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

“So my hunch was right… I knew something seemed off when we sparred that night after fighting the dragon.”

  So he’d been suspicious all this time…

  “It’s got to be an imitation-based Unique Skill, right?”

  Nope. That was just a normal skill.

  “No one improves that quickly, no matter how much natural talent they have. I know because I have unusual abilities as well.”

  “Sir Hero, could I ask why you’re bringing this up?”

  He didn’t seem to suspect me of being Nanashi. Was he trying to get me to become an agent of the Saga Empire or something?

  But something was strange here. If he was going to try to negotiate or coerce me, I would think he would send someone like Princess Meriest instead of approaching me directly.

  “Sorry, Satou. I didn’t mean to alarm you. I actually just want to teach you my secret techniques.”

  “…What do you mean?”

  Now I was really unsure of his intentions.

  “Satou, I think you know this, but this world’s difficulty curve is ridiculously broken. I’m fine, since I was level fifty when I was first summoned, but for the average person, it’s basically impossible to survive outside of a well-protected city.”

  I absolutely agreed with that.

  Without the advantage of being level 310, I would’ve probably been eaten by a wyvern before I made it from the Valley of Dragons to Seiryuu City.

  “So I want to teach you the special moves and techniques I’ve learned. Especially so that you can protect Princess Arisa.”

  …Maybe he actually had 100 percent good intentions?

  If it were anyone else, I’d suspect the whole thing was an act. But given Hayato’s behavior patterns so far, I felt confident that he was being genuine.

  “You’re a very tenderhearted person, Sir Hayato.”

  People often said that sort of thing to me, but this was the first time I’d said it to someone else since coming to this parallel world.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. So you’ll accept my offer?”

  “Yes, if you’ll allow me to presume upon your kindness.”

  Unlike Hayato, I didn’t have a lot of battle-related skills.

  “Do you know of a place where we won’t be seen?”

  “Yes, I do indeed.”

  I suggested the labyrinth ruins under the old capital.

  We told Hayato’s party that we were going to have a contest over Arisa, and we went to the ruins without them.

  Since the duke had operatives watching Hayato, we took the silver ship to the entrance of the underground tunnels.

  I’d gotten rid of the smell of the tunnels with a deodorant I made using “Transmutation.”

  While we were on the move, I saw a suspicious shadow. I thought it might be a spy, but it turned out to be an orc woman.

  I didn’t know what she was up to, but she ran away like a frightened rabbit as soon as our eyes met.

  She was probably an employee of the downtown alchemy shop I’d seen on my map before.

  I didn’t want anyone to witness my sparring with Hayato, so I put a marker on her just in case.

  “First, we’ll start with the basics. Gather magic power at your feet, then release it as you step forward!”

  Hayato demonstrated the skill as he explained it.

  The explosive acceleration sent him running about a hundred feet.

  I’d explained that I could imitate the techniques, not the skills themselves, and that I wasn’t able to pick skills off a skill list like Hayato and Arisa. Thus, we ended up with this kind of skill-acquiring lecture.

  “This is ‘Blink.’ It’s indispensable for fighting monsters and demons with lots of long-distance attacks.”

  “Is it anything like ‘Warp’?”

  “No, that skill sucks. Sure, it takes zero movement time. But the distance is way too short to be useful.”

  Huh? I think over three hundred feet is pretty good…

  I silently questioned Hayato’s explanation.

  “It can go a few feet if you get it up to level five, but the amount of skill points it takes to get there is totally not worth it. With that amount of points, you could raise ‘Blink’ to level nine, which is way more useful in combat.”

  Aah. Well, that made it painfully clear just how unfair it was that I could raise a skill to the max with only ten skill points.

  “So yeah, you should learn ‘Blink’ instead. For now, just try doing it how I showed you. It should be easy if you use an amount of MP around your DEX or your AGI stat.”

  I appreciated the advice, but since the stat display only went up to ninety-nine, I didn’t actually know what the exact numbers were.

  The amount of MP varied by the individual, too, so I decided to try about the same amount that “Warp” used.

  Concentrate the magic power on my feet and step forward…

  > Skill Acquired: “Express”

  > Skill Acquired: “Blink”

  > Skill Acquired: “Body Strengthening”

  > Title Acquired: Skanda

  I got a whole bunch of skills, so I slowed to a stop after dashing about fifty feet.

  It didn’t honestly seem much faster than running, but that might be because I didn’t do it at my full speed.

  “Pretty good, Satou. If you practice that every day, you should get the ‘Blink’ skill next time you level up.”

  I thanked Hayato and recorded in my memo tab the practice method he’d told me.

  I didn’t actually need it myself, but it might be useful training for the beastfolk girls, as physical attackers.

  “Next, ‘Body Strengthening.’ You basically circulate magic power throughout your blood vessels.”

  Again, Hayato demonstrated as he spoke. With my “Magic Vision” skill, I was able to see the magic coursing though his body.

  > Skill Acquired: “Magic Power Vision”

  “This one uses magic power to strengthen your bones and muscles. There are lesser skills, like ‘Strength’ and ‘Endurance Enhancement,’ but ‘Body Strengthening’ is way more convenient. Skills like ‘Defense Shell’ and ‘Iron Skin’ concentrate magic power in your skin, but it makes it hard to move, so I don’t think it’d work well for a light speedster like you. Anyway, just try circulating the magic power for now.”

  I obediently gave it a shot. Though I’d just gotten the “Body Strengthening” skill, I was interested in the other skills, too.

  I used the minimal amount of magic power to try enhancing various parts of my body.

  > Skill Acquired: “Strength”

  > Skill Acquired: “Endurance Enhancement”

  > Skill Acquired: “Muscle Enhancement”

  > Skill Acquired: “Iron Skin”

  > Skill Acquired: “Defense Shell”

  > Skill Acquired: “Magic Power Armor”

  I got the feeling I could get more if I kept going, but that was probably enough for the time being.

  “No wonder Wee said you were good at magic manipulation. Circulating magic power is hard, but you did it on your first try! ‘Blink’ works great in combination with ‘Body Strengthening,’ so you should try practicing both at once.”

  “I will—thank you.”

  “Body Strengthening” would be useful for the rear guard as well as the vanguard, so I should probably add it to all of their daily training routines.

  “Now pull out your sword. First, put some magic power into it.”

  “All right.”

  I didn’t want my fairy sword to get damaged, so I decided to use one of the Magic Swords I’d made myself.

  “A Magic Sword? It’s got pretty good power flow, too… Well anyway, try to extend the magic power past the edge of the sword and sharpen it. If you keep practicing, you should be able to learn Spellblade.”

  That was actually very useful. Now I could use that explanation to teach it to Pochi and Tama.

  “Okay, let’s get into the good stuff now. Try learning my techniques by s
parring with me. I’ll try to hold back, of course, but don’t get distracted or you might die, got it?”

  Hayato’s expression was serious as he pulled out the Holy Sword Arondight.

  “Ready?”

  “…Ready.”

  As soon as I nodded, Hayato’s figure blurred, and in the next instant, he was directly in front of me.

  I brought up my power-infused Magic Sword to block the Holy Sword that swung down at me.

  Blue and red sparks illuminated the rock walls around us, and a high-pitched clang echoed through the ruins.

  The Holy Sword danced to the left and right without pause.

  As my focus was directed to the Holy Sword, he attacked me with the Holy Shield instead.

  The attack came from the blind spot created by my radar and log window. He must have learned from our last mock battle.

  I mentally manipulated the menu to turn off the displays.

  Now my field of vision was incredibly wide.

  I could sense the movement of his eyes.

  The position of his center of gravity.

  A slight shift in his outline indicating his muscle movement.

  Even his breathing.

  I was able to predict the trajectory of Hayato’s sword before it even started to move.

  The Holy Sword came toward me with six rapid thrusts, but I managed to bat it away easily with my Magic Sword.

  “Damn, that movement! Are you really level thirty?”

  Honestly, I was even more surprised by my own movements than Hayato was.

  My body felt lighter than usual, and information seemed to come to me with startling clarity. It was as if a switch had been flipped.

  Hayato made another volley of attacks with the Holy Sword, but I was able to predict their timing and aim.

  I was familiar with Hayato’s quirks after sparring and seeing him in battle several times, but that didn’t explain how quickly I was able to predict his moves, like I could see the future.

  Testing out this theory, I matched my sword with Hayato’s.

  I avoided his sideways swing with a short leap away.

  It came back toward me at remarkable speed, so I blocked it with the wrist guard on the hand that wasn’t holding my sword.

  Hayato used this moment to swing a kick at me.

  I kept predicting, analyzing, and occasionally deliberately taking a hit to throw off his balance.

  It was like squaring off with a really strong player in a fighting game. I wanted to battle Elder Dohal of the dwarf village again now. This time, I should be able to hold my own a little more.

  Come on, more!

  From the slight wavering of the sword tip before a swing to the subtle shift of his grip on the handle, information was everywhere.

  It was as if I could even feel the flow of the air and the vibration of the ground.

  I was able to analyze and imitate all his moves, even the trickiest feints and stance changes meant to lure me in.

  I absorbed my battle with Hayato in every inch of my body and made the information my own.

  It seemed like it was over far too soon.

  Time flies when you’re having fun.

  > Skill Acquired: “Foresight: Versus Human”

  > Skill Acquired: “Field Control”

  > Skill Acquired: “Sixfold Rapid Attack”

  > Skill Acquired: “Gap Attack”

  > Skill Acquired: “Gap Defense”

  > Skill Acquired: “Saga Emperor Sword Style”

  > Title Acquired: Sword Dancer

  “I never thought anyone would land a clean hit on me like that.”

  Slumped against the wall of the ruins, Hayato pulled himself to his feet and grinned.

  “Masterrrrrr!”

  Arisa came half running, half tumbling at top speed from a corner of the hall, having broken through the barrier with Space Magic.

  “Aaaah! Are you hurt? No? Your clothes are in tatters! You! How were you planning on taking responsibility if you seriously injured my master with those full-blown attacks?! I don’t want to be widowed before we can even get married!”

  Arisa poked and prodded at me while complaining to Hayato.

  At first I let her do it, since it was cute to see her so worked up, but I had to stop her once she realized I was all right and started trying to cop a feel instead.

  “Sorry, Princess Arisa. I got carried away because Satou here was so good at learning my moves…”

  Hayato rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

  It certainly did surprise me when Hayato busted out “Shining Slash,” the same attack he’d used to deflect the “Dragon Breath.”

  He didn’t use any attack-based Unique Skills or supply his Holy Sword with magic, so it was a lot weaker this time, but it probably still would’ve severely injured anyone but me.

  “Satou, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but are you the eighth person the Lumork Kingdom summoned?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  I answered Hayato’s question honestly.

  “…What do you mean?”

  “You see, I don’t actually know how I was brought to this world…”

  I gave him a short summary of my time here, leaving out certain details like the Meteor Shower and my Unique Skills.

  I also didn’t mention that I was Nanashi the Hero, of course.

  Hayato seemed like an honest guy, but if that information reached the Saga Empire, it might end up causing me some serious trouble.

  “You took a nap and woke up in a wasteland, huh? And then got attacked by lizardfolk, no less… Boy, you’ve had it rough.”

  Hayato patted my shoulders as if to comfort me.

  “By the way, Satou, do you know Nanashi the Hero?”

  “Yes, I’ve heard tell of him. It seems he saved Lady Karina in the incident a few days ago.”

  I’d been expecting this question, so I was able to respond without even needing the help of my “Poker Face” skill.

  “D’you think he’s a hero summoned by the Shiga Kingdom, maybe? I wouldn’t be surprised if Yamato the Hero—I mean, Yamato the ancestral king—passed down the art of Hero Summoning to future generations.”

  That did sound like a possibility.

  Maybe that information was hidden in the forbidden archives Miss Ringrande had mentioned before.

  “But Nanashi was strong enough to beat that yellow demon without breaking a sweat. Maybe he’s actually the real ancestral king Yamato?”

  Hayato’s expression was grave as he posed his extremely incorrect theory.

  “I couldn’t say, myself.”

  Hey, I didn’t say that I didn’t know.

  “If that whole Dreamcrystal Mausoleum from the legends Rin was talking about is the real deal, maybe he was in some magical cryogenic sleep and somehow got revived…”

  Hayato’s theory was getting more and more outlandish.

  He seemed to be just as bad at solving these kinds of mysteries as I was.

  Somehow, this strengthened my affinity for him.

  “Since he has purple hair, perhaps he’s a reincarnation like me?”

  “Oh yeah, that could make sense, too…”

  Arisa offered another suggestion besides Hayato’s delusions.

  Taking the opportunity to change the subject, I decided to offer him something as a thank-you gift.

  “Anyway, Sir Hayato, please take these.”

  “What are they? Bronze bullets?”

  I handed Hayato ten Holy Bullets with screw-shaped holes. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any arrow shafts.

  I didn’t give him the Holy Arrows, because the arrowheads were made with meteorites from the Meteor Shower.

  “Try putting some magic power into one.”

  “Whoa… What?! These are Holy Weapons?!”

  “Yes, I received them from a masked alchemist known as Trismegistus. If you make shafts, you can use them as arrows, I’m told.”

  Hayato gazed at the Holy Bullets
in his palm.

  Most likely, he was using the “Analyze” skill to investigate.

  “…I see. Satou, is there any way I could meet this alchemist?”

  I shook my head in response. He was fictional, after all.

  My guess was that, since the name of the creator was blank, he was thinking of Nanashi, which means nameless in Japanese.

  “Still, disposable Holy Weapons must be really rare…”

  Hayato tried to return the bullets to me, but I gently pushed his hand back.

  “Please use them, Sir Hayato. I would prefer you to have them.”

  “You sure?”

  I nodded firmly.

  I had plenty of materials, so I could spare ten or so for Hayato without a problem.

  I fervently hoped that no more demon lords would show up until the next Season of the Demon Lord, but the ominous words of the head priestess weighed on the back of my mind. Besides, they might come in handy if he ran into any more powerful foes like the yellow demon.

  “All right. Thanks a lot.”

  Hayato reverently placed the bullets in his inventory.

  We went back aboveground, and Hayato used his talisman to contact his party. Before long, the dimensional submarine Jules Verne emerged from subspace.

  “We have to go check out the other sites where the demon lord resurrection was predicted.”

  “You’re leaving already?”

  “Yes, that’s right. First, we’re checking the Labyrinth City Celivera in the Shiga Kingdom and the Yowork Kingdom, then heading to Parion Province.”

  Unlike in games, being a real hero sounded like a lot of hard work.

  “Princess Arisa, please take care until we meet again.”

  “I shall pray that fortune is on your side, Sir Hayato.”

  Arisa took Hayato’s hand and smiled, and the hero’s face turned red.

  This guy was a genuine lolicon, all right.

  Hayato hid his embarrassment by heading up the ramp of the silver ship, then turned back to call out to me.

  “Don’t you dare laugh, Satou! Listen, make sure you don’t lose control because of Arisa’s cuteness, got it? Always adhere to the law of ‘Yes, Lolita! No touching!’”

  I acknowledged his frantic warning with a wry smile, just as Arisa pinched my bottom.

  Hayato and his friends waved good-bye from the door of the silver ship, so I gave a big wave in return.