Diesel rolled through the streets of a peaceful Japanese town. There was hardly anyone on the street at the time. It was early, too early normally for him to be up and about. At least, that was the case when he had been human.
After all, trucks didn't really need to sleep. As long as there was gasoline in the tank and coolant running through the pipes, he could keep pushing forward. Moreover, he was apparently a 'magical' truck, in which he had no idea what the hell that meant.
So far, he was able to manipulate his size and appearance a bit to suit the situation. In the narrow streets of a Japanese town, the compact version appeared to be best. It wouldn't do to stand out like a foreigner towering over the locals. After seeing an example of the local vehicles, Diesel found an empty lot and morphed himself into a similar fashion.
He marveled at this shapeshifting skill as he caught his reflection on the windows that he rolled past. How convenient, especially with what he had been tasked to do.
As a 'Truck-kun' employed by the Otherworld Isekai Service, Kami-sama had tasked him to essentially run over certain targets to send them to another world. There was no way around it. He was essentially a killer-for-hire.
As a normal person who had just barely started a working career, the thought of murder made the gasoline running through his pipes grow cold. Even though Kami-sama had explained that the targets were people that deserved it, that still didn't bring him any comfort.
In any case, Diesel would have to suck it up for now. If there was any hope of turning back into a human any time soon, then he would just have to grin and bear it.
His boss had sent him to do some groundwork, giving him the time to get used to his new body and how it operated. Sending him through a teleportation portal, he soon found himself in an area that looked much like locations in anime that he had watched. The signs in Japanese made it blatantly obvious.
"Huh? I can understand them?" He mumbled as the unfamiliar characters seemed to convey meaning to him.
His knowledge of Japanese had been limited to random lingo that was repeated often in dialogue, and he certainly didn't know how to read Kanji before. Apparently, this must have been one of the magical abilities bestowed upon him as the signs had been clear as if written in English.
This had also been the first time that he visited Japan in real life. Well, as real as it could be, seeing that he was merely a truck. Of course, he wouldn't be able to sightsee beyond what could be observed from where his wheels took him, but it was still a new experience, nonetheless.
As Diesel parked along the street to take in the sights, a group of schoolgirls passed by.
"Ah, high school uniforms!" Not trying to be a creep, it had been the first time that he had seen those in real life. He had been interested merely because it was an uncommon thing where he had lived before. He was a freaking truck, so it's not like he could take an unhealthy interest in it anyways.
Luckily, it didn't matter if he had accidently let out his thoughts, as Kami-sama had notified him that trucks couldn't speak. All the girls heard was a rhythmic purring of his engine instead, something too natural for them to take notice of. Only those attuned to unnatural beings would be able to hear what he said.
Seeing people start to move about, it reminded Diesel that he had a job to do. In this case, the target was a troublesome boy who had been a bully to others. Judging by the time, he should be commuting to school through this street at any moment.
Sure enough, Diesel heard him before he was in sight.
"Of course, I'm the best! I'll kick the asses of anyone that dares to bother you!"
A teenage boy led the way, his swagger of confidence exuded an aura of 'don't mess with me!' Behind him, a small crowd of guys followed behind meekly. At first glance, he didn't seem to be so bad. It looked like he was a leader that tried to protect his meeker-looking friends.
Still, Diesel double-checked his info:
Kouta Aida
- Flagged for violence and abusive behavior
- Stubborn and quick to anger
- Manipulative
The information that he got from Kami-sama was quite limited, so it seemed strange to Diesel how these points warranted him being isekai-ed, but he had given his stamp of approval for the service to proceed. Apparently, it had been sent by one of the kids that were involved with him at some point. He asked Kami-sama how these requests happened.
"When a person feels enough despair, the system of this world flags it and sends out a message. If that person feels compelled to act upon it, then we review the case to determine if it warrants service."
Diesel couldn't think of any words in response to this. Just what the hell was this system, and why didn't it send him any requests when he had fallen on hard times? Though, being turned into a truck probably topped them all, so that was likely why things had turned out this way.
He shrugged off his thoughts and slowly rolled forward, keeping an eye on Kouta from a distance. Throughout the commute to school, it didn't seem like anything about him stood out – no signs of people picking fights with him, no feelings of ill will from those following him. Kouta simply appeared to be that popular guy that naturally gathered people around him.
This was the case when they had reached school, where a number of people gave him a hearty greeting, which he responded in kind.
Diesel was confused. Why had he been chosen as a target? Objectively, he fit the standard stereotype that a hero dropped into another world should be. However, Kami-sama had said before that candidates were hell-bound. Yet, nothing had tipped off signs of this being the case.
Finding a spot outside the school to do a stake-out, Diesel continued to watch the actions of Kouta. Since he couldn't approach the target, another convenient ability that he had discovered was being able to see through walls. Obviously, he couldn't review the situation if he was continuously bound to the road with no way of looking inside buildings. With this skill, he could just relax and watch things play out.
Even in class, Kouta looked like the model student, answering questions well when asked and even performing the duties of the class head. Both strong and smart, it made Diesel feel a bit jealous. Though, he quickly shoved those thoughts aside as it wouldn't do to allow personal feelings to cloud his judgement.
Suddenly, he felt a hand slap his windshield. A small paper seemed to have been placed there.
"Eh? What is that?" It was at too awkward of an angle to see, but it seemed like someone had put it there. After waiting for the coast to be clear, Diesel scooted back and forth, in an effort to blow it off his windshield for a better look.
Failing to get it to budge, Diesel mentally slapped himself for overlooking the obvious action. A pair of wipers moved across the glass, finally brushing the paper off and onto the ground.
"Now, let's see…a parking ticket?! The hell?" Diesel scooted backwards. A sign hanging above him read, 'No parking – School Days 6:00 – 20:00'
Humans didn't have to worry about where to stand, so the thought never crossed his mind. Diesel would've rolled his eyes if he had them. Kami-sama could take care of it for him, as part of 'business expenses.'
For the moment, he circled around to the back of the school building, where he wouldn't be bothered again and continued to watch Kouta's daily life. By the time he had gotten sick of it, the sky had shifted colors, and it was time for the students to start heading home.
"Well…that was a waste of time." Diesel yawned, which came out as smoke from his exhaust stack. "I'd better call up Kami-sama and ask him what the deal is."
Just when he was about to do that, he noticed that a girl had approached Kouta. She had a giddy expression as she conversed with him. In response, Kouta took her hand and led her away.
"Hmm? Girlfriend, maybe?" Diesel dropped the radio attached to his dashboard. "Well, might as well end the day with a romance-"
At that moment, something caused him to freeze. The guys that had been part of Kouta's gang before had also gotten up from their desks and followed after the two. With Kouta's arm around her shoulder, the two of them walked out of the school. They didn't once look back to see the group of guys tailing them.
"Well, that's certainly odd…" Diesel could sense something was off about the situation. He decided to continue the pursuit.