Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V5 Chapter 31: “Did I Almost Get Isekai’d Just Now!?” ②

Chapter 31: “Did I Almost Get Isekai’d Just Now!?” ②

A loud screech of brakes echoed through the alley as the truck skidded to a halt.

It stopped just a few dozen centimeters short of slamming into Natsuki.

“Ah—holy crap, that was close!”

Sure, getting hit by a truck probably wouldn’t do much to his body at this point…

But scary is still scary.

Natsuki’s heart was pounding out of his chest.

“Y-You okay, kid!?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m good.”

The driver—a broad-shouldered middle-aged man—jumped out of the truck.

He looked to be in his fifties.

His sun-tanned face was a bit intimidating, but there was a friendly vibe to him too.

Tall—definitely over 180 cm—and dressed in a well-worn work uniform.

Their eyes met.

They confirmed neither of them had died.

And then, at the exact same time, they both shouted:

“THANK GOOOOOOOOOD I DIDN’T GET ISEKAI’D!! I really thought I was about to get sent to another world!!”

“HOLY CRAAAAAAAAAAP!! I thought I just isekai’d someone!!”

After all that effort to get back from another world, getting trucked into a reincarnation route instead of a summoning one would’ve been the worst possible twist.

Natsuki and the driver both let out massive sighs of relief…

Each for completely different reasons.

“Man, sorry about that! But hey, kid—you can’t just pop out of a corner like that, y’know? Sure, I messed up too, but you gotta keep your eyes forward when you walk. The only time it’s okay to space out is when you’re watching, uh… adult videos or nursing a broken heart.”

“Fair enough—I’ll admit I zoned out. But for the record, I’ve got zero experience with either of those!”

“Well yeah, technically it’d still be my fault. But c’mon… hitting a middle schooler with a truck? That’s definitely a one-way ticket to another world. And if you ended up getting booted from your new world ‘cause of lame starter skills, there’s no way I could take responsibility for that!”

“…You know way too much about web novels!!”

“Comes with the territory, kid! My generation grew up on those light novels—they were legendary back in the day.”

“Huh, really?”

“I could talk your ear off about it, just saying.”

“Maybe next time! Anyway, I gotta run!”

Natsuki was actually kind of curious about those classic, old-school light novels the guy mentioned.

But for now—top priority was finding Koume and the others before they got too worried.

Just imagining them crying and frantically searching for him…

Yeah, that guilt hit hard.

“Whoa, whoa—hang on a sec.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I’m the one who scared the crap outta you, right? I can’t just let you walk off like that. You like tonkatsu? Lunch is on me!”

“Well… I do love tonkatsu, but… there are probably people out there crying their eyes out looking for me right now!”

“Crying, huh? Maybe. But can’t you just, y’know, message them? Share your location or something? C’mon, use that fancy tech of yours—youth these days, I swear.”

“…Right. I panicked and totally forgot.”

“From the looks of it, you’re just a tourist, yeah? Bring your friends too! Come have lunch with ol’ Uncle!”

“—Thanks for the meal!!”

Natsuki wasn’t rude enough to turn down a free lunch after all that.

He hopped into the passenger seat of the guy’s truck and sent Koume their destination info.

“Oh, right—forgot to introduce myself! Name’s Koutarou Osake. Still in my prime, still working hard, and very much alive! Nice to meet ya!”

“…There’s no way you’re not Shuten Doji in disguise.”

■

—Meanwhile, back in Mukaijima City—

“Man… it’s kinda lonely without Natsuki-kun or Koume-san around. I mean, yeah, I’m technically a cop and part of the Institute, so it’s not like I can go wreaking havoc in Kyoto or anything…”

Ginko sat at a round table, lazily munching on rice crackers while typing away on her laptop.

She looked completely and utterly bored.

That’s when a shadow suddenly loomed behind her.

“—Agent Ginko.”

“…Huh? Wait, hold up—Jack-san, Nancy-san? Why are you two wearing suits and sunglasses!? And who the heck is Agent Ginko!?”

“Remnants of the Dopnyanya Pirate Crew—defeated by Natsuki and the others—are now headed toward Earth for revenge. We need your help, Agent Ginko.”

“…I—Excuse me, WHAT!? Like, seriously, what are you even talking about!? The Dopnyanya Pirates!? That name is way too cute for space pirates! Are you telling me Ginko-chan’s gotta fight aliens now!?”

～～Afterword～～

A miraculous reunion in Kyoto!?

Ginko’s headed to outer space too!?

Chapter 31.5: Interlude – “Isn’t Aomori Just… Peaceful?”

Somewhere in Aomori…

Mammon, a demon who governed the sin of Greed among the Seven Deadly Sins, was currently chilling on a leisure sheet with his boss—another demon named Samael—happily munching on rice balls.

“Mammon-mammon! Rice balls are the soul of Japan, mammon-mammon!”

“You’re not even Japanese.”

“Pfft. That’s where you’re wrong, Samatan. My soul is Japanese—mammon-mammon!”

“Oh come on, don’t spout nonsense with a straight face!”

Wearing mom-style pants and a windbreaker, Samatan poured cold tea from her thermos, throwing a sharp retort at Mammon—who was clearly living his best life.

Mammon, for some reason rocking a full suit and a windbreaker, kept shoveling down rice balls while giving each bite a dramatic gourmet-anime-style commentary.

And of course, there was a very good reason behind all that culinary bliss.

His adorable girlfriend, Ako Mamon, had made the bento for him.

Naturally, it tasted amazing.

“…If Ako-san were here, I’d totally go ‘Mamma mia~!!’ and shoot a beam outta my mouth, mammon-mammon.”

“Please don’t! I don’t care if Ako-chan’s cool with you being a demon now, you’re still so annoying!”

Truth is—

Before things got official between them, Mammon decided to come clean out of respect.

He sat Ako down… and told her he was a demon.

Oh, and while he was at it, he also casually dropped the bomb that “Samatan” was actually Samael—y’know, one of the big-league demons.

But Ako?

She didn’t freak out.

Well, okay—she was surprised.

But apparently, she’d already kinda figured they weren’t exactly human.

Why?

Because when Samael started helping with farm work, there was this one time she one-punched a wild boar that wandered into the fields.

And ever since then, people in the area had been whispering, “Uh… I don’t think she’s human.”

Every time a boar showed up, Samael would knock it out cold with a single hit.

Didn’t take long before rumors turned into full-on belief.

Though apparently, the locals assumed she was more of a mountain spirit or guardian god or something—

Not a demon.

The elderly folks, who were raised to believe gods lived in the mountains and forests, had no problem accepting Samael just the way she was.

So naturally, when Mammon moved in with her, they just went: “Yup, this guy’s not normal either.”

And honestly?

The granny who proudly introduced her granddaughter Ako to Mammon—

Either had nerves of steel… or just a really open mind.

So when Mammon confessed he was Mammon—as in, the demon of Greed from the Seven Deadly Sins—

Ako gasped, sure.

But then immediately lit up: “Wait—so does that mean Satan and Lucifer are real too!?”

All sparkly-eyed and brimming with curiosity.

That night, Mammon drank a little too much, sulking, “So demons are still niche in Japan, huh…”

He even briefly considered staging a tiny rebellion again—just for the heck of it.

But in the end—

Now that everything was out in the open, he could be totally honest in his relationship.

No secrets. No lies.

Just Mammon and Ako… dating like a totally normal (?) couple.

“…Mammon-mammon, by the way, Samatan-sama.”

“What now?”

“Who are those kids eating lunch near the field over there—mammon-mammon?”

“Oh, I ran into them while I was out for a quick drink. They were being kinda rowdy—looked like a bunch of wannabe delinquents. So I roughed them up a little, and next thing I know, they’re begging to be my underlings. Figured I’d give ’em a shot at turning their lives around and put them to work.”

“M-Mammon!? Then—what about Mohammad-kun? The guy from Indonesia working here!?”

“I’m keeping both! Don’t worry, Mohammad-kun’s still got his job! You’re close with him, right? Didn’t you two have a heart-to-heart about love the other day?”

“Mammon! Girls aren’t supposed to eavesdrop on boys talking about romance—mammon-mammon!”

“Don’t say stuff that sounds like a moody middle school boy!”

After polishing off the last of their rice balls, Samael stood up.

“Time for video shoots this afternoon. Let’s knock out a few in one go!”

“Mammon?”

“Once I’m done editing, and if I get some time off, I’m leaving the fields to you for a few days.”

“Mammon!? D-Don’t tell me—it’s finally happening, Samatan-sama!?”

“Yeah. I’m going to see Kazutan.”

“…Mammon. Don’t act all smug just because you finally decided to go see him—mammon-mammon.”

“C’mon! It’s a big deal for me, okay! I made up my mind!!”

The video featuring the reformed ex-delinquent teens touched hearts and quickly went viral.

～～Afterword～～

Samatan: “Hey, I gave them a proper smackdown and introduced myself to their parents before hiring them, okay?” 

The three boys and girls couldn’t sleep the night before—nervous and excited about being in a video with Samatan and Mammon.

This was your “palette cleanser” chapter!