Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V2 Chapter 56

Chapter 56: “It’s a token of gratitude, right?”

At the entrance of the Minazuki family home, Natsuki and his friends were being seen off by Kaya and the others. 

“Natsuki-kun… Thanks to you, Miyako and I were able to reconcile. We had a lot of fun together on saturday. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you, Natsuki-kun! And Kazuto-kun, see you again at school.” 

“Sorry for suddenly intruding like this.”

“Yeah. Thank you for the souvenirs, Miyako-san and Mio-san, see you at school!”

After exchanging greetings with the sisters, Kaya Minazuki and Hiragi Yata bowed deeply.

“Natsuki Yura-sama, Ginko Aoyama-sama, Koume Lucifer-sama, and Kazuto Miyahara-sama, thank you very much for going out of your way for the Minazuki family today. Especially, I’m sorry that Natsuki-sama and Kazuto-sama had to miss school for this.”

After giving a lecture on behalf of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi declared, “I have to return to work now. Amaterasu, please behave yourself. Natsuki-kun, Kazuto-kun, and Miyako-san, if you don’t have any other plans, feel free to come to school this afternoon,” and then he went back to school.

The sun goddess Amaterasu, having been scolded by Tsukuyomi and embarrassed in front of Kazuto, was nowhere to be seen, presumably tidying up to take a bath. Elder Unkai was with Amaterasu in the bath. Counselor Seiun wasn’t around because he was getting beer ready, thinking, “Even though Tsukuyomi-sama scolded her, she’d likely want to drink a lot after the bath.”

But, “Um, sorry for everything,” he apologized, asking Kazuto to continue interacting with Amaterasu as usual. 

Then, Natsuki and his friends decided to leave the Minazuki household.

Kaya had offered them lunch, but they decided to politely decline.

“No, no. I think I will also be in your debt, so let’s say we’re even.”

“I’m happy to hear that. I’m sorry to hand this over directly, but here is a token of our appreciation for today.”

“…Huh?”

The envelope handed over by Kaya Minazuki was thick and felt heavy.

“Um, this is money, right?”

“Normally, we would transfer it to a bank account, but it’s rude of us not to.”

“No, no, no, no, if you’re going to give it, please give it to Tsukuyomi-sensei, not me!” 

“Tsukuyomi-sama has already declined it.”

“Then, we will too.”

“No, Natsuki-sama, you and your friends were here today at the request of the Minazuki family. We cannot let you leave without a token of our gratitude.” 

“Sorry, can we have a time-out? Everyone, gather around!”

“Yes?” 

Natsuki and his friends formed a circle a little away from the Minazuki family members. 

“Hawawawawa! This is definitely a lot! It’s like an inch thick!”

“…Um, Natsuki-kun. An inch of money… that’s like a million yen.”

“Even with thousand yen bills, that’s a hundred thousand yen.”

Cautiously checking the contents with Kazuto, they found it wasn’t thousand yen bills, but ten thousand yen bills inside. Moreover, they were brand new bills, wrapped with a band.

“I’ve only seen this kind of money in dramas.”

“Me too.”

“For now, Kazuto, could you please slap my cheek with this?”

“Here you go!” 

―Smack.

“Thanks!”

Natsuki and Kazuto were bewildered by the large amount of money, something ordinary middle schoolers would rarely handle.

“With a million yen, you can buy anything!” 

“You could even buy a person’s life!”

“No, no, you can’t do that with just a million.”

“You’re overreacting too much.”

Ginko and Koume remained calm in contrast to the two middle schoolers. 

“But, Ginko-san, Koume-chan,”

“…Even considering we were occupied for a day, this reward is exceptional. But if you divide it by four, it’s two hundred fifty thousand each. And we dealt with Amaterasu-sama, so it’s actually quite cheap.”

“It’s troubling to receive so much money.” 

“We could end up being targeted for it.”

“You’re good kids, Natsuki-kun and Kazuto-kun. I thought it was too little.”

“Ginko isn’t wrong. And, Natsuki, Kazuto—”

Koume looked at Natsuki and Kazuto seriously, which was rare for her.

“Money is seriously important. You can never have too much. Trust me, I’ve wandered everywhere. There’s no mistake. Just accept it.”

Natsuki and Kazuto nodded at Koume’s imposing voice.

“And so, they don’t want to seem stingy since they want to keep a connection with us. Even if we say we don’t need it, they won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Plus, refusing something offered by an adult isn’t polite. The amount might be surprising, but we should gratefully accept it.”

“…Koume-chan?” 

“You could just tell your mom you found buried treasure or something.” 

“…Koume-chan?” 

“Or, you could say it’s for my drinking money…”

“…Koume-chaan!?” 

“Just kidding.” 

Koume, perhaps embarrassed to speak seriously, mixed a bit of her true feelings with her words. Ginko agreed with Koume.

“Also, it’s like the Minazuki family’s way of showing they want to be on good terms not just with Natsuki-kun, who could be a god slayer if necessary, but also with Kazuto-kun, who’s friendly with the great Amaterasu-sama. Let’s accept the money and leave on good terms with each other.” 

“…Got it. Alright, let’s break up here.”

They broke the circle and bowed to the Minazuki family. 

“We gratefully accept!”

〜〜Afterword〜〜

To think Natsuki, who talks casually with Amaterasu, Ginko who’s her acquaintance, Koume who’s just as big a name, and Kazuto, who’s on good terms with Amaterasu. If these four can continue to get along for just 250,000 yen each, that’s a bargain