30. Boss Battle and Memories of the Original World
After several skirmishes, they arrived at the door to the Area Guarder's chamber.
"Alright, let's head in?"
Everyone nodded at Mizuki's words. She opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Fam, me, and finally Myra bringing up the rear. The door slammed shut behind them.
Particles of light gathered on the ceiling, morphing into a massive eyeball about two meters across. Ten wolves materialized on the floor as well. That was a lot.
"I'll handle the Big Eye. Fam, you take the wolves."
Before he could even nock an arrow, a fireball came hurtling toward him. It was a massive blazing orb, moving fast. He dodged, but the heat wave singed his face. The missed fireball hit the floor and erupted in a pillar of flame.
"Ngh!"
Since it was mixing magic in, the attacks were coming a bit slower.
He loosed an arrow. The Big Eye threw up a barrier, but the arrow tore right through it and struck home.
But the enemy didn't flinch, firing off a second fireball without pause.
"Mizuki!"
Mizuki heard him and dodged the fireball. Another pillar of fire shot up.
The flames from the first shot were still lingering. If they didn't take it down soon, the whole room would turn into a sea of fire. He shot another arrow straight at the Big Eye.
"Master, the Big Eye's weak point is the black pupil."
Fam jumped in to cover him as a wolf lunged his way.
"I know, but it's moving too fast."
The black pupil swiveled constantly through a full 360 degrees. Another fireball launched—this one aimed at him and Fam. They dodged in a panic, and he fired off his third shot. Aiming for the pupil was tricky, but since the Big Eye itself didn't move much, it wasn't impossible.
When his third arrow hit, he noticed that landing damage made the pupil freeze in place for a short time.
"Fam, when we hit it, the pupil stops moving for a bit. After I shoot my arrow, target it with your skill."
"No, I haven't seen the pupil stop yet, so I won't know the timing. You should aim for the pupil, Master."
"Yeah, got it."
"Then, Chrysanthemum Ichimonji!"
The moment he replied, Fam unleashed her vacuum slash. It slipped through a gap in the wolves' attacks, but understandably, she couldn't prepare it in time. Without wind magic support, he had no choice but to loose his arrow raw.
Fam's skill connected. The pupil froze.
Stay calm. Focus. He told himself that and fired.
The arrow pierced the Big Eye's pupil perfectly. The Big Eye vanished.
"Yes!"
He switched to a one-handed sword and shield, but by then Mizuki and Myra had pretty much wiped out the wolves. Myra smashed her mace into the last one.
All the wolves disappeared.
As they high-fived in celebration, the door at the far end creaked open.
They had cleared the third floor.
Back at the inn.
Myra headed off to the church. Would she come along if he invited her? Somehow, he couldn't picture it.
Cecily and Ira were back too, and they'd agreed to meet in the dining hall for breakfast tomorrow morning.
The inn had a room with a king-size bed for twenty silver coins. It seemed double the price and expensive at first, but for three people, it was a bargain. In this town, rooms were priced by type, and as long as you stayed within the occupancy limit, the fee was fixed no matter how many people. Incidentally, the king-size bed room could fit up to four—probably meant for families.
He'd figured Mizuki would complain about sharing a room, but she didn't say a word.
It was way bigger than a twin room. Instead of a table against the wall, there was a low standalone table flanked by sofas. They sat there sipping the tea they'd gotten from the Mateo Merchant Company.
Apparently, this tea was high-end stuff traded among nobles and not available to the public. He'd poked around the market looking for chai but came up empty. Coffee would be nice too, but no dice there either. Maybe Mateo could hook him up if he asked.
"Can I see Mizuki's smartphone?"
Fam spoke up to Mizuki.
"Huh, why?"
"I want to see the photos you took."
"Is that okay?"
Mizuki glanced at him. She was worried about showing someone from this world stuff from their original one.
"I've already shown mine." Fam should be fine. If there was a problem, it was Rakushel's fault.
"Yeah, I guess." Mizuki pulled out her smartphone and handed it to Fam.
"I wanna see too."
"Fine, but no naughty pics."
"Then let's check your browser history."
"Sorry! Don't teach Fam that stuff."
So he could look too, huh. He'd ask her to show him later.
"Master's photos are mostly landscapes, but Mizuki's are full of people."
Fam hit him right where it hurt.
"I was going to school, so maybe that's why there are so many of my friends."
He could tell Mizuki was covering for him awkwardly. Even if smartphones had been around in his school days, his photos would've been landscapes only.
"...All humans."
"In the world Master and I came from, there were only humans. Especially in our country—it was an island nation, so historically there wasn't much exchange with others. Everyone had the same skin tone, same hair color."
"If Master wanted to go back to your original world, would it be okay if I came along?"
"Rakushel would probably make it work," Mizuki said with overly optimistic vibes.
"Fam, I'm not going back to that world."
He absolutely hated the idea of returning to his old life. Mizuki looked like she wanted to say something.
"Did you do club activities, Mizuki?" He changed the subject.
"Yeah, swimming club. But I wasn't that great."
Compared to a swimmer's build, Mizuki's shoulders and chest muscles were pretty slim. But probably her boobs got in the way most. Mizuki crossed her arms over her chest. How did she read his mind like that? She started explaining swimming, school, and clubs to Fam.
"Got a swimsuit?"
"Ugh... yeah. It's in my bag. Should I wear it?"
She was being surprisingly agreeable instead of mad.
"Sometime later."
"Got it. Kinda embarrassing, though."
Mizuki nodded.
"What's a swimsuit like?"
"Um..."
Mizuki swiped through her photo gallery and brought up one pic. Five girls in competitive swimsuits lined up, and standing out with her killer proportions was Mizuki.
"These are the first-years from the swim club."
"...So lewd. Basically naked."
Fam nailed it. He'd get mad if he said it was lewd, but she got away with it. Unfair.
"Send that pic to my phone."
"Hmph... fine. I want one of your photos too."
"Sure, but no swimsuit shots."
He didn't have selfies, but there should be some tourist snaps people took of him.
"...A normal one is fine."
He used his for... sauce, but maybe Mizuki didn't.
"I wanna see the oldest photo of you, Mizuki."
"Uh, the first one on this phone is from my entrance ceremony."
A girl in slightly oversized sailor uniform stood timidly in front of the school gate. Up close, she looked super nervous, fists clenched tight. Cherry blossoms rained down, giving it a dreamy vibe. Probably her parents took it. Great shot. Yeah—he'd take normal photos of Fam and Mizuki before leaving town. Non-nude ones, more of 'em.
As he scrolled through Mizuki's pics, one caught his eye with a weird detail.
"No boobs..."
"Duh! I was basically still in elementary school a month before!"
He got that photo sent too. Probably wouldn't use this one. Maybe.
"By the way, Mizuki, have you ever climbed Mount Fuji?" Fam asked.
"Yeah, back in elementary school—no pics, though."
From the convo, seemed like she got her own phone around middle school start.
"Did you see the sea of clouds?"
"It was clear skies when I went, so no, but I've seen it from other mountains."
Mizuki fiddled with her phone. Up came a photo of a massive crag jutting like a rod from a peak. The next was a sea of clouds with Mount Fuji's iconic silhouette piercing through.
"Mount Houou, huh. You into hiking?" Part of the Akaishi Mountains, Southern Alps.
"Yeah, Dad loved it, so we'd go a lot in elementary. Middle school hit with club, so maybe once a year. What about you, Mash? You knew it was Houou right away?"
"Actually, I'm into hiking too." It was a solo hobby, after all.
"Eh, really? I figured you were a total shut-in outside work."
"Hey, you're right, so drop it."
"Mizuki, who's the guy in this photo with you?" Fam steered the topic.
"That's my dad."
Fam pinched to zoom. She'd gotten good at it without him noticing.
"Kinda looks like Master, somehow."
"Hey! Don't say that. Only the age, right?!"
"The gentle vibe. Same hobbies too."
"Where's the gentle in this guy?! Fam, you saw what he did to me yesterday!"
"Face and actions are different. And hobbies don't count."
He checked the photo. A younger Mizuki grinning with a middle-aged guy. Bluntly, he looked like your average dude. He'd imagined some super handsome dad for Mizuki's sake, but nope. Still, there was a faint resemblance. She must've been raised with love. Their happy smiles said it all. He got why she'd wanna go home. Didn't look like him, but now that she mentioned it... kinda? Subtle.
Nah. Fam meant his face since coming here. He hadn't studied his own mug closely since arriving. Mizuki had a sharper look at first, but now it was softening a bit toward his taste. His face had probably shifted to hers too. Why couldn't he just turn handsome?
"Anyway, Mash. What're we doing after tomorrow?"
Mizuki switched topics abruptly. Her face was beet red. Talking family might embarrass him too.
"Depends on Cecily and Ira. Not sure how to handle them. Feels like they'll ignore me."
"Don't be a wuss. You sure don't hold back with me."
"That's 'cause it's you, Mizuki."
"..." Mizuki went quiet for some reason.
"We need shopping for supplies too. And a rest day. Myra said tenth floor, but I don't wanna push right now. What do you think, Mizuki?"
"Never been to ten, but three was easy with gear."
"Gear's the key part."
"Hmph, true. Myra wouldn't push crazy stuff, so maybe try it. We can bail if not. Rest day and shopping day sound good. I wanna talk to Aidan again."
"Then rest day is Master and me."
"Why's it end up like that? You've had him all to yourself till now. I want some one-on-one time too."
"You had Master first at the start. You threw that chance away."
"Hmph, can't argue, but... no good?"
"Shopping day: Master and me. Everything else separate. Rest day: Master and Mizuki."
They were scheduling without him. Better stay quiet or it'd get messy.
"You cool with me on rest day? Don't wanna piss off Myra by deciding without her."
He wished they'd consider his side too.
"Big Sis..." Fam trailed off.
"Myra's a no-go in town." He recalled Mateo's words.
Yeah, with Myra around, greetings piled up, kids swarmed. Cheeky brats hugging her, high-fiving her boobs—why couldn't he? Unfair world.
"Yeah. Asked Ira once. Myra's like a saint here, especially to kids. If you groped her in town or took her to the inn... big trouble."
"You don't trust me, Mizuki?"
"I do. You'd definitely do something lewd to Myra."
Mizuki was spot on.
Come to think of it, Myra had confessed to liking shotas.
By taking Myra out, was he saving the town's boys? Or would he get crucified as the creep who stole their dream boobs?
Thank you for reading.
To everyone who bookmarked and rated—seriously, thank you so much.
It motivates me. I'll keep pushing.
Thanks always for the typo reports. Really helpful.