Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #159
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 159 (Interlude): The Man He Admires
That day.
The
man known as Yujin,
aka Yujin Sato, had been awake since dawn, meticulously grooming himself for
the first visit from a friend in years.
He’d gone out of his way to
get his hair cut at a salon the day before, and now he styled it with hair
wax—a precious commodity these days—before carefully trimming his trademark
goatee.
Donning
himself in a
crisp, freshly ironed shirt and jacket, the man in the mirror looked every bit
the ‘dandy middle-aged hunk’, possessing a dignified air that belied his late
twenties age.
"...What’s
with you? You going on a date or something?"
A voice called out from behind
him as he hummed, tilting his head to check his profile from different angles.
Reflected in the mirror was
his wife, Reina, who remained as young and beautiful as the day they met. She
was holding their daughter, who would turn five this year, while looking at him
with an exasperated expression.
Yujin turned around with a
grin and pulled his beloved wife and daughter into an embrace.
“No
way. You two are the only ones I love. I'm just meeting the man I admire most
after a long time. Gotta spruce myself up a bit, right?”
To Yujin Sato, the man named
Utamaro Kitagawa was both a goal and an idol.
When they first met, their
abilities hadn't been that far apart. Yet before he knew it, that man had grown
at an incredible, dizzying pace as an adventurer.
When they reunited after the
Angolmois began, that man had grown even further as a human, saving Yujin, his
hometown, and everyone in it.
Yujin had been striving
relentlessly these past few years, determined to catch up to that towering
back—despite that man being younger.
Yet, the more Yujin grew, the
further away that back seemed to feel—but surely, he had closed the gap just a
little.
This visit was the perfect chance
to find out.
As if throwing cold water on
her giddy husband, Reina pointed out,
"You
say it's been a long time since you last ‘met’, but it's just his clone that’s coming,
right?"
"……Well,
yeah."
Yujin's shoulders slumped
slightly.
The fact that it wasn't the
man himself, but a double from a Scroll of Doppelganger, was something he had
mixed feelings about.
It was even more so since that
man wasn't even sending his card, but a mere subordinate.
Yujin wasn't so dense that he
failed to realize what that signified: wariness toward them.
...Then again, he understood
why. This island—Oragashima—had changed drastically in the last few years. It
wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was like a different world compared to
the pre-Angolmois era.
Even for the islanders like
Yujin who had witnessed the changes daily, the transformation was unbelievable.
It was only natural for Kitagawa, who knew nothing of the current state of the
island, to be cautious and wary.
(After
all, he has a family to protect, too...)
If that man came here recklessly
and something happened, what would happen to the family he left behind?
When considering the 'what-ifs,'
one could never be too cautious.
Now that Yūjin had a wife and
child of his own, he understood all too well how having something to protect
could make a man 'cowardly' in the best sense of the word.
"Well,
even if it's a clone, the memories get integrated later. So I still have to
look my best."
"Yes,
yes. Well, do your best. Make sure Kitagawa-kun comes here in person next time."
"Ou."
With a cool demeanor but
serious eyes, his wife spoke. Yujin straightened his face and nodded.
Currently, the island was
grappling with several massive problems.
One issue concerned the surge
of dungeons and their Bosses.
On Oragashima, a policy was
adopted: when a new dungeon appeared, its Boss's disposition would be assessed.
If the Boss was friendly or indifferent toward humanity, then pursue an
'Alliance' or a 'Non-Aggression Pact.'
A Boss apparently possesses some
degree administrative authority and a weak command over the monsters within,
but only when they are inside their own dungeon. They can restrict monster
movement between floors or forbid them from exiting the dungeon entirely.
Yujin’s group learned this
when a Master begged for its life during a Calming attempt. From then on, upon
the appearance of a new dungeon, they first discerned its Boss's character.
Should the Boss be non-hostile or apathetic, they adhered to the strategy of
forming an Alliance or Non-Aggression Pact.
This was because constantly
calming down dungeons every month was simply too much to handle when new ones
kept popping up.
Fortunately, with the
pro-adventurer Reina and the powerful B-rank card Hephaestus, they had been
able to ‘re-roll’ hostile dungeon Bosses by defeating them until a friendly or
indifferent one appeared, allowing them to form Alliances or Non-Aggression
Pacts with every dungeon that appeared.
The situation began to shift a
few months ago
A C-rank dungeon finally
appeared on Oragashima, an island that had previously only had D-rank or lower
dungeons.
Lucky for them, that dungeon
Boss was quite friendly towards humans, and they successfully formed an
alliance. However, after that, C-rank dungeons began appearing almost monthly.
Sometimes multiple would
appear in a single month, and before long, Oragashima found itself housing
eight C-rank dungeons.
With the cooperation of the
allied Bosses, Yujin and his group successfully rerolled the aggressive Bosses,
securing either an Alliance or a Non-Aggression Pact through negotiation. Yet,
by the time they realized it, the power balance between humans and the dungeons
had tilted dangerously.
Originally, the cooperative relationship
with the dungeon Bosses had been possible partly because the humans held the
military upper hand.
No matter how many D-rank or
lower dungeon Bosses banded together, they were no match for Hephaestus.
Without a doubt, some Bosses
maintained friendly appearances while harboring hostile sentiments. Or perhaps
some started out amicable but gradually turned against them.
In this climate, eight C-rank
dungeon Bosses abruptly appeared.
Why do we even need to keep
our word to these humans?
It was inevitable that dungeon Bosses who shared such view would emerge,
particularly among those who had signed the Non-Aggression Pact.
Of course, the dungeon Bosses
would never say it outright. ...But one could sense from the atmosphere that a
significant number of dungeon Bosses felt exactly that way.
Even the more human-friendly Bosses
now acted with a sense of noblesse oblige—'As superior beings, we shall protect
these fragile creatures’, and naturally, they do not bow to humans.
Whether they uphold or break
the covenant depended entirely on the whims of the non-humans.
The momentum had already
shifted from humans to the non-human side.
Yet the problem lay not solely
within.
That which came from outside
was also a major issue.
Around the time the C-rank
dungeons appeared, people from other areas began to trickle in.
Likely, the time flow
difference had narrowed to some extent, making it possible for people to travel
back and forth.
The problem was, they didn't
seem like ‘good neighbors’.
They clearly belonged to a
large organization and were scouting Oragashima’s military strength and
resources.
Their behavior was crude—arrogant,
even. Among them were those who behaved as if treating this land as some kind
of their colonized territory.
Invaders. The word crossed
everyone’s mind.
If that were indeed the case,
the situation was extremely unfavorable.
Because, due to the design of
each gate and staircase, movement between areas was one-way, only downward.
Since
the invaders were arriving from the ascending passage, the islanders could only ever defend. They
had no way to counter-attack the enemy's home territory. They were stuck in a
perpetual state of being besieged.
While no full-scale armed
conflict had broken out yet—likely because the enemy was still preparing—war
was inevitable.
Internal
troubles and external threats. The
non-human entities within, possessing too much power, and the human invaders
from outside...
It was at such a time that
contact from Utamaro Kitagawa arrived.
"If
Kitagawa returns to this island, it will be a massive deterrent against the dungeon
Bosses. And with Kitagawa's ability to travel across regions, it would become
possible to counterattack should war break out..."
If only Kitagawa came back,
all their problems would be solved in a single stroke.
His return with this timing
could only be described as nothing short of a savior.
His exploits from several
years prior were still fresh in the islanders' memories, and he remained
especially popular, particularly among the refugees he had personally
protected.
In this perilous time, there
was almost no reluctance among the islanders to the idea of crowning Utamaro
Kitagawa as their 'King'.
"Well,
I guess we'll have to give Hephaestus back, though."
Reina said with a shrug.
"It
was borrowed in the first place. Returning it is only right."
"Well,
it can't be helped. ...Ria-chan's also grown up, and Hephaestus is gradually
becoming less obedient."
Seven years had passed.
Victoria-chan, once a beautiful little girl, had blossomed into a stunning
young woman.
Her heritage had blessed her
with a figure that would put even gravure idols to shame—which, naturally,
meant she had lost the ‘favor’ of Hephaestus (the notorious lolicon).
Currently, he was still
begrudgingly following her orders out of the lingering affection from raising
her, but it was crystal clear that he would stop listening entirely in the near
future.
Some suggested that before
that happened, the B-rank card should be passed on to Yuina, Yujin and Reina's daughter1.
However, she was still far too young to be sent into the dungeons, so they were
stuck in a ‘wait-and-see’ phase.
Truthfully, Yujin and his wife
didn't want to put their daughter in such a dangerous position—though it was
hard to voice this in front of Victor. If returning Hephaestus meant they
didn't have to offer their daughter up as his next ‘human
pillar2’, they had no qualms about giving him back.
"But
if we're returning it, we'll need a new card to replace it."
"Yeah."
What's borrowed should be
returned properly. But... simply returning Hephaestus would leave them
critically short on combat power.
So, they were hatching a plan
to somehow acquire a new B-rank card by trading the magic items and Magic
Stones they'd accumulated over the past few years.
"...I
wish this thing at least had its pre-Angolmois value,"
Yujin muttered, rolling a
crimson gem—a Carbuncle Garnet—across his palm.
A semi-secret dungeon appeared
several years ago. It was a rather pathetic secret dungeon—an E-rank dungeon
where only a single Carbuncle spawned once a day. Still, over several years,
they had managed to collect a decent amount of Garnets.
If these still held the value
they did before the Angolmois, they could have easily bought a B-Rank card...
"Well,
we've pulled a fair share of hits from those Gold Disappointment Boxes, so
maybe if we pile everything together, he'll trade us some kind of B-rank card?"
"Guess
we can only hope for that."
Then Reina gave a mischievous smirk,
"Then
again, since it's Kitagawa-kun, I bet he'd just hand over a card if Ria-chan
begged him now."
Yujin agreed while giving a
wry smile, "True. That guy is a total 'Oppai-Seijin' (Boob-Alien) after
all."
That Utamaro Kitagawa was a Boob-Alien
was practically common knowledge on the island, a fact made glaringly obvious
just by looking at the lineup of his cards.
"Oh,
it's here."
A notification popped up on
Yujin's Card Gear.
It was a message from
Kitagawa, informing him that his clone had been sent.
"Alright,
I'm heading out."
"Okay,
do your best."
"Good
luck at work!"
"Ou!"
Seen off by his beloved wife
and daughter, Yujin, bearing the fate of the island on his shoulders, set out
toward the meeting point with Utamaro Kitagawa's clone.
***
Notes:
1 Yuina’s name is written as 結奈（ユイナ). As you may have guessed, Yujin and Reina gave her a part of their names each, although the strokes of the characters are different. The Yu (勇) in Yujin's name means 'bravery' or 'courage', while the Yu/Yui (結) means 'to tie'. And then, Yuina was given the same phonetic 'Na' ending as her mother. For Reina, it was written in katakana as ナ, while for Yuina, it was the kanji 奈. So, Yuina's name represented the bond created between Yujin and Reina. ↩
2 Japanese has several terms that refer to human sacrifice, but the Author, Hyakkin-san, use 人柱 (Hitobashira) for this specific scene.
Hitobashira: Japanese ritual done by burying a living person in the foundations of a large construction project to invoke protection.
The last confirmed case was in 1914. It's for a 448-meter railway tunnel in Hokkaido called the Jomon Tunnel. Human remains were discovered in its walls during repairs in 1968.
Hitobashira literally translates to human pillar; 人 (Hito): Human, 柱 (Hashira): Pillar. But why ‘pillar’? It actually has a relation to Shinto. Kami (gods) can be enshrined in pillar-like sacred trees and old shrines were built upon pillars. Besides meaning pillar, hashira is also used as the Japanese counter word for kami. The human was ‘enshrined’ similar to a kami, becoming both a literal pillar and a connection to the gods.
In this story, if Yuina were to become Hephaestus new Master, she will be this new ‘connection to a god’ just because Hephaestus is a lolicon. ↩
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