by Hiro Ainana
Despite her lack of expression, her excitement was palpable. She must have really been looking forward to this.
“Master Satou, the tank has been fully supplied with liquid.”
“Thank you, Gillil. Ready to go, Nana?”
“Yes, master! The new me will be of even more use, I pledge!”
Nana was raring to go, so I used Magic Hand to lift her and gently lower her into the light-green liquid in the tank.
It was the kind of liquid you often saw in sci-fi, which supplied oxygen directly to the lungs.
I had tested it out myself once and found that while it was a little rough going in and out, actually being inside the liquid was fine.
“Gillil, the partitioning screen, please.”
Nana was completely exposed as she floated in the tank, so I had Gillil set up a screen to hide her naked body.
I’d already calibrated the device the day before, so I was able to install the new Foundation functions for Nana right away.
Within a few days, the upgrade process would be complete, and she could show off her new abilities to everyone at our elf teachers’ training ground.
As I imagined that future, I kept an eye on Nana’s vitals displayed on the cultivation tank’s monitor.
I’d made sure the settings were perfect, but I wouldn’t want to let anything happen to Nana, just in case.
“…Planting seeds, you say?”
“Yes, it’s a request from the treants.”
The day after Nana’s upgrades were completed, Aaze came to visit the tree house.
She handed me the golden fruits of the treants.
“I’d like you to plant them in places with lots of water and not too much miasma, whether it’s wetlands, an island, or wherever it may be. If possible, near a mana source would be ideal.”
If I planted the seeds near a source, she said I was welcome to keep the fruits themselves. The fruits were said to be delicious, as well as useful for making advanced potions.
“I’d be happy to, if you’re willing to entrust this to me.”
“Thank you, Satou.”
Smiling, Aaze opened her Space Magic Garage spell and produced nearly a thousand of the fruits.
“You can plant five to ten of them in the same area.”
In other words, I was supposed to find at least a hundred different sources.
“All right. I’ll do my very best.” I put a hand to my chest.
Surprisingly, there was no exclamation of “Guilty!” from Mia. Maybe she was getting sentimental, since we’d be parting soon?
Our sailing ship and the small airship were completely ready to go, so I should spend the rest of the time before our departure with Mia.
“…Going.”
“No.”
“You can’t, Mia. I forbid it. The labyrinth is dangerous. None of the children who went with Yuya and Shiya ever came back—not one! I can’t allow it; I won’t!”
When I went to visit Mia at her family’s home, I overheard this conversation from outside.
Mia seemed to want to go with us to the labyrinth, but her parents wouldn’t allow it.
Of course not… I doubted any parents would want to send their child to such a dangerous place.
“Satou.”
Mia came flying out the door and leaped into my arms.
I greeted her worried-looking parents and left to spend the day with her.
“…Wanna come.”
“Your parents would worry. Only adults are allowed to do whatever they want.”
She probably wouldn’t like hearing that, since I was an adult myself, but I couldn’t approve of her going against her parents’ wishes. In my opinion, you had to be mentally and emotionally independent before you could make all your own decisions.
“Mm. Fine.”
To my surprise, Mia relented.
There was no conflict or bitterness in her tone. In her heart, she must have already known my answer.
For the next few days before our departure, we played from morning till night, exploring every inch of the Bolenan Forest as if it were our personal garden.
The horses and runosaurs were peevish from being cooped up for so long, so we took them out hunting in a huge field.
At one point, we went to see a herd of unicorns, and I think Mia’s hornless unicorn mount fell in love with one of the females.
Eventually, our happy times in the elf village came to an end…
“The breeze feels nice out here. Is that our ship?”
“It sure is.”
Arisa held her fluttering hair in place as she looked up at the ship docked at the pier.
This was a finfolk port town at the edge of the Bolenan Forest.
We’d said good-bye to the elves in the plaza near our tree house, so it was just us, Mia’s family, and Aaze and Lua.
“Something’s strange, sir.”
“Weird smeeell?”
Pochi and Tama pinched their noses. They had probably never smelled the ocean before.
Arisa explained to them that it was the smell of the tide. The water around here seemed warm, so maybe I could let them swim in the ocean sometime.
Liza and Nana were carrying our luggage onto the ship, while Lulu worked on the deck.
Before long, Mia came tottering up to me.
“Good-bye for now, Mia. Be nice to your parents.”
“Mm. Satou.”
Mia brushed the hair away from her forehead, silently pressuring me to kiss her there.
Since a kiss on the forehead was supposed to be sacred and all, maybe this was meant to be a promise to reunite?
I didn’t see any harm in doing it as a farewell, so I leaned down and kissed her forehead so lightly I barely even brushed her skin.
“Goodness, Mia. What an expert tactician you are.”
“Mm. Yep.”
Mia grinned and made a victory sign at her parents.
“Coming.”
Sorry, what?
“Coming!” For the first time in a while, Mia summoned up a few long sentences. “Satou of the Shiga Kingdom, I am pleased that you have accepted the ritual of betrothal. I, Misanaria Bolenan, promise to be as your wing until the day that death doth separate you from me.”
Wait a minute. Did I just get tricked?
“My, how wonderful. I’m so thrilled. Mr. Satou, please take good care of Mia, all right?”
“Protect.”
I got tricked, all right.
Mia’s mother explained that a kiss on the forehead was “sacred” in more ways than one.
In particular, a kiss on the forehead between a man and a woman who were not related was a proposal when done by one party, and the agreement was sealed if the other party did the same in return.
So that was why Mia kept saying I was her fiancé.
Mia’s parents were understanding when I explained that I didn’t know about this particular custom, but Mia herself simply covered her ears and pretended not to hear anything.
Her pigtails smacking against me hurt a little.
…Hang on.
If that was the case, did that mean I had proposed to Aaze when we first met?
At the time, I’d thought she was just being emotionally unstable, but now her reaction might make sense.
In that case, when Goddess Aaze kissed me on the forehead in return…
I turned to look at Aaze and found that she was puffing up her cheeks grumpily and looking the other way.
A smile threatened to take over my expression, so I used “Poker Face” to ward it off.
Before we set sail, I reconfirmed with Mia’s parents that they were truly all right with her accompanying us. They explained that betrothal or no, Bolenan considered anyone who had exchanged forehead kisses an adult, so they were willing to abide by Mia’s wishes.
“All right. I promise to take good care of her, then.”
“Oh yes. I have complete faith in you!”
“Mm. Trust.”
Mia’s
parents took my hands and nodded.
“Laya. Lia.” Mia called out her parents’ names and clung to them.
I stepped away to let them do their farewells in private, instead walking over to Aaze.
“I suppose this is farewell. I’ll come back to visit, all right?”
“Yes, please do. The Bolenan clan will always welcome you.”
Aaze and I shook hands.
“Mr. Satou…” Lua threw her arms around me in a parting embrace.
That was a surprise. I didn’t think we were that close.
She soon revealed her reasons. “Thank you for not taking away Lady Aaze. She is the final Holytree of Bolenan—our heart and soul…”
I was sure no one else was able to hear her tearfully whisper in my ear.
That explained why she always showed up to put a stop to it whenever Aaze and I were getting too close, then.
“Please come back anytime. We’ll keep your tree house ready for your use.”
I nodded at the tearful shrine maiden.
Our farewells could have gone on forever, but Mia had pulled away from her parents and was clinging to my waist, so I took this as a sign to board the ship.
Besides, with the elves’ permission, I’d put a Return seal slate in the tree house where we’d been staying, so I could come back anytime.
It would be hard to figure out a stopping point on this leg of our journey, but surely we would pass some islands or land masses.
We waved to the people who’d gathered to say good-bye, and I spread the ship’s sails with Magic Hand. Then, using Air Control, I created wind to carry the ship away.
“““Satou!”””
Looking back at the source of the voices, I saw that the elves we’d parted with back at the tree house had come to see us off.
Countless winged fairies called out to Nana and the other girls, drawing farewell signs out of light in the air.
…I appreciated it, but after this dramatic parting, it would make it difficult to just pop back with Return.
My party and I all waved until we couldn’t see the figures on the shore anymore.
“We’ve lost sight of them,” Arisa murmured.
“Mm. Soon.”
Mia’s eyes were red from tears.
She probably meant that we could come back to visit again soon.
“Satou.”
Mia flew into my arms, so I caught her gently as I gazed out at the horizon.
Thus, our long stay in the Bolenan Forest came to an end, and the wind in our sails began our journey to Labyrinth City.
Afterword
Hello, this is Hiro Ainana.
Thank you so much for picking up the eighth volume of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody!
It’s all thanks to the support of my readers that I’ve been able to continue this series.
I plan to work even harder to keep things interesting from this point on, so I hope you’ll continue to support the books.
Now, let’s start with the highlights of this volume.
The elf village in Bolenan Forest was the stage for this story. In the reimagined novel version, Satou and the others, having finally brought Mia home, get to spend a fun vacation surrounded by elves.
The first two chapters more or less followed the same flow as the web version, but after that, it’s pretty much all newly written for the novel.
Though it wasn’t deliberately written with the season of the release date in mind, I did want to center it around a fun summer vacation, so I included some enjoyable scenes in the public bathhouse with the elves and various races like treants and different fairies who didn’t show up in the web version, plus the group’s elf teachers.
I hope you enjoy this peaceful vacation with Satou and his friends.
…I’m guessing longtime fans of Death March already know it won’t be that simple, though.
Satou’s a bit of a workaholic, so the idea of a completely relaxing vacation is pretty much foreign to him.
He’s in the midst of a highly advanced magical culture, after all.
So I hope you enjoy Satou’s corporate-slave antics in the midst of his peaceful days with his party.
Of course, it’s not all fun and research.
This time, there’s just a teeny, tiny hint of romance, too.
In this volume, a heroine whose name has come up a few times finally makes an appearance. Will she win Satou over with her womanly charms? You’ll just have to find out when you read the book.
Readers of the web version will find new scenes, including a different finale from that scene in the web version, so I hope you’ll still get a lot of excitement out of reading it until the end. Please look forward to it.
Finally, the usual round of thank-yous.
My editors Mr. H and Mr. K have given me all kinds of helpful advice and instructions to make many scenes more charming and emotional. I hope you’ll continue to guide me in the future.
As always, I can never thank shri enough for always drawing such wonderful illustrations that give so much life to Death March. Aialize’s design was particularly perfect.
The visual side of Death March is in your capable hands.
Finally, thank you to the Kadokawa Books editorial department and everyone else involved in the publication, printing, and sale of this book.
And though you know what I’m going to say by now, the biggest thanks of all goes to you, the readers!!
Thank you for reading this volume all the way to the end.
Let’s meet again in the next volume for an adventure at sea!
It might even wind up being completely new material next time.
Hiro Ainana
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