“Is that really why you don’t want to quit?”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t the real reason you want to stay because of your...boyfriend?”
“Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you talking about?!” Aiko stammered, her determined expression vanishing in an instant. Seeing her so flustered, Taishi smiled a little. However, he had no intention of letting this topic rest.
“You’re the only one who thinks you’re still hiding it, Ai. Everyone in the village knows. While you were gone, you fell in love with one of your students.”
“Asfaslkgjlgs?!”
It was obvious from her reaction that Taishi was spot-on, and that Aiko hadn’t realized everyone had figured it out.
“Come on, you’ve always been terrible at keeping secrets. Of course everyone figured it out.”
“B-But how did you know it was one of my students?”
“I mean, think about it. You don’t want to introduce him to your parents, and the only people you went missing with are your students.”
Aiko cradled her head in her hands upon hearing that. Taishi gave her an exasperated look and said, “You know what people will say if you start publicly dating one of your students, Ai.”
“Ack!”
“That’s why you’re so worried, right? Considering what you went through, it’s hardly surprising that you had a moment of weakness. I don’t blame you for it.”
“Taishi-kun?”
Aiko looked up at Taishi, noticing the change in his tone. He’d stepped even closer to her, so she involuntarily took a step back. And yet, he just took another step forward and said, “Ai, you should end such an impure relationship. Come back home and start your life over from square one. You might be lonely at first, but...I’ll be here by your side.”
“Taishi-kun, what are you...?” Aiko trailed off, realization dawning on her. Dense as she was, even she could recognize the look in Taishi’s eyes. She’d never even imagined Taishi had feelings for her. He’d had another girlfriend back when they’d been in high school, so naturally, she was surprised.
“When you disappeared, I thought I would die from worry. It was then that I realized just how much I care about you.”
“H-Hang on, calm down,” Aiko said, trying to process all of this new information. Taishi’s sudden confession had taken her by surprise.
Unfortunately, he followed up with another cutting insight that only added to her inner turmoil.
“Things aren’t going well with your boyfriend, are they?”
“Gah!”
“It’s not surprising. You’re dating a child, after all. There’s no way he’d be able to make you happy. Meanwhile, I’m a working adult who’s the same age as you. I’m sure things will work out between us.”
Aiko took another step back only to realize that she had her back to a tree now. She hadn’t known she’d taken so many steps back.
Taishi placed his hands on Aiko’s shoulders with an earnest look in his eyes. He’d had other girlfriends in the past, but he’d never looked at Aiko like this before. Had he confessed to her before she’d been summoned to Tortus, she might have even accepted. But right now, his confession didn’t move her heart in the slightest. After all, her heart was already set on another.
“Hajime-kun...” she muttered softly.
“Ai.”
Taishi burned with jealousy. Even though he was right in front of Aiko, she was still thinking about another man. He squeezed her shoulders tighter and tried to draw her in close for a kiss.
Aiko hadn’t expected him to resort to force and her head had been full of thoughts of Hajime, so her reaction came a second too late.
“Stop! Help, Hajime-kun!”
Just before Aiko could push Taishi away with more force than would be wise, Hajime suddenly appeared next to them.
“Oh, so this is where you’ve been, Aiko,” he said with a smile.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Taishi and Aiko stared at him in surprise. He was holding Taishi by the collar with one hand and stopping Aiko’s hand with the other.
“Wh-What?! Who’re you?! What’re you doing?!”
“That’s my line. Why were you being so forceful with her?” Hajime asked in a low voice. He then tossed Taishi away with so much force that he bounced three times across the stone floor before coming to a stop a good distance away. Taishi coughed violently, struggling to get back onto his feet.
Aiko looked up at Hajime and said, “H-Hajime-kun?”
“In the flesh.”
“Wh-What are you doing here?”
“I’m here because you’re here.”
“That’s not really an answer...”
Hajime frowned and said, “It feels like you’ve been thinking yourself into a corner, so I wanted to have a proper conversation with you.”
“I, well, umm...” Aiko mumbled and looked away, ashamed at having been seen through so easily.
Seeing that, Hajime grinned and said, “Besides, I wanted to introduce myself to your family. I knew if I asked you, you’d say no, so...”
“So?”
“I showed up unannounced.”
“Hajime-kun...”
Aiko knew Yue or one of the other girls must have put this idea in Hajime’s head. She could, in fact, imagine any one of them giving Hajime a thumbs-up while telling him this would be a great idea. They were probably all worried about her. And honestly, it made her happy to know that they were thinking about her too.
“So you just teleported over here?” Aiko asked.
“Pretty much. When I used the compass, the image of a festival appeared in my mind and I figured we may as well enjoy whatever festival you’re at together.”
Upon closer inspection, Aiko realized Hajime was also wearing a yukata. He’d changed to match her outfit, which made her happy.
“I do feel bad for showing up all of a sudden, but I guess it’s a good thing that I did.”
As he said that, Hajime’s smile suddenly disappeared and he turned back toward Taishi, who’d finally gotten to his feet.
Aiko remembered how things must have looked a few seconds ago and blushed in embarrassment.
“U-Umm, it’s not what you think! I don’t have that kind of relationship with Taishi-kun! I don’t even like him like that, anyway! Not one bit! There’s no way I’d go out with him!”
“I see...” Taishi muttered, dropping back to his knees. Hajime had been careful not to hurt him too much when he’d tossed him away, but the mental damage of what Aiko had said was severe.
Being rejected so completely by the woman you loved was harsh enough that even Hajime’s expression softened as he looked down at Taishi. That being said, he still wasn’t going to forgive Taishi for forcing himself onto Aiko. He hugged Aiko from behind, and while she looked up at him in surprise, she made no move to pull away.
“I’m pretty sure I know why you’ve been avoiding me recently. I bet you were reminded that we’re student and teacher and started worrying about what people would think, right? It’s a bit late for that, you know?”
“Hwah?!”
I can’t believe even Hajime-kun saw right through me. I wasn’t able to hide it from anyone...
“If you want, I don’t mind waiting until I graduate before we start officially going out. It’s important that we discuss these things together, though. If anything, I’m just sad you didn’t want to talk about this with me.”
“Hajime-kun...I’m sorry. You’re totally right.”
Aiko looked lovingly up at Hajime and placed a hand on his arm.
“I know how important being a ‘proper’ teacher is to you. But hey, if you think this is wrong, then you have to lecture me like you did back then.”
Hajime was, of course, referring to the time Aiko had told him he needed to change the way he was living his life or he’d end up truly alone. Those words had had a huge impact on Hajime, and they were the main reason he’d been able to return to being the person he once was. It made Aiko happy to know that he treasured those words, so she smiled.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten what I told you when I agreed to make you mine.”
Naturally, Aiko would never forget what Hajime had said when she’d told him she wanted his love after Ragnarok ended. It was one of the conditions of becoming one of the Demon Lord’s wives.
“No matter what happens, I won’t let you leave my side.”
Once Hajime decided something was important to him, he never let it go. Even if Aiko rejected him, he still wouldn’t let her escape. The only people he accepted as his wives were those he was prepared to dedicate the rest of his life to. That was the promise he’d made to himself when he’d decided to accept the love of people other than Yue. No matter what other people said, no matter how they insulted him, he would build a future together with everyone. When all was said and done, there was no escaping the Demon Lord.
“You know I meant what I said, right?” Hajime asked, looking kindly down at Aiko.
“Yes...” she muttered in a soft voice, blushing and nodding.
Satisfied, Hajime smiled and nodded back. Aiko let out a dreamy sigh, but he said nothing more to her and turned his attention back to Taishi.
Taishi had been staring stiffly at Aiko and Hajime’s passionate exchange, but upon seeing Hajime turn to him, he frowned and glared back.
“I take it you’re one of Ai’s students? You’re just a kid, so you may not realize this, but you’re making things difficult for Ai. The real world is much harsher than you think. You won’t be—”
“Thanks for the warning, but if you want to act like a responsible adult, then maybe you should learn to control yourself better first,” Hajime said curtly.
Taishi fell silent, unable to say anything in reply. He knew he was in the wrong for trying to force himself onto Aiko.
“But, well, I’ll forgive you just this once. Give up on Aiko. If you weren’t her childhood friend, I would have sent you to heaven right then and there.”
That brought Aiko back to her senses and she started paying attention to the conversation again.
“That’s my line. No matter what you say, a student and teacher—”
“Fwah?! Aaah, wait, stop!”
Taishi was interrupted by Hajime suddenly sticking his hand inside Aiko’s yukata, which caused Aiko to blush once more.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Taishi screamed.
“What are you doing, Hajime-kun?” Aiko asked at almost the same time. As Hajime withdrew his hand, Aiko hurriedly fixed up her yukata. Ignoring their protests, Hajime showed what he’d pulled out of Aiko’s yukata to Taishi.