kscans

Chapter 63 - The Summoned, and the Conversation in the Flanking Tower

"Master, I—"
"Please. Stay by my side."

I had a feeling she was about to say something outrageous, so I cut her off.

"Yes."

Famu nodded.

"What, you're not gonna help? I'm a transfer sent by Ronron, y'know. You're the one Laciel sent, right? You really are super famous. You're one of us."

Hyakka said. Ronron was one of the gods who had helped Laciel. But there was no way to confirm if she was telling the truth.

"I... DO NOT... BELIEVE IN GODS."

Nothing else came to mind. I hoped this would be enough.

"I don't believe in 'em either,"

Hyakka said. So she believed gods existed, but didn't have faith in them.

"I see. Well, that's good then."

As I tried to head back to the inn, she grabbed my arm.

"It's not good, I wanna be friends."

"Sorry, but we're on a quest to guard a caravan. Things might change depending on what our client wants,"

I replied.

"Well... can't be helped, then. In that case, let's exchange info about being transferred, yeah?"

Hyakka offered.

"I don't have much info to give. I came to this world about a month ago. Laciel just told me to defeat the Demon Lord and threw me out here. Then, I was attacked by another otherworlder. I was pretty confused to learn that the five goddesses and some other gods are making the people they summoned fight some kind of proxy war. Apparently, if you defeat an otherworlder summoned by one of the five goddesses, you get a wish granted."

"Was it Yuuki, by any chance? The one who attacked you?"

"No, it wasn't, but the otherworlder who attacked me mentioned that name too. Who is he?"

"A guy, twenty-two, twenty-three years old. I won't go into detail, but he killed some of our friends."

"...Is that so. Were you summoned together with Chihiro, Hyakka?"

"Yeah. A year ago. We were arguing about whether to put chopped pickled red ginger in the takoyaki before you cook it, or on top after. Then we got summoned. We were still so mad we just kept arguing, and before we knew it, we were sent to this world without any explanation."

Their story was even worse than mine and Mizuki's. I wanted to make fun of them, but we were in a similar boat, so I kept my mouth shut.

"You seem to have a pretty good grasp of the situation for someone in your position. Did you learn about it from that Yuuki guy?"

"It was some old guy at the church. He told us. He kept touching my butt and stuff so it was kinda gross, though."

"..."

And I'd just sent Myra to a place like that.

"Even thinkin' about it now makes me mad. Putting pickled red ginger in before you cook it is as heretical as putting sugar in scrambled eggs. Don't'cha think?"

"...Yeah, you're right. I'm on Team Hyakka."

In reality, I couldn't care less either way. But I did think sugar in scrambled eggs was heresy.

"Right? I wonder what happened to the takoyaki we left at home..."

Hyakka stared off into the distance. I wished she'd worry about other things.

"Master, what is takoyaki?"

"It's a dish made from a batter of egg and flour, cooked into bite-sized balls with chopped octopus inside. You can enjoy the fluffy texture of the batter and the chewy texture of the octopus."

"Egg..."

Famu swallowed hard.

"I can't make it. There's no sea around here, so I can't get any octopus."

"What's an octopus like?"

"It's a creature. Lives in the sea, has eight legs, its body is slimy and squishy, but it has suckers that it uses to latch onto you and suck on you."

"...Did the conversation just turn lewd?"

Famu tilted her head.

"No, we were talking about food the whole time. Hm? The whole time?"

I felt like we were talking about something more important.

"There's an ocean way to the south of here! You just gotta cross those mountains."

Hyakka pointed to the faintly white mountain range in the distant south.

"We spent over half a month gettin' to a town on the coast, made some takoyaki, and ate it. I'll never forget that taste. We managed to make something like aonori, but I cried 'cause there was no katsuobushi."

"..."

What kind of life did you have to lead to develop the kind of obsession that would make you travel for over a month, round trip, just to eat takoyaki?

"But that's where we met Morse of the cow-folk and Corne of the rhino-folk, right?"

So those two huge guys were a cow and a rhino. Still, I felt like we were getting seriously sidetracked. Right, the transfer story.

"Didn't Ronron tell you to do anything?"

"Who knows? She was sayin' somethin' but I wasn't listenin'. But I did get a special skill!"

So she was shrewd in that respect. I looked at Chihiro, and he nodded too.

"So, we just gotta defeat the Demon Lord, then?"

"The Demon Lord was apparently defeated a hundred years ago by an otherworlder who was summoned here."

"What'd you say?!"

"..."

It seemed there was no information to be gained from her.

"W-Wait. What's with that cold look? We're friends, aren't we? Let's get along!"

"Oh, right. We were on a date."

I pulled Hyakka closer and brought my lips towards her face.

"W-w-w-wait, wait, kisses are for after we get to know each other better!"

She pushed her hands out and escaped from me.

"That's not fair. You let the old guy at the church touch your butt, but you won't let me?"

I wiggled my hands, making a grabbing motion.

"I-It's not like I was tryin' to seduce him or nothin'. He just touched me without my permission!"

Hyakka frantically covered her chest and butt.

"So it's fine if I touch you without your permission?"

"Of course not!"

she shouted.

"So we're not friends?"

"Th-That's right, if you help us with the monster extermination, I'll think about it."

"I'll decide on the monster extermination after hearing what my client and my companions think. By the way, Hyakka, how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen, and Chihiro's fourteen. Which one of yours, Myra or Mizuki, is the otherworlder?"

Hyakka asked.

"Mizuki. She's the same age as you."

It was profound that they were the same age. Mizuki was just too lewd.

"So that means Myra's your local wife, huh. Findin' a wife in just a month, you move fast. Are Mizuki and her stepmom gettin' along?"

Hyakka seemed to be taking my joke seriously. I debated whether to correct her or stick with the lie.

"Master doesn't have a wife yet. And Mizuki being his child is also a lie. Master, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make jokes like that!"

Famu answered before I could, her tone firm.

"...So it was a lie. Guess you can't be kissin' me if you have a wife, huh,"

Hyakka said, seeming to back down from Famu's intensity.

We returned to the inn. I'd thought the town's layout was similar to Richel's, and the inn's design was no different either. Mizuki and the others were already in the tavern and dining area on the first floor. The place was deserted. Had most of the adventurers left town, wary of the monsters?

"They spotted what looks like a swarm of Big Hoppers to the west. The wind is expected to change the day after tomorrow,"

Mizuki said. It seemed my words had already reached them.

"I think we should find the person who's praying to change the wind and take them out,"

she added jokingly. The Battle of Red Cliffs, huh. In a battle from our old world with that name, a strategist had stood on an altar and prayed to change the wind for a fire attack. Come to think of it, that strategist had also gathered a hundred thousand arrows. I could probably do that if I summoned Laciel, but the downside was that the arrows would disappear. I might be a traitor for suggesting a plan that would divert already scarce troops and weaken the city's defenses.

"Even if we took them out, we can't avoid the attack. Did you ask Avea what she's going to do?"

"She said it's too dangerous to travel with the caravan until the Big Hoppers' movements are clear, because they can't be protected. The Mateo Trading Company is going to cooperate with the town. In the meantime, we're free to do as we please,"

Mizuki replied. In that case, I didn't want to die, so I wanted to stay as close to Avea as possible.

"Was everything okay at the church?"

I turned to Myra.

"What do you mean, 'okay'?"

"No, if you don't know, it's fine. Did you get any information?"

Good. It seemed Myra hadn't experienced what Hyakka had.

"No. But it seems the bodily fluids can be erased with a priest's 'Purification.'"

"It would be great if they could get rid of the smell throughout the city, but if it's only half-done, it would be a waste of mana before the battle."

"Yes. I agree."

She nodded.

"Tomorrow, could you, Famu, Myra, and Aira check where the liquid was scattered in the city?"

"Are we going to purify it as we go?"

Myra asked.

"No, purification is only if you can. I want to know what kind of places it was scattered in."

"Master, the dog-eared race has a stronger sense of smell than humans, but I haven't been trained, so I can't guarantee I can distinguish them accurately."

"That's fine. I just want a rough idea of how it was scattered."

"Understood."

Myra replied, and Famu and Aira nodded.

"Myra, I don't think we should do the Goddess Summon tonight."

If the monster attack really was the day after tomorrow, it would probably be fine, but we didn't know when the wind would change.

"It can't be helped. We should conserve our strength."

"About that,"

Mizuki said.

"I don't think it's a good idea to treat Kalpana so dismissively. It's not the way I or you would want it, but they are people who could become our allies."

"You're saying we should put them in our debt?"

"I don't like that way of putting it, but depending on your attitude, Mash, they might cooperate with the town's defense."

I didn't know how strong they were, but they were descendants of soldiers who had served Laciel. And they were a group waiting for a direct revelation from Laciel. We could expect them to be a significant force. But asking for their cooperation might mean that some of the nomads would die in battle. I was about to tell Mizuki this possibility, but stopped myself. This decision was mine to make. I wouldn't let her make it.

"Mash... I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Had she seen through me?

"I overheard. Famu and Kalpana's conversation yesterday."

"You were awake too, Mizuki?"

I thought Mizuki had been asleep at the time.

"Yeah, I was sleeping, but their voices woke me up."

I relayed last night's conversation to Myra, Cecily, and Aira, who didn't know the situation.

"Wait, so you knew I was awake too?"

"I can kind of tell when you're awake, Mash."

You too, Mizuki?

"I'm in favor of summoning Laciel-sama tonight. By showing that we're prioritizing the nomads in this situation, we can put them in our debt for a high price. I also have a few things I'd like to say to Laciel-sama about why she summoned an old geezer like this. Besides, you're not planning on summoning Laciel in front of a large crowd anymore, are you, Mash?"

"What a terrible thing to say! It's true I don't want to summon her in front of a large crowd anymore, but if I think the party's in danger, I'll do it,"

I replied to Cecily. A vote had started without me realizing it.

"I'm against it. You can't predict an insect's behavior. It's not good to underestimate them,"

Aira said. It was rare for her to take the opposite stance from Cecily, but it was just like Aira.

"I'm against it as well. As the one who wants to meet Laciel-sama the most, I feel hesitant to agree here. But I do agree with Aira's opinion. We should be fully prepared for the monster attack,"

Myra said. She was taking a stance against it, but inwardly, she seemed to be in favor.

"Master, nothing good ever comes from summoning Laciel-sama. But I think it would be a good thing for Kalpana-san to learn that."

Famu was being quite scathing today. She hadn't said it outright, but she seemed to be in favor.

"That makes it three in favor, two against. Mash, go get Kalpana."

"Wait, Cecily. Why are you in charge? I voted against it... Oh, well. I'll disappoint all of you."

I decided to go and get Kalpana.