Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V5 Chapter 41: “Shuten Doji and Tamamo-no-Mae? That’s Seriously Overkill” ③

Chapter 41: “Shuten Doji and Tamamo-no-Mae? That’s Seriously Overkill” ③

“Alright, talk’s over—time to storm the Abe estate!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it.”

Senju quickly stopped Natsuki just as he started to stand.

“Easy, kid. Charging into the Abes now won’t solve a thing.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“Best thing you can do is leave ’em alone.”

“…Hah?”

Natsuki sat back down, a puzzled frown on his face.

Shuten Doji spoke up in his usual calm, flat tone.

“It’s just idiots pulling idiot moves. No way it’s gonna work out. Leave ’em be, and they’ll kill each other off sooner or later. Humans can’t control oni, and oni can’t do a damn thing about human greed.”

“Yeah, but still—”

“And if someone dies in the middle of all that? It’s not on me, and it’s not on you guys either.”

“…”

“You don’t have to go out of your way to babysit a bunch of attention-seekers.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Both oni and humans acted out of their own greed and self-interest.

Sooner or later, that clash would cause problems—

And their little arrangement would blow up in their faces.

“I get what you’re saying, ossan.”

“…But your face says you’re still not buying it.”

“Yeah. I’ve already been targeted by oni. Well—forget me for a sec.”

Natsuki knew full well he wasn’t the kind of guy to go down from some small-fry oni attack.

“But y’know… if an oni—or even a psychic—ever laid a finger on someone I care about… I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to hold back.”

“Yeah… I get that.”

“More than anything— I’m a Hero who came back from another world. Sure, that other world wasn’t worth saving, but this one’s different. Mistakes happen—bad things too—but the people here… they’re all doing their best to live their lives. And that’s why— I don’t want anyone hurting them.”

Natsuki’s face turned serious, resolute.

Shuten Doji clutched his chest.

“—Thump.”

“…Wait, why are you swooning!? Who asked for your sparkly shoujo-manga face, ossan!?”

Koume wasted no time smacking Shuten Doji down for getting all fluttery.

Meanwhile, Senju and Yusuke each placed a hand on Natsuki’s shoulder.

“C’mon, Yura. Don’t make me laugh. There’s no way you’re fighting for such a goody-two-shoes reason.”

“Wow, Senju-san, that’s harsh!”

“For real. Natsuki-kun, you wouldn’t even flinch if some random stranger got eaten by an oni, right?”

“Yusuke-kun, you too!? I’m gonna cry, you know!”

Natsuki felt genuinely sad that his friends misunderstood him so badly.

“Relax, Yura. I can’t stand idiots doing idiot things. No sugarcoating—I’ll crush them.”

“I’ll protect the good youkai of Kyoto! As for the ones that attack humans… sorry, but you’ll be my next meal!”

“…Wow. Senju-san, Yusuke-kun—you’re both just as bad as each other.”

At least their reasons were simple enough.

“Alright, be honest now.”

“Natsuki-kun, what’s your real reason for wanting to crush the oni and the Abe clan?”

“Heh. So you saw through me. If you’re asking, then I’ll answer! And the reason is—”

Natsuki took a deep breath, holding it for maximum dramatic effect—

Then shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Because it’d be a total waste of the money and time I spent getting to Kyotoooooooo!! I’m not leaving until I get my money’s worth!!!”

It was so very Natsuki that Senju let out a whistle, Yusuke gave him a round of applause—

And Koume’s heart went thump.

“Hey, give me back my fluttery moment! That reason’s more demonic than any oni!”

“…This kid actually some kind of war god in disguise?”

Even Shuten Doji and Tamamo-no-Mae were left speechless by Natsuki’s reasoning—

Which had absolutely nothing to do with justice.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

Well… it’s Nacchan. What did you expect?