An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

Liliana sat in the middle seat against the wall, with Hajime and the others sitting around her. Of course, Tio and Remia were also there, and Myuu sat on her father's lap.

"Ugh, I've practiced this several times to make a good first impression. But then I just acted so righteously and performed 'Light Destruction', which totally rejected my in-laws' welcome..."

Thinking of this, Liliana still felt a tightness in her chest and covered her face with her hands in sadness.

Other students, including Kouki and Ryuutarou, who were sitting at other tables, could only smile wryly.

Kaori and Shizuku also tried their best to comfort Liliana.

"That's understandable. After all, Lily, you've been busy with the country's post-war reconstruction, and you've been feeling pretty tense."

"That's right. You're always in a state of readiness, right? After all, it seems like there are still remnants of monsters from the Divine Realm everywhere."

"As expected of the Commander-in-Chief of the Human Allied Forces! Glory, don't you agree?"

"Y-yes, there's no need to take it to heart. Besides, the other party should be very impressed, instead—"

"What are you admiring? You're so reserved and timid."

Liliana looked up, her expression grave. Chou and Jin, utterly horrified, thought they had offended a princess from another world. They immediately and artistically knelt and kowtowed in apology. It was difficult to describe the depths of Liliana's heart at being treated this way by her in-laws.

Even without being explicitly stated, everyone understood. Guanghui and the others could only silently avert their gaze.

"Now they're getting along with you normally, isn't that good?"

Hajime said this nonchalantly, sipping his hot café au lait with gusto.

"First impressions are so important! I want to leave a perfect impression!"

“…I can relate.”

"Me too~!"

Yue and Shia echoed her sentiments, and the other girls nodded deeply, fully agreeing with Liliana's thoughts. However, Liliana glared at Yue and the others with envy, her eyes saying, "What do you successful people know!?"

"It's no problem, Miss Lily! I kowtowed to you!"

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with this.”

It turns out that Xiao Ai kowtowed to Nan Yun's parents... Upon learning this fact, the classmates all showed indescribable expressions on their faces.

"Oh, Lana said the same thing. She also dropped her usual chuunibyou attitude and greeted my family in a normal way."

Kosuke, you're here... Upon noticing his presence, the classmates' expressions turned to surprise, which made Kosuke secretly shed a few tears.

By the way, Lily wasn't the only one visiting from Todas this time.

Lana Hauriya, the bunny-eared sister Kosuke had desperately pursued, also showed up. Hajime, with good intentions, tried his best to arrange opportunities for the separated lovers to meet.

Because if Kosuke were to marry Lana in the future, he would become a member of the Horiya tribe. The Horiya tribe was also Hajime's family, so it was only natural for him to spend a little more time on Kosuke.

So Lana accepted Hajime's kindness with gratitude, and came over at the last minute to avoid disturbing Liliana's communication with the Nanyun family. After just greeting the Nanyun couple, she immediately took her leave and left the Nanyun family.

Of course, she then went to Endo's house.

The Endo family, having received advance notice, were anxiously awaiting the event, feeling a wave of anxiety. However, the most anxious of all was Kousuke himself. After all, while Lana was his beloved, she was ultimately a member of the Hauriya tribe, a true chuunibyou. He worried about whether his parents would accept her.

However, it turned out that his worries were just unfounded.

When greeting Cho and Sumire, Lana declared herself a warrior sworn to the Hajime clan, her words and actions utterly childish. However, to leave a perfect first impression on her boyfriend's parents, she desperately relearned her "old normal ways."

Lana greeted the Endo couple with common sense and courtesy, and then honestly acknowledged the special preferences of her tribe. This made the Endo couple feel very fond of Lana.

"I see...it seems Lana-san is also a success...I see..."

Liliana felt betrayed when she learned that Lana had successfully established a first impression and was now happily accompanying Kosuke's parents to do other things.

"Alright, alright. My mother-in-law and father-in-law are not picky about trivial matters and won't take it to heart. Besides, I think this outfit suits you very well."

"Yeah, it's very cute."

The comfort from Tio and Remia made the princess, who was about to give up on herself, smile again.

Liliana was wearing a long, long-sleeved dress with a big bow on the chest, which was very cute. She also wore a coat on the outside, which was given to her by Sumire.

With the help of Kaori and Shizuku, Hajime prepared clothes for Liliana beforehand. However, perhaps because of the commotion they'd had when they first met, Liliana chose the clothes Sumire had prepared first.

Concerns about Sumire were certainly a factor, but more importantly, Liliana was grateful for Sumire's kindness. Her parents weren't the only ones nervous about their first meeting.

"Yeah! It's cute, right? Hehehehe."

Liliana fiddled with the bow on her chest coyly, and her shy look was very cute.

She smiled happily at the acceptance of her beloved's family, but she didn't look like a "princess" at all, she just looked like an ordinary girl.

Realizing that everyone was looking at her with warm and caring eyes, Liliana felt even more embarrassed and coughed dryly.

"Well, let me first greet everyone formally. Thank you for hosting this welcome party for me today."

Liliana stood up, her expression returning a little to that of a princess, and looked around at everyone.

"I'm relieved that everyone has been successfully reunited with their families. On behalf of the inhabitants of the world you saved, I would like to formally express my deepest gratitude to you all. Thank you very much. And—"

Liliana had already greeted everyone face to face, sharing the joy of reunion. However, just once was not enough.

The joy that welled up from the depths of her heart could never be expressed enough—her smile fully demonstrated this feeling as she continued:

"I am truly delighted to be able to visit your hometowns and meet you all today!"

After saying this, Liliana curtsied with an extremely graceful posture.

To the students, the princess was their common friend in the other world, and undoubtedly their best friend. Her speech was met with enthusiastic applause and cheers. Many students thanked her in return, expressing their gratitude, saying they were the ones being taken care of.

"As expected of an agitator, you're really good at stirring up the atmosphere."

"Whose influence do you think it is?"

Liliana narrowed her eyes and poked Hajime's cheek. Perhaps because the loneliness of their long separation hadn't completely dissipated, or perhaps because the joy of reunion was particularly profound, Liliana was particularly active in physical contact today.

Seeing the two of them so affectionate, the classmates started to cheer them on - although some people looked disdainful, envious, and even felt awkward - at this time, someone else came over and joined the conversation.

"Everyone, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Is there enough drink? If you want more, just ask."

Two leisurely voices came from deep inside the store.

Two people approached: a gentle man wearing glasses and an equally gentle woman with her hair held together with a large hairpin. Both wore matching aprons bearing the shop's name. They were Yuka's father, Sonobe Hiroyuki, and her mother, Sonobe Yuri.

The couple held a full plate of food in their hands and served the dishes with a smile.

"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie!" the students responded enthusiastically. Then, Aiko stood up and thanked the couple for providing the venue. Then, with a thud, a large plate was placed before Hajime and the others.

"Hey, Sonobe, isn't that a bit too rough?"

"This is because the plate is too heavy."

The plate was indeed large, like something out of a competitive eating contest show. It was also filled with food.

However, even though the dishes had to be served, Yuka stood there without moving, her eyes wandering. It seemed...

“Ahahaha, Hajime, I’m so sorry. I guess this is the first time you’ve seen this kid in his store uniform, so he’s probably a little nervous.”

"Hajime, what do you think? It's a good fit, right?"

"Dad! Mom! What nonsense are you talking about!?"

It seems that's the case.

Yuka was wearing a white blouse, a burgundy apron, and a matching beret on her head. This was the uniform of the restaurant "Wistria."

Nana, Taeko, and other regulars knew that Yuka often helped out at the restaurant during holidays and busy periods, so they were used to seeing her in this outfit. However, Hajime and the others had never seen her in her restaurant uniform.

"Wow! Yuuka-san, this is so cute!"

"Hmm! I'm so envious of Yuuka-nee! Myuu wants to try it on too!"

“Really?”

Yuka seemed a little happy to be praised unreservedly by Shia and Myuu. She kept fiddling with the ends of her ponytail tied with a hair tie with her fingers, while stealing glances at someone.

There is no need to elaborate on who someone is.

"Excuse me, Miss, please give me jasmine tea."

“…! Thanks for the order! But today it’s free!”

Hajime, however, simply raised his hand calmly to order. Yuuka's face flushed red as she stomped back to the kitchen.

The classmates all stared at Hajime, their eyes clearly saying "this is totally inappropriate", but Hajime didn't care at all. To Hajime, Yuka was not a lover, and it would be inappropriate to say anything to her that would cause her to misunderstand.

"Oh my~ My daughter got dumped~"

"It seems we still have a long way to go."

The Sonobe couple's pointed words and glances were clearly directed towards Hajime.

Of course, Hajime had to pretend he didn't notice. However, he didn't quite understand why the Sonobes were so fond of him. They were not unaware of Hajime's relationship with Yue and other women.

This couple is always so gentle that it seems they have no concept of anger at all. Perhaps it is because they are such people that they can support their daughter's love without any scruples.

"...Hmm, how did Yuuka explain what happened in Todas to her parents?"

"Actually, I can imagine a rough idea. He must have let the cat out of the bag accidentally, revealing various clues."

Yue and Kaori whispered to each other. The truth must be as they said.

"By the way, Hajime. I heard you're going out with your family on Christmas, right?"

"Uh, yes. However, our parents will be traveling separately from us."

This was the initiative of Chou and Jin, who believed that parents should not interrupt their sons' dates with their wives.

Although Yue and others would have preferred that the parents-in-law come as well, the family would have a big dinner together on Christmas Eve, and the couple also needed time to spend together without being disturbed by others, so they did not insist.

"I see. That's great. Where are you planning to go?"

Mr. Hiroyuki asked with a smile, carrying four plates with practiced movements.

"We're planning to go to a theme park. Myuu and the others haven't been there yet."

"That's great! And there should be some special Christmas events in the park around this time."

Yuri-san also said this with a smile. Hajime, sensing their intentions, couldn't help but let out a polite smile.

"In that case, one more person shouldn't make a difference—"

"Hey! Here's a cup of jasmine tea!"

"It's not an izakaya."

The father's proposal was loudly interrupted by his daughter. Yuka was panting, having probably rushed over. Her face flushed red as she glared at her parents fiercely.

Hiroyuki and Yuri raised their hands in surrender and went into the kitchen.

Then he poked his head out of the kitchen door again.

"Everyone, thank you for getting along so well with our Yuuka."

"Although she's not a very honest girl, please continue to take care of her."

The couple said this with a gentle smile, then retreated back into the kitchen.

The scene was filled with an indescribable atmosphere. Yuka was trembling, not sure if it was out of shame or anger.

"Uh...Yuuka-nee, do you want to come with me?"

"I... I'm not going! I have to help out at the shop!"

Yuka replied, but the subtle pause revealed her true feelings. Nana, Atsushi, and the others were already chuckling. So, Aiko stepped forward before anyone could start teasing her.

"Uh...alright! Well then, let's toast to everyone's successful graduation ceremony and to welcome Ms. Lily!"

Aiko stood up and gave the order, and Hajime and the others raised their glasses simultaneously. With the delicious meal as a backdrop, everyone enjoyed the last full-member party of the year.

Volume 14, Chapter 9, The First Christmas

“Wa ...

"Oh hey~!"

There were cheers of innocence and of astonishment.

The cheers came from Myuu, who was sitting astride Hajime's shoulders, and Shia, who was beside him. Yue, Tio, Kaori, Shizuku, Remia, Aiko, and Liliana, though silent, sparkled with joy like children.

However, only Liliana looked a little different.

I don't know why, but her eyes look a bit like a beast searching for prey. Never mind, let's not worry about it for now.