After that, things played out much the same as in the original story. Ikoma still rushed out, trying to save that man.
But if you're going to save someone, then just save them — why call everyone else cowards? Not only did he get beaten up, he didn't even manage to save the guy.
Leaving the Kōtetsujō's maintenance area with Ryuji's hand in hers, Mumei felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Her free hand drifted to her chest, pressing there without thinking.
"Hey, lolicon, my name's Mumei. What about you?"
"Cough. I'm Ryuji Ken — and I'm not a lolicon."
Being called that made him awkward. As if to prove his innocence, he suddenly pulled Ayame into his arms.
"See? The type I like is someone like Ayame."
Ayame startled at the sudden embrace. She didn't resist — she only blushed, lowered her head, and buried it against his impressive chest.
"Hmph." Mumei sized Ayame up from head to toe while she sat in Ryuji's arms.
Only when Ayame ducked her head even deeper under that gaze did Mumei clap her fist into her palm.
"Ah, I get it. Ryuji, you like big boobs."
Ryuji nearly tripped on flat ground. Luckily, he still had a beautiful girl in his arms to steady him.
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The three of them chatted as they wandered through the city.
At noon, Ryuji returned to his old residence. Mumei went to the quarters Kenshō had arranged for her to rest. Only Ayame remained at Ryuji's side.
"Te-Teacher… should I have the servants prepare lunch?" Being alone with him again made Ayame's pretty cheeks flush red.
"No need. We'll eat what I make."
Ayame froze, not quite understanding.
To be honest, Ryuji didn't think Hinomoto's cuisine — this cultural copycat of feudal Japan — tasted good. Look at what they ate: a piece of grilled fish, a small dish of pickles, a bit of grilled chicken, a bowl of vegetable soup, and rice. That was the standard when nobles hosted guests.
On ordinary days, it was just grilled fish, pickles, soup, and rice. Commoners did well to have pickles with sweet potatoes, maybe a bowl of soup — and they only ate two meals a day.
Glancing at Ayame's impressive figure, Ryuji couldn't understand how she'd developed like that on such a diet.
Through his connection with the Shadowkhan, Ryuji had also learned that in all of Aragane Station, there were only a few women worthy of joining his harem. That was only because this was the protagonist's city. In other cities, with living standards like this, beauties were unlikely to appear.
Still, he had his idle shadows scatter to other stations in case they'd missed someone.
His Shadowkhan weren't as weak as the anime made them look. You could say he'd developed their abilities to perfection. If you tried to hit them, they could sink into shadows — into the shadow of anything. Their only weakness was that they couldn't act where there were no shadows.
Ryuji took cooking tools and ingredients out of his storage one by one and, right in front of a wide-eyed Ayame, rolled up his sleeves and started cooking.
"Mm… th-this is too delicious."
The moment she put a slice of twice-cooked pork into her mouth, Ayame covered her lips and stared in disbelief.
Seeing her gasp in amazement again and again over such a simple dish, Ryuji couldn't help thinking she'd had it hard.
"It's really impressive you developed so well."
"Mm? Teacher, what did you just say?" After swallowing, Ayame lowered the hand covering her crimson lips and looked at him in confusion.
"Nothing. By the way, with our relationship, don't call me Teacher from now on. Just call me by my name."
Although teacher-and-student play was exciting, having a girl he liked constantly speak in honorifics still made him uncomfortable.
"Then… Lord Ryuji?"
"Don't call me Lord. Just Ryuji… or Ryu is fine."
"Ry… Ryu-kun…"
For a man and a woman to call each other by name like that was something only very close people did. Ayame's cheeks burned.
Wait — yesterday she'd already been held by him, and… and he'd even squeezed that place.
Remembering that indecent tenderness, Ayame flushed bright red. She couldn't even focus on the food anymore.
Ryuji had no idea why, but a shy girl really was beautiful. How did the saying go? As expected of a pretty girl — truly a feast for the eyes.
But he didn't want to do anything right now. By evening, the city would fall, and he needed to teach her some self-defense.
Kabane weren't slow targets like the zombies from HOTD. Their physical strength was extremely high. If you used the evaluation system of the Reincarnation Space, ordinary Kabane were usually rated H-, close to H. Those that had eaten many people or possessed martial skill were H, close to H+.
The zombies topped out at only H-. That alone showed how monstrous Kabane were to ordinary people.
{T/N: According to these evaluations, an ordinary adult has an overall strength of H-, with exercise and so on. Anything beyond that starts to jump into Athlete territory, and then Olympic Athlete territory (imagine if Usain Bolt's top speed were his normal everyday running speed, and you'll see just how far that is from an ordinary person.)}
After the meal, Ayame — her lips still shiny with oil — used a tissue to wipe her mouth, embarrassed.
That glossy little mouth made Ryuji want to lean in and steal a kiss. But he held himself back and led her into the courtyard. Holding a Contract Orb in his hand, he looked at her.
"Ayame, come and sign a contract with me."
"Eh?!" Ayame froze.
Then she saw him slowly approach. Thinking he was going to do what he'd done yesterday, her face went red and she unconsciously crouched down.
"Uh… Ayame, why are you squatting?"
"Huh? Aren't you going to do that thing?" Crouching on the ground, Ayame looked up at him in confusion.
Ryuji pressed a hand to his forehead, amazed at how… proactive this girl was.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Night.
Mumei sat alone on the roof, staring up at the bright moon.
From inside her collar, she took out an amber-colored stone and murmured, "Mother… it'll be June soon."
{T/N: Her real name is Hozumi, that means June 1st, a special date to the canon and real life Japan.}
In Hinomoto, June was the rice harvest season, and it made her remember her promise to her mother.
Whoosh! Bang!
A tearing sound through the air and the explosion that followed interrupted her thoughts.
Following the noise, Mumei saw Ayame below, drawing her bow again. Ryuji stood beside her. What puzzled Mumei was that Ayame held no arrow. Instead, a green-glowing object shaped like an arrow had formed in her hand.
Whoosh! Bang!
A metal rake dozens of meters away shattered instantly. Beside it, a wooden stake had already been blown apart — and even the wall behind them was cracked. Clearly, an earlier shot had blasted the stake.
Mumei sprang to her feet, shocked, as she watched another arrow of light appear in Ayame's hand.
Ryuji watched Ayame's serious face as she drew and aimed, her impressive bust becoming even more pronounced with the motion.
At that moment, she possessed a kind of heroic beauty.
Whoosh! Bang!
The third metal rake burst apart.
"Hah…" Ayame exhaled and put away her steam-powered bow.
Looking at the mess in the distance, she remembered her misunderstanding earlier. She'd even crouched down on her own… so embarrassing… wuwu…
She almost cried at her own stupidity.
"Not bad. With this power, even the Kōtetsujō couldn't withstand it." Ryuji walked up and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Ayame blushed and stood still, letting him wipe her with a tissue.
Perhaps because she'd been sweating, the air carried a faint maiden's scent. Staring at her flushed cheeks, Ryuji grew absent-minded and, without thinking, wrapped his arms around her slender waist.
The distance between them shrank.
Just as Ayame thought she was about to be kissed — tilting her head back and shyly closing her eyes…
"What was that just now? It blew a metal rake apart!"
The sudden voice shattered the mood.
Ayame immediately pushed Ryuji away, blushing as she smoothed her skirt.
Ryuji looked at Mumei on the wall, speechless at her timing.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Noticing his stare, Mumei tilted her head.
"Cough, nothing. Mumei-chan, do you need something?"
"I asked Mother. He said only close people add '-chan' after someone's name. We're not that close, right?"
"Don't worry about it, Mumei-chan."
"Is that so? Anyway… what was that?" Mumei jumped down and in a few steps stood before Ryuji, pointing at the steam bow in Ayame's hands.
"Oh, this is…"
Clang! Clang-Clang!!
Before Ryuji could answer, the entire city erupted with bell alarms.
"You two, hurry and notify the castellan. The Kabane are attacking."
Hearing the bells, Mumei instantly lost interest. With a stern face, she said that and left.
"Ayame, go to your father and give him this rifle. You take this pistol with infinite ammo. I have something to do — I'll find you later."
Ryuji took out the rifle, magazines, and the Beretta 92F pistol he'd gotten from Rika and handed them to Ayame. He'd taught her how to use them that afternoon, so he wasn't worried.
"Ryu-kun…"
Watching him head after Mumei, Ayame felt helpless. But remembering his instructions, she hurried away in the other direction.
Ryuji secretly followed behind Mumei with a high-definition camera in hand. He looked like a pervert about to sneak into a women's bath.
Soon, he saw her talking with someone named Fumon. Then Fumon pressed a suicide pouch to himself, and with a snap… he was gone. Mumei left without any expression — either she felt nothing for him, or she'd simply grown used to death.
"It's coming, it's coming." Ryuji excitedly raised the camera and started recording.
{T/N: For those who don't know, this is one of the anime's famous scenes.}
Mumei stood beneath the torii gate. A Kabane stood opposite her — iron-gray skin, a heart and veins glowing like magma across its body.
The moment it saw her, it charged.
Jingle! Jingle!
Mumei stomped her wooden geta, reached up, and pinched the blue ribbon tied around her slender neck.
For some reason, in her amber eyes, Ryuji saw loneliness and sorrow. The excitement of recording twisted into a sudden ache in his chest.
Rip!
The blue ribbon tore away, and Mumei raised a fighting stance.
Roarrr!
Like a starving wolf spotting fresh meat, the Kabane lunged.
"Heyah!"
When it came within a meter, Mumei spun into a roundhouse kick. Her long, pale leg traced a beautiful arc, and the silver geta sole sliced across the Kabane's neck.
Thud… thud-thud-thud!
A snarling head rolled across the ground. The Kabane's body collapsed.
"Mnngh…"
A cute sound ruined what would have been a shocking scene to ordinary people.
The heroic Mumei who had just decapitated a Kabane now had one foot propped on the torii post, trying to yank something free.
Even though Ryuji had laughed at this in the original story, seeing her geta stuck in person nearly made him laugh out loud. He barely held it in — though the camera had already captured the precious moment.
"Heh heh… I can use this to blackmail her later…"
Ryuji imagined forcing Mumei into a corner, trembling.
'Mumei… you wouldn't want people to see this embarrassing footage, would you?'
He wore a creepy grin as he fantasized.
Just then, Mumei felt a chill crawl up her spine and shivered. She looked around, but there was only her and a headless corpse, so she ignored it.
"Mmph…"
Unable to pull it free, Mumei gave up. She took off her other geta too and left barefoot.
After she was gone, Ryuji stepped out of the shadows and easily removed the stuck geta. The shoe still carried the scent of her small lotus feet.
He narrowed his eyes, "No — why am I even smelling this? I'm not a foot fetishist."
In regret, Ryuji punched the torii post and broke it. Then, thinking it would be a waste, he stored the geta in his Personal Space.
Boom!
In the distance, Mumei turned back oddly, frowning as if her left foot felt itchy.
✦✦✦
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $1, as well as smut chapters ($2) or spicy images ($5) or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)