Past Life Returner - Side Story 45: New Year(1) - Chief Mourner Kim Jin-Cheol

Li Wei accidentally obtained a simulator that allowed him to manage a family of cultivators. He discovered that the descendants in the game would offer him strange and unique sacrifices.“Thanks to the ancestor for the gift, our family has become the most powerful family!”“Hurry up and offer a sacrifice to the ancestor. Please accept this spiritual weapon!”“Ancestor, we have already conquered the immortal world!”Then, one day, the descendants of the Li family, who had been in the game, appeared on Earth in grand flying boats. Under the astonished eyes of the entire world, these descendants paid homage to Li Wei in great numbers.“Welcome our ancestor home!”

A huge guy is bawling his eyes out. In this day and age? Sure, maybe the world changed while I was away in that other place. I’m not some old-fashioned boomer.But what if that guy is clinging to my pant leg, sobbing and sniffling—And we’re not even acquaintances?Even in modern times, that’s just messed up. Ask any passing kid, they’d agree.So yeah, I shook my leg. He was gross and too close.“The hell’s wrong with you? Crying just ’cause you saw a ghost?” “N-no! I swear, it was really there! You didn’t see it!!”I let the disrespect slide. Barely. He was asking for help and still talking down to me just because I look young?Obviously, I’m not the one who lost his balls. He is.And yet… when I looked where he pointed—Something was there.I threw some coarse salt and looked again.He stared at me like I was insane, but I ignored it.…Yeah. Something was definitely there.It made eye contact.

In the Central 46 Compound, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 and the notorious scourge of the Female Shinigami Association, Masatsuki Aozaki, stood before the Sages and Judges.“You have improper relationships with numerous members, Seated Officers, and Captains of the Seireitei?”“As Captain-Commander, maintaining close relationships with them helps facilitate my work.”“...”The Judge narrowed his eyes. “Then how do you explain modifying the female Shinigami's Shihakushō into miniskirts?”“To transform the Seireitei into a perfect paradise.”“Tsk tsk… A paradise for all Shinigami? That’s not entirely unreasonable…”“No, a personal paradise.”“A private—wait! Captain-Commander Masatsuki, that kind of thinking is clearly wrong!”“Do you want to die?”“...”“Forget it, Captain-Commander Masatsuki. We’ll set this matter aside for now. Let’s discuss some of the outrageous statements you’ve made in the past. Those were jokes, right?”“No, I was completely serious.”Masatsuki calmly ran his hand along the hilt of his Zanpakutō and spoke with conviction. “I have a great relationship with my subordinates, I get along well with Hueco Mundo, and I’m even friends with all of your wives and girlfriends. But rest assured, I’m a good Shinigami. You can safely leave the world in my hands!”Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto: That damn brat! Shunsui, Jūshirō, don’t stop me—I need to teach him a lesson!Thus begins the tale of the most incorrigible Shinigami!

One day, I – a high schooler – found a paperback in the hospital. The “Disease Coexistence Journal” was its title. It was a diary that my classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, had written in secret. Inside, it was written that due to her pancreatic disease, her days were numbered. And thus, I coincidentally went from Just-a-Classmate to a Secret-Knowing-Classmate. It was as if I were being drawn to her, who was my polar opposite. However, the world presented the girl that was already suffering from an illness with an equally cruel reality…

The best-selling, award-winning debut work by Yoru Sumino:

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“Bestsellers 2016 (Overall) by TOHAN” – 5th Place

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As of May 2017, this book has sold over 1.2 million copies.