Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V3 Chapter 62

Chapter 62: “Isn’t That a Kappa and Spring Cabbage?” ②

“This is unbelievable… To think that Kappa King, the one the police have been chasing, would show up here.”

“Ginko-san!? You know this eight-head-tall, not-so-cute, overly muscular kappa!?”

“Of course I know him! He’s not just a problem in Mukaijima City, but in various places, he’s known as the worst kappa around, stealing vegetables and livestock.”

“He eats meat too, huh?”

“Hey, why are you losing enthusiasm now? If you like kappas, the ultimate kappa is standing right in front of you! Shouldn’t you be more excited or something!?”

Ginko said that, but to Natsuki, the Kappa King just looked like a muscular guy painted green, wearing a shell and a plate on his head, with nothing but swim trunks.

His spiritual power was strong, but about the same level as Senju’s.

“Well, well, Ginko Aoyama… The great criminal who has smashed countless kappa plates dares to show her face before the Kappa King.”

“No, you just appeared out of nowhere. We didn’t summon you.”

“…Ginko-san, have you really been smashing all these kappa plates?”

“Let me be clear—they’re thieves! When you try to catch them and they resist, of course you’re going to smash their plates! The plates heal afterward, so they should be thankful I’m not killing them!”

As Natsuki stared down the Kappa King, the smaller, cuter kappa hid behind his back, trembling in fear. 

At first, Natsuki thought the kappa was scared of Ginko, the kappa hunter, but its gaze was fixed on the Kappa King.

“…What’s wrong? If you want, I can help you.”

“That guy… he calls himself the Kappa King, but he’s not a real kappa.”

“What?”

Natsuki was shocked by the unexpected answer from the small kappa.

“He’s… a human.”

“…Huh?”

“Apparently, he was part of some organization called the ‘Kappa Research Society.’ He turned himself into that to become a kappa… We were hiding, but he found us and forced us to join him.”

“…So he’s just a thief pretending to be a kappa?”

“Yes. I-I think he’s a psychic!”

“Sigh… Let’s kill him.”

Natsuki pulled out a spiked club he had picked up on a battlefield in the other world from his item box.

Looking closely, he noticed patches of the Kappa King’s skin were peeling off. It was probably just painted on.

“…You can even see the straps holding up his shell! How did the police and Ginko-san not notice this until nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!?”

Natsuki kicked off the ground, spun in the air, and slammed his spiked club down on the top of the Kappa King’s plate.

A sickening crunch echoed as more than just the plate shattered, and the Kappa King collapsed onto the riverbank.

“N-Natsuki-kun!? For someone who likes kappas, that was pretty harsh…”

“You could’ve just tapped the plate a bit! What’s with that brutal club!?”

Ginko and Koume were speechless at Natsuki’s extreme actions.

Only Senju stayed calm, approaching the still-breathing Kappa King.

“…Hey, wait a minute, ladies, isn’t this guy… Yamamoto Tanaka Hanao, the serial killer?”

“Hanao Yamamoto Tanaka!? Which part is the last name!?”

“Yamamoto Tanaka is the last name, Hanao is the first. But that’s not the point! This guy’s a notorious criminal the Institute has been searching for. No wonder they couldn’t find him, hiding as a kappa…”

“The Institute is useless!”

“The police have been searching for him too!”

“The police are useless!”

Ginko and Senju quickly restrained him. Apparently, as a criminal who used spiritual powers, there was a bounty on him. Hearing that, Koume eagerly joined in the capture.

“…I don’t fully understand, but I’m just glad the Kappa King wasn’t actually a real kappa.”

Natsuki gathered the cabbages that had rolled onto the riverbank, wrapped them back in the bundle, and handed it to the small kappa.

“I don’t know where you stole these from, so for now, just run off. But don’t steal again, okay? There are kappa hunters like Ginko-san out there.”

“…Thank you. I think I’ll talk to my clan about starting a farm instead.”

The kappa bowed deeply.

“You’re a very strong human. We won’t forget you. Someday, I’ll come to repay this debt.”

“A kappa’s repayment, huh… Haha, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Waving as he watched the kappa leave, Natsuki suddenly thought:

“Oh, I should’ve asked if Tsuchinoko are real.”

He felt a little regret, but quickly shook it off. If he could meet a kappa, surely he’d meet a Tsuchinoko one day too.

“We got the bounty!!!”

“Five million yen! Five million!”

“We’re having a BBQ tonight!!!”

It seemed the bounty was pretty hefty.

Natsuki watched his three friends celebrate, then glanced up at the sky.

The clear blue sky stretched out, with not a cloud in sight.

“…Maybe I’ll go to school tomorrow.”

■

—Somewhere in Tono.

An old man, sitting in a room of a samurai residence with a pipe in his mouth, pulled out his vibrating phone and answered it.

“Oh, Nurarura? Hmm, I see. So, you met the infamous Natsuki Yura. Hahaha, how pure, getting excited over a kappa. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on being an enemy. But, as a representative of the yokai, I should at least introduce myself.”

〜〜Afterword〜〜

Where in Tono is this, and who is this person!?

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