Chapter 2: There's a Reason Jashin-chan Always Gets Wrecked
A specific spell was needed to send him back, Yurine explained, and they didn't have it.
"I see."
Ryohei Tanaka simply nodded, feeling no particular anxiety or frustration. He was all alone in his old world, so what did it matter where he lived? In fact, being in an anime world was actually pretty exciting. He immediately introduced himself in his broken Japanese.
"My name... is Ryohei Tanaka. Nice to meet you."
"A Japanese name?" Yurine tilted her head, listening to his clumsy phrasing. "But you're clearly not from around here. Are you from another country?"
"No, not another country," Ryohei said, shaking his head. "I'm from another world entirely. One that doesn't have… creatures like that."
He pointed a thumb at Jashin-chan, who was still pouting on the floor.
"Baka—!" Jashin-chan slammed her fist on the tatami mat, glaring at Ryohei with pure indignation. "I'm the one who got her tail chopped off, and you're just standing there laughing and talking with the enemy! Rather than let you join her side, I should just deal with you myself!"
Stare—!
Before she could make a move, Yurine's death glare landed on her.
"Jashin-chan," she said, her voice devoid of all emotion. "There's a limit to your foolishness. Do you understand?"
Hearing that flat, terrifying tone, a flood of memories—all the times she had messed up and been brutally punished—rushed into Jashin-chan's mind. She shivered and stammered, "I-I understand!"
I'll just wait until Yurine isn't looking, then I'll get him, she thought. How dare this jerk side with the enemy! I'll make him pay in blood!
"You'd better truly understand," Yurine said, looking down at her. Her tone was ghostly. "If you dare defy me behind my back, I'll let you experience the new medieval torture techniques I've been learning about… Hmm-hmm~. Even I think they're pretty scary~."
A morbid smile spread across Yurine's lips.
What the hell are you studying in your free time?! Jashin-chan screamed internally, now utterly terrified. She didn't know what "medieval" meant, but she definitely understood "torture techniques"! It sounded horrifying!
"I get it! I'll get along with him, I promise!" Jashin-chan, whose tail had finally stopped bleeding, knelt formally on the tatami mat, looking as obedient as a saint.
(This was a lie.)
Yurine just snorted, then started giving orders.
"Clean up this room… Also, is dinner ready?"
"Yes, it's ready. I'll go get it right now," Jashin-chan said.
She had failed at her schemes so many times that she had gotten used to it. She never really expected this summoning to work, so she had prepared dinner in advance. Not preparing it would only make Yurine angrier, which would mean more pain for her.
This was a special kind of wisdom, born from repeated failure.
"It wasn't until I summoned Jashin-chan that I even knew demons were real," Yurine said, turning to Ryohei. "Let's talk while we eat."
"Okay," Ryohei nodded.
"Huh? I didn't make any dinner for that traitor!" Jashin-chan yelled, poking her head out of the kitchen with a bowl of rice in her hands.
Yurine glanced at her coolly.
"Then he can have your portion. You're not eating tonight. Use the time to reflect on what you've done."
"Wha-What did you say?!" Jashin-chan's eyes went wide with disbelief. "But I'm the one who cooked dinner! Why can't I eat it?! I protest!"
"Protest denied."
Yurine picked up her machete and walked toward the kitchen, huffing. "This is the price for causing trouble."
Jashin-chan was about to argue further, but the sight of Yurine approaching with the blade made her freeze. Her eyes instantly became clear and innocent, like those of a harmless little girl.
The moment Yurine passed her, she shot a venomous glare at Ryohei.
Damn you! Just you wait, traitor!
"Yurine, she's glaring at me," Ryohei announced without a shred of hesitation.
Yurine, who was now at the sink rinsing the blood off her machete, paused. She glanced back at the man who seemed to have no sense of personal boundaries—he was already using her first name!
Then again, she mused, he probably can't even pronounce 'Hanazono'. Judging by his broken Japanese, his language skills are pretty terrible.
Yurine's gaze shifted to Jashin-chan, who was now staring at Ryohei, completely dumbstruck.
You animal! You're a grown man, and you're snitching on me?! Just you wait!
Feeling Yurine's eyes on her, Jashin-chan quickly started shouting her defense.
"I didn't! It wasn't me! He's lying!"
"You're so shameless!" Jashin-chan cried, pointing the rice paddle at Ryohei with a look of profound heartbreak, as if she'd been deeply wronged. "How dare you slander me, the lovely and universally adored Jashin-chan, who is cherished by all! Do you have no conscience?"
"I think the one who says things like that while trying to shift the blame is the truly shameless one," Ryohei retorted in his clumsy Japanese.
He was beginning to understand. There was a very good reason Jashin-chan was always getting wrecked.
In the few short minutes since he'd arrived, he was already feeling the urge to punish her himself.
Unfortunately, he probably couldn't win a fight. She might get beaten up constantly, but against a normal human, it was a different story. At the very least, Ryohei couldn't jump three meters into the air.
"That certainly sounds like something Jashin-chan would do," Yurine said, her cold eyes locking onto the serpent demon. The serpent demon immediately tensed up and pretended she couldn't hear, busying herself with scooping rice.
"I made Nikujaga tonight, Yurine, your favorite beef and potato stew!"
She was trying to change the subject.