brought the container to her lips. The wound healed quickly with a subtle whooshing sound. But for some reason, Shia shook her head, refusing to drink the holy water.

“H-Hashi-san…”