Volume 5, Chapter 17: The End of the Incident

The black-masked person took out an incomprehensibly huge sword from nowhere and came towards me.

How dexterous. …… I wonder if they hid that sword in their pants.

When I released the seal for the sake of letting Kyoji get onto the rooftop, it seems a suspicious person managed to enter in the small amount of time.

…… now that I mention it, they have a certain unique aura and “presence”.

“What are you doing here, Shijima Yuuki-kun?”

“…………”

When I called the name, both Yuuki-kun’s presence and the other person shook.

“……How did you know?”

“eh,…… aren’t we in the same class?”

“……is-is that so?”

A lie. As expected of someone who’s never talked to classmates, I only had a vague recollection of his face.

But now, with the awareness of a Demon, I could see that his soul wasn’t “ordinary”. I just didn’t know what it meant until just now.

When I returned to human form, he was still wary, but Yuuki-kun’s tension lessened considerably, and he jumped off the water tower, coming closer without pointing the sword at me.

“Yuuki-kun…… who exactly are you?”

“Answer my question first. Are you a “reincarnator”?”

Reincarnator……… Those who died but whose soul did not return to their [World], and those who were born again while leaving their bodies behind.

But his question didn’t mean that. He was asking if I remembered my previous life. In that sense, I am what Yuuki-kun calls a “reincarnator”.

“My memory is hazy. I have knowledge of things that “I” do not remember.”

“Really……… Reincarnation makes the memory vague. I’ll believe your words for now.”

For now…… huh. He won’t set aside his weapons even though he lowered them. Well, I, too, am wary of him, so it can’t be helped.

Besides…… this particular “presence”, is a little familiar.

This was a person with the [Power] to hurt “me”.

“In other words, you’re a reincarnator yourself……?”

“……Ah, that’s right. There are various circumstances. Are you…… a different world’s ‘magician’? Moreover, one that seems to have forsaken humanity……”

Yuuki-kun was watching everything happening up until now. I didn’t know where he was watching it from, but it seems that he saw it all and thought I was some sort of mad mage.

“……And so? Would you have let such a dangerous knave go?”

“……Oi, don’t release your [Magic Power] so easily. There is only a little magic in this world. I don’t know where you are from, but understand that this world is ‘distorted.’”

“………Fuuuhn.”

I see, so the power inside of me was [Magic Power].

“Hey, about this world being distorted…”

“I’ll explain more later. There are plenty of things I want to know too, but if you don’t leave quickly, there’ll be trouble later.”

“Oh well…… Let’s talk in school next time. After that……”

As he trailed off, Yuuki-kun stilled his feet, and cast his eyes towards me again.

“Yuuki-kun. I have a name, it’s “Yuzu,” use it.”

“……Understood.”

And with that short line, Shijima Yuuki-kun leapt off the rooftop and faded into the dark of the night.

Will we be making a mutually profitable relationship? Well, as long as it benefits each other, we can depend on each other even though we don’t trust each other.

I told the dead zombies to carry grandpa Kuon to the entrance, and then when they were done, I told them to all die, and jumped off the roof, away from this terrible scene. …… I wonder if this event will be wrapped in mystery.

“Yuzu………!”

Moving a few kilometers from the school compound, I heard a voice calling my name.

“Ah…… Onzada-kun?”

When I turned around, I saw Onzada-kun running towards me with an exhausted gait.

I turned towards him, and Onzada-kun, who ran up with his hands on his knees, completely out of breath, had a look of sullen relief on his face.

“Onzada-kun…… Why are you here?”

“……Well, didn’t Yuzu sent a strange e-mail without anything written?!”

“Eh…… Aah~”

At that time, when I was just feeling for my phone, did I send off an e-mail to Onzada-kun?

……Oh? But then how did Onzada-kun figure out where I was?

“Really, Yuzu, you’re really on your own pace…… I was worried.”

When Onzada-kun’s eyes turned gentle, and patted my head, I leaned hard against his chest.

“Ow.”

…… Something like this, I somehow feel like this has happened before. …… But.

“Onzada-kun, you stink!”

“How mean! I ran dozens of kilometers here, but I worried so much after getting that strange e-mail that I endured it.”

Onzada-kun laughed mischievously, and then rubbed his sweaty chest into my face. I’ll remember this later.

“Yuzu, did your phone run out of power? I couldn’t call you.”

said Onzada-kun, finally releasing me after a while.

“Ah, now that I think about it, it got taken by my kidnappers.”

“Haa? Are you serious about the kidnapping!?”

“Un, yeah. Well, it’s okay anyway, since I got away. Isn’t the conclusion alright?”

“Yuzu sure is relaxed about this…… I’ll lend you my phone later, so please contact your house. Your parents are going to be incredibly worried.”

“……uuu.”

As I ducked away thinking of my family’s faces, Onzada-kun patted my head with a *ponpon*.

“From now on, if you are in danger, call me right away, okay? I’m going to get stronger from now on…… to protect Yuzu.”

“……uun.”

Something was set alight inside of me as I heard Onzada-kun’s words……… I watched as a thin, translucent chain stretched out of my hand, and connected to the heart of Onzada-kun.

…… What’s this.

＊＊＊

When I returned home, I was scolded while crying tears of worry.

As they told me later that it seems that my situation was just one step away from them contacting the police and turning this accident into an incident.

For some reason Ouji-kun’s Niku family was contacted, and they were pressured to pressure the central government to move. …… why did the Niku family help?

Also, the Kuon family didn’t appear at all through this incident. On the contrary, they even concluded that there had been no mass murder at all inside of that abandoned school.

…… did the “country” change things behind the scenes?

After that, I was grounded at home for more than a month. Although I wasn’t grounded from school, I mostly I went to the hospital for physical examinations and the psychiatric department. It was natural because a child had been kidnapped, but of course I felt nothing.

Doing all that took about a month?

And as the month passed like that, several more months passed while I got frustrated organizing my memories until, one day,

“Yuzu, I’d like to have a word with you, so come to Father’s study, okay?”

“……hmm? Yes~.”

I replied at once, and then followed Mother to Father’s study.

What did they want to talk about? Was it about the kidnapping? But since Grandpa Kuon was admitted into the hospital and was insensate, I didn’t think they’d make any progress.

…… Was my identity revealed? Nah, I don’t think that was it.

“Father, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Ohh, you’re here. Yuzu, come sit.”

My father was in the office, and my mother sat down with me on the sofa.

“A formal apology has come from the new head of the Kuon family. Yuzu doesn’t need to know the details of it. I don’t want you to tell Kouki-kun about this, so I’d like you to not worry about the subject. Is that alright?”

“Mmm.”

I have no issues since I don’t want to cause Kouki-kun to be awkward around me.

“And…… regarding that ramen shop in the shopping district……”

“………eh?”

“Wait, wait, it’s not a bad thing. The two of them have been officially adopted by the shopkeeper, Mr. Iino, and they will take over his shop. After he hands over the shop, he intends to retire to the countryside.”

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

Will dad-chan become the new shopkeeper? It’s good that Misa and dad-chan will be happy, but will the shop be alright?

“Ah~…… We were also a little immature. It was good that you children were kind enough to be worried about them, but it ended up that you were kidnapped because the adults were hesitant. So, we are providing them the new line of noodles from the Toukaki company, and we decided to give them a leg up with their new business with the new bamboo shoots products along with Nikuno Ham.”

“Ooohh~……”

So there was such a thing. I knew that new products were being developed at Nikuno Ham, but would they normally be “sold” to new stores?

Well, that certainly was a good piece of news.

“That’s all. ……Ah~, that’s right, Yuzu. Onzada-kun, who came to try to protect you is quite the decent young man. Are the two of you getting along well?”

“Eh? Yes, we talk often at school?”

“Muu, is that so? Well…… Although this isn’t decided yet, I should respect Yuzu’s opinion for once……”

“……Father?”

Why would you say something like that? When I turned my gaze at my mother while thinking so, she breathed a sigh at my dad and told me.

“From the head of the Niku family has come to talk about wanting an ‘engagement’ of Yuzu with Ouji-kun, so what do you think……?”

Author’s Notes:

And thus concludes this volume. Thank you for reading.

I am relieved that it managed to develop like I expected.

Next time, we introduce the character for the next volume.