Chapter 195: Long-Awaited Reunion

“Keita, long time no see. How have you been?”

“Your voice is definitely Uncle’s… but what happened to your appearance? You look way younger.”

“Oh, this? It’s what they call a cheat from another world.”

“Huh?! So Uncle, you really went to another world! I had a feeling you did though…”

Keita seemed quite surprised by my rejuvenated appearance… but it seemed he was aware that I had returned from another world.

One day, the bathtub disappeared from my house. Around a year later, all the appliances suddenly vanished. He explained it was because my PC was left on, displaying my status screen.

By the way, since my disappearance, he had been regularly cleaning the house and taking care of the garden. Sometimes strange noises were heard inside the house, or things would move on their own, like something out of a ghost story.

“Hey, I’d like to talk about those things with Grandpa too… Grandpa, he’s still alive, right?”

“Yeah, he’s as lively as ever. Grandpaaaa! Keisuke’s uncle is back!”

“Keita, can we come in for now? I want to introduce my companion since we have come back from another world and discuss a few things.”

After glancing at Sakura, I decided to enter the house.

“Nice to meet you, Keita-kun. I’m Sakura. I lived together with Keisuke-san in another world. Pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, sorry for the delayed introduction. I’m Keita, his nephew. Please come in, Sakura-san.”

“Thank you very much. Pleased to meet you.”

It seemed Grandpa was in the living room. I think he could hear my voice, but he didn’t seem to be coming to greet us. It felt a bit lonely, but he had always been a resilient person, so I figured it was just how things were.

While thinking about that, Keita whispered to me.

“Hey, Uncle. Is that lady perhaps your girlfriend? I mean, maybe you’ve got… like, a harem in another world or something?”

“She’s not my girlfriend, and there’s no harem. Though things are stable now, it was pretty tough at first.”

“So, there’s no other women then? Can you swear to that?”

“Well… I’m not sure about that. I’d swear to a goddess, not just any woman… but at least I haven’t been unfaithful.”

“Even though you’ve got that young body now, it seems pretty suspicious… Well, anyway, I’m glad we could meet again. Welcome back, Uncle.”

“Yeah, I’m back. I’m relieved to see you well, Keita.”

(He’s asking about my love life and cheat abilities before even hearing about my adventures in another world… Is he at that age? I have no idea.)

We continued our whispered conversation while heading to the living room. Behind us, Sakura was mouthing “I can hear everything” with a slightly mischievous smile. It was a bit unsettling, but I decided to ignore it and carry on.

After a while, we arrived at the living room. As we slid open the sliding door, Grandpa’s figure was right in front of us.

“Grandpa, I’m back. It’s been a while.”

“Keisuke, seems like you’ve been doing well over there.”

“You’re not even a bit surprised, huh? It’s good to see you in good health, Grandpa.”

“Keita told me various things. As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters.”

It must have been about two years since we last met. He still looked young. No, too young. He wouldn’t be mistaken for being in his forties… but he could easily pass for someone in their late fifties. He didn’t look anywhere near ninety, and it almost seemed like he hadn’t changed since I was a child.

“For now, take a seat and relax. Keisuke, is the girl next to you your wife?”

“This is Todo Sakura. We met in another world. She’s a wonderful and reliable woman.”

In a moment of hesitation, I introduced her as I saw fit.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sakura Todo. Unfortunately, we’re not dating, but I think of Keisuke-san as a great partner.”

“I see, I see. I’m Keizou, Keisuke’s grandfather. Nice to meet you, Sakura-san.”

“Pleased to meet you. Please take care of me… Oh, and there’s another person, Tsubaki-san, who’s supporting us together. I’ll introduce her next time.”

“I see, I see. Looking forward to meeting her.”

I wonder what they were thinking. They exchanged pleasantries with delighted expressions. Keita kept prodding me with questions as if he was on the edge of his seat, typical of a fan of fantasy worlds. Each time, Sakura would add exaggerated remarks, so… it ended up taking more than two hours to wrap up.

“Now, let’s stop talking about the other world and tell me about things here. I looked it up online, but I want to hear it from you.”

Comforting the reluctant Keita, we shifted the conversation to topics about Japan.

According to Grandpa, work and school, everyday life in society, seemed to be going on as usual. Of course, there were drastic changes due to monsters and magic stones, but he said it didn’t affect daily life much.

The damage caused by monsters seems to be concentrated on crops, and in the city, it’s only at the level of scavenging for trash. I heard about the damage in the village too, but monsters don’t come close, and it seems crops have never been ravaged.

“They come down from the mountains and get close to the village, but as soon as they see us, they run away. They’ve never attacked us. But…”

Apparently, there have been several cases of people who tried to retaliate against the monsters and ended up getting hurt. There haven’t been any fatalities, but quite a few have suffered serious injuries.

The public’s response varies: there are negative opinions like “Monsters are dangerous after all,” “Ordinary people shouldn’t get involved,” “The authorities should thoroughly eliminate them,” and positive opinions like “Injuries are their own fault,” “Magic stones are a new resource, we should actively hunt monsters,” “It’s funny how they try to retaliate (laughs).”

“But Grandpa, what about that? The town hall is buying magic stones, right?”

“Oh yeah, Keita knows more about that. After all, he’s been hunting quite a few of them.”

As Grandpa said that, he prompted Keita to explain.

“Hmm. Magic stones go for 2,000 yen each regardless of the type of monster. The materials are a bit cheaper.”

“2,000 yen… Seems like a mediocre price.”

“Really? If you rack up the numbers, it’s a good income, and you also level up, so it’s not bad, right?”

“Is that so? By the way, you managed to defeat humanoid goblins quite well. At first, it was pretty tough for me too.”

“Yeah, it’s just rabbits for me. Goblins are still out of my league; the aversion is just too strong. It’s not as easy as in novels, huh?”

(Well, I can understand that feeling. Even though the bodies disappear, the first one is still the biggest hurdle.)

I recalled the first time I defeated a goblin. At that time, Tsubaki was unfazed, but… both Sakura and I were quite mentally shaken.

“By the way, Keita, you mentioned leveling up earlier.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I was wondering if there’s a way in Japan to know about levels and stats.”

“Oh, there isn’t. But it’s certain that defeating monsters improves physical abilities. I’ve experienced it. And the existence of levels is public knowledge to some extent.”

“Are there people among the returnees who have the Appraisal skill?”

“It seems so. But since they’re under government control, it doesn’t concern ordinary people.”

“I see… they’re really being kept under wraps.”

Currently, there aren’t that many people taking the initiative to hunt monsters. The Firearms and Swords Control Law is still in effect, so the weapons you can carry are limited. Baseball bats and crowbars are tolerated, but if you’re caught carrying them in crowded areas, you’ll be reported as usual.

Outside of rural and suburban areas, you don’t see people dressed like they’re in a post-apocalyptic world. Conversely, rural areas might be overflowing with them. It’s a little scary to think about.

“Grandpa, Keita. I’m going to trust you both and talk about this… Actually, I have the Appraisal skill.”

“Uncle, seriously?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Can I appraise you guys a bit right now?”

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