Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 1 (light novel) Page 21

  Each of us was supposed to sleep in our own beds, but Pochi and Tama turned their puppy-dog eyes on me, and before I knew it, I was agreeing to let them sleep in mine with me.

  And, well, it seemed mean to make Liza sleep all by herself in the other room.

  I practically sank into the mattress as I lay down. I had been awake the whole time we were in the labyrinth, in order to secure the kids’ safety. Sure, I’m used to pulling all-nighters anyway, but my high stamina also ensured that I felt fine even without sleep.

  Still, exhaustion had been gradually piling up on me all this time, and I finally yielded to it in the soft bed, letting my mind relax.

  With Pochi and Tama as warm as hot-water bottles by my side, I drifted off to a long-awaited quiet sleep.

  Life under house arrest was surprisingly enriching.

  I was often reading the introductory books on magic and alchemy that I’d found in the labyrinth, so the time passed in the blink of an eye.

  I tried practicing some spells in my free time, too, but I couldn’t pull off those stupidly hard chants even once.

  The beastfolk kids were really fidgety, clearly not accustomed to having time on their hands, so I had them let off steam by practicing their sword techniques and grappling in the courtyard.

  I was running out of books, so I asked the maid to go out and buy more for me. It would look suspicious if I threw around too much money, so instead I gave her some of the stones I’d received from the viscount.

  I also asked her to pick up some picture books for Pochi and Tama, but they couldn’t read, so I ended up reading out loud to them.

  It kind of felt like I had kids of my own.

  Although I was under house arrest, it wasn’t as though I didn’t get to see anyone. On two occasions, someone who seemed to be a civil official visited me.

  The first time, she’d come to question me about what happened in the labyrinth and return my confiscated belongings.

  During this visit, I was surprised to hear that “anything found in a dungeon belongs to the person who found it.” So if you killed someone in a dungeon and took their stuff, it would legally be yours? Hung up on this problem, I asked the official about it.

  “Don’t worry about that. It would show up in the perpetrator’s ‘bounty’ information on the Yamato stone. In Labyrinth City, there are people gifted with the Eye of Judgment stationed at all dungeon exits to search for criminals. There are guards with the gift at each gate in Seiryuu City as well.”

  Sounds like a convenient gift—which was a hereditary skill, by the way. But apparently, this one was found only in the family lines of devout followers of Urion. It appeared in one out of a few hundred people of the Urion faith, so each city had only a few individuals with it.

  I wonder what gifts followers of other gods are granted?

  It definitely seemed like all gods’ names end in -ion—except for the dragon god Aconcagua. Is there some reason why that’s the only name that doesn’t follow the rule?

  My thoughts had wandered a little, but the civil official’s talk had only just begun.

  Apparently, the count’s government was compulsorily purchasing the cores that had been confiscated with my belongings, so I was given a small bag of money in place of their return. This was apparently a standard law for any monster hunted throughout the county, so inside a dungeon was no exception, she informed me.

  Well, the amount of money I was given matches the market price of the cores, so I have no complaints.

  Judging by the civil official’s tone, it seemed like cores were a resource that was usually in short supply. I’ll have to be careful when I off-load the rest of them that are in Storage right now.

  “We can’t ascertain the safety of this monster meat, so I’m afraid we can’t return it. This spear seems to be made from parts of a monster, too, so we can’t allow it to be taken into the city.”

  Liza’s head whipped around at an alarming speed.

  Wh-whoa! Is she actually mad?

  Liza, stop. That expression is terrifying. See, even the civil official’s smile is cracking.

  It made sense to me that the meat might be a problem in terms of disease control, but Liza seemed pretty attached to her weapon, so I tried to negotiate.

  “That spear is actually quite strong, so is there any way I could ask you to have someone with a “Judgment” skill look at it to determine whether there’s any danger? I’ll take on any fees for the assessment, of course, so I’m hoping that you can return it if it’s determined to be safe…?”

  “V-very well. I’ll make the arrangements. If it’s judged as safe, it’ll be returned to you with the rest of your weapons when you exit the castle.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  Oh, right—I should ask about the beastfolk girls.

  “Um, I have another question…”

  I asked her about the ownership rights of the girls.

  “I see. So you found these slaves in the labyrinth after their owner passed away, took them in, and brought them out along with you?”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  Liza nodded, too. Pochi and Tama were hanging on her legs, dozing off. Are we boring you?

  “In that case, they now belong to you.”

  “Really?”

  I mean, I was planning to buy them and set them free, anyway, but still…

  “Unless they killed their master themselves, any slaves whose master dies in a dungeon are the same as objects found there. So both legally and customarily speaking, you are now their master.”

  She wrote something on an official-looking piece of paper and handed it over.

  “This is a temporary certificate to officially declare your ownership. It’ll work only inside the city, so you should go to the town hall or a slavery firm to get the official contract drawn up.”

  I asked whether we could take care of it in the castle somehow, but it wasn’t within her jurisdiction, so it wouldn’t be possible. I guess bureaucracy was complicated even in a parallel world.

  During this visit, I also gave her the names, locks of hair, and belongings of the deceased from the labyrinth, so her second visit was to inform me of the results.

  A sign had been posted on the wall beside the temporary station by the dungeon exit listing the names of the deceased, so they had been able to deliver the locks of hair to the bereaved families. The families had wanted to buy back some of the other belongings, so she gave me the money they’d offered. Apparently, this was taxed, too.

  I told the civil official that I didn’t need any money, but she told me, “Please accept it. If there’s no fee, people will show up claiming to be relatives of the deceased.”

  I see. It’s a pretty tough world out there.

  If accepting the reward pained me, she suggested that I could donate it to an orphanage or a temple.

  Oh, that’s a good idea. I’ll have to ask Zena about where I should donate it.

  On the fifth day of our house arrest, Zena came to visit me, along with Sister Ohna.

  Sipping on the ludicrously named “blue-green tea” that the maid had prepared for us, we exchanged information.

  “So, Zena, they released you two?”

  “Yes. Since there’s a shortage of magic users, we were released almost immediately. However, we’ve been working at the temporary garrison by the dungeon exit ever since.”

  “That sounds rough.”

  Apparently, they’d been put to work right after escaping from the maze. I’ve never seen him, but this count seems pretty brutal.

  “Well, my role is just to communicate with the team that’s investigating the labyrinth, so it’s not too bad. The sorcerers have the biggest job—they’re working until their magic dries up, trying to build a magic barrier so the labyrinth doesn’t expand under the city.”

  “It’s not only the sorcerers who are busy. We servants of God are also working to consecrate the stone monument at the shrine that’s been built there. I haven
’t had any time to sleep in these past three days.”

  Sister, if you’re that overworked, you should have stayed at the temple to rest instead of coming along with Zena to visit me.

  “The encampment by the entrance has a temporary wall around it, and they’ve been quelling rumors in town by paying the minstrels to restrict what information they release, so I’d imagine we can have you free in a few more days.”

  That’s good. It’s really comfortable here, but I’m getting a little bored of it.

  Apparently, some minstrels served as a sort of public relations team. In games, they usually provided valuable support magic, so this new take was sort of refreshing.

  Three days after Zena came to visit, we were set free.

  “Sir Satou!”

  As we headed toward the main gate of the castle, Nidoren and company, who had also been released, met us.

  “The prison guard told us you sent the warm food and cushions for us. We are all so incredibly grateful to you!”

  Hearing who I was from Nidoren, the other men around him all thanked me at once. As we walked toward the gate, the topic turned to how delicious the food in the dungeon had been, so I was relieved that their treatment really had been improved.

  “Thanks so much. It was even better than the food in the west quarter!”

  “I wholeheartedly agree. There was no alcohol with it, of course, but I was happy enough just to be given stew with meat in a dungeon!”

  “Yeah, it was so good, I coulda stayed there a few more days!”

  “Nobody’s gonna believe us when we tell them about it back in the west quarter.”

  “No kiddin’!”

  With that, the men laughed heartily. They seemed to have taken imprisonment pretty well. I’d like to be as tough as them someday.

  Nidoren said he’d take care of the paperwork for the girls’ ownership free of charge as thanks for my help, so we went to meet him in the slave market.

  I had wanted to go along with him immediately, but the horse-drawn carriage he took refused to allow beastfolk on board, so we had to go on foot.

  Apparently, demi-humans were treated a little better in the duchy to the south or Labyrinth City in the southwest, so maybe we should move there.

  “Hey, you! With the dog ears!”

  Ugh, don’t they have anything better to do? I turned around irritably to find the blond young man we’d rescued from the spider in the labyrinth.

  Come to think of it, he looked like he wanted to say something when we were talking with Nidoren, too.

  “Can I help you?”

  “No, not you. I got something to say to the kid.”

  He still wanted to insult her even after she’d saved his life? What a terrible ingrate.

  I started glaring at him without thinking, but he wasn’t looking at me. Instead, I accidentally locked eyes with a well-built ruffian behind him, who panicked and ran off into an alley.

  What was that about? You have the “Intimidation” skill, too, you know… I don’t get it.

  While the other guy distracted me, the young man told Pochi what he’d wanted to say.

  “Thanks for saving me. I’m sorry I kicked you.”

  He said it in a low voice as he walked away, but all four of us heard it clearly.

  I doubt he’d changed his anti-beastfolk ways entirely, but if we had improved his attitude even a little, that was still pretty good.

  Pochi looked up at me triumphantly, and I ruffled her hair enthusiastically. Her tail looked like it was going to break off if it wagged any harder.

  Tama ran over and clung to me, too, of course, so I patted her head as well. Liza stood nearby, looking down at them and nodding with a fond smile. What are you, their mom?

  Later, at Nidoren’s place, I signed the contract to officially become the girls’ master.

  I wanted to set them free right away, but the slave trader entreated me to take a look at a few slaves who hadn’t sold at the auction, so I followed him dutifully.

  I know I technically just took on the girls, but I’m planning to set them free right away, so I’m not looking to buy any more. I’d rather just hire a sightseeing guide.

  Since the girls he wanted to show me were left over from the auction, it was no surprise that they all had certain quirks.

  I paid little attention to his explanation, until finally we were down to the last two he wanted to show me.

  When I saw them, I quickly revised my opinion of Nidoren’s salesmanship skills. I see… So he showed me all those others with strange quirks so that these two would look better by comparison?!

  The first was the Japanese-looking little girl I’d seen in a carriage on Center Street. She was only fourteen, though she was adorable with a very lovely face. Her long black hair shone with such purity that she could easily make a living in shampoo commercials. If she weren’t so young, I probably would’ve been tempted.

  “M-my name is Lulu.” She introduced herself in a half whisper. Apparently the shy type, she immediately lowered her head after speaking, hiding her beautiful face in her hair.

  Nidoren followed up with more information, but I could scarcely believe my ears.

  “She might be difficult to look at, but she does possess the ‘Etiquette’ skill!”

  You’re saying she’s ugly?

  If this girl isn’t good-looking, then neither is 99 percent of all women, you know!

  I thought maybe “difficult to look at” was some roundabout expression for complimenting a girl’s beauty, but as he went on, it seemed like that wasn’t the case.

  Are the standards of beauty just different here?

  With Nidoren’s permission, I lightly touched her hair and her cheek. No, I wasn’t giving in to her charms and changing my class to “child molester.” There was just something that I wanted to confirm.

  I whispered a few words in her ear, but she just looked perplexed, as if she’d never heard them before.

  I had thought that maybe she was a Japanese person, but I guess I was wrong.

  The next and final slave Nidoren introduced me to was the lilac-haired girl who I’d seen with Lulu before—Arisa.

  She was eleven years old, a beautiful little girl with flowing locks and Northern European features.

  While she wasn’t quite on the same level as Lulu, it was still surprising that she hadn’t been sold, until I remembered her sinister titles.

  Arisa’s round, wide eyes looked at me pleadingly.

  Okay, please stop staring like that.

  “I’m terribly sorry, Sir Satou. She’s normally so clever that even her ill-omened purple hair would seem like a trifling matter, but she appears to have been captivated by your charms…”

  With this strange comment, Nidoren urged the girl to speak.

  Uh, no. That’s definitely not the case, buddy. I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

  Still, I was surprised it was her hair color and not her titles that had prevented her from being sold. Purple hair certainly was unusual, but I’d never heard of it being a bad omen.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you…Sir Satou.”

  There was something strange about the way her childish voice had pronounced my name.

  “My name is Arisa. I became a slave after losing my kingdom, but I could give you any information about this world that you’d like to hear. I’m most certain I would be of great use to you in various ways.”

  Her brisk manner of speaking was highly unsuited to her extremely youthful voice. I was probably imagining it, but it seemed uncannily similar to a student interviewing for a job.

  As her title implied, she was a former princess, which might explain why she could smile so elegantly while upselling herself so vigorously.

  However, I did feel like there was some uncomfortable hidden meaning behind that last phrase. You don’t really think I’d ask a child for sexual favors, do you?

  Purple hair aside, the phrase this world and the name Arisa definitely intrigued me.
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  Again, I got permission from Nidoren to lean in and attempt the same experiment I’d tried with Lulu.

  “AAAAH! I hate spiders! Get it off! Ew! This is the worst!”

  Her unruffled princess-like demeanor vanished immediately, and she reacted the way any normal girl would.

  After all, I’d whispered, “There’s a spider in your hair” into her ear…in Japanese.

  I don’t know what kanji Arisa is written with, but this girl is definitely like me.

  Lulu and Arisa.

  From the moment I saw them being jostled along in that horse-drawn carriage, I think I might have been fated to become their “master.”

  Afterword

  Thank you very much for picking up this book!

  And to those of you who went so far as to purchase it, my sincerest gratitude!

  Nice to meet you. I’m Hiro Ainana.

  Even for those of you who read the web version of this novel, this is the first time I’ve introduced myself on paper, so I think this greeting still feels appropriate.

  This work, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, began on March 3, 2013, on the novel submission site Shousetsukan ni Narou (“Become a Novelist”) and continued updating daily for more than half a year, then switched over to its current weekly pace.

  I was fortunate enough to receive the support of many readers, who encouraged me strongly with their comments as I continued the serialization; thanks to them, my story caught the attention of Fujimi Shobo, who approached me with the unexpected proposal of making it into a book, and thus, this book was born.

  When it came to adapting the web novel into a book, I was careful of three things.

  Firstly, I wanted to make this a book that would satisfy readers of the web version.

  It’s because of the web version’s readers that this book could be published. It would be terrible if they bought the book versions just to let them pile up.

  Thus, rather than simply revising the web-novel version, I added more scenes that would be especially enjoyable for readers of the original. Of course, it wouldn’t make sense if the book only appealed to those who’ve already read it, so for new readers these scenes will simply serve as foreshadowing.