Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

“““A toast to the gods!”””

In the tavern, merry men clinked their mugs filled to the brim with beer (…).

It was a tavern near the "Tower" in the Royal Capital, a scene that had become quite common recently.

“Ahh, the beer tastes great today too!”

“Beer tastes best when you drink it with some edamame!”

The beer, imported from the Galleon Alliance in the continent’s west, was several times more expensive than ale, but many explorers had fallen for its crisp throat feel and refreshing taste, something ale could not match.

It was no wonder that explorers with extra money loosened their purse strings for it.

Although it wasn’t publicly known, the Echigoya Trading Company had a significant role in the mass production and import of this beer, a fact many citizens were aware of.

The common knowledge in the Royal Capital was that if something unusual happened, it was usually connected to either the Echigoya Trading Company, hero Nameless, or Count Pendragon’s family.

Few, however, knew that all three were actually the same person.

Meanwhile, the boy John Smith, who succeeded in beer production and became wealthy, was apparently traveling toward the Count’s Domain of Seryu in the northern Shiga Kingdom. According to the steward managing John Smith’s brewery, he was probably heading to the labyrinth in Seryu City to seek new business opportunities.

“Here’s your refill.”

“Ah, just what I was waiting for!”

“Well then, let’s go—”

The men raised their beer mugs.

“““A toast to the gods!”””

“Hey, how many times have we toasted already?”

“It’s fine. If we keep thanking the gods like this, the monsters might weaken.”

“And that means we earn more easily too.”

The men exchanged looks and burst out laughing heartily.

“You blasphemers!”

“Well, well, priest. How about another drink?”

“Hmph—I'll partake.”

The priest didn’t seem to seriously reprimand them.

Since the recent Tower incident, donations to the temple had increased, and priests were quite popular among the explorers tackling the Tower.

For priests who wanted to level up safely, like him, this was a situation too good to be true, so he was in a good mood enough to let some irreverent remarks slide with a mere rebuke.

“E-explorer sir! Please let me join your group too!”

“What’s your story?”

“I-I’m Tahele. I used to be an explorer in the labyrinth city.”

A boy named Tahele, wearing tattered clothes, crawled on the floor pleading.

One of the drunken patrons muttered, “That’s Tahele the Waste Picker.” Waste Picker was a derogatory term for those who scavenged usable items from the trash collection site near the Royal Capital’s water purification plant.

“What about your equipment?”

“Weapons? Here!”

The boy pulled out a sword wrapped in ragged cloth.

The rusty sword was broken halfway, likely picked up from the trash site.

“This won’t even cut a purple goblin.”

“T-then I’ll do anything—carry loads, do chores, whatever!”

“Alright. I’ll give you a chance. Show me you can fight.”

The man nodded approvingly at the boy’s quick proposal.

Many would sulk and make excuses here.

“Thanks, big brother! I’ll definitely prove useful!”

It was common around the Tower to see hopeful people trying to escape the bottom rung of society by starting the path of explorers.

◇

“Whoa, it’s huge!”

“Amazing! I heard about it, but it’s so vast you can’t see the other side.”

On the first floor of the Tower near the Royal Capital, two newcomers looking like country bumpkins explored the surroundings as they prepared to challenge the Tower for the first time as explorers.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“If we don’t line up fast, a queue will form.”

The leader grumbled, saying their pre-dawn departure from the Royal Capital would be pointless otherwise.

“Sorry, big brother.”

“Wow, what a line.”

Of the twenty pillars, sixteen had lines of about thirty people each.

“Big brother, some pillars don’t have anyone waiting. Are those not usable?”