An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"Eh? Uh, yes."

The two's tone was unexpectedly strong, so Tio hurriedly put her hand into the mortar again. At the same time—

“Boom~!”

“Ahh!? Shia, d-did you do this on purpose—”

“Boom~!”

"Eeh!? Myuu!? Why are you swinging it down at this very moment!?"

Boom! Ugh!? Don't even think about escaping! Ah-ee-ee!?

Along with the cute rhythmic shouts, the mochi in the mortar and the hand deformed appropriately. Tio's wailing in between was a perfect accompaniment. And her wailing sounded more and more excited.

"What a beautiful sight! Shia is really good at making mochi. Myuu looks adorable with her bunny ears on."

"Yeah, Dad. If there wasn't a pervert in the middle who was so happy after getting hit on the hand and looked so intoxicated, I would have started recording a long time ago."

Shuu was sitting on the porch, leisurely drinking tea, and Hajime, who was also drinking tea, agreed (?) with what he said.

Furthermore, the reason Shia and Myuu mercilessly pounded Tio's hand while pounding the mochi was because—there wasn't any particular reason. If I had to find an excuse, it was probably because there happened to be a pervert there who took pleasure in being beaten. The actions of these two kind and thoughtful bunnies were simply to spread happiness.

In fact, this metamorphosed dragon was so satisfied that it put both its hands in, and its expression became so severe that it had to be blurred.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the courtyard, at the other end of the mochi-pounding venue—

"Huh!? Yue! You must have used gravity magic just now, right? That's a foul!"

"...Don't spit blood. Your two-sword style, Hanegiita, is the one that's breaking the rules."

In the chilly air, the atmosphere between Kaori and Yue grew increasingly heated. Both of them held hagoban (bashi boards) in their hands, enjoying the traditional New Year's activity of playing shuttlecock.

However, whether this can really be considered as playing shuttlecock is a matter of debate.

"There's no rule against holding the hagogi with both hands! But using magic is clearly a violation, right?!"

"...You make your own rules!"

"Even if you sound righteous, it won't work!"

Kaori delivered a powerful serve! The shuttlecock flew through the air at high speed, making an unusual swishing sound. Such speed and angle were definitely beyond the ability of ordinary people to react.

However, the shuttlecock that was shot at an alarming speed slowed down rapidly when it reached Yue, like a slow-motion video effect.

“…I’m in a flow state. Take this—Gravity Shot!”

"You clearly used gravity magic! In that case, I'll take it too... Take it! Super-speed shot!"

Yue used gravity magic to hit a particularly heavy ball, but Kaori used "magic that shortens arrival time" to hit the ball back at an incredibly fast speed.

The ball transformed into a flash of light, quickly brushing against Yue's hair. Kaori raised her lips. However, Yue wouldn't let it go. The queen wasn't so easily bullied.

“…I have no blind spots!”

“Ah, you actually used ‘Tenzai’!? How cunning!”

Yue performed an instantaneous teleportation that didn't pass through the "Space Gate." Even employing divine techniques, the childish Yue beautifully returned the swift ball.

The shuttlecock flew high. Kaori leaped up like a ferocious eagle, smashing down and simultaneously unleashing the "Binding Brilliant Chain," instantly encircling Yue with chains of light.

"...Huh, naive! Thunder Dragon Shoot!"

The hagoita was merely decorative, something the olden days didn't understand—at least not to Yue now. She released a "Mini Thunder Dragon," which caught the shuttlecock and performed a U-turn in mid-air.

In broad daylight, under the clear sky, lightning flashed along with thunder.

"You're so naive! Take this—decomposition shot!"

Unlike the final battle, Kaori's appearance no longer needed to be distinguished from that of the "Apostle of God." The black-silver decomposition flash had now returned to its normal silver form, completely disintegrating the "Mini Thunder Dragon" in the air. Of course, the shuttlecock was also reduced to ashes.

So Kaori spread her silver wings, offered her own feathers as new shuttlecocks (with a decomposition effect, of course) and hit back.

What unfolded next was no longer a game of shuttlecocks, but a typical magic battle. The hagoita was abandoned on the ground, unattended. What flew back and forth between the two wasn't shuttlecocks, but magic. Each used "Heaven's Avatar" and "Godspeed" to move swiftly, while childish curses like "Kaori is an idiot!" and "Yue is an idiot" echoed in the air.

"They're really close."

"Indeed, as the saying goes, the more you argue, the better a relationship becomes. Normally, the two of them go shopping together."

Yue and Kaori cursed at each other, provoked each other, made trouble, and then wrestled with each other, always as natural as breathing. This was the normal way for them to communicate.

Furthermore, although there were constant loud noises and flashes in the courtyard, these nuisances were dealt with using magical devices, so the neighbors were able to enjoy a peaceful and quiet New Year's holiday.

Sitting on the porch, the father and son continued to drink tea, squinting their eyes as the gust of wind blew in their faces amid the fresh air unique to the Lunar New Year. Meanwhile, a bustling noise could be heard from the house behind them.

"Ahahaha~! My mercenary group has successfully carried out another surprise attack! The reward has tripled my funds!"

"Why, why does Granny Sumire always win... I even lost my home. She's a princess..."

"Miss Lily... how pitiful. It's rare for you to be a princess even in a game..."

"In comparison, Miss Remia, who has achieved success steadily as a businessman, is truly awe-inspiring. You've even surpassed me in the rankings without me even noticing."

"Oh my god~ What should I do~ I'm having another baby. And this time it's twins. Everyone, please give me some congratulatory money. Oh hehe."

Sumire, Liliana, Aiko, Shizuku, and Remia were playing a dice board game similar to Monopoly. It was one of the many gifts Liliana was supposed to take back.

Besides this, Hajime also gave her several board games he had made himself, all adapted to the Todas style. Liliana planned to test-sell these games through Modo of the Yongkel Chamber of Commerce.

Depending on the results of the trial sales, as long as the market demand is large enough, we will go further and produce an artifact-level game that no one can imitate, and officially release it on the market.

This was also one of the ways Hajime was trying to make money to support his family. Since Liliana and Modo could also collect a brokerage fee, if successful, it would be a win-win for all three parties.

The devil king and the princess, smiling evilly in the middle of the night, looked like a perfect match from a certain perspective.

Let’s get down to business.

In this game, Liliana has become a princess of a fallen nation. Her hard work has only ruined her health, costing her a fortune in hospitalization. She's also lost her home due to fraud, and now, she's in debt from paying congratulatory gifts. It's a truly miserable situation.

The contrast between Liliana, who had just given birth to her ninth and tenth children, and Remia, who had been unreservedly accepting congratulatory money without a trace of guilt, was truly indescribable.

"We will have many children in the future, right?"

Granny Sumire stared at Shizuku and Aiko with a meaningful look. Even though their backs were turned, it was obvious they were blushing because they kept glancing towards Hajime.

Sou raised the corner of his mouth and turned his head. Of course, Hajime pretended not to notice.

At this time, perhaps in order to escape reality, the Debt Princess turned the conversation to Sumire.

"By the way, how did Granny Sumire and Grandpa Chou meet?"

"Hey, Lily, why are you asking about this all of a sudden?"

"I'm just curious. Because of my status, I can't meet the opposite sex like most people, and I'm with Hajime-san because of special circumstances."

So, it seems the princess is interested in "ordinary encounters." Sumire nodded silently, understanding this. With the clatter of the killing shuttlecock game and the excited shouts of a pervert pounding mochi as the background music, Sumire narrowed her eyes in nostalgia and gazed off into the distance.

Then, she told the story in a somewhat exaggerated manner, as if she was acting.

"Yeah, I remember it was a particularly cold New Year's Day at a certain shrine. At the time, Cho and I didn't know each other at all, so we each sneaked into the shrine and, for role-playing, dressed up as a miko and a shrine chief, respectively."

"Isn't this encounter too special!?"

Liliana's first New Year's rant exploded with a bang. Even Remia, Shizuku, and Aiko paused their games in bewilderment. Sou's ears twitched. Hajime's profile was a mix of frustration and amusement.

"I was really surprised at the time. That shrine was a sacred site in an anime, and I'd always wanted to go there and dress up as a shrine maiden. So, as a high school student at the time, I cosplayed as a shrine maiden amidst the crowds of people praying at the beginning of the year, and even volunteered to introduce people to the shrine without blushing or getting out of breath. While I was working hard, I noticed a shrine priest about my age. He put on a cool expression and leaned against a pillar. But he was immediately discovered by the shrine's real priest and taken away..."

"I don't even know where to start complaining anymore!"

Sumire and Sou's encounter was so bizarre that even the princess, flustered and unable to maintain her respectful tone, instinctively glanced towards Remia and the others for help. However, all three simultaneously averted their gazes. It seemed the situation was beyond their ability to handle.

Shia and Myuu, who were pounding mochi vigorously, Tio, who was panting, and Yue and Kaori, who were engaging in a super-dimensional shuttlecock battle in the yard, all slowed down their movements and pricked up their ears to listen to Sumire's words.

In contrast to everyone else, Chou's gaze was looking far away in the other direction.

"Everyone at the shrine gathered, and I was discovered. So he and I both quickly knelt down and kowtowed to apologize. We both thought that if we apologized so badly that the other person couldn't bear it, we could get away with it."

Kneeling and kowtowing, indeed, kneeling and kowtowing. It seems that the Nanyun family's unique skills were already formed during this period.

Having said that, it might be fate that two young men, equally skilled at kneeling and kowtowing, happened to meet because of their shared hobbies.

"However, there was a big problem. We were all waiting for the shrine staff to say, 'Forget it, forget it, just leave,' but—our acting skills were simply too high!"

“What~!?”

"Remia! That's a great response!"

It seems that Remia has been deeply influenced by the Nanyun family and has completely mastered her mother-in-law's style.

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Our attire was so authentic that even the real clergy couldn't tell the difference. In other words, they thought our costumes were stolen, so they detained us and interrogated us, not letting us leave."

Of course, the costumes weren't stolen; they were the product of the passion and dedication of both of them. And then, after endless questions and answers, Sho lost his patience and finally couldn't help but say this—

—This isn't a hunting robe! It's just my casual clothes, it just happened to look like one! This is my fashion sense, what's wrong with that?!

He made such specious arguments, trying to ignore the fact that he had knelt and kowtowed and that he had sneaked into the shrine, insisting that he was just an ordinary pilgrim who had come to the shrine to worship at the beginning of the year, and that the clothes he was wearing just happened to be very similar to the clothes of the deity.

"When he said that, I burst out laughing. I decided right then and there that I wanted to marry this man."

““““““““Why is this happening!?””””””””””

Yue and the others who had gathered together unknowingly joined everyone in complaining.

Chou, sitting on the outer porch, covered his face with his hands and rolled on the ground. His dark history was known to all the daughters-in-law, and the shame he felt was unbearable.

"So I confessed my feelings to him, and we started dating, and eventually got married. So what do you think? Compared to you and Lily, our encounter was pretty ordinary, wasn't it?"

““““““““Not ordinary at all.”””””””””

Their encounter wasn't particularly dramatic, but it was nonetheless quite special, in many ways.

So that's how it is. No wonder his son is like that, raised by such parents. The daughters-in-law understood at the same time and looked at Shi at the same time, their eyes full of love.

"...What do you mean? I'm not as clueless as my parents."

The God-killing Demon King actually had something to say. Yes, yes, you're saying... Yue and the others' strangely gentle expressions seemed to say this.

Hajime crossed his arms across his chest, looking completely unconvinced.

"Okay, Yue and the others seem to have finished their work, and the sun is in the perfect position. Is it about time to start filming?"

"Oh, yeah! That's it! I'll get the camera!"

In order to forget the hurt caused by the exposure of his dark history, Chou ran into the house with great enthusiasm.

Then, Hajime and the others cleaned up the courtyard, put away the pestle and mortar, and the mochi. The girls did not forget to check their clothes, appearance, and hairstyle.

Then──

Everyone gathered in front of the main gate of the Nanyun family, standing with Hajime at the center.

Yue and the others seemed a little nervous, their attitudes more cautious than usual. Sumire, standing in the far corner, smiled cheerfully and said:

"Everyone, your expressions are too stiff. Smile! This is your first family photo, don't be nervous! Have fun taking it!"

As she had said, they were going to take a family photo. It was the first photo of the Nanyun family since Hajime's return and Yue and the others had become a new family. This was Hajime's suggestion; he wanted to take a family photo at the beginning of the year and display it in the living room.

Cho had set up his tripod and sophisticated digital camera and was adjusting it. He then smiled cheerfully at everyone as a demonstration, as if to echo his wife's words.

"Everyone, are you ready? Let's start filming! Timer on for ten seconds! Ready~"

Chou pressed the button and quickly came over to stand beside Jin. Jin took Chou's arm, and the couple snuggled together tightly, their attitude very natural.

Shi and Yue looked at each other and smiled at each other naturally.

"...Hmm♪ Everyone, just proceed as usual."

"Yeah. Just like usual."

As the two of them said this, Shia and the others laughed naturally.

At this moment, the camera's timer just returned to zero and the shutter sounded.

Later, everyone received the image of this family photo on their mobile phones.

"...Haha, how beautiful. This is my treasure."

As Yue said, this family photo is full of smiles and happiness, and it can indeed be called a "treasure".

Postscript to Volume 14

Thank you very much to all readers for reading this epilogue of "Ordinary Occupations".

I am the author of this work, and I like the Chuunibyou style Shirami Ryo the most.

The original story was completed over two years ago, which means it's been a long time since I last saw readers of the print media and book versions.