The Explosive Used to Make Normies Explode

"Something just occurred to me. Why do I have to reincarnate in another world?"

'You say that after trying to hug me a few seconds ago, getting burned to a crisp in the fires of hell, and respawning.'

"It's not a huge question, but in my case, wouldn't it be faster to just bring me back to life?"

'Yes. If I could do that, it would be the quickest way.'

"So you can't?"

'The god of the world you came from is strict about the rules, so it would be difficult. Some gods don't allow easy resurrections and reincarnations.'

"So whether a god accepts otherworldly reincarnators depends on their generosity."

'That's right. You're gradually being added to the blacklist of the worlds you reincarnate into because of all the trouble you cause there.'

"That's rough. And I even defeat Demon Kings and everything."

'You defeat Heroes, too. Besides, for gods who create worlds, what's important is how well the world's ending lives up to their expectations. Most are satisfied as long as they can weave a good story, but you ruin that sort of thing.'

"I do fight some pretty epic battles, though."

'The problem is when inanimate objects fight epic battles.'

"If those gods are so hung up on appearances, that shows you how small their minds are."

'If the star of a Hollywood movie were a household item, it might be unexpected, but it wouldn't be very moving. They want a dramatic story, not a comedy.'

"Hmm. So they might be satisfied if I put on a flashy, dramatic performance?"

'That's more likely than fighting by spraying lemon juice. Well, you seem ready to take this seriously, so let's send you off to reincarnate in another world while you're in the mood.'

"All right, let's see what we've got in the suggestion box. I stick my arm in... Oh?"

'What is it?'

"This feels like there are over two hundred of them."

※ At the time of writing, the total number of prompts submitted by everyone has exceeded two hundred.

'I have no idea who delivers them or how. I think it'd be best not to think about it.'

"Rummage, rummage... and out it comes. From Kenrouga Kurotsuchi-san: 'An explosive used to blow up normies.'"

'That would certainly be dramatic. Wasn't that person the one who submitted a prompt before, too?'

"They suggested 'The Second Hand of the Clock Tower' and 'The Awkward Atmosphere a Single Man Feels When Sitting Alone Behind a Couple Kissing.'"

※ See Chapters Five and Fifteen.

'To be selected three times out of more than two hundred prompts... They might have a real talent for submitting winning entries.'

"Still, I didn't expect to get three prompts in a row about being hostile toward normies."

'I hope the clock tower's second hand wasn't intentional.'

"An explosive used to blow up normies, huh? If it's too lethal, things could get grim."

'That's true. Happy-looking couples make me sick just to look at, but they haven't done anything wrong.'

"The Goddess-sama is pretty harsh on couples. Anyway, let's find a world with someone who seems likely to blow up normies... Hmm, this girl might work."

'A female culprit? Given the nature of the prompt, you probably won't be driven by ulterior motives, so I'll let that slide this time.'

"It's not like I couldn't be. I could blow their clothes off along with them, for example."

'If possible, I'd like you to make it dramatic.'

◇

'Still, this suggestion box looks like an ordinary suggestion box, yet it can interfere with space-time—or perhaps dimensions—'

"I'm back."

'Oh, welcome back. I assume it didn't work, as expected?'

"I tried to make it dramatic, but unfortunately..."

'You were the explosive used to blow up normies, right? What kind of explosive did you become?'

"A banana peel."

'Come again?'

"A banana peel."

'A banana peel is an explosive? That's ridiculous.'

"Let me explain. First, take a look at this photo."

'A couple who look like they're getting along. I can see a banana peel ahead of them.'

"And here's the second photo, taken a few seconds later."

'The man stepped on the banana peel and went down in a perfect pratfall.'

"And finally, here's the third photo, taken right afterward."

'They exploded. How does that work?'

"They slip, fall, and explode. It gets a big laugh."

'Why make it dramatically funny?'

"Here's a fourth photo from after that."

'The couple have matching, perfect afros now. They don't seem to have any physical injuries, but they look utterly miserable.'

"That's right. Any normie who steps on me, slips, and falls explodes and gets an afro."

'I don't understand.'

"It's not one thing after another—it's one step, then a big fluffy 'fro."

'I understand even less.'

"Just understand that I reincarnated as a banana peel like that, okay?"

'I don't want to understand, but this story won't go anywhere otherwise, so I'll accept it.'

"Now, let me introduce my partner this time. There was a single woman who witnessed the couple turn into afros. Her name was Iichera."

'Judging by the photo, she doesn't look bad. She could easily become a normie herself.'

"As a matter of fact, Iichera had such demanding ideals for her type of man that she couldn't find a good match."

'There are quite a few people like that. They go crawling around looking for some unattainable person who's way out of their league. There's one right in front of me.'

"I'll reach the top someday, you'll see. By the way, Iichera's ideal man has three Ks."

'That's a term you don't hear much anymore. Tall, highly educated, and high income, was it?'

"A wind user, a lightning user, and a castanet user."

'Now that you mention it, this is a fantasy world. But what about the castanet part?'

"Oh, Goddess-sama, you don't know what castanets are?"

'I do. I meant, what is it about a castanet player—a percussionist—that appeals to her?'

"The pros are amazing at castanets."

'There are professionals?'

"There are. Just search for 'castanet pro' and look."

'Hmm, you're right. That's amazing.'

※ Every genre has its own masters of technique. If you're interested, try searching for them. It's fascinating.

"There were quite a few wind and lightning users, but very few castanet players, so Iichera was single."

'People who specialize in castanets probably don't use wind or lightning, after all.'

"Anyway, back to the story. Iichera looked down at me on the ground suspiciously."

'A perfectly natural reaction.'

"Then she immediately stomped on me and gracefully turned a somersault in midair."

'She's quite inquisitive.'

"I was surprised by how boldly Iichera went for it, too. But I'm a banana peel that explodes and gives normies afros when they slip on me. So when Iichera slipped, she didn't explode."

'You do have a clear distinction there.'

"When a non-normie slips on me, some nearby old guy gets a dramatic manga-style face."

'That's an even bigger disaster than an afro.'

"After seeing a dull-looking old man suddenly transform into a dashing, dramatic manga-style character, Iichera became convinced I was an amazing banana peel."

'I'm curious how the person whose face suddenly changed reacted.'

"He was happy, saying he had a more imposing aura."

'I hope the number of people with dramatic manga-style faces doesn't keep growing.'

"Iichera couldn't think about anything except her plan to blow up those hateful normies."

'That's a problem in its own right.'

"Iichera tossed me toward couples with a beautiful underhand throw."

'She's a woman, so she wouldn't throw overhand.'

"And then the couples stepped on me, slipped, exploded, and turned into afros."

'You're causing a fair bit of trouble. It's more of a prank, though, so I don't feel like scolding you too much.'

"To start with, Iichera managed to give eighty percent of the couples in the country where this took place afros."

'Her first step sparked an afro craze across the whole country.'

"Anyone who turned into an afro because of my explosion stays that way as long as they're a normie."

'Is it a cursed afro? But you keep setting off explosions. How are you always fine?'

"If you're reincarnating as an explosive, you should naturally have resistance to explosions."

'There are hardly any explosives that are resistant to explosions.'

"The Demon King Iichera laughed triumphantly, declaring that she'd give the remaining twenty percent of couples afros, too, and create a ridiculous world."

'She was a Demon King after all?'

"I laughed along with her."

'You laughed, too?'

"She was surprised."

'The banana peel she'd been throwing around started laughing, after all.'

"But I was a banana peel that had already performed miracles, so she accepted it without a fuss, and we joined forces to give normies afros."

'You don't have hands, though.'

"I did. They sprouted right out."

'You had them? You do love growing things.'

"But there was no way the country would do nothing while eighty percent of its couples were turned into afros. They summoned a Hero to catch the culprit behind the incident."

'Wouldn't the police be the ones to handle that?'

"It's a fantasy world, after all."

'What's with this trend of making anyone who opposes a Demon King into a Hero?'

"True to the name of Hero, as soon as the Hero realized couples were being targeted, they immediately deduced that the culprit had to be a non-normie."

'That's probably what most people would think of first.'

"They also deduced that the culprit was a woman who was still single because her standards for an ideal partner were too high, and who liked castanet players."

'That's an amazing Hero. Shouldn't they be a detective instead?'

"No, they were a Hero. They showed all sorts of courage: karaoke alone, a riverside barbecue alone, even forming a band alone."

'So they were brave. The last one sounds more like a solo debut, though.'

"Then the Hero found Iichera in no time, and their fateful chase began."

'Was it really fate? I don't see much of a connection.'

"Even as she ran, Iichera threw me to try to trip up the Hero."

'Wouldn't it be hard to retrieve you if the Hero dodged?'

"It's fine. One of my options is 'Always return to hand after being thrown.'"

'That's an awfully convenient option.'

"I considered throwing when I chose my options, since I was going to be used as an explosive."

'I suppose that's fair.'

"With pinpoint accuracy and a speed of over 150 kilometers per hour, I slipped right beneath the Hero's planted foot and sent the Hero tumbling."

'Shouldn't that Demon King join the baseball world?'

"It's a fantasy world, so there wasn't any baseball."

'Fantasy worlds with baseball are rare, aren't they?'

※ There are some.

"But they did have kabaddi."

'That's obscure. How did a sport like that end up there?'

"I made it popular."

'You're an awfully meddlesome banana peel.'

"By the way, the Hero was single, so a nearby greengrocer got a dramatic manga-style face."

'Another tragedy has occurred.'

"He was happy, saying it made him look rugged."

'People in this world are so positive.'

"But the Hero wasn't going to be intimidated by a slip and fall. The Hero chased after me like a gale with wind magic, then fired off lightning spells one after another."

'That's a pretty lethal attack to use against the culprit behind the afros.'

"But you can't forget about me. I could make anything and everything slip, even the Hero's magic."

'A banana peel can make you slip if you step on it, but it isn't that all-purpose.'

※ The author once tried stepping on a banana peel to test how slippery it was, and found that soap in the bath was much more slippery.

"By the way, when magic slips, a nearby old guy turns into a bodybuilder."

'And another unnecessary detail causes a new victim.'

"The long chase was finally reaching its climax. By the time ninety percent of the old men in town had become either dramatic manga characters or bodybuilders, Iichera was finally cornered."

'I feel like this caused more damage than turning couples into afros.'

"Well, the old guys didn't mind becoming bodybuilders, so it's fine. It's fine!"

'It's true that few men dislike putting on muscle. Models and the like know how to keep it in check, though.'

"Well, a few got so muscular their clothes ripped, and they were arrested for public indecency."

'That's nowhere near fine. That's definitely not fine.'

"Iichera watched happily, drooling."

'She's got the same personality as you when you were turned into a woman.'

"I'm the type to swallow my drool."

'That's a minor distinction.'

"The Hero who cornered Iichera was single, too, so he understood her pain and resentment."

'He'd perfected the art of being single enough to form a band alone.'

"So he proposed a fair fight: if he won, Iichera would give up on turning couples into afros and limit herself to clicking her tongue."

'The Hero might hate normies, too.'

"Iichera accepted those terms, and the Hero and Demon King fought their final battle."

'Was it a serious fight?'

"No, it was a street performance showdown."

'A street performance showdown between the Hero and the Demon King.'

"As it happened, they were both aspiring musicians who knew their way around instruments."

'They did perform comedy before, after all.'

※ See Chapter Fifteen.

"Iichera showed off her skill with castanets, getting the crowd on the street fired up."

'So she was a castanet player herself.'

"The Hero, meanwhile, was also a castanet player, and, incredibly, played two at once while singing."

'That's an awfully convenient coincidence.'

"The crowd was enchanted by the ballad accompanied by double castanets."

'I'm not sure about the combination of castanets and a ballad.'

"Unfortunately, the Hero won the contest."

'Of course. He played two castanets and sang, too.'

"It's a shame, even though I slipped under his feet a few times to make him fall."

'So much for fighting fair.'

"But both of them gave it their all, and the people with dramatic manga-style faces applauded. It was a satisfying finish."

'How many victims did you leave behind?'

"As for what happened afterward, Iichera started dating the Hero."

'Now that you mention it, he had all the qualifications: a wind user, a lightning user, and a castanet player. For the Demon King, meeting the Hero was a miraculous encounter.'

"The two of them later formed a band. Their castanet-and-castanet pairing became a duo that took the world by storm."

'Once again, you left behind a surreal result in world history.'

"And then the time came to say goodbye."

'Has it?'

"Yes. I'd completely forgotten that I made myself a perishable item this time, and hadn't done anything to keep myself from rotting."

'So you rotted. Your final moments always seem to reveal how careless you are.'

"Iichera didn't make a face at me, even though I was starting to rot and smell. She offered me her hand and said, 'Thanks to you, I met a wonderful Hero. I hope you meet your ideal person soon, too.'"

'From the outside, it must've looked like a woman shaking hands with a rotting banana peel.'

"Well, my ideal person is the Goddess-sama."

'I'm beyond the heights you could climb, somewhere out in space.'

"I'll keep climbing patiently. Anyway, here's a souvenir: a CD by the band Afro Macho, formed by Iichera and the Hero."

'Couldn't they think of a more sensible band name? Well, since you brought it back, let's give it a listen.'

◇

"Oh, Goddess-sama. Are you practicing the castanets?"

'I thought I might learn an instrument for a change.'