Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Please note that the narration switches to third person during the flashback.

I’m Satou. I believe solving mysteries has been a form of entertainment since ancient times. It’s fun to solve puzzles alone, but it’s also enjoyable to gather with several friends, sit face to face, and discuss them together.

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“It’s grown quite a bit…”

I looked up at what had once been the Purple Mound.

A mound that used to be just a few meters tall had now grown to over a hundred meters.

“Rather than calling it the Purple Mound, it might be better to call it the Purple Tower,” Arisa, who was also looking up, commented.

After returning to the Royal Capital with my unit, I met up with Arisa, who had called me on the clan communication device, and we stood before the Purple Mound that had appeared near the capital.

I had already informed Sera, who was waiting at the Tenion Temple in Duke’s Capital, and Lily—the former chief shrine maiden who is now a shrine maiden apprentice—via the spatial magic “telephone” that I had returned ahead of them.

“So, what happened while I was away?”

“It’s a long story…” Arisa prefaced before beginning to explain.

◇◇◇◆◆ (Flashback) ◇◇◆◆◆

“A change in the Purple Mound?”

It happened on the fifth day after Satou departed. Arisa received the report in her private room at the Isolated Island Palace.

She put away the men’s shirt she had been burying her face in moments before into the Item Box and left the room together with the house brownie who had come to report.

“What kind of change?”

“They say the Purple Mound has grown larger.”

As they walked down the corridor, Arisa asked.

“And what about the others?”

“Mito-sama and Ms. Zena rushed out as soon as they got the first report.”

“Liza and the others are training on the ancient dragon continent, and Sera is on standby at the Tenion Temple in Duke’s Capital,” Arisa added.

The “Liza and the others” included Pochi, Tama, and Karina.

“—What about Nana?”

“She went out to the Forest of Boruenan with Lady Mia this morning.”

“That’s unusual. I wonder if she went to meet the feather spirits?”

The brownie said they didn’t know the details.

“I’ve already contacted Lady Nana, Lady Mia, and Lady Sera, but since there’s no communication method on the ancient dragon continent…”

“Got it. I’ll send a message via ‘infinite distance communication (world phone)’ once I’m back in the Royal Capital.”

Knowing the reason for Liza’s training, Arisa thought internally, “I don’t want to disturb their training, so I’ll wait to contact them until after checking on the Purple Mound,” and passed through the gate of the Isolated Island Palace.

“This is Arisa of the Pendragon. I’ve been summoned by Duchess Mitsukuni.”

When Arisa said this through the carriage window, the Guards who were on duty pushed aside the onlookers and guided her carriage to the Purple Mound.

Since no emergency report had come from Mito, Arisa judged the urgency to be low and chose to travel by carriage rather than teleport.

“Arisa! Over here!”

Mito called out.

“It’s grown a lot.”

“About twenty meters, maybe?”

The two looked up at the Purple Mound.

At this size, it already resembled a tower.

“According to the guards, it grew to this size overnight.”

“Why didn’t we get any reports during the night?”

“Well, about that—”

“““We apologize!”””

As Mito tried to explain awkwardly, the nearby Guards bowed their heads simultaneously.

When Arisa asked the circumstances, they said that no one guarding the Purple Mound had noticed its change until dawn.

“You didn’t notice?”

“There was a thick night fog,” Mito explained to Arisa, who tilted her head in doubt.

“What about Zena-tan?”

“She’s flying to check the nearby villages using flight magic.”

Zena was also investigating whether other Purple Mounds had changed.

“I’ll check on the others too,” Arisa whispered to Mito and contacted Echigoya Trading Company through the “telephone.”