Chapter 5: How to Reveal One’s True Identity

"So that really means... you’re actually Mikoto Hikari...?"

"That’s what I’ve been saying all along! You’re so slow!"

"S-sorry..."

A silver-haired girl raised her fist with a mukii! of frustration in response to my muttering.

Even that gesture reminded me of my old best friend, and I found myself accepting her claim.

Still, my confusion didn’t settle—in fact, it only grew deeper.

"Then where have you been all this time? And that appearance...?"

—Could it be, you went overseas for surgery or something?

That was the first thought that crossed my mind, but I dismissed it right away.

Her current form wasn’t just a matter of physical transformation. It went far beyond body modification—she was an entirely different person.

Something beyond human comprehension.

For some reason, that’s what it felt like.

Besides, if she had disappeared of her own will, surely she would’ve at least told someone where she was going.

She vanished right after her parents died.

Even among our classmates, some suspected she’d taken her own life.

"I’ll explain everything, one step at a time, so calm down, okay? You promised you’d listen to me, remember?"

"Y-yeah..."

Mystery after mystery—nothing made sense anymore.

As I sat there stewing in confusion, Hikari gently chided me again.

Now that she mentioned it, she was right.

Our conversation until now had been all about “whether I believed she was really Hikari,” which was different from the promise she had asked of me.

Though now that I had accepted she was Hikari, that promise didn’t seem all that necessary anymore...

Anyway, I needed to calm down.

I took a deep breath and looked into her red eyes once more.

As if taking that as her cue, she asked me a question.

"Yousuke, do you believe in otherworld summoning?"

"Otherworld... summoning?"

The unfamiliar phrase made me echo it back instinctively.

Still, from the way the words were put together, I had a rough idea of what she meant.

The kind of thing you’d see in childhood anime or games, where a character gets suddenly whisked away to another world.

She was probably talking about that.

But what did she mean by “believe”?

As if saying it was real—just unconfirmed.

...No way.

"Yup, bingo. I got summoned—to another world."


That day, a year ago.

Apparently, the moment Hikari got home, she collapsed asleep without even eating.

"But maybe thanks to that, I woke up unusually early the next morning—which never happens for me. I figured I’d go visit your place, Yousuke. So I brushed my teeth, got changed, and opened the door, and then—"

"You ended up in another world... is that it?"

In response to my question, Hikari nodded.

Even now, her excitement hadn’t cooled, and she spoke with unfiltered enthusiasm.

"I was seriously shocked! The second I stepped out of my house, I was teleported into this temple-looking place, and right in front of me was this gorgeous girl!"

Her hair was a clear sky blue, she said—like a sunny day—and she introduced herself as a shrine maiden.

Then, kneeling like in prayer, she pleaded for help.

"Our world is in grave danger. Hero, please... save us—"

That’s what she said.

"In their world, when humanity’s on the brink of extinction, they have a tradition of summoning a Hero from another world. And this time, the lucky pick was me."

"...Why you, though? You’re just a middle schooler."

"Of course there was a reason for that. Apparently, creatures from our world also contain magic, even if we can’t perceive it. And in my case, I’m naturally overflowing with light magic. Like, absurdly strong—cheat-level strong."

I didn’t really get what “cheat-level” meant.

But at least it sounded like there was a proper reason why Hikari was chosen.

"Pretty cool, right? You can call me 'Hero' if you want. Over there, I was super popular with regular girls—got nothing but admiring looks, you know."

She then puffed out her modest chest and struck a smug pose that was just a little annoying.

...In short, she wanted me to praise her.

But as for me—

"Hero… huh…"

Honestly, I was still half in doubt.

"...Don’t tell me you don’t believe me?"

"Well, if I’m being honest… not really. You always liked that kind of stuff when we were kids."

—The setup sounds like something straight out of a video game. Honestly, it reeks of fantasy.

I felt a little bad saying that about a close friend, but that was my honest reaction.

That said, everything she said did add up. I couldn’t think of any contradictions.

Why didn’t the police find a single clue, no matter how much they searched?

Saying it was literally a case of someone vanishing into thin air feels way too occult, but...

The moment I accepted that the girl in front of me was Hikari, I’d already stepped outside the bounds of common sense.

So at this point, what difference did it make?

"Muuu... I can use magic, you know."

"...Alright. I believe you, Hero. Go ahead and keep talking."

Besides, if I kept doubting her, she’d probably try to prove it—with some weird magic, half for fun and half to mess with me.

And I knew from experience that she was the type to do exactly that.

"Well, I do know how stubborn you can be, Yousuke. So whatever."

She'd clearly come to terms with it too—probably thanks to our long years of friendship.

She shot me a flat look, but continued her story.

"The crisis I mentioned—it was vampires."

"Vampires?"

"Yeah. Monsters cloaked in darkness, who suck blood and spread their kin… Their numbers exploded. Town after town was falling under vampire control. After that, it was simple. I traveled with the shrine maiden and freed them, one by one. Along the way, I made allies and grew stronger. Once I’d fulfilled my role, I returned to this world. That’s all there is to it."

"...I see."

As she finished speaking, she let out a quiet breath.

She looked just slightly tired, and honestly, I wanted to say “well done” or “good job.”

But—

"So then… why do you look like this now? Why are you a girl? You left that part out."

There was clearly something she’d skipped over, so I pointed it out.

"Why do you have to ask about that... I really didn’t want to talk about it."

"...?"

She shot back with a voice full of annoyance—

And puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

...Did I just step on some kind of landmine?

Unable to hide my confusion, I watched as Hikari looked at me with a sudden seriousness—like she’d made up her mind—and began to speak, little by little.

"The leader of the vampires is called the ‘True Ancestor.’ Total weirdo. Right before our battle, they suddenly said they wanted to make me theirs."

"Make you... theirs!?"

"Yeah. They said, 'This is fate. The moment I saw you, I knew. I will have you.'"

Make her theirs…

By the time you’re in high school, you understand what that kind of phrase means.

And have you, at that.

She was summoned as a Hero to defeat this vampire lord—so how on earth did things end up like that?

I nearly toppled over—bench and all—from the sheer absurdity of it.

But then my head quickly cooled.

I wouldn’t call it “calm.” It was more like a chill that ran through me—the kind that comes with a bad feeling.

"...Don’t tell me."

Unfortunately, that second bad feeling was right on the mark, too.

"Yeah. That’s exactly it. In the end… I couldn’t beat them. I didn’t lose, technically, but—"

She paused for a moment, then gave a crooked little smirk.

Her lips caught the moonlight as they curled up.

What I saw next shimmered faintly—too sharp to be just ordinary canine teeth, they looked like the fangs of a bat, poised to pierce its prey.

"And so… I got bitten. Now I’m a vampire girl."

Comments (3)

Please login or sign up to post a comment.

Share Chapter