Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 4

by Hiro Ainana

  Tama and Pochi grinned widely as they made an impressive attack on a piece of meat that was bigger than both of them.

  Apparently envious, the other kids started taking bites out of it, and soon they were smiling, too.

  Of course, I joined in on the fun, laughing as we tore off big bites of the enormous hunk. It was good to cut loose once in a while.

  There were a few minor accidents, too. Once, Arisa and Mia clambered around on a giant fruit, scooping out pieces, and plunged into the center. They nearly drowned in the juice.

  When I mentioned between joking with the forest giants that I’d like a piece of the Mountain-Tree fruit as a souvenir, they were happy to oblige.

  They were getting pretty drunk, so they cheerfully informed me that I could take half of the fruits from the top of the tree where the elder sparrows lived.

  I think they were mostly joking, but they might’ve been serious, too.

  With a small cask of high-quality liquor from Sedum City under one arm, I mingled with all kinds of people.

  I learned the birdfolk language and pantherfolk language, and they told me all about their home on the eastern continent.

  A small weaselfolk hunter even offered us a spare boat, so we’d be able to enjoy a trip across the lake and downriver on our way back.

  In exchange for the boat, we agreed to take care of a sixty-foot-long monster called a lake snake that lived outside the barrier. My map told me it was only around level 20, which meant defeating it wouldn’t reveal my power. I had no problem accepting his request.

  It would take them about three days to outfit the boat, so it was decided that we’d continue sightseeing throughout the village in the meantime.

  After the banquet ended, I got the dryad to transport me to the top of the Mountain-Tree, where I harvested about half the fruits, mostly the ones liable to break off and fall.

  When I’d traveled about two-thirds of the way around the top of the giant tree, I remembered the kobold’s mining expedition.

  “Are you there, dryad?”

  I knocked on the trunk of the Mountain-Tree, and the nude, green little girl appeared on top.

  “What’s up?”

  “Sorry, but can you transport me to that nearby mountain over there?”

  “Sure! As long as I can get some seconds, of course.”

  I pointed at the mountain where the mithril vein was, and the dryad cheerfully agreed.

  Of course, she had to leech my magic supply with her lips again, but I was drunk enough that I didn’t really pay it any mind.

  Excavating a mining tunnel with magic alone, as I’d planned, proved unexpectedly difficult.

  As I worked, I came across stones and bedrock that prevented me from using the Pitfall spell to create holes.

  I put the stones away in Storage and hewed my way through the bedrock with the help of Magic Arrows and Holy Swords.

  > Skill Acquired: “Mining”

  > Title Acquired: Prospector

  > Title Acquired: Miner

  > Title Acquired: Mining Engineer

  With the support of my new skills, I was able to come up with optimal methods using the tools and magic I had on hand.

  In order to prevent cave-ins, I dug the tunnel in a spiral and carefully avoided accidentally digging into the wall of the tunnel. I used a warhammer to create footholds along the sides.

  Then I just had to keep repeating the process.

  Along the way, I found mithril, silver, and even cobalt ore. The cobalt ore was toxic, so it would be dangerous for anyone who didn’t have poison resistance like me.

  After an hour or so, I’d reached the cavern with the blue crystals.

  And when I emerged into that hollow…

  “So these are blue crystals? …They’re beautiful.”

  …I saw a sight so fantastic that I couldn’t help murmuring to myself.

  I had seen crystalline caverns in TV specials before, but rather than reflecting the light around them, these blue minerals were glowing from within.

  …No, wait. It wasn’t the crystals that were glowing.

  I took one clump of the blue crystals and collected the glowing white light stones underneath. If I crushed these, I could create light powder, an LED-like material used in creating illumination-type magic tools.

  It was a mystery why there would be light stones so deep underground.

  According to my documents, they were found only in places deep in the mountains with a strong light source…

  Well, I’d leave that kind of investigation to scholars.

  I’d found my goal and gained an extra prize while I was at it, so I left the cavern and covered the entrance with a clearly marked rock. I’d just realized that exposing the blue crystals to air could degrade their quality.

  Once I got back to the surface, I decided to build a small log cabin at the entrance to the tunnel.

  With the help of my high strength stat, my “Logging” skill, and the outlandishly sharp Holy Sword Excalibur, gathering the lumber took only about five minutes. Of course, that was because Storage was excellent for transporting it.

  Then, with the additional help of my “Woodworking” skill and new “Construction” skill, I completed the log cabin in no time at all. Honestly, there should be a limit to how much cheating I can do.

  I furnished it with a desk I’d bought in Sedum City and left a paper on it with the same mark I’d drawn on the entrance to the cave. I weighted it with a blue crystal and a chunk of mithril ore.

  Nobody seemed to live around this mountain, so in order to make it easier for the kobolds to find the place, I cut down a few trees and set them aflame. I took care to ensure that it wouldn’t start a forest fire, of course.

  “Good morning. You look unusually tired, master.”

  “Good morning, Lulu. I ended up working through most of the night, that’s all.”

  It was our twentieth morning in the Muno Barony. When I returned to the Mountain-Tree banquet hall, wearing an innocent expression, Lulu’s cheerful smile greeted me. She must have enjoyed herself at the banquet yesterday; that grin was enough to overcome my exhaustion from the all-nighter.

  We were at the site of yesterday’s feast with the people of the village. The goal was to have the leftovers as breakfast.

  “You must’ve worked hard, master. Would you like some yellow peach juice?”

  “Thank you, Lulu.”

  I sipped the drink Lulu handed to me, made from one of the Mountain-Tree’s fruits. It was delicious and refreshing.

  Just then, the younger kids returned with their plates full of food.

  “Burning the midnight oil…? Don’t tell me you were cavorting with giant ladies all night!”

  “Mrrr, lewd.”

  I told them the same thing I’d told Lulu, yet somehow they managed to misunderstand.

  “I didn’t do anything shady; it was just normal manual labor.”

  I parried their baseless accusations.

  That’s what I get for working my ass off to protect the town from falling fruit and save the kobold race from possible extinction.

  “S-Satou…”

  I turned toward the voice that had called my name and saw Miss Karina. Her color was much better than yesterday. Whitefinger must have brought her here.

  She stood with her hands folded in front of her, speaking quietly. A good night’s sleep must have calmed her.

  “After our talk, I consulted with Mr. Raka for a while, but we still have no idea what they might want us to do. Which is why…”

  Then she met my gaze directly and firmly for the first time.

  “I think I shall speak to Sir Stonehammer myself. If the forest giants wish for anything from the outside world, perhaps I can ask them to help me get rid of the hell demon in return. Surely there must be something they desire.”

  Miss Karina’s bearing was determined.

  “It is just as you say, Lady Karina. As long as you do not give up, a path will surely open f
or you.”

  Raka warmly encouraged her decision.

  …Right, I guess she must not have heard about the poisoned children, since she wasn’t here yesterday.

  The other kids, who already knew, shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

  I made eye contact with Arisa to silently ask, You haven’t talked to her yet? and just as I’d expected, she shook her head.

  “So I would like you to help me collect information as well, if you might.”

  Ah, she’s back to calling me “you.” What was up with the first-name treatment earlier?

  “As a peddler, you are undoubtedly skilled at entering social circles, Sir Satou.”

  I hated to discourage Miss Karina when she was trying to be proactive, but I had to tell her, especially if I wanted to eat a tasty breakfast anytime soon.

  “About that, actually… Yesterday—”

  At that moment, the forest giant children came tottering over to me.

  “SATOU!”

  “SATOU THE HUMAN.”

  “THANK YOU.”

  Having recovered in just one night, the children showered me with thanks, picking me up gently and rubbing against me with their cheeks.

  Anyone else would probably have some broken ribs after this treatment, but for me it meant only mild discomfort, so I let them do as they liked.

  This continued until the forest giant mothers hurried over and instructed their children to release me.

  “…W-well, it seems you’ve already become quite friendly.”

  Miss Karina raised her eyebrows at the display of affection.

  At this point, I explained the events of the previous day. Once I was finished, Miss Karina pressed her hands to her cheeks and shrieked like that one Munch painting.

  Now that I had revealed everything, my conscience was no longer burdened, and we all enjoyed breakfast. We paid little attention to Miss Karina’s confusing mixture of joy and complaining.

  Then, after breakfast, she struck up another conversation.

  “Say, you, why are you able to do everything so easily?”

  “I just got lucky. I happened to have the medicine they needed, and they asked what I would want in exchange, so I asked for an item that might help you achieve your goal.”

  I held the demon-sealing bell out to Miss Karina as I explained.

  With tears welling up in her eyes, she clasped my hands, magic bell and all.

  “What can the Muno Barony possibly do to thank you? Knighthood? Or perhaps…”

  Miss Karina’s face was approaching.

  “Arisa uses Impenetrable Barrier!”

  “Mm, barrier.”

  At that moment, Arisa and Mia dove in between us, pulling the two of us apart.

  “Master, you mustn’t get so close.”

  “Master, what is our next mission? I inquire.”

  Lulu and Nana tugged on my arms.

  Nana was expressionless as usual, but Lulu was puffing up her cheeks in a rare bout of adorable jealousy. It was enough to make me want to whip my cell phone out of Storage and take a picture, but obviously I restrained myself.

  The others were oddly quiet, so I turned to see Liza on standby with Pochi and Tama held under each arm.

  Now I had to respond to Miss Karina, but I wasn’t sure how…

  Knighthood and aristocracy seemed like a hassle, so perhaps requesting permission to buy Magic Scrolls, like I’d done in Kuhanou County, would be best.

  If I were still the same age as I’d been in my own world, maybe I’d choose the more stable route of wedding a magic-breasted beauty like Miss Karina and becoming a noble.

  But, since I’d regained my youth, I would rather choose to explore and see the sights of this parallel world.

  “As far as my reward, I think I’ll have to ask the baron directly.”

  “Directly…,” Miss Karina repeated, then cleared her throat with a gulp and continued in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s whine. “V-very well. I shall prepare myself, then.”

  She seemed to have misunderstood, but I could probably just resolve that once I met with the baron.

  Looking back at everyone else, I decided it was time to focus on our main goal again.

  “Now, shall we head out to tour the sights of the village?”

  Miss Karina wanted to bring the bell home and defeat the demon right away, but I explained that we would have a boat. It would be faster to wait for the vessel and take it down the river, which would justify our current sightseeing trip.

  If we left now, all our efforts in getting here would be in vain.

  We set off triumphantly, totally forgetting that there would be nobody in the village.

  Thus, we reluctantly changed our destination and took the horses near a herd of unicorns. We even spotted gjallarhorns from a distance.

  According to legends, unicorns would allow only virgins to approach them, but they didn’t seem to mind when I touched them for some reason.

  However, they were just as moody as the legends said, so Mia and I were the only ones who managed to ride on one.

  The gjallarhorns were pure white, mountain goat–looking creatures with horns that bore a strong resemblance to the Holy Sword derived from them.

  They were much more vigilant than the unicorns, and they would flee even when we were so far away that only the sharp-eyed Tama and Pochi could catch a glimpse of them.

  They had the race-specific inherent skills of “Short-Range Teleportation” and “Flight,” so it was unlikely that we’d be able to get anywhere near them.

  After that, we devoted the next two days until the boat was ready to touring the village.

  We stopped by a workshop that processed fruit skins and tried our hands at textile manufacturing. There, we acquired some elastic thread made from the skin of the rubbery bouncer fruit, which Arisa and I used to make socks and underwear that were more like the modern styles we were used to.

  I also tried out armor crafted from the rind of the ironshell fruit and hydra leather. Both made for light armor with excellent resistance to shock and blades, so I made some for everybody, not just the vanguard group.

  For the rearguard, I designed an inner bodysuit for emergencies, which should be more than enough protection in combination with their leather armor.

  As for the advance guard, their armor now had better defense than full-plate mail.

  During our two days of tourism, the situation around Muno City began to change a little.

  On our twenty-second day in the Muno Barony, as I did my usual morning check, I noticed an army of fifteen hundred had deployed from Muno City.

  That might not sound like much, but given the low population of the territory, the number was suspiciously high.

  One of the possessed knights led the group. The doppelgänger responsible for this could use Psychic Magic, which might explain why all the soldiers were under the Frenzied status.

  Judging by the direction of their march, their goal was most likely to subdue a large band of almost seven hundred bandits who had set up a base in the large forest.

  However, since the soldiers all had more bounties than the bandits they were going after, it was hard to tell who the real villains were.

  The next morning was our twenty-third day in the Muno Barony.

  After our daily spell-chanting practice, I took another look at what the demon was up to and noticed something strange.

  There was a hell-demon doppelgänger in the goblin settlement inside the large forest, but what was really strange was the number of goblins.

  Ten days ago, there had been about seven hundred and fifty of them, but now there were over twenty times more. That seemed impossible, but—maybe it was the gabo fruit? There had been a town that was mass-producing them.

  And if I remembered correctly, the gabo fruit was discovered during investigations into an exploding goblin population.

  If the demon had been working behind the scenes to breed them, then this number might make sense.


  These goblins were starting to move toward Muno City, separating into three large armies as they did so.

  And the army that would normally be protecting the city was currently in the forest, doing battle with the bandits.

  The kid bandits and the old folks should be far enough out of the way to be safe, but the villages closer to Muno City could be in serious danger.

  And since the demon was probably responsible for this proliferation, there was no telling whether Muno City itself would be safe behind its walls.

  There were just under a hundred soldiers left in the city. Miss Karina’s family was there, too, so it would probably be best to go to alert the citizens of the danger right away.

  The Defense of Muno City

  Satou here. When I was a kid and everyone was into ESP, what I wanted most of all was teleportation. It’d be convenient if I could use it myself, but there’s nothing more annoying than an enemy who can use it.

  “Go ahead, please, dryad.”

  That morning, after I noticed the strange occurrences around Muno City, I had everyone change into new equipment and prepare for departure, bidding a hasty farewell to the forest giants and villagers. Now, we stood inside the dryad’s fairy ring.

  I didn’t want everyone to have to keep seeing me kiss a little girl, so I had taken care of the magic transfer beforehand.

  “All righty, here we gooo.”

  With a lazy reply, the dryad transported us from the fairy ring inside the Mountain-Tree to one in a forest not far from Muno City.

  A journey of ten days took a mere instant. This magic supposedly had its own constraints, but dryad teleportation was still way too convenient.

  Like a dangerous drug, it would be all too easy to become addicted to convenience. All it cost was the taboo act of kissing a little girl.

  The sudden transportation startled the horses, so I soothed them while reviewing the map.

  The walls of Muno City were only three miles from here in a straight line, with harvested fields in the middle.

  Muno City was almost twice the size of Seiryuu City, the first place I’d visited in this parallel world, yet its population was only half of the latter.