Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 4

by Hiro Ainana

  “R-right!”

  I can’t say I minded having a trembling girl clinging to me desperately in this situation. It certainly stimulated my protective instincts.

  As I rode across the bridge with Lulu, Arisa chewed on her fingers.

  “Jealshhh…”

  Was she trying to say she was jealous?

  “Want to take another round trip, then, Arisa?”

  “I-I’ll pass, thanks.”

  I was only joking, but Arisa shook her head rapidly with a deadly serious expression.

  “This is very dangerous, Satou. People can’t fly, you know? They don’t have wings, after all. So elves can’t fly, either, you know. It’s true.”

  Next, Mia expressed her fear with an unusually verbose explanation as I carried her across the log bridge on my back. Finally, I rode the last horse with Miss Karina, and our journey over the ravine was complete.

  It was hard to ignore the charms of Miss Karina’s magic breasts, but I somehow made it through.

  Then, at last, we arrived at the blank area on the map.

  “Waaall?”

  Tama turned her horse away to the side, reaching out and patting an invisible wall as if in pantomime.

  Arisa, who was riding with Lulu, extended her arms to mimic Tama’s movements.

  “Oh my, you’re right.”

  “It’s strange, sir. I don’t see anything, but something’s there, sir.”

  The other kids also explored the invisible barrier. Even Miss Karina joined in.

  The sight of them patting the wall and tilting their heads in puzzlement was adorable.

  I turned my horse to the side and reached out, too, but I didn’t feel anything.

  When I stared for a moment at the spot everyone was hitting, an AR display reading Mountain-Tree barrier wall appeared.

  It was probably the same sort of barrier I’d found at the border of the Forest of Illusions.

  What was “Mountain-Tree,” though?

  Had we come to the wrong place…?

  When I moved my horse forward, I felt a slight sense of discomfort, but I was able to advance without resistance.

  A lukewarm wind tickled my cheek, but I barely noticed that compared to the unusually enormous tree that had suddenly appeared in the distance.

  Wondering if I’d been teleported, I looked over my shoulder to see the others all gesturing wildly and flapping their mouths open and closed. They looked desperate, so they were most likely seriously worried about me, not just playing around.

  The barrier must have been blocking their voices.

  I hadn’t been able to see that giant tree from the other side, either, so maybe it could block images, too.

  For the time being, I selected Search Entire Map from the magic menu to acquire information about the area beyond the barrier, then headed back to the other side.

  “Don’t go disappearing like that! You gave us a fright!”

  Arisa took the lead and castigated me for worrying them.

  I was appreciative that they’d been concerned about me, but it was more important to determine whether the area on the other side of the barrier was safe.

  As the girls ranted at me, I started investigating the information I’d gained.

  Firstly, I learned through my menu information that the large tree beyond the barrier wall was called Mountain-Tree. It seemed to be the same size as the Cradle where Mia had been kidnapped.

  And the village of the forest giants, where I was supposed to deliver the letter, was at the foot of that tree.

  The population of the area was concentrated in the forest giants’ village. There were only ten of them altogether, the strongest of which was level 39. The average level was 31.

  There were other giants besides the forest giants, too.

  There was another race called little giants, which averaged around level 20. The name seemed a little self-contradictory, but I assumed they were just small by giant standards. There were about a hundred and twenty of them.

  There were also nearly a thousand demi-humans of diverse races living here. About 40 percent were birdfolk, 50 percent were various beastfolk, and the remaining 10 percent were fairyfolk.

  The fairyfolk were mostly brownies, gnomes, and spriggans, but there were three kobolds, too. I hadn’t gotten to see the ones in Kuhanou County, so I’d have loved to meet one this time.

  There were a lot of mythical creatures inside the barrier, too.

  There were several herds of unicorns, plus some creatures called gjallarhorns. The Holy Sword of the same name was probably modeled after these creatures, or made from them.

  There were more creatures living in the top of the large tree, including several elder sparrows like the one the witch had ridden.

  At any rate, there didn’t seem to be any dangerous creatures with a high-enough level to pose a deadly threat to the kids, so that was a relief.

  Once I’d confirmed that it was safe, we all moved to the opposite side of the wall.

  For some reason, the others were able to pass through normally if I led them by the hand.

  I was worried that Mia would be upset when she saw the Mountain-Tree, but she must not have seen the Cradle from the outside for the most part. She didn’t react.

  “Who are you really, Sa… You?”

  Miss Karina observed me seriously. As usual, she was too embarrassed to say my name.

  “The barrier might have let me through because I have a letter for one of the giants of the village.”

  I avoided her question with an arbitrary answer, but I wasn’t really sure why I was able to pass through the barrier, either.

  Instead of worrying about something I didn’t understand, I was better off figuring out what path we should take.

  The village was about twelve miles away as the crow flies, so it should take only a day or two on horseback.

  Suddenly, a green human figure emerged from one of the old trees in front of us.

  “Oh? Well, if it isn’t that human.”

  “Hey. Thanks for your help before.”

  The figure that had appeared was the dryad who’d helped me get around in the Cradle.

  She was beckoning to me, so I approached. As before, she was naked, but I didn’t care, since I’m not interested in little girls.

  “Mrrr, go away.” Mia stepped between the little girl and me, spreading her hands as if to protect me. “Drain.” She gave a monosyllabic warning.

  Most likely, she was trying to say that the dryad would suck up a lot of my magic.

  “Oh my. Don’t be rude, child.”

  Child was probably referring to Mia. She did have the title Child of Bolenan, after all.

  I rested a hand on Mia’s head, then spoke to the dryad.

  “So, did you need something?”

  “Yeah, the chief of the forest giants asked me to find out who trespassed on the barrier. If it’s you, though, I’m sure I can just take you to the village. The youngling there can come, too.”

  I didn’t mind going alone, but if I left the other kids here, they’d probably get lost. They wouldn’t be able to reach the forest giant village.

  I didn’t know what the forest giants were like, but since they were friends of the kindly old witch, it was probably pretty safe to trust them.

  “Wait a minute. Would you mind taking all of us there?”

  “Sure, sure. But I don’t have quite enough magic power for that, so you’ll have to give me some of yours.”

  Without waiting for my response, the dryad placed her hands on my cheeks, smacked her lips onto mine, and started absorbing my magic.

  Since there were children watching this time, I intentionally helped the magic along.

  This had the desired effect, as the dryad released my mouth after just a few seconds.

  “You’ve gotten better at this, human.”

  Her remark sounded like praise for a worthy opponent, but in reality, we were just transferring magic.

  So I’d appreci
ate it if you would take your fist out of your mouth and stop staring up at me, thank you. Don’t whack my stomach or give me jealous glares, either!

  “All right, here goes!”

  With that, mushrooms popped up from the ground to surround us, giving off spores that glowed a pale green.

  “A fairy ring.”

  Just as Mia mumbled somewhat nostalgically, we were teleported away.

  “Dryad! Who have you brought here?!”

  The dryad faced a shrill interrogation as soon as we arrived.

  There’s no way a forest giant would sound like that, I thought as I looked up. Above, I saw a group of forest giants as tall as buildings, but on a stand next to their chairs was a tiny old man hopping up and down. According to my AR display, the little man was a brownie.

  My map informed me that we were now in a hall located in a hollow near the base of the Mountain-Tree.

  The hall was about seventy feet high, and its radius was about one hundred and fifty feet. The walls were the bare wood from the tree, and a lamp near the ceiling shone with a gentle white light.

  The giants, as tall as small mountains, were sitting in enormous chairs installed directly into the wood walls.

  Perhaps because they were so high up from where we were standing, their faces were shadowed, making their expressions hard to read. They were sitting so still that it would be easy to mistake them for statues.

  “Answer me, dryad!”

  “They’re humans.”

  “That’s not what I mean. I’m asking you who they are!”

  “Oh, I dunno. Besides, I’m not gonna listen to anyone except that kid Stonehammer. He’s the master of this mana source.”

  “BOH-YAH, MEEROH.”

  One of the giants muttered something to the dryad, and my body trembled with the vibrations. His voice was incredibly deep.

  I had no idea what he said, though. All I could tell was that the giant’s words sounded somewhat Elvish.

  Maybe their language was related.

  > Skill Acquired: “Giant Language”

  Oh, so he was speaking the common language of giants, not a forest giant–specific language.

  I went ahead and raised the skill level to five so I’d be able to understand their words.

  The giant looked down and opened his mouth, and the bass rumbled in my stomach as his low voice filled the hall. He was facing this way now, so it reverberated even more strongly than before.

  “WHO ARE YOU? WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN THIS VILLAGE?”

  When the giant was done speaking, the brownie nearby translated into Shigan.

  “I AM SATOU, A TRAVELING MERCHANT. THE WITCH OF THE FOREST OF ILLUSIONS ASKED ME TO DELIVER A LETTER TO YOU, WHICH IS WHY I HAVE COME HERE.”

  With the help of my “Amplification” skill, I replied to him in giant language. I took care to speak slowly to match their speed.

  “W-was that…giant language?”

  “Yes, Sir Satou seems to be quite knowledgeable.”

  “Goodness, is there anything he can’t do?”

  I heard Miss Karina and Raka talking behind me.

  The other kids were surprised, too, but their reactions weren’t as dramatic as Miss Karina’s.

  “OH-HO, SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND US? HOW SPLENDID. LET US SEE THIS LETTER FROM THE WITCH.”

  Just as I’d thought, no matter what world you’re in, speaking a new acquaintance’s language always gives a good impression.

  The giant lowered his enormous hand at a ponderous speed, like a heavy machine, and I put the letter onto his palm.

  The characters were probably too small for him to read, so he placed the brownie on his shoulder and had the letter read aloud to him. Since it was a personal letter, I switched off my “Keen Hearing” skill so as not to eavesdrop.

  Before long, the letter was finished, and the forest giant looked back down in my direction.

  “IT SEEMS YOU HAVE COME QUITE FAR. THANK YOU, LITTLE CHILD, FRIEND OF MY OLD FRIEND. MY NAME IS…”

  His name sounded more like a song. Listening to the easy rhythm, I started to get sleepy.

  Giants’ names were made up of the names of generations of their ancestors, so it went on for more than twenty minutes. Tama, Pochi, and Nana started to nod off, and I could hardly blame them.

  His name was written in the AR display, so I didn’t really need to memorize it, but even in human language it would still take upward of five minutes to say. The legendary Jugemu would be impressed.

  “…BUT THAT MAY BE TOO LONG FOR YOU TO SAY EASILY. YOU MAY CALL ME ‘STONEHAMMER.’”

  “THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WELCOME. SINCE I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN MY NAME, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MY COMPANIONS.”

  “…Mia.”

  I brought Mia forward, and she mumbled her name shortly, covering her ears with a cross look on her face.

  Apparently, the loud bass of Stonehammer’s voice had hurt her ears.

  “OH-HO, AN ELF OF BOLENAN FOREST, ARE YOU? NOT SINCE SIR YUSARATOYA VISITED ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO HAVE I SEEN YOUR KIND. ALLOW ME TO WELCOME YOU ON BEHALF OF OUR ENTIRE VILLAGE.”

  The giant was referring to the elfin manager of the general store in Seiryuu City.

  So he’s been here, too, huh?

  I continued to introduce the rest of the group. We had a bit of trouble with the last one, Miss Karina.

  “M-my name is Karina Muno. I am the second daughter of Baron Muno—”

  “Muno, you say! So a relative of that rotten marquis has strayed into our village to lose her head?!”

  The brownie beside the giants turned bright red with rage and interrupted Miss Karina’s introduction. This guy blew up at everything.

  Miss Karina hid behind me, unaccustomed to being the target of such malice.

  As she pressed up against my back, I could have fainted with joy.

  As thanks for this blessing, I figured I should probably defend her. I’d have to use my “Making Excuses” skill or my rarely used “Mediation” skill here.

  “JUST A MOMENT, PLEASE!”

  I spread my arms to defend Miss Karina as she hid behind me.

  “Satou…,” I heard her whisper. I was pretty sure that was the first time she’d called me by name.

  Thus encouraged, I continued to speak in a loud, tense voice.

  “MARQUIS MUNO’S FAMILY HAS BEEN DESTROYED. HER FATHER HAS ONLY INHERITED THE NAME AND IS IN NO WAY RELATED TO THE FORMER MARQUIS’S HOUSE.”

  I tried to defend her, but the indignant brownie clearly refused to listen.

  Perhaps under the effect of my skills, Stonehammer stopped the brownie for me.

  “THAT IS ENOUGH.”

  “B-BUT—”

  “ENOUGH, I SAID.”

  At his lord’s orders, the brownie sank into a sulky silence.

  “LITTLE CHILD, SATOU. I WILL NOT ASK YOU WHY YOU HAVE BROUGHT A YOUNG WOMAN BEARING THE NAME OF MUNO TO THIS LAND.”

  This time, Stonehammer faced me as he spoke.

  Shoot. At this rate, there was no way that Miss Karina would be able to achieve her goal here.

  However, the giant wasn’t finished speaking.

  “THE WITCH’S LETTER STATED THAT YOUR PURPOSE IS TO SEE UNKNOWN LANDS. ALLOW ME TO PREPARE YOU A ROOM IN THE MANSION OF ONE OF OUR VILLAGE’S LITTLE GIANTS. IT IS MY THANKS TO YOU FOR DELIVERING THE LETTER. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REST IN OUR VILLAGE FOR AS LONG AS YOU DESIRE.”

  Nice one, Miss Witch!

  I recalled the image of the mild old witch in profile as I praised her appreciatively in my mind.

  Uh-oh, it’ll be bad if he says Miss Karina has to leave alone. I’d better make sure.

  “LORD STONEHAMMER, I AM TERRIBLY SORRY TO MAKE SUCH A BRAZEN REQUEST, BUT MIGHT I PLEASE ASK YOUR PERMISSION FOR MY FRIEND—THE DAUGHTER OF BARON MUNO—TO STAY AS WELL?”

  “…VERY WELL. THE YOUNG MUNO WOMAN MAY REMAIN WITH YOU.”

  After a short pause, Stonehammer did give his permission.

  Hopefully now Miss Karina would b
e able to negotiate with Stonehammer and the other giants during our visit.

  Even though it had been only a few days, she was a member of our traveling party now. I figured I could at least try to come up with a plan to help her in between sightseeing.

  “WE TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR KIND GENEROSITY.”

  I thanked Stonehammer deeply, then exited the hall.

  We were escorted to a room next to the hall, where we waited obediently for someone from the forest giant village to welcome us.

  Liza positioned herself next to the door as a gatekeeper.

  “Sir Satou, we are grateful for your assistance.” Raka thanked me on behalf of Miss Karina.

  Miss Karina seemed shaken by what must have been her first experience as a target of ill will; her face was pale as she mumbled her thanks.

  Pochi and Tama sat on either side of her, looking up at her anxiously.

  “I don’t think it’ll be easy, but I wish you luck.”

  “Yes, I had no idea…”

  Arisa patted Miss Karina’s shoulder encouragingly.

  “There is no benefit to being disheartened, I advise. If you have time to feel downcast, you must use it to move forward instead, I recite.”

  “That’s right, Lady Karina! There’s hardly anything that can’t be solved by a proper meal and a good night’s sleep.”

  Nana and Lulu did their best to cheer up Miss Karina, too. Come to think of it, Arisa had mentioned that Lulu had been treated very poorly in her hometown.

  Before long, a group of ten-foot-tall little giants came to greet us with a palanquin to carry us to the village.

  “Sorry to have kept you waiting, daho. It took some time to prepare the palanquin, daho.”

  The apparent leader spoke with an unusual verbal quirk as the little giants brought us out of the Mountain-Tree.

  Outside the tree was a trench-like road to the village, which was almost a mile away. The village was about twice as far from the trunk as the edge of the Mountain-Tree’s canopy was.

  The lowest branches grew about three hundred feet up, but the tips hung down almost to the ground. A few earthen towers were stationed there.

  In the distance, I could see little giants doing some kind of work at the top of the tower.