Now, I had regained the full strength I had possessed at the peak of my previous life. And along with it, the emotions from back then came flooding back.
—The sorrow of being rejected by my master.
—Jealousy toward all the couples in the world.
—Hatred toward handsome men.
Down with the lovey-dovey masses. There is no mercy!
Hmm? Wait.
If that was the case, shouldn’t I start by killing myself?
After all—
1. My stepsister has feelings for me.
2. A girl with a chuunibyou streak and the kind of figure you’d expect from an eroge heroine calls me “Master”.
3. I have 【Charmed】 a witch who’s two thousand… no, only a few hundred years old.
4. I’m good friends—and murder buddies—with a beautiful shrine maiden swordswoman. (I’ll ignore the fact that my sense of ethics has completely collapsed.)
And that’s not even getting into Mizuka-san (cat ears) and Manya (succubus), both of whom I’m deeply involved with.
Hmm. By any reasonable definition, I’m a member of the lovey-dovey masses.
And then there’s Herbert.
Just look at the poor guy. Not only was he rejected by Phyllis, he got psychologically beaten to a pulp and eventually stopped being human altogether.
All right!
I’m on Herbert’s side.
I’m going to beat the ever-loving crap out of myself.
…
Eh? Wait a minute.
Calm down.
My thoughts were obviously heading in a very strange direction just now.
I’m supposed to rescue Mia and Phyllis from Herbert. So why the hell am I siding with Herbert?!
This is bad. If I stay transformed for too long, I’ll become consumed by hatred for the lovey-dovey masses and end up cutting my own head off. What kind of drawback is this?
I know that overwhelming power is supposed to come with a price and limitations. It’s the classic trope. But couldn’t they have given me something a little cooler? At this rate…. even if I keep resisting while using mana, I’d probably have an activity limit of around three minutes. Like some kind of Ultra hero.
Come to think of it, wasn’t the whole “Ultraman can only fight on Earth for three minutes” thing actually not part of the original series?
As far as I remember, all the original series established was that the Color Timer would start flashing when his energy was running low. The actual three-minute time limit came later, starting with the series after next—the one where the protagonist’s girlfriend gets run over and killed by a car.
Uh-, sorry for the completely useless trivia.
“What the hell are youuuuuuuuu?!”
The Creepy Vine Man—or rather, Herbert—screamed.
Countless vines whipped through the air, rushing toward me in an attempt to capture me.
“《Time Spell》—《You, Anti, Shall Not Defy Time: Reverse Clock》—《Enchant: And》—”
But it was pointless.
“—《Light Spirit Spell》—《My Precious Halo Shall Split the Darkness Into Eight: Ultra-Man-Like Technique》!”
What I unleashed was a ring-shaped blade of light—a chakram. A staple weapon for any proper chuunibyou, right alongside the segmented sword. The rapidly spinning blades of light tore through the vines one after another.
At the same time—
“《Flame Spell》—《My Blade Is the Phoenix’s Purifying and Scorching Vanguard: Blade》!”
I drew my sword.
The same crude, broad-bladed sword I had used back then. Flames engulfed the blade.
You see techniques like this all the time. Like Shishio-sama. Or Sh—well, never mind.
I charged forward and cut once. In a single stroke, I freed Mia and Phyllis from the vines.
They’d both been left dangling in midair, so I caught them securely as they fell.
“…Oniisan…?”
Mia seemed bewildered.
Probably because my appearance had changed so drastically.
“It looks like you managed to draw out the conceptual information that had been stored inside you.”
Phyllis, on the other hand, seemed to have reached her own conclusion. Incidentally, her white dress had been thoroughly disheveled from being wrapped up in the vines. Her right shoulder was exposed, and the upper half of her chest was almost shamelessly on display.
“…Want to touch?”
Phyllis gave me a seductive little smile.
“If you let me examine what’s underneath that armor, I might allow you a little.”
It was an incredibly tempting offer.
But now was hardly the time.
“Why are you hurting meeeeeee?! Why?!”
Herbert shrieked hysterically. Several vines twisted together, forming a gigantic arm.
It swung at me. I couldn’t dodge. Mia and Phyllis were right behind me after all.
I lowered my stance and took the blow head-on. The fist was enormous—large enough that it looked like it could crush someone my size without any trouble.
But—
“UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!”
The one who screamed was Herbert.
His fist collapsed in on itself.
The reason was this spell:
—《Reflection Spell》—《I Am Protected by the Black Elephant’s Blessing: Hit Me and You’ll Die, Got It?》
In other words, physical reflection. Its effective duration was exactly one second.
I took no damage whatsoever. The impact was simply reflected straight back at Herbert.
“IT HURTS! IT HURTS, IT HURTS SOOOOO MUUUUCH!”
Herbert writhed in agony.
The halo-like chakram I had unleashed earlier struck him again, adding to his torment. It had already shredded his limbs, robbing him of any means of escape.
That said, once someone has been offered up to an evil god or its minions, they are beyond saving. Restoring them to their former self is impossible, even with “Temporal Magic.”
Well…I had already wrestled with that particular dilemma in my past life.
“Gravity Magic—”
Just as I was about to deliver the finishing blow…
“…Yoshito, let me do it.”
Phyllis spoke up.
“I don’t know the full details, but Herbert is in a situation where he has to die, isn’t he?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then I’ll do it. Let me. …Otherwise, I think I’d regret it.”
Perhaps this was her way of taking responsibility for her apprentice. Herbert’s “Temporal Magic” had already been neutralized. Phyllis’s magic would be more than enough to end his life.
“Goodbye, Herbert. You were a bit lackluster as a man, and as an apprentice… well… actually, you were lackluster there, too.”
Come on. At least lie to the guy and tell him, “You were a fine disciple.”
“Defying one’s master is punishable by death. That is the law of our world. But if you want to resent me, then go ahead. —《Tenfold, Twentyfold: Funeral Flame Dragon Cremation》.”
A dragon of flame roared as it mercilessly burned Herbert’s body to nothing. The vines went up in flames and crumbled away.
And as they burned, Herbert left behind one final statement:
“If only I’d known this would happen… I should’ve taken advantage of that girl I kidnapped while I had the chance…!”
What a terrible final testament.
A mama’s boy and a lolicon?
What is he, some three-times-faster red guy?
＊ ＊ ＊
Herbert—deemed lackluster both as a man and as a disciple—vanished, leaving behind a lingering, uneasy feeling in our hearts.
＊ ＊ ＊
I dispelled my transformation into the Black Knight. I was reaching the limit of my ability to suppress the urge to kill myself.
The armor faded away in an instant, and I returned to the body of an ordinary four-year-old.
“…?!”
The moment it happened, the mana that had been nearly full was completely drained. It happened in the blink of an eye.
Was it some kind of backlash from the transformation?
My consciousness began to fade. There was no way I could stay standing.
“O-Oniisan?! Hang in there! Stay with me!”
Just before I hit the ground, Mia caught me in her arms.
And that was where my memory cut out.
—
When I next came to, I was lying in my bed at home. The ceiling seemed awfully close.
“Is this… home…?”
I rubbed my eyes and looked around. The red glow of the setting sun streamed through the window.
It must have been evening.
“Ah… Good morning, Oniisan…”
Something warm stirred beside me.
“Mmm…”
She rubbed her face against my side. She’s probably still half-asleep.
What had happened after that? How had I ended up back home?
About thirty minutes later, Mia finally woke up properly, so I asked her what had happened.
“Phyllis-san took care of everything afterward. We should go thank her later.”
Apparently, Phyllis had not only carried the two of us all the way home, but had also explained the situation to the exorcists who had been at the scene and reported everything to the Department of Divinities’ Affairs—the people who had apparently been too busy squabbling internally at the Imperial Household Agency to do anything themselves.
As for the finer details, she had apparently crushed any further questioning with the connections she’d built up over the years.
Was Phyllis, perhaps, a much more formidable person than I’d realized?
I was grateful for everything she’d done. At the same time, I had to admit that Kijima had some serious nerve to pick a fight with someone like her.
Incidentally, Kijima had been handed over to the Department of Divinities’ Affairs. They were apparently still deciding what to do with him.
“Also, about you bringing those exorcists back to life with the 《Time Spell》…”
Thinking back on it now, I suppose I may have acted a little recklessly. It’s not exactly a particularly convenient spell, either. At most, it can rewind things by about an hour, and if the soul itself has already fallen apart, there’s nothing I can do to save them.
Physical death and the death of the soul.
Those two things really ought to be considered separately.
“Apparently, Phyllis-san used hypnosis on them to cover things up. But she said we should be careful, since there might still be people who remember what happened.”
“Got it. Thanks for telling me everything.”
I thanked her and gently patted her on the head.
“~♪”
Mia happily clung to my right arm.
“Hey, hey, Oniisan.”
“What is it?”
“I gave you some of my mana back in the cave, so I was thinking… maybe you could give me a little something in return?”
“I’m still in kindergarten. I barely get any allowance.”
“Not a present or anything. Just, uhm…”
“Just?”
“I want you to hug me. A nice, big hug. Like a squeeze.”
“…Like this?”
It wasn’t like before, with the futon between us. I am holding Mia’s small body directly in my arms. Mia, too, wrapped her arms around my waist. Perhaps she was being unusually clingy because we had just barely survived a brush with death.
We were there together in the same futon. It felt as though our body heat was melting together and mingling.
I found myself thinking that if Shuji-san or Yuko-san saw us like this, they’d surely get the wrong idea…
Tac. Tac. Tac. Footsteps were approaching.
Could they be coming to check on us?
Then again, neither of my parents knew where we’d been or what we’d been doing last night.
I wondered how that had been explained to them. Mia said nothing, nor did she make any move to let go of me.
Tac. Tac. Tac.
The footsteps drew closer. I could feel my heart beginning to race.
—Creak… click.
Thank goodness.
I didn’t know whether it was Shuji-san or Yuko-san, but apparently one of them had gone into their own room. As I was breathing a sigh of relief,
“Oniisan.”
Mia whispered, her cheeks flushed crimson.
“……That was kind of fun, wasn’t it?”
She had a mischievous, devilish little smile on her face.
I had the distinct feeling that we’d just opened a door that probably should have stayed closed.
—
Incidentally.
Apparently, Mia had explained to our parents, “Brother and I are both feeling kind of sluggish. Maybe we have the flu.”
It was February, so it wasn’t exactly an implausible excuse. Thanks to that, nobody found it particularly suspicious that we’d spent the entire day sleeping.
That night.
We slipped through the gate beneath the bed and headed over to Phyllis’s apartment.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t there. Maybe she was busy dealing with the aftermath.
The following afternoon, Mia and I were watching a movie in the living room. Shuji-san is watching with us. The final part of the live-action Rurouni Kenshin series, The Legend Ends.
Oh. Shishio was pretty impressive in the original manga, but this version really nailed that final-boss vibe, too.
“I kinda want my own group like the Ten Swords…”
Mia said that as the end credits rolled.
Just to clarify, the Ten Swords are basically the same sort of thing as the “Four Heavenly Kings”, the “Seven Heroes”” or the “Eight Princes”.
Okay, maybe not the Eight Princes.
Either way, the fact that her attention immediately went there was probably proof that she really was the successor to the Demon King.
――――This movie would later become one of the indirect causes that led us to create something resembling a secret society.
After the movie ended, we decided to head to GE○ with Shuji-san.
What should we watch next? The anime version of Rurouni Kenshin had that Reminiscence OVA that everyone seemed to rave about. I’d avoided it because the artwork was different from the TV series, but since we were here, maybe I should give it a try.
Except someone had already rented it.
What a shame.
As I stood there looking disappointed, Mia came over and said,
“Hey, hey, this looks kind of like the technique Brother used yesterday, doesn’t it?”
She held up the DVD case. A girl with flame-colored hair and burning red eyes stood there, wielding a sword engulfed in flames.
The melon-pan-obsessed girl with the famous “Annoying, annoying, annoying!” routine, voiced by Kugyu.
……Whoa. Stop.
If I keep going, people are going to figure out what kind of person I was back when I lived in Japan in my previous life.
I’m just an ordinary guy who knows a little about Gunda○ and ○ltraman, okay?
That was the sort of monologue running through my head when, before I knew it, Shuji-san had already paid for everything.
Oh no. He’d actually rented Sha○a.
Well, at least it wasn’t some moe-moe harem anime.
Still, I was mortified. Was I seriously supposed to watch this in front of my parents? More importantly, I have certain dark chapters of my past that I would very much like to forget.
Stuff from that other world.
Like the time I used 《Time Spell》 to regenerate myself and actually chanted:
《I am lost between midnight, today, and tomorrow, wandering eternally in the space between, unable to reach anywhere――where am I?》
Ugh. Overly bold self-interpretation is the privilege of youth.
I want to die. My spirit thoroughly battered, I returned home.
Honestly, this was harder to endure than my battle with Herbert.
We left the New Matsuki Station-front store and walked back through the residential neighborhood. We were just about to reach home when I spotted a black limousine.
Huh. It was exactly the sort of car you’d expect some filthy rich family to own. Could there really be some high-born young lady living around here?
Wait. Hey.
Isn’t that parked in front of the Kirasawa family’s house?
Wondering what the hell was going on, I approached the car together with Shuji-san and Mia. Standing beside it was an elderly butler in a black suit and white gloves. The moment he spotted us, he gave us a polite bow. Then he introduced himself as the butler of the Matsuki family.
“Please forgive us for the sudden visit. Our young lady, Ayano, has expressed a strong desire to meet you. If it would not be too much trouble, would you be willing to come with us?”
By the way, the full name of the kindergarten I attended was Oomichi Kindergarten, affiliated with the Private Matsuki Academy. And the school where Shuji-san works is the Private Matsuki Academy High School. And, as it happened, the Matsuki family was one of the most prominent families throughout Matsuki City.
So, yeah. There was no way we could refuse.
“P-Please wait just a moment…”
It had been a long time since I’d seen Shuji-san, who was usually so composed, actually panic like this.
Mia and I were both made to change into blouses, while Shuji-san and Yuko-san changed into their finest going-out clothes. Then the entire family climbed into the limousine.
“Y-Yoshito.”
Maybe he was nervous, because Shuji-san’s voice was trembling—something I almost never heard from him.
“Are you…close with the young lady of the Matsuki family?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t really told my parents much about what went on at kindergarten. I suppose this was the consequence of the lack of parent-child communication in modern society.
“Y-Yeah.”
As for me, I was actually stiff with nerves myself. And it wasn’t because I’d been invited to the home of some rich family or anything like that.
I had remembered. The voice that had echoed inside my head, shortly before and after I transformed into the Black Knight yesterday.
――I wish you’d stop calling me “Foie gras”.
――Sacrificing me to summon me… I really don’t get it.
――The person they’re trying to summon is standing right in front of them, and nobody’s noticed. Kind of funny, isn’t it?
That was Ayano Matsuki.
What the hell was this? Was I about to face the true final boss?
Then again, she had sounded pretty friendly, so maybe everything would be fine.
Or maybe it wouldn’t. Alright that’s it. There was no point overthinking it.
I’d just handle things like I always did. Leave it all to fate.
Good luck, future me.
……She isn’t going to come back from the future and get revenge on me someday, is she?
The Matsuki family mansion stood in the hills north of Matsuki City.
Why did rich people always seem to want to live up high?
Maybe it was for protection against floods and tsunamis.
The limousine passed through the grand double gates and entered the estate.
We drove past a landscaped garden complete with a fountain, eventually arriving at an entrance that looked more like the lobby of a luxury hotel. This was where Mia and I parted ways with our parents.
We were escorted to Ms. Matsuki’s room.
“Oniisan…”
Mia looked a little uneasy.
I had already told her through telepathy that “Ayano Matsuki = that Evil God.”
That was probably why she’s a bit tense.
“It’s okay. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
I took her hand.
That seemed to reassure Mia a little.
“Aww, how nice…”
The maid who had been escorting us muttered wistfully.
“I’m already twenty-eight, and I’m still single… sniffle, sniffle, wuu――――”
Being told something like that by a four-year-old was, well… awkward. At the very least, there was one thing I could say. “Sniffle, sniffle” is a bit much for someone almost 30.
The route through the mansion was surprisingly complicated. I wasn’t sure we’d ever find our way back to the entrance. The hallways were decorated with all sorts of avant-garde paintings I didn’t understand, along with vases that looked like they cost a fortune.
As expected of the rich.
The Kirasawa family seemed to be doing fairly well thanks to the influence of my 【Good Fortune】, but they were still nowhere near the Matsuki family.
As I wondered idly whether I’d ever get to live somewhere like this, we finally arrived at Matsuki-san’s room.
And so, we found ourselves face-to-face with Ayano Matsuki—the Evil God I had supposedly erased from existence completely in my previous life.
She bowed deeply and said,
“Long time no see, Mia-chan. Or should I say, Mia Gransfield? From the looks of it, I guess you’ve been told who I really am.
If that’s the case, then this should be easy. Mia-chan, don’t you want to avenge yourself?
I’m incredibly weakened in my current state. With Yoshito-kun’s power, you could probably destroy me without much trouble.
This isn’t a trap or some kind of scheme. I’m telling you the truth. Even though it was something my followers did, I still ruined your life.
So it’s only natural that you’d hate me, and I think it’s only right that I pay the price. I won’t complain.
Mia-chan, what are you going to do?”
Matsuki-san asked in a tone that almost sounded like she was provoking her. There was something about the way she said it that made her seem almost eager to be punished.
As for Mia…
She closed her eyes and thought for a while.
Then, softly, she said,
“Before we talk about whether to kill you or not, there’s something you need to do first, isn’t there, Matsuki-san?”
“Are you talking about compensation? Money or something?”
“No. That’s not it.”
Mia shook her head.
“Ayano-chan, you go to kindergarten too, so your teacher must have taught you this. [When you do something bad, you say, I’m sorry.]”
When she put it that way, she was absolutely right. It was common sense.
But somehow, watching from the sidelines, I’d completely forgotten about it.
Maybe I’d been too fixated on the fact that Ayano Matsuki was the reincarnation of an Evil God.
Apparently, Matsuki-san had made the same mistake.
“Um, well…”
Looking somewhat bewildered, she said,
“……I’m sorry for using you as my vessel.”
“You mustn’t do anything that troublesome again, okay, Ayano-chan?”
Mia gently scolded her.
“Then that settles it. We’re friends again. Okay?”
She held out her right hand.
……Could it be that Mia was actually kind of a big deal?
“Is that really okay?”
Matsuki-san was suddenly much more hesitant than before.
“Because what happened was something your followers did on their own, right?”
“That’s true, but I’m an Evil God, and――”
“Are you planning to do something bad?”
“Well, not particularly…”
“Then let’s be friends.”
Mia reached out and took Matsuki-san’s hand herself.
“I don’t really understand all the circumstances, but you were reincarnated as a human, right?”
“I suppose that’s technically what happened.”
“Then I think it’s fine. More importantly, be my friend. I don’t have anyone at kindergarten I can really talk to, and honestly, it’s not that much fun.”
“Ah, right. You’re always all by yourself, Mia-chan. Where do you even eat lunch? In the bathroom?”
“……Okay, you really do need to be erased!”
Mia pounced on her playfully.
“Eeeek! Soooomeone save meee!”
Matsuki-san seemed to be having fun, too.
Considering that one of them had been the other’s vessel in their previous lives, maybe they were actually a pretty good match personality-wise.
――After that, Matsuki-san told us the whole story of what had happened this time.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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