kscans

Chapter 220 - Hyakka-chan and the New World Quest, Part 3

"Well, that whole brother-complex, sister-complex thing you two have isn't exactly new."

Etowan was having a standoff with the treasure chest. In the meantime, the rest of us were keeping watch. It didn't seem to be locked, but it looked like it was trapped.

"Chihiro, maybe, but am I a bro-con too?"

"Nah, you're the one who takes it too far. You're always looking after Chihiro, one way or another, aren't you?"

"...Am I really? Is it that obvious to everyone else...? Wait, is it?"

"Koone and I joined partway through, so we don't know everything, but Chihiro picked out those clothes you're wearing, and you picked out his."

It seemed Moosu and Koone had decided to treat me completely as Hyakka. I wondered if that was okay, but they probably didn't know how else to act. He folded his arms and gestured with his chin toward Chihiro. Chihiro was tapping the butt of his lance on the floor, checking its condition. Next to him, Sierra watched him with a look of unease. I pinched my own clothes to examine them, then observed his outfit as well. It was true, the clothes suited his slender frame well, but I couldn't explain what was good about them. Come to think of it, Mizuki chose Mash-kun's clothes, and she chose her own clothes herself. Of course, she had better taste and looked cuter, so I had no complaints.

"S-So, does that mean Chihiro also picked out these cutesy bear panties?"

I started to lift my skirt to check, but caught myself at the last second and hastily stopped.

"I wouldn't know about that,"

Moosu said with a wry smile. I glanced at Chihiro again. He seemed to have noticed me looking. He stopped checking his lance.

"Did you pick out this underwear?"

He nodded. Unlike the printed panties from our original world, these weren't cheap. Putting patches on the front and back must be unnecessarily expensive. What kind of taste does he have, making his older sister wear panties with patches on them? I remembered Mizuki saying the quality of panties in this world wasn't very good. But if you think about it, this world is like the Middle Ages compared to our original world. The very existence of panties is strange. How are they made, how are they distributed, and what are Mizuki and Hyakka thinking when they wear them? I realized I knew nothing about the panties I so casually remove. I needed to learn more about panties. With that, I returned my thoughts to the bear panties Hyakka was wearing. If this was his hobby, did that mean Sierra was wearing similar panties? I strode over to her and, without a word, lifted the hem of her robe.

"...They're normal."

At first glance, they were perfectly ordinary white panties. But they were not to be underestimated. The white fabric gently enveloped while emphasizing the swell of her buttocks and the mound of her pubis. Above, her pale, slender waist tapered, a small navel at its center. Below, her two legs regained their fleshiness from where the panties cinched them, forming a line of gentle curves that added to her feminine charm. It was truly a masterpiece worthy of guarding her tripartite junction. I continued to gaze for a while until Sierra's face turned beet red, and she crouched down, clutching the hem of her robe.

"KYAAAAAAAA!"

She was usually so quiet that I was surprised she could produce such a piercing scream.

"Shut up! I can't concentrate! You trying to attract monsters?!"

Etowan yelled at me. He was having trouble disarming the trap on the chest and seemed quite irritated. Then, I saw that Chihiro, Moosu, and Koone were all staring at me—at Hyakka-chan—with cold eyes. I hurriedly extended a hand to help Sierra up, but she tensed up and wouldn't move, probably thinking I was going to lift her robe again.

"Sierra, I'm sorry. I just had to know…"

I looked to Chihiro for help, but he pretended not to see and went back to maintaining his lance. Seeing that made me angry. This was all Chihiro's fault in the first place for making Hyakka wear bear panties.

"So how come Sierra gets normal panties and Hyakka's stuck with kiddy ones?!"

The Kansai dialect just slipped out. It's the perfect language for a comeback.

"Because Hyakka is a kid,"

Chihiro pouted, a gesture almost like a girl's. Hyakka-chan is the same age as Mizuki. It's true she looks much younger than Mizuki. But she's been in this world for two years. That time difference feels strange, but it means she's eighteen. Making a woman like that wear these panties is just wrong, no matter how you look at it.

"What are you sayin' to a lady like me?!"

Getting carried away, I tapped Chihiro's chest with the back of my hand. He grabbed it.

"Hyakka, you don't need to try so hard to act like an adult! That's what makes you a kid!"

he retorted. Has he forgotten that inside Hyakka-chan is an old dude? I may look like this now, but I am definitely not a child. I was searching for a comeback when Etowan stomped over.

"Both of you shut the hell up, you damn brats! If you don't like your clothes so much, I'll strip you naked!"

He yelled at me again.

"...So, why is it just Hyakka with the kiddy panties?"

I didn't want Etowan to yell at me again, so I whispered to Chihiro.

"Sierra said that since she's a slave, she doesn't need expensive things…"

"Huh?"

I was shocked that Chihiro had tried to make Sierra wear kiddy panties too, and that she was a slave. I didn't know which part to react to. But if I kept talking about panties, I felt like Etowan would get seriously angry. Come to think of it, I could have dealt with the panties later. Right now, Mizuki and Hyakka were at odds over how to handle Yuki. I also wanted to avoid conflict with the transmigrators if possible. They were complete strangers, but we were from the same homeland, and there was a chance some of them knew each other, like Mizuki and Hyakka, or Mizuki and Yuki. Most importantly, I couldn't imagine how a battle of special skills would end. I couldn't let the members of Levante fight a battle like that, one that was such a gamble. I should have asked about New World, and what happened when Yuki attacked them, to try and find some common ground for the two of them.

"Whose slave?"

He just looked at me. So, that meant she was Hyakka's slave.

"She's your girlfriend, isn't she? Shouldn't you set her free?"

He fell silent. His reaction made me a little uneasy.

"Don't tell me you're forcing her?"

"That's not—"

Sierra murmured. "That's not it. You are my master, so you could just order me to tell you, couldn't you?"

She was still crouching, staring intently at the hem of her robe. I crouched down next to her.

"Hey, I don't like forcing people to do things. I want you to listen to this as Mash's words, not Hyakka's. I want to be friends with you. If you really love Chihiro, I'll help your romance. If you don't, I want to change your current situation a little."

But she didn't even look up, still staring at her robe. I don't know how she ended up joining New World, but they must have spent a lot of intense time together. It probably wasn't my place to say anything, having only just met her.

"I want to, too… but, Hyakka…"

She started to mumble something so softly I almost missed it, when someone suddenly tapped my shoulder.

"Hyakka, a dog-eared girl is here."

Chihiro muttered. Thinking it was Famu, I looked up. There stood a girl about Famu's height, but unlike her, this girl had pure white, rounded, inverted-triangle droopy ears and long, fluffy hair. There was no mistaking her. It was the dog-eared girl who had disappeared in the Crystal Garden.

"...Sameim…"

Sameim, too, stood frozen in surprise, but when she registered her name being called, she cautiously stepped back, her hand moving to the dagger at her hip.

"Sameim… Is she one of Yuki's allies?"

Moosu's words sent a wave of tension through the members of New World. Sierra shot to her feet. As if forgetting our earlier conversation, she glared fiercely at Sameim and raised her staff. The other members raised their weapons, forming a circle around her. Etowan, who had been focused on the treasure chest, was now holding a dagger, his presence concealed as he crept along the wall to get behind her.

"W-Wait! You're wrong, she's not! Even if she's an ally, it must be a recent thing. It has nothing to do with you guys!"

I spread my arms and stepped between them. In that instant, Sameim drew her dagger and closed the distance in a flash. The naked blade shot straight toward Hyakka-chan. I was completely defenseless. I hadn't thought she would attack. I knew I couldn't dodge, but my body was rigid and wouldn't obey. But as she moved, so did Etowan. He swung his dagger, deflecting the blade aimed at Hyakka-chan. But it wasn't enough; a sharp pain shot through my side.

"Guh…"

I clutched the wound and dropped to my knees. A suffocating pain made it hard to breathe. All the while, Sameim and Etowan exchanged several blows. Their clash ended, and the moment they broke apart, Sameim turned her back and bolted.

"Wait!"

Etowan tried to give chase, but Sameim's dagger flashed.

"Gck!"

The dagger she threw was lodged deep in the top of his outstretched foot. He lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. Without even a glance back, Sameim ran down the corridor and disappeared from sight.

"Dammit, that hurts! Hyakka, Chihiro, heal me! I'm gonna chase her down and kill her!"

Etowan swore, shouting.

"W-Wait. Until a year ago, she was just a village girl living deep in the mountains. Please, I'm begging you, let her go."

I grabbed the hem of his clothes, practically crawling.

"Are you stupid? There's no way she learned to move like that in just a year. Besides, you got stabbed too. Hurry up and use your healing magic!"

He was right. Her movements since we encountered her had been refined. Etowan himself was a highly experienced 'Thief.' She had crossed blades with him, wounded him, and escaped. Those weren't the moves of someone with no combat experience. But speaking of experience, Famu, who was from the same village, had grown enough in just two months to fight on the front lines without any issue. Then again, that remarkable growth was also due to Mash-kun's special skill. Maybe Yuki, or one of his companions, has a similar ability to mine. Or perhaps it's the result of the Leafkraut family's research into immortality, the one that Zeno... Crap, the source said Clovis, not Zeno... that they were pursuing. As I was lost in thought, someone smacked me on the head.

"Think later. Heal us now. You're bleeding, too."

Moosu's words reminded me that I'd been stabbed. The moment I focused on it, the intense pain in my side returned. I checked it and saw it was a cut, not a stab wound. Not that it made it okay, but damn, it hurt. The person inside me is just some old guy, not a Paladin, and with no faith to speak of, but can even a Hyakka-chan like this use healing magic? With that thought, I placed a hand on the wound. I couldn't think of a proper god, so for now, I pictured Laciel. I prayed for a miracle of healing, and my palm began to glow faintly. The pain in the spot bathed by the light began to subside. Healing my own body was a weird sensation, but come to think of it, it was no different from drinking a healing potion. Just then, Sierra stood before Hyakka-chan, clutching her staff.

"Be on guard! She's coming back!"

her sharp voice echoed. Moosu, Koone, and Chihiro stood in front, forming a shield to protect me and Etowan. The figure that came running from down the corridor was indeed a dog-eared girl, but she had large, droopy ears with soft, brown fur. She saw us and stopped in her tracks, surprised.

"Famu!"

"Master!"

Seeing that Hyakka-chan was injured, her face went pale as if all the blood had drained from it. She rushed over.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine. More importantly—"

"Sam was here,"

Famu finished my sentence.