Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V5 Chapter 50: “Tasting Time?!”

Chapter 50: “Tasting Time?!”

“Alright! The weather’s great, the mood’s great—so let’s not sweat the small stuff! Sure, we still don’t know why the Abe family’s about to meet its end, or how that damn Ibaraki Doji’s finally going down, or even how Natsuki survived the attack in the first place—but whatever! Let’s just celebrate! Cheers, everyone!!”

“Cheers!”

“Mm. I’ll partake.”

“I shall join as well.”

In a private room at a tonkatsu restaurant, somehow Natsuki ended up sitting at the seat of honor.

Holding up a fancy wine glass filled with his own blood, a literal archangel, an oni, a fox spirit, and a tiny old man clinked glasses in unison.

They’d tried to find proper tasting glasses on short notice, but of course a tonkatsu place didn’t have anything like that.

So Tamamo-no-Mae casually reached into her own shadow and pulled out a set of imported glasses she’d apparently gotten from Oda-san ages ago.

By now, the “tasting” was in full swing, so Natsuki just sighed a mental meh, whatever and didn’t think too hard about it.

He cut his palm with a hand-chop, poured enough blood for four glasses, then healed the wound with recovery magic.

“First up—me! I’ve tasted it before, but still… kinda nervous.”

Koume cautiously brought the glass to her lips, downed it in one go, set it down quietly—

And flashed a big double peace sign.

“Ahheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“Ah! Koume-chan just did the Ahegao Double Peace?!”

“No—what does that even mean?!”

Koume made a face no lady should ever make, screaming in ecstasy, and Natsuki’s heart skipped a beat—

But Senju quickly shut him down with a cool, “That’s not the point.”

Meanwhile, Koume’s body began to glow with a divine light as she spread her pure white wings wide.

“It’s so gooooooooood-hoooooooooolyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!”

“That’s… a bit over the top. Also, seriously—what even is this reaction?”

“Forget that—I’m just excited to see what kind of ahegao Tamamo-no-Mae-sama’s gonna make!”

As Koume screamed and literally spat beams of light from her mouth, Shinonome looked completely at a loss for how to respond.

Yusuke, on the other hand, wasn’t even watching Koume anymore—he was eagerly waiting for Tamamo-no-Mae’s turn.

“Well, damn. I’ve lived a long time, but this is my first taste of Perfect Bloodline blood. I’ve eaten humans with nearly pure blood before, but I can’t even imagine anything beyond that. First… I’ll savor the aroma.”

Sharing this rather dangerous bit of history, Shuten Doji struck a slightly refined pose and began to sniff the blood like it was a fine wine.

“Hmmm… first, there’s this rich wave of magic power that just assaults your senses. Then comes a gentle, almost tender sweetness, mixed with that wild, primal aroma unique to blood—marvelous.”

“What the hell is in my blood?!”

“Alright then… let’s begin.”

Unlike Koume, who’d downed hers in one go, Shuten Doji took a slow, deliberate sip, letting the blood sit in his mouth like he was savoring an expensive wine.

After rolling it around for a moment, he swallowed—

And instantly, his eyes snapped wide open.

“Ohhh—ohhh it’s coming—my prime’s coming back—! IT’S COOOMING BACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK—…Ah. Yep, my prime’s back.”

“…Gross.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Yeah. Repulsive.”

“My poor eyes are tainted now.”

The men in the group all gave their brutally honest reactions to the sight of a middle-aged man pulling an ahegao before hitting peak bliss.

Meanwhile, two thick horns burst from Shuten Doji’s forehead, and his spiritual power surged like an explosion.

He might have actually regained strength close to his prime.

“Then… I suppose it’s my turn.”

Masaya, being so small, had been given a tiny sake cup for his portion.

Even so, it was big enough that he had to heave it up with effort before finally drinking it down.

“FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!! I may be a tiny old man, but I’m turning into a freaking giant Daidarabotchi nowwwwwwwwwwwww!!”

“Ehhhhh?!”

Just like Masaya said, he began to grow bigger and bigger.

For a moment, Natsuki was genuinely excited—was he actually going to turn into a real Daidarabotchi?!

…But sadly, the growth stopped at around 45 centimeters.

Very disappointing.

“N-Next is me, I suppose… After seeing the other three react, I’m honestly a bit scared to drink this blood.”

“That’s not true at all, Tamamo-no-Mae-sama! Here, here—bottoms up! Bottoms up!”

“Mmm… very well—”

Urged on by Yusuke’s relentless drink, drink! Tamamo-no-Mae finally gave in, curiosity winning over hesitation, and took a sip of Natsuki’s blood.

The moment her throat swallowed—

“FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!?”

Her petite, flat-chested little-girl body suddenly began to change.

Boing! Kyuu! Baaaan! —the kind of transformation that deserved its own sound effects.

In an instant, she’d matured into a stunning beauty who looked about twenty.

The sight alone was more than enough to prove why she’d once been called a woman so beautiful she could topple nations.

…If only she wasn’t making an ahegao at the time.

“TAMAMO-NO-MAE-SAMA’S AHEGAO IS HEREEEEEEEEE!! And that little surprise whisker popping out on her cheek? That’s a major Yusuke-kun bonus pointtttttttt!!”

“…Sado, you’re way too hyped!”

“This kid is terrifying.”

For Yusuke—a man who adored non-human girls—Tamamo-no-Mae’s current form was nothing short of perfection.

But Natsuki… Natsuki saw something else entirely.

The isekai-conquering Hero had his eyes on a different prize—

“—Those legs… those perfect legs?!”

From beneath her shrine maiden robes peeked a pair of slender, long, elegant legs—

And the chest of a certain teenage boy thumped wildly in response.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

Nacchan: “Beautiful legs—badump!”

In summary:

Archangel Koume — Ahegao Double Peace.

Shuten Doji — Ahegao and fully powered back to his prime.

Masaya — got bigger for some reason.

Tamamo-no-Mae — Ahegao and beautiful legs…