kscans

Chapter 234 - A Grand Spectacle, and What Happened to Sameim

Marmi rarely changes her expression. She always has the prim, doll-like look of a doll. When she's happy, the corners of her mouth lift ever so slightly. When she's angry, her eyebrows twitch up. I don't know if it's her personality or a result of her Star Union family upbringing. I'd always hoped to one day see her expressions change more freely. But if I teased her like I do Famu or Mizuki, she might get genuinely angry. I couldn't predict how she'd react in that case. And right now, after we had breakfast and returned to our room, Marmi's face was unusually grim.

"...Why am I looking at something like this...?"

A deep wrinkle was etched between her brows. Her shoulders were trembling. Next to her, Mizuki was crouched down, covering her face with both hands. Her ears, visible through the gaps in her long hair, were bright red.

"I want to die..."

Myra was gently patting her on the back.

"Mizuki, you should have known what kind of person Mash is. You had chances to turn back."

I couldn't tell if she was comforting or provoking her.

"I never had a chance! He kissed me right after we met, and when I locked my door and went to sleep, he attacked me!"

"Were you sleeping?"

"I was asleep!"

She had been tossing and turning, but it was probably just because she was uncomfortable. In the midst of this drama, I put my arm around the shoulders of Marmi, the only one who was watching the video on the phone without hiding her disgust. The video, of course, was of my activities with Mizuki last night. With each replay, the wrinkle between her brows deepened.

"Watch closely. This is the moment Mizuki's anus is purified by the power of the anal cleaner!"

A truly grand, sweat-inducing spectacle was unfolding.

"...Are you planning on doing this to me too, Mash?"

"When you're a little older. This is your mother's dream and hope, after all."

"...Mother, what on earth were you thinking...?"

"You don't like it? You don't want to do it?"

"...When you ask it like that, I can only say that I don't dislike it. I think I understand how Mizuki felt when she did this."

"If you're thinking she offered herself because she thought I'd be cold to her otherwise, you're mistaken. Mizuki was curious. Look at the video closely. Is that the face of someone who dislikes it?"

I played the scene where Mizuki was crying out as I thrusted into her. Mizuki's lovely voice echoed from the speaker.

"It's not that, but it is!"

Mizuki shouted. Next to her, Marmi picked up the anal cleaner from the table with a look of utter disgust.

"It's completely purified, so it's not dirty at all! It doesn't smell, does it?"

"Gah, stop it!"

Mizuki suddenly shot up, snatched the anal cleaner from Marmi's hand, and tried to throw it out the window. I frantically grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"I can't take it anymore. I'm going to stab Mash with this, and then stab myself!"

"D-don't! You can't stab someone with that. The only thing you can insert it into is your own anus!"

"Sh-shut up! I'm sure I can do it right now!"

Mizuki's eyes were glowing red. She was serious. Of course, I had no desire to die by being stabbed with something like that. I managed to restrain the flailing Mizuki and retrieve the anal cleaner.

"So, I want the three of you—Mo, Petra, and Aidan—to figure out the mechanism and come up with a spell to get to the 'World of the Jar of Holy Oil.'"

Mizuki was lying on the floor, her shoulders shaking. I suppressed my ragged breathing and placed the anal cleaner in Marmi's hand.

"...Fine. But I don't want anyone to know that you got this from Mother."

"Why not? It's something to be proud of..."

It seems there's a deep-seated conflict between Marmi and her mother.

Marmi and Myra took the anal cleaner and went to Aidan's workshop. If things went well, we could be back in Miglutt by tonight. Mizuki and I left the inn with Famu and Sameim. We had no particular destination. We needed to get information about Yuki and the others from Famu and Sameim. If we stayed in the room, I had a feeling I'd spend the whole day assaulting Mizuki, so we decided to just walk around the city while we talked. We soon passed the place where the tent where I'd bought Famu had stood. It was still an empty lot. Beyond it, the high castle walls were visible. The sturdy stone walls separated the world outside the city from the one within. It was a reminder of the reality that had torn Famu and Sameim's village apart. Those who were saved, and those who continued to suffer. But being saved didn't guarantee a peaceful life. They would never be able to forget what happened to their village. Famu, too, was staring intently at the spot where the tent had been. A dark shadow fell over her downcast eyes.

"Having traveled with you, Master, I understand now. The slave traders were likely headed for the imperial capital. But the further you go towards the capital, the stronger the discrimination against other races becomes..."

She was just like me. I had come to understand this world by traveling through it. I didn't know how many of her people were left unsold and taken to the capital. Those who remained would be bought as cheap labor and sent to even harsher environments.

"Famu... I say I'm with you, but I'm not really by your side."

"You don't need to apologize, Master. You've done nothing wrong. I can't go after everyone from the village right now, either. But I'm sure..."

Famu clenched her fists. Sameim's hand came to rest on hers.

"I'll ask Myra if she can make an appeal from the church."

It might be hypocrisy. There were surely many others in similar situations, and I couldn't save them all. I could only scoop up what was in the palm of my hand.

"Master, could Sam and I ask big sister about that?"

I nodded at her words.

"So, Sameim, how did you meet Yuki-senpai?"

Mizuki spoke up, bringing the conversation back to the original topic. We started walking towards the city gate. Famu glanced at Sameim, who gave a small nod.

"The first person to buy her as a slave was Clovis Leafkraut. It seems two others were bought as well."

"Someone you knew?"

"Master, the settlement I lived in was a small place. There was no one I didn't know."

"R-right. Sorry."

"I told you, you don't need to apologize, Master!"

Her sharp tone made me flinch. Famu frowned at me and looked away. It seemed like anything I said would just rub her the wrong way. I glanced at Mizuki, who nodded, so I decided to leave it to her.

"Then, they carved something like a magic circle onto Sameim and the others' bodies. They were forced to explore dungeons with that,"

Famu continued to explain.

"'Something like a magic circle'... you mean the thing that was removed at the church?"

Sameim nodded in response to Mizuki's question.

"Then, one of them... in a dungeon... and the other was seriously injured and bought by someone else. It was probably someone from the One-Land family."

So that's how Maryanne found out about Sameim. She had tried to take Sameim in as well, but Clovis had refused.

"Sam was taken in by Yuki and joined the Messiah party. Clovis provided her with food, clothing, and shelter. She acted on Yuki's orders. Her main role was as a scout. She would ambush other transferrer parties and lure them out for Yuki and the others."

In Miglutt, there was Hyakka's New World, Takamura's Nekonoko Konekoneko, Rinko's party, Ko-kun, also known as Toratsuna, and according to guild information, one other party. The Messiah party had fought against New World, Rinko's party, Toratsuna, and probably the transferrer party we hadn't met yet.

"What happened to the transferrers they fought?"

"They annihilated two groups. There were also parties they hadn't settled things with, and when we saw Sameim, it seems they were pursuing one of them."

It seems they were looking for Rinko's group at that time.

"'Annihilated'... in the year or so since Sameim joined?"

"She only joined the party about three months ago."

Hearing that, Mizuki and I held our breath. How many transferrer groups had they defeated? They were supposed to have been told to defeat the transferrers summoned by the five goddesses. And yet, so far, the victims had all been transferrers from outside that group. What was the meaning of that?

"So, what is Yuki-senpai trying to do?"

Mizuki asked.

"We don't know. But, this isn't Sam's answer, but mine... I don't like people who attack others, no matter the reason..."

Sameim's shoulders trembled and she bowed her head. Had she laid a hand on someone herself?

"You were angry just because Mash was attacked, weren't you?"

"Master is special. I believe both you and Mizuki share my thinking."

Famu turned her face away from Mizuki. Mizuki, too, fell silent.

"I want to hear about the other transferrers. First, what's Yuki's partner like?"

I asked in Mizuki's place. The small one who puts up a barrier that blocks Laciel's arrows and charm effects.

"Her?"

"Her?"

Famu and Sameim both nodded at my question.

"It's a girl. I think she's younger than Mo. She seems to be alone a lot."

"Does she not get along with Yuki?"

"We don't see her talking to Yuki much. Other members sometimes kick or hit her, but he doesn't stop them."

Could that be true? Or was it a different transferrer's partner? Besides, Yuki had said he'd been in this world for six years. If she was younger than Marmi, that would mean she was under six years old when she came to this world. I shook my head, thinking it was impossible. What kind of relationship did Yuki and her have?

"Her name?"

"It's 'Oi.'"

"'Oi'? Isn't that a boy's name? I've never heard of anyone with that name in our original world..."

"Is that so? But everyone seems to call her Oi."

Famu glanced at Sameim, who nodded. A nickname, perhaps?

"Well, whatever. So, when we fought, our attacks were blocked by a barrier. Is that Oi's power?"

Famu replied, "Yes,"

to my question.

"It's the effect of her special skill, [Pretty Body]. It's an ability that eliminates anything that interferes with her prettiness."

"Wait. I feel like I've heard that name before... and how do you know so much?"

I poked my forehead with my thumb. Was it on the list of special skills I saw in Laciel's space? That didn't make sense either. Special skills couldn't be acquired by more than one person. Mizuki and I were latecomers, so special skills that had already been taken shouldn't have appeared as options.

"Master, it was on the list of special skills Lady Laciel gave you, blacked out. You made a weird noise when you read it, so I got curious and looked up the details of the ability."

"That's right. I remember..."

"[Pretty Body], [Pretty Smile], and [Pretty Medical]."

Hearing Famu's words made me want to clutch my head. We were struggling against someone who chose special skills like these?

"[Pretty Smile] is an ability that charms with a pretty smile, and [Pretty Medical] is an ability that heals prettily. By the way, Sam had her arrow wound from Lady Laciel healed by [Pretty Medical]."

Sameim made an L-shape with her index finger and thumb, and flipped it in front of her face with a 'Kiraaan!' effect. However, her expression remained unchanged, so it wasn't 'Kiraaan!' at all.

"Damn, just hearing that makes me feel like an idiot for fighting so seriously."

It seemed she was a back-line support and wouldn't be on the front lines. But if we couldn't get past her [Pretty Body], Marmi's magic wouldn't reach. And we'd have to resort to Laciel's attack, which she couldn't control.

"You said there were other transferrers in the group."

Famu shook her head at that.

"We don't know who the transferrers are. Sam was confined to the Leafkraut family mansion except for dungeon exploration, and she almost never met anyone who seemed to be a companion outside of the party members."

Sameim's steps faltered. I turned to look at her, and she looked up in surprise before starting to walk again.

"Any information on Izark?"

Famu shook her head. I realized we had walked outside the city walls. In the end, we hadn't gotten much information. Sameim was treated as Yuki's slave and wasn't involved in the party's decision-making. Her pained expression when Famu talked about the transferrers' information bothered me. Was she hiding something? But I couldn't think of a reason why she would.

"However, Sam seemed to know about Mizuki."

"What do you mean?"

Mizuki looked at Sameim in surprise.

"Sam says Yuki had a picture... well, what you'd call a photograph. And Yuki and Mizuki were in it."

Before they were transferred, he had asked her on a date, so they must have been attracted to each other. My heart stirred with unease.