Episode 73 — Wall and Shadow
～ Part 1 ～
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“Oi Utsurogi, have you noticed?”
When they were walking on the beach, Hakuba suddenly started saying that.
“Notice what?”
“What, you seriously haven’t noticed?”
Going along the coast were 3 people. Hakuba and Kyousuke walked side by side, a little ahead of them, Yukinoshita was briskly walking. Nothing else noticeable could be found.
Yukinoshita had just awaken to her deadly Phase 2 ability «Molecular Motion Inversion», changed the self-proclaimed minus 1 trillion 20 millions degree freeze beam to the self-proclaimed 1 trillion 20 millions degree fireball and threw it out. Her fatigue should have been considerable, but her gait was firm and showed no tiredness. Only, it might have been because she melted in the aftermath of the ability, her height looked to have shrunk a bit.
“Not about Yukinoshita.”
Even if you tell me that. Kyousuke halted for a moment, he looked around the area.
There was only a desolated land spreading around, other than that, nothing especially conspicuous could be found. Did she noticed that they had stopped, Yukinoshita looked back, seeming a little languid.
Hakuba whispered to Kyousuke.
“There’s people staring at us.”
“Why do you know?”
“‘Cause one of them is a girl.”
“Ahh, I see…”
Nonetheless, someone was staring at them in this kind of wasteland, which means it wasn’t going to be peaceful.
In the word «girls» Hakuba used, Himemizu Rin was also properly counted, so the other party wasn’t necessarily human. Kyousuke turned his gaze to the direction Hakuba indirectly indicated.
“By the way, she is, regretfully, not a virgin.”
“You’re the only one who feels regret with that.”
Yukinoshita also walked over at a quick pace.
“What happened?”
“There’s someone looking at us. One woman, and one not-a-woman.”
“Why is one of them counted as «not-a-woman»?”
“Because it’s Hakuba unit…. Yukinoshita, can you fight?”
Asked by Kyousuke, Yukinoshita showed an aggressive smile.
“Stamina and magic power are both nearing their limit. The next time I shoot another 1 trillion 20 millions degree attack, I’ll die, you know.”
“Hey, you seem awfully composed considering all that.”
“It’s a difference in spirit.”
As expected, her pessimism and hot-bloodedness fused and was turning into some incomprehensible personality.
For now, Kyousuke stepped forward and set up his word to protect Yukinoshita. In case they were hostile, it would be extremely bad to let even their hideout be found. Worst case, Yukinoshita could bluff their way out, or shoot a freeze beam with the power of Kyousuke’s «Characteristics Amplification».
On the point of firepower, Yukinoshita had jumped up to the top of the class in one go, but its flaw was the fuel efficiency. It seemed necessary to closely examine it when she used it in the future.
“Come out. We know you’re there.”
“I also know that one of you are a non-virgin girl… Guwaa!”
Hakuba ate Yukinoshita’s freeze punch.
It took a while to get a reaction. From the shadow of a rock, a human figure popped out. The moment he confirmed her face, Kyousuke stiffened. It was one of those adventurers, the girl in the priest-like getup.
And then, the leader of the adventurers, the swordsman came out, bearing a face as if despairing something. His right arm was nowhere to be found. It was because Kyousuke had literally knocked it off.
“It’s you guys.”
Kyousuke could barely said in a voice filled with tension.
“Your acquaintances?”
“Be quiet.”
Hakuba carefreely asked Yukinoshita and was made to shut up.
“What your business? I told you there’ll be no mercy the next time you meddle with us.”
“Ah, yes. Umm … Rezbon?”
The woman looked up at the man, the man seemed to have just received some kind of shock, still in a stupor, he didn’t say anything. The woman lightly shrugged, she threw away the staff she was holding and raised one hand. The other hand fished for something in her pocket.
“We have no will to fight. I’m a gold-ranked adventurer belonging to the adventurer guild, Filhana Granburner. Next to me is similarly a gold-rank, Rezbon Balruk.”
What she took out was apparently adventurer registration card. It was an ID made by using the most advanced magic technologies.
“Sorry but I can’t believe you yet.”
Kyousuke glanced at Hakuba and Yukinoshita, he didn’t solved his stance.
“By ‘can’t believe’, you mean the will to fight, correct?”
“Because ID has no meaning to us whatsoever. It doesn’t matter whether your name is fake or real.”
Still pointing the sword tip at Filhana, Kyousuke gave his name «Utsurogi».
“Understood. Getting along isn’t our purpose either, it doesn’t feel too good but please allow us to talk like this.… Rezbon?”
“Nn, ahh…. Sorry, Filhana.”
“Rezbon, you’re the leader, please do the leading properly.”
Receiving Filhana’s small scolding, finally, the swordsman — now one-armed — started functioning.
“By the way, Filhana, are you really…”
“Hurry! That doesn’t matter now!”
Apparently, the human relations seemed complicated. Hakuba secretly informed «The man is virgin». Why do you know that? No way, you’re not going to say that’s your Phase 2 ability or something?
“Ah–, nn. We want to do a bit information exchange with you guys.”
“Information exchange?”
“That’s right.”
Rezbon spread the remaining left arm and said this:
“A pair of red-eyed man and woman suggested us a request to capture the unicorn over there.”
Hearing those words and reacted the foremost was Hakuba. He didn’t utter a single word, but his atmosphere changed, looking at that, Kyousuke could also guess. It’s ‘The Blood of Red Moon’. At the point of being attacked by ghouls and imps, he could roughly guess, but as he thought, that bunch were on this continent.
“And then, we don’t really trust those two and we don’t want to aggravate things with you guys either. Therefore, the information exchange.”
“And the outcome of that will be you guys turning your sword against us?”
“Well, maybe. The information exchange is to clarify the policy.”
Kyousuke again confirmed Hakuba and Yukinoshita. The two silently nodded.
Certainly, it was a fact that they were lacking in information. If there was anything he could hear from them, he wanted to hear it. The matter of the blood clan bothered him, so did the mean to return from this continent.
“Understood. We’ll accept.”
For now, Kyousuke stabbed the sword on the sand and nodded.
“If you make any strange move, our Yukinoshita will shoot. Capeesh?”
“No problem. Only, you, Utsurogi, was it?”
“……”
The adventurer man heavily sat down on a nearby driftwood, he laughed.
“You don’t seem to be the type who’s good at scheming or negotiating.”
“……”
Kyousuke didn’t answer.
“Well fine. Let’s go fairly, fairly. We’ll tell you what you want to know. 1 information for 1. Good?”
“Right.”
After nodding, he carefully thought. It would probably be impossible that what the other party wanted to know was only 1. In that case, his side could also asked several questions. He did strongly want to ask about the blood clan right now, but it might be better to leave that for after the other party’s question.
At the end of some suffering, Kyousuke decided to first ask a question to fill the rut.
“I want to ask you guys, why did you aim at our comrade…. at Mitarai?”
It might be natural for adventurers to hunt monsters, but their approach felt a little too persistent.
One armed Rezbon a little awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“Ah–…. I see, that?”
“Is it something you can’t say?”
“It’s not like that. Just don’t get offended. Simply, you’re rare monsters, that’s why.”
Before he could give any reaction, Rezbon continued.
“Not just the azuki-arai. The unicorn there and the crow tengu are the same. They’re called ayakashi or Sand of Shura and have only been confirmed to exist on this New Continent, did you not know?”
Kyousuke and the other two shook their head. First time hearing about this. The data and memo they got from Selena certainly did indicated that monsters closely resembling Japanese youkai also inhabited this world, but it didn’t tell them what sort of things there were or where they were living.
“About 200 years ago, Sand of Shura — the army that came from the east attacked the Old Continent.”
From the side, Filhana popped in to supplement information.
“Its ringleader is the demon king Sanmoto. Only, demon king is his self-proclaimed title, to distinguish him from the King of demons which is one of the sovereign gods, we call him the Shura King. They marched with irresistible momentum and continuously conquered the eastern part of the continent, however, the first generation hero awoke at that time and make a come back, at the Spirit King Plain one of the army main strength, Shutendo was crushed,…”
“You talk too much. Filhana.”
Rezbon sharply chided the comrade who elatedly talked about all kind of information.
“That’s the reason. There’s little data concerning the Sand of Shura, so they can be sold for a high price when captured. About a third of the adventurers that come to this place has that as their purpose. That’s about it.”
“Thank you.”
“Then, it’s our question.”
Rezbon raised his index finger and said. Kyousuke also nodded.
“The reason why that red-eyed duo aim at the unicorn over there, please tell us if you happen to know.”
When Kyousuke was in contact with the adventurers, Himemizu Rin took along the other members and was strolling around the hilly area overflowed in green. Leading the formation was a slime. Continuing, an azuki-arai, a nurikabe and a crow tengu. That march appearance was exactly the night of a hundred demons (wiki) itself. Looking closely, there was an inconspicuous zashiki-warashi walking between the nurikabe and the crow tengu.
“And then, Utsurogi-kun will be alone with Yukinoshita-san?”
Hearing the circumstances, Kabeno Chihaya frowned, she asked.
“Himemizu-san, you’re not worry?”
“No, it’s useless to worry about it you know. That’s the kind of person Kyousuke-kun is.”
Walking at the top, the slime answered so, as bright as possible.
“Really. You’re an adult huh, Himemizu-san.”
“That’s right–. An adult I am–”
She had already told the lineup here about how Kyousuke was doing this and that to solve Yukinoshita’s internal problems. Filter off, Phase 2, to survive, they had to solve either of those tasks or both.
Therefore, Rin also told them to definitely say it if they had any worries. She would support what Kyousuke was trying to do from the shadow. There was no problem doing at least this much.
“That’s fine and all, Himemizu. How are we going to cross the sea?”
“Who know? We’ll manage somehow? It’s not like we’ve examine all possibilities yet, yes?”
To join up with the other classmates, they absolutely had to cross the sea. The present situation was that they couldn’t acquire the means to do that. Karasuma’s doubt could be said to be most reasonable.
Only, Rin decided to call it off as «We’ll manage». Now, the pieces were insufficient, that’s a fact, it would be pointless to hurt their head with worries.
Right now, it was all about exploring the area. Look for edible stuffs, things that seemed useful and those that seemed like they could befriend. There was also the possibility of classmates other than themselves being teleported to this area.
When she broke into the forest overgrown with trees, fruits that seemed relatively delicious could be found all around. Shall we temporarily disperse around here?
“Well then, everyone, let’s look for various things focus on this area. Karasuma-kun, from the sky please.”
“Ou.”
“Everyone, make sure not to go too far. The landmark…”
Rin suitably coiled around a tree nearby, using her body, she broke the tree.
“The land mark is this!”
Voice of admiration leaked from around. A new stump was made. Rin further split the tree trunk in half, and stabbed it in place. If they made sure not to go too far away, even a landmark of this degree could let them gather immediately.
“Then, dispers–e!”
“””OOH–”””
Carefree voices echoed in the forest. The party scattered here and there in the forest, Rin also moved a bit and started exploring.
To be continued…
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