Chapter 182

Here’s what we’ve found out about the Netherworld: 1. It has no Dark Core, mana, or magic. 2. There’s Aruka and Mulnite, and several dozens of other smaller countries. 3. Said nations are split into factions and at war. 4. My mom is fighting to stop it. 5. We have to go to the Mulnite Empire to meet her. 6. I’m going to die in six days (VERY IMPORTANT!) “Vill! This fried shrimp is delicious! Try it!” “Thank you, but I already have my share.” “Mine is bigger! Let’s trade! Here!” “Um…Lady Colette.” “Yes? Am I bothering you…?” “It’s no bother. Thank you.” Vill chomped down on the fried shrimp Colette held up with a fork. Colette’s face lit up like the sun, and then she even dared to ask that Vill do the same for her now and opened her mouth in expectation. Vill didn’t seem annoyed as she fed Colette her shrimp. My brain could take it no longer. “What has been UP with you two this whole time?!?!?!” My chair fell over as I stood up. The other diners looked at me. “Why do you have to feed each other?! You’re not children!” I said. “What’s the problem? This is pretty normal…” “It’s not! Vill and I don’t do that!” “Hey, who’s getting you something to eat here? If you don’t like it, then you can go home.” “Ugh…” I clenched my spoon and looked at the table. The steaming-hot omelet rice called to me. It had been one night since we’d wandered into the Netherworld, and Colette had been forced to take care of us the whole time. We’d just gotten to a town last night, but obviously, she was the only one with money that could be used in this world. She’d needed to pay for our food and accommodations. It was thanks to Colette Lumiere herself that I had gotten to have a good night’s sleep in a warm bed and I could now enjoy this omelet rice. But… But even so. She was crossing a line. She wouldn’t let my maid go. She ought to ask me for permission before touching my belongings! “Could it be that you’re jealous, Lady Komari?” “Wha?! Never! Shoo, I’m busy eating my omelet rice.” “Allow me to feed you. Here, say ahhh.” Chomp. Nyom, nyom. I ate the spoonful Vill offered. We never do this… This is so embarrassing… Colette glared daggers at me. I knew it. She was after Vill. She wanted to take her away from me. “…Colette, I would like to be your friend.” “No way! Who wants to be friends with a runt?” “Ru…” What did she just say? Did she just call me the Ultimate Slur That Shall Shatter the Heavens? No, no. I’m just hearing things. Even a girl as rude as her wouldn’t dare to insult me to my face like that without considering the murderous consequen— “Your ears clogged or something, runt? Just keep quiet and enjoy the omelet rice I’ve so kindly given you, kiddo.” “A…AaAa…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” “Calm down, Lady Komari. You don’t have to fight over me.” “Don’t try to stop me, Vill! I’m fighting for my pride here! My anger’s reached catastrophic levels! I gotta eat all Colette’s fried shrimp or all hell will break loose!” “Let me guess. You eat the foods they say help you grow taller all the time.” “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!” “Keep quiet, Komari. The enemy might find us if you keep screaming like that.” Nelia tapped my shoulder with a sigh. “The commander is plenty big! In heart!” Esther said, purportedly in my defense. Her presence just barely kept me in check, as I had sworn on my honor as a Crimson Lord to not make a fool of myself before my subordinates. “…I’m sorry. I’m sixteen, so I’m done with childish bickering.” I choked back my ire and sat back down. Colette stuck her tongue out at me. I had to keep myself from crying. I wasn’t gonna let this jerk take Vill from me. And yet, the omelet rice she’d bought me was so good. I could only tremble in frustration. “Now, Colette, let’s begin our strategy meeting,” Nelia said after a sip of coffee. “We want to go to the Mulnite Empire. To do that, the most important thing we’ll need is money, right?” “Yes… You can’t do anything without it. I’ve also heard you need an ID to cross the checkpoint.” “Can’t we just force our way through?” “No, Ms. Vill! That’s illegal!” Esther said. “Yeah, and the punishment is the death penalty. I hear it’s particularly bad in Aruka. They say they kill anyone who’s suspicious on the spot.” “Well, we’re definitely suspicious. Will we be okay?” Nelia asked. “You’re dead meat if they find out who you are. I doubt you entered the country through any official methods.” Esther’s eyes spun around, and she began counting the beans on her plate. Oh, I wanna escape reality, too. Let’s draw with ketchup. “So we really need money and IDs… By the way, how much is left in our funds?” “Huh? Nothing.” “Hmm?” “I used everything on the room and today’s lunch.” “…” Nelia pursed her lips. “Don’t worry!” Colette smiled. “We just gotta make more, right? I know the perfect place.” The Netherworld’s townscape wasn’t anywhere near as eccentric as I’d expected it to be. It didn’t look that different from our world’s Aruka. However, it wasn’t only populated by Warblades. I didn’t see any weird people like Nerzanpi around, but there were Sapphires, Immortals, beast-folk, Peace Spirits…even some vampires, whose country Aruka was supposed to be at war with. “This is Aruka, right? Why’re there so many people other than Warblades?” “This town is extraterritorial. It’s a neutral place run by the guild, not the Arukan government. That’s why we can be outside without issue.” “Hmmm…” “We’re here.” Colette had shown us to a big building in the center of town. The sign seemed to read MERCENARY GUILD. The Netherworld’s script was a bit different from ours, though, so I wasn’t sure. Colette hesitated for a moment before opening the door. Immediately, peals of laughter struck my eardrums, and the smell of alcohol and food hit my nostrils. “What is this place?” Esther furrowed her brow. We looked inside and saw some huge dudes having a merry old time. I looked at Colette, hoping for an answer, but she hid behind Vill. “Lady Colette? What’s wrong? What is this bar?” “This…this is the Mercenary Guild! They manage soldiers for hire here.” Mercenaries? Well, I guess these folks look the part… “I see.” Nelia clapped her hands together with a smile. “We can get an ID if we become mercenaries, right?” “Y-yeah! They don’t have enough people due to the war, so they’re letting people without IDs register and take jobs.” “Why are you hiding, though?” “Because…this place feels more like a ‘no girls allowed’ club than I expected.” I looked all over the guild. Colette jumped at every shout from the heavily armed men inside. I was already used to the Seventh Unit, though. Oh no. Would a scholarly intellectual be afraid like her instead? “Don’t worry, Lady Colette. I’ll protect you.” “Vill…! Thank you.” Colette rubbed her forehead on Vill’s maid outfit. I felt like my brain was going to explode. What the hell are you doing right in front of me?! “Easy, Komari. We both know Villhaze only has eyes for you.” “But…every time Vill says something nice to Colette, I feel like screaming and doing squats. What is this incomprehensible feeling?” “Man, you’re a lost cause, huh?” Nelia sighed. Just then, I heard vulgar cheering. The men in the guild were looking at us. “Check this out, guys! We’ve got cute visitors!” One dude who looked even nastier than the others approached us. The Warblade man had a mohawk, and he was followed by more beefy men armed with hammers and clubs. They all looked like killers. “Oop!” Esther shrieked before hiding behind me. I get you, girl. I wanna run away myself. Unfortunately, Vill’s back was already occupied by Colette, so I had to stand in the front. Gosh darn it. “You having a picnic? How about we join you?” Shrill cackling and coarse whistling. Nelia sighed and stepped forward. “What do you want?” “Ooh, scary. Relax, lady. We were just thinking we’d escort you so the animals over here won’t eat you up.” “Aren’t you the animals?” “That hurts! There’s no greater gentleman than me!” A few of them blocked the entrance. The guild dudes looked at us like we were prey. Huh? What’s going on here? Why are they like this? “Lady Komari, would you allow me to shoot lethal gas at the mohawk man?” “No?! They can’t revive here, remember?!” That said, we were already surrounded. Maybe I’d guessed wrong. These guys, although similarly rambunctious, felt…different from the Seventh Unit. “What’re you here to ask for? We’re Dragonhead, and we’re earth rank. The strongest party ’round these parts. So what’ll it be? Looting? Assassination? Escort? Just know we’re not cheap.” “Don’t touch me.” Nelia slapped Mohawk Man’s hand away. He took a step back with a whistle. “Saucy lady.” “Piss off. We’re not here to make a request.” “Oh? Then why are you?” “To become mercenaries.” The mohawk man’s eyes turned to dots, as if he’d just heard a bad joke. “Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!” They all laughed out loud. “Come on! Don’t make us laugh! You girls? Mercenaries? Sure, sure. Wanna get into our party, then? We’ll take good care of ya.” “What a bunch of losers… Komari, tell ’em.” “Huh?” Nelia pulled me before the mohawk. They stared at me with confusion. “And you are? Little babies should go shut themselves in their rooms and sleep. We’re talking with the pink-haired girl.” …Mmm? Baby? Did he just call me a baby? Even though I’m the same age as Nelia? What made him call me that? I heard something crack by my side before I could even begin to pop my own vein. Vill was sending a cold glare at Mohawk Man. “…Sir Mohawk. This is one of the Seven Crimson Lords, Terakomari Gandesblood.” “One of the seven what now?” “As she appears to be nervous at the moment, allow me to interpret for her: Stop looking for a butt whupping and beat it.” Whoa, whoa, whoa. “Especially you, mohawk guy. I let you speak for two seconds, and you spit all that bull. Shut-in? Baby? I could turn you to dust with a swing of my pinky finger.” Hold on now. Why are you provoking them? “Now scram, before my eyes turn red. If you wanna live. So Lady Komari says.” “………” I knew my maid was trying to stand up against them for my sake. But that wasn’t the way to do it. How could she make all those threats with a straight face? Well, there was no doubt she was a member of the Seventh Unit… As I threw myself into resignation and despair… “Y-you little piece of shit!!” …Mohawk Man yelled. The other men were also fuming. At the very least, they had enough sense to keep their weapons sheathed, but the mohawk man threw a straight punch with his full weight behind his right fist. Esther babbled, “Awawawa!” It was over, I knew. I threw myself in front of Vill so she wouldn’t get hurt, but then… Cloing. A switch flipped. “Wha…?” The punch didn’t connect. I opened my eyes in fear and saw the mohawk’s fist frozen in place above. Even the other guys were motionless. Vill, holding a kunai, furrowed her brow. Then I noticed a gleam. Is this…a thread? There’s string set up around this place? “No, no. Only insects bully the weak.” Cloing. Cloing. Cloing. The switch kept on flipping intermittently. It took me a while to realize it was the sound of a stringed instrument. Everyone turned to the back of the guild, where there was a Heavenly Paradise–style tatami room for whatever reason. There sat a girl, both her eyes covered by a blindfold. She wore a hardcore-looking kimono, but she had a religious-like mystique about her. The cloing sounded with every movement of her hand. She was playing what appeared to be a biwa.