章 205: Meeting Aiko

After a bit of commotion when Hajime was forced to reveal his still being alive to his teacher and several of his classmates, Alex and his group were seated with them in the private dining area so that they could talk in private. While his teacher and classmates bombarded him with questions that he didn't feel like answering, Hajime focused on eating the delicious Nilshisseer while shooting the occasional glare at Alex while rubbing his neck. When he saw his teacher appear Hajime had tried to run away since he didn't intend to meet up with them, but Alex was prepared for him to do so and grabbed him by the collar and held him back so that he had to stay. While he was being questioned Alex and the girls were watching with amusement while eating their own dinner, and Hajime's teacher Aiko would occasionally glance at them out of caution and concern.

Alex was also occasionally glancing at Aiko while eating, but his looks were noticeably different than the ones Aiko was giving them, something that caused Anne's eye to start twitching and Rias to face palm. The Knights that had stood to give up their seats for them had also noticed Alex's looks and were letting out slight bloodlust towards Alex for it. He didn't mind this as it would be better for him if he let the Knights be the first to act unreasonably instead of making himself look bad, but Alex had to hold back some laughter at their actions.

The Knights were more or less a 'honey trap' for Aiko arranged by the church and the kingdom, evident by the fact that each of the Knights were single and good looking young men. They were arranged for the similar reasons that Alex was interested in Aiko, because she was actually trying to avoid having her students go to war which was clashing with the kingdoms wishes. Unlike most teachers in manga and anime, Aiko wasn't a busty bimbo, drunk on her authority or cruel and manipulative; she was actually a genuinely good teacher that placed her students well being above everything else in this other world, though the main reason she stepped back in keeping them safe was because several of them wanted to fight and help the humans. In fact she was probably the one that took Hajime's 'death' the hardest after Kaori, since she felt that she failed to keep her student safe. Aiko being a good teacher could also be seen in her students as they would refer to her throughout the series as 'Ai-chan' and those currently gathered even somewhat faced their fears after Hajime fell and became her bodyguards while she travelled around the kingdom, to protect her from any threats be it monsters or the knights arranged by the kingdom. Suddenly there was a loud bang as the captain of the Knights, David, hit the table and yelled,

"Answer Aiko seriously!" At Hajime, as he answered their questions with simple 'I tried my best' in regards to his survival. The only real answer he gave them was that Alex saved his life, but he didn't go into any details about that either. Hajime just sighed at David's attitude and said,

"I'm trying to eat, don't be rude." David's face turned red at Hajime's words, and he turned his attention to Shia before saying,

"'Don't be rude'? I'll return those words back at you, bringing a filth-" but that was as far as David got before he suddenly stopped. His red face swiftly drained of blood and he reach a shaky hand to rub his stinging cheek, only for his fingers to come away bloody. As if on an unoiled hinge David turned his head and saw what cut him impaled in the wall, a simple spoon. Then an indescribable pressure assaulted him and forced him to his knees as David looked towards the culprit, Alex. A look of rage was clearly present on his face as he spoke for the first time,

"Go on, continue. My lovely companion is what?" David was too afraid to speak for a brief moment, but then his fear turned to rage. He was a Templar knight, trained by the church and a warrior of God himself. Threatening and attacking him in such a way was not acceptable, he and his fellow Knights may have changed values slightly due to their newfound love of Aiko, but none of them had forgotten their roots. He then struggled to say,

"Y-you dare go against the he Templar Knights when you are not even an apostle of God, you damn pagan!" Alex's eyes narrowed further, as the pressure weighing down on David increased. He then focused his Haki along with his pressure and soon David was collapsed on the ground while foaming at the mouth. The rest of the Knights were stiff as their captain was being suppressed, but when they saw him fall they all reached for their swords, only to be similarly forced to their knees due to Alex's pressure and some added gravity manipulation. As they struggled to get up one by one they looked at Alex's eyes only to pass out like their captain, until finally there was only the vice captain Chase left. Alex then looked at Chase and said clearly,

"I will not permit undeserved disrespect towards me or my companions, Hajime included. As representatives of the church and your kingdom you each should feel ashamed of yourselves for losing your temper and trying to take out frustration on an innocent person, regardless of race! Now will you behave and cooperate, or join your fellow Knights?" Chase felt complete fear at Alex and his capabilities, but he knew that someone needed to observe him and report this back to the church, plus he refused to be taken out as well and leave Aiko with no defense.

"Please forgive us for our disrespect!" He said passionately while submitting to the pressure and slamming his head to the floor, prompting Alex to dispel the pressure and gravity. It didn't matter to him if chase was still conscious or not, as he didn't intend to say anything major here with several people to listen. He then said,

"You can act at least, just remember that I didn't even need to lift a finger to defeat your entire entourage, a single knight would be easy to eliminate if need be." Chase gritted his teeth at being treated in such a way, but prioritized collecting information over his pride. Aiko and the students were in shock about Alex's display, but since none were affected by his pressure they recovered quickly. Aiko then nervously said,

"Um Alex right, please be peaceful. I'll apologize on behalf of the Knights, to you and..." Aiko stalled since she never got Shia's name, which the Rabbitman girl was too busy fawning over Alex to notice. Though the attempted verbal attack from David shocked her, Shia was happy Alex got so angry for her sake. Alex on the other hand was feeling a little guilty since he let David target Shia, but now the Knights were considered the instigators so he would look a little better in the others eyes. Alex then replied to Aiko in Shia's stead,

"Her names Shia, and don't worry about it." Aiko however said while bowing her head,

"But it was still technically my fault she was targeted, so please forgive me Shia!" Stealing the Rabbits gaze from Alex. While Shia told Aiko not to worry about it, Alex turned towards Chase once more and added,

"See, it's thanks to your captains actions that the Aiko you all care for so much has to apologize, remind him to think before doing something to shame the one he's supposedly defending." Chase gritted his teeth once more, while some of the students sent Alex grateful looks. They didn't like how the Knights were trying to win over Aiko for the kingdom, and were actually somewhat happy Alex taught them a lesson.

But as things calmed down the boys started looking closely at the girls with Alex, and couldn't help but start blushing at how attractive they were. Both Rias and Yue were women from high society, so with their mannerisms they gave off the aura of a noble high class woman; while Anne looked exotic with her darker skin and outfit that granted high levels of exposure. Shia was something else however as she was a actual Rabbitman wearing the famous bunny girl outfit. As the boys made exclamations of amazement at the girls looks, the girls from Hajime's class gave them looks of disdain. Alex couldn't help but notice however that a certain one was looking at Hajime specifically occasionally, and couldn't help but wonder if the mistress curse would affect her this time around as well. Aiko then grabbed his attention when she asked,

"Do you intend to keep Hajime with you while you travel?" There was clear intensity in her eyes, as she intended to do everything to help her student, but she had to know Alex's intentions first. If Alex intended to do something to harm her students then it was something she couldn't allow. Alex smirked and said,

"Don't worry I'm not a threat to you or your students, but I'm not gonna say what I intend to do, and Hajime is a valuable help for my intentions so I'll hold onto him for a while." Aiko frowned at Alex's words, but before she could say anything everyone from Alex's group, Hajime included, got up and started making their way to their rooms since they finished eating. No one from Aiko's group were able to say anything however as they didn't know what to actually say to Hajime, some felt guilt from ignoring the bullying he went through, while others thought about the 'friendly fire' event that led to him being dropped into the abyss. It was officially concluded that it was just an accident, but what did Hajime think? They wouldn't be surprised if he thought it was an intentional attack against him, so they couldn't argue against any resentment he might have against them.

***

Aiko was sitting in her room while her mind was in deep turmoil, just like it had been for the last couple weeks. She had been spending her nights worried about one of the students accompanying her to Ul disappearing, Shimizu Yukitoshi. But for the first time since he wasn't on her mind, instead she was thinking about Hajime and his new companions. She was glad that the student everyone thought was dead was actually alive, but didn't know what to think about his new capabilities and attitude. The biggest unknown was the group who traveled with him and the man who apparently saved his life and led them, Alex. As Aiko was aim thought her dark room suddenly brightened as something she was now intimately familiar with formed, a magic circle.