Are you ignoring me, because you have nothing to say?"
Shinji's mouth twitched at Tsukino's question.
'I thought you were antisocial, like Derniere-san?'
—Why did I even fall for this loud-mouth?
If Shinji could time-travel, he would go slap his younger self who needs a good amount of carrots for his poor choices... together with the person who manipulated his emotions.
Taking a deep breath, he clenches his fist, turning back to confront Tsukino. Placidly looking her gray-eyes, he snorts: "Why wouldn't I ignore you, when you're uglier than I?"
Slap!
Tsukino staggers back, her mouth wide opening, unable to stand Shinji's words. She might be the most beautiful girl on Earth, but compared to the Main Character, she looks like cow dung... maybe, this is why she dislikes him, if you remove that he is Junior Emperor Nero. (1)
Strengthening her fortitude, Tsukino points a finger at the scholar, her face tightening.
"Don't run away from the topic at hand."
Shinji smiles, inclining his forehead to touch hers.
"Just admit it, you're ugly. My parents' decayed skeletons look more ravishing compared to you."
A second passed, then another, and another...
"Ah."
Tsukino steps back, her mouth wide open, not because of the shock, but because of the nostalgic feelings she got from Shinji's touch, scent, and voice.
Slapping her cheeks, she shakes her head.
—There is no way such an altruistic person could ever dance around to people dying!!!
"This is getting interesting."
Tento said with a chuckle, while his palms rub against each other —not the only one. As someone who doesn't want a woman in his already problematic life, romantic drama is the way to strengthen his resolve —the two look like an ex-couple to him.
"This is ridiculous."
Lucien commented, shaking his head. He steps in between the two, putting an end to their scuffle of words.
"Let's dig a hole down the cliff big enough to bury 10 wood pumas, and gather stones at the edge, the bigger, the better. We'll leave enough space to lure the beast into the hole, before burying it in the stones. We need to be careful, in case the beast has a Tama - we only heard stories of them, we don't know what they're like first hand."
His words were close to an order instead of a suggestion. Shinji didn't mind, nodding with an amiable smile.
'He is on to something.'
Not waiting for Tsukino to counter, Shinji steps on a rock, ordering, "Let's go men! Time is of the essence! We are stronger, faster and better if we work together!"
'I wanted to say, dead weights!'
Oblivious about his thoughts, the people cheered, acting on the advice. Tsukino couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with this plan. However, she had to comply —she didn't have a better plan.
***
The clouds somewhat cleared; the weak sunlight pierced the foreheads of the mortals who had finished setting the world's most cunning trap that would take down mythical —only appeared in the Journey of the First Tama-Artist— stage 5 profound beasts.
With the Main Character singing in the lead, the group matched to the easiest kill in history. Taking a different route than last time, they met a cat's head, belonging to a normal ginger house cat... well, that if you remove its 15-meter circumference, and that the body is using the hill like a tortoise shell.
In short, a stage 3 Hill Cat, or Cat Hill, depending on the village!
Rustle... Rustle... Thud... Thud... Bam... Bam...
The mortals shivered, some fainting, some discharging in their clothes, and some considering seppuku —running away—: this all happened because of a word we like to call 'paura,' or 'timore' in Italian —fear.
'Apparently this guy sleeps for ten years, unless someone decides to cultivate on its soil.'
Shinji thought in a laughter-some manner.
'Fun fact: these beasts use a profound blast during their mating season to transform into normal, female animals with a rock lump on their back. I wonder which idiot kept such a beast for two years; failed to make it a pet?'
—Bada Bang! That's Yananai Tsukino!
Chuckling to himself, he gives Lucien a small nudge with the head. The red-hair furrows his brows, but becomes expressionless the next second, stepping forward.
"Why don't we go around; climb up the beast, attacking it from the top by digging a giant hole at its weakness —the point marked on the map? We'll all work together to create a massive hole to kill this beast. If the hole is tiny, it would be like poking ourselves with a needle – it would only hurt for a little while."
'I thought he would stay silent.'
Shinjis nods, his gaze swept past the mortals exchanging skeptical glances, questioning if Lucy's was sound.
Creating a hole big enough to kill the beast would take nearly a year, and who's to say the beast wouldn't throw them off and stomp on them? That said, Shinji knew it won't happen.
"Guys, if we don't do this, those Tama-Artists will kill us. You've seen how ruthless they are. They sent us to die, but I don't want that to happen to any of you."
Although he lied at the end, Shinji words failed to resonate with the group. However, the last person he expected to agree, steps forward with clear determination in her gray eyes.
"We have to defeat this beast, no matter what! All we have to do is believe in ourselves, and everything is possible!"
Lucy gazed at the hill's peak with a dark expression on his face, "Believing in ourselves won't solve anything!"
Tsukino sneered at him, "Stop being jealous that no one was moved by your words. How could a guy with no regard for human life ever understand the strength of working together; believing in ourselves?"
Lucien sighs, replying to Tsukino: "At times like this, we have to believe in God. There's only so much we can do, while God is powerful and mighty."
Before the girl could rebuke his words, Shinji supports:
"He is right, this is something that us who were created can't handle, especially when this PATHETIC. We need that invisible hand of God to support us... not that of gods and demons, but from that matter in which all creation comes from."
Although harsh, everyone in the group is pathetic —removing Tsukino— for being a man who failed to be a Tama-Artists. In this New Age, mortal men are nothing more than sperm donors. Unlike girls, they're not allowed: to give children their surnames, get education, medical treatment, worse decent jobs —poor guys can't be prostitutes, because they last only 25 seconds thanks to malnutrition.
This is why guys like Shinji are impressive. With his parents being murdered when he was little, he taught himself literature to the point he created his own languages. Currently, he is writing his own story, with himself as the Main Character, something mortal men aren't able to do.
As a future legend like the Villain Rehabilitator, Shinji steps on a rock where everyone could see him, casting over an amiable glare.
"We won't be singing along the way, but praying to the Origin of LIFE (2) which the First Tama-Artist once talked about."
Agreeing, the group slowly matched over the top of the behemoth, making sounds of the dead. The top, evergreen in stark contrast with the side of the forest they were in. After an hour, they reached the position marked on the map.
The only space with a rocky surface...
As the crickets entertain the mortals, Tsukino voices herself, "There must be a mistake in the mission. Let's hunt the profound beasts on this beast... I'm sure the samurai would understand."
No one moved — the men were praying, some crying and rolling on the ground, as if, possessed by demons.
Unperturbed, Lucien takes his silver, claw-hammer, and started digging. Shinji instantly followed, picking an axe from Ten, he goes next to the red-hair. His hazel eyes locked on the object in the sky, grimacing.
"That's your aunt?"
"That's her..." Lucien's expression became darker, "We might not make it."
Shinji's took the same expression, "If someone of her caliber is observing us, then it means the Tama-Artists of the two villages are disagreeing on something. It's sad to say, but we might be hunted down in a competition to settle the dispute... that includes four of us with the birthmark."
Without waiting for Lucy to reply, Shinji changes the topic, "You do realize that we are not supposed to kill this thing, right? We need to hunt the beasts here."
"Don't worry, I put your sickness into suggestion." Lucien paused, pondering his actions. Sighing, he adds, "Also, I need your help with something."
'Oh! This is going to be fun.'
"How many times do I've to tell you to stop grinning like that?"
"My bad, Derniere-san."
"You need a woman in your life to stop you from being crazy."
Shinji raised a brow.
"Where can I get one?"
"Okaasan said that you'll before you reach 20."
'I almost forgot his mother is a prophetess.'
The conversation went unnoticed, and Shinji's group were touched to see a frail scholar working his butt off instead of them - he had an axe, it's useless at digging!
Not noticing the error, the group followed the Main Character, picking whatever they could to help. Tsukino was left with her slaves. Again, she was forced to take a move by majority rule.
__________________
1 — Emperor Nero — The Roman Emperor who danced and played music while he burned down the Empire.
2 ORIGIN OF LIFE — Part of GOD, which is also GOD in some sense since it's where everyone get the ability to breath and live.