Tamazuki was brewing tea from grasses he found in the forest, but suddenly he saw the tent was opened, and a figure walked out.
"Shizu-san? Did you just wake up?"
"Ah, um."
Shizu was glad that she was wearing a mask now.
"Do you want tea?"
"...yes."
"Okay, wait for a moment."
Shizu didn't approach him and just quietly observed him. Yet, the more she observed him, the harder she got the impression of the man, who was using Ellen's body like a toy from him. Still, she prepared her mind and stepped forward but stumbled into something and fell.
"Ah?"
"Be careful!"
He quickly caught her, but because of their awkward position, his face met her chest and was sandwiched between her breasts. 'Ah... How soft.' He thought so, but he had to say "Lucky Pervert" was amazing.
"Ah, um, ah..."
Yet, Shizu was embarrassed. For her, who was afraid to get close to someone because she was afraid of others, it was her first time being close to this with the opposite gender. Frankly, in the beginning, she thought of him as a kid as he was much younger than her, yet when she saw his dirty act, she realized that this guy was a man.
Still, she was surprised by how mature his reaction was.
"Can you stand up?"
"Y-Yes...!"
As she was nervous and her heart was beating so fast, he held her waist gently and helped her to stand up without much of a change in his expression.
"....."
Frankly, his reaction made her heart conflicted. Was she that unattractive? Still, she quickly shook her head and threw all the messy thoughts in her mind. With her advanced age, how could she think such a thing to such a young man? However, as his parents weren't by his side, she thought that she needed to do something, educate him, as in this world, he didn't have anyone.
It was a sad fact, but it was the reality that had to be faced by all the people that came from another world.
Still, such a heavy present was hardly present.
Instead, the one that was present was a fluffy, warm atmosphere of a certain boy meeting a girl.
It was that kind of atmosphere.
"Here is the tea."
"Thank you." She took her cup and sipped it slowly as she let out a satisfied sigh. The tea warmed up her body, and the beautiful starry night eased her heart, making her complex mood disappear.
Still, Tamazuki wondered whether she wasn't wary of the tea as he might put a paralyzing drug there. Yet, as a gentleman, how could he do something so abhorrent like that? Moreover, if he wanted to have a woman, he didn't need to chase after them as they would stick to him like a magnet.
As he thought of this, he felt that it might be good to go to another new world once again before he returned to his original world.
Anyway, he had gone for a while; adding a few more days didn't matter, he thought.
'As long as it isn't a year."
"Hey, Inugami-kun, are you from Japan?"
"....." Tamazuki.
He tried not to be surprised, but this woman was too bold, right?
"You don't need to show that surprised expression since I am also one." Shizu took off her mask, showing her face to him for the first time. What was hidden behind that mask was the face of a cute woman with a mark burnt below her eye. Yet, that mark didn't decrease her charm. Instead, it gave her a unique charm.
"...you are also from Japan?"
"Yes." Shizu nodded. "My name is Shizue Izawa. Most people call me Shizu, though. How about you?"
"Well... most people call me Inugami, but my real name is Inugamigyoubu Tamazuki."
"...how to say... it's like a name of a good family name."
"You are exaggerating. My family is a normal one."
Yes, his family was an average youkai family, except for they were the leader of their respective clans, and he was also a villain that would fight the protagonist in his original world.
"But... it surprised me that you talked to me directly like that. I thought that you would try to hide each other's identities."
"It is because you are not the only people that come from another world. I have met a few of them, and I know how lonely it is to be in this world. You must be working really hard, right?"
Shizu rubbed Tamazuki's head, praising him as if he had done a good job.
"...Shizu-san, don't rub my head like that." He was a bit helpless.
"Eh? Why? Are you getting embarrassed?" She chuckled, thinking that he was cute.
Still, because of this, she forgot what kind of beast this guy was.
---
"...you appeared in the middle of the Great Jura Forest." Shizu was shocked.
"Yes." Tamazuki didn't lie as he arrived at the Great Jura Forest first. By then, he told her about his experience, fighting various monsters and staying in the forest for a moment before he met Kaval, Gido, and Ellen. "They are the first people that I have met on my stay."
"I see..." Shizu nodded and thought that she didn't blame him for his dirty act with Ellen. If she was in his place, what would she do? Being alone in this dangerous forest, and staying alive by himself, was something to be proud of, especially without any guidance from anyone.
"But even so... I think it is wrong for you to do something like that with Ellen before marriage, Inugami-kun."
Shizu felt that something like that should be done when one was married to the other.
Tamazuki thought to put the blame on Ellen, but he felt that it was unmanly not to be able to acknowledge his action. "That might be, but she is a charming woman, so one leads to another; we have this relationship now.
"Also, it might be wrong of me to say this, but I also need something to forget all the unpleasant things in this world. It is like someone drowning in alcohol to forget their problems, but at least I don't do something that might hurt me, right?"
"Well..." Shizu wasn't sure what to say at that moment, but she understood him since sometimes, she also wanted to forget about everything, yet unlike him, who had a place to unleash those negative emotions, she could only bury those emotions inside.
"Now that you mention it, you are so cute, Shizu-san. Do you have a boyfriend here?"
"Eh?!" She was startled, and her face blushed. "N-No, I don't have something like that."
"Really?"
"Yes." Her smile suddenly disappeared, and what was left was melancholy. "You have told me your story. Do you want to listen to my story, Inugami-kun?"
"...can you tell me?"
"Sure."
Unlike him, who only told his story when he came to this world, Shizu told him how she accidentally came when a bomb was about to kill her.
The Bombing of Tokyo.
As he became a youkai, he became familiar with the history of Japan, and he knew about this incident that happened from 1942 to 1945. Moreover, the reason why she could stay alive until now was that one of the Demon Kings, Leon Cromwell, put a spirit into her body, which made him think that the life of people from another world wasn't so good in this world.
Still, her coming to this world saved her life, but he wondered why she didn't feel happy about it.
More importantly, her age alone was enough to call her his grandma.
There is no way that my grandma can be this cute.
Somehow, he could make the title of a light novel of it. Yet, when he knew that he should feel empathetic or sorry, frankly, her story didn't resonate with him. Was it because he was a beast? Was it because he was a youkai? However, he patted her head tenderly.
"..."
"...Inugami-kun?"
"It must be hard, and you have done a good job of staying alive until now, Shizu-san."
"...."
Her eyes were moist, and tears almost came out, but she stared at him and asked, "You know, I am much older than you, right?"
"I'm sorry. It was just a habit."
"Geez... you must be popular in your world, right?"
What could he say? He could only laugh awkwardly.
"But I am in this world now."
"...sorry."
"It's okay. It's unfair of me to think that I am the only one who is in misery when I am not the only one who experiences this, right?"
Shizu smiled. "You are strong."
"I am just trying to be positive, and I am lucky that I have met a lot of good people like you, too, Shizu-san."
Shizu stared at him and thought that it was her first time seeing someone like him in another world. "I was right. You must be popular, right? How many girlfriends do you have in your original world?"
"Can you stop teasing me, Shizu-san?"
Shizu giggled, filling the pleasant night, and maybe she might not realize that a bud started to grow inside her heart, and it continued to grow until it bloomed into something precious that she, herself, was unable to stop.
As they talked about many things until morning came, and unexpectedly, they met a talking slime.
Yet, Tamazuki realized Shizu's condition was far from good.
---
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