Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 8

by Hiro Ainana

  Pseudo-spirits didn’t experience pain or fear, so they were convenient for battle training, hunting decoys, and so on.

  When their HP reached zero, they would disappear, turning back into the spirits they were made of and scattering.

  “It’s easy to summon them around you or Lady Aaze because your spirit light is so intense,” Lua added.

  “By the way, how exactly do the varying strengths of these ‘spirit lights’ work?”

  “Who knows?”

  “Oh, Lady Aaze.”

  Aialize put a finger to her chin and tilted her head innocently. Groaning, Lua explained instead.

  “In the case of underground veins and such, areas with stronger flow will have a brighter light. The vicinity of a mana source shines especially brightly.”

  Then she hesitated, as if the rest was harder to say.

  “But for people, it appears to be more complex than just the amount of magic power, so we don’t actually know what causes it.”

  So there were things that even the long-lived elves didn’t understand.

  From what I’d learned so far on my journey, a source was where magic power came from, and spirits were intermediaries that turned mana into magic.

  Spirit light probably appeared in places with a dense amount of magic power and mana.

  I figured it might work in a similar way to how electromagnetic waves appeared around an electric current.

  So that explained spirit lights for now, but…

  “What exactly is a source?”

  “An opening where mana spills from an underground vein, perhaps?”

  “Indeed. On this continent, the Valley of Dragons is by far the most extraordinary, but there are over a hundred other notable spots as well.”

  So the Valley of Dragons was special. That made sense, since it was the territory of the dragon god, the strongest god of all.

  Then it was probably safe to assume that my spirit light was so unusual because of that source.

  The fact that I was the controller of that source might also explain why I had abnormally fast magic power recovery, why my magic was so much stronger than anyone else’s, and so on.

  But since my level and stats were also way higher than the average person’s, I guess I couldn’t blame it all on the source.

  “That’s right. In fact…”

  Aialize suddenly clapped her hands together, as if Lua’s explanation had reminded her of something.

  “…I believe the bottom of this very waterfall is also a spirit pool—a kind of source!”

  At that, I automatically glanced down. When I activated my “Spirit Vision,” I did see light glowing from the bottom of the falls.

  But although the water was clear, the light didn’t seem very strong.

  “Is this one of those hundred notable spots?”

  “No, no. Those are the kinds that are big enough to build a city or town over.” Lua shook her head.

  “The size of a source can vary immensely. As far as small ones like this, it’s difficult to count just how many there might be.”

  So small sources were surprisingly common.

  Curious, I looked over at the World Tree with my “Spirit Vision.”

  The tree itself was dazzlingly bright. When I stared long enough, I could see concentric rings of light spreading from the trunk like ripples, too.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Noticing my gaze, Miss Aialize commented with a gentle smile.

  “Yes, very. So is the World Tree a source, too?”

  “No, not exactly—”

  “Lady Aaze…”

  “Instead of an underground vein, it comes from the— Ah, am I not supposed to tell him this?”

  “Well, I suppose it’s all right if it’s Mr. Satou, but please don’t share this knowledge with anyone else.”

  I nodded. With Lua’s approval, Aialize finished her explanation.

  “Do you know about the aether that flows through the void?”

  “Please forgive my ignorance.”

  I didn’t even know what the “void” was.

  Considering how far up the World Tree seemed to go, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the void of space or something, but I was hoping it would be a more fantastical answer, like “the spirit world” or something.

  “I’m glad for the chance to teach you, then. The aether is…”

  Looking rather pleased with herself, Miss Aialize explained the aether in an uncharacteristically eloquent way.

  To summarize the explanation, which included the discussion of a “fifth element” aside from earth, water, fire, and wind: The basic idea was that the “aether” was a substance in outer space that mediated the large amount of mana that the sun produced.

  “…Now, the World Tree stretches out thin threadlike limbs called ‘emerald branches’ to the aether to absorb its mana. Then it sends that mana deep into the earth, where it flows through the underground veins and keeps them active.”

  Aialize spread her arms wide and looked up at the World Tree, smiling like a mother gazing at her beloved child.

  The expression reminded me distinctly that Aialize was a lot older than I was.

  “The light of the World Tree is the spirits picking up the mana that escapes as it flows from the sky to the earth.”

  I see.

  So the World Tree was essentially an enormous magic tool that kept the world going.

  “If greedier folk were to learn of this, other nations would start to target forests like Bolenan that contain World Trees, which is why we keep it a secret.”

  Right. They were sort of like giant power plants.

  If someone were to monopolize them, they could probably even rule the world.

  “I promise never to speak of this to anyone. If my word is not enough, I will gladly be bound by Geis or ‘Contract.’”

  “Oh, that’s hardly necessary.”

  It seemed like a pretty important secret to me, but Lua chuckled as if I were exaggerating.

  I was serious, though… Elves might be a little too trusting.

  When I ventured to voice this concern to Lua, she responded:

  “I do not think the worst is very likely. If someone truly did attempt to control the World Trees and destroy the world, the gods would punish them.”

  Oh right, I guess gods really do exist in this world.

  Still, I would be careful not to mention this to anyone else.

  I carved that resolution into my heart.

  Fairy Games

  Satou here. Ever since I became a working adult, the days off on my calendar have dramatically decreased. In exchange, though, I’ve gotten that much better at enjoying those breaks to the fullest once a game is finished.

  “Yeaaah! I got a Herculeees!”

  Arisa’s excited cry echoed through the verdant forest, still damp with morning mist.

  Today, we were going hunting with the elves. We got to the meeting place early, though, so the elves hadn’t arrived yet.

  Arisa and Lulu normally didn’t participate in this kind of thing, but they’d heard that the scenery near the hunting grounds was beautiful, so they came along to check it out.

  I had Practical Magic spells like Magic Hand and Enchant: Physical Protection at the ready, so I should be able to protect them even if any unforeseen circumstances arose.

  The latter was particularly convenient, since it meant we could walk through the forest in light clothing without getting rashes from sap or having our legs cut up by thorns and such.

  In theory, this might even make the legendary chain-mail bikini a possibility, but I decided not to mention this idea lest my companions stare daggers at me.

  So today the girls were all dressed in matching safari expedition outfits.

  More importantly, what in the world was Arisa doing?

  Coming down from a treetop using the Space Magic spell Short-Range Teleportation, Arisa presented me with a beetle that was easily a foot long. She hated spiders, but
for whatever reason, giant beetles were fine.

  On closer inspection, I realized it did resemble a Hercules beetle. The AR display called it a Bolenan Spearhorn Beetle.

  Lulu and Nana, who were picking honeywort with me, looked up at Arisa, but when they realized it was a bug she was holding, they lost interest and went back to harvesting wild plants.

  “What do you think? Pretty amazing, right?”

  Before I could scold her for behaving like a grade school boy, Pochi and Tama showered Arisa with praise.

  “Huuuge!”

  “It’s amazing, sir! Pochi wants to find one, too, sir!”

  Getting weirdly fired up about it, Tama and Pochi immediately started climbing nearby trees as well.

  I’d seen Tama napping in tree branches all the time, but I had never seen Pochi climb a tree before.

  “Gotchaaa?”

  Tama did a spin in midair before landing on the ground to show off a stag beetle of comparable size to Arisa’s.

  “A cat doing a twirl in midair… Maybe I should start calling you Nyanko-sensei?” Arisa murmured gravely. This must be some weird joke from the Showa era.

  “Grrr, Tama’s so fast, sir!”

  Pochi looked around in the treetops, anxious to catch up. Then she spotted something and leaped to another branch, sticking her head into a hole in the tree.

  Judging by the rapid movement of her tail, she must have spotted some prey.

  “I have you now, sir!”

  Pochi popped back out of the hole and promptly went flying right off the branch.

  “Waaah—sir?”

  As she screamed, I used Magic Hand to catch her in midair and scoop her into my arms.

  “Be careful, all right?”

  “Sorry, sir.”

  Pochi slumped down, her ears flattening.

  “What did you catch, Pochi?”

  Arisa’s thoughtful question perked her dog ears right back up.

  “This, sir!”

  “Geh! Th-that sure is something…” Arisa backed away slowly.

  Just then, the elves arrived, along with Liza in the lead and Mia bringing up the rear.

  “Delicacy.”

  “Gift.”

  “It’s quite unusual to catch these at this time of year. I’m told humans don’t often eat them, but they’re delicious if you steam them before cooking. Scooping out the sticky insides with a spoon is the best part.”

  Seeing the prey Pochi had caught, the elves all gave their approval.

  I wasn’t expecting to hear that about a puppy-size caterpillar, that was for sure.

  So they even eat this…? I guess you learn a thing or two when you live that long.

  At any rate, now that the elves had arrived, we could get started on the hunt.

  “Meow, meeeooooow!”

  “Awooooooo, sir!”

  This time, it was Tama’s and Pochi’s shouts that echoed through the trees.

  They were using the low-hanging ivy to swing from branch to branch, Tarzan-style.

  “Master, it is my turn next, I report.”

  Nana grabbed a piece of ivy and stared at me expressionlessly.

  Though most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, to me it looked like she was just as excited as Tama and Pochi.

  “U-um, I think I’d like you to carry me instead, ma—”

  Arisa didn’t want to swing on the ivy, so she was strapped to the back of Nana, who was using the Foundation technique Body Strengthening.

  Before she could finish her protest, however, Nana impatiently took off.

  “—Aaaaaaaaaah!”

  Arisa’s scream shook the dew off the surrounding trees.

  “M-master…”

  Watching her sister shriek on Nana’s back, Lulu turned pale and trembled.

  “Don’t worry. I can just lift you with magic and carry you across.”

  I lifted Lulu a bit with Magic Hand, then picked her up like a child and floated in the air with “Skyrunning.”

  “Waaah! Th-this is so sudden…”

  Lulu’s face turned from pale to bright red.

  She’d been getting more accustomed to being close to me, I thought, but I guess she still couldn’t deal with unexpected situations like this.

  In that way, she was similar to her older sister, Arisa.

  “Mrrr. Satou.”

  “Mia, I’ll carry you on the way back. Liza, could you take her for now?”

  “Yes, master.”

  With a wave to Mia and Liza, I took off after the elves and the rest of our party.

  “Kyaaa!”

  After the initial jump came a head rush like a sudden drop on a roller coaster, followed by an abrupt change in speed and wind pressure that sent my hair and clothes flying back. The experience was exhilarating.

  Unfortunately, Lulu didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much. She was obviously stifling a scream as she clung to me for dear life.

  Something about the sight made me want to pretend to let my hand slip and scare her even more, but I couldn’t betray Lulu’s trust just to satisfy my childish urges, of course.

  I held her securely as I jumped from tree to tree, and soon we reached a break in the forest.

  “Ahhh, praise be to solid ground!”

  Arisa was practically kissing the grass by the time we arrived.

  Tama, Pochi, and Nana, on the other hand, were aglow with smiles from the fun ride. I would have to make sure they didn’t get so overexcited that they slipped up.

  “Are you all right, Lulu?”

  She was still clinging to me, even though we’d reached the ground.

  Since she was pressed so close to me, I could feel her heart racing.

  That must have been very scary for her.

  “Y-yes. My heart is still pounding a little, but I’m f-fine. L-let’s just stay like this a bit longer, please…”

  Lulu’s face was buried in my shoulder, so I couldn’t see her expression. I could feel her fingers trembling as she clung to me, though, so I let her keep hanging on to me for now.

  “Oh-ho-hooo? What’s this, now?”

  As she peered up at Lulu from the ground, a slow smirk spread across Arisa’s face, and she started smacking Lulu on the back.

  “Oh, dear sister? Are you sure it’s because of fear that your heart’s pounding? Hmm?” she whispered in a voice I could barely pick up with my “Keen Hearing” skill.

  “A-Arisa, stoppp!”

  Turning bright red, Lulu shot away from me like a magnet with the same polarity, tackling Arisa and covering her mouth with a slender hand. I was just glad that their sisterly bond was as strong as ever. It was cute to see Lulu panic, too.

  “Geeeh!”

  Arisa seemed to be having a bit of trouble breathing, but she could get away with using a chant-less Short-Range Teleportation if she really needed to, so I decided to let them go at it for now.

  “Satou.”

  Turning around, I saw Mia beckoning me from Liza’s back.

  So the last pair had arrived, too. Mia looked surprisingly calm; I guess she was accustomed to being carried.

  The area we were visiting was a plateau next to a clear lake.

  Flowers bloomed along the shore of the lake, and countless varieties of butterflies danced through the air, their wings rivaling the flowers in beauty.

  On the plateau, several herds of buffalo munched on grass, adding to the peaceful atmosphere.

  “Pretty butterfliiies?”

  Tama bent forward like a real cat, wiggling her butt a few times before pouncing at the insects.

  She swatted at the butterflies with her hands, but she was careful not to actually touch them and hurt their wings, so I decided not to scold her.

  Usually, Pochi would be right at Tama’s heels, but today she was hanging back, looking reluctant.

  “You’re not going to join her, Pochi?”

  “I can’t, sir. If I get too close to the flowers, I won’t be able to smell prey anymore, sir.” />
  Oh right. I suppose the main goal of the day is hunting.

  “Safe.”

  “Break.”

  A few of the elves muttered single words.

  As usual, it was difficult to understand this taciturn variety of elf.

  “Guya, Gia, you must speak properly today and say what you mean. These kind people haven’t lived with you long enough to understand you, remember?”

  “Explain.”

  “Trust.”

  One of the better-spoken elf boys told the pair off, but they didn’t seem to want to bother explaining themselves, so they left it to him.

  This elf who actually spoke in complete sentences was named Hishirotoya, Hiya for short.

  “Oh, all right, then…”

  Hiya gave a resigned shrug.

  “This is a safe area. There are no poisonous creatures here and nothing dangerous in the lake, either.”

  I searched my map to be safe, but just as he said, there weren’t any dangerous or aggressive creatures here.

  There was one thing that caught my eye, however.

  I pointed to a tree in the middle of the lake that had lost its leaves.

  “What about that Elder Treant?”

  “Oh, that’s nothing to worry about. I’m impressed that you recognized it, though. Most people would assume that was just a tree… But they don’t tend to move much, so you’ve nothing to fear.”

  There were a few knots and hollows in the center of the trunk that might look like an old man’s face from the right angle.

  “Whoa!”

  “Look at that!”

  My comrades, who hadn’t noticed the treant, all exclaimed in surprise.

  “Won’t we anger it if we light a fire on the shore here?”

  “No, that’s fine. If you were to, say, pour oil into the lake and set fire to it, of course it’d get angry, but noticing a little campfire on the shore would be too much effort for it.”

  For the most part, he explained, treants didn’t live much differently than ordinary trees.

  I would be interested in talking to one at least once, but Hiya told me that they took even longer to converse than giants.

  Now that my concerns were assuaged, I picked up my bow and quiver from the ground and nodded to the elves.