“Ooooh—— Finally back home——…”
Having returned home with great anticipation, Masanojo’s voice trailed off at the sight before him.
“My home, my home… my home… Is this… really my home…?”
Standing there was a far more splendid building than he had ever expected.
He blinked repeatedly, rubbed his eyes several times, and looked at the house again.
…No.
Absolutely not.
This was not his home.
The Kasumi family did not live in such a grand house.
But no matter how much he denied it, the nameplate clearly read “Kasumi.”
Apparently, the Kasumi family of this world lived in a house this magnificent.
Ah, my beloved father.
The house you worked so hard to buy with a loan has completely vanished without a trace.
In its place stands a building many times more splendid than the one you built.
Ah, my dearest father.
Please rest in peace.
The overflowing tears would not stop.
“Ufufu.
Masano-chan, you’re that happy to finally be back home, aren’t you?”
Mother Emika smiled gently.
That’s not it.
That’s not it at all.
He almost said it, but Masanojo forced the words back down his throat.
“Come on, let’s go inside, Masano-chan!”
“Y-Yeah, Mom.”
Prompted by his mother, Masanojo headed toward the entrance.
As he entered, he lightly bowed his head to the people standing on either side of the door.
They were bodyguards who would be watching over the house.
Eh, there are even guards?
Isn’t my house way too over the top?
Masanojo was starting to feel afraid, but upon asking, it turned out they were not permanent security guards who had always been there.
Although he didn’t remember it clearly, it seemed that Masanojo had been attacked by a criminal in the park late at night.
And since that criminal might target him again, they would be keeping watch around the house for a while.
From Masanojo’s perspective, who had no real sense of having been attacked — or rather, in his own memories, he was the one who had attacked a woman — their perceptions of the memory seemed to be completely out of sync.
The whole thing felt overly dramatic and made him feel somewhat apologetic, but since he couldn’t refuse, he had no choice but to accept it.
He passed through the front door and stepped inside.
Just as the exterior had suggested, the interior was extremely splendid and had a strong “wealthy house with good taste” atmosphere.
As he looked around the house with curiosity, he noticed Emika smiling.
“Mom?”
“Fufu.
Welcome home, Masano-chan!”
“——Yeah.
I’m home.”
―――――――――――――――――――― This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
After parting with Emika, Masanojo headed to his own room.
When he checked the room belonging to the him of this world, he felt a vague sense of loneliness.
“I knew it would be different, but this is completely different from my original room…”
The Masanojo of this world apparently didn’t have much material desire.
The room felt somehow small and modest.
There were no entertainment items like games or a television in sight.
The bookshelf had very few manga, and was instead lined with difficult novels and reference books.
He pulled out one of the books and tried reading it, but it was a bit too difficult for him and didn’t stick in his head.
“This is bad… The Masanojo-kun of this side seems to be pretty smart.”
Masanojo was by no means stupid.
In his original world he had entered a decent high school and always scored above average on tests.
But the him of this world had apparently been at a far higher level than that.
“I’m going to have to study properly or I’ll get left behind…”
If he didn’t study seriously, he might even have to repeat a year in high school… That thought crossed his mind, filling him with anxiety about the life ahead.
“…Even so.”
He looked around the room he would be living in from now on.
“…The me of this side really didn’t do karate at all, huh.”
In the original Masanojo’s room, karate-related items had been everywhere, and there had been a decent amount of equipment for training the body.
But in this room, there was not a single tool for physical training to be found.
The Masanojo of this world had never actively trained his body.
He had roughly guessed this from conversations with Emika and Ririka during his hospitalization, but having the reality shoved in his face like this still made him feel somehow lonely.
That said, he had no intention of drowning in sentimentality forever.
He felt a little sorry for the him of this world, but now that he had come here, he intended to do as he pleased.
With that renewed resolve, Masanojo thought about what he needed to do next.
“Alright.
First up is shopping.”
This room had far too few things.
No matter what he wanted to do, he first needed to gather the necessary items.
Fortunately, the Masanojo of this world seemed to have saved a fair amount of money, so even if he spent a bit it shouldn’t be a problem.
He took his wallet and headed out the front door, where he made eye contact with the bodyguards.
Having forgotten about their presence, Masanojo was startled, but since they were doing their job of guarding the house, it would be rude to ignore them, so he gave a light bow and left.
Still, being a bodyguard must be tough… Just as he was thinking that, one of the bodyguards suddenly blocked his path.
“…Eh?”
“Mr.
Kasumi, where are you going?”
“Huh?
Where?
I was just thinking of going shopping a little…”
“I see.
Understood. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Please wait a moment.”
The bodyguard seemed to be exchanging something over the radio.
Then, within a few minutes, a familiar face approached from down the road.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.
I will now accompany you as your bodyguard, so if anything comes up during the trip, please feel free to tell me anything.”
“Um… Kyoka-san?”
“Yes.”
“Eh, why?”
“Because I’m a bodyguard.”
Kyoka answered with a smile.
“…”
“——” Smile
“Um, I’m just going shopping a short distance away…”
“Yes.
I will protect you carefully, so please rest assured.”
“…”
“——” Smile
“…For real?”
――――――――――――――――――――
I was underestimating this world.
Masanojo once again felt the difference from his original world.
He had never imagined that even going out for a little shopping would require an exclusive bodyguard.
Well, since there was a profession with such a grand name as “bodyguard,” it might be natural for them to provide protection.
He had thought of them as something like the SP (security police) of his original world, and that SP only specialized in protecting important people like politicians or the chairmen of major conglomerates.
He had never once considered that a mere high school student like himself would be assigned an exclusive bodyguard.
Yes, she had introduced herself earlier as his exclusive bodyguard, but Masanojo had not properly understood the meaning of that.
Faced with the woman sticking close by his side, he could not hide his surprise and confusion.
“It’s just a guy going shopping.
Isn’t this a bit much…”
“It’s not a bit much, Masanojo-kun.”
“But Kyoka-san, no matter how you look at it, this feels like overkill.”
“There is no such thing as overkill when it comes to protection.
A bodyguard’s duty is to always be prepared for anything that might happen.”
“But I’m just a regular high school student, you know?”
“Oh?
You’re not just a regular high school student, are you?”
“Eh?”
“Fufu.”
Kyoka stepped in front of him, stretched up on her toes, and poked the tip of his nose with her finger, then gave him a cute smile.
Startled by her action, Masanojo’s face turned bright red.
“Fufu.
Come on, let’s go shopping.”
As Kyoka walked beside him in a cheerful mood, Masanojo felt his heart pounding.