kscans

Chapter 218 - Hyakka-chan and the New World Quest

The next morning, Shizuka was furious.

"Why do you always, always leave me out!"

Shizuka’s voice sliced through the hazy fog clouding my thoughts. The morning sun stung my eyes. In this world, there was only one reason to stay up late, and the wretchedness of my morning was entirely Aira’s fault.

"What are you talking about?"

I replied, fighting back a yawn and rubbing my eyes.

"You exclude me and sleep with everyone else! What’s your problem?"

she demanded, pressing closer.

"You have Ko-kun—I mean, Toratsuna!"

"I told you, that doesn’t matter! Who I sleep with doesn’t change the fact that I love Ko-kun!"

"It matters a whole lot! If I sleep with you, I’ll make you break up with him! I’d never allow you to be held by another guy."

"But you sleep with other women all the time, Mash! Isn’t that the same as what I’m saying? Besides, even if someone your size got in, my size wouldn’t change at all!"

Shizuka’s words chipped away at my resolve.

"Sh-shut up! In any case, we’ll talk after you see Ko-kun. Get his proper permission."

"If you’re so worried, you can just wear a condom! If there’s rubber between us, we’re not technically touching, so it doesn’t count as sex. And I can get plenty of them!"

My thoughts were suddenly pulled toward her logic. Maybe she’s right. If we use a condom, maybe it would be okay. Famu might not even get angry. It seemed like a very tempting idea.
To be honest, I was growing fonder of her by the day. I pictured her topless form from Longhorn Street. I wanted to hold her body to my heart’s content and pour all my desire into her.
Lost in such fantasies, I found I had placed a hand on her cheek.
Her skin was a little cool to the touch. But as I gently caressed it, a soft elasticity and a wave of warmth spread through my fingertips.
I realized Shizuka was staring at me, her eyes wide with surprise. I quickly shook my head and pulled my hand back. If I sleep with her even once, I’ll never be able to let another man have her. A conflict between those summoned by the five goddesses is something I absolutely must avoid. Besides, he’s the kind of guy who explores the forty-ninth floor of a dungeon by himself. My chances of winning are slim.

"N-no way."

"Mmph! For a pervert, you’re way too much of a pain!"

She raised her hand to the sky.

"W-wait! What are you doing? Don’t be rash!"

"Anya-chan, tell me if Mash and that girl who looks like a grade-schooler are really in love! [Scales of Love]!"

"Who are you calling a grade-schooler?!"

Hyakka’s ponytail swayed. As if to drown out her cry, a distortion in space appeared overhead. A golden light shone down, and a man with the head of a dog, holding a set of scales, materialized.

My line of sight was lower than usual.
Famu now seemed to be at the same height. Her mouth was agape as she stared at me—no, at Hyakka.

"What have you done?! And right before we’re supposed to go to the Crystal Palace!"

And to the forty-ninth floor, no less. Now I had to drag along the completely useless Shizuka.

"Sorry, I didn’t think Hyakka actually liked Mash…"

Shizuka apologized with her words, but she just stuck her tongue out a little, showing no sign of remorse.

"Damn this woman! Feel some shame!"

I pulled Shizuka into a headlock.

"H-Hyakka-chan, the Three Principles of Body Swapping!"

Mizuki shouted, having noticed our situation. Mash-kun looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"What’re these ‘Three Principles’ ya talkin’ about?"

"One: Call each other with -kun and -chan. Two: Act in a way that respects the other’s original personality. Three: If something bad happens, it’s all Shizuka’s fault!"

"I see… Got it. So I just gotta act like Mash!"

Hyakka placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest. Was I really that much of an arrogant character?

"Alright, Levante! Let’s get a move on!"

"Hey, where are you going?"

I called out hastily to stop Mash-kun.

"Isn’t it obvious? To the forty-ninth floor of the Crystal Palace! We’re gonna find a trace of Ko-kun! C’mon, Mizuki, Famu, don’t just stand there!"

Mash-kun gave Mizuki a light slap on the behind.

"Kya!"

Mizuki yelped.

"Let’s go!"

she said, giving a little wave with the hand that had done the slapping before starting to walk away.

"...Maybe he’s cooler than usual… A lot cooler, maybe…"

Mizuki, who seemed pleased to have her rear slapped, muttered a phrase that plunged me into the depths of despair. Then, she started chasing after Mash-kun’s back. The other members and Shizuka trailed along behind them. Famu hesitated until the very end, but then, as if she’d made up her mind, she followed Mash-kun. Had she fallen for Hyakka in Mash-kun’s body, too?
There was nothing I, now in Hyakka-chan’s body, could do. I fell to my knees in defeat.
As I stared blankly at their retreating figures, Mash-kun came stomping back.
He leaned in close to my ear.

"Listen up. The third special skill is an absolute secret. Don’t tell anyone, and don’t ya dare use it. Be a good girl, and I’ll take good care of ya later."
I nodded dumbly, and Mash-kun grinned.
Then he stroked my bottom, and my body reacted with a jolt. Seeing my reaction, Mash-kun’s smile widened again. He then turned and headed back toward where the members of Levante were waiting.

My butt hurts when I walk. My front hole hurts, too. Both hurt, but my backside hurts especially.
It’s because Kalpana spent all of last night tormenting Hyakka’s rear. It felt as if her fingers were still inside, constantly grinding and twisting. I couldn’t say anything about the front; that was my own fault. But with that, what had filled me was now gone, leaving a sense of loss, as if something precious had vanished. It was a heart-wrenching, empty feeling that tightened deep inside me.
To make matters worse, a thick liquid was trickling down. It was soaking my panties, making them stick unpleasantly between my legs.
Thinking about it only made the dampness between my legs worse.
I couldn’t let the New World members see my troubled expression. I steeled my face and forced the events of last night out of my mind.
My eyes met Chihiro’s. His eyes were just like Hyakka’s. Was he worried about me?
As I met his gaze, a suffocating pain welled up in my chest for some reason. The events of last night came back in a flash. That wasn’t me. I wanted to confess everything to him and make excuses.
Chihiro’s hand rested on Hyakka’s.

"Onee-chan… Hyakka, are you okay?"

His voice, too, was like Hyakka’s. Sweet and pleasant. Did he see right through me? Was he calling out to the girl hidden deep within my heart?
I didn’t know what I was thinking anymore. I shut my eyes tight, as if to block out the thoughts.

I am… I am…

No, it’s no use. Shizuka’s special skill only triggers between people who love each other. Hyakka must love me. What happened last night wasn’t a mistake.
I suppressed the impulse welling up from the depths of my soul.

"What should I… I mean, what should we do?"

Had Chihiro noticed that I’d shut down my heart?
He didn’t answer my question, but instead just stared intently at Hyakka-chan. Did he still not believe that Hyakka and I had swapped bodies? I stared back, trying to prompt an answer, but the same impulse as before didn’t arise.
Chihiro had androgynous, well-defined features, and with his slender frame, he could almost pass for a woman. In fact, Mizuki had mistaken him for a girl. He was exactly Myra’s type, so I’d have to be careful to keep only him away from her.
Hyakka-chan and his profession was ‘Paladin’. I wasn’t entirely sure what a Paladin was, but it was a combat-oriented class with access to healing and defensive magic, and whose mere presence granted a protective blessing to all party members.
I shifted my gaze to the other New World members.
The short-haired girl in a black robe was Chihiro’s girlfriend. Her name was Sierra. She looked to be around the same age as Hyakka. Like Chihiro, she didn’t speak much.
Her profession had apparently been ‘Adventurer,’ but after joining up with Hyakka and the others, she had changed to ‘Mage’ to better fit the party’s needs.
Her chest was on the modest side. But she seemed to have more than Hyakka. No, she might even be bigger than Cecily. As I observed her, she hid behind Chihiro.
Next were the two giant men, Moos of the Ox-folk and Corne of the Rhino-folk. Moos had two horns, while Corne had one. They had apparently met Hyakka and the others in a town far beyond the mountains south of Fruhct, where the party had gone in search of octopus for takoyaki. Their homeland was apparently even further south, across the sea. Their ages were unknown, but they both looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties. They were clearly the front-line power types.
The last member was a thin man named Etowan. His profession was ‘Thief.’ He didn’t actually work as a thief; it was an adventurer class suited for disarming traps, scouting, and detecting monsters. Rinko and Airi’s ‘Ninja’ and Shizuka’s ‘Righteous Thief’ were advanced versions of the ‘Thief’ class. He looked to be between forty and fifty years old. A man who seemed rather high-strung.

"First, the guild,"

Etowan said. "I don’t know how you’ve all been earning money without even going there, but our journey is over. We have to stop freeloading off these nomads."
Etowan’s words made me realize how lucky we’d been.
Thanks to Mash-kun’s special skill, we could easily obtain rare Mana Seeds whenever we fought monsters. And for our travel expenses from Richel to Miglutt, the Mateo Trading Company had not only covered the costs but had even paid us a fee for our escort duties. Laciel did say she was also a goddess of travel. Maybe I should worship her a bit more.
We had been so free from financial worry that we could now even consider putting together the one hundred large gold coins needed for a place to live.
However, I was hesitant to ask the Mateo Trading Company to arrange work for Hyakka’s group. Even though I’d become friendly with Claire, the company was still a small operation here in Miglutt. It was probably better to wait and see.

"Alright. Let’s head to the guild. But I’m not used to handling a lance, so please go easy on me today."
I said this and started walking, but no one followed.
I turned around to see the five of them standing there with strange looks on their faces.

"Are you really not Hyakka?"

Etowan asked.
The question was difficult to answer. The body was, after all, the real Hyakka.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Hm? Aren’t we going to the guild?"

"No, I’m talking about Yuuki. Your friends say they’re going to save him, but if you plan on doing the same, we’ll be going our separate ways."
I looked away from Etowan and toward Chihiro. He nodded with a firm expression, as if he had made his decision. Sierra, standing next to him, nodded with the same expression. For the New World members, this was a vow they could not break.

"It’s not decided yet that the senpai Mizuki is talking about and the Yuuki you’re all talking about are the same person. Besides…"
The faces of Famu and Mizuki flashed in my mind. Sameim and Yuuki. I had to rescue them both.

"Hey, aren’t there the Three Principles of Body Swapping?"

"R-right. I mean, ya got it."

But unlike with Mizuki or Cecily, when I tried to act like Hyakka, that feeling from before started welling up again.

"Is someone who wears underwear like this really a man…?"
Before I knew it, Etowan was lifting Hyakka-chan’s skirt and looking at her panties. I was so caught off guard that he saw all the way up to my stomach. A large, cartoonish bear-face patch was stuck right on the front. He lifted the back, too. There was a similar patch on the rear. They were what you’d call kiddie panties.

"You like bears?"

"N-no, I don’t know. When I saw them last night, they didn’t have this on them…"

I found myself looking at the underwear as if it belonged to someone else, not realizing my own were being inspected.

"That must have been your special occasion underwear. This is what you usually wear. I guess even Hyakka thinks about that kind of stuff, huh…"
I realized that besides Etowan, the other New World members were also looking at Hyakka’s panties. It was then that I remembered the traces of last night’s activities that had been leaking out.

"Kyaa!"
The scream escaped me before I could stop it. I crouched down, clutching the hem of my skirt. Had they seen the stain on my panties?

"You’re Mash, right…?"

Etowan said with a dumbfounded expression. A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over me for my own actions. I could feel my cheeks burning, but there was nothing I could do. I didn’t know how I should react, so I just remained crouched on the ground.

"Tch, whatever. Let’s just go to the guild and find a decent quest. On the way, you can tell us about Yuuki."
He shook his head and started walking.