Manchiya Kyouta is a healthy lad with an unhealthy obsession with isekai fiction. One day, he gets transported to another world, which he has to save from the demon king's grasp...maybe.
In a sleepy neighborhood about half an hour away from the center of Japan's top Number Three city lived a boy named Manchiya Kyouta. He had a pretty benign upbringing with normal-ish parents, and had the luxury of growing up in a standalone house instead of a cramped high-rise apartment block that littered the wards of the city. His parents fed him well with good foods—he was lean and healthy and hardly plump, but also nowhere near malnutritioned like the children that would appear on television when a multinational nonprofit was on air appealing for donations.
Through most of his childhood, he did not cause much problems for others. He would listen to his parents and teachers, get along well with friends, maybe get into a small scuffle or two (but that's to be expected from a growing boy). His parents would snuggle up to each other at night after Kyouta had went to bed and pat each other for having successfully raised a decent child.
Then, when Kyouta was thirteen, the isekai came.
It was innocuous at first. A classmate had lent Kyouta this one book with a brightly illustrated cover, detailing the adventures of a schoolgoing boy who was dragged all of a sudden into a different, fantastical world, and took on the mantle of the hero that would save that world from the evil demon king. Along the way, this protagonist would face adversaries, overcome challenges, and, of course, get the attention of countless female peers.
Kyouta finished the entire book in a single night, and subsequently snarfed down the subsequent volumes in the series to the delight of his friend, who would happily oblige from his library.
Having caught up with the latest volume in the series, Kyouta's growing appetite for this genre can no longer be satiated by waiting for the next volume to be released. His attention then swerved towards other series that had the same sort of premise.
Manchiya Hinako was surprised when her son asked for extra pocket money to spend in the bookstore. She thought nothing of it at first, and generously paid for the sizable stack of small paperback volumes that Kyouta loaded into the basket. An appreciation for literature! she thought. My Kyouta was always the outdoor and active type, it's good to see him pick up a book for a change.
That night, after Kyouta went to bed (but was in fact secretly bingeing on his newly added volumes to his bookshelf by the light of his desk lamp), Manchiya Hinako told her husband what transpired earlier that day at the bookstore. Manchiya Saburou was pleased at what he heard, and he and his wife patted each other generously for having successfully raised a literate child.
This increased consumption of small brightly illustrated jacketed paperback volumes continued over the next half of the year before their effects became noticeable. Firstly, eyebags became increasingly visible under Kyouta's eyes, amassed from the many nights of sleep deprivation caused by his reading by lamp light until the wee hours of the morning. He has also lost a bit of weight since and had started slouching, which made him look comparedly unhealthier. Secondly, Kyouta's room, which was previously respectably clean and uncluttered, was gentrified by paraphernalia of his many favorite isekai series, whether distributed as a free gift along with the paperback, or bought separately. Scrolls and tapestries of cartoon girls in fantasy costumes plastered one of his walls. Once, Kyouta's childhood friend Tokoya Nico showed up at his house to play. Upon entering his room and seeing the wall of gaudy illustrations (which Kyouta introduced with pride), she gave a scowl that no one has ever seen her make, and removed herself promptly from the premises. She has not visited since, which had hurt Kyouta somewhat, since he was rather fond of her.
The third, and most jarring change of all, was Kyouta becoming constantly rueful at not having the luck to be sent to an alternate world himself.
"Why do I have to go to school?" he moaned at the breakfast table. "Saving the world is so much more exciting."
"Well son," said his father, taking a sip of the coffee mug, "if you work hard at school, you can become someone who can save the world in the future. A brilliant scientist and inventor solving world hunger. A politician working for the good of our citizens. A philanthropist doing...whatever it is that philanthropists do."
"You don't understand, dad." Kyouta has been repeating himself with this line lately. "I want to be the hero that defeats the demon king."
"I want to have a cheat power that makes my enemies back the heck off. I want my party full of girls that look up to me and squeal 'Sasuga Kyouta-sama~' while I save the day once again. Is it so hard to just grant such a little wish?" Kyouta mumbled into his toast.
His parents looked at each other and shook their heads sadly. They haven't patted each other this calendar year.
Kyouta finished up his breakfast, scarcely having tasted any of it. He then changed into his school uniform and dragged his feet out the door.
"Have fun at school, dear," Kyouta's mother sent him off with a weak voice.
"Bye mom. Hopefully today's the day I get hit by a truck and get transported into an alternate world."
"Don't say that. Be safe."
Kyouta plodded along the streets towards the direction of his school. All around him were scenes of normal, pleasant, everyday life. Trees with new leaves that have sprouted after the spring blossoms have faded away. Middle aged ladies greeting each other and engaging in small talk. A cat lazing in front of one of the tall apartment complexes.
Kyouta did not care for any of it. What he wanted to see were trees with new leaves that have sprouted after the spring blossoms have faded away, with a castle in the background. Middle aged ladies in medieval costume greeting each other and engaging in small talk. A cat lazing in front of the guild hall. Yet, these scenes remain elusive to his yearning heart.
"Good morning, Kyouta!" A shrill voice called from behind him. Without turning around, Kyouta had already known who it was. He slowed down his abysmal pace even further to let the person behind him catch up.
"Good morning, Sanjo."
"Ehehe." Hanza Sanjo beamed. She was Kyouta's other childhood friend. Having a ten and twelve year gap between her age and her two elder sisters', she naturally gravitated towards hanging out with others her age. And now, subconsciously noticing that Nico-chan has been avoiding Kyouta recently, she drew ever closer to fill in the gap.
Walking side by side with Kyouta, Sanjo's appearance was a stark contrast to the lean sickly lad next to her. She was a head and a half shorter than Kyouta, who had barely began puberty himself. But her height wasn't the most noticeable feature about her—instead, it was her two Himalayas standing proudly on her chest.
"Ne ne, Kyouta." Sanjo clutched her collar and looked up at him, "Over the weekend, I had to make a trip to the department store—I had to get a new set of underwear again."
Why are you telling me this? Kyouta let his weariness show on his face. He had known Sanjo since they were in preschool, so he can't really see her as anything other than a sibling or a friend. Besides, his taste is more towards the quiet type, with a more proportional chest to height ratio. Somebody like Nico, perhaps.
"It's so frustrating!" Sanjo continued, entirely oblivious to Kyouta's reactions. "I mean, I've only worn my previous set for a month! I liked the pattern on those, but they didn't have it in larger sizes, apparently..."
Kyouta let out a sigh and clutched one side of his face, like middle schoolers of his grade are wont to do when they pretend to be in pain. Only, Kyouta did experience a stinging sensation in his temples at the moment.
"Looks like Kyouta is frustrated about things too, huh. As they always say, a chicken all cooped up dies earlier than one that's let out!" She reached out to pat Kyouta on his shoulder but her chest made contact first, giving Kyouta the momentary sensation of a bouncy resistance on his upper arm.
Sanjo recoiled slightly and her ears turned pink. She cleared her throat, put on a smile, and tried again. "What's on your mind?"
"Oh, the usual," Kyouta replied nonchalantly. "Frustration at how I'm not in an alternate world saving everyone from a demon king at the moment."
"Ah, it's that 'shinsekai' thing you've been into recently, right? I heard from Nico-chan about it."
"It's 'isekai', dummy. The best genre of writing in the world."
"Oh." Sanjo tilted her head. "I don't know much about it. I remember Nico-chan saying something about irredeemable taste, though."
"You don't understand, Sanjo." Kyouta flicked his fringe with his fingertips. "The thrill of adventure in another world. Wielding supernatural powers. Girls giving me attention."
"I can do the last one for you!" Sanjo said cheerfully, raising her hand. Kyouta ignored her.
"All the possible worlds out there," he continued, "and I'm stuck here in this boring one, wasting my time at school every day. Don't you feel restless from the mundaneness of it all? Of course you don't, because you're not cut out to be a hero. But I am."
Sanjo pouted. She didn't really understand what Kyouta was saying, but she sensed that it was vaguely insulting. She decided to humor him for a bit.
"So, how do you get to this 'alternate world'?"
"Ah, you're finally asking the right questions!" Kyouta perked up. "You might have some potential after all. Maybe not as the hero, but a party member could work...So, in all the novels I have read, the passage to another world comes with a great sacrifice. The hero must first die once."
"Ehh? Isn't that really bad?" She didn't really think that it was really bad. In fact, her mind wasn't on the discussion at all; she had just noticed her bra straps were digging into her shoulders somewhat harder than yesterday.
"No, not at all," Kyouta continued rambling. "For this is the natural order of things—the hero gives up his old way of life before he can be accepted into the new. Only by putting down everything can he meet the goddesses in between dimensions, the one who will give him the cheat power that he will wield with extreme prejudice upon his enemies in the new world."
"And the most noble way to depart," Kyouta closed his eyes, savoring his speech, "is to get hit by a truck."
"Something like that one over there?" Sanjo pointed to a delivery truck quickly approaching them from further down the street. The truck was navy blue throughout, with the logo of a certain publishing company painted in white on the front.
"Ah yes, that would do quite nicely. But the second part is much harder. The hero must be hit by the truck. He cannot be the one hitting the truck, that is, he cannot jump into the truck's way. The truck must come for him."
"Like what it's doing now?" Sanjo pointed to the truck, which had just swerved half a second prior to avoid hitting a napping cat in the middle of the road, and was now losing control like a flailing bull being provoked by a matador.
"Ah yes, that would do quite—"
A loud honk from the truck was the last thing that he could remember before he lost consciousness.
In these final seconds, Manchiya Kyouta grew a big grin on his face. He had waited all year for this moment. A well endowed truck coming straight at him, just like in his isekai novels! In the next moment, he would be ushered into the Space In Between Worlds, and would get to have a nice chat with the goddess of the realm. Maybe even make her fall in love with him, if possible. Then, his life of adventure would truly begin.
Goodbye, boring world! Hello, my new world!
The sun was still high up in the sky when Manchiya Kyouta opened his eyes. Slowly getting up from the bed, he took a quick look at the surroundings. He found himself in a place that was unfamiliar to him. A white curtain draped all three sides of the bed, one that was thin enough to let some of the sunlight through.
Kyouta would have parted the curtain aside, but there were more pressing things he had to tend to first.
He had a vague recollection of having met someone right before waking up, and that she had told him some pretty important things.
"Alright, let's try this out," he said to himself.
"...STATUS!!"
His eyes, which were groggy and unfocused from having just woken up, quickly turned into a pair of jewels brimming with wonder and amazement.
"AW YEAH!"
Tokoya Nico was perplexed by her own actions earlier today.
In the morning, she was on the way to school as usual when she found Sanjo slumped on the side of the road, with Kyouta limp in her arms. Sanjo was barely comprehensible, stammering through her retelling of the sequence of events, but from what could be understood it seemed that a truck had swerved into Kyouta while they were on the way to school, and now he had fallen unconscious.
Nico was originally planning to just call the ambulance for Sanjo, but somehow she ended up boasting that she had prior first aid training, and will be doing a full body checkup on Kyouta. She ran her hands from his head down to his toes, making sure to apply slight pressure on all the vital points to get a good feel of the situation. After the quick run down, she told Sanjo with slight annoyance that Kyouta didn't seem to have any injuries, and that it was probably Sanjo's colossal chest resting on Kyouta's face that was suffocating him and making him unconscious. Sanjo gave a sheepish "ehehe" in response.
Don't just "ehehe" it off, you cow. Is it even legal for fourteen year olds to have such big breasts? Are you sure it's not a medical condition?
After the hot flash subsided, Nico suggested that the two of them just carry Kyouta to the school infirmary, since the school was really close by. It turned out to not be as exhausting as she had expected—Kyouta did seem to have lost a bit of weight recently.
After checking Kyouta in with the school nurse, Nico said that she would stay with Kyouta until he wakes up. Sanjo nodded, and said that she would let their homeroom teachers know what happened.
And thus, several hours passed in the infirmary with just Nico and Kyouta next to each other in close proximity. Nico looked at Kyouta's face, which still had a retarded grin slapped on it, and her thoughts began to wander.
It's been a while since I've interacted with Kyouta, huh. Well, maybe it doesn't count if he's knocked out like this...or does it? Why did I stop talking to him again? I don't really remember...wait. There was that time last year when I went over to his place. I thought we were going to go out and ride bicycles around the neighborhood and maybe get an ice pop together like we'd always do, right? But then I went up to his room and there were all these...unnerving pictures plastered all over his wall. I didn't know what was going on, and looked to him to explain himself. But there was this glimmer in his eyes, one that I haven't seen before, that gave me shudders down my spine. All the while, he was talking about alternate worlds and swords and magic so fervently. I have never seen him talk like that about me or anything else. Perhaps something had changed him, and he's no longer the Kyouta that I knew.
She stared deep into Kyouta's face, and sighed longingly.
Kyouta should be someone more strong, heroic, and not a total nerd. That's who he has been all along. Maybe it's just a phase—Mama had said that boys go through phases like that. Perhaps in these few months Kyouta had since recovered and started wrestling with the Siberian Husky at the street corner again. Yes, maybe that has happened and he's my cool, cooler, coolest Kyouta again. I'll talk to him when he wakes up, find out that everything is well once again, and maybe I'll confess to him right there and then. Aaaaaaah, he'll be my first boyfriend if he agrees! I can already feel myself blushing!
As Tokoya Nico clasped her cheeks with both hands and started oscillating in place, she failed to notice Manchiya Kyouta slowly opening his eyes and getting up. It was only when he shouted "STATUS!!" that Nico jumped from her seat.
"K-Kyouta?" Nico gasped. "You scared me for a bit there."
Kyouta did not seem to notice her, seemingly preoccupied with something right in front of him.
"Well, you know," Nico started twirling her hair, "I have been thinking, if it's all right with you, that we could maybe be a coupl—"
"AW YEAH!"
The lights in Nico's eyes extinguished. She grabbed the wrist closest to her and put Kyouta into a joint lock.
"...Nico? You're here?" After Kyouta was thoroughly reminded of Nico's presence, his face started to display signs of confusion.
"Yes, I have been here while you're out the whole time. Can't I at least have a word of thanks from you?"
"Wait, does that mean..." Kyouta pondered for a while, wondering what it might mean, "...that you've also been transported into this alternate worldas well?"
"Huuhh?" A nerve was struck with the phrase "alternate world". Though it was but a brief moment that Nico had encountered that phrase in her interactions with Kyouta, the scar ran deep and reminded her that the shadowy editors at the publishing houses still have her poor, poor Kyouta in their menancing grasp. "Were you unconscious for too long that your brain started to rot?"
"No, you see, I know for sure that I've been transported into an alternate world. I had an audience with the Goddess—Dolcinea was her name—and she bestowed upon me the necessary cheat powers to be able to defeat the demon king. One of them was the ability to view the status window."
"Corrigendum. I think your brain started to rot ever since you've picked up those dastardly 'light novels'."
"Wait, wait. I can show you." Kyouta was visibly displeased at being doubted. "STATUS!!"
"See?" Kyouta waved his hand as if he was a pretty boy flicking his long fringe, despite being neither pretty nor having a long fringe. "Manchiya Kyouta. Level 1. Hero. Warrior."
"I don't see anything."
"STR: 35. DEX: 10. INT: 105." Kyouta paused, reveling in his high INT stat. "You sure you don't see anything?"
"No. I don't see anything." Nico repeated herself. "I also think you should seriously get your head checked."
Kyouta rubbed his chin. "Is it because I'm the hero? That would make sense, since only the hero gets the cheat powers, after all..." He turned and looked at Nico. "I still don't know how you got here with me, but how about I just read off your status as well?"
Before Nico could say anything, Kyouta went ahead with his offer.
"Tokoya Nico. Level 1. Civilian. STR: 30. DEX: 15. INT: 121."
Nico noticed that she had the exact same number from an IQ test she did for fun a while ago.
"...B: 36A. W: 26. H: 35. Wait, what do these stats mean?" Kyouta asked Nico, who was turning increasingly red by the second.
"Pervert! Creep! Nerd!" Tokoya Nico shouted as she got up from her seat and stormed out the door of the infirmary, leaving a wisp of shimmering light behind in her wake. For all the times in her life that Manchiya Kyouta had made her cry, this was the first one where she felt short-changed throughout the entire affair.
She paced her way down the corridor, intent on just calling in sick and asking to return home. Then she slowed down, to a stop.
Wait a minute, I don't remember ever telling him my measurements...though I guess...being investigated like this...doesn't feel bad either...
Once again, her hands cupped both her cheeks and she gyrated on the spot. It was fortunate that classes were in session and nobody was around to witness her behavior and otherwise cause her to take a hit in social standing.
Manchiya Kyouta was incredibly perplexed.
Though he had only entered it once as part of the tours on the first day of school, the room he woke up in looked incredibly similar to his school's infirmary. And exiting the room revealed a corridor in the exact same configuration as his school's. Upon heading towards the classroom that would have been his classroom back in his home universe, an identical interior with familiar faces greeted him.
"Oh Manchiya, you're back," the adult that looked exactly like his Modern Japanese teacher called out as he entered through the back door of the classroom, "You feeling okay now?"
"Yeah..." Kyouta gave a weak reply as he made his way to the only empty desk and sat down. It was the same position as where his desk was in the real world.
Familiar architecture. Familiar faces. What could all this mean? Kyouta could hardly pay any attention to the lecture going on, with such a dire issue on his mind. A familiar-looking world, yet I know for a fact that I'm in another world...
Then, the answer struck him in all its brilliance.
Of course! This alternate universe is just incredibly similar to my own universe! It all makes sense now!
Kyouta was momentarily downhearted at not being transported to a more exotic universe, such as one with swords and magic, but an alternate universe is an alternate universe, and he'll take whatever he can get.
So then, the Tokoya Nico that I have met earlier was not the Tokoya Nico that I knew from childhood, but was in fact this universe's Tokoya Nico. This must be why she was so antagonistic towards me; it must have been some minor difference in the timelines of both universes. After all, this universe is being terrorized by the demon king, it is only unfortunate that discord and strife are aplenty...but that's why I'm here, as the hero!
Kyouta spent the rest of the time in class steeling his resolve to liberate this world from the jaws of the demon king, all in the name of the Goddess Dolcinea. O Goddess! You have summoned me and have given me new life. I shall not let you down!
When the bell rang and the class was dismissed for the day, Kyouta made a small announcement to the other students that had not left the classroom just yet.
"Let it be known that I have been summoned into this world as a hero to save everyone from the demon king," Kyouta said, his right foot on his chair.
The responses were mixed. "Ehh? What's he saying?" "Is this some kind of punishment game he had to do?" "Seeing we're 8th grade right now, it's about time we saw someone like this." "Surprised it took this long." "No, I'm sure that's just a trope."
Kyouta was miffed by the lack of enthusiasm for the coming hero, but he knew that this might happen. After all, in one of the isekai novels that he memorized the plot to heart, the protagonist with the shield was also scorned upon by those that he was supposed to save. It's okay, it's okay, he thought to himself, they know not what they are doing.
"Ahem," Kyouta cleared his throat, deliberately ignoring their faux pas, "as the hero, I beseech your all of your kind assistance in pointing me towards the demon king or his minions. Has anyone seen anything sinister? Or perhaps, is anyone in a dire predicament as a result from the demon king's evil schemes?"
"A predicament? Ah, yes, I have one."
Kyouta turned to see who it was. A tall, burly young man sat on one of the tables on the other side of the room. He had black curly hair, and his brown skin contrasted well against his white shirt. Two of his friends, neither as buffed nor as bronze as him, stood on both sides of the table with their arms folded. Back in Kyouta's original world, this would have been his classmate, Osaka Naoki, who claimed to be the half-brother of a certain national sports star (same mother, if Kyouta remembered correctly). Assuming that the current world is incredibly similar, Kyouta thought, then there's a high possibility that this person is also called Osaka Naoki.
Kyouta made his way towards Naoki (temporary designation). "Osaka Naoki-san, is it?"
"Yes, Manchiya. We've been in the same class for months, come on."
Kyouta made a mental note confirming that this athletic gentleman was also an Osaka Naoki. "What troubles you?"
"Well, the demon king disappeared my wallet and now I have no money to get a drink from the vending machine. Can you help me out and get me a grape soda each for me and my two friends?"
"That dastardly demon king!" Kyouta felt the fires of rage kindle in his loins. What injustice, to have disapparated this poor youth's wallet! Truly the evils of the demon king know no bounds. "Hang on, I will right this wrong right this moment!" Kyouta then dashed out the classroom and towards the vending machine downstairs, his footsteps so quick that he did not hear Naoki and his two friends snicker uncontrollably behind him.
Five minutes and four hundred and twenty yen later, Kyouta returned to the classroom with three cans of cool, refreshing grape soda in his bosom. "Here you go," he said, handing over the beverages to Naoki, "I know this is not sufficient to enact justice, for you may have your thirst quenched now, but without your wallet, you will surely become thirsty once again. Do you have any clues as to where the demon king may be, so that I could defeat him and reclaim your wallet for you?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure, but the last time I've seen my wallet was yesterday, when I was at the Sugakiya right outside our school. Speaking of which, it's lunchtime, and I still don't have my wallet, so..."
"Fear not!" Kyouta thumped his chest. "I, the hero, will deliver you from this trial caused by the evil demon king. We go to Sugakiya now, to sate your famishment and to look for clues."
Manchiya Kyouta grabbed his schoolbag with a renewed vigor, knowing that helping the poor commonfolk terrorized by the demon king was part of the hero's obligations, nay, an honor, and he was going to put all his effort into this quest. Osaka Naoki and his two friends followed behind him while they began heaping praise upon the hero.
"Thank you, great hero!" "Upholder of justice and equality!" "We paean you and your great works!"
"Now, now, we're still in school, don't raise too much of a ruckus," Kyouta said, trying his best to keep his emotions in. Now this is more like it, he thought, a hero's welcome fitting for, well, a hero like me. Incredibly pleased with this treatment by Naoki and his two friends, he marched into Sugakiya and bought all of them lunch (upsized noodles and extra chashuu, as requested by Naoki).
"Manchiya, you truly are a hero!" Naoki said, as he slurped down the broth to the very last drop. "O-of course!" Kyouta's response was beginning to waver, having just calculated his remaining allowance for the week. "The Goddess Dolcinea has sent me here to rescue people in distress from the demon king's schemes, people like you."
"Anyway, this was great," Naoki wiped his lips with a napkin and got up from his seat. "Guys, I'm going to just get an ice cream cone and we can head out." Saying which, he proceeded to the ordering counter again and paid for an ice cream cone, then walked out the door with his two friends following behind him.
Kyouta observed the scene unfold without a word. Did Naoki just take his wallet out from his pocket to buy an ice cream cone? In that case, that can only mean one thing...
Yes, Naoki had successfully recovered his wallet from the demon king, all thanks to my vailant efforts!
Manchiya Kyouta basked in the sense of achievement from completing his very first quest in this alternate world. But, as he sobered up from the serotonin rush, he quickly realized that he had overlooked something.
"...!!"
He returned the trays that were left on the table, grabbed his bag, and ran after Naoki.
Osaka Naoki was heavily amused at having gotten a free lunch from Kyouta. Licking his ice cream cone, which seemed tiny compared to his physique, he looked at his two friends, who were similarly wearing gleeful faces from having found such good fortune earlier. They looked at each other, knew that none of them had the words to describe what they had just experienced, yet understood completely what they were feeling at the moment, and nodded as their shit-eating grins grew even wider.
"We should do this again tomorrow," Naoki said, breaking the silence. His friends concurred.
They were passing by an empty plot of land when Kyouta's voice rang out in the air.
"Osaka-san!!"
Naoki turned behind him to see Manchiya Kyouta behind him, leaning forward with his hands on both knees and catching his breath.
"What is it, Manchiya?" Naoki sneered. "If you're asking about the wallet, no refunds for ya."
"No, not that," Kyouta continued to pant while he slowly straightened his back. "I have something more important than that to ask."
He held his head high and made a solemn face, his eyes almost burning in motivation, as he spoke.
"Do you know where I can find the demon king?"
A small breeze picked up, gently caressing the wild grass on the ground and providing a brief respite from the early afternoon heat. A stray cat nearby stretched and yawned before going back to sleep, completely disinterested in what the humans in front of it were doing.
"Huh?" Naoki finally managed to break the silence.
"You've managed to get your wallet back from the demon king, haven't you?" Kyouta continued. "I applaud your bravity in challenging the ultimate force of evil himself, and managing to retrieve what you have lost in the process. However, in regard for your safety I would suggest that you leave any further clashes with the demon king to me, the chosen hero who was brought into this world to save it."
"Not to brag, but in every single story where a hero was summoned from another world, they are the only ones that stand a chance of actually defeating the demon king, for if a native were to be able to do so, there would be no need for the Goddess to twist the threads of fate and lead the hero into the turbulent realm."
Kyouta continued rambling on for several minutes while Naoki and his two friends stood there, their patience wearing thin. Naoki looked at his two friends and they looked back at him, then the three of them nodded in unison and they approached Kyouta.
"And the key reason behind this performance gap between the hero and the commoner, is that the hero is granted a cheat power by the Goddess, in which my case it would be...Osaka-san? Why are you—"
Naoki and his two friends descended upon Kyouta, dragged him into the empty plot of land, and threw hands upon him.
Faced with a sudden barrage of fists and kicks, Kyouta was bewildered. What had just happened? Here he was, just preparing to ask Naoki for the whereabouts of the demon king, and in the next moment they've thrown him onto the ground and decided to play a game of soccer with him. "Wait—" he would shout, but he was immediately silenced with sneaker soles to the face. "Stop—" he tried to say, but a well placed jab to his belly knocked the air out of his lungs.
"Help—" Kyouta finally got a word in between the attacks. This caught the attention of the friendly neighborhood patrolling policeman, who despite the proliferation of signs throughout the city saying "This Area is Under Camera Surveillance", has not seen his workload diminish over the past decade.
"Hey, hey, hey. What do we have here?" The policeman, with a shiny badge that read "SATOU" pinned on his breast pocket, peeked into the empty plot of land to find our hero being the center of Naoki and his two friends' attention. Naoki and his two friends, noticing the presence of law enforcement, briefly stopped their activities, giving Kyouta a much needed respite.
"Nothing much, Officer," Naoki said nonchalantly. "Just jogging around this neighborhood."
"Yeah, we're just jogging!" One of his two friends chipped in. "Nothing illegal like assaulting a classmate or anything like that."
The policeman nodded as he scanned Naoki and his two friends from head to toe. "You guys do look like you're working up a sweat. It's nice to see today's youth taking good care of their health. Keep it up!"
What?! Kyouta wanted to protest, but as the policeman made a turn out of the empty plot of land Naoki and his two friends resumed their exercise regime.
Another flurry of kicks and stomps descended upon Kyouta, who was starting to become numb to the pain. The beatings continued until Naoki's morale improved, but given that Kyouta's prepared speech-essay whitted down his morale sizeably, the recovery too took a proportionate amount of time before Naoki was finally satisfied.
The sky was slowly turning a shade of orange when Naoki and his two friends finally called it a day and headed home. Kyouta, his face down in the ground, could feel a chilly breeze tickle the nape of his neck.
Finally having some time to himself, Kyouta began to think about what had just transpired. From the experiences he had accurred today so far, the most likely explanation for this sudden yet prolonged battle was, yes, that the demon king had somehow managed to possess poor Osaka Naoki and his two friends. There was no other reason why someone who had his wallet stolen and recovered would otherwise turn violent in such a short notice.
Kyouta cursed the demon king under his breath. How cowardly it is to manipulate your victims into fighting in your stead! A real champion should always meet the hero in honorable duel, instead of resorting to such unorthodox methods. To use the commoners, which he would be in no good conscience to fight back against, was the lowest of the low.
He steeled his heart once more, vowing to one day repay the demon king for today's treachery ten times over. He then passed out, face still in the ground.
The sky was now a brilliant shade of orange, with a band of mauve steadily growing over the horizon. The stray cat that was nearby woke up from its slumber, noticed Kyouta lying in the ground, and trotted over to his side. It climbed onto Kyouta's back, kneaded the surface a few times with its front paws, then settled down on top and closed its eyes.
Today was yet another peaceful day in the neighborhood.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The Manchiya family's wall clock made a deafening noise as Tokoya Nico sat frowning on a chair next to the sofa where an unconscious Kyouta rested. On the other side of the sofa sat Kyouta's mother, who was as equally distraught as Nico.
Tokoya Nico had ultimately decided against calling in sick and skipping class that morning. For one, she took her education quite seriously. For the other, she was in good spirits after realizing that Kyouta was interested in her enough to know her measurements. As a result, the rest of her day in school proceeded quite uneventfully.
On the way home after club activities, however, Nico was walking past a plot of empty land when she noticed Manchiya Kyouta prostrate and unconscious right in the middle of it.
She had a mind to not pay any attention to Kyouta, whose derriere was pointing towards the sky and had a ginger cat lazing on top of his back. She made a few steps continuing on her way, stopped, and retraced those steps. After a moment of sighing and shaking her head, she would set off again, only to halt after a few steps, and returning to where she stood.
This awkward solo dance continued for a few more stanzas before Tokoya Nico shouted "Geez!" and entered the empty plot to shoo the cat off.
Carrying Kyouta's entire weight on her shoulders, she painstakenly made her way to Kyouta's house. Along the way Kyouta slipped in and out of consciousness, and although Nico tried to ask him what had happened for him to be so physically abused, all she could get out of him were "demon king" and "possessing innocents" and other phrases that made no sense at all. Upon reaching Kyouta's house, she dreadfully explained what she saw to Kyouta's heartbroken mother. The two of them laid Kyouta onto the sofa, dragged a chair each to Kyouta's side, and sat down in silence.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Nico noticed a run on her tights that wasn't there in the morning. Must have snagged on something while carrying Kyouta, she thought, lamenting her misfortune. First it was this morning's big hoo-ha, now this. What did I do to deserve this? Once again, she let her mind run unfettered, thinking about the good old days where Kyouta wasn't a nerd that would get beaten up after school. She gave a small chuckle while lost in her memories, which quickly faded back into a frown as the harsh realities caught up to her.
She looked at Kyouta's mother, who was undergoing a similar cycle of grief. After watching a smile briefly appeared on Manchiya Hinako's face and gave way quickly to a contorted expression, Nico spoke up.
"Auntie, I believe the dreaded 'light novels' that Kyouta is so fond of might be the cause of this."
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Manchiya Hinako's eyes shimmered and grew larger as she heard for the first time someone voicing out what she had secretly thought all this while. Her husband, though equally disappointed with how Kyouta turned out, had never pursued the underlying cause of Kyouta's behavior, preferring to take to drink as the coping mechanism of choice. All this while, she had wallowed in self-doubt and inaction, until the advent of Nico's words brought the possibility of salvation.
"Yes!" She flew from her seat and grasped both of Nico's hands. "It's those wretched 'light novels', isn't it! That's what I thought too!" Seeing Nico nod decisively, she puckered up enough courage to act on what she had contemplated for months.
"Come with me," she said, leading Nico up the stairs towards Kyouta's room, the den of depravity and drawings of cartoon girls. Nico winced slightly as the door opened, the imagery hung on the wall overlapping with her traumatic memories of this space. However, like someone stepping out of a dark place into the light, she eventually got used to the sight of the gaudy paraphernalia and was able to step into the room itself.
"Tomorrow's the garbage collection day for paper products," Kyouta's mother said, picking up a paper bag lying around, one with a skimpily-clad cartoon catgirl printed on it. She then headed to the wall with all the tapestries and started taking them down. Nico, understanding Kyouta's mother's intent, stepped forward and helped with the removal.
After all the related merchandise were stuffed into the paper bag, the two of them approached Kyouta's bookshelf.
"This is it..." Nico gulped.
Kyouta's mother nodded. She took out the first paperback from the shelf and was about to throw it into the paper bag when she hesitated.
"Maybe," she said, taking a close look at the book, "maybe we shouldn't be too quick to judge. It could be a few bad apples that have led our Kyouta astray, and there might be a few series that deserve to be spared."
Huh? Tokoya Nico leered from behind Kyouta's mother. 'Decent' 'light novel' series? What a joke, all of them should be burned.
However, given that it was her potential future mother-in-law saying so, she quickly put on a smile instead and followed along. "Yes you're right, Auntie. It'd be such a waste if we throw the baby out with the bathwater." She then tilted her head. "How would you know what's a good series though? Have you read any of them?"
"No, not at all. But seeing how each series has the entire plot synopsis in their title, I believe we can extrapolate from there."
Thus, the two of them set about inheriting the age-old tradition of the book censor, the bastion of society against the unrelentless degeneracy of the writing class. They were to find out shortly that this job wasn't a walk in the park like they had previously envisioned.
"I Was Summoned As A Shield Hero But Everyone Hates Me Because Shields Are Supposedly Useless, So I'll Screw Them Over While Saving The World Out Of Spite," Nico read the title of the first book she picked up. "Sounds like a bad role model already."
"Certainly seems like it's teaching Kyouta to hate," Kyouta's mother said worryingly. "Let's dispose of it." Nico nodded, dropping it into the paper bag. "Next one," she said.
"I Was Resurrected Into Another World As An Androgynous Goop With Superpowers," Kyouta's mother read, raising an eyebrow.
Nico scowled. "That might be what's turning him effeminate. Out it goes." She dumped the remaining volumes on the shelf into the paper bag, and picked up the next series.
"A Useless Water Goddess Brought Me Into Another World And I Ended Up Making Friends And Hanging Out With Them," Nico read. She started pacing on the spot. "...This one seems okay enough," she eventually conceded unwillingly. Kyouta's mother took a look, agreed with the importance of making friends and hanging out with them, and put the volume back onto the shelf.
"After Being Summoned Into Another World, I Keep Dying To Ridiculous Circumstances But I Also Have The Power Of Continuing From A Saved Checkpoint, So I Have To Make It Through Somehow," Kyouta's mother strained her eyes, having minor difficulty with the small print required to fit the entire title on the cover with space to spare for a drawing of an adolescent elf. "Utter disregard for life," Nico added, "thinking you can just come back like a video game."
"This mindset is what caused our Kyouta to be heavily beaten up. No more," Kyouta's mother shook her head sadly as she dropped the paperbacks into the bag.
"In Another World With My Phone With Handy Applications For Any Situation, I Set Out To Get Popular With The Ladies." Nico dropped the book directly into the bag without a second word.
"Transported Into A Video Game With My Loving Doting Busty Evergreen Mother Who Is Also Overpowered, As I Sort Out My Teenage Angst And Learn To Appreciate Her," Kyouta's mother's cheeks turned a shade of pink.
"...I didn't know my Kyouta had such concerns, maybe we should keep it."
"No." Nico replied curtly, grabbing the book and tossing it into the bag.
As the sky grew dimmer and dimmer outside, Nico and Kyouta's mother continued work on reviewing and sorting Kyouta's bookshelf with increasingly loose criteria. "The girl on the cover isn't wearing anything." "Out." "I can't pronounce the author's penname." "Chuck it." "Do you want to stay for dinner?" "I'd love to!" "The title's just too small, I can't figure it out." "Don't bother."
Eventually, it became so dark that Kyouta's mother had to turn on the light.
"You know," Nico looked at the remaining volumes on the shelf, wiping imaginary sweat from her brows, "I'm beginning to think there's not much point in trying to vet the books." After toiling for what seemed like an hour, the two of them had only gone through a quarter of the shelf. Among those paperbacks with brightly illustrated covers that they had reviewed, all of them except 'A Useless Water Goddess Brought Me Into Another World And I Ended Up Making Friends And Hanging Out With Them' ended up in the (now several) paper bags. "At this rate, we'll never be able to finish."
"You might be right," Kyouta's mother said. "Sorry for taking up so much of your time."
"No, not at all! Don't worry about it."
The two of them smiled at each other, having found someone who finally understood their plight. They then swept all the wretched reading material into the bags. None was spared, not even 'A Useless Water Goddess Brought Me Into Another World And I Ended Up Making Friends And Hanging Out With Them'. Pragmatism takes precedence over friendships, it seemed. After finishing in minutes what would previously take them hours to do, Nico offered to tow the books to the garbage collection point while Kyouta's mother whipped up a quick meal in the kitchen.
Manchiya Saburou returned home from work to find his wife in good spirits, humming as she gently stirred the curry in the pot. His heart melted at the rare sight—how long has it been since his dear wife had worn such a beautiful smile! He dropped his briefcase and rushed up to embrace her in his arms. When asked about the reason behind her good mood, she recounted what she and Tokoya Nico had just done, with Nico nodding eagerly every other sentence.
He wept.
He wept, not just because the evil thorn in his family's side has been plucked out that night, but also because he was ashamed at his own cowardice and inaction. He could have led the way and tossed out those degenerate texts, but he didn't, he chose to escape with alcohol instead, and it had needlessly prolonged the suffering they had to bear. This time, it was his loving wife that held him in her bosom, whispering sweet consolation in his ears, telling him that he was not at fault for she had to build up this courage as well, and it was all thanks to Nico's presence that they were able to make the foray into changing their circumstances.
After the grand display of emotions, the three of them sat down at the dinner table and had some delicious curry. They dined and talked and were merry, and at one point Kyouta's mother joked about how nice it would be if Nico was their daughter instead, which made Nico blush and struggle to contain her excitement inside her.
After dinner, Nico offered to do the dishes. Standing her ground, Kyouta's mother finally relented and allowed her to do so. Nico did an impeccable job of cleaning up, bid Kyouta's parents good night, and departed. Kyouta's parents washed up, turned off the lights downstairs, and headed up to pat each other for the first time in the year.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Throughout all of this, Manchiya Kyouta remained unconscious on the sofa.