We walked around the perimeter of the royal palace, illuminated by the light of the setting sun. Tsukasa complimented Shiro’s hair as she often did and reached over to pet her tail. Nearby, copy-pasted Japanese cars and different races of people in running gear passed by. Peaceful, affluent scenery all around us…
“Oh! Mr. Akutooo! Miss Juuudge!”
Heading northeast, as we approached Akihabara, I heard a familiar voice that sounded like an anime character.
“Thank you for your hard work again today! Go, go, governance! ☆”
A small, pink figure ran toward us with one of her signature legalese greetings.
It was Princess Ecstasia, the head of the kingdom and the prodigy mage who had summoned us to this world.
The princess inhaled and let out a refreshed sigh. “Ahh! I feel like the air has somehow gotten sweeter since summoning you two here! I’m so happy!”
In her usual excited manner, the girl was wearing a pink maid outfit and a smile that was practically a sideways D.
“We couldn’t have done it without you. And I’m sure solving the kingdom’s garbage problem had a lot to do with it,” I replied.
“And after fixing up that doozy, you’ve gone and started working on all the cases that had piled up behind it. I just can’t thank you enough!”
The princess started patting me with gratitude.
She’s got that same laid-back smile as always.
Her bubbly demeanor was infectious. Even the beast-hybrid maids accompanying her were all smiles.
“Miss Judge, you’re looking beautiful and voluptuous as usual! I know, I know…I can look but I can’t touch! Don’t wanna be found guilty of sexual harassment. Love that!”
The princess was drawn to Tsukasa’s breasts like a magnet and started waving her hand at them in a polite little wave like she was some kind of Di*ney cast member.
“That could count as sexual harassment, too, you know.” Tsukasa crossed her arms.
“Shiro, Tsukasa looks like she could use a little help,” I said.
“My apologies, but Princess Ecstasia’s smile takes priority.”
Shiro remained expressionless, but her tail was wagging. She must have been happy to see her original master.
Upon witnessing the rapport between our otherworldly selves and the kingdom’s ruler, the Akihabara passersby started to comment.
“As cute as always, Princess Ecstasia!”
“Miss Judge really is beautiful.”
“Mr. Akuto isn’t so bad himself.”
How embarrassing.
“What are you up to today, Princess?”
“I was watching a Japanese anime film with everyone: Demon Flayer: The Movie!”
I looked in the direction she had come from and saw a crowd dissipating.
“That courage to face one’s fears, and that deep familial love…! It really lit a fire in my flat little chest!” the princess squealed.
“You were showing the movie on that huge monitor on the building over there?”
“Yep! They call it a roadshow after all! So I showed it to the road!”
“I don’t think that’s what ‘roadshow’ is supposed to mean…”
She took that one literally.
“Akky, you should quit while you’re ahead.”
“Are you two off to your usual watering hole? Do you mind if I accompany you?” the princess asked me.
“That’s fine. But you know minors aren’t allowed to drink.”
“I’ll just have what you’re having, Mr. Akuto! Yay, compliance!”
“I will stand guard,” assured Shiro.
And so our party of three became four as we headed to the tavern.
As we left the center of Chiyodaku, we saw fewer and fewer Japanese buildings that the princess had magically copy-pasted, and more buildings that were close to a medieval European style.
In the back alleys of Akihabara, I really started to feel the chaotic atmosphere of this otherworld: open-air markets selling monster leather and fruits I had never seen before, the smell of adventurers’ armor covered in their enemys’ blood splatters, the sharp sound of dwarf hybrids hammering away at their metalworks, the hustle and bustle of the busy streets…
This really is awesome.
I’ve always loved the idea of other worlds. Breathing in and filling my lungs with this world’s air, I got a feeling of satisfaction like I was becoming one with something I loved. And for a little while, I forgot about all the other tedious things in my life.
“Akky, I like this world.”
Tsukasa was walking beside me.
“I think I finally get why you like it here so much, too, so now I’m starting to like it,” she added. “I never really cared about other worlds or fantasy stories or anything before, but at the end of the day, people are the same wherever you go.”
She had a beautiful, sweet smile.
“Tsukasa…”
I felt bad for having been so uneasy about everything before. If anyone would be uneasy, it would be Tsukasa. To someone who knew nothing about it, this game-like world was full of strange environments that followed strange rules. The fact that my only family member in this world had overcome her fears and had even started to like it here, like I did, made me unbearably happy.
“Thank you,” I said, looking at her bright smile. “As long as you’re here in this world with me, I’m sure we can resolve any kind of trouble without a problem.”
Even though I was happy, I still couldn’t shake that inferiority complex, thinking that I soon wouldn’t be needed anymore. I had let it slip that I knew she was the one they really needed here.
“Oh, that reminds me,” she said. “I was thinking I’d let you be in charge of Gobta’s case.”
“Huh?”
That was an unexpected request.
“I’m really happy to hear what you just told me,” she started. “But you know—”
“Meow! If it isn’t Miss Judge and Mr. Akuto! We appurrrreciate your business, as always, meow!”
A part-beast barmaid with cat ears called out to us from in front of the Adventurers’ Guild tavern.
“Today we’ve got frrresh kraken on the menu! All the best cuts! And I can rrrecommend some tempura that’ll go great with a Chiyodaku Ale and a Poppy, meow!”
“That sounds great,” Tsukasa and I responded in unison.
“Come in, come in! There’s rrrain in the forecast, meow! Get in here before the evening rrrush!”
Just as she said so, I felt a light drizzle of raindrops.
“Then let’s take shelter and have some fun!” The princess grabbed Shiro’s hand and ran inside.
I’ll have to ask Tsukasa more about what she wanted to talk about once we’re in the tavern.
I started to follow the princess—
Crack—!
A strange sound, like a huge vibration ripping through the atmosphere, blasted around us.
“What was that?”
It was the sound of all our lives being turned upside down.