Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 9

  Copyright

  Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 9

  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.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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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.) | ISBN 9781975301576 (v. 8 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301590 (v. 9 : 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: 978-1-9753-0159-0 (paperback)

  978-1-9753-0160-6 (ebook)

  E3-20190903-JV-NF-ORI

  A Journey at Sea

  Satou here. When I think of sunken ships, I tend to picture a treasure-filled sailing ship sunk in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Exploration. I’ve always found the image of a ship half-buried on the ocean floor to have a certain romantic appeal.

  “Look alive, mateys! The great Captain Arisa is setting sail!”

  Dressed in their pirate-y best, Arisa and company posed at the mast.

  Arisa’s eyes were sparkling, although one was hidden under an eye patch, and her lilac hair fluttered under her pirate hat.

  It was a fairly retro pirate costume overall, with a long-sleeve jacket, white trousers, a poofy blouse, and even a rapier in her belt.

  I’d been expecting more of a “pirate king” cosplay, but I guess I misjudged her tastes.

  “Aye-aye, sirrr!”

  “Yessir, sir!”

  Tama, with her white hair and feline tail and ears, and Pochi, with her short brown bob and matching dog ears and tail, both hopped up eagerly in response to Arisa’s declaration.

  They were dressed like pirate lackeys, wearing striped half-sleeve shirts and three-quarter-length pants.

  Both were equipped with pirate short swords, although like Arisa’s, they were dull replicas for costume purposes only.

  They were both wearing eye patches, but while Arisa’s was realistic, Tama’s and Pochi’s were cutely shaped like a cat and dog head respectively.

  “Master, I brought you a drink.”

  A soothing voice marked Lulu’s reappearance; her beautiful black hair and eyes could sink a whole fleet, never mind a single ship.

  Her bright, summery maid outfit looked great with her smooth, straight hair.

  And Lulu wasn’t the only one who’d emerged onto the deck.

  “Master, we have brought accompanying snacks as well, I report.”

  Nana, a buxom blonde, was carrying a basket full of potato chips in one hand, her eyes sparkling despite her usual expressionless face.

  Since she had acquired new functions in the elf village, her cup size seemed to have been enhanced as well. As a result, she was now an F-cup, despite not yet being a year old. I knew she was a man-made homunculus, but I was still surprised to find a bust size option in the cultivation tank menu.

  I imagined such sudden growth would probably be inconvenient for her, so I had restrained myself and selected the smallest increase option available.

  “Shall I place the table here, master?”

  “Yeah, that’s perfect. Thank you, Liza.”

  The redheaded Liza of the orangescale tribe produced a heavy-looking table from the large Fairy Pack. Aside from the orange scales on her neck and limbs and her reptilian tail, she looked just like an ordinary human.

  “Satou.”

  Mia, who’d been standing on the observation deck gazing wistfully at the harbor, jumped down toward me with her arms spread wide as I stood at the helm.

  Her pale-blue pigtails flew back in the wind, revealing her slightly pointed elf ears.

  I gently caught her in my arms.

  “Be careful, Mia. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

  “Mm. Trust.”

  She wrapped her arms around my neck, nuzzling my face as if she were a cat.

  Behind her, the finfolk—mermaids, really—were already out of sight.

  All that was visible was the World Tree, stretching up into space. Eradicating the jellyfish up there with Aaze the high elf already felt like it was a very long time ago.

  I remembered the three or so months we spent in the tree house after we brought Mia back home to Bolenan Forest. Hunting in the forest, shogi matches, the public bathhouse, the curry parties… We made so many fun memories there.

  But now, we’d departed from Bolenan Forest to travel to Labyrinth City by sea.

  A shriek from Arisa interrupted my fond reminiscing.

  “E-excuse me! Mia, what are you doing?!”

  Arisa charged over, pointing at us accusingly.

  “Guiltyyy?”

  “Guilty, sir.”

  Tama and Pochi looked at each other and imitated Mia’s usual ruling of choice, then ran over to us after Arisa. Unlike Arisa, who appeared furious, Tama and Pochi seemed to be having fun.

  “You’re being way too clingy!”

  “Mm. Spouse.”

  “That’s not true, and you know it!”

  Arisa attempted to drag Mia off me.

  Mia’s statement of “spouse” referred to the fact that I had given Mia a kiss on the forehead, not knowing that this was an elf custom of betrothal.

  Since I hadn’t realized what I was doing, it was null and void, but Mia was refusing to accept that.

  I figured she would give it up soon enough, so I’d decided not to scold her about the whole “spouse” thing.

  “Forget your fore
head nonsense. I’ve kissed him right on the mouth!”

  “Mrrr. Satou…”

  Mia furrowed her brow.

  Arisa was probably referring to that first night after we met, when she’d snuck into my bedroom and attacked me.

  “Kiss.”

  Mia puckered her lips and leaned her face toward mine.

  Sorry, but I’m not interested in little girls.

  “Kiiiss?”

  “Mwah, sir!”

  “H-hey, you two, stop that!”

  Copying Mia, Tama and Pochi climbed up Arisa’s back to rain kisses on my forehead and cheeks.

  Arisa’s protests about being used as their stepping stool fell on deaf ears.

  Imitating them in turn, Mia stopped waiting and moved to plant a kiss on me herself.

  Drawn in by the younger crowd, even Nana and Lulu approached me.

  “Master, a kiss to affirm your affection, I request.”

  “Th-then I want one, too, please.”

  Nana’s expressionless face smacked against mine, while Lulu’s cheeks turned bright red as she placed a quick peck on my cheek near my lips.

  It had been a long time since we traveled without any extra company, so they were probably a little overexcited.

  Always the serious one, Liza stood at attention nearby, but it looked like she wanted to join in, too.

  “Liza?” I felt bad having her be the only one left out, so I called to her and pointed at my own cheek.

  “V-very well. If you’ll excuse my insolence…”

  Liza sounded unusually nervous as she leaned in to kiss my cheek, her ears turning bright red.

  I was assuming the ticklish little lick to my earlobe as she withdrew was some kind of orangescale tribe custom.

  Everyone in our small group had actually grown quite a bit during our stay in Bolenan Forest.

  Since they trained with our elf teachers, their battle abilities had gone up as well as their levels, all of which had now reached 20. If they were ordinary knights, they’d probably be strong enough to be squad leaders or commanding officers by now. The vanguard group members had all learned skills like “Blink” and “Body Strengthening,” so they were now stronger and more well-rounded than they were in the old capital.

  Unfortunately, Liza was still the only one who’d been able to learn “Spellblade.” But since it was a rare skill that even many knights of level 30 or higher couldn’t use, that was no one’s fault.

  As for the rearguard, Lulu learned the “Self-Defense” skill, and while Arisa and Mia didn’t pick up any new skills, their magic seemed to be strong enough to take care of street thugs without batting an eye.

  Mia learned some new Spirit Magic, and Arisa acquired a new Space Magic spell book.

  Nana’s Foundation abilities had reached around the level of intermediate Practical Magic, but since she didn’t gain any extra magic power, that part would depend on her future growth.

  I picked up some secret moves from the elves myself, so I could now forge very cool metals, such as mithril, also known as fairy silver; scarlet ore, a very strong and heat-resistant metal; true steel, the density of which could be adjusted with magic, making it potentially harder than diamond; true silver, which was highly conducive to magic and ideal for wands, staffs, or magic tools; and gods’ gold, a valuable all-purpose metal.

  Of course, creating any of these magic alloys required a great deal of magic power, as well as Holytree Stone, a precious substance also known as Philosopher’s Stone.

  Only a small amount of Holytree Stone was required to produce a comparatively large amount of metal. However, since only the elves and I had enough Holytree Stone to make such things in large quantities, I couldn’t really use it for our usual equipment and armor unless I wanted to cause a big scene.

  “So, master, how long will it take to get to Labyrinth City?”

  “Good question…”

  Arisa and the others were all smiles, possibly due to the lovefest from earlier. Arisa told me that she had sufficiently replenished her supply of “masterium.”

  The figurehead golem at the front of the ship, called a “Scarecrow,” took care of the steering and sails, so we’d laid out a blanket on the deck to relax.

  It was possible to steer the ship manually, too, but it seemed easier and safer to let the golem handle it.

  Incidentally, instead of the usual statue of a woman, our figurehead was in the shape of a penguin, per Mia’s adamant request.

  “…It would probably take a normal ship about a month,” I answered as I looked at the map.

  Airships aside, at a rate of around five to ten miles per hour, it would be best to assume it would take the better part of a month to get there.

  But that would be the case only if this were a normal ship.

  “Master! The color of the sea is different up ahead, I report.”

  Nana called out from the prow.

  Sure enough, there was an arc-shaped line dividing this part of the ocean from a differently colored section.

  According to the map, this was the end of the Bolenan Forest area.

  “The sky, toooo?”

  “It’s true, sir!”

  Tama and Pochi, who’d been running around the mast earlier, had climbed up at some point and were now in the lookout area.

  They probably simply wanted to try climbing the rope ladder from the deck.

  “So it is.”

  “I wonder why?”

  Looking at the water from the area between the foremast and the main mast, Arisa and Lulu seemed nervous.

  “Don’t worry. We’re just entering open water.”

  With that, I activated the ship’s monster-repellent feature.

  A magic circle of blue light surrounded the ship, like a Holy Stone.

  It was pretty flashy, but there was also a stealth mode in which it didn’t emit light, in case we were passing villages or traveling with other ships. The stealth mode also halved the range of the effect, however, so we generally wouldn’t be using it.

  “…It’s very pretty.”

  Lulu and the others gazed at the light in admiration.

  Finally, the ship reached the line where the color of the sea changed.

  “Barrier.”

  I nodded at Mia and instructed everyone to gather around. Everyone but the pair in the lookout crowded close to the helm, where there were safe seats with seat belts.

  “Master, look!”

  Nana grabbed my shoulder, pointing ahead of us.

  As the ship approached the line, the barrier above the water opened like a gate.

  Of course, it was transparent, so it was only possible to see it faintly with the help of the ship’s blue light.

  “Master, the ocean on the other side appears stormy, I report.”

  “The elves told me they deliberately keep the currents strong here to protect Bolenan Forest.”

  Our ship was buffeted about by the raging waves, strong even by ocean standards.

  Once we passed through the barrier, it closed soundlessly behind us.

  According to the map, this area was called the Fairies’ Lost Ocean.

  “Steady as she goooes?”

  “I believe ‘full speed ahead’ would be more accurate, I correct.”

  Tama had only mumbled the phrase while dangling her legs off the side of the lookout post, but Nana heard it through the speaking tube.

  Since the communication system on this ship used wind stones, voices came through very clearly.

  Incidentally, this ship didn’t have any oars or propellers with which to go “full speed ahead.”

  “Whoooa! Wheeee!”

  “S-so shaky, sir! W-we’re going to fall into the ocean, sir…”

  “D-don’t move, you two! It’s dangerous!”

  The top of the mast was swinging back and forth, so Pochi was flying into a panic, which led Liza to start panicking as well. This was a stark contrast to Tama, who was going with the flow as usual.

  P
ochi and Tama had lifelines tied around their waists, and in the worst case, I could always catch them with Magic Hand, but Liza and Pochi were too alarmed to realize that.

  Lulu and Mia looked pale as they latched onto me. Arisa, who was hanging on to the handrail in front of the seats, wasn’t looking too thrilled, either.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t have tried sailing the ocean in such a small ship?”

  “It’ll be fine.”

  The ship was a small galleon with a displacement of about a hundred tons, but it had all kinds of neat little gimmicks that would make even the stormiest waters a breeze to sail through.

  According to the elves, these fierce currents shouldn’t last too long. Besides…

  “…Huh? Part of the deck opened up.”

  “There’s a window on the side, toooo?”

  The cover opened with a steady clacking sound, followed by the hum of an engine.

  A feeling of weightlessness enveloped us, reducing the rocking of the waves.

  Just as the feeling disappeared completely, a teary-eyed Pochi slid down the rope ladder from the lookout post.

  Tama followed, and together they landed on the deck.

  “Floatyyy.”

  “Master, the ship is floating in the sky, I report.”

  “Wait, what? The sky?”

  Arisa voiced her surprise and ran to lean over the side of the ship.

  The other children followed suit, undoing their seat belts and scattering across the deck.

  “W-we’re flyiiiiing!”

  Yes, our vessel was a flying ship with a built-in skypower engine.

  Feeling a tad smug, I explained the workings of the ship to my bewildered companions. All they really understood was that “this ship has a really amazing magic device,” but they were all happy that the ship wouldn’t rock back and forth anymore, so that was good enough for me.

  Of course, being in the air also meant we wouldn’t be dealing with the resistance of the water, so we’d move at least ten miles per hour in ordinary wind; if we used Wind Magic, we could reach a cruising speed of almost forty miles per hour. In fact, with a teardrop-shaped Canopy spell, we could probably go sixty.

  That might be slow for an aircraft back on Earth, but considering that the destroyer ship Shimakaze was hailed for its speed of forty-five miles per hour, I’d say it was pretty impressive for a ship like ours.