by Hiro Ainana
“I’ve fought that type before. He’s usually just a diversion. He looks scary, but he’s actually quite weak.”
Sara nodded, apparently convinced.
“Master, we’re finished over here,” Liza reported. The group had already defeated the silver insects.
“My dress got a bit torn, I’m afraid.”
“My apologies, Lady Karina. I must have made the barrier a bit too small.”
There was a two- or three-inch cut on the end of Miss Karina’s skirt.
“I shall sew it for you when we return to the mansion.”
Pina consoled the disappointed Karina.
“Pochi, you okaaay?”
“This is nothing, sir.”
“Heal.”
I noticed Mia treating Pochi’s injured arm.
Walking over, I peered into her face. “Are you all right, Pochi?”
“Yes, sir. It’s my fault for letting my guard down, sir. When we get back to the house, I’ll train more, sir!”
“Tama toooo.”
“Very good, you two.”
I patted Pochi and Tama on their heads, then straightened up.
I hadn’t expected Pochi to get injured by the silver fliers. Better take care of the rest myself.
“Master, are we going to assist the others?”
“No, stay here. We’d only hold them back.”
I put my fairy sword away in Storage, taking out a short bow and some cheap arrows instead. It was a set I mostly used for hunting small birds.
With the bow in hand, I instructed Liza and the others to keep an eye on the alternate entrance and went to see how the rest of the temple was doing.
As my radar had already told me, Miss Ringrande and company were still fighting the lesser hell demons. Not surprising, since it had barely been a minute since I left.
They were having trouble concentrating on the fight with the demons because the silver creatures buzzing around near the ceiling kept swooping down to attack. On top of that, since Miss Ringrande wasn’t wearing armor, she was fending off attacks from the demon’s tentacles with her sword while she quickly chanted spells to defeat the bugs.
Two assassins hidden in a corner of the ceiling were aiming their crossbows at the prince, so I quickly fired at them with my short bow. The arrows sent them tumbling to the floor, where they vanished in the cloud of dust.
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up two dry cracks—breaking bones. Judging by the slow rate of their declining HP, though, they shouldn’t be in any immediate danger.
When one of them stubbornly pulled out a blowgun to aim at the prince, I knocked them both down with a piece of scrap wood I found on the floor.
I didn’t particularly care to protect the prince, but if he was killed inside the Tenion Temple, it might cause trouble for Sara and the other priestesses.
Noticing that I’d saved him, the prince grimaced as he fended off the nest-headed demon.
I’m not going to say you owe me or anything. Just hurry up and beat this guy already.
I had plenty of arrows. I supposed I could help a little.
It wouldn’t be too hard to beat the silver insects, but I decided to strategize a little by just shooting their wings.
The huge bugs jerked this way and that in a manner reminiscent of Brownian motion. They stayed still for a fraction of a second while changing direction; I attacked at that moment.
Firing arrows one after the other, I dropped the insects easily.
The young male knight, who had staggered back onto the battlefield, started dispatching the wriggling insects with the remains of his mithril sword.
The pests would occasionally slash back at him with the ends of their bladelike wings, so he was starting to get a little bloody. I was planning to have my kids finish them off after to raise their levels, but I guess it was better not to put them through that.
“Well done, boy!” the prince called. “Without these small fry to hinder us, we’ll win in no time. Prepare to witness the power of a Holy Sword!”
With this last shout, Sharorik began to fill his Holy Sword, Claidheamh Soluis, with magic power.
Cut the speeches and just beat him already, would you?
Emitting a pale-blue light, the sword destroyed the nest-head demon’s magic barrier in a single blow.
“I’m impressed, demon! Few can withstand a strike from a Holy Sword!”
With more gratuitous shouting, the prince swung his sword back the other way.
The demon crossed his branch-like arms to catch the Holy Sword.
The sword shredded the demon’s limbs, but it wasn’t able to cut through them completely and got tangled up instead.
Maybe Claidheamh Soluis isn’t as strong as the other Holy Swords? Or perhaps he couldn’t bring out its full power without the Hero title.
Miss Ringrande, on the other hand, created small magic explosions to blow away the tentacles that shot toward her, then slipped through the opening to cut the demon’s head off with her Spellbladed Magic Sword.
“Rin! Don’t let your guard down! It’s not over yet!”
I shouted a warning at Miss Ringrande as she turned to assist the prince.
There wasn’t enough time to call out her lengthy name, hence the nickname. Hopefully she’d forgive me.
With my short bow, I shot down the severed gray tentacle that was reaching to cut off Ringrande’s leg.
Miss Ringrande hurriedly sliced up the headless demon as he lurched toward her, then slashed his head in half on the floor, finally turning him to black dust.
“Thank you, Satou.” Miss Ringrande glanced toward the prince. “Looks like he’s done, too.”
“Yes, so it would seem.”
As I responded, I fired one last shot. The arrow grazed the prince’s cheek as it flew past him.
“How dare you, you—”
The prince’s insult was cut short when the assassin behind him shrieked in pain.
That was the third and final assassin. A nearby temple knight hastily ran to arrest him.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I’m afraid there wasn’t a moment to spare to call out first.”
“Hmph. I suppose I see why Rin took you on as a pupil. The reward for your assistance shall cancel out the punishment you would have earned for this scratch.”
“I appreciate your generosity.”
I responded as blandly as I could. I wasn’t exactly expecting a reward from him, anyway.
“Here, I’ll give you this, too.”
The prince picked up the core that had fallen at his feet and tossed it to me.
I was just gonna assume it was an accident that it came right at my face.
“Rin, we’ll continue our conversation in the duke’s castle. Come to my room when you get back,” the prince commented toward Ringrande before he left, looking a bit disappointed that I’d easily snatched the core from the air.
…Did you forget about Sara already, Prince?
“What an idiot. Why would I ever do that?”
Miss Ringrande glowered at the door after the prince left, muttering under her breath.
I picked up the short horns scattered on the floor, added the one I already had on hand, and gave them to Ringrande.
This was a calculated move to hide the long horn dropped by the intermediate hell demon. There could be trouble if people found out what kind of demon I’d defeated so easily.
“Lady Ringrande, please give these to His Grace the duke.”
“Oh? You’re not going to keep calling me Rin, then?”
Miss Ringrande winked and lightly touched a finger to my chin.
So she did remember that.
“I’m terribly sorry about that. It was an emergency. I felt I had no choice.”
“Yes, I appreciate that. And I suppose I shouldn’t tease someone who saved my life. But you really can call me Rin…” She grinned mischievously. “Once you’re strong enough to beat Hayato the Hero, of course.”
“Then it may be a long time
yet,” I responded.
Turning toward the storehouse entrance, I beckoned to the others. The temple was safe, and that dodgy prince was gone, so I figured we should leave before we got in the way too much.
If possible, I’d been hoping to get my group baptized by the Tenion Temple so they’d meet the conditions of the Treasure of Resurrection; now didn’t seem like the moment to bring it up, though. It could wait until next time.
Sara thanked us and saw us off as we left the downtown Tenion Temple behind.
Many of the vendors on the main street had closed early, probably because of the whole mess with the demons, so we decided to go elsewhere, too.
First, I had to persuade a reluctant Nana to let the sealfolk kids go home. As thanks for going along with her, I gave them some tasty baked snacks. Then we took the carriage past the large wall to the museum that was between the nobles’ and the trade districts.
The music hall across from the museum was an option, too, but the latter won out in the popular vote.
This was technically part of the nobles’ quarter as well, but commoners could enter as long as they were reasonably well dressed. There were no rules against demi-humans, either, of course.
Still, it was probably better to play it safe so nobody would bother us on our sightseeing trip.
“Yamatooo?”
“King, sir.”
Tama and Pochi, clad in hooded coats that covered their ears and tails, read the sign above the museum entrance.
The museum consisted of three areas, connected by a main hall. The largest area was currently home to a limited-time exhibition called the “Ancestral King Yamato” exhibit.
“Looks pretty crowded over there,” Arisa remarked with some surprise.
The limited-time exhibit was as crowded as a popular attraction at a theme park.
“You’re right. It doesn’t seem like we can get a fast pass or anything. Let’s check out the other areas first.”
“Agreeeed.”
“Yes, sir.”
There was a recommended viewing order anyway, so we decided to follow that route.
The first area was mainly taxidermy specimens and skeletons. A glass wall protected the more valuable ones, while a sign stated that the open displays were mostly local specimens and could be freely touched.
“Watch out, sirs! Go on without me; I’ll hold them off, sirs!”
“It’s all cup to youuu.”
“Pochi, we’ll defeat the demon lord! Come find us!”
Guys, please, don’t put on a whole performance. Just look around normally. And Tama, you mean “it’s all up to you.” What would “cup to you” even mean?
“Master, can it not move? I inquire.”
Nana pointed at a taxidermic animal that resembled a cross between a kingfisher and a squirrel.
“No, because it’s stuffed.”
Maybe a necromancer could make it move.
“Oh, master, look at this! It’s so cute.”
Personally, I thought Lulu was much cuter.
“An unusual animal, is it not? It has very small wings for a bird.”
“Penguin.”
Lulu, Liza, and Mia were all examining a stuffed penguin.
So penguins existed in this world, too. Hopefully, there weren’t any stuffed penguinfolk or anything.
Still, though, why weren’t there any other people around but us? This area was strangely unpopular.
The atmosphere was pretty similar to the museums back in Japan, but with monster specimens among the exhibits, it definitely packed an extra punch.
“It looks like it could jump out and bite you at any second.”
“Scaryyy?”
“I’m not scared. It’s just a taxiderry, sir.”
Abandoning their little drama, the beastfolk girls gathered around a large stuffed creature called a “fortress tiger.”
Oh, hey.
“Pochi, come here for a second.”
“Coming, sir.”
Pochi tottered over, and I picked her up, moving her hand toward a ferocious-looking beast.
“That doesn’t scare me, sir.”
Pochi rolled her eyes at me.
“I’M…GOING TO…EAT YOU UP!”
I used “Ventriloquism” to tease her in a weird voice. Her unimpressed expression vanished immediately, and she flailed around in my arms.
“D-don’t eat me, sir. I wouldn’t taste good, sir.”
“MEAT…TASTY.”
“Meat is yummy, but I’m not meat, sir. So you can’t eat me, sir.”
Pochi was starting to look genuinely scared, so I put her down and showed her how I’d done my little trick.
“Sorry, Pochi.”
“That was mean, master, sir. I was scared, sir.”
I guess I took it a little too far.
Arisa came over and whispered into Pochi’s ear, clearly giving her some kind of suggestion.
“I demand a ’pology and reprations, sir.”
“Will having meat for dinner do as reparations, then?”
At that, Pochi’s eyes sparkled, all traces of tears gone.
Naturally, Tama and Liza quickly swiveled their heads to listen intently.
“Hooray, sir! I want hamburg steaks, sir!”
“Are you sure? We just had the same thing yesterday.”
“I have a separate stomach for hamburg steaks, sir.”
That sounded pretty strange to me, but I decided it would be rude to question her.
Because no one else seemed to mind, we decided to have hamburg steaks for dinner. Mia’s would be tofu, of course.
With that settled, we proceeded to the next room, a traditional costume display.
Among the clothing from various regions, I spotted what looked like nurse costumes and ao dai. There was even a bunny suit for some reason. I wouldn’t mind seeing Nana or Miss Karina try that on. Sadly, other staples like maid outfits and gothic lolita were nowhere to be found.
I guess whatever Japanese person popularized certain fashions here must have had a personal bias.
“Master! Over here!”
While I stood musing in front of the ao dai, Arisa called me over from farther down the hall.
Coming to look, I found my friends dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, or something like it.
“Sa— Sir Pendragon. H-how do I look?”
“It’s quite lovely on you.”
Miss Karina was striking an awkward pose in a Shinsengumi-style haori, so I paid her some obligatory compliments.
“Have at theee.”
“Have at thee, sir!”
Tama and Pochi were wearing similar outfits to Miss Karina’s, brandishing wooden swords made to look like katana. They even put on Japanese-style kerchiefs to cover their ears.
“You sound more like Arthurian knights than Shinsengumi to me.”
Sorry, Arisa. Nobody here’s going to get that joke, including me.
I put on a vague smile and brushed off Arisa’s remark.
“Aren’t those items for display only, though?”
“No, not these ones. We bought them over there in the souvenir corner.”
When I went to check it out, I found all kinds of things for sale. I decided to make some purchases, too, mostly small objects like folding fans. They would be good souvenirs to send to Zena in Seiryuu City with my next letter.
“Look, look! There are hairpins, too! Maybe I’ll buy one…”
“Arisa, it isn’t wise to squander away money.”
Liza rebuked Arisa as she gazed at the hairpins.
“Don’t worry—I still have plenty left from the wages I got from Miss Nina!”
“A slave’s possessions belong to her master. You mustn’t spend it without permission.”
This idea that “a slave’s possessions belong to the slave’s master” was the general consensus in the Shiga Kingdom, but with my Japanese sensibilities, I just couldn’t get used to it.
“Liza, all of you can use your spend
ing money however you like.”
“Very well. If that is your wish, master…”
Liza was perplexed, but she accepted my decree without further comment.
Spending your pocket money on things you wanted was the best way to learn its value, if you asked me.
Past the souvenir shop, there was an exhibit of weapons resembling Japanese swords, but they were simply referred to as “ancient weapons.” The elegant refinement of a katana hadn’t caught on as a weapon to be used against monsters.
“…They’re beautiful.”
A voice made me turn my head, and I saw a familiar-looking man and woman gazing at the swords.
It was the samurai pair from the Saga Empire we’d seen in the martial arts competition: Kajiro and the woman who used the polearm.
“Ah! The samurai, sir!”
The two turned to look when they heard Pochi’s inadvertent exclamation.
“Oh? What do we have here but two little samurai.”
“You both look very heroic.”
Seeing Pochi and Tama in their cosplay, Kajiro and the woman smiled.
“I apologize if my companions bothered you,” I said.
“No, not at all. But I’m surprised you recognized us as samurai without our swords.”
Kajiro gave a grin that didn’t seem to match his gruff features.
“We saw you fiiight?”
“You were very strong, sir.”
“Ah, I see.”
The samurai seemed fond of children. His smile lit up at Pochi’s and Tama’s praise.
“I want to be that strong, too, sir!”
“Me tooooo!”
Tama jumped up and down so eagerly that her kerchief slipped off her head.
She quickly caught it and held it in place, but Kajiro, standing directly in front of her, got a clear glimpse of her ears.
“Cat ears? Are you by chance one of the catfolk?”
“…Uh-huh.”
Tama looked ready to cry.
“Oh dear, forgive me. I did not mean any harm. I was simply surprised, as I’ve never seen any outside of the beastfolk sanctuary in the Saga Empire…”
Oh? There’s a sanctuary for them? After we train in Labyrinth City, maybe we should go look for Tama’s and Pochi’s kin there.
“Incidentally, young nobleman, I have a proposal for you…”
After I introduced myself, I listened to his proposal.