“Why not invite him here? Didn’t you say he can create, what was it again—portals? If he can make those portals to warp people around, then distance shouldn’t matter, right?”
“Well, they’re not that easy to make...and he’s pretty busy right now, so...” Aiko trailed off, avoiding Akiko’s gaze.
Akiko thought back to the day Aiko had come home. It had been quite a shock. A circle of light had suddenly appeared in the living room and Aiko had popped out of it. It seemed Hajime had created a portal on the school rooftop that connected to her family’s house so that she could see them right away.
Of course, Aiko’s mother, father, and grandparents had been flabbergasted by both her sudden reappearance and the way in which she’d appeared. Akiko had merely frozen, but Aiko’s grandfather had choked on his snacks, her grandmother had straight up fainted, and her father had dropped his teacup and spilled steaming hot tea all over his crotch.
Aiko had screamed, “Why did you connect it to my living room?!” to the disappearing portal, but of course she’d gotten no reply.
“In that case, I suppose we should go to him. We’ll follow you to the city when you return home.”
“Wait, really?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem, right? You said things have settled down now, after all.”
“Th-That’s true, but...”
After Aiko had told her family everything that had happened, she’d been forced to return to the city the next day. As the sole adult who’d gone missing during the mass disappearance, she knew it was her responsibility to explain things to the police and the mass media. Her family had begged her to stay, but she’d been resolute in her decision.
Her parents had, of course, worried about her constantly as they watched the internet and the various news outlets bash her constantly, but Aiko continually told them not to come visit her until things settled down. She hadn’t wanted to get them wrapped up in this mess.
Had it looked like Aiko couldn’t handle things, Akiko would have immediately rushed to her aid. But after hearing how resolute Aiko sounded on the phone, and seeing how firmly she held her ground on national television, Akiko realized that wouldn’t be necessary.
Honestly, she was amazed at how strong her daughter had grown. She’d become a model adult...and a model teacher to boot. And so, Akiko had decided to wait until Aiko deemed it safe for everyone to come visit her. In the meantime, she’d protect this home so that Aiko could always have a place to return to. And as a result, she had yet to meet Hajime.
However, after learning that Hajime had saved Aiko’s life, brought her back to them, and had also somehow done something to protect Aiko from the worst of the public’s insults, she was dying to meet him. Not just because he was Aiko’s savior, though. Akiko could clearly tell there was something more going on between her daughter and Hajime, so she wanted to know what.
“Your dad and grandpa really want to meet him too.”
“I know...”
“They said they wanted to meet Aiko’s prince.”
“I—Wait, what?! He’s not my prince! He’s the Demon Lord! That’s what everyone calls Hajime-kun!”
It was obvious from Aiko’s reactions to her mother’s leading questions what she really thought. Akiko was amazed that this was the same woman who’d steadfastly faced down a sea of reporters without flinching.
“He even messed with the perception of the entire world just for my sake! He’s such a troublemaker... I can’t believe him!”
As she said that, Aiko smiled softly. It was a smile her family had never seen her make before, and the fact that she was blushing slightly as well made it clear what she thought of Hajime.
“He he he, he even said ‘I won’t let the ignorant masses drive you away from us.’”
Initially, Aiko had intended to scold him for brainwashing the entire world, but when he’d said that suddenly all the anger had faded away.
Her blush grew brighter as she thought back to the determined expression he’d had when he said that. She didn’t even notice that her mom was smiling knowingly at her.
Everyone in the Hatayama family had already figured out what kind of relationship Aiko had with Hajime, as well as why she was so reluctant to introduce him to them. They’d realized on day one when Aiko had told them everything that had happened. Her expression whenever she’d mentioned his name had been so full of love that it would have been harder not to notice. Plus, in the three days she’d been here, they’d spotted her grinning countless times at the ring Hajime had given her, and heard her laughing happily every time she called him. Sometimes she’d just start blushing at the mere thought of him. They also knew the only reason she wasn’t bringing him home was because she was worried about what society would think about their relationship.
“I can’t believe my daughter’s such a pain in the ass,” Akiko said with a shake of her head.
“Hmm, did you say something?” Aiko asked absentmindedly.
In truth, Akiko and the others had been worried their daughter would never find a husband. She’d stopped growing in middle school, and as far as they knew, she’d never had a boyfriend. But now it seemed she’d finally found someone she loved, so naturally, they wanted to meet him. They were also getting tired of her wishy-washy attitude with regards to whether or not she’d commit to the relationship regardless of what others said.
“If you keep being so noncommittal, he’ll eventually get tired of you, you know?” Akiko said bluntly.
“What?!” Aiko exclaimed, pressing her hands against her chest.
“Very well, I’ll let you choose the timing, but you better introduce us to him soon, lest he start to think we’re ungrateful parents.”
“Okay...”
“Besides, if he’s someone you love, I’m sure we’ll all accept him.”
“Okay—Wait, what?!”
Aiko finally realized her mother had seen through everything, so she blushed in embarrassment. Akiko was tired of hearing her daughter’s excuses, so she changed the subject before Aiko could protest that their relationship wasn’t like that.
“By the way, now that you’re back, why don’t you stay for the harvest festival? You haven’t been able to come the last few years, after all. You used to love Old Man Yamashiro’s cotton candy, remember?”
“Oh yeah, I guess it’s almost that time of year again...”
Her face still red, Aiko gladly jumped onto this new topic.
“I can’t believe Yamashiro’s still alive...” she muttered.
“Don’t be rude.”
“He was ninety back when I was in high school, wasn’t he?”
“Yep, he’s going to be turning a hundred and two this year.”
“And he still runs a stall during the festival? Is that a good idea? What if he dies in the middle of making cotton candy?”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to be rude? Besides, he’s still in great shape for his age. He even said he could keep going for another thirty years.”
“Is he trying to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records?”
As she chatted with her mother, Aiko’s thoughts remained on Hajime. She wasn’t sure what she wanted her relationship with him to be, or how she should introduce him to her parents. She hoped the festival would at least make for a nice change of pace and perhaps grant her the opportunity to properly organize her thoughts.