Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

※Commemorative update for the release of volume 11 of the comic adaptation of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody!

I’m Satou. I’ve heard that saintess-themed works are popular in female-oriented content, but don’t you think it’s pretty rare to find stories that focus solely on the saintess role?

Usually, saintess stories involve crafting or other jobs besides just being a saintess, it seems.

◇

“Is that everything for the shopping run?”

I glanced at the notepad displayed via AR in the menu and checked with Rolo walking beside me.

“Yes, Mr. Satou.”

Rolo nodded with a face as beautiful as Lulu’s.

Her beauty could topple not just a castle but the entire continent, but since hardly any humans live in the Fortress City Arcadia where we were now, it was hard to expect any sympathy.

Well, even if there were many humans, the Shiga Kingdom and others seem to share the same sense of beauty, so just like Lulu, Rolo would probably be the target of insults. For her, living among other races who don’t care about humans might actually be better.

“You blasphemer!”

I was startled by the sudden shout, but it didn’t seem directed at me.

“Mr. Satou, over there.”

Rolo tugged my sleeve and pointed. I looked toward where she indicated and saw what appeared to be necromancers and priests led by a cleric engaged in a heated argument.

“Disgraceful necromancers who toy with the dead!”

“What?! We necromancers only turn those who made contracts in life into skeletons!”

“Ha! Contracts? Forcing servitude that robs the dead of peace is unforgivable!”

“Who asked for your forgiveness?! Even the poor who want to provide something for their loved ones after death are denied by you!”

“Cultists preying on the poor!”

The dispute between the cleric and necromancers heated up rapidly.

“I’ll free them from these evil necromancers now! ■――”

“Stop!”

A mud-like object thrown by a child struck the side of the cleric just as he began chanting.

It hadn’t rained for days, so it was probably some running dragon droppings or something.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Don’t kill my dad twice! Thanks to him working even after death, I can barely feed my sick mom and little sister!”

“Yeah! Thanks to the skeletons controlled by the Zaran Zaraan necromancers doing the dirty work, our town survives!”

“If the necromancers weren’t here, using bones and fangs as weapons would be a real pain.”

“There’s no metal mining around here; weapons would be insanely expensive.”

Voices from adventurers nearby rose in support of the necromancers, backing the children.

“Ugh, I can’t believe the necromancers’ influence has spread this far.”

The cleric groaned in frustration.

“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll negotiate with the temple head for a holy war—”

“Moroc! You’re here!”

Before the cleric could continue with his ominous words, a woman in robes cut in.

“—Tia? Mr. Satou, that’s Tia.”

As Rolo said, the woman in robes was Tia, the great witch’s envoy.

Tia calmly admonished those around and talked down the cleric, then led them to the Great Witch’s Tower. Truly impressive.

◇

“I’m back~”

“Welcome back, Rolo.”

“We missed you, Rolo.”

“Got any souvenirs, Rolo?”

When Rolo opened the door of her general goods shop, the Hero’s Shop, a child resembling a hamster-like kemari mouse rushed out, almost tumbling over.

The youngest tumbled and was caught by Rolo.

I placed the paper bag I was carrying on the counter and pulled out some twig cucumbers I’d picked up while shopping downtown.

Twig cucumbers are thin like twigs and grow dangling from willow-like branches—apparently a labyrinth plant.

“Satou, cucumber.”

“Satou, please.”

“Satou, hurry!”

The hamster kids who had been clinging to Rolo quickly gathered, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

“Wait a sec—”

Since the twig cucumbers had a damaged broken end, I sliced the spoiled part off with my demon blade and handed the rest to the kids.