It was the engagement ring he’d given her.
“Aiko’s my wife. Her body and soul belong to me,” he said flatly.
“Y-You—”
This was like a scene out of an NTR manga where the childhood friend discovers the girl he likes has been stolen away by the confident evil bastard. Though, unlike in an actual NTR situation, Taishi wasn’t actually Aiko’s boyfriend. That being said, he was in basically the same position. He glared angrily up at Hajime, looking like he might try to punch him. It seemed he thought he still had a chance to win Aiko back.
“Aiko, get away from that pervert!” he shouted.
He was an adult and Hajime was still a minor. He was a working member of society and Hajime was still a student. As a result, he was under the mistaken impression that he was in the better position here and that Aiko would see that too.
Before Aiko could say anything, Hajime let out a long sigh. Since Taishi was being so stubborn, Hajime would have to show him why it was that everyone called him the Demon Lord.
“Just remember, you brought this on yourself,” Hajime said.
“What?” Taishi mumbled, confused.
“You grew up with Aiko. You spent way more time with her than I did. There must have been plenty of chances to tell her how you felt. Am I wrong?”
“Y-Yeah, but...”
“You’re the one who chose not to. You had the chance to become the person she wanted to come home for, but you didn’t even try to get closer to her, did you?”
Taishi’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. He wanted to deny Hajime’s words, but he couldn’t because Hajime was right.
“You only have yourself to blame for things ending up this way.”
Hajime hadn’t stolen Aiko away from Taishi. Taishi was the one who hadn’t tried to convey his feelings and become someone special to Aiko over all these years. And now, she’d gone somewhere far out of his reach. This had nothing to do with who was an adult and who was a student.
Taishi gritted his teeth and hung his head. He desperately tried to find some kind of retort he could give, but there was nothing.
Aiko looked over at Taishi and realized something. Even though Hajime had sent him flying, he was completely unhurt. She then remembered that Hajime had stopped her from pushing Taishi away with more force than would have been wise. Even the harsh words he was saying felt like they were being carefully chosen. Not only that, but his cold tone wasn’t quite as cold as it had been when someone tried to harm those close to him back in Tortus.
There had been no mercy in the gaze he’d shown his enemies back then, but the look he was giving Taishi was far gentler than expected...and Aiko knew exactly why.
He’s holding back because Taishi-kun’s my friend...
Aiko sucked in a huge breath. She couldn’t just keep relying on Hajime to solve all of her problems. And so, she stepped away from Hajime and looked resolutely over at Taishi.
This was the Aiko who’d faced down the hordes of journalists a few weeks ago. She walked over to Taishi, and Hajime didn’t stop her, nor did he ask her why she was walking over to him.
That made Aiko happy, since it meant he trusted her.
“Ai, I...”
“Taishi-kun, I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your confession. You’re not who I love,” Aiko stated resolutely. The determination in her eyes bore a striking resemblance to the look Hajime had when he was set on doing something.
“But you’ll just torture yourself over this decision. You’re too strait-laced to be able to wholeheartedly accept dating one of your students.”
“You’re right, that’s how I am. But even so, Hajime-kun is the only one I love. I can’t change that. I’m not as moral a person as you think, Taishi-kun.”
“Ha ha, immoral is definitely the last word I’d use to describe you, Ai,” Taishi said with a weak smile. With his hopes so thoroughly dashed, he had no choice but to accept defeat. He glared at Hajime one last time, but Hajime just looked quietly back at him, his expression unchanging. Seeing that Hajime wasn’t going to budge either, Taishi simply shook his head in resignation.
Honestly, he’s acting a lot more mature than me... Taishi thought, his shoulders slumping.
“Sorry,” Taishi said finally and started walking back to the festival.
Hajime walked over to Aiko and said, “Sorry for messing up your relationship with your friend.”
Aiko shook her head and leaned against Hajime’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it. It might take some time, but I’m sure we’ll be able to go back to being friends.”
“I sure hope so... From the looks of it, he probably won’t try anything funny again, but feel free to call for me if he does. Next time, I’ll bury him upside-down in this shrine.”
“What’s with that overly specific punishment you have in mind?” Aiko asked with a small chuckle. She then stepped back and looked Hajime in the eye.
“I’m sorry for making you worry. And thank you for coming to meet me,” Aiko said as she bowed politely, prompting Hajime’s expression to soften.
“Don’t mention it. I told you before, I really like that side of you.”
“Huh? Which side?”
“I’m talking about how you always give one hundred percent in everything you do. Sure, that means you end up spinning in circles a lot, but it’s proof that you keep thinking through your problems until you come to an answer you feel satisfied with and refuse to compromise on the things that matter to you most.”
Indeed, that was what had attracted Hajime to Aiko in the first place, and why he’d chosen to accept her in the end.
“I’ve been watching you for a long time now...and I hope you never change.”
“You’re cheating by saying those lines with a straight face.”
Aiko blushed and turned her back to Hajime. She then pinched her cheeks, trying to stop herself from smiling.
Hajime really wanted to circle around and take a close look at her expression, but he held himself back. There was something important he’d come here to do, after all.
“Anyway, see you later,” he said.
“Oh god, I’m blushing, so...huh? What?”
“I’m going to go see your parents. I still need to introduce myself to them.”
“What?!”
Hajime said that so casually that for a moment, Aiko doubted her ears. She then hurriedly turned around and saw that he was dead serious.
“Now that you’ve made up your mind, there’s no reason for me not to meet them, right?”
“Th-That’s true, but it doesn’t change the fact that I got into a relationship with one of my students!”
It seemed Aiko was still having trouble openly admitting that to her family. But Hajime knew Aiko well enough to understand that it would take her months to sort out her thoughts, and frankly, he didn’t want to wait that long.
“Let me see, your parents’ house is...that way, right? Oh, looks like your dad’s running a stall. It’s pretty close by too. Perfect, I can see what the Hatayama farm’s specialty produce tastes like while I introduce myself.”
“Hey, wait, don’t use your compass for this! And stop ignoring me! What are you planning on telling dad?!”
“Isn’t it obvious? ‘Your daughter’s mine now.’ That’s the normal thing to say, isn’t it?”
“Not phrased like that it isn’t! Are you trying to pick a fight with him?!”
Aiko hugged Hajime from behind and tried to hold him in place, but naturally, she wasn’t strong enough.
“Oh yeah, Aiko. How come you use formal language with me, but you were being totally casual with that guy?”
“Urgh, please let me keep using honorifics with you until you graduate at least! I won’t be able to properly switch back and forth when we’re at school and when we’re meeting in our private time.”
“I guess that would be pretty hard for you.”
“Exactly... Also, please stop changing the subject! I know almost everyone at that festival! If you tell my dad we’re dating now, the whole town will find out!”
“That’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“Well, I do! If you don’t—Oh, don’t just carry me with you!”
Hajime hefted Aiko into his arms and she covered her face, blushing. As he started walking down the stairs, she accepted her fate and gave up on trying to stop him. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to imagine what everyone was thinking as they watched Hajime carry her through the festival streets in his arms. However, since she was covering her face, she couldn’t cover her ears and she could easily make out what everyone was saying. She trembled in embarrassment as she listened to the familiar voices of her older neighbors...until finally she also heard her father’s voice.
“A-Aiko?”
Curious, Aiko created a gap between her fingers and snuck a glance at her father. He seemed surprised by Hajime suddenly appearing with Aiko in his arms, but soon enough, he worked out what was going on and smiled gently at her. Her grandfather had a similar reaction, making Aiko turn redder than a tomato.
“P-Please let me go home...” she muttered.
“Now you’re sounding like a kidnapped princess,” Hajime said with a grin. Naturally, though, he didn’t return Aiko to her home, nor was there any brave hero capable of rescuing her from the Demon Lord.
Unsurprisingly, everyone attending the festival came to see Hajime boldly declare to Aiko’s family that he was her boyfriend. Souhei was more than a bit taken aback by Hajime’s overbearing attitude, but he nevertheless thanked him for bringing Aiko back home and invited Hajime to come visit their house. Everyone cheered at that, and Aiko became a local legend in her town.
When Hajime visited their house later, he explained to Aiko’s parents that he was dating multiple women at once and everything else that was going on in the Nagumo household. While they were shocked by the revelations, they were more accepting of the situation than Kaori’s and Shizuku’s fathers had been. Indeed, they were quite happy that Aiko was going to become a part of the Nagumo family. They’d met with Hajime’s parents numerous times when all the families had been searching for their missing children, and they quite liked Sumire and Shu.
Just in case, Hajime had also sweetened the deal by offering to create Artifacts together with Aiko that would improve the soil quality of their farm considerably and allow them to grow the juiciest crops on Earth. When Aiko had seen Hajime shaking her father’s hand after sealing the deal, she’d shook her head in despair, wondering where she’d gone wrong in educating Hajime.
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