Kyou kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou! Vol 7 Chapter 9

KKM Novel 7, Chapter 9

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DUN DUN DUN DUN!!  Finished it!  YES!  It was hard going for a while.  My cat knocked a bit of water onto my laptop and brought the grand total of non-functioning keys to 5.  Also, sometimes I need to hit the u/j/m key 3 or 4 times before it actually types the letter (note: some words might be randomly missing u's j's and/or m's XD).  My poor laptop.  She's so old :(

Anyway, enough of that!  On to the chapter!

      “Huge ditch straight ahead!  Evasive maneuvers to the right!”

      “A small herd of nocturnal animals closing in from the north!  Reduce our velocity and pass through them!”

      “Get close to the center of those lined up rocks and pass through them with a hard left… The snow’s started to pile up for real, huh?  If it keeps going like this, the wheels might get pulled off and we won’t be able to move.  We did pass that one carriage getting repaired back there… ah!”

      I reflexively take my eye away from the telescope.  I saw something I should not have seen.

      “Yeah, what?  Desert turtles mating and giving birth?  If you see something like that during puberty then you’d toss and turn in your sleep, huh?”

      A girl with a white face, white clothes, and white hair was standing all alone in the still-gloomy early morning hours.  On top of that, there was bright red blood flowing from her forehead and she was giving me a resentful stare I could see even through the lens.

      “Shibuya, this isn’t a Buddhist country.”

      “Oh, it looks like she’s still there.”

      “Anyone can see her.  And anyway, that girl isn’t a ghost.”

      “It’s true… she’s not a ghost.”

      “Hey you, why are you out here in the dark?  Where’s your home?  Are your parents around?”

      “How’d you get that?  Let me see.  It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.”

      “Eh?”

      “I wonder if you just wandered out here.  Hey, where’s your house?  Where did you come from?”

      “… There’s smoke.”

      There was grey smoke rising into the snowy sky in the direction that the girl pointed in.  It is strange that there is a house out here in the wilderness, but for now I need to bring her back there.  I set the sobbing girl on my lap and we drive the sheep on.

      What has me concerned is that I don’t see anyone that seems like they could be her parents, grandparents or some sort of guardian.  There are around thirty children gathered together in the corner of the fence surrounding the area.  They are all frightened and huddled together, but not a single one of them cried out.  They are simply gazing at the sooty smoke and the triangle roof with tears flowing steadily out of their eyes.  In the driver’s seat, Josak mumbled to himself.

      I didn’t have time to ask him what he was about to say.  The girl in my lap had attempted to run to her companions.  All of the children hold out their hands in unison.

      Child’s Play!?  Let’s put that aside for a moment because I’m really surprised that I recognize some of the children.  The two girls holding the youngest children protectively are the beautiful twin sisters that were with Maxine.

      “Children of shinzoku.  He probably knows.”

      “I know it very well.  This place, I mean.  I was in a church like this in the past as well.”

      Josak’s eyes were far away and vacant as he watched the soldiers extinguishing the fire.

      “Commodities?”

      Josak added that last part in a deliberately light tone, probably because I had fallen silent and he was taking my mood into consideration.

      A Shimaron soldier frantically carrying water yells behind him that a staff member is inside.  The precious children had escaped, but it seems that the humans working at the facility haven’t made it out yet.  I know that they don’t have enough water, but even so, their firefighting skills are lacking.  Even though there is nothing left to fuel them, the flames in the completely burned out and collapsed areas still have not gone out.

      “Ah that’s right.  Shibuya, this is your first time, huh?”  Murata crosses his arms over his chest with his eyebrows furrowed together.  Ordinary old me can’t imagine what sort of memory from the past he’s reliving inside his head right now.  “This particular flame can’t be easily extinguished with water.”

      “Hey Wolf, something like this happened before, right?  Flames cast by a skilled person that couldn’t be put out with normal water.”

      My friend from Earth makes a surprised face.  It’s not like I told him everything that happened in The Great Demon Kingdom.  Murata doesn’t know how much EXP I’ve accumulated so he shouldn’t know what level I am right now.

      Wolfram gives an exaggerated sigh.

      “No.”

      That’s an affliction from modern Earth.

      Like he said, I tried using my brain.  Because I’ve only focused on developing my muscles, my brain works slower than everyone else’s.  If it’s like he said, then we just need to catch that exorcist and shut his mouth, right?

      Like I was in slow motion, I slowly begin to scan the area for a person with strong exorcist powers.  I wasn’t using a theory or any reasoning.  It was simply me feeling out a person who can use a strange, hard to describe power as someone who had a similar power.  I’m not sure if that’s possible.  However, I should at least be able to find a hint as to who it is.

      Aw man, please let my conclusion be wrong.  However, incredibly short prayers are never answered.  My guess was spot on.  She was commanding a great power with her faintly moving lips.  Even now that I’ve spotted her, she is making no attempt to stop burning the building.

      To be honest, I have no idea which is which.  However, seeing that she reacted when I called that name, she’s probably Freddy.

      She shakes her head, sending her near-white hair swaying around her head.  A refusal.

      “Not to you.”

      Nothing to do with me?  Murata turned his head to the side to see her defiant, golden eyes.

      “That’s right.  Hey Wolf, how did I stop the fire back then that was about to burn that village down?”

      “You don’t remember?  Rain.”

      “That’s right.  You made a record-setting downpour occur and quickly put out the fire.  Wait, you, you’re not thinking of putting out that exorcist fire are you?  These are entirely different circumstances than last time.”

      “Those children are shinzoku and this isn’t demon land but human lands steeped in the elements that obey exorcists.  Even if you manage to use magic in this land, it’s unlikely that you will be able to go up against those children.  On top of that, if you lose control and it goes on a rampage, the one who suffers that damage will be you.  I don’t want to put you in danger using a plan with a low likelihood of success.”

      If we’re measuring it like that, I’m always at the lowest line.  I let out a meaningless laugh and I’m filled with baseless confidence.  The magic stone at my chest got even hotter so I clutched at it from above my clothes.  Even that seemed to add to my strength.

      “There aren’t any idiots who won’t try swinging their bat if the likelihood of hitting the ball is low.  If you don’t swing, you definitely won’t hit it.  Even if you get lucky and get to walk, if you don’t put pressure on the opponent’s pitcher you won’t get any balls.  Rather than watching as three strikes pass me by, I’d take wholehearted swings at empty air.  I don’t care if I get called an electric fan.  I’d rather take a bold swing than watch a great ball go by and regret it as I sit on the bench… maybe I’ll get to first base due to a pitcher’s error.”

      “Why is that guy here?”

      Cropped Pony seemed to understand everything immediately and made his way towards the twins.  I also run forward in a panic.

      “Shut up!”  He only lifts a hand in my direction and keeps his gaze on the twins.  “Did you forget your debt to me for buying you out of this place and run away in the middle of the games!?”

      Maxine grabs Freddy’s clothes and pushes her down to the snowy ground.

      The adults are blown away at the same time as the shout.  The other twin’s golden eyes are ablaze as they lock on to a new enemy.  Jason’s power protected her sister.

      “Freddy.”

      I claw at the ground unable to get close to Freddy.  I can’t even touch her to help her sit up and calm her down.  Murata grabs my shoulder.

      “Stop, Maxine!  They’re children!”

      I’m the only one that can move myself.  The one who can give orders to Yuuri Shibuya isn’t Murata or that person.

      Anticipating that my surroundings would become pure white, I close my eyes to protect against the brightness.  I struggle to keep my feet on the ground like I was standing at the center of a blizzard.  I can’t hear that woman’s voice anymore.  No one has been guiding me for a long time.

      This is strange.  It’s different than usual.  ‘The Man’ with the strange way of talking isn’t appearing.  There’s no enthusiastic BGM playing in my ear and I don’t feel as if I’m holding a fan in my right hand.

      Is this what it is to control myself?  Self-discipline?

      Contrary to my uncharacteristically rational words, my thoughts were running wild.  This is me!?  This is me in that Rampage Mode!?

      “Lies.”  The little girl gave a small shake of her head.  Her anger isn’t as strong as before. “… I don’t believe you.”

      I slowly stretch out my sixteen year old hand.

      “I’ll definitely find a place for you.  I promise.  I won’t leave you halfway.”

      He is slowly understanding why he was born for this king’s reign, for this Demon King’s era, as Yuuri Shibuya’s friend.

      However, he was still wary of the shinzoku.  They are only troublesome beings for demons.

      While using this terrifying amount of magic, his friend is only kneeling exhausted in front of him.  Where did that energetic, intimidating, and charismatic image from last time go to?  Yuuri himself seems to have noticed the unusual change as well and is attempting to hide his unease with frivolous banter.  However, there is no energy in his voice.

      “To me it just looks like you pulled yourself together a tiny bit.”

      Ken Murata looked up at the lightening sky and tried to find a sign of a good omen.  However, before he could even see its color, the grey smoke obstructed the gaze of his dark eyes.

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OKAY!  SO!  This was the last chapter I was going to do for this novel!  Now I'm going to finish KakkaMa and all the little KKM side stories I've gotten from Clavelsangrante before I revisit the main story.  If lrenne still hasn't started 8 by then, I'll work on that.  Otherwise, I'll move on to Ojousama, also known as the novel with that Conrad-looking Nazi on the cover XD

Anyway, you can find the last three chapters of this novel on Baka-Tsuki translated by Vivarina from the Chinese version.  I skimmed through it to see if there were any names that might be significantly different in the Chinese version (as in, more than a letter or so off).  I haven't read past this novel so I don't know if these names will be used again, so I figured I'd make a mini list just in case for any future translations (and also to not confuse anyone just in case a name that pops up in the chapters I did also pops up in hers as something different).

Donierson = East Nilzon (I mentioned this change in an earlier chapter ^-^)

Lambel = Lambert (although I could actually change mine to Lambel as this is also a viable transcription of the Japanese name and there doesn't seem to be an official one floating around.  I kind of like Lambert though XD)

Colonel Kelujin = Captain Crusoe

'the plumber Clansian' = Qracian Waterworks (this one was just a joke/pun about an actual company)

立春 is Risshun

小次郎 is (Sasaki) Kojirou (famous Japanese swordmaster who is most famous for getting killed by this guy v)

水户黄门 is Mito Koumon (he's been explained in numerous novels in the past)

美川宪一 is Kenichi Mikawa (another Enka singer and drag queen who is also famous for his gaudy costumes)

Chapter end