Chapter 67: Reunion
We continued onward, but there was still no sign of Riku.
“Did we already pass him? He might have hidden when he saw our car.”
“That’s entirely possible.”
Perhaps Elvis was right, and our best option was to wait just outside Izumo…
“Hmm?”
Sis Linda noticed something and stopped the car.
“What is it?”
“I smell a human.”
What?
“Where?”
“Hmm… Ah.”
Sis Linda looked to the left. An old man was sitting in a field.
“He’s human, right?”
He certainly looked human.
I couldn’t sense any mana from him either.
“Looks like it. I’ll go ask him. Wait here.”
“I’m coming too.”
Ayaka and I got out and approached the old man.
“Hello.”
“Good morning.”
We greeted him as he rested.
“What is it? I’m not leaving this place.”
Ah, he seemed like someone resisting an evacuation order.
“We’re not here about that. We’re looking for someone.”
“Sir, have you seen a man around our age? He was probably alone.”
“A man? One was here a little while ago. I let him use my toilet. He continued toward the city about ten minutes ago.”
That sounded like Riku.
“Thank you very much.”
“Thanks!”
We hurried back to the car.
“How did it go?”
“It sounds like he passed here ten minutes ago. Go!”
“Understood.”
Sis Linda started the car.
Soon, we spotted the back of a man walking ahead.
“Is that…?”
“Isn’t that Riku?”
“Looks like him.”
“It’s Riku! Heeey!”
Kitaura-san leaned out of the window and called to him.
The man turned, his face filled with surprise.
There was no mistaking that small man. It was Riku.
“Huh? Kitaura-san?”
The car stopped in front of him, and we all climbed out.
“It really is Riku!”
“Long time no see!”
“Have you been okay?”
“You look exhausted.”
We greeted him, but Riku merely blinked at us.
“Um… Why are all of you here?”
“We followed you. You were in Hagi, weren’t you?”
“I was… but how did you manage to follow me?”
“A lot happened. Do you want an emotional hug?”
The women had done that.
“No. Sorry, my mind hasn’t caught up yet. I was looking for you, but I never expected you to come after me—much less catch up so quickly.”
Fair enough.
“The important thing is that we’re together again.”
“Y-Yeah… Wait, where’s Minato? And who is that?”
Riku looked at Sis Linda.
“Ah… We’ll explain all of that.”
“For now, please get in the car. You must be tired.”
“Y-Yes… Hey, that woman is kind of frightening.”
Riku whispered to me.
“She’s a succubus. Be careful.”
“What? Why are you traveling with one?”
This would take some explaining.
We got back into the car, gave Riku a potion, and explained what had happened while he drank it.
Riku sat beside me, while Ayaka moved to the passenger seat.
“And that’s how we reunited with Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san, met Sis Linda, and came all the way here searching for you.”
I recounted everything in order, starting from Beppu.
“You’ve been through quite a lot… But where is that goblin Elvis?”
“Right here.”
Elvis answered from Kitaura-san’s shoulder.
“O-Oh… I’ve never heard of a goblin who can shrink. And this woman is the succubus?”
“Hee-hee. I’m Linda, famous as the woman who never says no.”
Sis Linda winked.
“N-Nice to meet you… I’m Riku Matsunaga.”
Riku was absolutely terrified.
And Sis Linda had the eyes of a sadist.
“Riku, what have you been doing?”
“Oh, me? The same as you. I heard God’s voice and was transported here, but I appeared in Hagi. I was shocked at first. Talking monsters were walking around everywhere.”
We’d had the same reaction.
“You didn’t attack any of them, did you?”
“Of course not. They spoke to me in a really friendly way.”
Hagi was a peaceful town.
“What did you do after that?”
“I asked various demons what was going on and got a grasp of the situation. The world has become unbelievable.”
“No kidding. We were shocked too.”
There were still parts of it I hadn’t fully accepted.
“Right? Anyway, I decided my first step should be reaching a human town. People told me there wasn’t much fighting in this direction, so I came this way. They specifically warned me not to go toward Hiroshima.”
Because Jack the Ripper was there.
“What happened to your phone?”
“It’s no good. It seems broken. Charging it does absolutely nothing.”
Ten years had passed. That was bound to happen to some phones.
“Do you know anything about Minato? Weren’t you together in the other world?”
“We were doing separate things then. I was resting at the inn, but Minato had gone shopping. I haven’t seen him at all since returning. In fact, you’re the first humans I’ve met.”
I see…
“Riku, did you know your photo was posted on social media?”
Kitaura-san showed him her phone.
“What is this picture…? Everyone in the comments is laughing at me!”
“We found this photo and went to Hagi because of it.”
“Oh. Then I guess it’s a good thing they laughed…”
That was one way to look at it.
“Right. We tried calling our families too, but couldn’t reach them. Do you want to call yours?”
“Ah… I don’t remember their numbers.”
And Riku’s phone was broken.
“I see. We’re heading for Tokyo. You’re coming, right?”
“Of course. Please don’t leave me behind. I was anxious, and walking through the mountains alone was exhausting. I nearly lost heart again and again. Seeing a deer scared me half to death.”
No wonder.
I would have felt the same.
“What were you planning to do once you reached Izumo?”
Ayaka asked.
“Gather information. More than anything, I wanted to find an internet cafe or something and work out a way to contact everyone.”
It must have been difficult without a smartphone.
That mountain road would only have made it worse.
“Then Minato might be in a similar situation.”
“Probably. Minato is a better fighter than me, so I think he’ll manage somehow.”
The problem was that he wasn’t nearly as cautious.
“Everyone, shall we continue to Izumo for now?”
Sis Linda asked.
“Let’s do that.”
She started the car.