Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 7 Read online

  Copyright

  Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 7

  Hiro Ainana

  Translation by Jenny McKeon

  Cover art by shri

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  © Hiro Ainana, shri 2016

  First published in Japan in 2016 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.

  English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2019 by Yen Press, LLC

  Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

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  First Yen On Edition: January 2019

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Ainana, Hiro, author. | Shri, illustrator. | McKeon, Jenny, translator.

  Title: Death march to the parallel world rhapsody / Hiro Ainana ; illustrations by shri ; translation by Jenny McKeon.

  Other titles: Desu machi kara hajimaru isekai kyosokyoku. English

  Description: First Yen On edition. | New York, NY : Yen ON, 2017–

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016050512 | ISBN 9780316504638 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316507974 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316556088 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316556095 (v. 4 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316556101 (v. 5 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316556125 (v. 6 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301552 (v. 7 : pbk.)

  Subjects: | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction.

  Classification: LCC PL867.5.I56 D413 2017 | DDC 895.6/36d—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016050512

  ISBNs: 978-1-9753-0155-2 (paperback)

  978-1-9753-0156-9 (ebook)

  E3-20181214-JV-NF-ORI

  Princess Menea’s Request

  Satou here. Have you ever heard the phrase a bolt from the blue? You never know when it’ll happen to you. That’s why you have to enjoy every day to the fullest without regrets, or so my grandfather out in the boonies often said.

  “So we meet at last, my hero. I am Menea Lumork, the princess of a small kingdom to the east of the Shiga Kingdom.”

  The girl was lovely, with light-pink hair that cascaded to her waist in gentle waves and emerald-green eyes. And she was addressing me with the look of a maiden in love.

  I glanced over the information in the AR display next to her.

  She was sixteen years old. Level 9, with the “Etiquette” skill and a far more unusual one: “Summoning Magic.”

  She was barely five feet tall, with youthful features, but already she had a slim waist and a large bust. Most likely a C cup but one step away from reaching a D.

  If it wasn’t for the difference in our social status, I’d be interested in wooing her in another four or five years.

  But as it stood, I’d never met her before.

  Nor the escort knight standing behind her, of course.

  I did rescue her in the guise of Nanashi the Hero during the incident this afternoon—that yellow demon appearing in the old capital stadium, the giant monster fish fight, and so on—but there was no way she could have figured out my real identity from that.

  “I would like to enlist your help to save my homeland from its hardships. If the Saga Empire wills it…”

  She must have mistaken me for Hayato, the hero of the Saga Empire, because of my black hair and Japanese features.

  But how did such a mistake lead her to track me down to my temporary residence at the count’s mansion?

  …Oh, I guess I should resolve this misunderstanding before I contemplate the cause.

  “Your Highness, I’m afraid you are mistaken. I am not the hero of the Saga Empire.”

  “…Huh?” The princess’s adoring smile changed abruptly to an expression of genuine surprise more befitting of a sixteen-year-old.

  “However, it is an honor to meet you. I am Satou Pendragon, an honorary hereditary knight of the Muno Barony.”

  “…Are you not the Savior Chef Satou of whom Mistress Karina spoke?”

  Miss Karina, please stop spreading around strange nicknames…

  “I am hardly worthy of any such title. That aside, how did you mistake me for the hero of the Saga Empire?”

  I gestured to the sofa as I spoke, trying to keep my tone light and curious to avoid giving the impression that I was interrogating her.

  “…Well, you see…”

  To summarize the explanation that Princess Menea reluctantly gave:

  There had been a lot of people gathered around the hero at the prince’s castle, so she couldn’t even get near him, much less ask for his help. She heard that he was going to see me, so she came here to find him.

  Then, seeing my black hair, dark eyes, and Japanese facial features, she mistook me for the Saga Empire hero himself.

  I was curious as to why the hero would be coming to see me, but first I decided to check his location on my map.

  Just as I executed the search, there was a knock at the door, and the house butler, Mr. Sebaf, peered inside.

  “Sir Satou?”

  Behind him was the very same man I’d been looking up just moments before.

  “Please come in.”

  Needing no further explanation from the old butler, I invited the hero inside.

  “Hey, thanks.”

  The hero entered the room clad in his blue armor.

  With his sporty haircut, thick eyebrows, and manly smile, he cut a pretty handsome figure.

  “”

  “”

  He introduced himself in Japanese, so I responded in kind.

  Behind the hero were two of his followers: magic knight Miss Ringrande—the granddaughter of Duke Ougoch known as “the Witch of Heavenly Destruction”—and the busty, blond Meriest Saga, the twenty-first princess of the Saga Empire.

  “”

  “”

  The hero seemed like a good person, so it would probably be safe to tell him that I was Japanese, but I didn’t want to risk drawing unwanted attention from the Saga Empire.

  So I gave him the same information I’d told Ringrande before.

  The reason I decided to speak Japanese to him now was that it seemed easier than pretending not to understand only to give myself away later.

  Since he and Arisa seemed to be acquainted, it was presumably safe to tell him that she was a reincarnation.

  When he’d visited Arisa’s old home, they were friendly enough to exchange information about Skill Reset, a special ability exclusive to reincarnations, heroes, and the like. That made me think that he would probably remember her.

  “”

  “id not. Her name is Arisa. I believe she told me that you’ve met before.>”

  “”

  The hero brought his face way too close to mine.

  My honey, though? Looked like he’d taken quite a liking to Arisa.

  This was a more intense reaction than I’d expected. Princess Menea and the rest of our company looked surprised and confused as well.

  “Ohhh!”

  “Whaaa—?”

  “No pushing, sir.”

  “Mrrr.”

  The door burst open, and the crew of younger kids came tumbling inside.

  “Retreeeat?”

  The first to flee was Tama, a girl with white hair and the ears and tail of a cat.

  As usual, she was quick on her feet.

  “Tama, wait! Sir!”

  The next speaker was Pochi, sporting a short brown bob, dog ears, and a tail to match.

  “<…Beastfolk?>”

  The hero seemed surprised at the appearance of the pair.

  Miss Ringrande and the others were startled, too. They had probably rarely seen beastfolk outside of the sanctuary in the Saga Empire.

  “Slow down for a change, you two!”

  This was Arisa, a young girl with violet eyes and hair. She was a reincarnated Japanese person and the de facto leader of the younger group.

  She normally wore a blond wig to hide her purple hair, which was considered a bad omen here, but it had come off in all the commotion.

  “Violet hair like Lady Yuriko’s…?”

  My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up on Princess Menea’s murmured words.

  Yuriko?

  A Japanese name… And for some reason, I felt like I’d heard it somewhere before.

  Whoever this person was, she must be a reincarnation like Arisa.

  “Arisa.”

  The person lying underneath Arisa gave a single word of protest. It was Mia, an elf girl with her blue-green hair tied in two long pigtails that didn’t quite cover her slightly pointed ears.

  “Oops, sorry, Mia,” Arisa apologized, standing up.

  “I will assist Mia, I declare.”

  “Mm, thanks.”

  Suddenly joining in the fray, the beautiful, blond Nana helped Mia to her feet.

  Though her giant bosom made her look older, she was actually a homunculus of less than a year old, hence her odd manner of speaking.

  “I apologize, master. I should have been watching them more carefully.”

  Liza of the orangescale tribe appeared and bowed deeply.

  Aside from a reptilian tail and orange scales around her limbs and neck, she was otherwise indistinguishable from an ordinary human.

  “We’re sorryyyy.”

  “I apologize, sir.”

  The would-be escapees Pochi and Tama were secured under each of Liza’s arms like stuffed animals.

  However, the hero wasn’t listening to the group’s apologies in the slightest.

  “”

  “Yes. I’m afraid I simply couldn’t control myself in my haste to see you… My late parents would surely scold me for such behavior.”

  Arisa’s graceful, ladylike tone was very unusual for her.

  “It has been much too long, Sir Hero. How fortunate that we meet again.”

  “”

  Relinquishing his hold on me, the hero rushed over to Arisa and knelt down to her eye level.

  He seemed very emotional about their reunion, yet he made no move to lay a finger on her.

  Come to think of it, Arisa had told me that he shouted weird things like “Yes, Lolita! No touching!” when she first met him.

  “Sir Hero, our comrades seem perplexed. Perhaps we ought to speak in the language of the Shiga Kingdom or the Saga Empire?”

  “Yeah, you’re right.”

  > Skill Acquired: “Sagan Language”

  Shigan and Sagan were evidently similar languages, as I was able to understand the latter even without a skill.

  But since I had tons of skill points to spare, and it seemed like a skill that might be handy in the future, I decided to select the skill and raise it to level 5 anyway.

  I beckoned the hero and his friends to sit on a sofa.

  My heart went out to Princess Menea, who looked a little helpless, but she would have to wait a while longer.

  “Still, I’m so glad to see that you’re safe. After the Yowork Kingdom was invaded, I was certain—”

  “—Hayato.”

  Princess Meriest quickly cut off Hayato’s insensitive remark.

  “A great deal has happened since then, but now I am enjoying a peaceful life with my traveling companions under Sir Satou’s protection,” Arisa said.

  “Are you sure you’re really happy?”

  The hero frowned as he looked at her.

  He’d probably noticed Satou’s Slave among her titles.

  “Yes, very much so.”

  “I see…”

  Sitting down beside me, Arisa leaned her head on my shoulder to demonstrate her happiness.

  “Very well. Satou!”

  The hero called me by the wrong name yet again, emphasizing the Japanese pronunciation. (The natives here pronounced it more like “Sa-two.”)

  “I’m counting on you to take care of Princess Arisa. However, never forget the spirit of ‘Yes, Lolita! No touching!’ Little girls are meant to be admired but never touched! If you ever lay a hand on Princess Arisa, rest assured that my sword Arondight will not be silent.”

  The wild look in the hero’s eyes was a little disconcerting.

  “I am a former princess now,” Arisa insisted, but he seemed intent on calling her by the same title.

  “But of course. I would never attempt to lay a finger on a child. Also, my name is Satou, pronounced ‘Sa-two,’ not Satou.”

  A woman’s not a woman until she reaches at least her twenties, if you ask me.

  “You’re scarcely an adult yourself, you know,” Miss Ringrande muttered, but I chose to ignore her.

  I had been restored to my fifteen-year-old self when I first came to this world, but on the inside I was still an old geezer pushing thirty years old. I definitely didn’t see anyone of high school age or lower as a romantic interest.

  “I prepared tea, sir.”

  The maids of the house entered, along with the last member of my party, Lulu. With her black hair and eyes, she was incredibly beautiful.

  “Damn, she’s something else…”

  “Hayato, don’t be rude.”

  The hero caught his breath when he saw Lulu’s beauty, and he was promptly scolded by Princess Meriest.

  The natives of this world tended to see Lulu as unsightly, so Meriest must have misinterpreted his comment as an insult.

  “N-no, it’s all right…”

  Lulu looked uncomfortable, half covering her face with a tray.

  “Lulu, Sir Hero was trying to say that you’re beautiful.”

  “…Master, th-thank you.”

  I was telling the truth, but Lulu seemed to think that I was just trying to comfort her.

  “Satou’s right. Even I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you before, y’know.”

  Flustered by the hero’s words, Lulu bowed quickly and ran out of the room.

  I’d have to check in on her later.

  “Is she a relative of yours, Satou?”

  “No, she’s Arisa’s half sister.”

  “Princess Arisa’s? Really?”

  “Yes, that’s right. In fact, Sister Lulu’s great-grandfather was a hero of the Saga Empire.”

  The hero muttered something along the lines of “If she were five years younger…,” but I pretended not to hear it.

  Once our initial introductions were completed, Princess Menea stood up, and all eyes in the room turned to her.

  “So we meet at last, my hero. I am Menea Lumork, the princess of a small kingdom east of the Shiga Kingdom. I would like to—”
r />   “The Lumork Kingdom, you say?”

  “Oh, that’s right—I’ve heard that pink hair is a unique characteristic of their royal family.”

  As the princess attempted to make her plea, she was interrupted by Meriest and Ringrande.

  “The Lumork Kingdom, huh…?”

  For some reason, the hero’s voice sounded grave as well.

  What exactly happened in the Lumork Kingdom?

  “…Her country used unsanctioned Summoning Magic to abduct some Japanese people.”

  “Is that like the Hero Summoning of the Saga Empire?”

  “Please do not make such an insulting comparison. Our heroes are summoned with the blessing of Goddess Parion and endowed with incredible power, while their unblessed summoning drags in ordinary riffraff without any enhancement at all.”

  “Is that all th—? I mean, I sincerely apologize for insulting your kingdom in my ignorance.”

  I noticed Meriest’s eyebrows arching at my careless words, so I quickly changed my tune.

  “I apologize to you, Sir Hero—nay, Sir Hayato Masaki of Nippon.”

  While Meriest’s anger was redirected at me, Princess Menea used that opportunity to prostrate herself before Hayato.

  It reminded me of the Japanese dogeza style of bowing.

  “Y-Your Highness!” Princess Menea’s escort exclaimed in surprise at her actions.

  “Our transgressions against the people of Nippon are unforgivable. You should be bowing with me.”

  The escort didn’t look convinced, but he took to his knees as well.

  “A weaselfolk magic user who had studied Hero Summoning led us to our actions, but that does not change the fact that we summoned eight people from Nippon without any means of sending them home, nor that the majority of them lost their lives.”

  Yikes, that was pretty bad. No wonder the hero and his friends got angry.

  But why was a weaselfolk person studying Hero Summoning to begin with?

  Maybe it was just prejudice because the race had a reputation for being sly and selfish, but I felt like the reason wasn’t anything good.

  “However, the previous king, my grandfather, who ordered the summonings, was put to death by my father, the king. The weaselfolk magic user and my aunt who carried out the summonings have also paid for their crimes with their lives.”