(I bet there are no high school students in Japan who are as harmless as me…)
Kengo Inui had always thought that.
He was a chicken who enjoyed manga and games as much as anyone else, had no outdoor hobbies, and hated anything scary or painful. Furthermore, he always made sure to visit a shrine to pray to God for ‘World Peace.’
(Really… Why was a guy like me born into a family like this…?)
Kengo had always wondered about it.
His father was a powerful gang leader (Yakuza) in the Kanto region and his brother was an elite Yankee who was worshipped by the delinquents from the neighbourhood school.
(Damn that brother… He was a real pain…)
Kengo had a problem with him.
Although they were identical twins, they were complete opposites in personality.
Kengo had always thought that if his brother wanted to be a delinquent, he should dye his hair gold or wear his school uniform like a gang leader so that they could distinguish themselves.
Why wouldn’t he dress like a delinquent?
He asked him several times, and the answer was always the same.
“In a world where the police are so strict, I have no choice but to become an intellectual yakuza like our father. I’ll normally act like a noble businessman, but behind the scenes, I’ll make a mess out of things. It’s my way of life.”
His brother never hesitated to say such fancy things…
Thanks to this, Kengo was mistaken for his brother many times and got into trouble.
For example…
“Is that you, Inui, who has been acting like a big shot lately?”
“Show me your face, Aan—.”
“I’ll beat the s**t out of you.”
That’s how it was.
It got worse during junior high school.
He was always on the high school delinquent’s radar.
After they both moved to high school, all the delinquents in the neighbourhood became his brother’s followers.
The number of times Kengo was troubled decreased, but it was still not zero. The value of his brother’s name in the delinquent world was no joke, and there was no end to the number of idiots who would come all the way from far away to maul him.
It was so annoying!
Because of this, every time he got mistaken for his brother, he had to use all kinds of verbal tactics to escape.
For example…
“Do you think you’ll make a name for yourselves by killing me in the dark in an alley like this? Ha—?”
“Let’s have a proper duel, shall we? Tonight, at eight o’clock, come to ■■××. Bring it on! Ha—?”
“Can’t you understand? I and you, tonight one of us is gonna be a legend. Aa—?”
That was about it…
If words didn’t work out, he could end up in a horrible situation, so even in desperate situations, he had to mimic all of his brother’s facial expressions to make his point.
Thanks to this, he became good at this kind of petty trick.
Of course, even if he got through the moment, he couldn’t relax. Kengo, a lousy chicken, ran and ran and ran.
He wanted to graduate from high school, enter a distant university, and part ways with his brother, who pursued a career in the criminal world.
He was desperate to do so. That was Kengo’s life plan.
It’s how he had planned his life— until this day.
ーWonbobo! Wonbobo! Wonbobo! Wo-Wo-Wo-Wo-Wo!
A bunch of crazy bikers with bikes with modified exhausts surrounded him.
It was a bunch of delinquents ranting like monkeys, making threats that were no longer understandable.
Surrounded by the noise that made his head hurt, Kengo held his head and groaned.
(God… Did I do something wrong…?)
Yet, no amount of lamenting, cursing the heavens, or of course, asking for help would make things better.
The usually tranquil riverbed now had a strange, acrid atmosphere.
Many delinquents, no less than five hundred, had gathered there.
They were split into east and west groups, cursing and threatening each other fiercely.
At the center of the east group was Kengo.
“Inui-san, I’m sick of them!”
A delinquent next to Kengo, who pretended to be one of his best followers, was full of excitement.
He must have smoked too much paint thinner because he kept ranting and raving with spit flying from his toothless mouth.
“The day has finally come for ‘Kanto Inuikai’ to crush the ‘Kansai Empire’! Our gang will rule from the entire East and West! The day has come for us, who stood at the bottom, to take the world by a storm! We will be a living legend!”
(Is this guy high on drugs?)
Kengo almost swallowed his words.
“M-my bad! I was pulled in out of nowhere, but I understand the situation very well now.”
He did his best to put up a good front (imitating his brother) and checked the lackeys.
“The tyrant of the West wanted to settle things with you, Inui-san! So, I ain’t going to interfere! I want to witness the moment when you become a legend. We aren’t going to let them interfere either! Now everything rests on Inui’s shoulders.”
“You said, ‘Tyrant of the West’…?”
In normal circumstances, he would have laughed it off, but he didn’t have the luxury this time.
Kengo fearfully glanced at the person who seemed to be the center of the west gang.
He was over two meters tall.
His muscles were as thick as a rope.
Some parts of his body were almost bursting through his uniform from inside.
Once he looked behind the tyrant, it was as if he saw a demon there.
(Is that a high school student? You’re kidding, right? Yujiro Hanma, you’ve got it all wrong.)
[TN: Baki the Grappler reference]
Kengo was impatient.
A duel with Yujiro Hanma was a synonym for suicide. It was not a joke.
“H-hey, listen to me…”
Kengo appealed to the toothless man and the other delinquents around him who seemed to be in his entourage.
“―What I’m about to say may be hard to understand. You may not believe it, but it’s the truth, and if you don’t listen, it will definitely be troublesome.”
“Yes, Inui-san! we’re listening.”
“We may not believe in the words of God, but we won’t doubt the words of Inui-san!”
Kengo patted his chest at the strong response…
“Well, listen, I’m actually the twin brother, Kengo. I’m not your leader.”
“Gahaha. You’re kidding me, Inui-san.”
“You know what? It’s a nifty way to loosen up before the final battle.”
“It’s amazing. You’re amazing, Inui-san! So cool.”
“I thought you never doubted my word!!!”
Kengo had told the truth, but the delinquents just laughed it off and didn’t care.
On the contrary, five or ten of them suddenly grabbed him.
“W-What’s going on? Is this some sort of play?”
Unable to resist being outnumbered, Kengo turned pale and questioned them.
“We are doing the same as always, Inui-san!”
“We’ll do our best to send you off, Inui-san!”
“We’ll send you off with everything we’ve got, Inui!”
” “Rocket dive!” ”
The delinquents raised him up in the air while shouting, “Heave-ho! Heave-ho.”
Furthermore, they started to head towards the Tyrant of the West.
(R-rocket dive? No way…)
He had a bad feeling about this. As he got lifted helplessly, Kengo turned increasingly pale.
Then, his prediction came true.
” “Rocket Dive!” ”
Those delinquents threw him at the Tyrant as they shouted once more in celebration.
Kengo was thrown, flying… at Yujiro Hanma, the Tyrant of the West…
(Ah, I’m doomed)
While flapping his arms and legs in the air, Kengo felt like everything was in slow motion. He was enlightened.
No matter how hard you polish your words, a bluff remains bluff.
It won’t help you in a real crisis.
He was made to realize this from the bottom of his heart.
And even if he regretted it, it was already too late. He wanted to cry.
He struggled and struggled in the air, and no matter what effort he made, it was no longer worth it. He dived like a rocket towards the Tyrant.
The Tyrant of the West held his stance with a vicious smile and threw a counterpunch, plunging it into his head.
MEGO—
[TN: An acronym referring to “My Eyes Glaze Over”]
And then they heard a low, dull sound of something crushing.
It was the sound of Kengo’s skull being crushed by the Tyrant’s blow.
Ah, what a tragedy!
It was a tragedy.
Kengo was mistaken for his Yankee brother, and that was the end of his life.
He was just sixteen years old at that time.
***
“God!!! I— Did I do something wrong!!!?”
He woke up with a scream.
His whole body was covered in sweat, and his heart was pounding like a bell. At a certain peaceful location under the spring sky, the sunlight poured through the flower garden. He was the only one who looked out of place.
He was gasping for air…
“Nani~ Were you having one of your usual dreams, Kengo?”
As he heard a voice, he looked behind.
He saw an incredibly beautiful girl sitting beside him on the flower bed.
Her eyes were sharp, and her mouth made her look smug as if she was mocking him.
Her clothes were fancy, her skirt was short, her thighs exposed, and her top was barely covered by thin clothing, exposing her deep cleavage and well-shaped navel.
Despite this, she had a dainty look that makes you might fall in love with her at first sight!
Her silky hair made one want to touch it and comb it with their own hands.
She had such a great figure, albeit a bit exposing, yet she seemed so delicate that it made you want to hug her.
(But I can’t because I’m a good-for-nothing!).
She looked especially cute as she swayed her devilish heart-shaped tail.
“Lushiko… You were here…”
“I am here. Is it wrong? I was merely watching you sleep and laughing at your stupid face.”
With that said, she smiled bewitchingly.
(Snooping on people’s sleeping faces, she still has the same bad manners.)
While mumbling, once he looked at her position, he realized…
“Huh? Was I on your lap?”
“Ha! Haaaaaaa!?”
When he asked, she immediately shouted a loud cry.
“Why would I give you a lap pillow? [Oh, Kengo is here] [Is he taking a nap in the flower garden? He looks so nice] [But it’s a pity he doesn’t have a pillow] [In that case, I’ll give you a lap pillow] [If I could see Kengo’s cute sleeping face, I’d be happy to stay like this forever and ever ] Do you think I was like that? Ba-ka! Baaaaka!”
“No, I didn’t imagine that…”
“Keep your fantasies to yourself!”
And then she continued to mutter something as her ears became completely red.
“You’re not being honest. If you were doing it for me, say so, Lushiko. So that I could thank you sincerely.”
“T-thank me, you say… Ehehe…”
Her mouth curved, different from the scornful smile she had earlier. She seemed genuinely happy.
And then, while he was thinking…
“—I’m telling you, I didn’t! I don’t need to be thanked by you. In the first place, it doesn’t make me happy at all to be thanked by you.”
There she goes again…
(What’s with that pride?)
It was a bit disheartening, but it couldn’t be helped.
‘Lushiko’ was a nickname he gave her a long time ago.
Her full name was ‘Luciferu-Lucy-Lucifera-Lucifu-Lula-Lunlulu-Lukki-Lucifer VIII.’
Or you could say she was one of the seven great demon generals and the Ruler of Pride.
“About that, you’ve been having nightmares, right? You looked so funny when you were screaming. How lame…”
“That’s right. I’ve been dreaming about my past life. Was that bad?”
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and pouted.
Then Lusiko’s expression turned somber.
“Past lives, huh… You said you were a human being in a different world and a student. Was such an absurd thing possible?”
“I do, in fact, have memories of my previous life, so there’s no doubt about it.”
“Isn’t that just an assumption?”
Lushiko didn’t ask further and laughed it off with a carefree smile.
(I don’t want to be called ridiculous by a fantasy creature from a fantasy world, of all places.)
While being made to half-listen, he laid down.
Then, as he assumed, his head was right on top of Lushiko’s thighs.
On the back of his head, he felt the blessings of a girl’s thighs.
“Hey! Don’t use my lap as a pillow, you pervert.”
“Pervert? It’s normal for childhood friends to do this. You’re the one whose mind is dirty.”
“We’re not childhood friends! We’re foster siblings!”
“They’re both the same thing, right?”
Even though she complained, in the end, she let him rest on her lap.
While arguing with her, Kengo used magic power.
With a simple wave of his right index finger, he instantly completed a complex magic formula, exercising the miraculous power known as magic.
By refracting light at a point in the air, he created a mirror that reflected his face.
His handsome face was completely different from before. It had a trace of Kengo Inui from his past life.
Glowing blue flames were raging in his eyes, emanating a strong magical power.
His skin colour is so white that it looked even paler than that of Japanese people.
It was the face he had just seen.
It was still unfamiliar to him, and he couldn’t believe it was him. He couldn’t help but feel strange about his appearance.
It had been six years since he was reborn as a demon in a different world called Formirama.
“Let me give you a word of advice, Kengo! If you talk about the fantasies of your past life to anyone other than me, it’ll be the end of the road for you, okay?”
Lushiko, who was still arguing with me, told me so.
“If they find out that you were a lame ex-human chicken, the other seven generals will definitely stage a coup d’etat to take your place as the demon king. I’m the only one who overlooks it, so you should be grateful, right?”
“He—he. I appreciate it.”
“What’s that attitude? I’m going to tell them about you.”
“Thank you for the warning! Thank you for keeping it a secret! I’m so lucky to have you as a sister.”
“It’s fine as long as you know.”
Lushiko said with a plain face and slapped Kengo’s forehead on her lap.
Just when he thought he had it all figured out, she smiled again.
She was truly a girl (demon) whose expression changed frequently.
But when such a pretty girl did it, she looked so cute.
He cast off the magic mirror and let himself admire Lushiko for a while.
But unfortunately, it lasted for a short while.
“Well, I’d better get going. It’s time for the meeting.”
“Yes. Don’t get fooled by the other great demon generals. If you think I’m always going to follow you, you’re mistaken.”
As he stood up first, Lushiko extended her right hand naturally.
The princess of the Lucifer family demanded to help her up.
Such an arrogant attitude was so cute when a beautiful girl did it, and it made him chuckle.
He took a firm hold of her hand and helped her stand.
And they walked side by side through the flower garden.
In the spring of clear sky, the noises of winged horses could be heard as the time of their mating season had arrived.
At the end of the colourful carpet that appeared to stretch on forever lay the way to the Demon King’s black castle, seemingly eerie.
He was no longer Kengo Inui. He was the Demon King Kengo, and with the enormous magic power he possessed, he summoned an entire castle on this plateau.