The home of the demons was the island of Onigashima. It was similar in size to Hokkaido but with a population of three million. We landed on the island, and headed straight to the capital city of Hanato.
“Wow, what a nostalgic sight.”
Houses reminiscent of traditional Japanese houses popped up on the way to Hanato. The picturesque sight of rice fields blanketed the landscape.
It felt like a portal to the countryside of Japan.
I suddenly felt like eating rice.
When we arrived at the capital, the roads were split into a grid-like pattern similar to Kyoto. We decided to go to Miyagi, the political and religious center of the country where there was a huge lacquered gate the size of a camper van. Onihime must have a position similar to the Emperor of Japan in ancient times.
We arrived in front of the Miyagi household.
When I first told the gatekeepers that were standing at the entrance my purpose for visiting, they were initially wary but quickly changed their attitude and let us in after checking with their superiors.
“Hello!”
The sound of my voice disappeared off into the garden. One of the gatekeepers scurried off to call for Sakura, but it looked like he might take awhile.
Five people suddenly descended from the sky with swords girded on their sides.
They were all demons who appeared to be either in their twenties, or early thirties.
“You’re Karna!”
One of the demons noticed me while descending and yelled, causing all five of them to look at me.
“I can’t forgive you for having four girls to serve you!”
“I’ll fill up the rear!”
“One person will certainly come to me!”
“… I wish I were dead.”
The quintuplets screamed.
“… Who are these people?”
Thira gazed at the quintet suspiciously.
No doubt about it.
These guys are obviously suspicious.
For some reason, they were each wearing a different happi [1] coat embroidered with either “Sakura-sama love ❤” or “Sakura-tan is my wife!” on the back.
“Why are you looking for Sakura?”
“I’m just coming for a friendly visit!”
They look shocked.
“Kuh … To think you had such a cheap relationship…!”
“Huh, huh, huh!”
“To push us aside… for these kinds of people …”
“No… Oh! Sakura-tan… Sakura-tan is my wife!”
“I want to die…”
Are these guys supposed to be our opponents?
“Who are you guys?” I ask, instantly regretting it. This triggered them to get into formation and begin reciting odd phrases.
“If it’s for Sakura, even the water in the fire or the hot water in the bed… Red!”
“I don’t want much. I just need to watch her from a distance. That’s all I need… but betrayal is absolutely unforgivable! Green!”
“I want to buy anything related to Sakura-chan! No matter the cost! I’ll spend it all on her used personal items, I can’t miss anything! This yellow fan shall gladly fall into the hell of debt with his unapologetic spending! Yellow!”
“Sakura-tan is my wife … Sakura-tan is my wife … Sakura-tan is my wife … Sakura-tan is my bride. Pink! “
“… If you date Sakura, I’ll kill myself… Life would be meaningless… It’s your fault Sakura… You killed me… Ahaha, ahahahaha… The fan who blames his depression on everyone else… Black…”
” ” ” By our powers combined… We are… the Sakura Love Ranger Squadron! ” “ “
They yelled in unison as they went into their ‘cool’ poses.
… The stage exit is this way when you’re finished.
◇ ◇ ◇
“If you want to see Sakura-sama, you must defeat us!” screamed the Red Ranger.
“Take our word for it!”
“Bube!?”
“Gya!?”
“Gua!?”
“Gee!?”
“…!”
The Love Rangers were instantly knocked out in a one hit K.O.
It would be disturbing if I let them clown around, so I knocked them all out at once.
A familiar beautiful woman came by.
“Dr. Karuna! You came! Hey, is this …?”
Sakura opened her eyes wide in shock and stared at the five on the ground.
“It seems to be the Sakura Love Ranger Squadron.”
“Who the hell are they…? Oh, I’ve seen this guy! He’s the one who stalked me in the past! Oh, not just this guy.”
Some of them were criminals were they?
“We were attacked so suddenly.”
“Is Onihime’s benefactor alright? I’m so sorry this happened Karna.”
“No, it’s fine.”
I suppose she truly is a demon hero.
She seems as popular as some idols were: garnering quite a few unofficial fan clubs.
By the way, unlike Sakura, Onihime rarely appears in public, most people know nothing about her except her portrait.
The pitiful Sakura Love Ranger Squadron was quickly pulled off the scene by the guards.
◇ ◇ ◇
We were quickly led over to the audience room by Sakura.
This place really did remind me of Japan. The room had tatami floor mats, an inner and outer sliding door, and even similar railings to Japan on the veranda.
Perhaps an otherworlder from Japan had visited in the past – just like me.
There was an empty room in front of us that was probably meant for Onihime to hold audiences from.
All of a sudden, I heard whispers from behind the sliding paper door.
What happened?
I had an item that made my five senses more sensitive, so I decided to listen in.
“Oh, Sakura… Wow. Doesn’t that look weird on me…?”
“Of course not. You’d even look great in a potato sack.”
“Oh, that’s not the case… Look, doesn’t it look strange? Doesn’t it?”
“I think the princess looks very beautiful…”
“Oh, thank you…”
“Princess, Karuna is waiting for you.”
“…”
“What happened?”
“Uh … It’s embarrassing …”
“… Embarrassing? What are you talking about?”
“Well, that’s… That… Uuuu…”
“…? You’re making them wait for so long…”
“Oh, that’s right. Right… Right.”
My head turned towards the door as it slowly opened to reveal Onihime.
She was standing still in a colourful dress reminiscent of juunihitoe[2].
“……Princess?”
She began walking awkwardly when a samurai announced her arrival from behind her. I just set my face forwards and didn’t make any eye contact.
It was at that point.
“Fugya!!”
Maybe Sakura had stepped on her dress, because Onihime tripped and fell with a loud crash.
“Princess!?”
Sakura rushed over to Onihime’s side, crying out desperately as she went.
“Are you injured, princess?”
Onihime lay on the ground unmoving as if time itself had stopped.
Onihime suddenly looked up as I stiffly turned my head towards Onihime, causing our eyes to meet.
Steam began to rise from her head.
“Kyaa, no, no, no!”
As if shocked that she screamed, she stood up and fled to the other side of the door, immediately followed by a crashing sound as if she fell over again.
“Eek! Princess!? What happened?”
“It’s terrible! I was so embarrassed to let Karna-sama see me like that! He absolutely must have thought I was a weird woman!”
A scream was heard followed by a roar from the back.
In contrast to the other more dense characters, her feelings were too obvious not to notice.
“I guess Onihime-chan must like me!”
“You probably shouldn’t say anything even you noticed!
“I think so too.”
“The hell?!”
This translation belongs to Centinni.
[1]: happi – A traditional Japanese jacket usually only worn during festivals. Associated with rabid idol fans.
[2]: juunihitoe – An extremely formal twelve layer kimono worn by court ladies.
The home of the demons was the island of Onigashima. It was similar in size to Hokkaido but with a population of three million. We landed on the island, and headed straight to the capital city of Hanato.
“Wow, what a nostalgic sight.”
Houses reminiscent of traditional Japanese houses popped up on the way to Hanato. The picturesque sight of rice fields blanketed the landscape.
It felt like a portal to the countryside of Japan.
I suddenly felt like eating rice.
When we arrived at the capital, the roads were split into a grid-like pattern similar to Kyoto. We decided to go to Miyagi, the political and religious center of the country where there was a huge lacquered gate the size of a camper van. Onihime must have a position similar to the Emperor of Japan in ancient times.
We arrived in front of the Miyagi household.
When I first told the gatekeepers that were standing at the entrance my purpose for visiting, they were initially wary but quickly changed their attitude and let us in after checking with their superiors.
“Hello!”
The sound of my voice disappeared off into the garden. One of the gatekeepers scurried off to call for Sakura, but it looked like he might take awhile.
Five people suddenly descended from the sky with swords girded on their sides.
They were all demons who appeared to be either in their twenties, or early thirties.
“You’re Karna!”
One of the demons noticed me while descending and yelled, causing all five of them to look at me.
“I can’t forgive you for having four girls to serve you!”
“I’ll fill up the rear!”
“One person will certainly come to me!”
“… I wish I were dead.”
The quintuplets screamed.
“… Who are these people?”
Thira gazed at the quintet suspiciously.
No doubt about it.
These guys are obviously suspicious.
For some reason, they were each wearing a different happi [1] coat embroidered with either “Sakura-sama love ❤” or “Sakura-tan is my wife!” on the back.
“Why are you looking for Sakura?”
“I’m just coming for a friendly visit!”
They look shocked.
“Kuh … To think you had such a cheap relationship…!”
“Huh, huh, huh!”
“To push us aside… for these kinds of people …”
“No… Oh! Sakura-tan… Sakura-tan is my wife!”
“I want to die…”
Are these guys supposed to be our opponents?
“Who are you guys?” I ask, instantly regretting it. This triggered them to get into formation and begin reciting odd phrases.
“If it’s for Sakura, even the water in the fire or the hot water in the bed… Red!”
“I don’t want much. I just need to watch her from a distance. That’s all I need… but betrayal is absolutely unforgivable! Green!”
“I want to buy anything related to Sakura-chan! No matter the cost! I’ll spend it all on her used personal items, I can’t miss anything! This yellow fan shall gladly fall into the hell of debt with his unapologetic spending! Yellow!”
“Sakura-tan is my wife … Sakura-tan is my wife … Sakura-tan is my wife … Sakura-tan is my bride. Pink! “
“… If you date Sakura, I’ll kill myself… Life would be meaningless… It’s your fault Sakura… You killed me… Ahaha, ahahahaha… The fan who blames his depression on everyone else… Black…”
” ” ” By our powers combined… We are… the Sakura Love Ranger Squadron! ” “ “
They yelled in unison as they went into their ‘cool’ poses.
… The stage exit is this way when you’re finished.
◇ ◇ ◇
“If you want to see Sakura-sama, you must defeat us!” screamed the Red Ranger.
“Take our word for it!”
“Bube!?”
“Gya!?”
“Gua!?”
“Gee!?”
“…!”
The Love Rangers were instantly knocked out in a one hit K.O.
It would be disturbing if I let them clown around, so I knocked them all out at once.
A familiar beautiful woman came by.
“Dr. Karuna! You came! Hey, is this …?”
Sakura opened her eyes wide in shock and stared at the five on the ground.
“It seems to be the Sakura Love Ranger Squadron.”
“Who the hell are they…? Oh, I’ve seen this guy! He’s the one who stalked me in the past! Oh, not just this guy.”
Some of them were criminals were they?
“We were attacked so suddenly.”
“Is Onihime’s benefactor alright? I’m so sorry this happened Karna.”
“No, it’s fine.”
I suppose she truly is a demon hero.
She seems as popular as some idols were: garnering quite a few unofficial fan clubs.
By the way, unlike Sakura, Onihime rarely appears in public, most people know nothing about her except her portrait.
The pitiful Sakura Love Ranger Squadron was quickly pulled off the scene by the guards.
◇ ◇ ◇
We were quickly led over to the audience room by Sakura.
This place really did remind me of Japan. The room had tatami floor mats, an inner and outer sliding door, and even similar railings to Japan on the veranda.
Perhaps an otherworlder from Japan had visited in the past – just like me.
There was an empty room in front of us that was probably meant for Onihime to hold audiences from.
All of a sudden, I heard whispers from behind the sliding paper door.
What happened?
I had an item that made my five senses more sensitive, so I decided to listen in.
“Oh, Sakura… Wow. Doesn’t that look weird on me…?”
“Of course not. You’d even look great in a potato sack.”
“Oh, that’s not the case… Look, doesn’t it look strange? Doesn’t it?”
“I think the princess looks very beautiful…”
“Oh, thank you…”
“Princess, Karuna is waiting for you.”
“…”
“What happened?”
“Uh … It’s embarrassing …”
“… Embarrassing? What are you talking about?”
“Well, that’s… That… Uuuu…”
“…? You’re making them wait for so long…”
“Oh, that’s right. Right… Right.”
My head turned towards the door as it slowly opened to reveal Onihime.
She was standing still in a colourful dress reminiscent of juunihitoe[2].
“……Princess?”
She began walking awkwardly when a samurai announced her arrival from behind her. I just set my face forwards and didn’t make any eye contact.
It was at that point.
“Fugya!!”
Maybe Sakura had stepped on her dress, because Onihime tripped and fell with a loud crash.
“Princess!?”
Sakura rushed over to Onihime’s side, crying out desperately as she went.
“Are you injured, princess?”
Onihime lay on the ground unmoving as if time itself had stopped.
Onihime suddenly looked up as I stiffly turned my head towards Onihime, causing our eyes to meet.
Steam began to rise from her head.
“Kyaa, no, no, no!”
As if shocked that she screamed, she stood up and fled to the other side of the door, immediately followed by a crashing sound as if she fell over again.
“Eek! Princess!? What happened?”
“It’s terrible! I was so embarrassed to let Karna-sama see me like that! He absolutely must have thought I was a weird woman!”
A scream was heard followed by a roar from the back.
In contrast to the other more dense characters, her feelings were too obvious not to notice.
“I guess Onihime-chan must like me!”
“You probably shouldn’t say anything even you noticed!
“I think so too.”
“The hell?!”
This translation belongs to Centinni.
[1]: happi – A traditional Japanese jacket usually only worn during festivals. Associated with rabid idol fans.
[2]: juunihitoe – An extremely formal twelve layer kimono worn by court ladies.
