The orange glow of the sun was falling beyond the edge of the horizon. The time was 5:30 p.m. Night fell upon the world.
Wataru stood atop the dragon racing through the air roughly three hundred meters above the ground. His arms were folded, and his facial expression was most stern. Despite the wind blasting into him, he faced the world without moving one bit!
In that moment, he looked exactly like the Kongo Nio statue at the Tōdai-ji temple.
It is within sight now... Our battleground lies ahead.
“Yeah...!”
Beyond the forest, the terrain was full of steep mountains and sharp cliffs. Beyond that, stretching far out to the edge of what one could see, was an enormous desert.
We shall not be disturbed here. In this place, we may fight without concern for our surroundings.
“Yeah, I bet... but before that, there’s something I want to say to you.”
What is it you have to tell me, Human?
“I’ve come to defeat you because you keep causing problems for other people! But if you promise you won’t ever harm another village, I’ll let you just walk away!! What do you say?”
The great dragon opened its maw and let out a deep, guttural laugh: “GAHAHAHAHA!!”
Wataru, cease with such foolishness. I cannot make that promise.
“Why not!? Why are you attacking places where people live!? What do you get out of it!?!?”
Hm. That is an excellent question. After all, I am a vegetarian, so I cannot claim to be attacking humans for sustenance. My reason for attacking human settlements is simple: I want to demonstrate my power. To strike fear in the heart of every human, every creature that scurries on the ground of this continent, and have them know true terror at the sight of my mere shadow... Seeing that fear is such a pleasure to me, I simply cannot bear to give it up...!
“......!”
Wataru furrowed his brow and closed his mouth. What the dragon had just told him was literal, tyrannical oppression. But, it still “made sense”—he had a reason for his behavior. He wanted to feel superior to all other living creatures by scaring the living daylights out of them. For him, attacking people was entertainment, plain and simple.
For the dragon, assaulting people was a mere hobby.
“Is that so... in that case, I have to take you out!!” Wataru shouted at the dragon as he leapt off his back. Down, down, down he fell, all three hundred meters down to the sea of sand below.
KA-BOOOOOOM!!!!!
Wataru’s landing created a massive shockwave as he smashed into the desert. Tiny grains of sand flew high into the air, and the wind whirled about him as if he was standing at the center of a sandstorm.
Now, I have something to say to you, young Wataru.
The dragon folded his wings and slowly descended. There was a deep, reverberating rumble as he made landfall, his great bulk crashing to the ground. As he turned to face Wataru, he spread his wings wide once more as the massive beast studied the boy for a long while before speaking again.
Human... You are not of this world, are you?
Wataru’s eyes widened in surprise. “You—You can’t be—!!”
I am. I was once a resident of Japan. I recognized where you came from the moment you told me your name was “Wataru Ito.” It’s a very Japanese name, after all.
“I—I can’t believe this is happening...!!”
Wataru froze with confusion!
About one hundred years ago, I was just another Japanese man. But, I ate meat every day, and ended up becoming quite unhealthily overweight until I died of heart failure. Then, after I died, I...
“You met a goddess and were reborn in this world, right...?”
The dragon squinted at Wataru through his glasses.
Just so. I met a goddess, and was granted the body of a dragon and the power to read the minds of others... But I had not known I would be reborn into a body completely shielded by magic. I regretted eating so much meat during my time as a human, so I resolved to become a vegetarian in this new body, in this new world.”
“O-Oh, that makes sense. It’s important to eat your veggies!” Wataru was a healthy, young Hot-Blooded Fighting Teen, so of course he ate a balanced diet of both meat and vegetables!
“I wonder... Did you discuss the goddess with the Demon Lord, Deus, as well?”
“Yeah!”
Allow me to explain: It was only a few days ago that Wataru fought a terribly strong enemy, the Demon Lord, Deus! Deus had also been Japanese in a past life, died a hundred years ago, then found himself reborn in this world in an inhumanly powerful body.
The Demon Lord Deus had, of course, been reborn as a demon... But in this guy’s case, he’d been reincarnated as a dragon. The circumstances of their rebirths were almost the same.
Ah, that reminds me. You defeated the Demon Lord Deus, didn’t you, human? I spoke to him once, long ago—he had figured out I was formerly Japanese as well—and he’d proposed we “rule the world together.”
“But, you turned him down, didn’t you?”
The dragon slowly nodded. “I prefer to be alone. Of course, I’m very interested in world domination—but I’m not going to let that be the reason I give up my solitude, boy.”
“You’re still a surprising dude, though... You’re wearing a t-shirt and glasses, so this still kind of feels like I’m talking to another human. And now I find out that you actually used to be one!”
“Indeed I was... By the way, how, pray tell, did you come to this world?”
“Me? I came here by stopping a truck!!”
“Huh?”
The dragon tilted its long, long neck to one side.
“Well, actually, I don’t know all the details... I stopped the truck, and then when I opened my eyes, I was in this fantasy land! I never did meet that ‘Goddess,’ and this is my real body.”
The dragon stared at him. Is that so...... The voice in Wataru’s head was quieter than before. So you were teleported to this world, not reincarnated.
“Yeah, I think so!!”
—Dear Readers, I think I should mention that the name for this series was nearly WATARU!!! The Hot-Blooded Fighting Teen & His Epic Adventures After Being Reincarnated In A Fantasy World After Stopping a Truck with His Bare Hands!! I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t go with that, or else it would be totally wrong at this point, huh? Oh, well! Reincarnated, teleported, who cares?