An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

However, these are two different matters.

Suddenly, Hajime hugged Aiko from behind.

"Eh!? Hajime!?" Aiko's face flushed red, and she looked quite panicked, but she didn't seem to want to break free at all.

"I think I know why you're avoiding me. You must have realized the difference in our positions, right? Isn't it unnecessary to worry about it now?"

“Ah!?”

I've been completely seen through. Even my family and childhood sweetheart can see what's going on in my mind. How naive am I?... Thinking of this, Aiko inevitably became depressed.

"Aiko, if you want, I'm willing to endure until after graduation. If you want to find another way to date, we can figure it out together... Honestly, what makes me most lonely is that you're having troubles but not discussing them with me."

“Hajime… you’re right. I’m sorry…”

Aiko looked up at Hajime, her eyes welling up. She placed her hand lovingly on the back of Hajime's hand as he embraced her.

"Aiko. I believe I understand the sincerity of your intentions as a teacher. However, in that case, shouldn't you follow me and correct me at all times? Just like that time?"

"I hope you won't choose a lonely life" - those were the words that Aiko, as a teacher, gave to Hajime back in [Uru Town]. Hajime always cherished these words.

This made Aiko very happy and she smiled softly.

"I hope you don't forget the premise. I said it when I first decided to accept your feelings."

Aiko recalled a month after the final battle of the myth, when she had sincerely desired Hajime's love and had expressed this desire to him. At that time, both parties had stated their respective resolves, perhaps it could be said that this was the condition for becoming the Demon King's wife.

──From now on, no matter what happens, you are not allowed to leave each other.

In a relationship like this, there's no such thing as "breaking up." Even if Aiko resists, Hajime will never let go. From now on, the only people he'll accept are those who are determined to dedicate their lives to each other.

Considering the possibility of breaking up, being with a woman other than his beloved—for Hajime, this is absolutely impossible. For a future where they can continue to be together no matter what happens, Hajime will do his best and do his utmost.

Even if people accuse you of being unreasonable and terrible, this is the most basic principle you should follow if you are determined to accept the plurality of women.

To put it bluntly, "There's no way to escape the Demon King's clutches."

"Now you understand, don't you?"

"……yes."

Hajime's gaze was gentle, yet it felt as if it were gripping your heart. Under that gaze, Aiko instinctively agreed to his words, without even a moment's pause. Her face flushed, and she nodded repeatedly.

Seeing Aiko's reaction, Hajime smiled and nodded, then finally looked away.

"Hoo-hey~" Aiko took a deep breath, making a silly sound. But, let's not worry about that for now.

The words I just said were both an answer to the question "Who are you?" asked by that person, and also a declaration.

Witnessing Hajime and Aiko creating an atmosphere that didn't allow anyone to get between them, the man stared at them, his whole body frozen and unable to move.

Taishi came back to his senses when he noticed Hajime's eyes looking at him, his brows furrowed deeply.

"...It seems you are Ai's student. You're still a student, so you probably don't understand that your existence causes Ai pain. This society won't condone your feelings just because you have them—"

"Thank you for your advice. However, if you're pretending to be a conscientious adult, the order is quite wrong."

Hajime said this firmly, not taking his words seriously at all. Taishi couldn't refute him immediately because he heard the hidden meaning in his words.

The other party is right. Knowing that the other party is in a relationship and still pursuing and forcing him is not convincing at all.

"Forget it, I won't bother with you this time. Anyway, just give up on Aiko."

Then, Hajime muttered to himself, "If you weren't my childhood sweetheart, I would have stuck you upside down in the dirt." Hearing this, Aiko, who had been gazing at Hajime with fascination, finally came to her senses.

"T-That's what I'm saying. No matter how much you insist, how can a teacher and a student—"

“Eh!? Huh!? Ahhh! Ah, no!”

Taishi was interrupted again, speechless and stunned. The young man before him was slipping his hand under the collar of his beloved's yukata and caressing her unscrupulously. "Even I've never heard such a charming cry of love..." Taishi thought.

"What are you doing!?"

"What are you doing~!?"

Taichi and Aiko cried out in unison. Hajime pulled his hand away, and Aiko quickly pressed it against her chest. Not only her cheeks, but even her ears were red.

Ignoring the two's protests, Hajime held up the object in his hand to show Taishi, the same thing he had just pulled out from the collar of his yukata.

It was a ring, an engagement ring.

"Aiko is not a lover, she is my wife. She is mine, body and soul."

“You…you…!”

Hajime's lines sound completely villainous. Taishi's situation, no matter how you look at it, is that of an honest and gentle young man whose childhood sweetheart was stolen by a wicked man. Of course, to Aiko, Taishi was just an ordinary childhood sweetheart; there was no such thing as a love affair.

Even if that wasn't the case, Taichi's current mood was exactly that. His hair was brimming with rage, and he looked like he was about to pounce at any moment.

He seemed to have no intention of backing down and seemed to believe he still had a chance to win his beloved son back.

"Ai! Get away from that guy and come over here!" Although Hajime was no longer holding Aiko, she still didn't leave him. Taishi saw this and hurriedly called out.

Adults and minors, students and members of society. This common sense difference in standpoint prevents Taichi from correctly assessing the situation, leading him to mistakenly believe he has the upper hand and firmly believe his son will agree with him.

So—Hajime sighed. Without waiting for Aiko to speak, Hajime would first kill Taishi's "hope," using a ruthlessness and cruelty that earned him the nickname "Demon King" from his companions.

"You deserve it."

"What!?"

"You've been by Aiko's side since she was little, which gives you a much better advantage than I do. You must have had many opportunities to express your feelings during this time, right?"

“This…”

"But you missed every chance. You failed to become Aiko's 'reason to go back', to make her value you so much that there was no room for me in her heart. No, perhaps it should be said that you never even tried to become someone she valued that much."

Taiji's mouth opened and closed like a fish craving for air. He wanted to retort but couldn't find the words. He didn't know how to refute, and deep down, he even agreed with what Hajime said.

“That’s why this happened.”

Shiji's argument was completely correct, even to the point of being cruel. To believe that one's love had been stolen from them was sheer fantasy and wishful thinking.

Taishi was closer to Aiko than anyone else, but he never fought to stay with her. So, Aiko slipped away without him noticing, to a place far away, beyond his reach. That was the truth.

This is a more fundamental issue than conditions such as stance and social status.

Taichi lowered his head, gritting his teeth. It wasn't clear if he was still trying to refute it, or if he couldn't face the reality that he couldn't.

He said nothing, or was speechless. Only then did Aiko look Taichi in the eye again.

A closer look revealed that Taishi had been thrown violently, yet his body was only covered in sand and dirt, appearing completely uninjured. Furthermore, when she had nearly pushed Taishi away, it was Hajime who stopped herself. Aiko only realized these things now.

And although Hajime was ruthless in his words to him, he seemed to choose his words carefully. This was probably because he was trying hard to be a model of a kind Japanese citizen, but considering that one of his own was being harassed, Hajime's tone and eyes seemed less cold than expected.

If Hajime's indifference towards his enemies was "emotionless indifference", his current indifference towards Taishi could be described as "emotional indifference".

As for the reason, of course it’s obvious.

(Because Taichi is my childhood sweetheart...)

Aiko's expression naturally tensed at the thought. She couldn't remain silent any longer. With that in mind, she took a deep breath.

Aiko took a step forward, and as she was one step closer to the start, her expression became resolute and stern, exactly the same as when she faced the media alone a while ago.

Aiko walked towards Taishi, and Hajime didn't try to stop her. He didn't ask her what she was going to do.

This fact made Aiko extremely happy. Hajime's trust in her seemed to become her kinetic energy, burning deep within her body.

"love me……"

"Taishi, I can't respond to your feelings, nor do I intend to."

Aiko's refusal was clear and unequivocal. Her resolute tone and eyes were enough to crush any hope. She looked very similar to the man standing behind her and watching.

"But... Ai, you'll still be troubled by this later, right? Because you're a very serious person."

"Maybe. It's just how I was born. But I love him, and only him. There's no doubt about it, so there's nothing I can do about it. It seems I'm a bad woman, even worse than you thought."

"Haha, bad woman? That's the worst word for you."

Taichi smiled helplessly. It was the smile of someone who had completely lost hope and given up.

Finally, Taizhi still managed to glare at Hajime. Hajime remained motionless, just staring at Taizhi silently, his expression calm and composed.

So who is the child after all...Thinking of this, Taichi completely relaxed his shoulders.

"Feel sorry."

Taichi finally said this and left the shrine alone.

Aiko watched him go. Hajime came to her side.

"If I ruined your relationship with your childhood friend, I'm sorry..."

Aiko snuggled up to Hajime and shook her head slowly.

"No, don't worry about it. It may take some time, but we'll be good neighbors again."

"That's good... He looks like he won't be a problem from now on. But if he harasses you again, be sure to call me. I'll definitely shove his head into the ground next time."

"...Why are you so persistent about the Inugami family?"

Aiko responded to Hajime's joke with a smile, then turned away from Hajime, facing him and bowing low.

"I'm sorry for making you worry. And thank you for coming to see me."

Hajime narrowed his eyes fondly.

"Don't take it to heart, Aiko. I've said it before, I particularly like this about you."

"Eh? What point?"

"You approach everything with your whole heart. Even when you're worried, frustrated, or frustrated, you never give up. You try your best to find the answers on your own and keep moving forward."

That was the quality of Aiko that Hajime sincerely admired, and it was also something lovable to him now. Back then, in front of the memorial stone, Hajime had been looking at Aiko like this, and only then did he formally declare his feelings.

"I want to keep looking at you like this. I hope you can stay like this forever."

"...That's your cunning."

Aiko turned her back to Hajime. She felt strangely shy, wanting to scream right then and there. She rubbed her cheeks with both hands, trying to force herself to lower the corners of her mouth that were curled up.

Hajime suddenly wanted to go around to her front to see her expression, but when he thought about the main event coming up, he suppressed the urge. In order to complete his original purpose, Hajime slightly gathered his strength.

"Alright, next—"

"Ouch, my face is still hot... Eh? What's going on?"

"Now it's time to go to your house. I need to greet your parents properly."

“…Huh? Huh!?”

To Aiko, Hajime's attitude sounded as casual as if he was going to a nearby convenience store. She quickly turned around to see Hajime's serious expression.

"Now that your troubles have been resolved, there's no reason not to introduce me to your parents, right?"

"Yes, that's true, but...how should I put it? Even so, the fact that I attacked my students remains unchanged..."

For Aiko, this was still difficult to talk about. She wondered how many months it would take for her to mentally prepare. However, for Hajime, Aiko's family was his new family, and he didn't want to delay it any longer.

"Let me see, Aiko's house should be in that direction... Ah, my uncle and his family also have a stall at the festival. It's very close to here. Okay, I'll go and say hello now, and by the way, experience the taste of the Hatayama family firsthand."

"Ah, wait! Why are you using the compass?! Don't ignore me and walk away! What are you going to say to my dad and the others!?"

"Of course it's 'Hello, Uncle, your daughter is mine.' Isn't that basic?"

"How is it basic?! Is it even a provocation?!"

Hajime was walking forward with big strides, and Aiko grabbed his waist from behind to stop him. Of course, she couldn't hold Hajime back at all.

"By the way, Aiko, this is something that's bothering me. Why do you still speak to me as a teacher, but to that guy as an equal? ​​Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Ugh, this... I want to keep talking this way until graduation, isn't that okay? Besides, I'm not smart enough to talk to you differently at school than in private."

"That's true."

"Yeah... No, don't change the subject! We know everyone here. If I tell Dad about that, I'm afraid the whole neighborhood will know tomorrow!"

"Don't worry, it's okay. I don't mind."

"That's a problem! I'm concerned! Huh? Don't pick me up!"

Being picked up by Hajime in a princess-like position, Aiko had no choice but to give up resistance and cover her face with her hands.

The two of them walked down the stone steps from the shrine's front yard, attracting a lot of attention.

It was just like a socialite being led down from the second floor of a ballroom—thinking of this, Aiko was so embarrassed that she didn't dare to look up at her surroundings.