Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V5 Chapter 49: “Sounds Like I’m the Cause, But I’m a Victim So It’s Fine, Right?”

Chapter 49: “Sounds Like I’m the Cause, But I’m a Victim So It’s Fine, Right?”

“W-What? What’s going on?”

Shinonome and the others stared in surprise at Natsuki’s sudden shout.

Honestly, Natsuki was starting to panic.

He really wanted to play dumb, but something told him that if he ignored this now, it’d blow up in his face later.

“—Let me just say this first: I am not at fault here!”

“…Huh?”

Yep, laying down the safety net first.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

Tamamo-no-Mae and Shuten Doji both gave him suspicious looks at how flustered he was acting.

(Nope, not my fault! I’m the victim here! Totally the victim!)

“So, uh… about the reason Ibaraki Doji-san suddenly got stronger…”

“Don’t tell me—you know something, Natsuki-kun?”

“Know something? Well… you could say that…”

“Then quit holding back and tell us! Please!”

Shinonome bowed deeply, and Natsuki scratched his cheek awkwardly before finally admitting—

“…It might be because she… munched on my blood and meat?”

“…What?”

Shinonome, Shuten Doji, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Masaya all just stared at him with a look that screamed What did you just say?

Even Natsuki, who knew he wasn’t to blame, still found it weirdly hard to get the words out.

“Uh, so… the truth is, I’m… a pure-blooded human. Ah—not ‘pure’ in the, y’know, naughty-sounding sense. I mean pure as in 100% untainted blood. Just to be clear.”

“—Oi, kid… don’t tell me you’re a Perfect Bloodline?!”

“Bingo!”

Shuten Doji was the first to catch on to Natsuki’s roundabout wording.

When Natsuki confirmed it, not just Shuten Doji, but Shinonome, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Masaya all stared in shock.

“Impossible! The Perfect Bloodline wasn’t lost, but it’s not something you can just go out and find! And you’re telling me that Nacchan—right here—has it, and that he was attacked by Ibaraki Doji in the past?!”

“Looks that way.”

“If she ate the blood and flesh of a Perfect Bloodline, yeah, I can see her getting stupidly strong. Her whole rank as a youkai would’ve shot up.”

“This is only a guess, but… Ibaraki Doji may have been drawn in by the scent of that Perfect Blood.”

The “Perfect Bloodline”—also called Perfect Blood or Pure Blood—refers to a being whose lineage is completely unmixed, carrying only the blood of their own species.

In Natsuki’s case, that meant he was 100% pure human.

His blood alone was enough to fully heal Koume, who had once lost her wings in battle.

Even as a child, Perfect Blood was still Perfect Blood.

If Ibaraki Doji had attacked and eaten young Natsuki, the overwhelming boost in power she received would’ve been more than enough to make even a great youkai believe it.

“…Can’t believe Natsuki-kun’s actually a Perfect Bloodline.”

“That’s like… an urban legend that’s even more unbelievable than an urban legend.”

Shinonome was shocked, of course, but even Masaya looked like he could barely wrap his head around it.

“If you don’t believe it, then we should just show you!”

“Koume-chan?”

“Proof beats words!”

“Uh… meaning?”

Natsuki had a bad feeling about where this was going.

Koume grinned wide, giving him a big thumbs-up.

“—Time for a tasting!”

“No! My blood is not booze!!”

〜〜Afterword〜〜

Next time… it’s the tasting episode!