Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V4 Chapter 02

Chapter 02: “Does the Yokai Want Something? Or Nah?”①

“And that’s why I’m the Supreme Commander of the Yokai! Zenya Nurarihyon at your service! Nuranura!”

“…So, because you’re a Nurarihyon, it’s nuranura, huh. Okay, now that I get it… that’s so lame! Nuranura is ridiculously lame!”

“Never thought I’d end up in trouble with the cops. This old guy almost shed a tear.”

“That’s what happens when you chase a middle schooler at full sprint in broad daylight. People are watching, you know!”

“Nuranura, I regret my actions.”

“Can you stop saying nuranura already!?”

Natsuki and the Nurarihyon sat side by side by the riverbank.

Natsuki held a bottle of mineral water, while the Nurarihyon casually puffed on a pipe as they talked.

“Anyway, sorry for ignoring you earlier.”

“No worries. I should be the one apologizing for barging into your house without permission.”

As a gesture of reconciliation, they touched the tips of their index fingers together.

“But, uh… you don’t have a long back of your head, do you?”

“Oh, you’re bringing that up? You really had to ask that?”

“It’s just super noticeable. You’re the first Nurarihyon I’ve ever met.”

“Well, you see… this old guy doesn’t have much of a unique look. Compared to kappas or rokurokubi, I kind of lack impact. So, uh… I kind of exaggerated a bit.”

“You exaggerated, huh?”

“Yeah, I exaggerated.”

“Wait, aren’t you exaggerating the wrong thing!?”

Natsuki couldn’t understand why the Nurarihyon had chosen to exaggerate the back of his head.

Surely, there were better ways to stand out, he thought sincerely.

“I mean, I tried adding a unique way of speaking, but you can’t tell tone or speech patterns just from an illustration, right? I mean, Nurarin still barely survives in modern times, but I really gave it my all, you know.”

“You gave it your all, huh.”

“Kappas are so lucky—they’re just walking balls of impact! You see one, and it’s always like, ‘Ah!’ right away. Snow women are beautiful, and rokurokubi have such strong personalities. And don’t even get me started on nekomata—they just grow a second tail and suddenly everyone loves them!”

“Can you not turn yokai into some kind of popularity contest?”

“The more well-known you are, the more you can strut your stuff in the yokai world! Sure, I’ve got name recognition too, but you know what people say? ‘Oh, a Nurarihyon? Isn’t your head supposed to look different?’ Even high school girls say that to me!”

“Why are high school girls even part of this scenario?”

“Anyway, putting that aside!”

The Nurarihyon stood up, pointing the tip of his pipe at Natsuki with a sly grin.

“Having defeated Mizuchi and gotten chummy with the gods, Natsuki Yura, you’ve caught the attention of the yokai world too! I’ve come to pay my respects. Nice to meet you! Nuranura!”

“Oh, so you’re sticking with the nuranura thing?”

“It’s my signature style! Now then, nuranura, originally, I only planned to say hello, but as a Nurarihyon, you’ve piqued my interest!”

He gave a confident thumbs-up, his grin widening.

“I’d love to invite you to Tono. Of course, you’re coming to visit, right? Nuranura?”

“Uh, no, I can’t. I have school today.”

“…What?”

“I really appreciate the invitation, but I’m sorry. This year, I’m a student preparing for exams.”

“Huh?”

“I was actually planning to go to school for the first time in a while today. Plus, you made me a bento, Nurarihyon-san. How about next time during my break?”

Feeling a little burned out from all the fantasy around him, Natsuki just wanted to experience a normal day at school.

“You’ve gotta be kidding meeeeeeeeeeeeee! You’re fine dealing with gods and demons, but you treat yokai like this!? Be kinder to yokai too! If you’re Japanese, favor the yokai tooooooooo! I’ll nuranura youuuuuuuuuu!”

“Well, looks like I’m not making it to school today or tomorrow…”

―As expected, Natsuki didn’t make it to school that day.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

This was the “Does the Yokai Want Something?” arc.

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