Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Satou here. They say seeing and hearing are vastly different, and I think there are many things you just don’t understand until you actually try them.

◇

“Ah, um, thank you for the delicious meal.”

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone already thanked you earlier too.”

“Ah, um, and I’m sorry about lunch.”

That was the red-haired girl from earlier. If I remember correctly, her name was Totona. She came all the way over to the campsite where I was staying—could she have something she wants to ask?

The girl was looking down a bit, but then glanced briefly at Lulu before summoning the courage to look up.

Her trembling hands clutched at her skirt tightly, filled with some kind of determination.

Please don’t tell me she’s going to say “Please buy me” again.

Honestly, I was getting pretty tired of that.

But her actions were a bit different this time.

With a sudden snap-like sound, she ripped off her skirt. Actually, it was a one-piece dress, so she just pushed it up to reveal her ribs all at once—

—but Lulu quickly covered her chest from behind with her apron, so I didn’t see anything. Let’s just pretend that’s what happened.

She didn’t seem interested in putting her clothes back on, but she didn’t try to push away Lulu’s apron either.

“I’m… giving this as an apology and a thank you. We can’t do anything for you, so…”

“You want to pay with your body?”

“Yeah, my sister told me, ‘If someone does something for you, you should do something in return.’ She said just words aren’t enough…”

I don’t think that’s what your sister meant.

“When wealthy people give you something, it’s enough just to be grateful. It’s a little annoying if they think it’s just natural, though.”

“But…”

“Your sister probably meant when someone who’s struggling day-to-day gives you something.”

“Is that so…?”

She fell silent there, so Lulu helped her put her clothes back on. Of course, I looked away—no interest in a young girl’s nudity here.

Lulu invited the now-dressed Totona to tea. Mia, who should have been on night watch with me, was leaning against my back asleep. She’s really not cut out for night duty, if she doesn’t even wake up during all this.

“Um, what is this?”

“Blue tea.”

“Is it okay to drink?”

“It’s delicious.”

Totona tilted the cup hesitantly after Lulu said that. Her face relaxed in delight after tasting it.

I watched while making throwing spears for Liza.

“It’s my first time drinking something like this.”

“It might not be common around here. It’s the Master’s favorite tea.”

Actually, only the wealthy here can afford to enjoy tea.

The tea’s name—“Blue Ruby”—doesn’t sit quite right with me, but it has a Darjeeling-like taste and is easy to drink. Freshly brewed, it has a faint blue tint, but when it cools, it turns the usual tea color. I’m really curious about how that works.

After finishing the tea, Totona seemed a bit calmer.

I have a feeling she might ask me to buy her again, so I’ll get ahead of it.

“Totona, when morning comes, can you send a few strong kids to help out?”

“Yeah, if that helps as thanks, we’ll all go.”

“Thanks, I promised the old men two big bags of potatoes. You guys can probably get by for a while on those, right?”

“Yeah, yeah! Thank you, big brother!”

Totona wiped her tears as she thanked me, with Lulu helping her.

Though, two bags of potatoes won’t last half a month.

I don’t have any obligation or reason to do more, but as long as it doesn’t cause me trouble, I’ll help out a bit. Feels better to be a bit of a hypocrite.

◇

Right now, I slipped away from the campsite and am in the forest at night.

At first, I thought I’d hunt some spider bears for the elders and children, but I changed my mind and started scouting the terrain.

The old woman said she wanted a place near a water source, with plenty of leaf mold in the soil and good sunlight.

Using the sharp Holy Sword I pulled from storage, I chopped down trees effortlessly and stored them instantly. It felt unreal. It took less than ten minutes to clear a 300-meter square of forest.