My Entire Class Was Summoned to Another World except for Me - Chapter 174

My Entire Class Got Summoned c171

It’s an unexpectedly gorgeous world

Responding to Ouka’s determination, I eagerly tried to leave for the land of the youkai, but there were many things I was forgetting about.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Yato-sama.”

Ouka called out to me after getting ready to leave while I was waiting outside.

“I’m very sorry. I know I asked you to wait, but you ended up having to wait for a whole day.”

Ouka bowed apologetically after saying that, but I really didn’t mind waiting.

Just as Ouka said, a whole day has passed since we decided to head for the capital.

“It’s okay. It couldn’t be helped, after all.”

As I said that, I turned my eyes to the reason of our postponement.

“You’re that human from the other day!”

“Long time no see!”

I could see that the fox cubs seemed to be cheerfully delighted to see us again.

Karen was also there with them, also cheerfully stroking their heads.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

Surrounded by the fox cubs, Karen seemed as delighted as them.

Even though they’re youkai, she just can’t leave small kids to fend for themselves.

They are the reason why we had to wait a whole day before departing.

Last time, Nayame got out without permission just to meet with Karen and me, so we can’t leave them unattended for too long. Otherwise, they might run off somewhere again.

That’s why we needed someone to take care of the fox cubs until we’re back.

So I had asked Karen for help with that, and she happily accepted.

And in order to be able to get this done in a single day, we had to leave early in the morning. That’s why we had to wait until the next day.

There was a time limit written on the letter, but fortunately, it was a little further ahead, so no problem there.

“I’m sorry for asking this of you on your long-awaited day off.”

“It’s all right. I had something I was looking forward to doing, but I’ll hold it off until the next time.”

I’m thankful that she told me that.

Back when I asked, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to say that I wanted to go, but she saw right through me.

As I was feeling relieved to see Karen enjoying herself, one of the fox cubs jumped at Karen and started talking to her.

“Hey, hey! Can you show me that thing from the other day again?”

That thing from the other day? That weird thing that Karen showed them that day that Ouka and I weren’t here?

That same thing that she then stopped showing them and then changed to another game for them to play, since they didn’t want to do “that thing” anymore?

I thought that Karen would refuse like usual, but instead of shaking her head in denial, she seemed rather troubled for some reason.

“Don’t?”

“… All right.”

What was that reaction?

Was she upset? I could feel Karen’s eyes piercing me as if they were nails.

“Let’s play like usual today.”

“Aww…”

Even if it made the fox cubs feel discouraged and let down, Karen told them that they’d play like usual.

“Please take care of the kids, Karen-sama.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ouka courteously bowed her head to Karen, who was still surrounded by the little fox cubs.

Karen put her chest out and returned the gesture with a thumbs-up.

“Shall we go, Ouka?”

I just wanted to go and finish this.

After Ouka said “Yes”, she leaned over to the fox cubs and said:

“You guys make sure to listen to what Karen says, okay?”

The little fox cubs cheerfully replied “Yes!” in unison to Ouka’s advice.

After that had been taken care of, Ouka came next to me, and I placed my hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you very much, Karen-sama.”

“The usual games will be just fine, okay Karen?”

“You’re so pushy.”

Karen looked a bit displeased, but still waved her hand at us to see us off.

Looking at Karen and the fox cubs, Ouka and I teleport to the entrance of the capital.

―――――――――――――

After reappearing, the first thing that I could see was that we were in a mountain overgrown with trees.

“Are we there?”

“Yes, this is the entrance.”

After a quick look, all I could see was a deep sea of trees that suspiciously made me wonder if we still were in Japan at all.

Just as I was surveying the area, Ouka’s meek voice prompts me to look towards a different place.

When I looked towards where Ouka indicated, a huge cave was there, as if someone had just made it appear out of nowhere.

Well, of course.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine humans being able to go in and out at will. When I looked around that same spot a while ago, there was nothing but trees all over the place.

And I could see that there were several charms hanging from those trees, too.

Had those been placed there as a barrier to make the cave invisible to human eyes?

“If we go through here, we’ll soon reach the capital. But first, Yato-sama… here.”

Ouka reached into the pocket in her chest, took a fox mask out, and handed it to me.

“It would be best if you use this so that no one realizes what you are. It’s not rare for youkai to look like humans, so this should be enough to keep your true nature hidden from them.”

Of course. If I were to walk in looking like I always do, I would have been exposed.

I nodded at Ouka’s explanation, and after looking at the mask from various angles with great interest, I obediently put it on.

“How do I look?”

“It really suits you well. No matter how I look at you, you don’t look human at all.”

Was that supposed to be some sort of praise?

I wanted to believe she was flattering me, but I’m glad I didn’t end up asking her about that.

I could see a hint of regret on Ouka’s smiling face.

“Also, please try to hide your presence as much as possible. Your spiritual power looks impressive as it is, Yato-sama. Disguising your appearance alone won’t be enough.”