At the booth of the doujin circle egoistic-lily, a petite girl with two tufts of shining golden hair peeking out from under her hat turned to her parents who were helping watch over the table and excused herself for a bathroom break.
She had the kind of petite frame that made people instinctively want to protect her. She wore a light green hoodie and a pale yellow pleated skirt. Her over-the-knee socks stopped just short of her skirt hem, leaving a slim glimpse of bare skin a detail subtle enough to tempt, yet innocent enough to pass unnoticed by the untrained eye.
Her hat sat low, and she wore oversized sunglasses, making it hard to see her full face. But from the exposed half of her fair, snow-like cheek and soft jawline, one could already tell she was absolutely adorable.
"Didn't see him at Summer Comiket. Didn't see him here at Akihabara's doujin market either."
She muttered this while walking, chin resting on her fingers in thought.
The "him" she spoke of was someone she couldn't get along with. The two were infamous for exchanging sarcastic jabs on their blogs. At last year's Winter Comiket, their booths had been right next to each other. Sparks had flown. And to her endless frustration, his side had attracted more buyers and raked in more sales.
What really got under her skin was that her parents seemed strangely friendly toward him, as if they knew the jerk personally.
She'd never seen his face either. Every time he showed up, he was dressed like he was about to rob a bank.
"Where the heck did that guy disappear to?"
She grumbled again. But this time, the "him" she referred to wasn't her blog rival. It was someone else. Someone who had gone missing for quite some time. Her parents had been worried sick. Guilt had weighed on them for months. They still hadn't given up searching.
That guy also used to get on her nerves. He was annoying. Impossible.
Or… was he?
Because ever since he vanished, her heart had felt strangely empty.
She walked on, lost in thought. And then
"Ahh !"
With a startled cry, she collided with someone head-on and fell to the ground.
She hadn't noticed anyone in front of her. But if she'd been paying attention, she would've seen it a strange rip tearing open in midair, and a figure stumbling out of it right before the collision.
Both of them hit the ground hard.
"Ugh..."
She froze. Her face, fair as freshly fallen snow, instantly flushed scarlet. Her whole body twitched with tension.
Without hesitation, she reached under her skirt, yanked the other person's head out, then leapt to her feet and unleashed a flawless spinning side kick.
"Die, you pervert!"
She shouted furiously. It was hard to believe such force could come from that small, dainty frame. The man went flying, slamming into a nearby wall.
"Ow ow ow..."
The one who got kicked? None other than Yoru Moonshadow, who had just completed his ninety-ninth stint as the Demon Lord and finally, finally returned home.
Wait how did he even have a physical body?
Simple. It was his original human body. The one he'd left behind on Earth. During his return through the dimensional barrier, he had found it suspended and stuck in the interdimensional rift. If not for that, he might've reincarnated yet again in another fantasy world.
And why was he injured? Because this body was just a regular human one. Surviving a dimensional storm without being shredded was already a miracle.
"You dare strike your Demon Lord? You shall "
Staggering to his feet like a broken-down robot, Yoru tried to speak with the cold dignity of a true king. Maybe it was just force of habit after being a Demon Lord for so long.
Also what was that soft, snow-white thing his face had landed on?
He turned toward the person who had struck him, and his breath caught.
The girl's hat had fallen off. Her shining twin ponytails now shimmered in the light. Her large sunglasses lay on the ground, revealing dazzling blue eyes. Her face was flawless smooth as porcelain and her petite figure was irresistibly cute. Any average guy seeing her for the first time would've been completely captivated.
She was now pressing down on her skirt and glaring at him with a mix of shame and fury.
She looked… familiar?
Where had he seen her before?
Who was she?
While Yoru frantically searched his memory for a match, the girl's gaze shifted from embarrassed to shocked.
"Yo... Yoru?"
Her voice came out trembling from pale pink lips. Her blue eyes widened in disbelief.
She looked panicked.
Because what she saw before her was Yoru Moonshadow, covered in deep, fresh wounds that looked like they had been carved with blades. He looked like he had just fought off a gang of thugs armed with machetes.
And she'd just kicked him full force.
The wall he'd hit? Streaked red with blood.
"I'm calling an ambulance! What's the number again, 110? Or is it 119?"
In a panic, she fumbled to pull out her phone, completely forgetting which number was for emergency medical services.
Just as she remembered and was about to dial, Yoru walked toward her with a creepy grin that bordered on insane.
The sight made her step back in fear. Again. And again.
He reached out his hand… and gently pushed her aside.
"Ha ha ha ha ha..."
He broke into mad laughter and even slapped himself.
"This isn't a dream. I'm really back!!"
Tears welled in Yoru's eyes as he looked around at the familiar sights. He had been about to ask who the blonde girl was, but the moment he saw what lay behind her...
He forgot all about it.
He stepped forward. Then again. Then stopped, trembling with emotion.
It was real. He was truly home.
And not just anywhere he had arrived at one of the places he had missed the most.
Here, at last, he could immerse himself in anime, manga, games... the sacred lands of otaku culture.
He needed to make up for those dry, lifeless centuries no, millennia without them. He couldn't even remember how long it had been.
To his side was the event schedule. He ripped it down.
He scanned it quickly.
Then locked in his strategy.
"Perfect. First booth is right here "
Without a second thought, Yoru took off at full sprint. He didn't care about his injuries. Pain meant nothing. His mind was filled only with one thing desire.
He was starving.
"Hey! Yoru! You idiot, where are you going?! Stop running!!"
The girl immediately chased after him. She knew him all too well. Once this guy went full otaku mode, he'd forget about everything else.
Even now despite all those injuries he was sprinting like a man possessed.
He was insane.
As Yoru rounded the corner, her voice rang out behind him.
"Someone stop him! Gabriel!!"