BGDBP 24

Chapter 24

The Loroa Empire was a wealthy great power, but there were disparities from region to region.

Among the five regions, the Central region was by far the wealthiest.

Perhaps because of that, the culture and arts industries of the Loroa Empire’s Central region were on a level unmatched by any other city, and even its subculture scene was highly developed.

However, not many people knew this. Which was only natural—after all, why do you think it’s called subculture?

‘Ordinary people don’t know anything about the ecosystem of hardcore fans. Just like that guy outside scratching his head!’

For maniacs who passionately loved something—especially fans who adored actors and singers, and people like Cheche who loved comics—the Central region of the Loroa Empire was nothing less than a holy land.

The youth coming-of-age boys’ manga Together Toward Tomorrow, which Cheche loved enough to stake her life on.

The publisher of this manga, The Who Heavenny, was also located in the Central region.

The Who Heavenny even ran a shop, and it was famous for being packed not only with Together Toward Tomorrow, but also with merchandise from other comics and novels.

When the final volume of Together Toward Tomorrow was released recently, The Who Heavenny sold no fewer than 100 copies of the manga on site, each signed personally by the author.

‘Yeah. On-site sales!’

Only fans who didn’t live in the Loroa Empire could truly understand how heartbroken Cheche was when she heard that news.

‘Ugh! Just thinking about it again makes my chest hurt!’

Cheche desperately wanted to go to the Central region. For a true fan, a pilgrimage to Central was practically mandatory!

‘Is there really no way I could go by myself?’

It took more than ten hours by carriage to get from Tahae to Central. There was no way Cheche’s parents would ever allow their daughter to travel that far alone.

‘Why are they so conservative? This is just too much.’

Cheche felt wronged. Her older brother—only one year older than her—was allowed to travel alone, go on training journeys, whatever he wanted. So why wasn’t she allowed?

‘I’m an adult now too!’

“Damn it…”

Cheche sniffled.

Her family members outside the door were at a complete loss. Had she been in puberty for several years already?

“Hey. Why are you so gloomy? Is the manga you’re reading dark or something? People dying all the time and that kind of—”

Her brother Jojo said, scratching the bridge of his nose.

At that, their parents flared up.

“Oh my! Jojo! There’s no way our Cheche would read something like that!”

“That’s right, you brat! Don’t slander your sister! I once saw the manga Cheche reads—it was a perfectly wholesome story about going on an adventure to find one’s dreams! Even I was deeply moved by the friendship between the characters!”

At Jojo’s words, their parents got worked up like monkeys who’d had their food stolen.

“Oh, really? I didn’t know. I haven’t read it.”

Jojo smiled awkwardly, while Cheche broke out in a cold sweat.

The manga Cheche loved, Together Toward Tomorrow, was a healthy series that shouted about “hope,” “friendship,” and “the future.”

‘A refreshing manga that makes you think of a clear blue summer sky.’

But the manga Cheche was reading right now—a fan-made derivative work of Together Toward Tomorrow drawn by a ridiculously handsome artist—contained not even a speck of dreams or hope. It was utterly bleak.

‘I cried like crazy when our leader, Alexer, died for everyone.’

Anyway, since this masterpiece had such a dark title and cover, Cheche had even made and put on a cute book cover herself…

‘And he still noticed. That muscle-brained idiot has always been weirdly sharp!’

Just as Cheche was trembling—

“Kyaaah!”

Screams rang out from beyond the terrace. Startled, Cheche shrank back.

“W-What is it?!”

Jojo stopped their father, who was about to head toward the terrace.

“Stay here with Mom. I’ll go check it out.”

“Be careful, dear!”

Nodding to his mother’s shout, Jojo headed to the terrace.

From there, he saw thousands of killer fish emerging above the water’s surface.

“What the hell?! Why are those things popping up here?!”

Killer fish—fish-type monsters that walked on two legs on land like humans.

In the water, they were terrifyingly fast, but on land they moved rather leisurely.

Thankfully, it was early morning, so no one was swimming in the sea. If there had been, there would’ve been no chance to escape.

“Eek!”

“Help!”

People screamed and ran. The killer fish crawled—no, walked—toward them. At that speed, even a child probably wouldn’t get caught.

But there was a reason people were fleeing in terror.

Killer fish were monsters capable of long-range attacks.

“Sonic wave!”

After inhaling until its belly nearly burst, a killer fish unleashed a powerful shockwave that made the surrounding air crackle.

Trees struck by the blast shattered, releasing the smell of burning wood.

“Kyaaah!”

People screamed and fled even faster.

Then a child tripped over their own feet and fell.

“Ah!”

“My baby!”

The mother reached out for the child whose hand she had lost, but the surging crowd pushed her farther and farther away.

“No…!”

“Mommy…!”

At that moment, one of the killer fish noticed the small child lying helplessly on the ground.

When it opened its mouth, it stretched open all the way to where its ears would be.

With a grotesque grin, it inhaled deeply—

“Phaa—!”

The killer fish fired a shockwave straight at the child.

The blast, capable of destroying trees and everything else, charged terrifyingly toward the crying child.

“No!”

The child’s mother screamed, her cry tinged with blood.

In that instant, a man shoved the shockwave aside with his sword.

“Almost too late!”

Jojo said with a smile, sweat beading on his face.

The impact that traveled along the blade left his hand numb, so Jojo clenched the sword in his mouth and shook his hand out.

‘It didn’t even hit the blade directly, and it’s still this bad. Damn it.’

With this level of impact, he could probably block it up to a hundred times—but anything more would be pushing it.

And there were well over a hundred killer fish here…

“No choice. I’ll just have to cut them down before they open their mouths!”

Clenching his teeth, Jojo tightened his grip on the sword and charged in.

“Hah!”

Just as Jojo was about to split a killer fish in two—

A man struck the back of Jojo’s head.

“Ow!”

Jojo grimaced and turned around to see a man with dark green hair glaring at him.

“Who are you to hit me on the head?!”

“Do you even know that killer fish blood is poisonous, charging in like that?! And dressed like a tourist, no less…!”

“Oh, really? Didn’t know. But that’s because I really am just a tourist.”

Jojo replied, rubbing the swelling on his head.

“A tourist?!”

As the man’s sharp eyes widened to the size of fists, the killer fish inhaled again.

“Mmm—!”

Snapping his head around, the man swiftly drew a dagger from his chest and stabbed the killer fish in the eye.

“Graaah!”

The monster screamed in agony.

Jojo asked seriously,

“Is the weak point the eyes?”

“No. More precisely, the brain behind the eyes.”

“Oh! I see. Stabbing the eyes makes it easier to hit and reduces blood exposure—definitely a good choice!”

“…Yeah. But who exactly are you?”

The man said, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Me? Like I said earlier, just a tourist you can find anywhere.”

Saying that, Jojo whipped up a gust of wind, charged a killer fish, and stabbed it in the eye.

The man watching was stunned.

‘For a mere tourist, that skill level is…’

Then crude battle cries echoed from behind.

“Alright! Alright! Let’s go! Fight! Protect it!”

Turning around, the man saw men in flashy white uniforms running over with grim faces.

‘That unnecessarily flashy uniform… that’s definitely the Southern Knights’ attire.’

Which meant the knight order responsible for defending the south had arrived later than a tourist.

‘And what is that pathetic posture? There’s a limit to disgracing the south’s reputation!’

So furious he looked ready to breathe fire, the man decided to vent his anger on the killer fish.

“Hmph!”

He drove his longsword straight into the eye of a charging killer fish.

“Gyeeeh!”

As he tried to pull the sword out, another killer fish opened its mouth wide and fired a shockwave.

“Tch!”

The man rolled deftly to dodge it, but the shockwave knocked down a resort’s wall.

“My wall!”

The resort owner wailed, but the man was relieved that no passerby had been hurt.

‘Still, that shockwave’s range is pretty long.’

This wasn’t the level he remembered.

‘Do monsters get stronger over time, too?’

Steeling himself again, the man gripped his sword.

“Mister, are you okay?!”

Jojo asked urgently without taking his eyes off the killer fish. Veins bulged on the man’s face as he snapped back.

“I’m perfectly fine—and I’m not a mister!”

“Huh?! Really?!”

Seizing the moment when two killer fish lined up, the man stabbed both of their eyes deeply at once and shouted,

“I’m only thirty-three this year!”

“…Then aren’t you a mister?”

“W-What did you say?”