Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V4 Chapter 06

Chapter 06: “Isn’t This a Super Peaceful Village?”①

“Whoa! It’s a yokai amusement park! Aaaaaahhhhhh!”

Soaking wet and smelling like seawater, Yusuke’s eyes sparkled with excitement. If Senju, equally drenched, wasn’t holding him by the collar, he would have already dashed off like an overexcited child visiting a theme park.

“Uh, all I see is a regular village with rows of retro Showa-style houses. Am I imagining things?”

“Relax, Yura. It looks the same to me too. The problem isn’t our eyes—it’s Sado’s brain.”

Natsuki rubbed his eyes repeatedly, but no matter how many times he looked, all he saw was a quaint old-fashioned village, not an amusement park.

Senju seemed to agree, which was a bit reassuring.

“Well, well. If this rundown village made you all so happy, I’m glad. For now, why don’t we head to my place? I can at least offer you some tea and manju.”

“Thank you for your hospitality!”

“Oh, and if possible, we’d love a bath and some dry clothes too.”

“Hahaha! Of course. There’s a communal hot spring, so feel free to use that.”

“…Wait, is it mixed bathing!?”

“Yusuke, you’re such a boy. It’s usually open for everyone, but there are dividers, don’t worry.”

“Aw, man…”

“Yusuke-kun, you look so disappointed! I’ve only just met you, but I’ve never seen someone whose mood swings so high and low like this!”

The Yusuke Sado who once stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to tell if he was dreaming or awake and locked himself in his room, was gone.

While Natsuki and Senju couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly at how overly energetic he had become, it was still far better than the broken state he’d been in before.

“Hey, you over there. Nekomata-chan, could you show our guests to the bath?”

“Meow~”

A cute meow echoed through the room, and Natsuki and the others immediately turned toward the sound.

When it comes to nekomata, the first thing that comes to mind is their famous split tails. Naturally, their curiosity spiked as they wondered what she might look like.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had guests, nya~”

What stood there was a black cat, roughly the same size as Natsuki and the others, walking on two legs. She wore an old-fashioned sailor uniform and let out a cheerful “meow.”

“She’s huge!”

“It’s not polite to call a girl ‘huge,’ nya.”

“Ah, sorry about that! I didn’t mean to.”

“If you apologize so honestly, it’s fine, nya. I like straightforward boys, nya.”

Natsuki had blurted out a reaction to her size without thinking, but realizing how rude it was to comment on a lady’s size, he quickly apologized.

The nekomata accepted his apology and patted Natsuki’s head with her soft paw pads.

“…That cute voice, with that overly sweet tone at the end… I don’t hate it.”

“As expected of Senju-san. You get it. I’m totally on board too! And the fact that she’s a black cat just makes it even better.”

“…Sorry, but don’t lump me in with you.”

“Huh?”

“Alright, let’s get the guests to the bath, nyaaan! Oh, and I’m joining in too, nyaaan!”

“—Mixed bathing!? Yes, absolutely!”

Yusuke, following the nekomata with an overly pleased grin, and Senju, waving his hand and muttering, “I only think she’s cute like a giant mascot,” were clearly on different wavelengths. Meanwhile, Natsuki and Nurarihyon also started moving along.

“…Still, everyone here is so friendly toward humans.”

As they walked through the village with Nurarihyon leading the way, various yokai—some obviously not human, others indistinguishable from people—greeted them.

They weren’t just friendly to Nurarihyon; they were equally welcoming to Natsuki, a human.

“Of course. Us yokai love humans. …Though, I’ll admit, some love humans a bit too much in a food source kind of way, while others hate them or look down on them. But at the end of the day, humans are really important to us.”

“…Is that so?”

“Absolutely. We yokai only exist because humans acknowledge us. Without humans to notice us, to be startled or amazed by us, it’d be pretty lonely, you know?”

Nurarihyon said this with a faint smile, his eyes soft but carrying a tinge of sadness and fragility.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

By the way, Nekomata-san can transform into a stunning cat-eared beauty with lustrous black hair ☆

Yusuke: “To think I get to share a bath with someone this amazing… I’m so glad I’m alive. Oh, well, I did die once in the other world, though! Hahaha!”

Senju: “…That’s not something to laugh about.”

Nekomata: “You’ve been through a lot, nya~. Come here, I’ll scrub your back for you, nya.”

Yusuke: “Yes! Absolutely! Oh, please be gentle—it’s my first time having my back scrubbed by a nekomata!”

Nekomata: “Nyaan.”

Senju: “I hope she scratches his back with her claws. Nyaan.”

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