An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"...Nice to meet you, Father-in-law and Mother-in-law. My name is Yue. It's a great honor to meet you both today. Please take care of me from now on."

"Eh? Uh, oh. Thank you, thank you for your polite greeting. P-Please take care of me...?"

"Please, please give me some advice, okay?"

Faced with this beautiful girl with blonde hair and red eyes who looked like she came out of a picture book, and since it was their son's first experience of being introduced to a girlfriend, the couple was so shocked that they spoke in a strange way.

Chou and Jin were panicked and confused, not knowing what to do. They could only keep bowing and smiling along.

Seeing them like this, Hajime laughed even deeper, and then ruthlessly added insult to injury.

"Shia, it's alright!"

"Yes! Hello, grandparents! I'm Shia! Please be kind to me from now on~!"

“The bunny-eared beauty is here!?”

Seeing the second beautiful girl jumping out, shaking a pair of rabbit ears that looked very rabbit-like, Shuu and Sumire shouted in unison.

Like Yue, Shia immediately thought, "What an interesting reaction! They're Hajime-san's parents after all!"

Because the couple was clearly too frightened to respond, but their eyes were still fixed on the rabbit ears. Hajime was often attracted by rabbit ears, and the way the couple in front of him were attracted to the rabbit ears was exactly the same as Hajime's.

"Tio, you can come in now."

"Well, I'm finally able to meet you, my father-in-law and my mother-in-law. I am your sex slave—the dragon-man Tio Kularus. I hope you will take care of me from now on."

"Sex slave!?"

Tio's pair of breasts that looked like they were about to be exposed at any moment, the dragon wings that were spread out to prove her race, and her questionable self-introduction made Shuu and Sumire look shaky.

The successive shocks made their legs go weak.

Of course, Hajime would not show mercy and continued shouting:

"Remia, Myuu, come in."

"Yes, husband. Nice to meet you. I'm Remia, and this is my daughter. Please take good care of us from now on."

"Uh~uh~ I, I'm daddy's daughter, my name is Myuu! Grandpa, grandma, please take care of me from now on!"

“Grandpa!?”

“Daughter!?”

The sweet-looking beauty bowed politely, looking very pitiful. The little girl struggled to open her mouth to greet him.

This wasn't just about introducing a girlfriend. It was progressing at lightning speed, and they even had grandchildren.

The situation can only be described as inexplicable.

Cho and Sumire turned to look at Hajime, their movements as stiff as a machine that had forgotten to be oiled.

Although they didn't say anything, their eyes clearly said, "What's going on? Explain it to me!"

So, Hajime explained to his parents briefly:

"I've proposed to all of them. As you can see, although Myuu and I are not related by blood, I have decided to adopt her as my daughter. So, she is your granddaughter. That's how it is. Please take good care of her from now on."

“I see. I didn’t understand at all.”

"Also, from what I just explained, you should have noticed that there are four other people. I will find them later to formally introduce them."

"My son really used cheats and started a harem!"

Chou and Jin held their heads and shouted, not only speaking in unison, but also with identical movements. Their reactions were truly amusing. And even though they said they didn't understand, their understanding was incredibly precise.

Based on what Hajime had just explained about what happened in Todas, and the introduction before them, they at least understood the fact that "their son had returned as a typical protagonist in an alternate world with cheats and a harem."

Even so, faced with such facts, parents cannot help but panic and feel at a loss.

"No, Sumire, wait! These girls are so cute, they can't possibly exist in the real world! Oh, and this is all CG! Don't be fooled!" Shounen exclaimed, as if seeing through the truth. Sumire also looked as if she had suddenly realized something. Then, with a very earnest attitude, she advised Hajime, "Hajime, I completely understand your desire to actually fall in love with your favorite character, but... I'd rather you bring a real girlfriend back to introduce her!"

In short, the couple was extremely panicked and the house fell into a state of chaos.

Seeing them like this, Miao thought that grandpa and grandma didn't welcome him. He lowered his head in frustration and stared at them.

"Grandpa, grandma...are you not going to do that anymore?"

She asked timidly.

"Nice to meet you, Myuu. Hello, I'm your grandpa."

"Nice to meet you, Xiao Miao. Hello. I'm your grandma."

The couple cheered up in the blink of an eye. Faced with Myuu's endearing, almost artificially cute appearance, they were immediately completely attracted and unable to resist. This was exactly the same as Hajime.

After cheering up, the couple started arguing again.

After all, they are all born otakus and make a living from the otaku culture. Faced with such a situation, they were still excited from the bottom of their hearts and began to pester the new visitors with questions.

They wholeheartedly followed Yue and the others' descriptions with joy and worry. When they spoke of their love for their son, they twisted their bodies with excitement. Using a divine artifact to activate the regeneration magic "Past Vision," which recreated the past, to show them recorded footage, the otaku, like someone pushed to their limit, roared with excitement.

“Ooooooh! That’s too intense! This guy who’s basically the protagonist of a harem is my son! Thank God!”

"Aaaaaah! Honey, did you hear what he just said!? That's amazing! This kid really is the Demon King! And the Demon King is my son! Thank God!"

The couple's excited roars and shouts echoed throughout the residential area in the early morning. As they continuously slapped his shoulders, Hajime covered his face in shame.

Looking at the Nanyun family like this──

“…Hmm, as expected of Hajime’s father and mother, they are truly extraordinary.”

"Really. They look exactly like Hajime-san's parents."

"Of course the master's parents can't be ordinary people."

"Oh hehe, you're just as unique as Hajime-san."

"Yeah! Grandpa and grandma really look like dad!"

Hearing Yue and the others say this with a smile, Hajime raised his head and glared at them with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean by that!?"

At the same time, he showed an expression of indescribable embarrassment.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

After breakfast and tea──

Shia and Remia went into the kitchen to clean up the dishes. Tio sat Myu on her lap and tied her hair into twin ponytails. Yue and Sumire were still chatting happily on the sofa.

What a blissful and relaxing space. After finally returning, Shiping still rarely experienced such an atmosphere. And just now, recalling the moment when his parents accepted Yue and the others' presence and his own changes, his lips curled up with joy.

"Hajime, can you relax a bit for a while?"

Chou asked this in a very gentle tone. Seeing his son completely relaxed, he was also very happy.

For Chou, the mornings spent leisurely with his son and his beloved new family were also something he cherished deeply.

The nightmare-like time between despair and hope that had lasted for a while finally came to an end, and the atmosphere at home returned to its lovely liveliness and warmth.

If this is not happiness, then what else can be called happiness? The sad expression fully reveals this thought.

"Yeah, it's okay, Dad. Actually, the media haven't bothered us anymore, have they?"

"Yeah. It's all of a sudden completely gone. It's a bit scary. It's the same at work."

Sorrowful expression filled with joy, now revealed a smile with a hint of sympathy.

"That's not all. Hajime, what on earth did you do? Magazines related to 'The Returner' have been pulled from shelves one after another, and all the photos and videos online have vanished. Even the malicious online comments have vanished."

The Returnees—this was the name the media gave to those who returned after the disappearance incident.

Sumire, who was sitting on the sofa, turned around and leaned over the back of the chair to ask. Yue also knelt on the sofa and turned to face Hajime.

Only then did Hajime realize that he hadn't explained it clearly to them yet, so he coughed dryly.

"Simply put, I cast a cognitive interference spell on the entire world through the Internet."

""What's the meaning?""

Jin and Chou were full of questions.

Hajime smiled faintly, as if about to confess some bad idea.

"We made up a fake story and told the world what happened when we disappeared. Did I explain that?"

"Because it was necessary to collude with the testimony, we also shared the false story with the members of the 'family association'. I certainly remember this."

"Is it the fake story about you being taken to a religious segregation deep in the mountains somewhere abroad and nearly brainwashed into becoming believers? You also said you were constantly subjected to hypnosis and suggestion, so your memories are a bit hazy."

In short, the current explanation for the disappearances is this: Shi and his companions were abducted by a foreign cult group, where they were constantly indoctrinated with the organization's "doctrines" and "miracles."

This kind of fake story that is "not completely a lie but not true either" is exactly the kind of confusion that Hajime is good at.

After making up this false story, he conveyed it to the "Family Association" as quickly as possible, which is an independent investigation organization composed of the families of the missing students.

This strategy was discussed with my classmates during our initial preparations for returning from Todas. After returning home, we all demonstrated our magic to our families, explained the truth behind it, and explained how to adapt this fake story to the outside world.

"We didn't know how the world here would view us, but we knew for sure we would be investigated upon our return."

I'd actually considered telling the truth when I was being investigated, even if I was dismissed as a "poor kid with a head full of fantasies." Rather than pursuing the truth, I should prioritize healing the victim's mental health—if the outside world stopped pursuing the truth because of this, it would be a stroke of luck.

However, even if this is true, if we continue to insist on this, everyone will be considered mentally ill. Considering the future, this is not the best solution.

What's more, proving the existence of another world and magic is impossible.

Everyone was completely unwilling to let anyone know about their unique experiences and special abilities. They also knew that revealing their magic to the outside world would only bring bad consequences, and they had absolutely no intention of doing so. Everyone agreed with this conclusion.

This was natural. If the existence of another world were proven, it would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar, and countries around the world would take action.

The students, having finally returned from a fierce battle after risking their lives, naturally didn't want to be the center of such a commotion. They also couldn't let anyone know they could use magic. That would only bring trouble.

So──

"That's why we have to fabricate this kind of incident that feels appropriately realistic yet just the right amount of unreality. This impression is the best option for the outside world. The same applies when we're being investigated by the relevant authorities. Rather than explaining that we're battling evil gods in a fantasy world of swords and sorcery, this half-truth is easier to convince through cognitive manipulation."

During my disappearance, my awareness was limited by hypnosis and suggestion, so I don't remember clearly what happened. Later, it seemed that a group attacked the quarantine facility, and I returned to my hometown without realizing it. I must have been sent back by that group.

Even if they were to collude with the authorities to fabricate such a false story, it would never be perfect. Therefore, they would then use magic or other magical tools as needed to convince the relevant parties of the false story.

"...Hehe. Is that why I'm called Yue Afadal?"

"Right. Rather than just picking a random surname, why not use your original family name?"

“…You can call me Nagumo, too. I’m your wife, after all.”

"That'll have to wait until we become legally married. Then we can use our original family name as our second surname."

"...Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

Even though he couldn't see Yue's feet behind the back of the sofa, Hajime could tell they were swinging.

Sumire was taking photos of her with her phone, held at her waist. Was she a little too obsessed with her daughter-in-law? While I understood her feelings, as a son, I still wanted to stop her from secretly photographing her family.

Anyway, what follows is the identity and position of Yue and others in this world.

"I was born in Japan, and we have birth records and household registrations, but we were kept in a closed facility from childhood and raised together—is that the setting?"

"To add to that, that facility is also secretly connected to the cult that kidnapped people this time, right? They raise useful children and plan to send them abroad in the future."

Shia popped her head out of the kitchen doorway to elaborate on the premise of her fake story. She seemed to be washing dishes while listening to the conversation in the living room. After she finished, she immediately turned back to wash the dishes.

"That's exactly what it is. After all, it's too much trouble to forge a foreign household registration, so this 'setup' is the easiest."

"But I still feel a little sorry for the city hall staff...Is there really no aftereffects?"

Sumire asked her son with a strict look.

In order to prepare proof of Yue and the others' birth in Japan, I had to use magic to manipulate the relevant civil servants. While I'm truly sorry for them, it's necessary. Having experts in this field produce genuine documentation and establish electronic records through formal channels would be more reliable.

"Mom, the artifact we used for suggestion effects was specially made, and Yue personally inspected it, so there's absolutely no problem. And, as compensation, we used regeneration magic to heal those people's health problems, such as chronic ailments."

"Is that so? Well then... alright..."

"So, the civil servants at that city hall are all in excellent health right now. They've actually been a hot topic lately. It's just that they've been relatively under the radar because of our commotion."

"Wait, what did you do!? Were there more than one or two civil servants who were tampered with?!"

"Kaori came up with this suggestion when we were thinking about how to compensate them. We were very busy at the time, so to save time, we simply cast a wide-area regeneration magic from above the city hall. Now the city hall is regarded as a miracle site that can even cure diabetes. The publicity department calls it the 'new holy place of this town' and is promoting it extensively."

"Japan's public sector is truly resilient."

In short, in the fake story, Yue and the others were victims of the same quarantine facility held abroad and eventually rescued together. However, the facility where they grew up in Japan has been closed down, leaving them with no one to rely on. In the end, they had to stay temporarily with the Nanyun family, the home of Hajime, whom they trusted.

If they rashly fabricated foreign nationality, they would face the issue of illegal residence. And even if they could fabricate records, it would be impossible to implant the fact that Yue and others existed in Japan into the memories of everyone around them.