Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Satou here. When I was little and went back to the countryside, I used to play by the riverside in all sorts of ways. I remember putting away beautiful stones as if they were treasures. I wonder if they're still sleeping in my family home’s closet along with those memories.

◇

“Liza, please retrieve the demon core. Everything else can stay as it is.”

“Yes, Master.”

I handed a dagger to Liza, who had only a spear when she woke up, asking her to do the retrieval.

“You were doing something dangerous alone again, weren't you?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I was gathering medicinal herbs nearby, then something attacked me.”

“I told you not to act alone! Just because you can use a shield now doesn’t mean you can be careless—you’d die easily!”

I apologized to Arisa, who was scolding me tearily, then turned toward the elderly people watching from a distance.

“Sorry for the disturbance in the middle of the night.”

“That’s alright, but was that monster a spider bear?”

“Yes, it seems to be the spider bear we heard about during the day. Maybe it got separated and wandered out.”

“Bad luck for you all. They usually only come to human settlements once every few decades. It’s my first time seeing one in person too.”

“I see. If it weren’t for our skilled fighters, it would have been dangerous.”

I wondered if it came out because humans had hunted down all the game.

I thought maybe it appeared because we were cultivating fields nearby, but it originally didn’t come that close. If we hadn’t unexpectedly started developing the land, these people might have become victims of monsters a few days later.

“Was that red glow a magical weapon?”

“Those young ladies were using magic too!”

“What are you talking about? That was his magical shield!”

“It blocked all the monster’s attacks, didn’t it?”

“But the red spear went ‘whoosh’!”

“When I grow up, I want to become a spear too!”

“That was amazing, flying through the air like that!”

Liza’s spear attacks stand out a lot at night. Only a few kids seemed focused on me or Mia’s magic. Still, a little girl wanting to become a spear—what’s she thinking?

“I thought you were merchants, but magic users after all.”

“We’re just beginners. By the way, regarding the spider bear, we only need the demon core. Please dispose of the meat and fur yourselves.”

“We wouldn’t mind, but is that okay? I hear you can sell that at a high price in town?”

“Carrying something that big is a hassle.”

The elderly hesitated but seemed to accept after Arisa’s words.

“Grandpa, no need for unnecessary pride. Securing tomorrow’s meal is the top priority!”

“That’s true. We’ll gratefully accept it.”

They agreed to leave the spider bear’s carcass drained of blood and planned to dismantle it in the morning.

For now, we prayed someone would find the cleared land while we survived on the monster meat.

◇

“Big brother, this is a thank-you gift.”

A small girl who came with Totona gave me a small bag filled with little stones. The stones looked like beautiful river rocks. They must be her treasures. Gifts like this are always welcome.

I took just one and returned the rest.

“I’ll take this one, you keep the rest safe.”

“Okay!”

The girl shyly hid behind Totona.

Cheers came from the direction where the spider bear’s carcass was hung. Liza had started dismantling it.

Since Totona and the others began to get restless, I encouraged them to go see.

The stone I received was an opaque red pebble. I had chosen the least pretty one, but upon appraisal, it was a “Snake Blood Stone.” Where did the snake go?

This stone is one of the materials used to make the “Antidote: Universal,” so it might be lucky. When I checked the river stones the same way I had searched in the new land, I found quite a few of the same kind.

There was still time before breakfast, so I decided to pick some stones at the river. Lulu, Nana, and Arisa were in charge of breakfast. Lulu was trying hard to teach Arisa how to cook.