Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 5

by Hiro Ainana

  Meanwhile, I had Liza prepare the mollusks and prawns, then line them up on wire mesh.

  When I finished the pilaf, I put the wire mesh over the high-powered magic heating tool to start grilling.

  When I sliced them up and scooped some soy sauce over the mollusks, a tempting aroma filled the air.

  “Ooh, smells amazing!”

  “Can’t waaait?”

  “My stomach is shriveling up, sir!”

  Arisa, Tama, and Pochi sniffed around excitedly near the wire mesh.

  While we were waiting, I sliced the uncooked octopus and tasted it. I’d been concerned that it would taste muddy, but it seemed like it would actually make good sashimi.

  “Lemme taste it, too!”

  “Me toooo?”

  “Pochi too, sir.”

  I handed a slice to each of the sharp-eyed children.

  “Ah, fresh octopus is always a treat.”

  “Chewyyy?”

  “It doesn’t taste like much, sir.”

  Arisa seemed to like it, but Tama and Pochi weren’t as thrilled.

  “Master, you’ll get sick if you eat it raw like that.”

  “Forgive my insolence, but I do agree with Lulu, master.”

  Lulu and Liza looked concerned.

  “Don’t worry. Something this fresh should be fine.”

  Sashimi, the classic Japanese method of serving sliced raw fish, might not be very popular here due to health and freshness issues.

  But I had used my oft-neglected “Analyze” skill to check whether it was safe, so it should be fine to consume.

  The crew looked a bit envious, so I gave the guide a gratuity and requested that she make sure they got a good lunch.

  By the time I was done preparing the food, the youngsters returned with Miss Hayuna, as I’d instructed them.

  She was carrying baby Mayuna, but Tolma was nowhere to be seen.

  The temple knights weren’t here, either. The second they saw that I was cooking octopus, they’d excused themselves on the pretext that they had other food.

  Instead, they were standing upwind on the rear deck to avoid the smell, surveying the ship’s surroundings.

  …Well, their loss.

  “Young Master Pendragon, thank you for inviting us. Tolma said that he had no appetite, so I left him in the room.”

  Miss Hayuna was using very formal words with me, perhaps because she was originally a commoner. Tolma’s family wouldn’t allow him to marry a commoner, I’d learned, so the two of them had eloped.

  Later, when they learned that the couple’s child Mayuna had the oracle gift, Tolma’s family approved the marriage and welcomed them back to the old capital.

  “All right, it’s ready. Take your seats, please, everyone.”

  The only “seats” were circular floor mats, but oh well.

  Miss Karina’s maids took care of the serving, and we all chorused “Thanks for the food” and began to eat.

  “Yummy! I can’t stop!”

  “Tasty, sir!”

  Arisa eagerly snatched up some octopus sashimi with her chopsticks and threw it into her mouth along with the pilaf.

  Pochi imitated her, too, filling her cheeks like a chipmunk.

  Their faces lit up like the sun as they chewed their huge mouthfuls of food.

  In the face of such joy, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them to slow down.

  “The unique crunchiness, the sweet, strong flavor of the prawn that wells up from within the bitterness… Quite wonderful.”

  “Yummy yummyyy?”

  Liza and Tama were chomping wildly on grilled prawns without peeling away the shell.

  They seemed to like it that way, so I didn’t bother correcting them about how to eat it.

  Miss Karina, intrigued by how much they were enjoying the whole prawns, tried to imitate them and received a prompt scolding from her maid, Pina.

  “Yum.”

  Mia looked a little forlorn as she chewed on her vegetable pilaf.

  I grilled some vegetables on the wire mesh, whipped up a quick sesame miso sauce, and served them to her.

  “Satou.”

  Breaking into a pleased smile, Mia gave me a little hug. I was just glad to have cheered her up.

  “Mia, please share one of your stars, I entreat.”

  “Mm, here.”

  The “stars” Nana referred to were carrot slices that had been cut into star shapes.

  My attempt at having a little fun while I sliced the veggies must have struck a chord with Nana.

  Maybe I could try making more shapes out of the vegetables next time we made stew.

  “Master, you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  Lulu passed a particularly plump mollusk onto my plate, and I responded with a smile.

  How could I not, eating delicious food with cute girls and pretty young women under a blue sky?

  I hope I can spend times like these with Zena and Miss Sara, too, someday.

  Miss Karina’s maids took care of the cleanup, so the rest of us stretched out on some soft furs the tour guide had spread on the deck for us to enjoy an afternoon nap.

  Miss Hayuna joined us with Mayuna in her arms, as did Miss Karina.

  I learned this was the fur of a monster called an eight-legged leopard. With a quick glance at my map, I discovered that they lived in the southeastern part of the duchy, so I would have to go hunt some when I had the chance.

  As I entertained such idle thoughts, I gradually drifted off.

  …I had a dream.

  A dream of a hot summer day from my childhood.

  Below me, amid the incessant cries of cicadas, a young boy sprinted up a long flight of stone steps.

  It was me. I was tugging the leash of my grandfather’s pet dog as I skipped every other step.

  If memory served, the backpack hanging off my shoulder contained the latest portable game console of the time.

  This dream seemed to be from a bird’s-eye view, so I turned my gaze farther up the stairs.

  On the grounds of a Shinto shrine, my childhood friend with chestnut hair was quietly kicking a rock around for fun.

  As soon as my childhood self arrived at the shrine grounds, my point of view merged with his.

  As I entered the grounds, a little girl with blond hair turned around excitedly to face me.

  “My, my! I’ve been waiting for you, Satou!”

  “Man, call me Ichirou when we’re not playing games, will ya?”

  Satou was my grandfather’s dog’s name. It was a weird name for a dog, but he inherited it from the person who gave the dog to my grandfather. My family has always had a tendency to be arbitrary about that kind of thing.

  “Hmph, I was speaking to the dog, not you.”

  “Really? Then I guess we’ll skip the games for today and play with the dog outside.”

  As soon as I made this teasing remark, the girl dropped her haughty attitude and started flailing in a panic. As usual, she was sticking with her weird, old-fashioned way of speaking.

  “W-wait, just a moment! If not us, then who will save the Trojans from the Achaean Empire?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go play in the shade, then.”

  We sat side by side on the shady porch of the shrine. His leash removed, Satou the dog dashed around the grounds in defiance of the summer heat.

  I pulled out two handhelds from my backpack and gave one to the girl.

  She liked the one that made a clicking sound when the joystick moved.

  As she always did, she fiddled with it even before turning on the power, relishing the sound it made. Once I’d connected the two consoles with a link cable, I turned them on.

  “Oh-ho, it begins!”

  The game was a space-battle simulation themed around the Trojan War. Despite being for children, it included mechanics like supplies and enemy detection.

  “Hmm, attacking me from outside my enemy detection field, eh? You dog. This is why I call you Satou
.”

  I grinned wryly at her irrational complaint.

  “Fine. Starting next map, you can have one ‘Map Search’ as a handicap.”

  “Huzzah! Then you ought to throw in a ‘Comet Shot,’ too.”

  “What? No way! That can turn around a whole battle in one go.”

  “Indeed! C’mon, just one. Please? Have mercy—only one.”

  Shaking her red hair, she pleaded with me until I finally gave in. As they say, there’s no winning against a crying child or a count, after all. Although I’m not sure why a count, specifically.

  “Bwa-ha-ha! Take this!”

  She looked downright gleeful as she obliterated my main force with a “Comet Shot.” She continued cackling as she plundered my now-immobilized main battleship.

  “Ah, ‘Comet Shot,’ you are too kind. Why, I even got a battleship as a souvenir.”

  However, her smugness turned to shock after she brought the battleship over to her side.

  This game was modeled after the Trojan War. So of course it included a “Trojan Horse” strategy.

  “Robots are coming out of the battleship! Argh, I just completed that carrier… Nooo, you must not touch that factoryyyy!”

  Once my robots destroyed her supplies from the inside, I revealed my real main force and went after her army. It was a close fight, but I somehow managed to pull out a win.

  “Alas, so cruel. Have you no mercy for a little girl?”

  She pounded the porch with both hands in regret, her beautiful indigo hair brushing the floor.

  “I mean, it’s impolite to fight someone with anything but your full strength, right?”

  “Hmph! I despise you, Satou. May only the most flat-chested of lasses fall for you!”

  Even as a joke, that’s a pretty mean curse.

  Everyone in our class was crazy about idols with big boobs, after all.

  “Anyway, you sure get upset whenever you lose, huh?” That was what made it fun to play with her, though.

  “But of course! You must lash out with all your strength if you lose, or else you will never grow! People mature only by making mistakes!”

  With tears in her eyes, the girl brushed her orange hair out of her face and struck a pose as she made her declaration.

  As she raised her arm, the blue bells on her bracelet reflected the sunlight.

  “Huh? Hey, have you always worn that bracelet?”

  “Ho-ho, it is my lucky charm today!”

  The girl puffed up her little chest, then took off one of the bells and presented it to me.

  “I shall give you one, too, Satou. You must treasure it always so it can bring you fortune, understand?”

  “Sure, thanks.”

  I carefully tucked the bell into my breast pocket…

  What a nostalgic dream.

  I didn’t remember when exactly it had happened, but I did remember playing games with my childhood friend on the grounds of a shrine.

  What I hadn’t remembered until now was that the origin of my go-to game character name, Satou, was actually the name of my grandfather’s dog.

  I’d have to make sure no one else ever found out about that…

  Just like in the flashback I had at the Travel Gate back in Seiryuu County, the girl’s hair color was totally inconsistent. Dreams do tend to come with a little randomness.

  As I sat up to get a drink of water, my eyes fell on the bell sitting at the sleeping Miss Karina’s side.

  It was the demon-sealing bell, a gift from the forest giants.

  Still half-asleep, I started to connect it to the dream I’d just had, when…

  Suddenly, Arisa bounced over to me.

  “What’s wro—?”

  “Master!”

  Before I could finish speaking, Arisa latched onto me and wrapped her arms and legs around me tightly.

  At first I thought she was just harassing me as usual, but this seemed different.

  She anxiously repeated “Master…” into my chest, so I patted her head.

  “Arisa…?”

  “I-I’m sorry.” Arisa pulled away abruptly, apologizing with uncharacteristic sincerity.

  “Did you have a bad dream?”

  “Yes, it was about…”

  She stopped without finishing her sentence.

  “…I can’t say it.”

  “Arisa?”

  “I can’t tell you it was about you being surrounded by muscly macho dudes in a festival of manliness, master!”

  Arisa clutched a handkerchief to her face, feigning tears.

  Most likely, she’d actually had a dream about the past that she didn’t want to relive, so I decided to let her fool me.

  “Then why did you just say it?!”

  I wrapped an arm around Arisa’s head, pretending to put her in a choke hold.

  I was being extremely careful, but Arisa still shrieked, “Uncle! Uncle!” and batted my chest dramatically, so I let her go before too long.

  All that horseplay ended up waking the others.

  “I don’t wanna be cooold…”

  “I don’t wanna be hungry, sir.”

  “Master! You’re safe!”

  The beastfolk girls hugged me so hard I could barely breathe.

  “Satou.”

  Mia, still half-asleep, latched onto my head and started rubbing my hair.

  “Master.”

  And Nana did the same thing as Mia.

  As I enjoyed the sensation, I looked around and made eye contact with Lulu, who was silently crying.

  When I did, a relieved smile appeared on her face, and she wiped away the tears.

  I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like everyone had had some kind of bad dream.

  For some reason, my eyes fell on the oracle priestess, baby Mayuna, but that probably had nothing to do with it.

  If she could influence people’s dreams just by sleeping nearby, her mother, Miss Hayuna, would probably be stuck with strange dreams every night, after all.

  Because traveling on the river after dark was prohibited, our ship entered the harbor of Zurute City near sunset.

  Still, the journey was going quite smoothly. We’d gone a hundred miles downriver today alone, so we should reach the old capital as early as tomorrow.

  Along the way, pirates attacked us once and monsters three times, but before my group or the knights could get involved, the ship’s gillfolk and birdfolk soldiers disposed of them easily.

  “You truly shan’t be joining us, Sir Pendragon?”

  “I’m afraid I wasn’t invited.”

  Miss Karina entreated me in front of a carriage that had stopped at Zurute City’s harbor, but I shook my head.

  Fortunately, her evening gown was a modest one.

  If it had been a more revealing design that showed off her bust, I might have gotten charmed into nodding despite myself.

  The event she was referring to was a dinner party hosted by the viceroy of Zurute City.

  Tolma’s family, Miss Karina, and the imperial knights had been invited. The temple knights would be going to the viceroy’s castle as Mayuna’s guards.

  While I had been invited to the banquet in Gururian City as thanks for vanquishing the demon, hereditary knights like me were the lowest class of noble and rarely received invitations to an event like a viceroy’s dinner party.

  Joining Tolma and his family, Miss Karina boarded the carriage sent by the host.

  She continued looking back at me as the carriage pulled away, so I waved and smiled cheerfully.

  “So we’ll explore the shopping district near the harbor, then head to the restaurant Sir Tolma told us about, shall we?”

  “Can we get in without a reservation?”

  “Not to worry. I had the tour guide book a table for us.”

  She’d told us we should be fine thanks to our connections, and even if they canceled our reservation, we could always go to some other eatery or food stand.

  After all, part of the joy of travel was dealing with the unex
pected.

  The shopping district of Zurute City had narrow streets, and the shops themselves were only about twenty square feet. Instead of asking patrons to go inside, most of the vendors stood out front to make sales and attract customers. Generally, there were no storefronts at all.

  There was no rhyme or reason to the layout; it wasn’t unusual to find restaurants next to galleries.

  I didn’t want to lose anyone in the chaos, so I had everyone hold hands in groups of two or more.

  As another precautionary measure, the beastfolk girls and Nana were equipped with cheap bronze weapons instead of their usual equipment.

  “Master! It’s kombu!”

  “Oh, dried kelp, huh?”

  “You should make kobumaki with it!”

  That was a pretty complicated request. But the seaweed would be good for making stock and such, too, so I decided to buy a few bundles.

  “How about some dried sea slugs, sonny? They’re good for stock, too.”

  “Then I’ll take a bag of that as well, please.”

  “Thankee.”

  The bundles of kombu and bags of dried slugs were very cheap at only a copper coin each.

  “Master!”

  Nana pulled my arm to her chest and urgently steered me to the shop next door.

  “I would like to request one of these objects, I entreat!”

  Nana was pointing to some small glasswork hair ornaments.

  The accessories came in many designs, fashioned after baby chicks, fish, cats, dogs, and so on.

  “How about it, young man? They’re all one large copper apiece.”

  “Hmm, that seems a bit high…”

  According to my “Estimation” skill, they should be only one regular copper.

  The other children came over as well, so I let them each pick one out.

  While I waited, I decided to chat with the shopkeeper.

  “Is there a glassblowing workshop around here where all this is made?”

  “There is indeed. But it’s past the inner wall in the nobles’ quarters, so you can’t buy ’em directly, you know.”

  The shopkeeper seemed to be on guard, perhaps suspecting I was a foreign merchant or something along those lines.

  “Do you have any mirrors?”

  “In a place like this? ’Course not. Flat panes for mirrors and windows are only made in the glass workshop in the old capital, so you’ll have to stock up there.”