"Ehhh—!!! Isekai!!!"
Takanashi Rikka and Dekomori Sanae grabbed Diego and shook him nonstop, bombarding him with questions about the other world.
"What's with you two? What's so shocking about me, Dio, coming from another world?" Diego covered his ears with a look of utter despair, letting them shake him around.
I knew I shouldn't have let these two find out…
Continuing from last time: Diego was posing while holding a little dinosaur when Takanashi Rikka and Dekomori Sanae once again sneaked in from the balcony.
According to them, a true powerhouse should have style—how could they use something as ordinary as the front door?
As a result, the moment they came in, they saw a half-naked man (only wearing bottoms) spacing out.
"Ya! Dio, why aren't you wearing clothes?" Takanashi Rikka covered her eyes but parted her fingers to peek. "So erotic!"
"Eek—!!!" In contrast, Dekomori Sanae's focus wasn't on Diego's lack of clothing. She pointed at the dinosaur in his arms, voice trembling: "Master, Master, d-d-d-dinosaur—!"
"Making a big fuss over nothing. Little dinosaurs are very obedient. Look closely—how cute." Diego lifted the little dinosaur and held it face-to-face with Dekomori Sanae.
"Yee~"
"Eek—!!!" Dekomori Sanae successfully got scared again and instantly hid behind Takanashi Rikka, trembling.
Although Dekomori Sanae enjoyed the thrill of chuunibyou, that didn't mean she had a high tolerance for actually dealing with these things. In simple terms: all talk, no guts.
"No no no, it's clearly very cool. 'Cute' doesn't quite fit, but as a contracted beast it's more than qualified." Takanashi Rikka carefully examined the little dinosaur and gave her opinion.
"Good eye."
Diego enjoyed this feeling of being worshipped and admired. It was one of the reasons he granted Takanashi Rikka a Stand. Toward subordinates loyal to him, Dio was never stingy with rewards.
"Scaring yourselves again. Stop shaking behind me. As my minion's minion, how are you supposed to survive in another world with such a weak spirit? Hm?" Diego reverted the little dinosaur into a vase, circled around to Dekomori Sanae's back, and patted the girl.
"Who's going… Eh? Going where?"
"To my original world. I'm not from this one…" Diego raised an eyebrow and said somewhat frivolously.
Isekai!!!
The news struck the two like a bolt from the blue. No chuunibyou could resist the temptation of another world. Every chuunibyou had fantasized about an isekai journey at some point.
In an instant, countless scenes they had imagined countless times flooded their minds: swords and magic, heroes and demon kings, dragons and treasures, dungeons and labyrinths…
Thus came the scene at the beginning.
"Hey hey, boss, what's the other world like death!"
"Hero's sword! Hero's sword! Isn't the hero's sword ridiculously strong? Like—slash slash—two swings and everything's defeated!"
"Does the other world have hammer warriors death?"
…
Their noisy chatter quickly annoyed Diego. Veins bulged on his forehead as he clenched his fists.
"Shut up! No more questions! When Lord Dio is in a good mood someday, I'll project my memories so you can see this great one's heroic figure. But right now—school starts today. Instead of going to familiarize yourselves with the place, why are you loitering at my house? Out!"
Bam!
With the violent slam of the door, the two were tossed outside like chicks and stared at each other.
"Seriously though… I kinda miss it…" Diego clapped his hands, flopped onto the bed without moving, tail swishing back and forth. "This kind of lively, noisy atmosphere is actually surprisingly nice. I just wonder how Sui and the others are doing…"
Take care of lonely old Dio—don't let waiting turn into regret.
(Actually in a great mood death!)
...
Knock knock knock…
"Kyoko, Kyoko, I'm here to take you to school—" Diego knocked on the door and called out with his hands cupped like a megaphone.
"Uwaaaaaah—Dio! Stop shouting, it's so embarrassing!"
Hori's voice came from inside the house, laced with unmistakable shyness.
"Why can you say such shameless things so naturally…" Hori covered Diego's mouth and gave him a glare that carried zero intimidation.
"You don't like it? The past few days you seemed pretty happy about it. If you don't want to hear it, fine—I won't shout it anymore."
"…It's not that (super quietly). I mean don't shout it in public. It's a little embarrassing."
"So privately it's fine to shout as much as I want!"
"Y-Yes…" Hori's voice was soft. She quickly countered: "Then I'm going to call you Diego."
Diego fell into thought. Almost everyone who called him by his full name had been enemies. He couldn't help shivering.
No no no—Hori could never be an enemy!
Hori: Waiting for Diego's response.jpg
So is Dio agreeing or not? He's not saying anything or moving. This is killing me.
"Okay."
Boot-up time: 2.5 seconds. Defeated 25% of the nation's brains.
Hearing the affirmative reply, Hori broke into a radiant smile. Then, as if remembering something, she opened her arms toward Diego and pursed her lips: "Mm mm~" (intense hinting)
?!
You know how strong people generally have two traits: first, bad memory; second, I forgot.
Seeing no reaction from Diego, Hori stepped closer and opened her arms again.
"Mmm. Mm!"
Ah, got it.
Hori wanted to be lifted high. It's normal for someone her age to feel embarrassed wanting to play like that. (Completely wrong)
So Diego went along with it, scooped Hori up, spun her around a few times in midair, and finished with a princess carry.
So close… I really like Dio.
"Haha, wait wait, I didn't mean lift me high! The surprise! What about the surprise you said you'd give me when school starts?"
"Oh right, the surprise. You'll find out when we get to school. I just came to walk you there."
"Then let's go."
"Understood! Ko no Dio da! Hahahahaha!"
Diego had no intention of putting Hori down. Laughing loudly, he carried her straight out the door.
"Whoa, these youngsters!" The eccentric old man by the roadside was successfully shocked by madman Diego. "In broad daylight, playing so wild. Morals are really declining."
In his arms, Hori buried her face in Diego's masculine-scented chest and murmured softly: "So happy…"
So embarrassing…
Crap, I mixed up what I wanted to say with what I was thinking.
"Wait, Dio, put me down. I have something to say." Hori patted him seriously, signaling to set her down.
"Ku! What is it?"
Diego put Hori down. Amid the noisy traffic, the two walked side by side.
"You appeared in my dream last night." Hori spoke while walking. "For some reason, I was crying like when I was little.
And Dio was smiling, patting my head, telling me everything would be okay."
Ah, somehow… so reassuring, so happy.
"In the dream, I told Dio I felt really awful. I didn't know what to do. I was so anxious.
Dio sat beside me, quietly listening to all my worries. But for some reason, at the very end… Dio turned into a dragon person…"
"Hahaha, that 'yee' was hilarious. The sadness vanished instantly."
"And you said one last thing…"
Diego walked on the roadside, leaning slightly forward. His irrepressible smile showed how pleased he was. Staring into Hori's eyes, he slowly said:
"All right, then I'll protect you." ×2
In an instant, the sound of traffic vanished from Hori's ears. Only Diego's voice remained. Her pupils dilated uncontrollably as she asked in disbelief: "Dio, how did you know?"
"Because if it were me, that's exactly what I'd say. I'm really happy right now that you're willing to tell me these things." Diego held his head and gave a soft laugh. "So… are you willing to let me protect you?"
With that, Diego's hand met Hori's. Their fingertips touched, sharing warmth.
Thump… thump…
This is too unfair…
"I—love—you—" Hori took the initiative to interlace her fingers with Diego's and let her true feelings slip out. Realizing what she'd said, she quickly added: "—your hand!!"
"Of course! My, Dio's, hands are the most perfect in the world!"
Amid their laughter, the two arrived at the gate of Shuchiin Academy.
...
"So this is the Diego Brando who beat me in the SBR Competition?" Shinomiya Kaguya watched the entire scene of Diego and Hori entering the school gates with disdain. "He doesn't look that impressive. Pretty weak. Hayasaka, what do you think?"
"I'm honestly kind of envious of their relationship. What do you think of Diego Brando as a person, Kaguya-sama?"
"Hmph. Only the weak get addicted to the emotions of love and can't break free. I hate that guy—especially those fierce-looking eyes of his!"
"In the upcoming exams, I will defeat him fair and square and let him taste the flavor of never recovering."
Shinomiya Kaguya raised a flag. Several months later, she would regret those words countless times.
...
"You can drop me off here." Hori smiled, trotted in front of Diego, and waved goodbye. "Even though I really don't want to part."
Diego said nothing, grabbed Hori's hand, and walked straight inside.
"Wait—outsiders can't go in."
The security didn't stop Diego. The path was completely clear. Diego led Hori to the bulletin board and pointed at the class list.
"Let me see… I'm in Class 2. Yuki and the others are there too! Great." Hori followed his finger downward, reading name by name. "Hayasaka Ai, Fujiwara Chika… even the granddaughter of the Japanese Prime Minister is here. And then… Diego… Brando!"
"Surprise!"
"So that time during SBR…" Hori covered her mouth, voice trembling slightly. "You worked so hard… I had no idea. You studied day and night just to be in the same class as me. I should've noticed earlier…"
"Heh heh, all part of the plan. I only joined SBR to win—there's no such thing as hardship. Let's go to the classroom."
(There absolutely wasn't day-and-night studying.)
The two gradually walked away. Someone at the bulletin board asked curiously:
"Who was that handsome guy just now?"
"Shrimp."
"What does that mean, you jerk!"
"His hat literally has his name embroidered on it. Dio—the SBR Competition champion. Calling you shrimp and you still won't admit it!"
"Can you call a scholar a shrimp?"
His face flushed red. Veins bulged on his forehead as he argued back.
Things like "It's normal to have bad eyesight" and "You can't expect everyone to be chronically online" made everyone burst into laughter. The bulletin board area instantly filled with cheerful energy.
...
Mini skit:
"Jolyne, school's starting soon. I found a school nearby for you. You'll report tomorrow." Jotaro, wearing an apron in the kitchen while cooking, spoke with a straight face.
"No way! Ko no Jolyne Cujoh's favorite thing to do is say NO! to anyone who thinks they can order me around!" Jolyne viciously punched the dolphin plush Jotaro had bought her. "Damn dad! Give me back the big fufu Dio-oniichan bought me!"
Why doesn't Jolyne like dolphins?
Dolphins are so cute.
As a marine biology PhD, Jotaro genuinely couldn't understand it from the bottom of his heart.