Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - V6 Chapter 04

Chapter 04: “Doesn’t a Nighttime Park Just Get You Hyped?”

After finishing dinner and taking a shower, Natsuki headed to a nearby park, dressed in shorts, a hoodie, and sandals.

He had gotten messages from Senju and Yusuke too—it seemed like both of them were finally taking a breather.

After returning to Mukaijima, Natsuki had invited them out for a meal, but they had firmly refused.

According to Senju—

“Shuten Doji, Ibaraki Doji, Tamamo-no-Mae, and on top of that Abe-no-Seimei and Ashiya Doman—I’m already full just dealing with all that! I don’t have the confidence to go to the Yura house and handle Satan and Leviathan on top of it! Oh, I’ll come by tomorrow to drop off souvenirs though!”

And Yusuke had added—

“…Senju-san just raised flags with oni girls, so I’m gonna cry myself to sleep tonight.”

Both of them sounded completely drained.

Right now, Senju had even sent another message:

“Torakuma Doji keeps messaging me nonstop.”

(Wait, Torakuma Doji has a smartphone? How did she even sign a contract for that?)

Natsuki couldn’t help but chuckle a little, imagining an oni from the Heian era casually tapping away on a smartphone.

He sat down on a swing.

“I can feel someone watching me. You came, didn’t you?”

At Natsuki’s words, a man stepped out from behind the jungle gym.

“—Susa-Susa!”

It was none other than Japan’s proud hero and god—Susanoo-no-Mikoto.

“Yo—Susa-Susa!”

Wearing a jinbei, Susanoo came running over with a bright smile, waving his hand.

“Nacchan, sorry to keep you waiting!”
“Nah! I just got here too!”

Natsuki waved back.

In truth, he had contacted Susanoo beforehand and arranged to meet here.

“Ah, here—these are souvenirs from Kyoto!”
“Nice, thanks! Yatsuhashi, huh! Been a while since I had these! Oh—and shichimi and pickles too… my wife’s gonna love this.”
“Feels kinda weird giving normal souvenirs to a god though…”
“What’re you saying, Nacchan? We’re best friends—you don’t need to worry about stuff like that!”

Susanoo casually stored the souvenirs away in some kind of space and sat down on the swing next to Natsuki.

“Susa-Susa—you helped Ginko-san and the others fight those space pirates, right? Thanks. I really appreciate you keeping your promise to me.”
“Ah, c’mon! It felt more like a crisis for Mukaijima—or even the whole Earth—but whatever, small details! …Though my mother and wife did yell at me like crazy.”
“Even so… I’m sorry. And thank you.”
“For a best friend? That’s nothing!”

For some reason, the two of them suddenly started pumping their swings as hard as they could.

“So, Nacchan—did you end up killing Shuten Doji?”
“Nah, about that! Turns out Shuten Doji’s just living as a normal old guy, and the real culprit was more like Ibaraki Doji.”
“No way! Ibaraki Doji, huh! Now that you mention it, I feel like I’ve heard rumors about her… or maybe not?”

Creak, creak—the sound of the swings echoed through the park.

“But hey, Nacchan.”
“Hmm?”
“That ‘Hero of the Sea’ power of yours is seriously dangerous. You should probably stop using it.”
“As expected of Susanoo-no-Mikoto! You noticed?”
“Of course! I am a sea god, after all!”
“Figures… Posei-san told me the same thing.”

“—Hup!”

Susanoo leapt off the swing.

He spun three times midair and landed perfectly.

“—Ten points!”
“Thanks!”

Not to be outdone, Natsuki jumped as well.

“Hyah!”
“Nacchan gets ten points too!”
“Nice!”

He landed smoothly, and the two exchanged a high-five.

“Man… I wish I could’ve had this kind of school life.”
“Wait, did you even have schools back in your time, Susa-Susa?”
“Of course I did! Nature itself was my school!”
“Whoa, amazing!”

And just like that, they broke into a game of tag.

Susanoo ran—and Natsuki chased after him.

“Nacchan… the sea isn’t something anyone can just control.”
“Yeah.”
“And on top of that, it’s not even Earth’s ocean—but some unknown sea from somewhere else… that’s honestly scary.”
“I know.”

“Even if the Hero of the Sea has the sea’s blessing, that doesn’t make it absolute. The sea is still the sea. It’s where life began—our origin. Sometimes it’s calm, sometimes it rages… but those are just different sides of it. When it’s gentle, sure, that’s nice—but there are plenty of times when it isn’t.”
“Yeah.”

“Well, knowing you, Nacchan… you’ll probably use it if you have to anyway!”
“Yeah, I probably will! Tag—you’re it now, Susa-Susa!”
“Yesss!”

Sweat glistening under the night lights, Natsuki and Susanoo ran around the park.

Natsuki understood.

The reason Susanoo hadn’t made it sound too serious… was his way of being considerate.

And Susanoo probably understood too—that Natsuki wouldn’t hesitate to use that power if needed.

“Well, if anything happens, just tell me! When it comes to the sea, I’m your senior, after all!”
“Yeah, thanks, Susa-Susa!”
“C’mon, we’re best friends, right!”

The two stopped, pressing their index fingers together—a small, simple gesture to confirm their friendship.

〜〜Afterword〜〜

Police officer: “Listen… running around at this hour is one thing, but a grown adult chasing a kid like that—what exactly is going on here?”
Susa-Susa: “Yes… about that… I’m truly sorry…”
Police officer: “And you—you were being chased by some old man before too, right? Are you actually okay?”
Nacchan: “I’m really sorry! Susa-Susa and I are best friends—no, seriously! I’m not being forced to say this! We’re cross-generational best friends!”
Susa-Susa: “—Nacchan…” thump
Police officer: “Sigh… alright, fine. But it’s late, so keep your ‘friendship bonding’ within reasonable limits. And make sure you head home before it gets any later, got it?”
Nacchan: “Yes, sir!”

Susa-Susa: “Yes, sir!”

Police officer: “…By the way, I asked for your name, and you wrote ‘Susanoo-no-Mikoto’? Are you messing with me? Are you messing with the authority of the state?”
Susa-Susa: “No, um… that really is my name.”
Police officer: “Is this one of those flashy names or something? Let me see your ID—ah, okay… yeah, it really does say Susanoo-no-Mikoto. Wow… that’s quite the name. Oh, and your license is about to expire soon, so don’t forget to renew it, alright? For now, I’m letting you off with a warning. Be careful next time.”
Nacchan: “We’re really sorry!”
Susa-Susa: “Our deepest apologies!”

—Next time: God descends.