I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 11

by Namekojirushi

  “No, it all worked out in the end, so don’t worry about it.”

  “Thank you, Harissa.”

  Satsuki and I both thanked her, at last putting an end to our ordeal on the island... Or so I thought.

  “So, Rekka...” Shirley narrowed her eyes behind her glasses, staring at Satsuki and me inquisitively. Then she said coldly, “Just what were you two doing for Satsuki to end up looking like that?”

  “Huh?”

  Wondering what she was talking about, I unthinkingly turned to Satsuki behind me... and spluttered spectacularly.

  “Aaaaah!”

  Harissa looked too, and she let out a half-shocked, half-enraged scream as she clenched her staff tightly in both hands. Hint one: in order to dry her clothes, Satsuki had been undressed by the campfire mere moments ago. Hint two: a fairly violent struggle had gone down in this narrow cave. So, what situation does that leave us with now?

  “N-Noooooooo!”

  My answer was a loud, ringing scream as Satsuki slapped my face with all her might.

  Time Traveler L’s Life on the Streets: Log 1

  L was a girl from the future. Though, to be precise, she wasn’t exactly a “girl.” She was an artificial life-form called a Kiklim. Crafted with a mixture of cutting-edge sciences in the future (though she was now a generation outdated by her little sister, a newer model), she was an absolutely flawless agent (supposedly) that had mastered all kinds of technology (yet she always tripped over her own feet, for some reason). And this pinnacle of science... had now joined the ranks of the homeless.

  “How pathetic...”

  As she dragged her feet down the country road against the sunset backdrop, L vented all of her inner irritation with a heavy sigh. It had been one, maybe two weeks since she arrived here from the future. Ever since she’d failed to assassinate Rekka Namidare at the end of summer vacation, L had remained here in this era all alone. Abandoned, to be precise. After all, the conspirators that had sent her to the past to help her betray the agency... Well, they’d all been captured by the agency.

  Granted, half the reason she’d failed in her assassination attempts was because of those guys being unable to operate the Space-Time Translocator properly, so she felt their capture was well deserved... However, the Space-Time Translocator that allowed travel between the past and the future was now under the management of the doctor, its inventor. L had come to the past with the help of the agency traitors, and losing them had meant losing her ride home. As a result, she now found herself wandering aimlessly around in this era.

  Fortunately, target Rekka Namidare lived in a peaceful rural town, and L was the walking embodiment of future technology. She had nothing to fear in terms of material danger. No, the real problem was the three staples of survival: food, clothing, and shelter. Well, clothes weren’t so much of an issue right now. The long-sleeved kimono L wore was made from superfibers from the future. It was specifically designed never to get dirty or frayed. And as for shelter, she could sleep anywhere she wanted as long as she set her system to sleep mode, so she managed to get by with that. All that was left was...

  Grrrumble...

  “Why can’t this blasted thing be turned off?” L muttered, pressing a hand against her abdomen as her low-energy alarm rang out.

  The stomach-grumbling feature and others like it were all installed by her creator, the doctor. The doctor had wanted L to resemble a human as closely as possible, from the way her five senses worked to the movement of her joints. While certain aspects of the human body were structured very logically, others could be improved dramatically with more efficient mechanical parts, L believed. Grumbling stomachs, for example.

  “I guess I have to eat something after all...”

  If she could connect to the future, she’d be able to replenish her energy supplies. But that wasn’t possible at present, meaning she’d have to eat something instead.

  Actually, it was possible for her to use the main energy source in this world—electricity—to recharge her Kiklim body. In order to do that, she’d need to either stick her finger into a power socket or lick dry cell batteries, which weren’t exactly socially acceptable things to do... Perhaps she had been influenced by her foster parent a little too much, as she couldn’t help but associate energy replenishment with the idea of food.

  Of course, if it came down to it, she’d be willing to sneak into a store and steal electricity as a last resort, but her first choice was definitely a meal. That being said...

  “There’s no way it’ll be that easy...”

  This was an age that placed a particular emphasis on the assets of the individual, after all. And she had none. The alternative, going into the mountains to find food, would also be difficult.

  L’s goal was to simply assassinate Rekka Namidare and save the future, so she didn’t feel any animosity towards the past or its people. She wanted to avoid causing them any trouble if she could help it. She didn’t want to steal food any more than she did electricity. That would strictly be a last resort.

  But she didn’t have any currency that would work in this day and age. And the people here didn’t barter. So if she didn’t want to steal, she’d have to find a way to be self-sufficient.

  “That’s right! I can just go fishing!”

  If she recalled correctly, she should be allowed to catch any non-prohibited fish in this era.

  “Um... It should be okay if I use up a little of my energy, right?”

  L infiltrated a local communication line on the spot and looked up all the wildlife and fishing laws that applied to the region.

  “All right, this all checks out! Now I’m good to go.”

  With renewed determination, L triumphantly marched towards the river that flowed a little bit north of town.

  ▽

  It was about the time that she reached the river that L realized she had completely overlooked the tactical side to this mission. She had no fishing gear.

  “Oh my God... I never thought I’d be in a situation saying those words, but here I am.”

  L was mumbling from the ground. The shock had brought her to her hands and knees.

  “Th-Then I have no choice! I’ll just have to make it myself!”

  L got to her feet, pulled herself together, and immediately began her search for suitable materials to improvise a fishing rod. One hour later...

  “I can’t catch anything...”

  After putting together a fishing rod, she dropped the line in the water and waited half an hour... with no results.

  Now, this makeshift rod of L’s was fashioned from a thick tree branch and some string she’d found on the ground by chance. She couldn’t find anything to use for a hook, so she’d attached one of her voltspear-style knives. With such a flagrantly unfit-for-fishing fishing rod, there was no way L was going to catch anything. Despite her eager enthusiasm for the task, she was simply just wasting her time.

  “Hahh...”

  It was only natural for one’s thoughts to turn negative when things weren’t going well. And right now, L was muttering a long string of curses aimed at the agency’s researchers in the back of her mind.

  The development of the artificial life-forms known as Kiklims was spearheaded by the doctor, but not even the doctor could build everything alone. There were several assistant researchers on the job that had investigated what abilities and functions the Kiklim—in other words, L—needed in order to complete her time-traveling mission. And one of their topics of discussion had been what to do about her living necessities while she was in the past.

  They couldn’t expect Rekka Namidare to cover all her expenses himself, although he likely would end up looking after her. But they couldn’t have L put any sort of burden on him, lest it end up hindering the progress of his stories. It was an issue they’d spent a long time debating, and they’d eventually agreed to install a feature that allowed energy to be forwarded to L from the future. They also gave her basic crafting skills in case she ever needed
to make a shelter for herself. While there were other reasons R had ultimately ended up replacing L and taking over her mission, minute details like these undeniably played a small part in influencing the final decision. Just thinking about it was unpleasant for L.

  “Argh, damn these stupid fish! Why won’t they bite already?!”

  She could just raise the output on her voltspear knife and zap the whole river into submission. And she was actually entertaining such a dangerous idea when...

  Splash!

  The sound of something unnaturally heavy hitting the quiet river echoed in L’s ears.

  “Hm?”

  L looked around, wondering what the source was. She hadn’t sensed anyone around, so it couldn’t have been someone throwing a boulder into the water.

  “...?”

  L peered into the river depths, pondering what had fallen in... when she spotted a shadow swimming in the water. One awfully large to be a fish.

  “?!”

  The shadow suddenly rose to the surface at a rapid speed, bursting out of the water with a massive splash.

  ...A dragon?

  The moment the figure entered her sights, L instantly searched that word out in her internal library. Its long, tremendous body was covered in a mysterious pattern of sparkling scales. Its appearance was majestic as it soared through the air with more grace than any bird... But its face was sharp and angular like a serpent’s, giving it an overall intimidating look.

  “Aaah, swimming in this form really does feel the best... Hm?”

  The dragon muttered something to itself before it noticed L and turned its terrifying gaze upon her.

  “Eep...”

  L flinched as their eyes met, her face paling as her whole body trembled.

  “Hey, aren’t you...”

  The dragon looked down at L and started to say something, but L reached her breaking point long before the dragon ever finished.

  “KYAAAAAAAAH!”

  L ran down the bank with tears in her eyes, fleeing from the dragon as fast as her legs could carry her.

  “What was that, what was that?! Oh my God, oh my God! Scary, scary, scaaaaary!”

  ▽

  “She ran away...” Lea, having returned to her human form from her Leviathan form, muttered sadly as she looked in the direction L had fled.

  She was just a little hurt.

  Chapter 2: Maid × Nun

  My little deserted island day trip with Satsuki ate up most of the weekend, and before I knew it, the calendar had rolled back around to another gloomy Monday. Hahh, there’s nothing quite like the sinking feeling that comes at the start of the week... All Mondays should just be half-days at school, seriously. When I said that out loud, Satsuki scolded me. I was at least hoping my childhood friend would back me up, but no.

  For the record, all R had to say was, “Honestly, Rekka, you’re useless no matter what day it is.”

  What she said was one thing, but the way she said it was worse. She was looking at me like I was some insect...

  Well, anyway, I dragged my sleepy butt to school on Monday and managed to suffer through class, doing my best to fulfill my obligations as a student. And when it came to after school, I had a couple of routines.

  First and foremost was just the regular going home routine. I usually walked home with Satsuki and Iris, or Rosalind. Sometimes all three. Sometimes I even walked home with Tsumiki, but she normally went straight to Nozomiya after school, so that was a rare occasion.

  My second routine was club activities. And by “club activities,” I really just mean stopping by the light literature club room and saying hi to Tokiwa every now and then. I guess it wasn’t much of a routine. Since Tokiwa was the only one who regularly did anything for the club, she often preferred to do her writing from the comfort of her own home. Some days I would show up to the club room and find the door locked. But there were also days Tokiwa would call me over to her classroom and then drag me to club with her. It was kind of a toss-up.

  As for my third routine... That pretty much was the “everything else” category. Sometimes Iris would invite me to hang out somewhere, Tsumiki would cart me off to taste test some of her latest recipes, or Rosalind would take me to the bakery by the station to try their new pastries. R called them “the after-school events of a dating simulator” and would often ask me who I planned on raising my affection with for the day... That being said, it was always the girls inviting me out and not the other way around, so it wasn’t like I had much of a say in the matter.

  Incidentally, the after-school event that I’d managed to trigger today was Rosalind’s bakery trip... Actually, putting it that way, it really did make it sound like a dating simulator, so forget I said that.

  “Hm? What’s wrong, Rekka?”

  “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how good this purple sweet potato cream bread is.”

  “Indeed. It’s scrumptious,” Rosalind agreed, nodding with a contented expression.

  She seemed none the wiser that I was actually thinking about some rather strange things. Relieved, I took another bite of the bread in my hands. The purple sweet potato cream had a gentle, sweet aftertaste, and I continued chatting with Rosalind until we finished our coffee.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to head home.”

  “Yes, let’s... Oh?”

  “Huh?”

  Rosalind suddenly looked towards the entrance of the store. I followed her gaze just in time to see Suzuran, dressed in her usual maid outfit, come through the chiming door.

  “Oh, hey, Suzuran!”

  “Oh, Sir Namidare. And you as well, mistress.”

  Suzuran politely bowed when she saw us, then approached our table.

  “Are you out shopping right now?” Rosalind asked.

  “Yes. I heard your favorite bakery had come out with a new item, so I came here to buy you some... but I see you’ve already tried it, mistress.”

  “Regardless, you were right to come here. Please buy two to three more samples for a midnight snack.”

  “It’s not good to eat too much.”

  “Are you my mother?”

  “I am your maid.”

  “That’s right. Well, it’s not like I know my mother, either... However, as my maid, you must abide your master’s wishes.”

  “It is also a maid’s duty to mind her master’s health.”

  “Mind you, I am a vampire. And vampires don’t need sermons on health.”

  They continued discussing whether or not to buy more cream bread for a while, and eventually settled on a compromise: they’d get it, but for breakfast the next morning rather than a midnight snack. After they checked out, the three of us left the store together.

  “Are you going shopping for dinner ingredients now, Suzuran?”

  “Yes, I’ll be heading to the market from here.”

  “Then I’ll come along with you.”

  “Very well.”

  “Hmph... If Rekka is going, then I shall, as well.”

  And so the three of us made our way towards the shopping street.

  “Suzuran, what is the menu for supper tonight?”

  “I was thinking of making a meat and potato stew.”

  “Hmph, I’d much prefer a Western meal this evening.”

  “But you asked me to start making Japanese cuisine just the other day, mistress.”

  “I’m tired of it already.”

  Typical Rosalind and her spoiled ways... Suzuran looked a little troubled, but eventually nodded with a relenting sigh.

  “Understood, mistress. Dinner for tonight shall be a stew, then.”

  “Good. A Western-style stew, I hope.”

  “I hate to break it to you, Rosalind, but I dunno how different Japanese-style and Western-style stews really are...”

  I’ve heard that Japanese curry is different from European or Indian curry, but did that really apply to stew, as well? I wasn’t so sure... Come to think of it, what was for dinner at my place? Harissa’s cookin
g was good, so I was always looking forward to it.

  “But you sure have to cook a lot, huh? There’s Rosalind, Suzuran, Corona, and Ulaula... Isn’t it tiring cooking for four people?”

  “Miss Corona and Miss Ulaula both help me out, so not particularly.”

  “Are those two any good at cooking?”

  “As far as preparing the ingredients.”

  “Hmm...”

  Suzuran had only become a maid recently, but it seemed she’d already settled into the role perfectly. Now she was even the head maid of the house. She was fitting right in and excelling. Which was a great thing, really. It had been a long, fraught road for her to get to where she was. Suzuran was originally a homunculus created to kill Rosalind, after all.

  “...”

  But after becoming human, she was now living her own life. Following her own path. Seeing her hold a potato in each hand and seriously contemplate between them... It was kind of a relief.

  “I’m glad to see you’re enjoying yourself, Suzuran.”

  “Hm? Did you say something, Sir Rekka?”

  “Nope, not a thing.”

  I shook my head as I stood next to her at the cashier.

  “Thank you! Come again!”

  Once we were done with the shopping, I took two of the supermarket bags and left the store with Suzuran and Rosalind. My intention was to carry their groceries halfway for them.

  “Oh?”

  But as we were walking down the street, something seemed to catch Suzuran’s eye. She was looking up ahead with a surprised expression.

  “What is it?”

  Wondering what she’d spotted, I looked up as well... and saw a confused-looking girl at the fork in the road in an outfit that rivaled Suzuran’s maid getup.

  “Is that... a nun?” I muttered to myself as I stared at her outfit.

  I think it was called a habit?

  “Urk...”

  When Rosalind saw the nun, the corner of her mouth twitched.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I despise those types... Rekka, carry my share as well. I shall take a different route.”

  “Huh? Uwah!”

  Rosalind forcibly shoved the shopping bags she was carrying on me. I tried to stop her in a fluster, but she turned on her heels and was gone in the blink of an eye.