Hajime stared intently into Tio’s eyes while the others watched on silently.
After a long pause, Hajime finally said, “Honestly, I was planning to ask all of you this once the new year started.”
He paused there, then sucked in a deep breath and looked over at Yue and the others as well. In a hesitant voice, he continued, “I wanted to know if you all thought you’d feel comfortable living in this world.”
In many ways, Japan was a far more restrictive society than the various civilizations of Tortus. Naturally, the culture was very different as well. Hajime had been worried Yue and the others might find it stifling, that they preferred their lives back on Tortus. That was why he’d decided to ask them how they felt about living here again after some time had passed.
“Isn’t it a bit too soon to be deciding your path in life? You can take some more time to think about it, you know?” Hajime said in a gentle voice.
After all, Tio’s suggestion implied that she was intending to spend the rest of her life here.
“Haaah...” Yue gasped, letting out a long sigh.
“You need to stop putting our desires before your own, Hajime!” she said, pointing her finger at him. Shea and the others nodded in agreement.
“You want to know whether we feel comfortable living here? What a stupid question!”
“Wh-What do you mean, stupid?!”
“Hmph! It’s not about whether or not we feel comfortable. We’re going to make ourselves comfortable. No matter what obstacles stand in our way, we’re going to make it work. You finally made it back home, Hajime, so we’re not going anywhere.”
Even if Yue and the others found Japan stifling, it wouldn’t matter. They’d already decided they were going to stay here with Hajime, in the hometown he’d yearned to return to.
“You know, Hajime-san...” Remia said hesitantly. “I was actually thinking the same thing as Tio-san.”
“Which part, exactly?”
“After browsing the internet, looking through the fashion magazines mother gave me, and seeing all the clothes and accessories in the stores we went through today...I was moved by how varied the fashions of this world are.”
“Come to think of it, you were really excited about clothes shopping.”
Remia blushed a little, not realizing it had been that obvious to Hajime.
“Anyway, umm...I was thinking it would be nice to be able to turn this inspiration into my job.”
“Oh, I see. So you want to be a fashion designer, then?”
“Yes.”
It seemed that while Tio was interested in the management side of business, Remia wanted to be a designer. She, too, had been thinking about how she would live her life in Japan.
Hajime looked over at Tio and Remia, taking in their earnest expressions.
“Mrr... I wanna be with daddy forever,” Myu muttered in her sleep, squeezing Hajime’s neck.
“Hey, that... Well, it doesn’t really hurt, but just what kind of dream do you have?”
She was clinging to him quite tightly, as if to make sure he didn’t go anywhere.
Hajime smiled, then turned back to Tio and the others.
“All right, all right, I get it. I was worrying for nothing. Maybe I was just trying too hard to get you all to like Japan when I didn’t need to be,” he said, nodding to everyone.
“Okay then, I guess I’ll be counting on both of you to help me with my business.”
“Splendid! I can’t wait to get started! Remia, the two of us have to do our best to ensure that master’s business is a huge success!”
“Naturally! Oh, but we’ll be doing what we want to at the same time, of course. Otherwise, Hajime-san will start to worry that he’s putting unnecessary burdens on us. Ufu fu...”
Shea frowned while Tio and Remia shook hands.
“But that means you two won’t be going to school with us. It’s a shame...but I guess you guys are really excited about working. I’m kind of jealous, honestly.”
“Mrr... If you work, you lose...” Myu mumbled in her sleep. It seemed she’d picked up that particular internet meme as well.
Hajime and the others exchanged glances, then burst out laughing.
“Oh, it looks like you all had fun. I guess Hajime’s first date was a huge success.”
“Welcome back, everyone! Oh, looks like Myu-chan’s already conked out. Guess I should be a bit quieter.”
Sumire and Shu addressed the group as soon as they got home. The two of them had just gotten out of their car and were taking things out of the trunk. It seemed they’d gone out to buy things to decorate their new rooms with.
“Mother, father, we’re home!” Shea exclaimed.
“You seemed to have bought quite a lot of stuff. Shall I carry those boxes for you? Fear not! Dragonmen are quite strong.”
“Welcome home to you two as well. Is there anything we can help with?” Remia asked with a smile.
The three of them walked over to Hajime’s parents, and just as he was about to as well, he felt Yue tug on his sleeve.
“Hey, Hajime...”
He turned to look at her and found her smiling happily up at him.
“Thank you for giving us such a wonderful place to return home to.”
“Yue...”
She looked over at her family, which was currently carrying boxes of goods into the house, her eyes welling up with emotion. She then turned back to Hajime.
“There’s so much I still want to learn about your world, Hajime. Knowing that we’ll all get to be together and learn about them one by one makes me so happy.”
Hajime felt like a fool for worrying about whether Yue and the others would find life on Earth stifling. Seeing Yue’s happy expression made it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that they all loved being here.
Normally, Hajime always had a witty quip ready, but right now he was so overcome by emotion that all he could say was, “I see... Yeah, that does sound fun.”
“Hajime? Yue-chan, what are you just standing there for?” Sumire asked, and the two of them turned to her.
She, as well as Shu, Shea, Tio, and Remia were all waiting for the two of them, smiles on their faces.
Hajime and Yue smiled at each other, then turned back to everyone and said, “We’re home.”
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