Episode 45 — Okama and the Maritime Caravan
～ Part 1 ～
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“Uwaa, lots–!?”
When they reached the target beach, what leaked out from Kyousuke before anything else was that shout.
The sandy beach was completely filled up, was a little exaggerating to say, but there was indeed a large flock of innumerable fishmen gathering there.
Yes, those were fishmen. Fish-faced warriors having red scales, donning simple armor, in their hands poised a pronged weapon. Even looking at the sailing ship anchoring a little offshore you could see those guys climbing up.
“As expected, Sa Gojou being Uozumi older brother is better, isn’t it…?”
Kyousuke muttered such a thing for some reason, but Sakuma put her hand on her chin and looked serious.
“But, Uozumi-kun looks different…. They maybe different fishmen.”
“Different? Like white people and black people?”
“Maybe, maybe like gorilla and chimpanzee, or Shiba Inu and Siberian Husky.”
Their looks were atrocious. Both eyes were properly directed in front, if pushed to say, it would be close to human. It was a facial structure specialized for stereopsis. On the other hand, Uozumi’s face was that of a fish itself, with eyes attached to left and right. His face seemed like a mackerel or sardine, it was idiotic somewhere yet had had a certain charm.
So saying they were different species certainly was convincing. It was a delicate point whether or not they could come to mutual understanding. It would be best if they could bring Uozumi along and settle it peacefully, but anyway, they couldn’t afford to turn back now.
Fishmen were advancing on the beach in great number, and humans who seemed to be the ship’s crew were escaping from those. One of the men fell down on the sandy beach, the fishmen holding pronged weapons swarmed around that man.
“Hi, hii!”
“Saruwatari-kun!”
When the man screamed, Sakuma called the name of the hanuman who was the fastest in the party.
“I’ve been waiting with tears in my eyes!”
No sooner than he said that, Saruwatari Futa charged at the sahagin flock with speed as though his body had become wind itself. The iron pole he brought out as his favorite weapon couldn’t extend like Son Goku’s Power Pole, but he used it to catch the fishmen’s pronged weapon and as it was forced them back.
“Youth home run!!”
Beaten by the stick swung with all his strength, the fishmen were blown away.
“Go on, you! Leave this to us and escape!”
Saruwatari held aloft his stick like a batter standing in the batter’s box, and shouted. That’s not how you should hold that weapon, Kyousuke retorted in his mind.
The man who was saved, was bewildered by the strange behavior of the monkey-type monster that had suddenly appeared in front of him, still, he nodded and started running.
“Ahh, please wait! There’s something important I forgot to ask!”
“…?”
“What’s your favorite baseball team?”
“Is this the place to ask that, idiot!!”
Hakuba’s foul jeers flew at Saruwatari. In the meantime, the approaching fishmen were blown away by Sakuma magic and Okumura’s sumo face-slap.
“Since you don’t need to answer, please escape quick!”
Hearing Sakuma’s words, the man started running again.
“Don’t do that again, Saruwatari…”
“You say that, but Utsurogi! It’s very important. Because I like Carp, the Uncrowned Queen favors Chuunichi?”
“Saruwatari, in this world, Central League, doesn’t, exist.”
The obvious thing was carefully simplified and explained. Of course, Pacific League also didn’t exist.
The one called Uncrowned Queen seemed to be the remarkable girl pitcher who completely shutout Jindai High-school in the practice match. She cornered all the veteran batters of the opponent school to strikeout one after another, but she was a Queen, therefore she couldn’t participate in the official game, hence ‘Uncrowned Queen’. It was exceedingly inconsequential. Amazing yet inconsequential.
“I’m not interested in baseball debu. Haa, it’s regrettable that I couldn’t see the final day of the (sumo) autumn tournament with my own eyes debu…”
“Since time flow is different, if we hurriedly return you may still be in time for Kyushu tournament.”
“I will try my best with that as encouragement debu.”
As yet to abandon his former nickname of «Akai Chankonabe», the student sumo wrestler of legend heavily stomped his feet and glared at the fishmen flock.
By the way, Kyousuke wasn’t too interested in sports, so he was weak in these kind of topics. Sakuma was the same. As for Hakuba, he seemed exceedingly interested in talking about football league of Italy or Spain, but they couldn’t keep talking care-freely like this as expected.
The fishmen’s hostility was directed at them. Some were chasing after the human fleeing the beach, but that was obstructed by Sakuma’s magic.
“FUOOO–! DOSUKOoooI!!”
Okumura’s face slaps flattened the crowding fishmen. Pronged weapon thrusted out and stabbed his body, yet he didn’t appear to care about it at all. Okumura pulled out the pronged weapon stabbed in his body and threw it on the ground, putting both fists on the ground, he again glared at the fishmen.
Leaping over that back, Saruwatari swung his stick and swooped down.
“Endure!!”
The stick struck, sands danced in the air. Furthermore, the wind attribute magic Saruwatari chanted and had on standby on his right hand, was activated toward the fishmen.
“«Wind Cutter»“
While rolling up the dancing sands, wind blade tore up the fishmen’s scales.
“«Healing Light»“
Hakuba’s horn glittered, light of life attribute magic healed Okumura’s stab wounds. Okumura, his wounds healed, slapped his stomach, then picked up one of the pronged weapon fallen on the ground and threw it to Kyousuke.
“Uoops…”
“You should use that guy debu, Utsurogi!”
“Understood.”
A little long to swing on horseback but there was nothing to criticize as a weapon. Kyousuke set up the pronged weapon, and regripped Hakuba’s reins.
“Horseback, reins and what not, don’t treat me like a horse so blatantly!”
“Oops, my thought was leaked…?”
“Oi what’s this. Utsurogi’s feelings are subtly being transmitted, gross.”
It was the same function as when he combined with Rin or Akira. So this meant the effect of Characteristics Amplification also applied to Hakuba. Hakuba’s life attribute magic had zero effect on Kyousuke though, so it felt like it wasn’t too excellent a combination.
“Kyaa…!”
Sakuma’s scream. She was ambushed by the fishmen lurking in the thickets. Noticing that, Hakuba immediately changed his course, he brandished his sharp horn at one of the fishmen attacking Sakuma. The unicorn’s horn, which was said to stab to death even an elephant in one thrust, started by skewering one fishman.
The fishmen who surprise attacked Sakuma counted 3. Kyousuke struck the pronged weapon at 1 of the 2 remaining ones; struck by the momentum of the horse, that fishman easily collapsed on the sandy beach.
“Deyaaa–!!”
Kyousuke stabbed the pronged weapon at the last one, but its scales were too sturdy for his feeble strength to go through. It did, however, faltered, Sakuma made use of that gap to release magic.
“«Evil Flare»“
Black flame winding, roasted the fishman.
“Utsurogi-kun, Hakuba-kun, thank you!”
“Enough about thanks! Saa-chan, please pull out the fishman pierced on my horn! Utsurogi maybe fine but! Shit, who the heck said that unicorn can kill elephant in one thrust! Please properly write how to pull the horn out after killing!”
While beating the fishman body caught on his head with his fore-hooves, Hakuba screamed. Kyousuke used the trident to push the fishman corpse, removing it. Blood was sticking all over, but when the horn shined for a moment, everything was beautifully purified.
In front, Okumura and Saruwatari were rampaging in a peerless manner, yet the number of fishmen remaining was still too many. Kyousuke stabbed the trident on the sandy beach, then place his hand on Sakuma’s shoulder.
“Hyaa.”
“Oi what’s this Utsurogi, what’s this. So sneaky. Me too.”
Hakuba was trying to put his hoof on Sakuma’s body but there was no suitable place so he dejectedly hung his head.
“Sakuma, blow them away in one go with magic. «Characteristics Amplification» should also apply to Sakuma like this.”
“Eh, ah…. Y–yeah. Understood.”
«Characteristics Amplification»‘s effect that was invoked with Rin and Akira, was certainly displayed with Hakuba as well. Supposing the condition was ‘physical contact’, then Sakuma’s magic should also greatly increased in power like this. Also, there was the precedence called Trinity Full Cross, so there was no way he couldn’t invoke its effect with two people at the same time.
Sakuma’s battle costume was excessively lacking in cloth area, so naturally, her shoulder that Kyousuke was touching was bare. To not be thinking about strange things as much as possible, Kyousuke averted his eyes, but this too only put her bare shoulder blade into his view, it was bad either way. What inconvenient about the skeleton body was that he had no eyelids so shutting out his sight was impossible.
“I’ll report to Himemizu.”
Murmured Hakuba.
Why did it become like that? The best thing to break through the current situation was to wipe out the enemy with Sakuma’s magic, therefore, applying buff to her was the natural choice, Kyousuke thought.
“No, it’s not about reason, I just can’t stomach your position right now.”
No helping it then.
Sakuma cool shoulder was steadily heating up, but he decided not to worry about it anymore. The space in Kyousuke’s heart wasn’t wide enough to worry about such things and still be able to walk about skillfully.
“Even though you’re empty…”
“It’s true…”
“Geezz! I–I’m chanting!?”
Sakuma raised her face and held both arms forward.
“Reduce all creation to ashes, claws of the Demon King burn the earth!”
The black magic that only Sakuma could use in the class at the moment, had short chant. Every single word she recited turned into power, bonded with Sakuma’s power and brought forth terrifying thermal energy. Hakuba shouted to Okumura and Saruwatari who were standing in front.
“Saa-chan cannon’s firing! Friendly tanks in the line of fire evacuate!!”
“Surprisingly, Hakuba seems to like this as well…”
The black flame generated in Sakuma’s arms were incomparable to so far. Whether they noticed it, Okumura and Saruwatari hurriedly ran to the side.
“«Evil Flare»!”
Thereupon, the same magic Sakuma had released until just now, displayed power on a completely different level.
The released mass of black flame divided, drawing a shape just like 5-forked claws, and ran through the air like that. Rolling up the red scaled fishmen who were late to escape, the flaming claws exploded on top of the sand. The sands on the beach were strongly blown up, thunderous roar echoed. Shockwaves reached even this place. Kyousuke tightly gripped Hakuba’s reins so as not to be blown away. Sakuma as well, was making sure to protect her face and leaned closer to him.
Amid the sands sprinkling down was smoke and burning smell. Naturally, traces that fishmen were there or the like couldn’t be found anywhere.
“Quite considerable…”
Hakuba murmured. Kyousuke also nodded. Never had he thought that this much power would come out.
“Well, I’m surprised debu.”
“Youth is explosion.”
Okumura and Saruwatari peeked out from the shadow of a rock.
Even Sakuma who fired that magic herself was making a flabbergasted expression, seemingly the most surprised of all. Kyousuke made sure she closed her mouth so that sands wouldn’t enter.
If Ryuzaki had incorporated Kyousuke into the exploration team alone was to explore for a new method to make use of «Characteristics Amplification», then it may have been a great success. Presently without Kogane, Sakuma was the strongest attack magic user in the class, nevertheless, he was able to increase her magic’s offensive power this much just by touching. If it became naval battles where they couldn’t fight at close quarters skillfully, then this way of use might be more useful.
“I mean, it’s that,”
Hakuba murmured.
“Witnessing the different in magic power in this way, I can understand well what an amplification Himemizu and Hino got when combining with Utsurogi.”
“You’re right…”
Kyousuke also nodded. Combining with Rin and Akira could raised their ability to fight continuously, but if using «Characteristics Amplification» on those with magic attack role such as Sakuma might be connected to raising firepower of a single attack. In the meaning that he had become able to put such scuffle into hypothesis, the search this time could be said to be significant with only this much.
“That, that’s not right!”
Finally returning to herself, Sakuma raised her face.
“The people in the ship! Are they all right!?”
“I wonder about that. But as one would expect, the fishmen entering the ship seem to have seen the explosion just now and are escaping.”
Kyousuke looked at the sailing ship anchoring a little offshore. The appearance of the swarming red fishmen wasn’t there.
It was done quite flashily but it was a fact that they had rescued the humans in their crisis. If possible, he wanted to talk to their leader. Even better if they could build cooperation in crossing the sea in the future.
Kyousuke too, didn’t plan on straddling Hakuba’s saddle forever when the crisis had already passed. Using the trident as a staff, he descended on the sandy beach and look around the surrounding.
“Be careful, there’re survivors.”
Since Hakuba said so, Kyousuke gazed at the same direction. There he saw several individuals of the same type as the fishmen just now as they made rustling sound and came out. Okumura and Saruwatari took their stance, Sakuma took one step back and readied to use magic.
Whether they perceived this side’s preparation for battle, the fishmen, without escaping to the sea, set up their trident and glared. In the still as dead sandy beach, fishmen’s corpse strewed all over the place, the sound of waves violently breaking onto shore echoed.
If it’s just this number, we can instantly dispose of them. At the moment they thought that.
“Yes yes, sahagin-chans. Bullying children is not good–.”
The well-projected tenor voice drowned out the sound of the waves. Hearing that voice, the fishmen stopped moving and stood at attention.
I’ve heard this voice somewhere, the moment Kyousuke thought so, he saw that Sakuma’s complexion suddenly became bright. After looking at her face, «Ahh», he unintentionally raised his voice.
From the thicket where the fishmen called sahagin came out, an incubus showed himself.
A handsome man with stature close to 180 (cm). His supple and lean body was covered by a costume of unknown material with little cloth area similar to Sakuma’s. Smooth blond hair swayed in the sea breeze. While a man, he was excessively suitable for model walking with arms crossed. From behind him came several imps. And then a young girl with light brown skin showed her face.
“Kaoru-chan!”
Sakuma shouted with a full faced smile.
“Yes, Sachi. You seem lively, don’t you?”
That incubus floated an enchanting smile and responded.
It was an enchanting smile the incubus had, but there was absolutely no danger of swaying a woman’s heart in there. If one had to say, then it was the 4 young men over here who felt uneasy whether or not that smile was directed at them. At the same time as feeling delighted by the reunion with a long separated classmate, they were feeling a little awed.
Having the greatest influence on the girls in the class, furthermore, being able to openly state his opinions against Queen Akai Asuka, a unique existence.
Okama Kaoru. Nickname Kaoruko. In 2nd year class 4, this existence with the strongest character rivaling Harao Masaki, Big Sis Incubus had returned.
To be continued…
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