Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - Chapter 08

Chapter 08: “Psychics are like something out of a fantasy, aren’t they?” ①

In the chief’s office at Mukaijima Police Station, Natsuki, dressed in a gray sweat suit, and Hisashi Aoyama, in his police uniform, sat across from each other on sofas, separated by a table. Both had troubled expressions on their faces.

“First, I want to apologize for pointing a gun at you, a minor. That was inexcusable.”

“It’s fine, really. You didn’t shoot, and even if you had, I could have handled it.”

“Handled it? How? And can you explain to me how you became a rogue psychic?”

Behind Natsuki stood a woman holding a sword, accompanying Chief Aoyama.

She appeared to be a police officer, but also seemed to possess psychic abilities. 

Natsuki glanced back briefly to find her smiling constantly, yet she emanated an aura ready to draw her sword at any moment. She might have seemed just standing there, but her stance was clearly ready for action.

“Well, you see, on my way home from school, I was summoned to another world as a hero. After six years, I finally returned to Japan and was just testing if I could still use magic.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, or I’ll knock some sense into you. Or do you have a delusion problem?” 

Natsuki had tried telling the truth, but Aoyama looked at him as if he were a pitiable child. Natsuki knew he would doubt his sanity if someone he knew said something similar.

“No, wait. I can’t believe Natsuki would tell such a pointless lie to me. To begin with, you’ve never had anything to do with psychic powers. Actually, we’ve been desperately avoiding them. But suddenly, having such a ridiculous power… it might be possible.”

“Really? You believe me!?”

“What, is it a lie!?”

“It’s not a lie, but still!”

“To tell you the truth, there have been cases of people traveling to other worlds before. Of course, it’s mostly in legends and hearsay… I know about them. Those ‘isekai light novels,’ right?”

“Eh, you know about them? That’s surprising!”

“I’d love to go to another world and be unbeatable with a handgun… But that aside. Who would have thought Natsuki would go through something like this? You never know what can happen in this world.”

Honestly, it was unexpected.

Natsuki had not thought he would be believed so easily.

It felt odd to say it himself, but it was almost too suspicious. 

Even though Aoyama knew him, Natsuki wondered if it was really okay for a police chief to take the word of a middle school student at face value.

“Chief, shouldn’t we ask for some kind of proof or something?”

“Idiot! There’s no way Natsuki would lie to me!”

“I still think we should verify it, considering our positions!”

“Ugh… Well, if there’s evidence, it would make it easier for me to act. How about it?” 

Aoyama relented, prompted by his subordinate’s suggestion.

“…”

“Heh.”

Asked by the chief, Natsuki reached into the void and pulled out a double-edged sword from his “Item Box,” much to the amazement of the onlookers.

“What’s this? I can feel a sinister power emanating from it.”

“Wait, isn’t that sword cursed!?”

“Well, it’s a demonic sword I got as a spoil of war when I defeated one of the Four Heavenly Kings serving under the Demon King in the other world.”

“A demonic sword from another world!?”

Aoyama exclaimed, his eyes widening in awe.

He reached out his hand as if drawn to the sword, but then seemed to regain his senses and retracted his hand just as he was about to touch it.

“Uncle?”

“No, I was just wondering if it’s safe to touch it?”

“It’s just a demonic sword, after all.”

“Just a demonic sword, you say… Do you even realize what this is? Of course, you don’t. It seems you’re not aware of the significance of psychic powers either.”

“That’s right, that’s what I mean! Uncle! What are psychic powers? I never knew such incredible things existed!”

“Well, a returnee from another world is more amazing, if you ask me.”

The female officer sighed from behind.

Natsuki had no prior knowledge or connection with psychics in his fourteen years of life. The rarity of such beings was even more pronounced than his own experience of being transported to another world. 

Above all, he had never believed that such fantasy elements existed on Earth, so this revelation was a huge surprise.

“Before we continue this discussion, please put that demonic sword away. As much as I’d like to keep it, I have no idea how to store it safely, so let’s pretend I didn’t see it.”

“Uh, okay.”

Natsuki didn’t quite understand what Aoyama was saying, but did as told and put away the sword.

“Aww! I wanted to see more of it! I wish I could get a demonic sword from another world too!” 

“Oh, in that case, you can have this.”

Natsuki said, and pulled out a different demonic sword he had obtained from a demon swordsman, offering it to her.

“Eh, ah, yes, thank you very much.”

“What do you mean, ‘thank you’? Don’t accept it! And Natsuki, don’t just hand it out!” 

“But, I don’t really have a use for it. It’s fine, really.”

“Just because you have no use for it doesn’t mean… Wait, isn’t it rare?”

“Well, the swordsman I defeated said there were only ten of these in the world, I think?”

“That’s incredibly rare! Hey, don’t just stand there holding it, give it back!”

To Natsuki, who was not a swordsman, the sword was more of a burden than a treasure. He already had the favorite sword of the Demon King, which was the most powerful, so he didn’t need any others. 

These items from another world were mere spoils of war to him, not sentimental keepsakes.

“No way! Taro is my partner now!”

“What a lame name! And don’t go naming it!”

Natsuki watched the almost comical exchange between Chief Aoyama and the female officer for a while, but eventually cleared his throat, wanting an explanation.

“So, um, about the psychics?”

“Oh, right, sorry about that. I’ll forcibly take the demonic sword back from her later. And Natsuki, don’t just casually hand out stuff from another world, okay?”

“Understood.”

“I’m definitely not giving it back!”

Glaring at the woman hugging the demonic sword, Aoyama turned a serious face towards Natsuki.

“Alright. Let me confirm. First, Natsuki, you were summoned to another world, fought there for six years, defeated the Demon King, and then returned. And you were testing your powers at sea, right?”

“Yes. After realizing I still had my powers, I was thinking of going home when I was suddenly surrounded by the police. It was quite a shock.”

“The surprise was on our side. One of our observers fainted from sensing an unbelievable amount of power.”

“I’m sorry about that. But I only used a little bit of power; it was a bit of an overreaction.”

“…Breathe in, breathe out. I won’t dwell on that now. Let’s continue.”

“Please do.”

Natsuki tilted his head as Aoyama began to take deep breaths.

Behind him, the female officer also seemed speechless.

“Listen, Natsuki. In Japan, there exist psychics who secretly protect people. They have spiritual power and can use various abilities. The police have been cooperating with them for a long time, and now we even have a special division for disasters involving psychics.”

“Wow, Japan is more fantastical than I thought.”

“Don’t say that, you’re from another world!”

Aoyama interjected, poking fun at Natsuki’s amazement upon learning about these hidden entities.