Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 1 (light novel)

by Hiro Ainana

  Unlike last time, though, it seemed like this crowd was on the verge of rioting. Was this disturbance the “uproar” the priestess had whispered about before?

  “Good people of virtue! Do you remember the starfall of a few days past, surely a sign of divine wrath?”

  “YES!”

  “We remember!”

  “YEAH!”

  At least half these people are either hired shills or people who just like yelling.

  “And there is more! Just yesterday, a servant of the demon lord attacked the count’s castle!”

  “OH, LORD!”

  “Please send a hero to save us!”

  “NOOO!”

  Hmm? Did that really happen? I glanced over at Zena and saw a troubled look on her face.

  “Someone rushed into the guardroom of the count’s castle yesterday and said there was a black shadow flying around, but none of the watchmen or the other people on the grounds saw it.”

  “Maybe they just made it up?”

  “I don’t see why anyone would do that. I mean, that person was imprisoned in the castle dungeon for disturbing the peace.”

  The laws in this world sure are strict.

  “This is proof that the protection of the gods is waning! Good citizens, we must prove our virtue! If we perform enough righteous acts, we will be shielded from the coming storm!”

  “Help us, Father!!”

  “YEAH!”

  “Virtue!!”

  These people got worked up way too easily. Where was their sense of skepticism?

  “We must accrue proof of our virtue! Do you understand, good citizens? Virtue!”

  “VIRTUUUE!”

  “YEEEAH!”

  “TELL US HOW!!”

  Pyramid schemes and telephone scams would be really successful here.

  “Look at these creatures!”

  The fat priest pointed accusingly at something in the center of the plaza.

  “These demi-humans are failed hell demons… No, the spawn of the demon lord himself! Prove your integrity through the good deed of enacting divine justice!”

  “YEEEAH!”

  “LET’S KILL ’EM!!!”

  Whoa, okay—calm down.

  “Wait! Pious citizens!! To kill them would be against the laws of this kingdom. We must hold back!”

  “Then what do we do, Father?!”

  “KILL ’EM!!!”

  Yeah, a lot of these guys were just here to yell.

  “We cannot kill them—but we can cast these holy stones at the demon spawn!”

  “FATHER!!”

  “GIVE US THE STONES!!”

  “YES!”

  I looked where the chubby priest was pointing and saw three beastfolk girls: a cat-eared girl, a dog-eared girl, and a lizard girl chained up in a frightened huddle.

  “But it won’t be free! Buying the stones with your own money is righteous indeed!”

  “YEEEAH!”

  “VIRTUUUE!!”

  Oh-ho, not so many this time.

  “The stones are one copper each! And to show my generosity, I’ll give you five stones for one large copper!”

  The responses stopped. This was a frugal crowd.

  “Devout men and women! Why do you hesitate? We have only so many stones, you know! This good deed is first come, first served!”

  “I’LL TAKE ONE!”

  “Sell ’em to me!”

  “YEAH!”

  “Form a line!”

  Was this chubby priest using mind-control magic or something?

  The people who bought the stones wasted no time in throwing them at the beastfolk girls. They weren’t holding back at all, either. Shit! Are you serious?!

  “I can’t watch this anymore! I’ll be right back. Satou, wait here, please.”

  A gallant Zena jumped down from the carriage and dashed into the heart of the commotion. I was so impressed that it took me a moment to react.

  “Kill the demi-humans!!”

  “YEAH!”

  “Punish the demons!”

  The reptilian girl was protecting the smaller girls. The crowd around them was heated, but the stones that actually hit the girls were relatively sparse.

  I saw one person raising his hand to throw another stone, so I put a penny coin in the palm of my hand and flicked it at him, striking his fingers so that he dropped the rock. I was a little nervous about hitting anyone nearby, but since my “Throwing” skill was so high, I had a feeling I wouldn’t miss.

  Alarmed by this and perhaps noticing that the stones in their hands were just ordinary rocks, the people holding them stopped for a moment. That should buy Zena enough time to protect the girls with magic.

  But while it was easy enough to step in this time, there was no real point if it was just going to happen again…

  As I stared at the beastfolk kids, an AR display appeared as usual to provide more details about them.

  Aha!

  I absorbed the information as quickly as I could.

  The display had shown me a key fact: the name of the girls’ master.

  It wasn’t the chubby priest. So where was this guy? Was he not here at all, and that was why he wasn’t intervening? Or maybe—was he the priest’s accomplice?!

  Lately, I’d been depending on the AR displays alone for my information, but now it was time for the Search Entire Map spell to shine.

  I looked up the owner’s name on the map. There he is! At the very edge of the plaza. The girls’ master was a small man, sitting on a wooden crate and watching the commotion in the plaza with a wily grin. I inspected the AR box.

  His name was Urs, thirty-nine years old. Skills: “Fraud,” “Persuasion,” “Intimidation.” Owned slaves: “Cat,” “Dog,” “Lizard.”

  …Hmm? The slaves were listed only by their race, not their name? Wait, that wasn’t important right now. More information! I didn’t have enough yet.

  Affiliation: “Seiryuu City—lower-class citizen.” Guild: “Street Rats.” …That’s it! I searched the map for Street Rats members.

  The guild had fifty-two total members. Ten of them were currently in the plaza, including Urs. Aside from him and the big guy beside him who seemed to be a bodyguard, the other eight appeared to be planted in the crowd.

  I marked all the members of the guild, even the ones who weren’t currently present, just in case.

  All right, time to make my move!

  > Skill Acquired: “Secret Maneuvers”

  But I must have been more shaken up by the treatment of the beastfolk slaves than I’d realized, because I overlooked a key fact. I couldn’t turn back time, but if I had thought a little longer before taking this first step, maybe the outcome would’ve been different.

  Zena seemed to have reached the chubby priest.

  “Stop this inhumane treatment at once!”

  “What was that, little girl? Are you an ally of the hell demons, too?!”

  “Ally”? What happened to “spawn”? And he used a loaded question to make it hard for her to respond. This guy really is an expert agitator.

  “Those who align themselves with demons are demons themselves!”

  “YEAH!”

  While Zena bought me time, I had to do something about the shills planted among the crowd.

  “Don’t try to deceive these people! Does Zaicuon Temple intend to break the law?!”

  “What wrong is there in casting holy stones at these foul beastfolk?” This conversation was getting nowhere—or maybe the priest was deliberately dodging the subject.

  I climbed down from the carriage and pushed into the throng, making my way with the combination of my “Evasion” skill and years of experience with crowded trains.

  “GET ’EM!”

  “Let’s throw the stones at her, too!!”

  “YEAH!”

  It looked like Zena had already cast Wind Protection in advance. The spell protected not only her but the beastfolk kids as well. Leave it to a magic soldier from the count’s army.<
br />
  Now I had to break this up before the crowd turned into a mob. Even Zena would be in trouble if a huge group closed in on her.

  I moved toward a man who was stirring up everyone around him even as he kept throwing stones. To neutralize him, I maxed out the level of my “Hand-to-Hand Combat” skill. Thanks to that, I suddenly knew how best to knock them unconscious without killing someone.

  I incapacitated the man with one blow.

  It was just an instant’s movement, so the people around us didn’t take any notice. I pretended to be a friend concerned that the man was going through a bout of anemia and carried him to the edge of the plaza, dumping him in an alleyway. I didn’t have enough time to restrain him, so I just left him there.

  > Skill Acquired: “Acting”

  > Skill Acquired: “Abduction”

  > Skill Acquired: “Assassination”

  The “Abduction” skill seemed like it might be useful for this, so I maxed it out. I didn’t want the “Assassination” skill, though. No thank you!

  In the center of the plaza, a young man in the garb of a different temple had come to Zena’s aid. “The only one claiming that demi-humans are kin to demons is the Zaicuon Temple—no, only you!”

  “Ah, the head of the ever-philanthropic Garleon Temple. If you’re so fond of the beasts, you’re welcome to use them however you’d like once we’re through punishing them!”

  Gross… This guy is seriously the worst. I was surprised to see that Zena hadn’t turned bright red. Maybe she didn’t realize what he meant? Good.

  “Kill them!!”

  “Punish the demon spawn!”

  “Yeah!”

  I left the dramatic standoff to Zena and the new priest. I had some pest control to do.

  I knocked out another Street Rat and then another, stowing them away in nearby alleys. Taking an extra second, I planted beer bottles near their hands for effect.

  “Do you realize what you’re doing? If you keep working up their anxiety and turn this crowd into a mob, the Zaicuon Temple will be held responsible for treason!”

  “Hmph—you’re nothing but a foolish lizard, playing at borrowing the power of dragons! You’re telling me not to kill the demons? Doesn’t that make you a traitor yourself?!”

  “Kill the demons!”

  “That girl must be one in disguise!!”

  “Get ’em!”

  I’d taken out about half of them by now.

  The yells from the crowd had died down significantly, too. There was one guy left who was still shouting loudly, but he didn’t seem to be a member of the Street Rats. I marked him for now.

  I’d have a chat with him after I finished my purge.

  “People of the west quarter! All of us feel the same unease. But we must not become cowards who punish the weak out of fear!”

  “Do you hear that? The Garleon priest condemns you all as evil! He condemns you for seeking out virtue!”

  The crowd roared in response to the fat priest’s incendiary words, but not as loudly as before.

  “Kill the demons!”

  “That priest’s a fraud!!”

  “Yeah!”

  All right, two to go. I took them down easily and rolled them into an alley.

  But before bringing Urs onto the stage, there was one last bit of preparation to do: I had to contact the man who was still yelling loudly in the plaza.

  > Skill Acquired: “Scheming”

  “Please end this already. No matter how many stones you throw, I’ll stop them all!”

  “How dare you get in the way of our sacred deed?! You are a fool to defy our god!” the fat priest shrieked, but the replies from the crowd were scarcer than ever. And the remaining voices were disappearing one after the other.

  I crept up behind Urs and tapped him on the shoulder. “It’s your turn now.”

  “Wh-who the hell are you?! Oi, Banze! Come crush this twerp!” Startled, Urs jerked his chin toward the large man behind him. But unfortunately for him, when he turned around, his bodyguard was nowhere to be found.

  “Banze? Where did that half-wit go?!”

  “If you mean the big guy, he went off somewhere with a woman.” In reality, I had just knocked him out and left him in the back streets.

  Without further ado, I kicked Urs in the solar plexus with my toe, causing him to faint in agony, then dragged him into the plaza.

  “Everyone, please break this up! If this continues, the count’s army really will come to stop you. If you’re worried, come to the temple instead! We’ll listen to your fears.”

  “Are you trying to defy God’s will?! You godless fool!”

  Uh, both of you are priests, though.

  I tossed the unconscious Urs down between them.

  “Lord Urs?! Why, you! What have you done to this faithful follower who offered up his slaves?! You apostate!”

  Okay, I’m just gonna ignore the fat priest.

  “Sorry I took so long, Zena. And thank you for your work, too, Sir Priest. This is the man behind this scheme.”

  “Amazing, Satou! Your agility really is the best thing about you!” I’m not sure if that’s really a compliment, Zena.

  “This man is the culprit?” the young priest asked quizzically. I nodded at him with a smile. I had some things to do before I could stop and introduce myself.

  “Zena, do you have enough power left to make my voice reach the whole plaza?”

  “Yes! … Whisper Wind Kaze no Sasayaki!”

  I lifted up the unconscious Urs for the crowd. His body doubled as cover so I wouldn’t be too conspicuous myself.

  “Can you see him, everyone? This is the man behind the curtain! He loaned his slaves to the Zaicuon Temple to prey on your fears and fool you all into buying a bunch of ordinary pebbles with your hard-earned money!”

  > Skill Acquired: “Judgment”

  “Give us our money baaack!” cried one noticeably loud voice from within the crowd. Rallied by this, the people in the plaza began a chant of “Give it back! Give it back!”

  “And he had an even deeper motive! On top of making a quick buck with this priest, his real goal was to provoke all of you into rebelling against the count. This man is the real demon worshipper!”

  My “Fabrication” skill is working great!

  The part about making money was probably true, at least. The rest of it was a stretch. To be honest, I didn’t really know yet what his goal had been—I was just embellishing for good measure.

  > Skill Acquired: “False Accusation”

  If their goal was just to make money, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense. Even if they sold one hundred “holy stones,” they’d make only five silver coins. That wouldn’t even make up for the cost of the three slaves; according to my “Estimation” skill, they were worth at least six silver coins. And if things had gone on that way for much longer, those girls would have died.

  Right? It just didn’t add up.

  “Was this man controlling the hell demons from the shaaadows?!”

  That was the loud man from earlier. I had asked him to yell things to turn people against the chubby priest, but I felt like he was missing the point a bit. Saying stuff like that might just freak people out and cause another riot.

  Hmm? Hell demons?

  That’s right… Now I remember!

  When I first came to this city…

  “Heh-heh-heh…”

  Still held aloft with his arms pinned behind him, Urs laughed in a strange, stuffy voice. He shouldn’t have been able to move at all, but suddenly, two black arms shot out to attack.

  The poisonous talons tore through the body of the chubby priest.

  …I’d noticed a single hell demon was already living here.

  The head priest of Zaicuon Temple died instantly, his vital organs ripped to shreds. I couldn’t even react to the brutal murder taking place before my eyes.

  “What the hell…are these…?”

  The violent black arms with their sharp claws were spr
outing from somewhere around Urs’s chest. Down on one knee on the ground, he coughed up blood as he stared at his own chest in dumbfounded amazement.

  “A hell demon! Everyone, leave the plaza at once!” The young priest was the first to get ahold of himself and shout a warning to the people in the area, backing away from the poisonous claws. Then he began to chant an incantation in a strong baritone.

  The people still in the plaza took one look at the appendages sprouting from Urs’s chest and fled in all directions. The evil clawed arms seemed to have a will of their own, a separate entity from Urs, and they tried to attack in our direction—but Urs had dropped to the ground and sat frozen in shock, so they couldn’t reach.

  “Satou, grab those girls and get them out of here! I’m going to find help!”

  “R-right!”

  Embarrassingly enough, it wasn’t until Zena shouted orders at me that I finally came to my senses and realized what I had to do.

  First, I had to get the beastfolk girls out of harm’s way. Otherwise, what was the point in taking on that fathead priest? I ran over and put all my strength into trying to break their chains; instead, the stake they were bound to popped out of the ground. Not exactly what I’d planned, but at least they should be able to move now.

  “It’s not safe here—you have to run away! I can’t get your chains off, so you’ll have to move together and try to hide in the shadows of a sturdy building.”

  But the three girls didn’t move an inch. It looked like there was another reason they couldn’t move.

  “He gave us an order…so we can’t…,” the cat-eared girl mumbled in a trembling voice devoid of all hope.

  “He told us not to move.”

  “I’m terribly sorry. Our master, Urs, told us not to move from this spot… If we disobey, our enslavement collars will tighten completely. Please, forget about us and go.”

  The dog-eared girl and the scalefolk girl, whose back was bleeding, shook their heads almost apologetically.