The Rising of Tanaka in Another World

An emergency meeting was immediately held by the seven hamsters in his mind. The agenda was how to gloss over this situation without disillusioning the beautiful woman Eclair. As expected, even the group of hamster-san would have never imagined that said Demon Lord was referring to Tanaka himself.

「I’m sorry. I’ve been away for a while to subjugate a certain calamity-grade monster. So I haven’t gathered much information about him yet either.」

「No way….」

To Tanaka’s random excuse, Éclair couldn’t conceal the disappointment on her face. As expected even Tanaka-san, the possessor of pink brain cells, was still beset with an impasse by this situation.

「There’s no need to be so discouraged. This is a bar. Even if it’s not me, there are surely those who know of this information to a certain extent.」

As expected, today’s Tanaka-san was unlike the usual him. He made a move to ensure his already elevated prestige to at least not get any lower. Above all else, he was merely dumping this problem to others, but it still made him look somewhat cool.

「So, as you’ve heard, care to tell us about this Demon Lord that has been rumored recently, Master?」

Stylishly and sharply pointing out two fingers, Tanaka addressed the tavern old man. This figure of this was cool to a fault. And then, getting suddenly addressed to, the tavern old man swallowed his words of ‘Like I’m telling you, what’s with this master thing all about?’ back and answered the question. He truly was a good old man.

「Let’s see…. The rumors about the Demon Lord started airing about half a month ago. There are many rumors about the appearance of the demon lord, like the king of all skeletons, or the strongest creature boasting the most beautiful and sturdy body, and so on so it’s hard to tell which one is true.」

「Oh, to think he’d conceal his true appearance, what a crafty guy he is. Truly the embodiment of man!」

Demon Lord – The ruler of all demons, it was a very enviable position for the chuunibyou Tanaka. It might be inevitable that envy would sprout in his heart. Eclair asked a question without paying attention to the situation of such a Tanaka.

「But why is it that such a being of unknown nature to be rumored as a Demon Lord?」

「He seems to be a very dangerous guy. At any rate, it’s said that he had annihilated a battalion of kingdom soldiers. All of the spreading rumors say pretty much the same thing about this matter, so the credibility should be pretty high. And if this matter is true, then it is certainly a monster worthy of being called a Demon Lord.」

Tanaka’s flames of envy were extinguished at once. ‘It’s bad. He’s a super dangerous guy. I have to make sure to never meet him.’ And firmly vowed as such. He truly was as adaptable as ever.

「It seems that the kingdom has immediately organized a force to subjugate the Demon Lord. And it’s said that our Hero has also joined this force.」

「Hero… you say…?」

Hearing the word Hero that suddenly came up in the conversation, Tanaka was shocked. However, it was only natural as he was his mortal enemy. And then, at the same time his natural enemy with whom he had little chance of winning. ‘O Demon Lord, do your best… Please do your very best…,’ Tanaka instantly converted into Demon Lord’s cheering squad.

「What’s the matter?」

「No, it seems to me that you are somehow more obsessed with the Demon Lord than I am….」

Despite appearing to be somewhat dense, the maid displayed such an unexpected sharpness.

「It, it’s just your imagination. Well, it’s that you know, that. I may not look the part, but this humble one is still a sage, after all. So I kinda greedily seek knowledge out of habit.」

While covering up for his slip up, he started sending flirtatious glances at the beautiful woman again. Today’s Tanaka was terrifyingly savage.

「I see, sage-sama, huh.」

Not noticing Tanaka’s appeals in the least, Éclair honestly expressed his admiration. She was a maid who was pretty dense when it came to certain matters. On the other hand, ‘Really?’, the tavern old man was staring at him with such doubtful eyes.

「Leaving that aside, is there any other information pertaining the Demon Lord?」

「This is the extent of available information at the moment. As rotten as they may be, they’re still the military. I’m sure they’re hiding the important information.」

「I see.」

The disappointment was apparent on Éclair’s face. Though she was a woman with few expressions to begin with. So it was unknown to what extent her disappointment was.

「Don’t be so discouraged. This extent of information is probably the most you can get in about half a month. I don’t know what kind of information you’re looking for, but I’m sure time will take care of it eventually. Even if they are the military, there’s no secrets in this world that remain hidden forever.」

At this point, his dead fish-like eyes shone.

「So that’s it for today, I guess. There don’t seem to be anything to be gained by staying here any longer.」

Tanaka’s wild instinct was finally baring its fang here. From the howl it raised, it indicated that he had recorded the highest level of excitement ever since setting foot in the other world. If excitement could be materialized, we would surely have witnessed a hamster standing on two legs and holding its hands high in the air in a threatening manner. He truly was a heartful man.

「Let’s put this to an end for the time being. Hmm…, it’s a little worrying to let a lady walk alone this late. Should I escort you home then? Haha, there’s nothing to worry about. I was just about to head home myself, after all.」

Waves of attack with no opening for Éclair to interrupt.

「….」

After hesitating for a while, Eclair bowed her head. A huge fanfare was surely echoing in Tanaka’s head.

「Later then, Master. You can keep the change for information fee.」

Tanaka stood up from the counter, leaving an exact amount of money for the milk. The way he didn’t make the foolish mistake of not paying enough to get a laugh here. As expected, today’s Tanaka was unlike the usual him. And the fact that there was no change here was a testament of the bare minimum of pride of a comedian he had to preserve. He truly was a man who reeked of little man to no end.

Tanaka departed the tavern along with Eclair. At the end, he turned around and gave the tavern old man a thumbs-up. Seeing the overly smug look on Tanaka’s face, it was inevitable that the old man wanted to snap that raised finger of his.

Thus, Tanaka stepped into the lust-filled night streets. Would that step be the first step toward his harem? Or would the world’s will obstruct his ambition? The battle between Tanaka and the world continued.