“Awesome, you made Hamburg steak today. No wonder the house smelled so good.”
Hajime’s father, Nagumo Shuu, popped in with his two cents. He was a slender man with short, cropped hair. Like his son, he too had bags under his eyes.
The pair finished setting the table and eagerly dug into the meal Sumire had prepared for them. They stuffed their mouths with Hamburg steak and white rice as if they were starving men. Sumire giggled as she watched them eat and muttered words of disagreement.
“No, I think feeding time suits you two just perfectly. Well, did you two manage to meet your deadline with that debugging?”
“Mmmgh... Mmnch... Yeah, somehow. That game’s really cool.”
“Gulp... It better be. The future of my company’s riding on that game. Do you have any idea how much we poured into development? I’d be out of a job if the game wasn’t cool. Though I guess if I lost my job I could spend all my time playing games trying to figure out where I went wrong.”
“Dad, they call those people NEETs.”
“Not a NEET, son, a shut-in. Shut-ins that can make a living for themselves are what we call winners in life,” Shuu riposted brilliantly. Such was his philosophy. The mother was no better in that regard, however.
“Indeed,” she replied. This was the result of having a father who ran a game company and a mother who was a shoujo mangaka. Their mindsets weren’t exactly normal.
In fact, when they had learned that Hajime was being bullied at school, their advice, if it could be called that, had just been along the same lines.
“Do what you want. If you want to transfer, transfer. If you want to fight back, fight back. If you want to become a shut-in, become a shut-in. Hell, get yourself expelled for all I care, I’ll hire you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a high-school dropout or have 10 PhDs, the ones making money in the end are the winners.”
Hajime was of a more practical bent, though.
“It’s important to have backup plans to secure financial stability, so school’s super important.” Only in this household would you find a child telling their parents the importance of staying in school.
But, well, I’m glad Mom and Dad are like that, because it would have been awkward if they made a huge deal out of the whole thing.
Meanwhile, his parents were having a truly absurd conversation.
“I’m starting to think our son’s got some lolicon tendencies in him.”
“He certainly does like loli characters.” He quickly brought his thoughts back to the present and gave his parents a simmering glare.
“Hey, hey, no need to glare at us like that. You’re the one who added a blonde loli mage to the game, not me,” said Shuu.
“So, that doesn’t make me a lolicon. You’re a grown man, you should be able to tell the difference between games and reality,” Hajime replied.
“True, you’re into animal ears too. Especially rabbit ears. I’m glad my son grew up to be a patrician of such fine taste,” Sumire also chimed in.
Hajime sulkily returned to his dinner while his parents grinned at him. They ganged up on their only son like that pretty often.
“I guarantee you you’d party up with a loli if you ever got summoned to another world. Just remember, attacking underage girls is still a crime. I’m sure even other worlds have laws against sex with children. They’ve been cracking down on it in games here recently, even.”
“Don’t just go around making your own assumptions. And can you please stop calling me a lolicon?”
Fed up with his parents’ teasing, Hajime got a little testy. Realizing he went a little too far with his teasing, his father apologized while laughing.
“But you’re a healthy young boy, so I’m sure you’re interested in all those fantasy worlds with swords and magic. Isn’t going on adventures with a cute heroine, falling in love, and finally defeating the gods or the demon lord or whatever something you dream of?”
“That does sound like the kind of thing a lot of guys would like. And those reincarnated into another world or summoned to another world light novels are getting pretty popular recently. I wouldn’t want our son to get summoned, though. What would we do if he couldn’t ever come back?”
Sumire sank deep into thought, taking the idea of Hajime being summoned rather seriously. Both of them had an overactive imagination, which Hajime supposed were just occupational hazards. He smiled awkwardly while watching them seriously worry over his potential disappearance into another world.
“I don’t think I have what it takes to save the world anyway.”
Shuu wasn’t happy with his son’s self-deprecating attitude.
“You could at least pretend to be the strongest in your head, you know?”
Hajime’s smile grew even more troubled, but he responded with confidence.
“I’m sure all I’d be capable of is making it back home. And if I found someone important to me, I’d probably just bring them back too. I might not be able to save the world, but I’d definitely come back.”
“......” His parents suddenly brought their heads together. He shrugged his shoulders to hide his embarrassment before continuing.
“Besides, I only like other worlds when they stay inside books and games.” For once, his parents didn’t bully him, and simply smiled kindly.
“That’s right. Staying safe is more important than saving the world. But if you were strong enough to save it on your way back, you might as well, right? Hmm, maybe I should make a game that has a protagonist like that...”
“Oh, that does sound like a good idea. There’s a kind of surreal aspect to it when the protagonist’s only interested in going home but he beats the demon lord and the gods and all that along the way.”
Their creative urges got the better of them, and their conversation turned toward how they could use this idea in their works. While he might sometimes lament that his parents only ever thought about their hobby-jobs, he too was their son, and started contributing ideas of his own to their discussion. That was just another day at the Nagumo household.
With a faint groan, Shuu opened his eyes and looked up at the moonlight streaming through the window.
“...What’s wrong, Dear?”
“Sumire... I had a dream about Hajime. It was about when we were talking about other worlds a few days before he disappeared.”
Sumire propped herself up on the bed and reassured her depressed husband.
“He’ll come back home... I’m sure of it. No matter where he went, even if it is another world, I’m sure he’ll find a way home.”
“Sumire...”
“Trust me. He normally just tries to get by without rocking the boat, but if there’s something he really believes in, then he’ll chase after it with all his might. That’s why I know he’ll be fine.”
“...You’re right. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
The two of them huddled closer together, thinking about their son who’d vanished along with an entire class full of students.
Around the same time, Hajime groggily opened his eyes deep within the abyss. He stared off into the distance, his features illuminated by the light of the fake moon. Yue sidled closer to him, her gaze questioning.
“I was having a dream about Mom and Dad. I can’t believe all those ridiculous things we joked about really came true...”
“...Hajime, it’ll be okay. As long as we’re together, we can do anything. We’ll return to your world for sure.” Yue smiled reassuringly at Hajime, her voice full of conviction. He patted her head lovingly, then nodded back.
“Yeah, you’re right. We’re going to make it back for sure.”
For just a moment, an image of his parents hugging each other flashed through Hajime’s mind. They were hugging each other sadly, both of them thinner than he remembered. For some reason, they both looked up when he mentioned his resolve, as if they’d heard him.
The image of his parents smiled a little, and it seemed like they’d gone back a little to their old s
elves... Or so he thought, anyway.
HALLOWEEN?
“Umm, uhh... how do I look, Nagumo-kun?” The classroom was quite noisy, even though classes had ended for the day. In one corner of the room, Hajime stiffened up. As if a cute ghost had just cast a curse on him.
“Y-ou l-look really cute. That’s a nekomata costume, right, Shirasaki-san? That cat apparition thing?” Hajime somehow managed to regain enough of his composure to answer Kaori’s question.
Her nekomata costume consisted of a yukata and a pair of cat ears and a cat tail. She blushed happily at Hajime’s words, making her already adorable countenance reach levels of cuteness that should be classified as a weapon of mass destruction. Half the boys in the class were already bleeding fountains from their noses, while the girls looked on coldly.
Kaori wasn’t wearing this because it was a hobby of hers or anything, but because today was Halloween. After many meetings, in which the guys kept on pushing their agenda so that they could see Shizuku and Kaori in cute costumes, the student council had decided to hold a Halloween tea event. A short ways away, Shizuku was putting the finishing touches on her Dracula costume. Many of the girls came up to admire her, and Shizuku was laughing happily with them about their costumes.
As Kaori had made a beeline for Hajime the moment she’d finished changing, many of the other guys in the class were glaring angrily at him. Their monster outfits and monstrous gazes made Hajime wonder if he would be stuck in an actual Halloween nightmare tonight.
“Oh yeah, Nagumo-kun. Shizuku-chan and I were thinking of doing an after-party at her place once this is over, would you like to come, too?” The guys’ gazes grew even more hateful. The stares said it all. “Only Shizuku, Kaori, Ryutarou, and Kouki are going to be at that after-party. How come you get to go even though you’re not her childhood friend like they are? You better not say yes.”
It looked like tonight’s Halloween party wouldn’t end peacefully. And it was all the cat-eared Kaori’s fault.
“Oh, sorry, but I’ve got something I need to do after this.”
“I see. That’s a shame, but I guess there’s nothing to be done if you’re busy. So, can we at least hang out during the party, then? Halloween only comes once a year after all.” The way she’d phrased that so casually while putting her hands together like she was pleading belied how crafty Kaori actually was. Had Hajime not felt the immediate threat to his life surrounding him from all sides he would have agreed instantly.
“S-Sorry. I-I already made plans...” Hajime slowly backed away, making sure his retreat path was clear, while refusing as politely as he could. Kaori furrowed her brows, unaware of the army of monsters closing in on Hajime.
“You already have plans? Hey, Nagumo-kun, would those plans happen to be with a girl? Well?”
“Huh? No, of course not. Ahaha...” Hajime felt chills run down his spine and quickly denied the accusation. Kaori let out a sigh of relief, but then slumped her shoulders the next second. She was still disappointed that he wasn’t going with her. One of the nearby guys dressed like a wolf let out a truly wolfish growl. At this point he may have already transformed into a monster on the inside too.
Kaori bounced back pretty quickly. After all, it wasn’t like her to stay down. Suddenly, her eyes glowed and she took out her smartphone.
“Then we can at least take a picture, right? You know, to commemorate the occasion.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” In reality it wasn’t fine at all, but he couldn’t refuse her any further. Kaori smiled happily.
“Alright then, say ‘cheese’!” She grabbed Hajime’s arm and squeezed in next to him. Hajime understood it was necessary for taking the picture, but... he was treading on thin ice as it was, and she’d just dumped a space heater on it.
“Shirasaki-san, I’m sorry, but can we do the picture later!?”
“Huh? What? Nagumo-kun! Where are you going!?”
Hajime ran out of the room like his life depended on it, which it quite well might have, as the horde of monsters chased after him the instant he left the classroom.
“I can’t take it anymore, who does that fucker think he is!?”
“Grrrrrr!”
“Nagumoooo! Say your prayers!”
“Awoooooo!”
The boys chasing him all yelled out various battle cries. Some of them didn’t even sound human anymore.
“Holy crap that’s scary. Why do your eyes all look so bloodshot? And why are you running on all fours!?” Hajime’s screams continued to echo throughout the school for a long time after that.
“So yeah, that’s what happened. I swear, some of those guys had to have been possessed or something.” Hajime finished telling his story to Shea and Yue in between mouthfuls of pumpkin mash. They were eating dinner in the inn’s common room. The reason that story had come back to him was because the pumpkin he’d been served had been carved in the spitting image of a jack-o’-lantern. There didn’t seem to be any corresponding holiday here in Tortus, though. This particular inn just seemed to have a peculiar way of preparing food. Most of it stemmed from the innkeeper’s hobbies.
“Oh, your homeland has some interesting customs, Hajime-san. I can’t imagine anyone here would willingly wear a monster costume. They’d probably be branded a heretic by the Holy Church.”
“Yeah... it looks like your world has more freedom in it than ours. But the important thing here is that... Hajime, you lusted after other girls.”
“Hah!? Oh yeah, that’s true! I can’t believe you got seduced so easily by cat ears, Hajime-san, that’s pathetic! Besides, rabbit ears are the greatest animal ears in this world!”
It looked like he’d brought unnecessary trouble onto himself by reminiscing about the past. Faltering underneath the two girls’ accusatory glares, Hajime quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, the tradition is for kids to dress up as monsters and go around to people’s houses yelling ‘Trick or Treat.’ The idea is that adults have to give them candy or they’ll get pranked, so kids end up with mountains of it by the end of the night.”
“I see,” Yue muttered. She then whispered something into Shea’s ear. Curious, Hajime tried to ask what they were discussing, but they cut him off with questions about the kinds of monsters that inhabited earth, and once they’d finished barraging him with inquiries they both headed off somewhere. All they said was that they’d be back later and that Hajime should head on up first. Reluctantly, he took their advice and returned to his room. He began maintaining his weapons while keeping a lookout for Yue and Shea’s return.
A while later, he saw them coming down the hallway through the open door.
“Okay. Trick or Treat, Hajime.”
“Awawa, this outfit is so embarrassing. T-Trick or Treat.”
“...Seriously?”
Seriously indeed. Yue and Shea both looked rather stunning, in more ways than one. Yue was dressed in a short white mini-skirt with a matching yukata, showing off a liberal amount of leg. The getup was accented by a crimson sash and crimson sandals, which highlighted her white skin. Despite her short skirt, the sleeves of her yukata were quite long, and only her fingers peeked out as she walked forward with her hands held out like a zombie. Judging by the frost crystals she was making hover around her, Yue was probably meant to be a snow woman.
Next to her, Shea was wrapped completely in bandages and moaning in a somewhat convincing mummy impersonation. The wrapping around her tail was a bit loose, and as she was wearing nothing else, her ass was exposed for the world to see. Whoever had wrapped the area around her chest had clearly held some kind of grudge as her breasts were so tightly bound that it looked painful.
Though she was slender, Shea had curves in all the right places, and the outfit made only of bandages served to emphasize those curves. Hajime calmed his beating heart and smiled awkwardly.
“I see there’s two fearsome monsters who’ve come to get candy from me. Unfortunately, I don’t have any to give out. Had I known,
I would have gotten some, but...”
Right around the time Hajime had said “unfortunately,” Yue and Shea had happily exchanged glances and blushed slightly. Then, they both broke out into mischievous grins. For some reason, Hajime had felt chills run down his spine just then, and trailed off. Yue licked her lips suggestively and responded to him.
“Well, whether you had treats or not, we were always planning on tricking you. Sexually, that is.”
Hajime’s smile stiffened. He started looking for an escape route, but Shea beat him to the punch. With her body strengthening up to full, she quickly wrestled Hajime into submission. In order to free himself, Hajime began gathering mana to use Lightning Field, but he was a second too late.
“Candy secured.”
“Moron! That’s not candy, that’s— Aaah, stop, stop—”
Shea woke up the next morning after she’d been knocked out by Hajime’s lightning to find him staring off into the distance with dead eyes. Yue was next to him, looking rather satisfied. Hajime’s next words rang out rather clearly in the predawn gloom.
“Halloween is scary...”
The... Not So Worthless Rabbit!?
“Alright, Hajime-san, Yue-san, food’s ready.” The appetizing scent of cooked food reached their nostrils as Shea took the pot of food off the campfire and called Hajime and Yue over. They had made camp a short while back, and Shea had just finished cooking.
“So it looks like we’re having pot-au-feu today.”
“Yeah. It looks delicious.”
Hajime and Yue crawled out of their tent. The stew was filled with delicious-looking vegetables, and there was a freshly baked loaf of bread to go with it. Though it was a simple dish, the taste and texture were outstanding. True, it lacked the polish a five star restaurant’s food might have, but it had the warmth of a home cooked meal to it. True home-style cooking, one might say.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest: Short Stories (Premium) Page 3