Shiinamachi Senpai Volume 4 Last Episode Part B 9
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist
【Last Episode: Curtain Call and the end Part B, 9】
Most probably she is Lady Tomoe, the Lord of the Knight who got owned by Monjiro-senpai just now.
He just stands there, and smiles at her. It was his usual, warm smile, but at the same time it was sending a clear message to her: if you don’t want to end up like him, get out of my way.
Faced with such intimidation, all she could to was to bit down on her lip, dig her nails into her arm and look away from him…. Directing her gaze onto one of the nearby roofs.
That was when I jumped on top of one of the tables, activating my 『Divine Gift Chronos』 at the same time. Before my feet landed on the fine wood, the world around me froze in place and lost all of its colors. I think it was like that because my Gift was able to stop even the reflections of the particles of light, therefore making my eyes unable to distinguish between colors properly. But even so, I was still able to 「see」 black and white.
What am I looking at right now is the 「record」 of the world just before my ability stopped it. To use a video game analogy, I was now looking at the world in its 「auto-saved」 state. In this stopped world, every physical phenomenon is forcefully being kept in this 「auto-save」 until the duration of the time stop ends and only the user is able to move normally. That was the only explanation of 『Chronos』 I have received from my Lord. Everything else, from the limitations placed upon it to the ways it could possibly be utilized I had to figure out for myself with trial and error. One of the things I’ve learned was that even if I killed someone in stopped time, that someone wouldn’t die, because he/she was still alive in the moment the ability was activated, so his/hers 「auto-saved」 state was 「being alive」. So in order to kill someone dead and be one hundred percent sure of it, I have to stop time to get close to the target, make time flow again to kill it and stop time again to make my escape, repeating the process of pausing and resuming as many times as necessary.
Thanks to that, I will be able to confirm the position of the other one of Lady Tomoe’s Knights. A girl, looking like a junior high-schooler, wielding a bow woven out of light. Getting to her position, I cancelled my Gift’s power and got attacked by an overwhelming wave of dizziness and nausea. That was the price for using this power and a fact that I have learned about in the most unpleasant of ways.
「Ehhh?!」
The girl was so taken aback by me appearing next to her in a split-second that she didn’t even had the time to react when I struck her in the side of the head with the handle of my knife.
「Ugyaaa!」
While leaking a surprisingly cute voice, the girl lost consciousness and fell to the ground at my feet.
Soon after that, all the Lords and their Knights gathered at the courtyard raised their voices in awe, and rightfully so. After all, from Kaguya announcing her offer to give 『Thanatos』 to whoever defeats us to us bringing the first two contestants down not even 10 seconds have passed.
「Ahh, poor Tomoe-chan. So promising, but still has so much to learn. At her current level. She’s not worthy of being killed by me.」
That was all that Master had to say about our battle. Sitting next to her, Kaguya was laughing, while Lady Tomoe slumped onto the ground, speechless. To hear her name belittled in such a way must have been a heavy blow to her pride as a Lord. I almost feel sorry for her. Almost, because all three of them bit way more than they could possibly chew. They knew exactly who we were and who was our Lord and yet they allowed their bling faith in their own abilities to blind them to the threat their enemy was posing. That’s the most basic of the basic mistakes someone can make on the battlefield.
「Fujisato, this is getting us nowhere. Maybe they should attack us all at once? That would at least made the odds even then.」
Monjiro-senpai also scolded the other’s rather harshly.
「Puh… ahahahahahaha! You know what, Monjiro-kun? You’re absolutely right! Then let’s do just like you’re suggesting!」
Master sure seems to be having an unusual amount of fun from this farce. As if she was the organizer of this whole event, she stood up from her seat and said:
「From now on Monjiro-kun can be challenged by anyone present here and fought with whatever means the challenger deems necessary! And to all female Knights present here: seduction techniques are Super Effective against him!」
「Ara ara my oh my.」
Kaguya was also laughing from behind the hand she was using to cover her lips.
「However, I have my own condition to add to that! Oh, don’t look at me like that, you knew it was coming! It would be too unfair if you were the only ones to get something out of it, don’t you think? So here’s what I have in mind: if Monjiro-kun is not defeated. If he managed to take down all the Knights coming after him…」
Master did a dramatic pause and went to the center of the stage.
「I will have the right to claim the life of the defeated Knight’s Lord.」
When she finished speaking the entire courtyard erupted with screams and frantic protests. The only silent one was Lady Tomoe, the Lord whose Knights already lost to us. So does that mean that master is going to…?
「Ah, don’t worry, Tomoe-chan. Your Knights got their asses handed to them before I made this declaration so obviously that doesn’t count, so feel free to take Robert-kun to the medical wing if you don’t want him to die of blood loss, okay?」
So she intentionally spared her life and I’m sure Lady Tomoe knew that perfectly. Nevertheless, she left the courtyard along with Robert who was being carried away by the maids with her teeth clenched and eyes cast down. As for the girl on the roof, I’ll have them carry her away later.
「Right, so as you can see, that’s how it is. With that said, those who do not wish to participate in this entertainment for our dear Kaguya-sama are free to do so and just watch the others fight. I won’t hold it against you of make fun of you for it, promise~~」
And she showed them a peace sign. Master, how passively aggressive towards others can you really be?
「Just sit back… and watch?」
It was clear for all to see that a lot of them were conflicted about the whole matter, especially after bearing witness to our abilities. Lords are a prideful bunch, but even they should be able to tell bravery from bravado. If it meant losing their lives in vain, it would be better to forfeit now when they still had the chance. And so, one by one, almost everyone sat down with bitter looks on their faces.
「Hmm, that’s more than what I anticipated, but as I said, no hard feelings from me~~」
「I also see no problem with that. If you are afraid for your lives, even if immortality is at stake, it’s okay to forfeit the battle. It is not a sign of cowardice.」
Immortality.
With it, a Lord wouldn’t die even she was killed on a 「Dangerous Day」. It would undoubtedly be a useful tool for those whose stories followed the not-so-peaceful path and those who wanted to shape their futures with their own hands, but in the entire Nightkin world, Princess Kaguya was the only Lord to ever possess such a Gift. For her, death is insignificant, but all the others who are not immortal were afraid of their stories ending prematurely, and rightfully so. To anyone but Kaguya, death is the ultimate curtain call without the opportunity for an encore.
That is why even when she is willing to give that power away, no one was willing to challenge us to try to take it for themselves.
「So nobody is willing to challenge us? Nobody at all?!」
Monjiro-senpai asks as he’s spreading his arms widely. I didn’t know he was such a good actor. Not only that, he was able to defeat hi earlier opponent with nothing more but his own physical abilities. I had my own suspicions before, but now I am certain of it:
With all the hidden talents he has yet to show at his disposal, he might be the biggest threat to the order ruling the obscured world of Lords and Knights.
「Oh, by the way, Kaguya-sama?」
Master turned her head to the side and addressed Kaguya directly. I know that this is all part of our plan, but I still think that she has put herself in needless danger by getting so close to our ultimate target without possessing any significant battle abilities that would allow her to defend herself should the need ever arose.
「What is it, Suzuka?」
「It’s about the reward you promised: bestowing you gift of immortality to whoever manages to defeat us.」
Uh-oh, I know that face and that devilish glint in her eyes. She’s about to say something very stupid, I’m sure of it.
「If my Knights manage to defeat everyone who will be willing to challenge them, I want you to give your {Divine Gift Thanatos} to me.」
We all literally froze in shock when we heard that.
My current position on the roof has one major advantage: if anyone tries to attack Master or Monjiro-senpai, I will be able to see it and act accordingly to the situation. Right now our enemies’ actions are effectively sealed because of me.
「Fufu, it would certainly be an interesting turn of events if something like that did happen, but I’m afraid that I cannot allow it, but not because of the reasons you’re probably imagining right now. It’s just that today is supposed to be the day of my full revival, so I don’t want to ruin such a joyous occasion by spilling any more blood than it is necessary.」
But Kaguya denied Master’s suggestion with a resolute attitude. Well, that was to be expected. Most likely she knew that we could dispatch most of the Knights here with ease, so she didn’t want to waste time, effort and manpower for something so utterly trivial. So her aim here must be…
「So let’s do this then.」
Kaguya raised her left hand. As if she was waiting for that to happen, the person who was sitting at the table behind her raised her face. With all the things that were happening until now she didn’t even bothered to look our way, concentrated only on the unholy amounts of food placed before her.
「*Munch Munch* *Munch Munch* *Ekhem!* I see… it look like it’s time to give my kid the spanking he deserves, huh?」
A petite girl with black hair and similarly black dress, Monjiro-senpai’s mother stood up after swallowing the rest of the karaage she was munching on, drank a glass of water and wiped her mouth.
「I will give my immortality to you… if your Knights manage to defeat my 「Legendary Knight」, Sakuradamon Yuuto.」
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)