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...”