Chapter 437 – Launching the Kaleidoscope
<– Previous Chapter | Glossary | TOC | Next Chapter –>
“Shuuya, those races are definitely uncommon, but they aren’t Puyuyus.”
So Higlia says, but…
“To me they look like Puyuyus…”
『The Puyuyus are talking to the ancient wolfmen!』
It looks like Helme also sees them as nothing other than Puyuyus.
“They aren’t rare Sea of Trees beastmen. The sonzol and tellpot beastmen are similar to Puyuyu, but they’re slightly different. The shape of their teeth, eyebrows, and fingers, the color of their fur on the back, and the form of the pads on their soles are all somewhat different,” Higlia explained to me with the tone of an animal doctor.
Still, the tellpots are talking kind of quickly. For an instant, it made me look at Adombrally’s Ruby Loop.
Just like Puyuyu, their gender is unclear, so they’re basically beastmen who resemble cute teddy bears while talking as quickly as Adombrally.
Those beastmen were all energetically talking to ancient wolfmen and dwarves.
“Did they defeat those demons?”
“No clue, no clue, I just want to eat those wonderful candies!”
“Damn, don’t fart around here.”
“I’m going to kill monsters!”
“Eeehh? Pukupuku, you only recently learned how to wield a sword, didn’t you? Challenging the Hundred Labyrinth when you finally managed to hold a sword with your small hands is nuts. We should focus on improving our street performances.”
“Let’s go to Toksa Madododoon. It’s famous for its fish dishes.”
“When it comes to restaurants famous for grilled fish, Podolen’s Cave Anglers serve much better dishes than Toksa.”
They were talking so loudly that the nearby small beastmen folded their dog ears. The sonzol and tellpots traveled the street while overflowing with liveliness.
At that point, my eyes stopped at a Sea of Trees beastman who was riding a small pony.
Cute…
Its small head was covered by a mini cowboy hat. The clothes its wore were of high-quality and cheeky for the likes of a bear cub. But, as if proving that it was one of those bear cubs, its fuzzy fur pushed out through any gap in the silver chain mail it wore below. I guess the fact of it passing through the gaps in the chain mail means that its fur is abnormally thin.
In reality it might not need any armor since its shaggy fur could have some special defense effect.
The leather clothes it wore above the chain mail was an Indian-styled jacket. That jacket was decorated with bone-made buttons and feathers. On its upper right arm it wore an armband with a deer head protruding out of it and a fish crest. A fishing rod could be seen on its back. It also had a leather belt with an awfully elaborate design around its waist. A toothpick-like tree branch was holstered at the side of its waist. It had an extremely high collar.
Maybe that’s why it woke the impression in me of being extremely cheeky. Well, this is probably no more than my own personal view, though.
As I continued to observe that cowboy beastman, I noticed that his outfit was overall very refined. But, anybody can look good with the right clothes. In the end, it looks like a Puyuyu to me.
“Nnn, nya~” Rollodeen greeted the pony-like magic beast ridden by that beastman.
The pony moved its head, drew an arc with the tip of its jaw in the air, and neighed like a horse.
“――Doraoo! You greet a black panther?”
…It talked. The Puyuyu-look alike talked!
That’s a surprise. Actually, this might be the biggest surprise among the recent events happening around me. Honestly, it surprised me more than Lucy.
For it to speak a language I can understand…it looks like it’s really not a Puyuyu…
My Extra Skill <Instant Translation> did its work. Its language has a nuance as I’ve already heard it spoken in the underground. Maybe it’s Dwarvish?
And then the cowboy beastman showed off some nimble warrior movement and stood up on top of the pony it called Doraoo. It made the small cowboy hat suit it even more.
The appearance of it standing on its short legs while holding the reins with one small hand…is it a swordsman? It’s just standing, but its movements are as canny as Moga’s.
Still, it’s a shock since the saddle it stands on is a tanned leather one just like its belt. Quite the awesome horse gear it got there.
Moreover, it got this husky, old man voice. Well it might still be a youngster despite its voice simply being like that.
Anyway, this is a sonzol or tellpot beastman, huh?
“Doraoo, for you to greet the panther sure is unexpected! Alright, we’re going to go shopping just like this. I’m going to buy Puk fruits and Tonra eggs! I also want to get some of the popular mikare, though… Anyway, let’s get moving!”
The beastman noisily pattered with its small feet on the back of the pony. Doraoo did something akin to a bow towards Rollodeen, and started to move.
The cowboy beastman and its pony headed towards the bustling shopping district.
“That just now was a sonzol, I think!” Higlia told me.
“Princess, that was a tellpot, I believe. It had four fingers per hand and the thumb of the hand holding the reins was big.”
“I-I see. Shuuya, they’re so similar that even I keep mistaking them, so I can totally understand you mistaking them for Puyuyu,” Higlia declared with some mysterious confidence.
“S-Sure,” I replied to Higlia and Ryokline.
Suddenly Rollodeen put some strength into her limbs, purred lowly, and ran ahead after hitting Higlia and Ryokline’s tails with panther punches. She didn’t go after the pony from before, but targeted the riverside.
Food carts, curtained tents, and street stalls were lining up along the river in huge numbers. I guess Rollodeen is going for some food, huh?
She came to a halt in front of a store that used a tent with curtains at the sides acting as windbreaks. It also had semi-transparent curtains and ceiling with embroidery stitched into them. You could vaguely tell from outside how the employees were cutting meat, dipping it in sauce, and grilling it.
Interesting…you could the whole cooking process even from back here.
Faintly colored light at the ceiling brightly illuminated the tent’s interior. Lamp lights added some accents to it, too. The ceiling and side curtains were long and deep. Maybe something around six meters.
That store had no partition to section with the smokestack that was situated deeper inside the tent. So I can totally understand why Rollodeen would be curious.
Well, I guess rather than the semi-transparent curtains, she must be curious about the food. I mean, the hot-pot-styled food we bought at the stand in Hekatrail was delicious. So it makes sense for Rollodeen to hold expectations towards the taste.
Besides, she’s a divine beast, so her sense of smelling is anything but normal. She probably decided that the taste of the food would be good after smelling its scent.
“I’m going to check out things for a bit.”
After informing Higlia and the others, I scanned my vicinity.
Ancient wolfmen who were pushing sturdy wheelbarrows, an ancient wolfman who was shepherding, a dwarf lumbering heavily along the streets while shouldering a golden ax, and small beastmen who were running a street stall where they were selling horse equipment.
The last group was kicking up a fuss, running a lasso competition, or maybe a contest with bits?
Furthermore, I could see ancient wolfman soldiers who were steering magic beasts that were pulling prisoner wagons. The prisoners were orc soldiers.
A wooden board with pictures of various torture tools had been installed on the wall of a nearby building. Showing off the strength and honor of male knights and bewitching one with the beauty and brilliance of female knights isn’t the only part of wars after all. War is tragic. People die all too fast. The strong and the weak will die when their time has come.
It will be different for overwhelmingly strong warriors, but over all you can probably sum it up as 『It’s sad, but this is how war goes, right?』
As I looked at the despair-filled faces of the orcish prisoners, it made me think of our righteousness in killing them, also including the humans who kill orcs for money.
Well, even if I know that, it won’t change anything to think about it now, I suppose. You have to make the most of the present after all…
An ancient wolfwoman was walking nearby while holding a baby. An ancient wolfman’s eyes were gleaming black, almost full of animosity. A young ancient wolfman who shouted with a tone that seemed to be hateful. A young dwarf and an elderly wolfman were doing calligraphy while clearly engulfed in the aura of being artists. A panther beastman hunter with an unrefined, square face.
All of them gazed at me, looking startled and surprised. But, after getting a strict look from Higlia, they passed me with innocent expressions as if they didn’t know what was going on.
Well, this is inevitable since you won’t find any humans in this area. Though I believe some outstanding humans are here in disguise. But, at the moment they’re nowhere near me, as far as I can tell.
Jody looks like a human, but since she has pulled the hat down low, she hasn’t been exposed. Meaning, I’m getting all this attention because I look like a human…somehow that’s embarrassing.
I watched the hustle and bustle around me so as to not mind the various stares directed at me. This place had the feel of a busy rush hour.
A group of dwarves looking like mercenaries was walking down the streets, too. The group of animals, no, tiny beastmen happily walking together with ancient wolfmen were cute. And I could also spot a huge tiger beastman. A sea-monster-like wolfman started a fist fight. With Sea of Trees beastmen and a pretty rabbitgirl…huh?
Those plump hands…Azola?
She looks just like her. Not just her arms but her whole appearance is just like Azola’s. But, the animal with her isn’t a polar bear. More like a gorilla? A grim monster pet.
Next to her was another pretty rabbitgirl.
Hmm? That is…
…The bow-carrying rabbitgirl is Lene of the Dark Bow, huh? She used to be a leader of 【Owl’s Fangs】. I let her escape.
The pretty rabbitgirl next to her also piques my interest. Going by the flow, she should be her little sister, I think?
That group of rabbit people slipped past the quarreling tiger beastman and ancient wolfman with the sea-monster-like head. I feel like they wore some sort of armbands…
If that was Lene, does that mean she managed to reunite with her little sister? Somehow I cannot imagine the guy from Bloody Long Ears to fail to catch her when she’s right in front of their noses.
I believe the name of the 【Blood Moon Cloth Force】 is quite famous in Senapua. But, well, Lezalaysa is the leader of a group who has access to the Azel Dimension. I suppose they’re busy with that as there’s lots of adventures to be had in that dimension. They also had their disputes with the city’s councilors and other dark guilds. And on top of that, they have their schemes and revenge plans in regards to the western empire.
So even if the guild possesses extremely capable personnel like Melichek, Clydossus, Ledond, Falz, or Curél the Rebellious Sword, they lost too many good members during the earlier conflict with the Shadow Wing Brigade.
Besides, the dark guild 【Owl’s Fangs】 doesn’t exist anymore. So they probably don’t have the leeway to bother with individuals like Lene.
Or rather…if that was truly Lene, her little sister and her skillfully avoided the pursuers of Bloody Long Ears, so they either possess enough ability to keep escaping successfully or they might have friends or brethren helping them out. Like the group of rabbit people just now…
As I was brooding over this, a family of wolfmen consisting of father, mother, and child passed me nearby. The child squealed, “Mum, there’s a black hair I’ve never seen before~~!”
“Ah, wait, Tohar!”
Disregarding its mother’s warning, the kid approached me.
“Yo, you’re making your mother worry, you know?” I extended an arm with the idea of telling the kid to go back to its mother while focusing on smiling.
“The black hair talked! But, that strange green outfit is so damn cool!”
“Thanks.”
The child went back to its mother with a smile on its face. Immediately following, I could hear the family talking.
“Hey, Papa, I wanna go to the festival on the Idol Plaza.”
“The festival, huh? So it’s already started?”
“They’ve been doing it since yesterday. I hear they’ve been handing out grilled Arzen birds on skewers.”
“The food is a nice incentive, but I think there’s also value in watching the dance of Hun-sensei’s disciples.”
“Oh, right. Chun-san mentioned it as well.”
“Hmm, it appears Wolf Commanders Azelan-sama and Oulia-sama have produced quite the results. It seems to also be intended as a ceremony to celebrate Dorcell-sama being able to return even while injured.”
Hoh, so some of the wolf commanders have apparently come back. Dorcell is the guy who ran into the Black Noble Youth and Delhart, who used to be a Spirit World Knight. Right now Delhart is one of my kin as Knight of Light Evil. I have him assist Quiche together with Shuhelia.
Seeing Rollodeen interested in that particular store, I turned to Higlia and asked, “…Rollo appears to have found a store she’s curious about. I’m also interested in the food of that store, so want to go there?”
After hearing my question, Higlia turned her head in the direction of the city. Her expression appeared to be somewhat dejected.
And then she muttered, “A stall, eh…?”, before looking at Ryokline and Daon-san. Both nodded after meeting her eyes.
“…Okay, we’re going ahead to tell the others of your return, princess, and report about Shuuya-san and Quiche-san,” Ryokline jerked her chin, instructing her little sister to go ahead.
After bowing and winking at me, her sister ran off along the main road in a jog. Her figure from behind reminded me of someone.
Ah, I remember. She looks just like Lily from behind.
“…Currently you’re gathering a lot of attention from around us, Shuuya-san, and we must also report to the Great Wolf Council about our princess’s outstanding achievement of avenging Wolf Commander Sacksel.”
“Yes, it’s a great feat to have defeated a <Servant Leader> who’s basically a direct descendant of the Valmask family. I think it’s pretty much set that she will be awarded the Wolf Moon Shoulder Strap.”
“…It will definitely boost her popularity. It will also give her more authority to speak during the meetings of the Great Wolf Council.”
“Yes! The ceremony of carrying Sacksel-sama’s coffin should be carried out as well. And even the report on the Idol Plaza, ah!”
At that moment Ryokline blocked her mouth as if having messed up. Daon-san lightly shook his head. Then he turned his head diagonally above, looking at the central part of the Wolf Moon City, and said with a cool look, “…We must also inform them about Caem…and his family too.”
At that instant, several tears trickled down Daon-san’s cheeks. Seeing a grown man like him weep caused my eyes to become slightly moist too.
…Which reminds me, when I defeated the Tree Demon Necromancer, that slug woman, there were some ancient wolfmen among the people she had captured. They were already dead by then…the ancient wolfwoman…seeing her, Daon-san had been extremely sad…
Thereupon, Ryokline said, “Caem also――”, but Higlia held out a hand and interrupted her words intended to console Daon-san.
“Yes, you’re right. Forgive me,” Ryokline apologized.
“…No, the fault’s on my side. It’s pathetic for me to cry. Being able to safely get back home, the guy’s scent…”
Daon-san wept once again.
“……Y..es.”
Feeling his pain, Ryokline also cried. Higlia too.
After getting consoled a bit by Rollo, Higlia said, “――Daon, it’s fine to postpone the report about me and Sacksel Higelf. Go back to Caem’s and your families. Bidolln would say the same.”
“But…”
“This is an order.”
“Okay,” Daon-san genuflected and approved after hearing Higlia’s order.
“We also have to report to Princess’s mansion…”
“I’ll go back as well. I’m aware of your strength as a direct descendant of the divine princess, Princess, but you went out and acted independently for a full season…”
Daon-san explained as he stood back up and nodded at Ryokline. But, he donned an awkward expression. One different from his weeping one.
Daon-san also faced Higlia. In response, Higlia suddenly straightened her back. Her face changed from being all smiles to become pale. Her blue pupils kept widening and shrinking.
Until just a few moments ago, she’d engendered the aura of a divine princess, but now she looked as weak as I’ve never seen her before. It looks like she has a reason why she doesn’t want to go back to her mansion. It’s kind of weird.
“Your sole family, Hiyorimi-sama, should have been worried about you. We must inform her of your return first and foremost.”
“Okay.”
Seeing the change on Higlia’s face, Daon-san’s expression became slightly gloomy, too. Ryokline reacted in a way that showed how she didn’t really want to talk about it. After nodding at each other, Ryokline and Daon-san looked at me.
“Shuuya-san, we’re going to lead the unit and return through the roofed corridor first.”
“Gotcha. I might do some shopping while taking a little walk. So, see you guys later.”
“Alright. The Wolf Moon City also has an inner part, so please enjoy yourself to the fullest.”
“We leave Princess in your capable hands.”
After saying that, Ryokline and Daon-san turned to their unit members.
“You guys, we’re going.”
“”Yes!””
After ordering the young wolfman soldiers, they saluted Higlia and left.
“…Anyway, Jody, Higlia, Rollo is digging a hole in the ground for some reason, so we’ll head over and stop her.”
“Yep, I’m going to tell her about delicious food stores.”
Higlia had recovered her cheerfulness as she said so, she still had a gloomy aura around her.
At that point, I caught sight of the Puyuyu-like beastmen briskly but arrogantly walking in the middle of the street with small steps.
『…They aren’t Puyuyus, but they’re cute. I like those races』
『Certainly, they’re oddly cute. They’re doing a mysterious parade while matching the stride of their small legs. …I kind of feel like ruffling their fur』
I looked at Jody, who had been silent, while answering Helme telepathically. She looked close in appearance to a human or elf. Her clothes had also changed slightly from before.
“Jody, the stall over there seems to have meat. Want to eat together with us?”
“Yes, Shuuya-sama.”
White moth fluttered around Jody as she bowed. For an instant, the people walking around us looked at her, but without paying too much attention.
Jody erased the hat she had been wearing deeply over her face and walked on the street while exposing her pretty, short hair.
“――We’re selling Triton Trees.”
“What about some Leshun wine?”
Those were the voices of merchants who released a strong fragrance. Their stalls didn’t use transparent curtains, but their side curtains had marks drawn on them which were rather characteristic as trademarks. You could immediately tell that they were beastmen.
We walked through the lively streets while enjoying the mix of carts, stalls, and tents. Higlia and Jody started to chat about this area.
I touched the metallic cross next to my right arm, activating the Kaleidoscope.
“The cross-shaped metal on your face turned into a 卍!” Jody reacted.
I nodded.
For a moment my visual field became bluish-white while frames appeared, but that lasted no longer than instant before my eyesight got drastically improved. I guess the resolution has increased. It’s become even clearer than before.
…I checked the pedestrians with triangle cursors…making sure that no one had any bugs in their heads. I kept performing random scans.
Eh? A human in this place?
I zoomed in on a person who interested me and scanned them.
――――――――――――――――
Carbon-type Napalm Life Form α1e＃＃＃9
Brain Waves: normal
Body: abnormal
Gender: ??
Overall Physical Strength: 103
Elenium Integration: 18324
Weapons: present
――――――――――――――――
Ugh, found one. They don’t seem to have a parasite in their head, but the area from their left arm to the shoulders has fused with a bug…
As I’m looking at them from behind and since they’re wearing an overcoat, it’s hard to tell. Short hair and a normal body on a closer look.
I don’t know whether they’re male or female. As far as I can tell, they’re a swordsman. They seem to use a slender longsword. They might be a beastman?
Either way, their brain seems normal. Don’t tell me…the fake mentioned by Hyuriox’s kin Gabal?
I guess I’ll inform the others.
For starters, I informed Helme in my left eye.
『Helme, I found a kin of Evil God Hyuriox or a fake classified as such』
『Eh? Where!?』
『Over there』
『Umm…』
The street was bustling with people. Just now, a rough, one-eyed tiger beastman happened to pass by. A curved katana made out of steel and bones hung at his waist. Given the thing similar to a button at the mana-laden hilt, that katana seemed to have an additional blade. Maybe a trick weapon for the sake of surviving in the Sea of trees. Or maybe he’s one of the beastmen who would challenge the Hundred Labyrinth.
『What was that!? Vessel, stab, pierce, fill me with blood』
『SaRatEYn-shAMa! daTsH a NIcE SonG!』
Itasha’s dialect is cute. But, for now I’m going to ignore the Saraten family.
Still, this city seems to house all sorts of people and facilities…
<– Previous Chapter | Glossary | TOC | Next Chapter –>
Help out filling the Glossary of this series with life! Anyone is free to join by clicking >here< !
Translation Notes: