Bonus Short Story

Guys’ Night Out

As the light of day faded, so did the hustle and bustle of the lively city of Kukrika. Few people could be seen on the streets, and only the taverns and brothels were busy, with their bright lights attracting a great many customers seeking their nightly pleasure. Renya found the food in this world to be rather unsatisfactory, so he wasn’t particularly fond of eating out. Why was he currently seated a bar counter then? Well, tonight, things were a little different. He’d been asked out.

The tavern was quiet, which was a nice way of saying it probably didn’t see much business. Beside him was the robed figure of Azu, spiked red hair at odds with his gloomy disposition. He and the mage sat side by side, calmly relishing the quiet atmosphere of the infrequently-visited tavern. To an observer, the two of them must have seemed like a remarkably ill-fitting pair, but neither of them appeared to care.

Renya was holding a stiff chunk of meat, the identity of which was unknown to him. He ripped off a strip and threw it in his mouth, then sipped on some wine as he chewed. Azu, meanwhile, was gulping down strong spirits with a side of rock salt. Rock salt. The man was a monster.

“So… I’ve been meaning to ask you something since that job we did.” Mild inebriation loosened the tongue, and Renya found that even he was no exception. The fact that they were both men didn’t hurt either; fewer things to consider made for easier talk. “Do you have something against women?”

When the two of them first met each other for their job, Azu had promptly assumed that Renya’s party was the equivalent of another whose members all ended up dead. The reason he gave was that both parties were filled with women, and Renya was itching to inquire further. Azu continued emptying cups at the same pace, but slipped in a sigh between gulps.

“I guess so. It doesn’t mean I like men though. Just saying.”

“A bad experience in the past?” asked Renya, slightly concerned that he was prying too much.

Azu, however, didn’t seem to mind and smiled wryly.

“Yeah, I’ve been through some stuff. Not that much, mind you, considering this mug of mine,” he said as he ran his hand down his face.

Renya nodded, fully aware of the rudeness of his agreement. A generous opinion, he thought, would describe it as unattractive. Even Shion had called it sinister-looking. There was no way it would be popular with the girls.

“With a face like that, though, how’d you even get the chance? I can’t imagine women were lining up to talk to you.”

“Okay, now that’s going too far. Just so you know, I have every right to take offense to that comment.”

Contrary to his words, Azu didn’t seem to mind the quip. Nevertheless, it occurred to Renya that he might have had a bit too much to drink, and he regretted his momentary lapse in prudence. Had it been anyone else, he might be lying on the ground with a fist-shaped bruise on his face right now.

“Anyway,” continued Azu, “sorry to burst your bubble, but until very recently, even I enjoyed the advances of women. Of course, they weren’t after me, but rather the advantages I offered.”

“Huh. And that’s how you became Azu the Womenless?”

“…Is it just me or are your comments becoming more offensive, you intoxicated bastard?” Azu said as he narrowed his eyes — half-squint, half-glare — and turned to Renya. “How much have you had to drink?”

Renya looked to his other side, where a pile of bottles were strewn across the counter surface. He didn’t remember drinking them. They sure looked empty though.

A lot, apparently.

This was the first time he could freely speak his mind with someone in this world, and the sense of liberation increased the flow of both words and alcohol.

“Whatever. Some nice girls will come running along. One day. Probably.”

Moments after, Renya realized that his response lacked both context and coherence. Along with that came the second realization that he definitely had too much to drink.

“A harem of my own. Now doesn’t that sound nice,” replied Azu with a chuckle. “In the meantime, though, I’ll amuse myself by watching you suffer with yours.”

The mage had probably meant it as a clever retort, but for Renya, it struck a little too close to home. He gaped at Azu, only to elicit a good-natured laugh. At this time, neither of them knew, nor could they know, the profound providence of their words.

The night didn’t know either. And the night didn’t care. It simply beheld them and their idle chatter as it awaited the break of a new day.

Bonus Column

Special Column 2

Thank you very much for picking up the second volume of [New Life+] Young Again in Another World. I received a request from Melonbooks to write something about this series. After mulling over what that “something” might be, I decided to go with writing a few short blurbs about the secondary characters.

If the previous paragraph sounds familiar to you, then you must surely have purchased Volume 1 already, in which case I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

First up, our nameless creator, the young girl god.

She was the one who sent this story’s protagonist, Renya, to another world. Does that make her the one and only? The ultimate being, absolute in her existence? Not exactly. She is imperfect, but she does happen to be a transcendental being who has an unfathomably long lifespan and the ability to create an infinite number of worlds. She also looks like a little girl.

The little girl appearance is, of course, just a front. Her true appearance is not revealed in this story. She chose to show up in front of Renya as a young girl because she figured it’d earn her some sympathy points. “Tease the old paternalistic instincts,” as she’d put it. It was calculating and very much unbecoming of a deity, but she did it. And it all blew up in her face anyway.

Furthermore, every time something bad happens to her, she has to contend with a round of cheers and applause from the angels around her as they silently root for whoever caused her misfortune. As a result, she endeavors to make their lives unpleasant as well, often throwing frustratingly impossible tasks their way. In this story, her foremost complainant is Giriel, but Renya also counts as one of her victims. It’s just that for Renya, the pros probably outweigh the cons in the end.

It could be said that she gave birth to all things, but she sometimes tags a disability or two to her creations, so the jury is still out on whether she’s a good parent.

Secondly, we have Giriel, servant to and victim number two of the girl god (Renya crossed the world boundary first in the story, so he has the honor of being victim number one).

Originally, she was a generic angel with blond hair and blue eyes, but after being assigned to Renya as his guardian angel, her hair was made black and her proportions more modest. The reason, according to the girl god, was that based on her understanding, Renya didn’t have a thing for blondes and couldn’t care less about size. The meaning of the latter part of her statement is unclear. The fact that she does this kind of thing all the time might be why her angels hate her so much.

The origin of her name is a secret. It might get mentioned somewhere at some point.

She wields enormous power thanks to some direct tinkering by the girl god, but it seems unlikely that she will ever get to use it to its fullest.

Number three, Azu Hound, who accomplished quite a bit in the second volume. With a gloomy air and sinister face, along with his drab attire and weird-looking staff, he sounds like a stereotypical bad guy on paper. That or #random person A. As it turns out, however, he’s actually an exceptional mage who thinks very rationally. In a world where parties of adventurers are usually led by #warrior types, the fact that he opts to break custom by leading four warriors himself is a testament to his skill. When he was first introduced in the web novel, the author baselessly assumed that he was the type of character to be immediately forgotten by the readers. Instead, he turned out to be strangely popular. In addition, he has the honor(?) of being the character who required the most re-draws by the artist.

As a side note, in this world, Azu is depicted as someone who finished his training, was recognized as a professional, and has a good deal of experience under his belt as an adventurer. Normally, he should seem like quite the exceptional individual, but he perhaps had the misfortune of running into a person whose circumstances were simply too irregular.

So, for the second time ’round, I’ve covered the secondary characters. No one but God knows whether there will be a third time, so for now, I thank you for picking up [New Life+] Young Again in Another World: Volume 2. I hope you will keep supporting the series, and may we meet again next time.

Mine