Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 5

by Hiro Ainana

  “Captuuured?”

  “We’ve been caught, sir.”

  I pulled Tama and Pochi into my lap, holding them firmly so they wouldn’t fall.

  Tama seemed to enjoy it, but Pochi pouted up at me.

  “I wanna see the ship, sir.”

  “Just sit tight. You’ll be able to see it soon.” I patted Pochi’s head reassuringly.

  Arisa came out from inside the carriage as well. “Will we really?” She draped her arms over Lulu’s shoulders from behind in a show of sisterly affection as she looked ahead.

  Finally, the river came into view on our right.

  “See?”

  “Big shiiip?”

  “I see the ship, sir!”

  No sooner did I point it out than Tama and Pochi exclaimed with delight.

  There was a large sailing ship traveling in the same direction as us, albeit faster, as it was heading downstream.

  Still sitting in my lap, Tama and Pochi waved frantically at the ship.

  Perched on my left knee, Pochi craned around to see the ship on the right.

  “Hiii!”

  “They waved back, sir.”

  Pochi continued to wave excitedly.

  “Oh? They must have good eyes. I wonder if they’re beastfolk, too?”

  “Biiirds?”

  “They’re Mr. Birdheads, sir.”

  Arisa was correct: The people on the ship were likely some kind of birdfolk.

  Pochi and Tama continued to wave until the ship disappeared behind the forest.

  Along the way, I decided to reinspect my information about the Ougoch Duchy.

  The territory included a huge river, nearly five hundred miles long.

  The river started up north in the city of Daregan, where Miss Sara, Miss Karina, and the others were headed. It passed through the old capital, then three more cities, and eventually emptied into the ocean.

  As its enormous river would indicate, the Ougoch Duchy was very large.

  The Muno Barony was around the size of Hokkaido, albeit with an irregular shape, but the duchy we were in now was far larger—around the same area as Honshu, the main island in Japan. This territory wasn’t as long and skinny, though, so it was probably about half the length.

  Despite its size, there were only seven cities altogether. The capital had a population of 210,000 people, far larger than any city I’d seen so far. I suppose that was why it was the capital.

  The fluvial transportation was probably what supported the locals. There were countless villages along the river, many of which were populated only by demi-humans.

  However, 80 percent of the total population was still humanfolk, so it was no different from other territories in its human majority.

  As far as I could tell with my map search, there were no demons, reincarnations, or anyone with unique skills.

  There were quite a lot of humans and monsters over level 30, so it would be a pain to mark all of them on the map. Instead, I flagged only the ones who seemed likely to encounter us on our itinerary.

  There were also several members of the Wings of Freedom, the demon lord–worshipping organization: more than three hundred in total.

  They mostly seemed to stay in cities and large towns, so I decided to flag only members in the nearest ones for now.

  Once we finished our lunch break by the water, we were nearing the bridge where a stream joined the river when some very troublesome visitors arrived.

  The monsters, a group of dog-size creatures called large needle bees, came flying away from the stream as if fleeing from something.

  “Pochi, Tama, be careful not to let them surround you.”

  “Aye!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The large needle bees rushed at the beastfolk girls.

  “Whoopsiiie?”

  “Take this, sir!”

  Tama dodged around the needle attacks with ease, and Pochi took the opportunity to attack one of the bees.

  When Tama herded three of them into a single-file column, they were easily impaled by Liza’s magic spear like dumplings on a skewer.

  “Oh crap!”

  “Sorry.”

  A careless ranged attack spell from Mia had inadvertently attracted a swarm.

  “Hiyah! Ha!”

  Arisa’s Psychic Magic and Lulu’s Magic Gun sniped the bees one by one, but there was still a huge swarm bearing down on Mia.

  “I will protect Mia, I declare.”

  Nana stepped in front of Mia and used her Foundation technique Shield, but the bees simply navigated around her and kept heading for Mia.

  Liza was rushing over, but she was too far away to get there in time.

  “Satou.”

  “Master, heeelp!”

  “M-master…”

  I wanted to intercept them with magic, but the rearguard girls were between us—I couldn’t be sure of my aim.

  Instead, I dashed in front of Mia and the others before destroying the swarm with magic.

  As I rushed over, I thought I felt something weird and slippery for just a moment, but it must have been my imagination.

  While I was puzzling that out, the beastfolk girls finished off the last few needle bees.

  “Phew!”

  “Good work.”

  I gave Arisa a drink of cold fruit-flavored water—and distributed more to the other girls, too, of course.

  “Thank you. Really, when none of the forwards have the ‘Taunt’ skill, it’s all too easy for one of us rearguarders to end up becoming the main damage dealer.”

  “There’s a ‘Taunt’ skill?”

  Arisa nodded.

  The skill Arisa was referring to was a staple of party-based multiplayer games like MMOs. It allowed a heavily armored tank character, like a shield user, to draw the attention of monsters.

  The difficulty of keeping the enemies’ target on one person varied depending on the game, but mastery of this was the mark of a skilled tank player.

  “Arisa, please provide additional information on ‘Taunt,’ I request.”

  Nana came over to ask about the skill, so Arisa explained it to her.

  “Master, we have collected the monster cores.”

  “Wiiings?”

  “Needles, sir.”

  The beastfolk girls, energetic even after battle, came over to present me with the spoils they’d collected from the monster corpses.

  “A second wave of bees will be here soon, so take a break while you can.”

  I told the girls what I’d learned on the map, so they joined the others in resting up.

  Ten minutes later, the second wave arrived.

  Just for kicks, I decided to join Nana in attempting to gain the “Taunt” skill.

  “Arisa, please offer a demonstration, I request.”

  “Okeydoke… Hey, you big, stupid bees! Go get eaten by a honey bear, will ya?”

  Arisa gave her best shot at angering the bees, but unfortunately they didn’t seem to notice.

  Flying down unsteadily, the bees practically crash-landed on the bridge and lowered their wings. They seemed more exhausted than anything. In fact, they didn’t seem to care about us at all, never mind Arisa’s taunts.

  “All right, now you try.”

  “Understood… Hello, you big, stupid bees! Are those wings just for show, I deride!”

  Nana followed Arisa’s instructions, but again, there was no effect.

  Now it was my turn.

  “Come at me!”

  As soon as I gave a simple shout, the thirty-plus large needle bees that had been lolling around on the bridge immediately charged toward me.

  > Skill Acquired: “Taunt”

  A swarm that big could tear my clothes, so I used “Short Stun” to wipe them out before they got too close.

  “Nooo, my experience poiiints!”

  “Isspurrieeence?”

  “Exporians, sir?”

  Tama and Pochi imitated Arisa, who had thrown herself on the ground dramatically.

&nb
sp; I patted Arisa on the shoulder reassuringly.

  “Don’t worry, Arisa. Here come the monsters that chased the bees here.”

  Gliding toward us from upstream was a thirty-foot-long monster called a hard newt. It was level 25 and had a strong acid attack, so I had no intention of letting it hurt Arisa and the others.

  “Come at me!”

  As a total of nine of them came into view, I used the “Taunt” skill I’d just acquired.

  “Everyone, make sure you get in one hit on each of the newts! Don’t go anywhere near them, just attack from a distance!”

  With those orders, I stood up to the oncoming newts.

  Thanks to this powerful grinding technique, the girls jumped up from two to four levels. Mia, at the bottom, reached level 11, while the beastfolk girls were the highest at 16.

  Each one learned a few new skills, the most notable being Liza’s “Spellblade” and Nana’s “Taunt.”

  The ones who had gained the most levels were starting to get sick from it, so we decided to set up camp for the night right where we were.

  Because it would still be a while until evening, we spent our free time on activities of our choosing.

  Lulu, Mia, and Nana were all down for the count with level-up sickness and sleeping in the converted bed of the carriage seats.

  Liza practiced her new “Spellblade” skill, and Tama and Pochi went foraging in the riverbed.

  Arisa was reading one of the spell books we’d picked up in Bolehart City.

  As for me, I decided to do some crafting for the first time in a while.

  I had occasionally thrown together little things like spare masks and new colored wigs to amuse myself on the journey, but it had been a while since I’d devoted time to making more involved projects like weapons and magic tools.

  Well, now that I have some handy new spells and all, I might as well play around with casting.

  First, I made four walls to keep fire damage to a minimum. I went with a height of about ten feet to be safe.

  I was just messing around, so I melted things like silver coins and brass candlesticks for material instead of wasting something more valuable like the iron ingots and steel bars I bought in Bolehart City.

  After about an hour, I’d produced all kinds of silver cups, silver vials, and countless brass accessories.

  This included custom pieces for the girls: chick-shaped earrings for Nana, a cat and dog badge for Tama and Pochi respectively, and floral cuff links for the other kids. I applied silver plating to each of them with alchemy.

  And now with some extra time to kill, I started making Holy Weapons.

  “Now, what should I use for materials…?”

  I tapped my chin as I thought.

  When I made Holy Arrows before, I used obsidian arrowheads and Mountain-Tree branches, but this time I had no obsidian. Instead, I decided to utilize the rest of the meteorite I’d fashioned my workbench from.

  I used a Holy Sword to process the meteorite scraps.

  As my go-to Holy Sword Excalibur was in use for magic-storing experiments at the moment, I decided to go with Durandal this time. I did have two other Holy Swords, but I picked Durandal because of the legends back on Earth that said it could be restored if broken by putting it back in its scabbard.

  Incidentally, though they rarely saw any action, I also had two Magic Swords and one Holy Spear in Storage.

  My understanding was that Magic Swords could be used without a special title, but not only were they flashy, they were extremely heavy, so I was reluctant to have my kids use them.

  Besides, against monsters less than level 30, a weapon made with mithril alloy was already overkill.

  Anyway, I made arrowheads and spear tips from the meteorite scraps, as well as a tool for carving magic circuits. The remaining fragments went back into Storage as gravel.

  Once I’d finished carving circuit grooves into the arrowheads and spear tips, I turned my attention to producing more blue.

  I had used up the stock I made before, during our stay in Muno City, and we were due for a new batch. This time, I would have plenty of extra.

  I’d made this stuff once before, so the process was fairly simple by now.

  I poured the completed blue into my newly made silver vials and stored it away. I made five altogether.

  After that, I used a measuring rod to pour the liquid into the magic patterns on the arrowheads and spear tips.

  In the end, I’d made ten Holy Arrows and three Holy Spear tips.

  Since it’d be impossible to use a bow while wielding a Holy Sword, I made up for that shortcoming by preparing a one-handed Holy Short Spear.

  “Master, Lulu is awake.”

  Arisa called to me from outside, so I removed the walls and went over to meet everyone.

  The accessories were very well received.

  Dinner that evening was pretty intense. Guess everyone was hungry after the day’s battles.

  Leaving Liza and the others to clean up after the meal, I went into a grove of trees to fulfill a dream I’d had for a while.

  “This area ought to do it.”

  I had chosen a section of the bank with a good view of the river.

  First, I made practical use of the Earth Magic spells Wall and Pit to create a bathtub about ten feet around.

  Once I used the Hard Clay spell to make sure it wouldn’t muddy the water, I added the pebbles Tama and Pochi had brought from the riverbed at my behest.

  This should be big enough for everyone to use.

  The ladies’ tub was finished, so I made a private one-man bathtub a little ways away.

  It would probably be fine if we all bathed together, but I didn’t want a bashful adolescent like Lulu to feel ill at ease, so I figured it would be for the best to have the girls bathe separately.

  Next, I waded into the river under cover of darkness and put a bunch of water into Storage. Then, I filled the tubs and used the spell Pure Water to clean it. The impurities went into Storage to dispose of later.

  Finally, I used the Fire Magic spell Forge at its lowest possible setting to heat the water to near boiling, and with that, the outdoor bath was complete.

  I added a few finishing touches by solidifying the ground around it with Hard Clay and building a little washing area.

  I also put aside a few barrels and buckets of water for temperature control.

  Muno Castle had only a sauna room, so it had been a long time since I’d had a proper bath. Hopefully, everyone would enjoy it.

  When I returned to the others and told them that I’d made a bathhouse of sorts, their reactions were mixed. Lulu and Nana didn’t know what I meant, so I gave a brief explanation.

  “Ah, bathing with a boy! Finally I’ll be rewarded for all the hardships I’ve been through!”

  “No, the baths are separated by gender.”

  “Wh-whaaaaat?! God, don’t be such a Goody Two-shoes! This is so obviously a chance for a fan-service-y hot-springs episode!”

  Just as I expected, Arisa got all worked up over something absurd. It wasn’t really a hot springs anyway.

  “Master, I volunteer to wash your back, I declare.”

  “No.”

  “She’s right—you can’t.”

  Also as expected, Mia and Lulu were quick to shut down Nana’s offer.

  “We last had a bath quite a while ago. We shall be happy to wash your back again if you wish, master.”

  “Tama, toooo!”

  “Pochi, too, sir.”

  The beastfolk girls, remembering the bath in the Seiryuu City castle guesthouse, seemed very excited.

  A few of our number had a strong reaction to Liza’s use of the word again, but I chose to ignore them.

  I had already made a tool for cleaning my own back anyway, so I would be fine.

  For some reason, this information seemed to disappoint the girls. Liza and Lulu offered to let me use the bath first, but I told them that I had prepared a separate one for myself, so they meekly
went off for their soak. Naturally, Arisa tried to follow me, but Lulu led her away.

  “Ah, that’s the stuff.”

  As I slipped into the men’s bath, I looked up at the sky.

  The stars were starting to come out. It was too bad that the river wasn’t quite still enough to reflect the stars, but the moonlight dancing on the surface was still quite beautiful.

  I turned off the utilitarian menu display and enjoyed the view.

  “I haven’t bathed outside like this since we snuck off that one time in college.”

  As I leaned back against the wall of the tub and started relaxing, I heard a sudden plunk and felt weight against my body. I could tell that someone had entered my bath, but with the radar off, I didn’t know who.

  I raised my head to find Mia with her long hair loose.

  “Mia, this is the men’s bath.”

  “Mn.”

  Mia, clearly uninterested in my gentle scolding, plopped herself down in front of me with her back to me. I couldn’t help remembering when I helped bathe a younger relative while babysitting.

  A recovery team seemed to be on the way to collect her, so I decided to let her do what she liked for now.

  “Are there baths like this in the elf village?”

  “Shared.”

  Meaning there were public baths, then.

  Mia rested her small head on my chest and joined me in stargazing.

  Then the recovery team arrived, or maybe I should call them the second attack squad.

  “Us, toooo?”

  “We’re coming in, sir.”

  Tama and Pochi hopped into the bath from my left and right.

  No matter how small the beastfolk girls might be, that bath was definitely over capacity now. It was starting to feel less like a tub and more like a can of sardines.

  Tama and Pochi wanted to copy Mia, so I held them up with a hand each so they wouldn’t sink.

  “Hey, you two! Don’t try and get the jump on me!”

  Arisa arrived next, clad in a thin bathrobe.

  The wet robe was definitely clinging to her body, but I had zero interest in a little girl’s figure.

  At any rate, the two older girls behind her soon drew my gaze away.

  There was no way to comment on Nana’s figure without being indecent, but I’d admit I did feel a certain sense of almost fatherly pride in noticing Lulu’s proportions were growing.