Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 4 Read online

  Thanks to the help of my “Cooking” skill, I was able to make a respectable filling for dumplings. The skill system was so handy.

  I put Arisa in charge of mass-producing the dumplings. It was her request, so I figured that was the least she could do. Technically, we could’ve just dropped the filling directly into the soup in spoonfuls, but shaping it into dumplings ahead of time was how my family always did it.

  Lulu and Liza separated the bird meat into the portion we’d have tonight and the portion we’d save for later. It was too much to eat all at once.

  The absence of an earthenware pot took away from the traditional hot-pot image a little bit, but we just poured stock into our usual stew pot and then added the other ingredients, from slowest- to fastest-cooking.

  Finally, we added the duck-like meat of the double-headed bird and put the lid over the pot.

  All that was left now was to wait for everything to cook through, but just then, a dot appeared on my radar that indicated a normal person.

  The map informed me that it was a nineteen-year-old, level-2 woman with no skills. Her condition read Hungry, one step below the Starvation status.

  At first I thought she was out foraging for wild plants, but one look at her name told me that something else was afoot.

  The girl’s name was Karina Muno. The daughter of the current Baron Muno.

  What was she doing all alone in a forest full of beasts and monsters?

  Maybe she was running away from her engagement to the fake hero.

  The whole thing smelled like trouble. I was tempted to just leave it alone, but I wouldn’t be able to handle the guilt if I let this girl wander aimlessly in the woods by herself.

  So what should I do now…?

  “Bubbliiing?”

  “Smells good, sir.”

  Unaware of my dilemma, Pochi and Tama sat near the pot, their excitement rising at the scent of the simmering ingredients in the air.

  It’d still be a while before it was ready, though.

  Checking my radar again, I saw that the young woman had stopped moving, and her status condition now read Unconscious.

  She didn’t seem to be injured, but her magic and stamina were running low. She didn’t even have any magic-based skills, so what could’ve depleted her MP?

  Now I certainly couldn’t abandon her. I guess I’ll have to go to the rescue.

  “Something else just came up, so I’ll be right back. Sorry, but can you come, too, Pochi and Tama?”

  “Aye-aye, siiir!”

  “Roger, sir.”

  The two kids wiped away their drool and threw up a salute. According to them, this was called the “yessir!” pose.

  “Master, if you are planning to exterminate a monster, please allow me to come along as well.”

  “Master, permission to depart?”

  Liza and Nana reached for their weapons, but that wouldn’t be necessary.

  “No, no, I’m not going to fight anything. I think someone’s in trouble nearby, so I’m going to go help her.”

  With that, I headed into the forest with Pochi and Tama in tow.

  Unlike the wooded area we’d walked through so far, this area was full of thick undergrowth that made it difficult to walk. Visibility was poor, too, thanks to the dense trees.

  We must’ve been downwind of the camp, because the scent of the simmering hot pot was tickling my nostrils.

  As a result, there came a chorus of grumbles like an animal’s growl from the two beastfolk girls’ tummies.

  “Hungryyy?”

  “Stomach Man isn’t very patient, sir.”

  “Well, the hot pot should be ready by the time we get back, so let’s just look forward to it, shall we?”

  “Aye-aye!”

  “I’m excited, sir!”

  As we conversed, we reached the area where the girl was supposed to be.

  “Something’s heeere?”

  “It’s shining, sir!”

  Just as Pochi had said, the girl was inside a cocoon-like barrier that glowed a pale white. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but the barrier appeared to be made up of shiny oval scales.

  She didn’t have any skills that would do this, so the barrier was probably coming from the object on her wrist that was gleaming blue.

  The woman was wearing a thin cloak and high-laced leather boots suited for horseback riding. I couldn’t see it well under the cloak, but her dress looked fit for a noblewoman.

  Her dark-blond hair spilled out from her hood, and behind it I could see a glimpse of a face that wouldn’t be out of place in a French film.

  She was no match for Lulu, but her features were on par with Arisa and Mia for good looks. To be perfectly honest, she was a beauty.

  “Don’t touch it, all right? It could be dangerous.”

  “Rogerrr.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Pochi and Tama reluctantly dropped the twigs they’d been using to prod at the cocoon.

  Well, I could hardly rescue her if she was protected by magic. Now what?

  I touched the barrier experimentally, and the area gave a little jingle like a clear bell. The scalelike segment fell away.

  “Is it just for appearances, then?”

  “Haaard?”

  “It’s solid, sir.”

  Pochi and Tama disagreed with my comment. I’d told them not to touch it, so they’d settled for whacking it rhythmically with their sheathed short swords.

  I put a stop to that and took apart enough of the barrier to retrieve the woman inside.

  “Who are you?”

  The solemn, masculine voice seemed to come from the direction of the girl’s mouth.

  For a second, I wondered if I’d rescued a drag queen, but the beauty’s lips hadn’t actually moved a bit.

  The voice had come from somewhere lower.

  I slipped my arms underneath her and laid her down faceup.

  Magic.

  Something unbelievable appeared before my eyes.

  “You are surely no ordinary man, if you broke my barrier so easily.”

  The same voice as before reached my ears.

  Magic.

  Even though I knew this was reality, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

  “I shall ask once again. Who are you?”

  Yes, it was the sort of sight one only expects to find in two dimensions.

  Magic.

  Magic breasts. Before my very eyes was a pair of breasts that surpassed all imagination. A phrase like huge knockers wouldn’t even begin to do them justice; they were like a pair of rockets.

  “Answer me, boy!”

  The man’s voice, now a little annoyed, repeated sharply in my ear.

  Whoops, I guess I got a little distracted. I thought this only existed in fiction.

  A silver pendant with a blue gem inlay flashed at her chest.

  This must be where the voice is coming from. According to my AR display, it was some kind of magic tool. If it had appeared in a game, it would probably have been called an “Intelligent Item.”

  But instead of speculating further, I addressed the pendant directly.

  “Oh, pardon me. I’ve never seen a talking object before, so I was startled.”

  “Very well. My name is Raka, and you need not speak formally to me. O mighty one, I must beseech you to protect my mistress.”

  This “Raka” thing had five functions: Perceive Demon, Perceive Malice, Perceive Mightiness, Bestow Strength Enhancement, and Bestow Pain Resistance. It was classified as a legendary artifact.

  Given the color of the glow when it spoke, I wondered if it was made with the same blue used to create Holy Swords.

  “Should you really be entrusting this to some random person in the forest?”

  “I possess a feature called ‘Perceive Malice.’ I do not detect any malicious intent from you. I must now sleep for a time to store up magic power. Please take care of Lady Karina.”

  “All right, leave it to me.”

 
I nodded reassuringly, and the blue light disappeared from the pendant with an air of relief.

  “All right, let’s go back.”

  “’kay!”

  “The hot pot is waiting, sir!”

  I beckoned to Pochi and Tama, who were poking at Miss Karina’s chest with strange expressions, and slipped my arms under her back and knees to lift her up. (The so-called “princess carry.”)

  She was surprisingly heavy, considering that she was only a bit taller than me. Or maybe it just felt that way because of the extra weight from her breasts.

  When I adjusted my grip to improve the balance, those rockets shifted against my chest.

  I walked back to the camp at an easy pace. This was only out of concern for the fainted young lady’s comfort, of course. There was no ulterior motive at all.

  “Welcome back, master!”

  “Thanks.”

  Arisa greeted me as I pushed my way through the thickets back to the camp.

  The other kids stopped setting up the tableware on the kotatsu and ran over to me, too.

  “So that’s the lost person—it’s another woman?!”

  “Mrrr…”

  Arisa and Mia pouted, probably noticing Miss Karina’s good looks or impressive chest.

  With a pang of reluctance as her chest parted from mine, I laid Miss Karina down on the furs that Liza and Nana had spread out on the ground for her.

  “Boy, what a rack. Think they’re fake?”

  “They are the genuine article, I report.”

  “Hey, Nana. Even if you’re both girls, that’s still rude.”

  I whacked Nana on the top of the head before she could brashly squeeze the unconscious woman’s chest.

  Meanwhile, Lulu removed Miss Karina’s hood to pluck the leaves out of her bangs and wipe the dirt from her face.

  “Curlyyy?”

  “It’s all wavy, sir.”

  This time, Tama and Pochi were prodding at the blond strands that had escaped from her hood.

  “So not only does she have huge boobs, but she’s a blonde, too? That’s too many distinctive character traits by far! If she’s one of those cute hot–cold types on top of all that, my seat as the rightful first wife might be in danger!”

  “Mrrr, danger.”

  Mia nodded seriously in agreement with Arisa’s absurd remark.

  …Who are you calling a “first wife”? I don’t want to hear about this again for at least another ten years.

  “I doubt she’s going to wake up for a while, so we might as well eat for now,” I suggested, and everyone’s stomachs growled in unison.

  Trying to encourage them all through their embarrassment, I put some magic into the simple stove heater inside the kotatsu and placed the two pots on top. We’d elected to use two so that everyone would be able to reach easily.

  As soon as I lifted the lid from the pot, the aroma of stewed duck spread through the air.

  Mmm, that smells great.

  I didn’t have much time to savor the smell, though, or the drool from Pochi’s and Tama’s mouths would drown us all.

  For some reason, I ended up in charge of doling out everyone’s food, so I made sure to scoop a good variety of veggies, chicken meatballs, and meat into each bowl. Mia’s helping only included vegetables, of course.

  With Arisa’s “thanks for the food!” as our usual signal, we began to eat.

  “You all can help yourself to seconds from the pot, all right?”

  “Hottt!”

  “The meatballs are fighting back, sir.”

  Tama and Pochi stuffed their cheeks with meatballs, then widened their eyes and puffed rapidly as the piping-hot broth burned their mouths.

  “It’s quite delicious.”

  Liza nodded in satisfaction as she chewed on a bone-in chunk of the double-headed bird.

  “Every ingredient is equally delicious, master, I commend.”

  “The cabbage really soaks up the flavor of the broth… It’s delicious! Your cooking really is amazing, master.”

  Each time they sampled another ingredient, Nana and Lulu piled on the praise.

  But really, it’s my “Cooking” skill that’s amazing, not me.

  “Gourd.”

  Mia used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of the gourd, which resembled tofu, and chewed on it blissfully.

  This was a recent favorite of hers.

  The gourd had a totally different flavor from the winter melon I’d eaten back in my world.

  The cabbage here tasted wilder than I was used to, as well, so it was probably best not to assume that any vegetables were the same in this place. I figured the best approach was to cook with lots of different ingredients and learn about them as I went.

  “Yum.”

  Noticing Mia’s pleasure, the other kids, who’d been reluctant to try the strange-looking vegetable, started to taste it as well.

  “No more than ten meatballs per person, you two!” Arisa decreed to the beastfolk girls as our self-proclaimed hot-pot magistrate.

  Tama and Pochi, who’d both been reaching to take meatballs from the pot, stopped at once. They must have been going for their eleventh ones.

  Furtively, I slipped the two meatballs I’d saved for myself into their bowls.

  “Yaaay!”

  “Thank you, sir!”

  “Goodness, you’re going to spoil them.”

  I smiled in response to Arisa’s motherly scolding and popped a ripe mushroom into my mouth instead.

  “Something smells good…”

  A half-delirious mutter came from Lady Karina’s direction.

  Putting my dish down on the table, I approached her.

  “You’re awake?”

  “A-a man?!”

  The half-asleep young woman leaped to her feet and aimed a roundhouse kick in my direction.

  Really, I think shrinking away or at most a slap in the face would be more appropriate to this situation…

  I didn’t even bother trying to dodge. Considering that she’d fainted from hunger not long ago, it was obvious where this was going.

  “O-oh, I’m dizzy…”

  Miss Karina looked about to faint again, so I caught her and gently led her toward the dinner table.

  The young woman flailed around in my hands, but it was easy to keep her in check in her weakened state.

  “…U-unhand me.”

  As if she were a totally different person from the forceful individual of a few moments ago, Miss Karina flushed bright red and trembled in my arms.

  Maybe she’s androphobic?

  “Please calm down. Raka asked me to protect you.”

  “…Mr. Raka did?”

  At the name, she stopped resisting.

  You use “Mr.” to refer to your own equipment?

  “That’s right. I am Satou, a merchant.”

  “M-my name is Karina. Karina Muno, the second daughter of Baron Muno.”

  Apparently either shy or nervous, Miss Karina stammered a bit through her self-introduction.

  Still, it seemed awfully risky to openly reveal that she was the daughter of the baron, given the current situation in the territory. Maybe she had some purpose for doing so?

  “So you’re a noble, then, Lady Karina?”

  I guided Miss Karina toward the kotatsu, offering her a seat between Nana and Lulu. She started to sit, but stopped when she saw Tama and Pochi.

  I thought at first that she was reluctant to sit near beastfolk, but there was something strange about her behavior.

  “Animal-eared folk… Could it be that you are a hero, perchance?”

  Miss Karina whirled to look at me again, her voice rising like an excited child’s.

  “As I said before, I’m just a humble peddler,” I replied as my mind searched for an explanation for her surprise.

  Presumably, “animal-eared folk” referred to dog-eared folk like Pochi and cat-eared folk like Tama, perhaps among others.

  Come to think of it, Nadi from the general store in Se
iryuu City had mentioned that the first hero had animal-eared folk in his party.

  Most likely, Miss Karina knew this and had jumped to the conclusion that I might be a hero.

  The young lady’s stomach was growling, so I put some food into a bowl and held it out to her. I assumed that she couldn’t use chopsticks, so I handed her a fork and spoon instead.

  “I don’t know if this will suit the tastes of a noble such as yourself, but you ought to eat something first.”

  “It smells lovely. I’ve never seen cuisine like this before.”

  At my suggestion, Miss Karina cut her meat into bite-size pieces and lifted a morsel to her mouth.

  Unsurprisingly, the baron’s daughter’s table manners were very refined.

  Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she began chewing vigorously. She must have liked it.

  After gulping it down, she finally opened her mouth to speak.

  “I-it’s incredibly delicious!”

  “I’m glad it suits your tastes. There’s plenty more, so please help yourself.”

  Miss Karina nodded with a slight pink blush to her cheeks, then happily returned to her meal.

  Watching her elegant etiquette, Arisa and Lulu immediately began eating more politely as well. I feel like it’s a little late for that now, but do whatever you want.

  Ideally, noodles and rice gruel went best with hot pot, but since we had neither of those on hand, we’d made wheat porridge with broth from the pot instead.

  “Hooraaay.”

  “So full, sir.”

  Having eaten their fill, Pochi and Tama flopped onto their backs and sighed contentedly.

  But Liza wasted no time in assigning their next task.

  “Now then, we must begin cleaning up.”

  “Rogerrr.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The pair bounced to their feet and, along with the other kids, carried the dishes.

  While they were busy with that, I decided to ask about Karina’s situation.

  Lulu brewed some tea, so I offered Miss Karina a cup.

  “Please, have some tea.”

  “Oh my, this is blue-green tea, isn’t it?” Miss Karina accepted the cup happily.

  Perhaps because we’d shared a meal, she’d relaxed toward me enough to have a normal conversation.