At the "egoistic-lily" booth, a petite girl with two locks of shining golden hair peeking out from under her hat excused herself to take a break. After informing her parents who were helping watch over the booth, she stepped away.
The girl had a delicate and adorable physique. She wore a light green hoodie on top and a pale yellow pleated skirt below. Her slender, seemingly fragile legs were wrapped in black thigh-high stockings, leaving a small palm-sized gap of bare skin between the stockings and her short skirt—her "absolute territory."
Her hat was pulled low, and she wore large sunglasses, making it impossible to see her face clearly. However, the part of her face that was visible, with smooth, porcelain-like skin, suggested she was undoubtedly a cute and charming girl.
"Didn't see him at Summer Comiket, didn't see him at Akihabara's doujinshi convention either..."
As she walked, she mumbled while pinching her chin in thought.
The "him" she referred to was someone she constantly clashed with, her long-time rival.
The two frequently engaged in online battles, throwing jabs at each other on their blogs. Last winter at Comiket, their booths happened to be next to each other.
When enemies meet, sparks fly, and to her frustration, his booth attracted more buyers than hers, even surpassing her in sales. She had been fuming about it ever since. Strangely, her parents seemed to have some sort of familiarity with that guy, as if they knew him personally.
Also, he had never once revealed his face. Every time he showed up, he dressed like someone about to rob a bank.
"Where the heck did that guy run off to?"
She muttered again, though this time, her tone carried a trace of worry.
However, this "him" was not the same person as before—it was someone else. Someone who had been missing for quite some time now. Her parents had been worried and blaming themselves for his disappearance for a long while, and they were still searching for him even now.
That guy... she had also clashed with him a lot, and she found him really annoying—
Or did she?
Did she truly hate him? Because ever since he vanished, an odd emptiness had settled in her heart.
As she walked, lost in thought—
"Waah—!"
Without noticing someone in front of her, she collided head-on and fell to the ground.
She had been too distracted, or else she would have witnessed something astonishing:
Right in front of her, the air had suddenly torn open, forming a crack in space. A figure had rushed out of the rift in a flustered manner, only to crash directly into her.
She was knocked down, and the other person seemed to stumble as well.
"Ugh—"
Then, as realization dawned, her body stiffened. A pure white blush spread across her face, and she twitched slightly in discomfort.
She quickly grabbed her skirt, shoved away the head that had landed in her lap, and shot up in one swift motion.
With a full 360-degree spin, she delivered a vicious side kick.
"Die, pervert!"
She shouted angrily. It was hard to imagine that such a slender and petite figure could generate enough force to send a person flying. The victim crashed into a nearby wall before finally stopping.
"Owww—"
The person who had just been launched nearly blacked out from the impact, especially since they were already injured.
And who was this unfortunate soul?
None other than Yazuki, the man who had become the Demon King ninety-nine times, who had finally, after countless hardships, made his way back home.
Speaking of which, where did his body come from?
It was his original body, the very one he had on Earth.
Before tearing through the dimensional barrier to return to his home, he had discovered his body floating in the dimensional rift, stuck between realities. If not for that, he would have likely reincarnated into another world instead.
And why was he injured?
Because this body was nothing more than an ordinary human's. The fact that it hadn't been torn apart by the forces of space-time was already a miracle.
"You dare attack the great Demon King? You dare—"
Like a malfunctioning robot, Yazuki wobbled to his feet, his voice chilling with menace. Perhaps his long reign as a Demon King had instilled in him a natural air of arrogance and intimidation.
Wait a second—what was that soft, pure white sensation his face had just pressed against?
At that moment, his gaze landed on the assailant who had attacked him, and he froze.
The hat had fallen to the ground, revealing twin ponytails of dazzling golden hair. The large sunglasses had also slipped off, uncovering a pair of bright blue eyes. Any man meeting her for the first time would undoubtedly be drawn to her.
The girl was pressing down on her skirt, her gaze shifting from embarrassment to anger as she glared at him.
She looked… familiar.
Who was she again?
As the great Demon King searched his memory for a match, the girl's expression shifted from indignation to shock.
"Ya-Yazuki?"
Her soft, cherry-colored lips trembled as she spoke, her bright blue eyes widening in surprise.
Then, her expression changed again, this time to one of distress.
Because in her eyes, Yazuki was covered in wounds, cuts and gashes as if he'd just come out of a brutal gang fight.
And she had just kicked him hard on top of that. Looking at the bloodstains now soaking into the wall, she realized how badly injured he must be.
"I'm calling an ambulance! What was the number again—110? No, wait, 119?"
Fumbling in panic, she pulled out her phone, momentarily forgetting the correct emergency number.
Just as she figured it out and was about to dial, Yazuki suddenly took a step toward her.
He had a crazed, unsettling grin on his face.
At that moment, fear crept into the girl's heart. She took a step back, then another, retreating as he reached out—
And pushed her aside.
"HAHAHAHA—!"
Like a madman, he burst into laughter and even slapped himself across the face.
"It's real! It's not a dream! I'm back!!!"
Tears welled up in Yazuki's eyes as he took in the sight before him.
For a brief moment, he had been trying to recall who the golden-haired girl was. But now, looking past her at the surroundings, all other thoughts vanished.
He had truly returned.
And he was back in one of the places he had longed to visit the most.
He needed to immerse himself in anime, manga, games—everything an otaku craved!
The starvation of hundreds, or was it thousands of years? He had lost count. But now, he could finally indulge again!
Nearby, an event schedule was posted on a board.
He tore it down and quickly scanned it, formulating the optimal route to buy everything he wanted.
"Perfect! The first booth is right here—"
Having made his decision, Yazuki immediately dashed away, completely ignoring his body's injuries.
Pain? What pain? He had already forgotten about it—his mind was filled only with the things he wanted to see.
"Wait! Yazuki, you idiot! Stop running around like that—!"
The twin-tailed girl immediately gave chase. She knew Yazuki all too well, once he entered his otaku mode, he would lose all sense of reason.
That idiot was running so fast despite his injuries. He really was insane.
Just as Yazuki was about to turn a corner, her voice rang out behind him—
"Gabriel! Stop him for me!!!"