The Case of the Model Student

Diesel rolled through the streets of a Japanese town. It was quiet and relaxing, with hardly anyone around. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, too early for him to be normally 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. Kami-sama had made sure he was pristine and ready for his first job. Moreover, he was apparently a magical truck, in which he had no idea what the hell he was capable of.

As Kami-sama had shown, his size and appearance could morph to suit the situation. In the narrow streets of a Japanese town, the compact version comfortably slid around the tight curves. It wouldn't do to stand out like a foreigner towering over the locals. After seeing a few domestic vehicles, Diesel found an empty lot and copied the designs to fit in better.

He marveled at this shapeshifting skill as he eyed his reflection on nearby windows and mirrors. He suddenly noticed that the signs around him were perfectly translated to English, likely another skill to aid his job. How convenient. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have spent the money on Du*lingo.

On the other hand, he was now a Truck-kun employed by the Otherworld Isekai Service, living the meme. There was no way around it. He was essentially a killer-for-hire dressed up with divine excuses.

Forget a normal working career, Diesel had just been forced into underworld murder under the orders of a god. The very thought of it would have iced over the gasoline in his pipes if it weren’t for antifreeze. Regardless of how Kami-sama put it, it didn’t bring any relief to the task even if the targets deserved it.

In any case, Diesel had to suck it up for now. Any hope of turning back into a human soon meant that he would just have to grin and bear it. He no longer had a heart, so maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad… Diesel skidded to a stop at that thought.

This body is already getting to me. I need out!

For now, Diesel had been tasked with some groundwork, giving him the time to get used to his new body and how it operated. Kami-sama opened a teleportation portal and nudged him in, a quick trip to a scenic town that looked much like places in anime that he had watched.

Like a foreign tourist on his first trip outside the country, Diesel eyed everything cautiously. Aside from driving completely on the wrong side of the road at first, he quickly adapted to the changes. Perhaps, a bit of outdoors wasn’t so bad after all. There was no chance that he would have visited Japan any time soon otherwise.

“Enjoy the sights, my new hire. But keep an eye on the target to see if he deserves the full service!”

That was what Kami-sama said before leaving him on his own. It was a first job, likely an easy one that was made difficult to botch. Regardless, Diesel felt like he was being judged like a convict on probation. The fresh experience of clean Japanese streets made him forget that momentarily.

As Diesel parked along one side to take in the sights, a group of schoolgirls passed by.

Ah, high school uniforms!

Diesel immediately wanted to knock himself on the side. He wasn’t a creep, but seeing those for the first time in real life distracted him once again. There was no room for him to be pervy. He was a freaking truck, so it wasn’t like he had an outlet for human desires anymore. It was best to rein such thoughts in.

Fortunately, no one would hear him even if he accidentally spoke. Kami-sama mentioned that a magic veil surrounded him at all times. Anything that he said aloud would normally go unnoticed. That was apparent as Diesel’s random mumbling sounded only like the purr of an engine to the girls that walked by.

Of course, exceptions existed. If it involved isekai business, that veil could be dispelled. And while rare, those attuned to the supernatural or were cognizant of Diesel’s presence could also see past the illusion.

“Did you hear? Aida-kun found himself a new girl.”

“Oh really? I’m jealous. I wish senpai would turn his eyes at me.”

The idle chatter of schoolgirls snapped Diesel back to attention. Hearing that name reminded him that the target was a troublesome boy that had been accused of using his popularity to rope in unsuspecting girls.

Requests to Kami-sama had to be background checked, especially in the case where public evidence was hard to come by. As a Truck-kun blending in with the environment, it was up to Diesel to gather information before making a judgment call.

Soon enough, Diesel caught a glimpse of the boy in question walking toward him. As he focused on the target, Kouta Aida, a debriefing flashed on his dashboard, similar to a wanted poster.

=====Kouta Aida=====

[Claim – Flagged for violence and manipulative behavior]

[Objective – Determine if target is fit for isekai]

"Of course, I'm the best! I'll kick the asses of anyone that dares to bother you!"

Kouta marched toward the school gates, a swagger of confidence exuding an aura of 'don't mess with me!' Behind him, a small crowd of high schoolers trailed meekly. At first glance, he didn't seem to be so bad. Kouta looked the part of a typical leader that came off a bit strong to others.

Diesel immediately had his doubts whether some bratty kid really deserved to be offed and sent to another world, just because of some bad behavior. All Kami-sama had mentioned was that a formal request had been received, submitted by a classmate that had a terrible run-in with Kouta. A stamp of approval was given to proceed.

As to how these requests happened in the first place…

"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."

However, the information that he got from Kami-sama was quite limited, which required a field agent to make contact and fill in the rest. As Diesel observed Kouta passing by, his thoughts were added to the report automatically, much to his discontent.

The way that everything happened was bizarre to Diesel, but fortunately, he avoided having to type up the reports himself. The system that connected him to the divine realm recorded his interactions, and once enough evidence was gathered, a green light was given for the service to commence.

How come I never got any of these messages? Haven’t I despaired enough? Diesel wondered, shivering as he recalled his childhood. There was only so much cringe he could handle at his chunni self as a teenager, but being bullied for it was a typical thing that made him dislike school.

Then again, being turned into a Truck-kun felt far worse than any of that.

Diesel shrugged off his thoughts and continued to eye Kouta as the gang ducked into the school grounds. Of course, no trucks were allowed on the premises, so he was stuck across the street, rolling back and forth slowly to get a better view.

“Man, how am I supposed to do this job if I can’t even see him?”

As if his question triggered something, Diesel felt his vision zoom in. The walls around the school disappeared, giving him a full view of the courtyard. He was able to clearly see and hear Kouta and those around him.

Yet, Kouta’s actions remained pretty normal – no signs of people picking fights with him, no feelings of ill will by those greeting him. He was Mr. Popular, naturally gathering lackeys that followed his lead. Even the teachers exchanged cordial greetings with him as he passed by.

Diesel was growing confused about the target. Had the request been submitted by a person that was simply jealous? While Kouta had the makings of someone with a big ego, Kami-sama had mentioned that targets were likely hell-bound and given a second chance.

Once classes started, Diesel soon grew bored of watching Kouta sit at his desk. His gaze started wandering to other parts of the school. It was kind of neat that he had such investigative powers for a stakeout.

He briefly eyed boring history lessons, an art class attempting to draw a person posing, and spotted a couple sneaking out of class to make out on the rooftops. Occasionally, his gaze darted back to Kouta, seeing that he continued to be a model student, even performing the duties of the class leader.

A quick zoom in on test papers showed that Kouta had aced it, and gym class was dominated by his swift drives in basketball. The more the day rolled on, the more Diesel doubted the initial report. If anything, he was downright jealous that such a character existed, but he couldn’t simply truck him based on personal beef.

Diesel nearly jumped when a hand suddenly slapped 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, having been tucked under his wiper blade in the corner. 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 smart move. A pair of wipers moved across the glass, finally brushing the paper off and onto the ground. He zoomed in on it.

"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.

I hope I can report this as a ‘business expense’.

Having learned his lesson, Diesel circled around to the back of the school building, where he wouldn't be bothered again and continued to watch the day go by. Morning passed and then the afternoon. The sky 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. By now, several pages of Kouta’s data had been filled. Rather than the green light, it seemed like the meter had drained all the way to a rejection of the service. "I'd better call up Kami-sama and tell him that this one is a bust."

Just when he was about to do that, he noticed that a girl approached Kouta. She had a giddy expression as she conversed with him. In response, Kouta took her hand and led her away.

"Hmm? Is that the girlfriend that I heard about this morning?" Diesel dropped the radio attached to his dashboard. "Well, might as well check out how Mr. Popular treats his ladies."

But as Diesel cheerily started to follow, his gaze shot back to some motion behind the couple. Kouta’s lackeys snuck up with creepy expressions that made Diesel freeze in his tracks. Kouta slid his arm around the girl’s shoulder, and they walked out of school. Not once did they notice the suspicious behavior behind them.

“What the hell?” Diesel could sense something off about the whole situation. And as the lackeys tailed the couple in secret, Diesel decided to join in the pursuit.

Through the streets and around many side paths, Diesel was eventually led to a secluded, empty lot. All during that time, he watched as Kouta’s lackeys snickered and whispered devious plans at each other. Up ahead, Kouta and his girl finally stopped at a bench. Diesel watched as the gang immediately split up like they were scouting the area around them. A quick view through buildings told him that they had the area surrounded.

v

"Here is fine. How about we get to know each other a bit better?" Kouta looked lustfully at the girl. His eyes didn't look quite as nice as before.

"Umm… here? What are you planning?" The girl looked nervously around, unsure of what to do. She could feel that the atmosphere had changed as well.

"It's okay. It's my little secret hiding place. No random person to interrupt when things get heated."

Kouta moved forward and reached underneath her shirt. Though she got up and tried to retreat, she was soon pinned against the nearby wall. Kouta's lips reached forward, capturing her own before she could turn away.

Because of his superior strength, the girl couldn't push back to stop him. A rough hand groped at her bra, forcefully tearing the material away to access the soft mounds underneath.

She didn't want this. Not so quickly. She had sent him a love letter just the day before. They hadn't even gone on a date yet. Recoiling at the sudden forcefulness of the situation, she flinched, accidentally biting the tongue that tried to slither into her mouth.

"OW! Bitch! What the hell did you do that for?!"

The girl turned to the side to cover up, swatting the invasive hands from her body. "I didn't ask for this!"

"You didn't ask for what? This is what it means to be with the most popular guy in school. You have to give yourself up to capture my attention! Otherwise, why the hell would I give you the time of day?!"

Kouta forcefully pressed himself against her again, yanking at her clothing. "Shut up and do what you're told!"

"NO! GET AWAY!"

Kouta slapped her. The other hand tugged too hard and tore the fabric of her shirt by accident. Seeing as the damage had already been done, he shrugged and finished the job, exposing her chest as she fell to the ground in an attempt to hide.

The girl was horrified. She had no idea that Kouta was such a horrible person. None of his friends had shown any indication that he was this way. When she asked other girls that were seen with him before, they merely kept silent and excused themselves. She had believed it was bitterness over being passed over, but now, she was certain of his true colors.

"STOP! I'LL REPORT YOU!"

But Kouta merely smirked. "To who, might I ask? Who is going to believe some random girl over the model student? The teachers? The student body? The witnesses that I have on my side?"

Kouta snapped his fingers in the air. With that signal, his group of friends popped up around the lot, a few of them with phones in their hands recording the scene.

"Or maybe, the world can take a gander. I wonder what others would think if they knew how much of a slut you were."

The girl's eyes widened in shock, realizing that she had fallen into a trap. Kouta bent down and whispered into her ear.

"I was going to let you off easy if you had been willing to give in voluntarily, but it seems you need to be taught a lesson. I'm going to let my friends join in as well. And you better not make a fuss about it, or these videos will end up plastered everywhere. I’ll have you know that their editing skills are top-notch."

At this point, what could she do? She had been trapped in a hopeless situation, simply because she had pursued her crush. It seemed too good to be true. The perfect guy accepting someone normal like her. It was a story from a shoujo manga. She panicked as she realized that she would instead become the disposable side character that the antagonist played around with instead.

She whispered a plea in desperation. "Mom, Dad, Kami-sama, anyone! Please! Do something!"

The group of guys got into position, savoring the different angles that would be captured. Kouta would be the first to have fun. That was how it always worked. They would get their turn later. That was why they followed him after all.

CRASHHHHHHHH!!!!

Wood shrapnel exploded as a truck suddenly barreled its way through the fence surrounding the empty lot. Everyone’s face twisted in pure shock, unsure of what to do but run. But then, the truck revved up again, accelerating forward.

To Kouta's shock, it chased after him. He looked around, seeing that his lackeys were tossed wildly aside, one by one. For some reason, the truck had him squarely in its sights. The girl had somehow crawled away as well. There was no doubt about it. The truck came for him and him alone.

Just before he felt an excruciating pain, he could've sworn he heard someone say, "So you like messing with girls! How about trying a grill instead?!"

v

Diesel huffed as a result of his rampage. It came out sounding like a venting radiator. After seeing the events unfold, a bitter rage enveloped him. All at once, the report filled in the new info and green lit the service. Any hesitation was thrown to the recesses of his mind as he moved forward to act.

Flooring the gas, he smashed through the wooden fence before going full speed at the disgusting excuse of a man. Using his popularity and studious behavior merely as a cover for his own wrongdoings, that was a sickening type of person. And to think that the meek friends of his had been in on the whole thing. Diesel wanted to truck the entire crew, but the others had been merely tossed aside in the charge, injured but nothing lasting.

Apparently, only the target could be subjected to the isekai service. A magic wind expelled as he charged forward, knocking aside those that weren't applicable. The other boys ended up like rag dolls strewn across the area, leaving only Kouta squarely centered in his path. It would have to do. At least, the main perpetrator would get his just desserts.

The grill crushed Kouta into the side of the fence and broke through. Behind that fence was an old building that had been condemned already. With a satisfying crunch, the bones in Kouta's chest were flattened as he was caught in between a two-metric ton vehicle and a sturdy brick wall. Though the wall caved in from the resulting impact, the state of the pinned body was gruesome, like a watermelon that had been dropped from a tall building. Yet, Kouta had received a merciful death – momentary in pain – a sentence that was too good for the likes of him.

“Didn’t hesitate on that one, now did you?”

Kami-sama’s voice broke Diesel from his trance. He slowly backed up and released the corpse into the deity’s awaiting arms. With a hand waved over the body, a spark of light came out and drifted toward the heavens.

“No need to worry about this one. He’ll get what is coming to him. A deviant that lords his status over others will understand how it feels to be on the other side.”

Diesel would later find out what sort of arrangements had been made for Kouta in another world. There would be no wish fulfillment for him as a summoned being. He had been called upon by an abusive master in a poor upbringing, with little chance of breaking away unless he persevered long enough to permanently reform his ways.

“What about the girl?” Diesel asked.

“See for yourself,” Kami-sama replied with a wry grin.

Flabbergasted at the sudden reversal, the girl could have sworn that a voice told her to hurry and run. She quickly jumped to her feet and saw two phones that the boys used to record the scene a few steps away. Scooping them into her hands, she made a mad dash away for help, leaving the others unconscious in the aftermath.

The proof that she carried would be enough to convict the boys for their crimes. The fury in her eyes made sure that they wouldn’t get away from her, and likely, many others they targeted before. With their ringleader wiped from existence, there was no one to defend their actions. Maybe then, the victims that they created would have some small measure of justice bestowed.

Diesel parked off to the side, watching as the body in Kami-sama’s hands disappeared. The surroundings slowly reverted to before, like time had been rewound. He let out a puff of smoke in wonder at the scene before him. Somehow, Diesel knew, but he had to ask anyway.

“Are they going to remember him?”

Kami-sama shook his head. “No, an existence that is isekaied we cover up. Those that knew him will conveniently forget. It’s better that way. The damage that he did will remain, but time will allow things to fall in place where a void once existed.”

“You knew that this was going to happen, didn’t you?”

“Of course, I did a bit of scouting beforehand. What kind of employer would I be if I left you on your own with new powers and hardly any direction. I wanted you to see that people are not always what they seem.”

"And here, I was thinking that perfect people existed, and you deities were just pulling my leg, especially after the screw up with turning me into a truck. Guess I’ve watched too much anime."

"Bah, humans and their fantasies. Always blaming the gods for mistakes."

"But… you admit that was a mistake, right?"

"Rare as being struck by lightning… as long as I don't sneeze."

With the task complete, Diesel and Kami-sama discreetly warped back to the divine garage for some repairs. The front of his truck had been completely smashed in, headlights busted and hood folded back, blocking his vision. Of course, his front grill looked dreadful. It was like the mouth of a predator after a hunt, blood-caked and metal torn into the shape of fangs.

Yet, Diesel didn’t feel any different; his engine chugged along just fine. He also hardly felt any remorse for that bastard Kouta. Kami-sama turned around with a wry smile.

“Looks like you had no trouble executing the service, by the way.”

“I guess sympathy wasn’t at the top of my list when I realized that there was someone to be saved.”

“Now, you understand the purpose of what I ask you to do. With that, you are now officially on the karma payroll.”

Diesel started to celebrate, rocking back and forth on his wheels. It was one more step towards becoming a human. And frankly, it wasn’t as terrible of a job as he first believed it to be. However, Kami-sama then decided to rain on his parade.

"Do be careful next time. The repairs are coming out of your karma," Kami-sama said while magically unraveling the twisted metal with his powers. “The collateral damage from the scene also will be deducted as well.”

"I earned more than I lost though… right?"

"Haha…yes, but you have a long way to go at this rate."

"Mind if I ask how long this will take me?"

"Hmm, if you manage to keep the repairs to a minimum, then… a few years?"

Diesel's engine cut off suddenly, equivalent to a heart attack. After a few moments, it slowly revved up again. This time, a solemn humming echoed from him.

Wage exploitation at its finest. I should have asked for the fine print. Diesel snorted, blowing smoke out with a whine.