Kyou kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou! Vol 6 Chapter 9

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Hi!  I feel like it's been a while!  Although that could just be an illusion because I didn't have internet for a few days this week.  Anyway, finally finished this chapter!  I really felt bad for Yuuri this time around.  Just wanted to hug his dumb ass :(

      The helmsman wipes the sweat off his brow in satisfaction and receives generous applause from the crew.

      The fire weapons that the Big Shimaron soldiers were supposedly using and the mysterious poison on their arrowheads… and Flynn was looking for a Wincott descendant.  Everything was lining up.  The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

      “Shibuya, what’s that?” Murata asked standing right next to me.  I hurriedly wipe my nose and with feigned ignorance, extract the paperknife from my breast pocket.

      “From a kappa?  Then it’s a cucumber.” (1)

      “Isn’t this human bone?  Anyway Shibu-Captain Crusoe, your nose is running.  Your voice is a little stranger than usual too.  You might have caught a cold running around with all this cold wind blowing.”

      Like Murata had said while staring into the distance, there was a group of armed soldiers on the shore.  There are probably about as many soldiers as there are students in my year at school.  There are easily two hundred.  They’re all in light blue uniforms and their chests and lower legs are wrapped in leather and they have swords at their waists.  They seem to be waiting as they smoke cigarettes or draw pictures of rats in the ground and are generally relaxing.  Since he’s only seen modern day militaries, I wonder what my friend thinks of these RPG fantasy troops.

      So now they’re a preservation society.

      “Did he just get a bundle of money?”

      Murata answered Flynn’s questioning look with surprising seriousness.

      “Robinson, was there fresh fish on board?  Isn’t there just that boot you fished up?”  I asked.

      Murata wears a dark and severe expression that makes his Laughter Mode that he’d had on until now seem like a lie.

      If there are a hundred of those Nigel Wise Maxines (who absolutely won’t die), the hair must be part of some sort of uniform.

      “Ah, yeah.  They’re definitely not part of some passionate fan club, huh?”

      “What’s going on!?  We’re not at the cape yet!”

      “We’ll catch colds if we go outside.  Mishy Terrine is always naked, you know.”

      “Hey, check everyone besides the crew.  There might be one hiding amongst the regular passengers.”

      “You, get off.”

      For some reason, I’m the only one getting dragged away by my clothes after showing the inspectors my palms.  I properly hid my eyes and hair with my sunglasses and pirate-style bandana so it’s unlikely I’ve been exposed as a demon.  Flynn steps up to the soldier and starts making a furious objection and Murata chimes in with little affirmative words.

      “Look at his fingers.  These are prominent sword calluses.  Are these the hands of a merchant or scholar?  These hands are even different than the farmers with their hoes.  He might be using a specialized weapon, but he’s definitely a combatant.  All combatants of unknown origin and prisoners are to be brought before Lord Saralegi.  I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to travel with him anymore.”

      Flynn is slowly turning into an angry aunty.  But anyway, combatant?  What am I, some underling of an evil organization?

      Lately I’d had some doubts about taking the lead so I figured I’d work on my batting skills.  The inspector tilts his head suspiciously.

      “Um, a stick.  You hold it with both hands and you hit stuff with a ping.  And there are wooden and metal varieties, by the way.”

      “No, I hit balls!  Don’t go running off with your gruesome imaginations… Hey let go!  Listen, listen to what I’m saying- uwah!”

      “Hey wait a minute!  I have to swim in the middle of this cold weath- ugh glug gah!”

      She trusted me and told me everything so I can’t just leave her like this.

      “Flynn, are you serious!?”

      Yelling out what could sound like a love confession to people who don’t know the whole story, Flynn rolls up the sleeves of her coat and jumps from the deck.  With a huge splash, she falls right in front of me.

      “…. swim.”

      “I can’t swim!”

      “How mean!  You guys are leaving me behind!”

      It’s unbelievable.  Even Murata jumps off the boat and T-Zou dives in like she’s chasing him.  Are they lovers?  Is it a love triangle?  The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals?  The people around us are getting increasingly more excited.  It seems everyone is a fan of soap operas.  I know that Muraken can swim and the sheep looks like it will float so I don’t need to worry if they’ll make it to shore.  The problem is me and Flynn.

      I didn’t know whose arms they were, but I immediately knew whose arms they weren’t.

      I’d lost the proof that he was still alive.

      “Why did you do something so reckless!?  Staying in the boat was obviously safer!”

      “… You had Robinson.”

      “Stop saying Crusoe!  I’m not really Crusoe!”

      “… Who are you?” Flynn asks in a small voice, letting her hand drop from where it was pulling at her hair a moment ago.

      “Ah, did we finally get found out?”

      “Nmonmonmonmo…. Nmoshkashteeeee!” (4)

      “Nmoshkashteeeee!”  Part 2.

      “What do we do, Shibuya?  Should we just spill our guts?  Or, if we need another bluff, I’ll think one up for us right away.  Leave the bluffing to me.  I’m a bluffing thoroughbred.  My father’s great-grandfather’s mother’s brother’s wife was a ninja in Iga, ninja ninja.” (5)

      “Your name is ‘Shibooya,’ Captain Crusoe?  Robinson’s name is ‘Moorata?’”

      “Lady and gentleman, are there no words of gratitude for me?”

      His name is Josak Gurrier.  He’s a joker but he’s talented.  He’s rude but you can’t hate him.  He’s also half-human half-demon and he’s Conrad’s friend and former subordinate.  He helped us out during the whole Morgif uproar, but since then he’s mainly been hiding out in other countries on a bunch of missions and doesn’t really have time to come back home.

      “What’s wrong, Young Master, making a disheartened face like that?  It’s times like these that goat milk does the trick!  It’ll stimulate you, restore your strength and give you unmatched vigor!”

      “You got it!  Josa was sad because you didn’t recognize her again and she cried a little.”

      “Well it seems I got to see yet another mid-journey, embarrassing display over there.”

      “I was surprised when I found you there.  I couldn’t believe that the Young Master was walking around in really dangerous human territory without a guard.  I ended up specially sending out a message to Boss Gwendal via Fly Fly White Pigeon.”

      “Doguu.”

      “Anyway,” he points with his chin to Flynn who’s still in a daze about our names and T-Zou who’s in a state of fervent rapture.  “I can’t take my eyes off you.  In the time we’ve been apart you’ve gotten yourself a woman and livestock.  How are you going to make this up to wittle ol’ me?  You were just playing around, weren’t you!”

      “Murata, Flynn, this is Mr. Josak Gurrier.  He’s a friend of a friend in The Great Demon Kingdom… ah, well we met in a different country.  He’s a multi-soldier who’ll even dress up like a woman for a mission.”

      “Sis…  Hey, how do you know him!?”

      “Eh..?”

      “… It wasn’t Conrad?”

      I’m flooded with disappointment and a strange sense of relief.

      I spread my palm as wide as I can and cover my face.  I squeeze my eyes that got dirty water in them shut and wait for my dizziness to go away.

      Murata is oblivious to the danger we’re in, as usual, and Flynn Gilbit is exhausted body and mind by the succession of unforeseen events she’s been assaulted with.  That woman who was so bold and confident is now a miserable little soaked mouse.  I’ve got the reliable Josak here now, but he’s not going to just understand everything about what’s going on instantly.  It’ll take a long time to explain our situation to him.

      “You snuck into my estate!?  Ah, that makes you a thief!”

      “A lot of your friends are perverts, aren’t they?”  Flynn asked.

      “That man Adalbert.  And Nigel Wise Maxine, too.”

      “Not liking your husband’s friends, that’s very young-wife of you.”

      Ahead of us, the prisoners are being threatened into walking.  There are over three hundred of the armed Small Shimaron soldiers, so there’s a bit of a time lag for them to get to us at the end of the line.  A soldier nearby draws his sword and comes at us in a group of five.

      Even though how much of a gentleman he is has nothing to do with it, Josak is strong.  But regretfully, he’s the only fighter we have on our side.  The only other one with any battle potential is… I guess the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

      “How are we going to get our hands on those horses..?”

      Murata, not for food.

      Like a well-informed man, Josak denies this.

      What were they planning to do by transferring the prisoners… or rather, the former enemy soldiers turned prisoners of war?

(2)    The Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law basically says that no one is allowed to own firearms or swords barring a scant few exceptions related to hunting, industrial work, ceremonial purposes etc.  This law is so strict, it even requires permits be filled to possess a nail gun for construction work.

(4)    I kept this in (kind of) Japanese because it’s more of a sound effect than the word.  The word being ‘moshikashite’ or ‘possibly.’  I also took out the silent vowels to make it more sound effect-y.  The original is written ‘Nmoshikashiteeeee.’   I’m sure you remember this if you’ve watched the anime XD

(6)    Bazashi is horse sashimi (slices of raw horse meat) and is a delicacy.  It’s actually also really good.  I had it once before when I was staying with a family in Kyushu.  Although, to be honest, when I found out what I was eating, I was like o.o!  And because I had just said that it was really ridiculously delicious, they gave it all to me.  The rest of the meal I was like (T-T) Horsies, why you so delicious?

Chapter end