Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 6 - Chapter Pr

<Summary of Events Thus Far>

Sasaki was the kind of worn-out office worker you can find anywhere. He was about to enter his forties working at a midsize company in Tokyo.

But when he bought a cute silver-colored Java sparrow at a pet shop, the bird turned out to be a wise, illustrious sage who was reincarnated from another world.

This tiny sage granted him powerful magic and the means to pass between worlds.

Sasaki named the sparrow Peeps, and before long they began crossing to the otherworld together.

The two of them, a corporate drone in a dead-end job and an exiled former sage, both exhausted by their lives, immediately hit it off and began a business venture selling modern goods in the otherworld—all in order to secure a laid-back, relaxing life.

Mistaking Sasaki’s otherworld magic for psychic powers, an organization recruited him—the Cabinet Office’s Paranormal Phenomena Countermeasure Bureau—and he began working there. This new job came with a much more substantial paycheck, and Sasaki was all smiles. Now with more money, he was able to buy more stock to sell in the otherworld.

But such smooth sailing didn’t last.

While doing business in the otherworld, Sasaki became embroiled in a power struggle involving the noble and royal classes. And as if that wasn’t enough, war broke out with a neighboring country. Sasaki and Peeps rose to the occasion, allying themselves with the second prince of Herz, Prince Adonis.

But back in modern times, Sasaki’s work at the Paranormal Phenomena Countermeasure Bureau proved challenging. Unable to rely on Peeps for support, Sasaki made use of the magic he acquired while training in the otherworld to survive a series of battles against psychics.

But that wasn’t all. A child calling herself a magical girl with a grudge against psychics staged repeated, one-sided attacks on the bureau as Sasaki struggled to mediate between the two sides. Ultimately, he revealed his otherworldly magic to her and wound up in the role of “magical middle-aged man.”

Eventually, with Futarishizuka’s cooperation, Sasaki and Peeps secured a means of converting valuables from the otherworld into modern currency. Sasaki continued his magical training, using it to great effect against psychics and magical girls alike. His free and relaxed retirement seemed within reach.

But then a new force rose to block their path—they learned that a death game had begun in modern Japan. Sasaki ended up embroiled in a proxy war between angels and demons, where he found his next-door neighbor in quite the situation and risked his life to rescue her. And that’s when he learned about a fourth faction—unaffiliated with psychics or magical girls. Abaddon, the demon contracted to Sasaki’s neighbor, requested his help, and along with Futarishizuka, it was decided they would cooperate.

Furthermore, thanks to a little too much alcohol, Peeps leaked evidence of Lady Elsa’s visit to modern Japan all over the internet. Social media exploded in excitement over a video of her talking with a Java sparrow.

Looking for Sasaki, his various acquaintances gathered at the hotel he was using as a base. His neighbor, who was involved in the death game, Lady Elsa from the otherworld, Miss Hoshizaki representing the psychics, and the magical girl—four young women with vastly different backgrounds—finally came face-to-face with one another.

But almost immediately, Sasaki received word of a giant sea monster attack.

The massive creature had appeared suddenly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and was, according to Peeps, a species of dragon from the otherworld. Under Section Chief Akutsu’s instructions, Sasaki headed out with Miss Hoshizaki and Futarishizuka to take it out.

Meanwhile, the proxy war between angels and demons was heating up, as plots spilled out of the isolated spaces and into the streets. The angelic faction, which saw Sasaki’s neighbor and Abaddon as a major threat, sent a spy to blow up the apartment complex where she and Sasaki lived.

After barely managing to survive, his neighbor encountered the suspected culprits: an angel and her Disciple. Sasaki, who witnessed the explosion, was able to secure his neighbor and Abaddon’s help with a decisive strike against the sea monster. Thanks to additional support from psychics and the magical girl, Peeps was able to slay the dragon in secret with his magic.

As for Sasaki’s neighbor, she may have been racking up victories in the death game, but she had lost her guardian and home in the process. In response, Futarishizuka stepped up to the plate and assumed custody over her. She set the girl up in a new home—a mansion in luxurious Karuizawa—and transferred her to a new school. Now with fresh surroundings, Sasaki’s former neighbor can begin her life anew.

Back in the otherworld, Herz’s succession dispute reached a boiling point when Prince Lewis, despite facing certain defeat, insisted on attacking the Ohgen Empire. Though unable to guess his motives at first, Adonis eventually came to understand his elder brother’s true plan, though by then, it was already too late for Lewis to be saved.

In truth, Prince Lewis had been fighting for the sake of his homeland, all alone, ever since he was a child. Inheriting his will, Prince Adonis crushed the imperialist nobles lurking within Herz and was subsequently crowned the next king. Thus, the struggle for the crown came to an end well before the promised five-year deadline.

And now, the story moves once again back to modern Japan…