Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 2

Chapter II: An Everyday(?) Morning in the Nagumo Household Part 2

“I’m home, dad, mom.”

“Welcome back, Hajime.”

That night, when Hajime had returned home, Sumire and Shu had hugged him as tightly as possible, confirming that he was real and truly standing outside their door. Then, after a few seconds, they’d ushered him inside...mostly because they’d noticed the lady next door peering at them through her curtains.

Hajime was acquainted with this particular neighbor, and he’d been unsure whether or not he should bow to her, but the problem was that he’d been missing for about a year now. He didn’t want to cause a stir, so he’d dutifully followed his parents inside to the safety of their home.

More than anything, though, he wanted to spend some time with his parents now that they’d finally been reunited. Besides, he missed his old house. He’d only been gone for a year, but it was a year that had felt like a lifetime.

As he’d walked past the foyer, he’d gently traced his hand across the stains in the old wallpaper. The familiar smells of home made him tear up, and it took everything he had not to break down crying.

“Come on, what’re you just standing there for? Don’t tell me you forgot where the living room is.”

“Of course I haven’t, dad.”

Hajime couldn’t help but smile at his dad’s lighthearted jest.

Sumire was still too overcome by emotion to say anything, but normally both Hajime’s mom and dad were constantly cracking jokes or making references to common otaku media tropes. They looked much thinner and older than Hajime remembered but were otherwise the same.

Hajime was so unbelievably happy to see them again that he felt himself choking up a little as he made his way to the living room.

“I-Is all this...?” Hajime gasped as he saw all of the newspaper clippings on the dining table, as well as the missing children flyers. He caught a glimpse of the webpages open on both of his parents’ laptops as well, and he could immediately tell that they had never given up, not even for a minute. He could imagine just how painful it must have been for them to keep on searching.

“We tried everything we could over this past year. But in the end, we weren’t able to find a single clue as to where you’d gone. Even the police couldn’t do anything. Hajime...where did you...where did all of you...go?” Shu asked, gently closing his laptop. Various emotions flitted across his face, and Hajime could tell he was a little nervous.

“Also...what happened that day you went missing, Hajime?” Sumire asked, wiping away her tears.

They’d disappeared in broad daylight, but it had just been Hajime’s class that had vanished. No one knew how it had happened or even what had happened. Sumire looked straight at her son, determined to hear the whole truth. She wanted to know everything.

“Well...the answer to that is simple, but also not that simple. There’s a lot I’ve gotta tell you guys.”

Hajime’s voice was far rougher than the mild-mannered boy that Sumire and Shu remembered, and they both waited with bated breath to hear his story. They could tell just from the sound of his voice that he’d been through a lot.

“I see... Then let me clean up this table so we can talk. Also, give me a second to make some café au lait for you.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“He he, you sound all grown up now.”

“You really do. Come on, don’t just stand there, sit down. Good, you still remember what your usual seat is.”

Shu smiled as he watched Hajime take the seat closest to the living room door. That alone helped drive home that it was really his son who’d come back.

Once Sumire had made Hajime’s favorite, a slightly bitter café au lait, and Shu had finished clearing away the dining table, Hajime started telling them everything that had happened.

Too much had happened for him to say it all in one go, so he stuck to the most pertinent points to begin with. Even that took so long that dawn was breaking by the time he was done.

“And that’s more or less everything that happened,” Hajime said, finishing his tenth cup of café au lait.

Sumire and Shu both let out long sighs and slumped into their chairs. Shu rubbed his temples while Sumire looked down at Hajime’s empty cup, unsure of what to say.

“Is it too crazy to believe?” Hajime asked with a sad smile. Honestly, he was grateful that they hadn’t constantly interrupted him to ask questions or stopped him halfway and told him to stop making things up. He knew how ridiculous his story must have sounded.

Sumire and Shu exchanged glances, then, choosing his words carefully, Shu said, “Well, yeah. You know we’ve both seen and written stories like that all the time for work, so we’re familiar with the idea, but you’re saying all this happened...for real...”

“It’s hard to take in all at once,” Sumire added bluntly.

“But considering how strange the circumstances surrounding that mass disappearance were...I believe it’s possible. Besides, you have no reason to lie to us. What I’m most worried about is that...”

“Someone’s forcing you to tell this story. Or that you’ve somehow been convinced that all of this is true when it’s not.”

“Ha ha, those are the most realistic explanations. If I were you two, I’d be thinking the exact same thing.”

It was far more realistic to assume that Hajime and his class had been brainwashed or implanted with false memories somehow. In other words, it wasn’t that Shu and Sumire mistrusted their son, they were worried he needed medical attention of some kind.

“Dad, mom, I can definitively prove to you that all of that really happened. But first, assuming that I’m telling the truth, I need to ask you something important.”

Hajime took a deep breath, and his parents waited patiently for him to continue. This was one thing he absolutely needed to be sure of. Back in the Frost Caverns, his clone had pointed out his deepest fears...and while he’d put off answering back then, it was time to finally confront them.

“What do you think about the things I’ve done? How do you feel about me now?”

Hajime was prepared for them to be disappointed in him, or even to hate him, but though he’d mentally steeled himself, he knew it would hurt if they were revolted by him. In fact, he’d probably run out of the house and go cry in Yue’s arms.

To his surprise, though, Shu and Sumire just gave him an odd smile.

“You know, Hajime, neither me nor Sumire are saints.”

“Huh?”

His parents got up from their seats and walked over to him.

“We care way more about our son’s safety than any people he might have killed. Maybe that’s not the right stance to take, but that’s just how parents are. You don’t need to look so nervous... Do you really think we’d disown you? Don’t be silly,” Sumire said, patting Hajime’s head.

“But mom...I may have only done it because I had to, but I still killed people without hesitation. I’ve changed. Can you really accept a son who doesn’t feel any remorse when they kill another person?” he asked reflexively. It wasn’t like him to ask leading questions like this just to get reassuring answers. Still, even Hajime had times when he wanted reassurance, especially from his parents.

Shu sighed and ruffled his hair.

“There’s no way we wouldn’t accept you. Sorry, but it’s impossible to quit being a member of the Nagumo family. No matter what happens, even if you want to cut ties with us, you’re still going to be our son, and that’s final.”

“Dad...”

“You might be able to escape from the Demon Lord, but there’s no escaping your old man!”

“Did you really have to bring out a reference now of all times?”

Regardless, Hajime could tell his dad’s feelings were sincere.

“Do you regret what you’ve done, Hajime?” Sumire asked, sitting down next to him. Hajime shook his head without hesitation.

“No, not at all. I don’t think what I did was wrong either. I chose the path I did fully prepared for the consequences.”

Hajime knew that if he hadn’t gone that far, he might have lost everything. Though he’d constantly been getting stronger, the more people he grew to care about, the more desperate he became to protect them all. His harsh experiences in the abyss had taught him that hesitation and compassion were your worst enemies on the battlefield.

Sumire’s expression softened a little, and she asked, “And will you continue killing people now that you’ve come home?”

“No...definitely not. I’m done with killing, mom. When I started on my journey to get home, I decided I would kill anyone who stood in my way, but now that journey’s over. I know I need to change the way I do things...though, I don’t intend on becoming a pure pacifist either.”

“I see. Then there’s no problem, is there? Even if you don’t feel any revulsion toward killing other people, you haven’t lost your emotions or your sense of reason, so there’s nothing to worry about. Besides, if it looks like you’re about to go down the wrong path, I’ll just scold you and bring you back.”

Hajime was Sumire’s son, and she would gladly take responsibility for anything and everything that he might have done or would do.

That promise meant the world to Hajime. He knew that if his parents actually saw him kill someone before their eyes, they’d be shaken. They probably wouldn’t unhesitatingly offer words of reassurance like they had just now. But he knew now that they wouldn’t abandon him, no matter what. And honestly, that was more than enough.

“I see...”

Hajime let out a long breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding, and the tension drained from his shoulders. At long last, the fear he’d been carrying deep in his heart had been dispelled.

Sumire and Shu watched on quietly as Hajime closed his eyes and sorted out his feelings. In this moment they knew that their son had truly come home in both body and soul.

“Thank you, dad, mom,” Hajime said after a few minutes, opening his eyes.

They just nodded in response. No words were necessary.

“All right, then, let’s get back to proving what I said was true.”

“O-Okay,” Shu said, taken aback by the sudden change in topic.

“You sure switched gears quickly!” Sumire exclaimed.

But of course, both of them could tell he was also changing the subject to hide his embarrassment, so they just smiled and nodded.

“Okay, what’s this definitive proof you have for us?” Shu asked, his expression doubtful. He was ninety percent sure there was no way Hajime’s story was true.

“So, uhhh...do you guys remember that time we wrote down all the things we’d want to see and do if we ever got isekaied?”

“Hmm? Yeah. Pretty sure we did that more than once, with a bunch of different common tropes.”

“Yeah, like what we’d do if we found ourselves in a zombie apocalypse, or if there was a terrorist threat in the city and stuff. It’s the kind of thing all otaku love daydreaming about.”

Indeed, Hajime and his parents had discussed over a dozen times what he’d like to see in another world if he ever got sent to one. Because everyone in the Nagumo family was an otaku, it was a common topic.

Shu and Sumire shot Hajime a puzzled look, unsure of why he was bringing that up now.

Blushing a little, Hajime said, “Remember how you always said, ‘If you’re a real man, you’ll master swordsmanship and magic, defeat the Demon Lord, and gather a harem of cute girls!’ dad?”

“It’s a cliché, sure, but a good one. But every time I said that, you always responded, ‘I don’t have what it takes to defeat the Demon Lord, but I guess I’d give it my all to try to at least get back home. And if I met anyone I grew to care about, I’d try to bring them back too.’ You really should have been dreaming bigger.”

“Sorry I’m not as much of a man as you...but, well, I defeated the Demon Lord and an evil god with my harem, so I guess I fulfilled your dreams and then some.”

“Hajime...umm, you aren’t about to say you want to introduce us to all the girlfriends you picked up along the way, are you? I thought those were all imaginary.”

“Well, they’re real.”

Shu and Sumire exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond.

“Hold on a second, dear. What if they’re the ones who implanted these false memories into Hajime’s head?” Sumire asked, her expression suddenly turning grim.

“Whoa, smart thinking, Sumire. I can’t believe your brain’s still working this well after an all-nighter!”

“That has to be it! Hajime was grinning way too much every single time he mentioned them! They must have seduced our poor son! I bet they’ll ask us to buy some sacred vase for a million dollars in return for fixing his memories!” A hint of rage began to enter Sumire’s voice.

“Nope, the all-nighter fried your brain after all!” Shu exclaimed.

Hajime nearly burst out laughing at the insinuation that Yue and the others were scammers, but he held it in and looked off at a point in the living room that seemed to have nothing there.

“Yue, can you hear me?”

“H-Hey, Sumire! He’s started talking to empty air! He really did make up imaginary girlfriends in his head! As his father, what should I do?!”

“Calm down, dear. Wait...no, we were too careless. What if they wiretapped Hajime?! If those scam salesgirls really exist, then maybe they’re coming here right now!”

“What?! How dare you make our son take part in your scams, you monsters?! Just you wait! I’m going to haggle you all down into bankruptcy!”

Now Shu had completely lost his composure as well, so there was no one to stop Sumire’s fantasies.

In fairness to them, though, Hajime had suddenly started talking to empty space. He knew it was pointless to try and calm them down now, so he just kept talking to Yue.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I want to introduce all of you. Yeah, just open a portal and come straight here. Teleport...about one meter east of my position.”

At present, Yue and the others were waiting on the roof of Hajime’s school. Those were the coordinates Hajime had set for the portal he’d created that had taken them from Tortus back to Earth. It was the place he could remember the most vividly outside of his own house, and the door leading up to it was usually locked, so it was unlikely they’d run into anyone there.

When they’d made it back, everyone had been overcome by emotion and lifted Hajime into the air to celebrate. Shizuku had had to yell at them to quiet down so they didn’t attract attention, and after a bit, everyone had run home at Olympic sprinter speeds.

Yue and the others had suggested staying behind until Hajime’s reunion was finished, since they hadn’t wanted to get in the way. But of course, Shu and Sumire didn’t know any of that, and they were starting to seriously consider admitting their son to a psychiatric hospital with tears in their eyes.

Seconds later, though, their concern turned to surprise.

“It’s okay, Hajime. I know a good doctor—Huh?”

“Found it, dear. This is the best hospital for—Huh?”

The space to the right of Hajime began to twist and warp, and a whirlpool of golden light suddenly appeared in the space between the living room and dining room. Shu’s and Sumire’s jaws dropped open, and their phones slipped from their slack fingers. The whirlpool of golden light slowly began to fade, revealing an oval-shaped portal. On the other side of that portal was a location that was quite familiar to both Hajime and his parents. It was his classroom in school.

“I-I-I-Is that the Anywhere Door?!” Shu shouted.

“H-Huh? What? What’s happening?” Sumire exclaimed. Both of them leaped to their feet, knocking their chairs over.

A second later, a beautiful young girl poked her head out of the portal. She had luscious golden-blonde hair, ruby red eyes, and porcelain-white skin that made her look like a bisque doll. Shu and Sumire stiffened, their minds struggling to comprehend what they were seeing.

As Yue glanced around the Nagumo abode’s living room, she spotted Hajime’s parents and smiled warmly at them. It was such a dazzling smile that Sumire gasped, and Shu nearly fainted. Yue then turned toward Hajime, silently asking with her eyes if it was okay for her to come in.

Hajime got to his feet and held his hand out toward her.

“Welcome to the Nagumo family home. Come on in.”

“Mmm...”

Yue hesitantly stepped through the portal. She kept her back ramrod straight and her hands clasped demurely in front of her. It was clear she was nervous. For her, the first meeting with Hajime’s parents was one of the most important moments of her life.

Hajime walked over to stand beside her and smiled playfully at his parents. He’d wanted to surprise them, and he had.

“Dad, mom, this is Yue...the most important person in the world to me. Incidentally, she’s a vampire and a former princess.”

“Th-That’s so many tropes at once!”

Even when they were completely flabbergasted, Shu’s and Sumire’s brains still worked on otaku logic. Though they hadn’t fully grasped the situation, their minds reflexively formed retorts.

They’re definitely Hajime’s parents, Yue thought with a small smile. That helped ease some of her nervousness, and she lifted the hem of her skirt slightly and curtsied to Sumire and Shu.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mother, father. My name is Yue. I’m overjoyed to finally be able to meet you. I hope we can get along.”

“Huh? O-Oh, well to meet you too. That’s a very formal, polite introduction,” Shu stammered.

“A-A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Sumire replied.

Both of them were so dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of Hajime’s first girlfriend that they were tripping over their words. They both bowed over and over, and while Hajime did feel like he might be going a little overboard doing things this way, he nevertheless called the others in without hesitation.

“Shea, you can come in too!”

“Okay! Hi, mom, hi, dad! I’m Shea! Nice to meet you!”

“Now we’ve got a bunny girl?!” Shu and Sumire shouted in unison as Shea hopped through the portal.

Nice reaction! I knew I could count on Hajime-san’s parents to notice all the right things! Shea thought with a smile.

Indeed, Shu and Sumire were staring intently at Shea’s bunny ears. Their eyes had the same longing in them that Hajime’s did when he lost himself in Shea’s ears.

“Tio, you can come in too.”

“Splendid. Well met, mother, father. I am Master’s sex slave, the dragonman Tio Klarus. I look forward to getting to know you.”

“Sex slave?!” Shu and Sumire shouted, their eyes nearly popping out of their skulls as Tio spread her dragon wings.

They staggered and fell back into their seats, their legs no longer capable of holding them upright.

Of course, Hajime didn’t stop there.

“Remia, Myu, come on in.”

“Coming, dear. Hello, my name is Remia. Thank you for inviting me and my daughter into your home,” Remia said with a graceful bow.

“U-Umm...I’m daddy’s daughter, Myu! Hi, grandma, hi, grandpa!”

“G-Grandpa?!”

“Y-You have a daughter?!”

This was the greatest shock yet. Not only did Hajime have half a dozen girlfriends, but it seemed he had a daughter too. Shu and Sumire were grandparents now. Both of them turned to Hajime, silently demanding an explanation.

Hajime smiled and said, “They all proposed to me. As you can probably see, Myu isn’t related to me by blood, but I’ve decided to adopt her, so she’s your granddaughter now. Be nice to her, okay?”

“Yeah, that doesn’t explain anything!”

“Also, if you recall from my story, there are four other girls. I’ll introduce them all later.”

“I can’t believe you really made a harem!” the two of them shouted in unison again. Despite saying Hajime hadn’t explained anything, they had more or less grasped exactly what was going on.

Now that they knew Hajime’s story about Tortus was real, they understood that Hajime had discovered he had some cheat superpowers in the isekai and created a harem before coming back home.

Of course, that didn’t make this any less shocking.

“Wait, hold on, Sumire. There’s no way girls this cute can be real! I bet they’re all CG!” Shu shouted, still in denial.

“Hajime, I understand wanting to marry your waifu, I really do, but you have to bring home real girls someday or you’ll become an incel!” Sumire yelled.

Both of them were panicking at these sudden developments but Myu mistook their confusion as rejection and asked in a sad voice, “Grandpa, grandma...should I not be here?”

That got both of them to immediately do a one-eighty.

“Hello, Myu-chan. I’m your grandpa! Of course you’re welcome here!”

“Hello, Myu-chan. I’m your grandma! This is your house, don’t worry!”

Their reactions were just like Hajime’s, and you could really tell he took after them in many ways.

Once they calmed down a little more, Shu and Sumire started peppering Yue and the others with questions, their otaku souls burning with curiosity. Yue patiently answered all of their questions and even recreated scenes of the past for them with restoration magic. They gasped in awe at the climactic flights, blushed at all the romantic moments, and bit their nails with worry every single time Hajime was in a dire predicament.

Finally, once Yue had finished telling them everything, Shu shouted loudly enough to wake the neighbors, “Hellllll yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! My son actually became a real isekai protagonist! Thank you, based god!”

“Kyaaaaaa, really?! My son really said that?! No wonder everyone calls him the Demon Lord now! I’m so happy!” Sumire exclaimed.

Both of them patted Hajime heartily on the back while he buried his face in his hands, blushing to the tips of his ears.

“Mmm... I’m glad your parents are just as weird as you, Hajime,” Yue said with a grin.

“Yeah, I can tell how you ended up the way you did now, Hajime-san!” Shea added.

“I should have known your parents wouldn’t be normal, Master!” Tio continued.

“Ufu fu fu, you really do take after them, Hajime-san,” Remia stated.

“Yeah, daddy and grandpa and grandma are all super nice!” Myu exclaimed.

Upon hearing that, Hajime looked up and glared at everyone.

“Don’t lump me in with them,” he said in a flat voice.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

After everyone finished drinking their morning tea, Shea and Remia went back into the kitchen to clean the dishes while Tio sat Myu on her lap and started braiding her hair into pigtails. Yue and Sumire were still sitting on the sofa, chatting.

It was a nice, lazy morning. The first morning that Hajime had been able to take it easy after returning to Earth, in fact. He smiled to himself as he reminisced about his reunion with his parents and how shocked they’d been when he’d introduced Yue and the others.

“Hajime, you’ll be able to relax for a while now, right?” Shu asked, turning to him with a smile. He was glad his son was finally free from the stresses of dealing with the public. He’d been looking forward to a morning like this where everyone could just sit back and chill for a while.

Gone were the days steeped in despair where Sumire and Shu had gone to sleep each night worrying about where their son was and what had happened to him. There was no greater happiness than the time they had together now.

“Yeah, things are settling down now, dad. Notice how we haven’t been getting any reporters knocking on our door today?”

“Yeah. I’m honestly amazed at how quickly they stopped. No one’s asking me questions at work either,” Shu said with a relieved sigh.

But then, Sumire turned over to him from the couch and said, “Hajime, what exactly did you do? This is clearly unnatural. All of the magazines reporting on you ‘Returners’ are being pulled from store shelves, and all the articles and videos and pictures that were floating around on the internet are getting deleted one by one. Even the internet trolls have quieted down.”

“Returners” was the name that the mass media had given to Hajime and the others.

Yue got up on her knees and poked her head over the couch to look at Hajime as well.

Come to think of it, I never actually explained what I did.

Hajime cleared his throat and said, “Well, to put it simply, I spread magic that messes with people’s perception across the world through the internet and TV.”

“You what now?” Sumire and Shu asked in unison.

An evil grin spread across Hajime’s face and he replied, “Remember the fake story I made up to tell the reporters?”

“I mean, obviously. We had to tell it to people too or journalists would start to get suspicious,” Shu said.

“The story about how you were kidnapped by some foreign cult and they tried to brainwash you into joining them, right? Oh, and that they used drugs and hypnosis on you, so your memories are hazy.”

Considering that the church in Tortus had basically been a cult and had tried to convince all the students to fight for them, it wasn’t a complete lie. This was Hajime’s specialty, coming up with a believable story that wasn’t truly a lie but was still far from the truth.

Hajime and his parents had shared the fake story with the families of the other missing students so that everyone would present the same version of events to reporters. He’d already discussed it with his classmates back when they’d been in Tortus, and everyone had been on board. Of course, all of the kids had told their parents the truth and showed them their magic, but the rest of the world only knew the fake story that Hajime had devised.

“We didn’t know how exactly the news had spread about our disappearance while we were gone, but we all knew we’d be questioned upon our return for sure.”

Hajime had also considered asking everyone to tell the truth and have the police and other government agencies simply think they were deluded kids. That would make it easier for them to all get therapy, and there were definitely kids who needed it. However, that would also mean that as long as they kept claiming they’d gone to another world and learned magic, people would think they still needed mental help. It would have been a bad strategy in the long term. Plus, things would get even more complicated if they actually proved the existence of Tortus and magic. Hajime absolutely did not want the world to know about his experiences or his powers. His parents wholeheartedly agreed with him on that, as did his classmates and their families.

The governments of the world would all get involved if they went and actually proved that there was another world they could travel to, and no one wanted that. Everyone had fought tooth and nail to get back to their old peaceful lives, so there was no way anyone was going to give that up for fame or clout. They all decided to keep their magic and the existence of Tortus a secret.

“It’s a good story because it’s just barely believable while still feeling unrealistic, which matches the unnatural nature of our disappearances. Of course, there are still plenty of people who might not be convinced, which was why I used magic to further convince everyone that our story was the truth.”

Most importantly, Hajime wanted everyone to think that his and the other students’ memories of events were hazy and unreliable. That way, they could get by just saying that some group they didn’t recall too well had attacked the cult, and before they knew it they’d been sent back home. Everyone would assume that this mysterious group that had attacked the cult had rescued the kids. Furthermore, since everyone’s memories were supposed to be hazy, there wouldn’t be any issue if there were minor inconsistencies with the way they told their stories. Hajime had also inserted some Artifacts into major newsrooms and police stations to make it easier for people to believe what the kids were telling them.

“Hmm, and that’s why my name here is Yue Avatarl, right?”

“Yep. I figured using your old last name would be better than making up a new one.”

“I would have preferred Nagumo. I’m your wife, after all.”

“You can get it changed when we get legally married, okay? And you can keep your old last name as your middle name if you want.”

“Mmm... I can’t wait.”

Though Hajime couldn’t see Yue’s legs, he was certain she was happily swinging them back and forth as she said that. Mostly because his mom had pulled out her phone and was surreptitiously snapping photos of Yue. While he understood why his mom would be obsessed with Yue, it still wasn’t good to sneak photos of people without asking.

Tio looked up from Myu’s hair and asked, “The story for us is that we were all born in Japan and have...birth certificates, you said it was? Regardless, we were raised together in a very isolated facility, which is why there are no public records of us, correct?”

“Oh, and that facility had connections to the cult that kidnapped all of you, right? It was made to raise promising kids and brainwash them into being obedient cult members or whatever,” Shea added, poking her face out from the kitchen. Hajime nodded, so she went back to washing the dishes.

“Yeah, something like that. I didn’t want to risk trying to forge foreign birth certificates, so this was the easiest story to use.”

“I feel bad for the government official you mind controlled to make those birth certificates... You’re sure there won’t be any side effects on him, right?” Sumire asked, glaring sharply at her son.

In order to get birth certificates for Yue and the others, Hajime had had no choice but to use magic on one of the officials who worked at a local government office. It was far better to get real documents than to try and forge his own, after all.

“Yeah, I used a special Artifact that Yue helped me make. Don’t worry, mom, it didn’t hurt him at all. In fact, as thanks, we used restoration magic on him to cure all of his chronic diseases.”

“Really? Well, in that case...”

“We even healed all of his coworkers. Right now, everyone in that office is the healthiest they’ve ever been. It’s actually caused a stir among all their friends, but it hasn’t made national news because everyone’s still preoccupied with us.”

“Wait, you didn’t just cast this magic on one or two people?!”

“Kaori’s the one who came up with the idea, and at the time we were too busy to cast pinpoint magic, so she just used restoration magic on the whole building. Now the locals are calling the place a sacred site that cures diabetes.”

“I’m glad they’re superstitious enough to just take this in stride.”

At any rate, according to Hajime’s story, Yue and the others had been sent to the cult headquarters right when the mysterious group had attacked them, which was why they’d been sent back to Japan with Hajime and the others. But since the facility they’d been raised in was gone now and they had no known relatives, they were staying with the Nagumo family because they trusted Hajime.

The other reason Hajime hadn’t wanted to give them foreign birth certificates was because it would have made it that much harder for them to remain in Japan. He’d needed the whole isolated facility setting because even if he could forge Yue and the others’ records, he didn’t want to mess with people’s memories and make them believe everyone had lived here the whole time.

That being said, the world wasn’t so simple that making up a fake cult to push the blame on and using magic to make everyone believe that was enough to solve all of the issues their sudden return had caused.

Unsurprisingly, they’d been the most talked about thing on the net since their miraculous return. People were making up all sorts of wild theories as the real explanation for what had happened, and of course, others were taking these rumors as ironclad facts and spreading them all over. If they’d just been outlandish rumors that looped back around to being true like “Those kids were definitely isekaied,” Hajime wouldn’t have minded. Unfortunately, the internet was a truly cursed place. People loved nothing more than being mad, and if there was nothing to be mad about, they made up things to be mad about.

“It was so annoying how people kept flocking to our door like flies. They were all so rude too,” Yue muttered angrily.

“Thank you for protecting our house while I was gone, Yue.”

Indeed, the horde of reporters that had been crowding around everyone’s houses had been quite a nuisance. What was worse was reporters had even gone to their school and the houses of distant relatives of the kids living out in the countryside or close family friends and neighbors.

Of course, there were reputable journalists as well who were kind enough to call and try to schedule appointments, but either way, their numbers were just too great. No matter how polite they were, getting hundreds of calls a day from different people got exhausting. Every single news channel was running stories about their miraculous return, including some foreign ones.

“They say rumors never last long, so I figured just using a bit of light suggestion magic and giving everyone Artifacts that hide their presence would be enough, but...”

The power of the modern information age meant that even with Hajime and the others out of the public eye, people were still finding “evidence” to corroborate whatever stories they wanted to believe. The police had fully bought Hajime’s fake story and released an official statement, but even that hadn’t stopped the internet mob.

“Hatayama-sensei—Whoops, I guess I should call her Ai-chan now that she’s part of your harem. Anyway, Ai-chan had it the worst of all... How’s she holding up now?” Shu asked gently, his voice full of concern.

Indeed, Hajime had already brought Kaori, Shizuku, and Aiko home to let his parents know they were his girlfriends as well. It had been quite a shock when the first words out of Aiko’s mouth had been “I’m sorry, I’m a failure of a teacher. I laid a hand on your son despite being an educator.”

She’d then dropped to her knees and started pleading for forgiveness.

Everyone in Hajime’s family was of the belief that if ever there was a problem, the ideal solution was simply to drop to one’s knees and apologize profusely. As a result, Hajime, Shu, and Sumire were all masters of the overly profuse apology, and even to them, Aiko’s sincere apology had impressed them.

Of course, as die-hard otaku, Sumire and Shu were both big fans of student-teacher relationships, so they gladly welcomed Aiko into the family.

Thus, naturally, Shu’s concern for Aiko was genuine.

“She takes her job a little too seriously, I think. I respect her for wanting to take the brunt of the public’s curiosity and protect all of you, but...”

Aiko was an adult. The only adult who’d been a part of the kidnapped group, in fact. On top of that, she was a teacher, so it was her job to protect her students. As a result, she’d been given the most attention of all and had to bear the brunt of the public’s malice.

Both the police and her bosses had called her in day after day to grill her on the details of what had happened, and the rest of society had been extremely cruel to her as well. The net had put her on full blast for “failing her duty as a teacher.”

“Mrrr, why does everyone think Aiko-oneechan is a bad person? They’re all dum-dums,” Myu said, shaking her head angrily, her freshly braided pigtails swinging from side to side.

“Ha ha, that they are,” Tio replied, patting Myu’s head to calm her down a little. She then turned to Yue and the others and said in a sad voice, “Myu’s absolutely right...but the world wants a scapegoat to direct their anger at.”

Sumire folded her arms and nodded in agreement.

Why Hajime’s class? How had the school allowed it to happen in broad daylight? How had no one noticed so many kids being kidnapped all at once? How had no one tracked down the culprits? What about the students who hadn’t returned? There were no satisfactory answers to those questions, so the public had looked for someone they could feel justified in venting their anger on...someone they could blame for letting this come to pass. Aiko simply happened to make a convenient target.

“This wouldn’t have happened if Aiko had been a more reliable teacher.” “Why didn’t she bring the kids back home sooner?” “How come she wasn’t able to broadcast her location to anyone for a whole year?”

Those were the kinds of things people had started saying. Most of them didn’t even really care about the safety of the students; all that was driving them was malice.

“I’m glad she didn’t quit her job,” Sumire said softly.

“There’s no way I was going to let that happen,” Hajime said, frowning angrily.

Despite the constant bashing both in person and on the internet, Aiko had remained strong. A normal person would have crumbled under that much criticism, but Aiko had survived numerous deadly battlefields back in Tortus, so she was made of much sterner stuff. Of course, things had still been tough for her. Luckily, Hajime had been there to support her, both emotionally and with spirit magic.

In truth, Aiko had been fully prepared to be fired from her job when she’d willingly stepped into the scapegoat role to protect her students. Maybe after things settled down and the public forgot all about this event, she might be able to find a small rural school somewhere no one knew her and resume teaching, but she’d been certain she wouldn’t be able to continue teaching at her current school. After all, Hajime and the others weren’t the only class she taught. There were other students in her school that she cared about just as much, and she didn’t want to cause them or her coworkers any trouble.

Indeed, she’d been ready to quit if her boss hadn’t fired her, just so that peace could return to her beloved students a little bit faster. Despite everything that had happened, Aiko was still committed to her students above all else.

“I did the same thing I did to make everyone believe our fake story to make sure she could keep teaching.”

“That whole disseminating magic through the internet and TV thing? What exactly did you do?”

“Brainwash the world, basically.”

“You what?!”

Shu and Sumire both covered their ears with their hands, unable to believe what Hajime had just said. Meanwhile, Yue and Tio just laughed.

“So, I had Yue use her Divine Edict. It’s a special kind of magic that can influence people’s souls.”

That was the same spell Ehitruje had used to decimate Hajime the first time they’d fought. But after he’d possessed Yue’s body, she’d stolen his own signature move, as well as all of the other magic he’d developed, so she was capable of using it herself.

Indeed, the reason everyone from Tortus had no trouble understanding people in Japan was because Yue had imprinted Language Comprehension onto everyone’s souls.

Yue gave everyone a peace sign as Hajime said that. The gesture was so cute that Sumire started snapping pictures of her again. This time, Yue turned to the camera and winked, so she was clearly leaning into this rather than being put off by it.

Thank you for your fanservice! Sumire thought, pumping her fist as she kept on tapping her smartphone.

Meanwhile, Shu nodded at Hajime, asking for further clarification. His wife had been completely captivated by Yue, but he still wanted to know the rest of the story.

“Ahem! Anyway, I created Artifacts that could transmit Yue’s Divine Edict over regular radio waves, then stuck them to radio towers all over the country.”

He’d had his classmates help with this endeavor, and they’d all been busy running around the country for the past few days. Of course, they’d gladly agreed to help when they’d learned it was to help their beloved Aiko-sensei.

A certain Abyss Lord had accomplished a great deal, easily sneaking into TV stations and some very highly guarded locations without anyone noticing his presence. At this point, he was probably the most knowledgeable person in the world about industrial espionage. He’d also put his own voice recordings into the Artifacts he’d set, so there were times when you might hear “Bwa ha ha ha ha! The Demon Lord’s right-hand man has emerged from the darkness to conquer you all!” on multiple TV stations at once, or when someone opened certain webpages. The most famous Demon Lord in Japan was, of course, Oda Nobunaga, so people were starting to think his ghost was haunting the airwaves or something.

“Anyway, just watching TV or listening to the radio will get you imprinted with Yue’s Divine Edict and make you start to think that everyone, including Aiko, was a victim and that it’s the cult that kidnapped us that’s truly to blame.”

“Whoa...”

“I also uploaded a video titled ‘Emergency Broadcast!’ that I had Aiko show up in. The actual contents of the video aren’t really important, but I made it easy to show up on video sites’ front pages and anyone who watches it will also have Yue’s Divine Edict imprinted on them.”

Hajime had made use of his and Aiko’s Language Comprehension ability to upload the same video in every major language, so now everyone on the internet was discussing how Aiko seemed to know over a hundred languages.

Everyone who saw the video also became subconsciously sympathetic toward Aiko and the other students and lost interest in flaming any of them.

“Truly, magic and the internet are the most powerful combination in the world. Heh heh heh,” Hajime said with an evil chuckle. Sumire and Shu both stared at him, their expressions stiffening.

“Oh, come on, don’t give me those looks. This is the world’s fault for turning my teacher into a punching bag and trying to make her out to be the bad guy. They’re just getting what they deserve.”

It wasn’t as if Hajime’s plans were bringing anyone misfortune either. If anything, he’d made sure not to make anyone unhappy. He was quite proud of how considerate he’d been, all things considered. As a result, he didn’t feel the least bit of guilt about mentally manipulating the entire world. In fact, he figured everyone should be thanking him, even though what he’d done was something truly befitting an evil Demon Lord.

“Father, mother, please forgive him. He’s just doing this to protect all of us!” Yue said, desperately trying to defend her future husband.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. Ai-chan definitely didn’t deserve the flaming she was getting online either,” Shu said.

“The other parents also told me they were grateful they stopped being hounded by the press.”

Of course, everyone else had also assumed Hajime had done something outrageous to make it happen, so it did sting at their conscience a little.

Still, thanks to this and all the other measures Hajime had taken, they’d all be able to return to their normal lives fairly quickly. Of course, they’d have to figure out how to catch up to the school curriculum and make up for all the time they’d missed, but they were working through those problems one at a time. From the looks of it, they’d be starting special remedial classes in December, which was a month and a half out. It was the schedule the school administration had come up with to appease the calls of the public to let the kids return to their normal lives as soon as possible.

December was a good time to test how well everyone would be able to reintegrate because regular school would be out for winter break. Until then, everyone was free to recuperate at home, or in Hajime’s case, finally enjoy some free time.

“Now then, that’s enough lounging around. It’s time to get to work,” Hajime said, stretching his arms out and getting to his feet. He already knew exactly how he was going to be spending his free time.

Myu’s eyes started to sparkle and she leaned out over the table.

“Are you going to make rooms now?! Am I going to get my own room?!”

“Huh? I’m making my own room.”

“Our room?!”

“No, just my room.”

Myu puffed out her cheeks, pouting.

“Hajime, give me a room next to yours. One with a door connecting them both. Actually, no, I don’t need a door. Just make a single room for the two of us.”

“I already told you that you can have my old room on the second floor.”

“Master, please make sure your bedroom is large enough to fit a king-sized bed, as well as some iron bars, a cattle prod, and—”

“I’m not going to let you turn our basement into a BDSM dungeon, you pervert.”

“Hajime-san, I want a fighting ring! And a room with tatami mats! I’ve been impressed by the various forms of martial arts they have on Earth! I plan on watching YouTube videos to learn them all!”

“And I already told you, you and Tio can have mom and dad’s study on the second—”

“Umm, Hajime-san? Can I have a soundproofed room with an ultra-wide TV?”

“Remia...don’t tell me you want a theater room just to watch your morning dramas? Stop blushing. I’m not gonna do it.”

“Hajime, your dad would really like it if—”

“Shut up!”

Everyone started making requests at once, overwhelming Hajime. This was all because he had said he would start expanding the house.

The Nagumo house was decently large, especially for a family of three. Sumire and Shu both had decent wages, so they’d splurged on a home that could accommodate both of their working spaces and their hobbies.

The house had five rooms. The master bedroom on the ground floor belonged to Sumire and Shu, while the second floor held Hajime’s room, Sumire’s library, Shu’s study, and a display room for everyone’s otaku merch. But now, the house suddenly had five new family members.

Hajime had stored everything in Sumire’s library, Shu’s study, and the display room in his Treasure Trove and converted them into temporary bedrooms.

Yue and Shea were sleeping in one, while Tio, Remia, and Myu slept in the other. The third room had become a guest room, since Shizuku and Kaori came to sleep over so often.

“Come now, Hajime, if you’re going to make a man cave for yourself in the basement, there’s no way we’re going to miss out on the fun. I thought you loved your parents? Won’t you make some rooms for us as well?” Sumire asked, crying fake tears.

“Hajime’s horrible, isn’t he, mother?” Yue said, egging her on.

“Look, I’m already ignoring building codes and zoning laws to make a room for myself in the basement. Why do you all want basement rooms too?”

The reason Hajime was making a room at all was mostly so that everyone wasn’t so cramped on the second floor. He’d actually planned out his basement room ahead of time, so he’d wanted to spend today making it. He thought Yue and the others would have preferred aboveground rooms to get sunlight during the day, which meant he’d planned to make a new study, library, and display room in the basement to put all the stuff he’d moved out back. As a result, he was already planning on having two floors of basement space.

“Sorry, but you’re not fooling your old man that easily. I know you. You’re going to make a bunch of hidden passageways and secret alcoves, aren’t you?”

Hajime looked away guiltily. Shu was right on the money. He was planning on making a transmutation workshop so he could more easily make the things he wanted to when he had the time.

“I know how much you love rooms hidden behind trick bookcases and special meeting rooms! If you’re going to make all of those, then you should make the rooms we want too!”

“Come on, dad, you’re a grown man.”

“I’d really like to experience elegant baths, like the ones in Thermae Romae. If you don’t make a luxurious bathroom for me, I’m going to write NTR doujin starring you and sell them at Comiket!”

“What kind of mother are you?!”

For better or worse, everyone in the Nagumo household was quite serious about their hobbies. Sumire and Shu weren’t going to give up on their passions just because they were childish.

Naturally, neither were Yue or the others. Seeing everyone staring expectantly at him, Hajime let out a long sigh. But in the end, he, too, was a son of the Nagumo household.

“Well, I guess it won’t bother anyone no matter how big we make the underground space. Fine, I’ll make a huge basement filled with all the rooms you guys could ever want!”

“Yaaaaaaaaay!” Yue, Shea, Tio, Myu, and even Remia let out hearty cheers and threw their hands into the air.

In truth, though, they were more happy for Hajime and his parents than themselves.

“I knew you wouldn’t abandon us, son! Here, I’ve already got the blueprints for what I want!” Shu said, thrusting a paper into Hajime’s hands.

“Look at this perfectly designed floor plan. I’ve even laid out the corridors so that any new visitors will be shocked by how weird our house is!” Sumire exclaimed, pulling up floor plans on her smartphone.

“Dad, mom...you guys really have good taste. This is perfect!”

“Oh, you’re too kind!”

Sumire and Shu hugged Hajime, who started grinning in anticipation.

He’d never smiled this innocently back when he’d been in Tortus. Yue and the others were truly glad to see him like this now. At the same time, they understood now that Hajime’s days had been filled with this kind of joy before he’d been summoned and why he’d so desperately wanted to come back. They could also tell that Sumire and Shu had searched tirelessly for him every day since he’d disappeared.

It made sense now why Hajime had not only been trying to get back, but get back as soon as possible. He’d wanted to put his parents at ease, and he’d wanted his old life back.

“Hmm? What are you guys waiting for? Come on, don’t you all want your new rooms?” Hajime asked, turning back to Yue and the others. They were all standing in the living room, smiling gently at him. “Don’t just stand there, guys,” he said, waving them over.

Yue and the others exchanged glances, nodded, and all started running over to Hajime.

“Mmm...coming!”

“This is going to be so much fun!” Shea shouted.

“Heh, to think this would be our first big undertaking together as a family!” Tio said.

“Grandpa, I wanna see the blueprints too!” Myu exclaimed.

“My my, don’t run too fast now, Myu, or you’ll trip,” Remia said with a warm smile.