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

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Chapter 56: “Wait, There’s a Bear in the Mix?” ①

“Heyyyy, you little brat! What’s with the preemptive strike right off the bat?! Even angels are more cautious when they start a fight! Your brain’s already stuck in barbarian mode!”

“I figured you’d at least come up with some sort of plan… never thought you’d just open with a surprise attack.”

“…I’m a Hero summoned to the same world as you, but even I wouldn’t pull something like this, you know?”

“Uh, um… wasn’t there maybe a slightly better way to handle this?”

Koume smacked Natsuki on the head, Senju let out a heavy sigh, Yusuke looked exasperated, and Shinonome’s face twitched awkwardly.

All of them, of course, were soaring through the sky right alongside Natsuki.

“Oh, Senju-san, Yusuke-kun, Shinonon—you guys can fly too?”

“I had to buy a ridiculously expensive flying talisman! You guys just zip around like it’s nothing!”

“M-Magic, in my case…”

“I’ve got the Suzaku’s cage, so hovering like this isn’t a problem. But full-on aerial combat? Forget it.”

For Koume, flight came naturally as an angel.

For the others, though, their methods felt shaky at best.

Still, it was enough to keep up—for now.

“Alright — I’ll teach you flying tricks later. You’ll get the hang of it quick, no sweat. Now then, before we wipe out all the oni, let’s go finish off Ibaraki Doji and her merry crew real quick!”

“I’m not supposed to get too involved, but… fine, I guess.”

“I never thought I’d be hunting oni, not gonna lie.”

“I know a story —Momotaro beat the oni, then brought back treasure and an oni-kid harem!”

“That’s way too goofy! It totally wrecked my serious mood —but y’know what, that’s fine. That’s exactly the vibe.”

After saying that, they landed in the garden of the samurai mansion that served as Ibaraki Doji’s base.

Tamamo-no-Mae and Shuten Doji watched from a distance. Natsuki liked it that way—he didn’t want them getting too close and getting dragged into the mess.

“Hellooooo! Ibaraki Doji-chan! Hoshiguma Doji-chan! Torakuma Doji-chan! Kuma Doji-chan! Let’s p-l-a-y!”

Natsuki shouted, cheerful and provocative.

At that moment, the Holy Sword he had thrown for the opening strike re-formed into a sword shape and returned behind him.

Natsuki caught the sword in his hand again; it crackled with electricity like mad.

“Let’s play tag! I’ll chase you guys, so run for your lives while begging for mercy! If I tag you, your torso’ll split right in two—seee you!”

At Natsuki’s pumped-up shout, everyone else pressed their palms to their foreheads like they’d just gotten a headache.

In front of them lay the mansion’s ruined center and heaps of scattered rubble.

That attack had been heavy, but the spiritual power in the area hadn’t faded—so the oni were still very much alive.

—This was actually going to be fun to kill.

Natsuki curled his lips into a grin and—

“You did not just do that!!”

“Who the hell do you think you are, you little—!!”

“Beaaaaahhhhh!!”

A woman in revealing armor—dark-skinned, in her mid-twenties, with a single horn and thick hair—lifted a chunk of debris with one hand like it weighed nothing, then hurled it straight at Natsuki and the others.

Of course, that wasn’t enough to stop them. The moment the rubble crossed into Natsuki’s range, it was sliced into three pieces and scattered to the left and right.

A thunderous boom echoed as part of the mansion’s outer wall crumbled.

“Oh nooo—someone broke the wall!”

“Forget the wall—the whole mansion’s trashed! This damn kid’s crazier than the oni themselves!”

The one raging with fury was a two-horned woman with long, wavy blonde hair.

Unlike the others, she wore light armor over a hakama.

“Compared to cultural treasures or national landmarks, who cares about your walls?!”

“Beaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!”

Roaring back at Natsuki’s provocation was a towering bear—easily over two meters tall.

“Judging by the strength here, Ibaraki Doji’s not around but—wait, WHAT?! A bear?! Why is there a bear?! I came here to slay oni, so why the hell is Mr. Bear hanging out with them?!”

Even Natsuki, who never flinched in battle, couldn’t hide his shock at finding a literal bear mixed in with the oni.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

Yusuke: “An oni girl and a bear… together.”

(Note: Feeling under the weather today, so I’ll be skipping individual replies. Thanks for your understanding!)

Chapter 56.5: Interlude – “An Interlude Inside an Interlude with Mammon-mammon”

“Mammon-mammon. No, no, nothing to worry about, mammon-mammon! Mamomomomooo! Still the same as always, so rest assured, mammon-mammon! No need for concern—this Mammon will handle it, whether it’s outer space or anywhere else, mammon-mammon!”

Mammon bowed like a Japanese salaryman while talking on the phone.

Once he hung up, he quickly rinsed his hands and wiped them clean with a dishcloth.

“What’s this about? Don’t tell me you’re calling it an ‘assignment’ or some crap like that.”

His boss and landlord, Samael, narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Unfortunately… that is correct, mammon.”

“The fact that I kinda understand what you mean pisses me off!”

“Unreasonable mammon-mammon! No, no—what I mean is, we’ve got a bit of a situation, mammon-mammon.”

“What happened?”

Samael asked while munching on her yakisoba lunch.

Mammon furrowed his brow, his already villainous face looking even scarier—though he was completely unaware.

“Mammon-mammon… it seems I have to head into outer space, mammon-mammon.”

“—Outer space?! Don’t tell me you’re going to film videos in space!?”

Samael froze in shock.
Mammon gave an exaggerated sigh, shrugged dramatically like, what can you do, and puffed himself up all smug.
That little act made Samael want to smack him—but instead, she took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm.

“Samatan… I’ll say this not as your underling, but as someone who’s been with you since preschool, mammon-mammon: we’re demons and farmers, mammon-mammon! We’re not video streamers, mammon-mammon!”

“No, I know that better than anyone —I say it all the time! Don’t you dare lecture me, you who got full of yourself after one viral video!”

Samael tossed a wet towel at him. Mammon caught it easily and set it by the sink.

“So why the heck are you saying you’ve gotta go to outer space?”

“The rowdy Mukaijima boys are apparently fighting space pirates in space, mammon-mammon.”

“What?! Is Kazuto in on that too?!”

“Mammon-mammon! Kazuto Miyahara’s actually going to middle school like a normal kid, mammon-mammon.”

“Thank goodness. Still—even if it’s not Kazutan, why the hell are they fighting space pirates in space?!”

“I don’t know the details, mammon-mammon. But it looks like Susanoo-no-Mikoto is leading things, along with gray-type alien Jack and Nancy, police officer Ginko Aoyama, the sacred-sword wielder Seishiro Kanna, and—some five-year-old Kanna Yoshimasa, mammon-mammon. I’m pretty sure Natsuki Yura and Koume Lucifer are mixed in there too, mammon.”

“Wait, wait, wait —a five-year-old is in the crew?! That’s insane! Before labor law even gets involved, how is a five-year-old supposed to fight?!”

“Mammon?”

“Don’t give me that look like you don’t get it! I’ll smack you!”

Samael, worn out from nonstop tsukkomi, was left breathing heavily.

“Besides, you can’t even leave Aomori!”

“Mammon-mammon! I am the Demon of Greed, you know! For the sake of a friend, I’ll gladly break the rules, mammon!”

“…Fine, but Ako-chan’s waiting for you, so make sure you come back safe.”

“—Mammon!”

Mammon swapped his rubber boots for polished leather shoes, gave his hair a quick fix, and headed for the front door.

“Still… never thought I’d see you exchanging numbers with Susanoo-no-Mikoto and acting all humble like that.”

“Mammon-mammon. That phone call earlier wasn’t with Susanoo-no-Mikoto.”

“…Huh?”