Chapter 237: A Family Gathering
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Gumihou
As a reminder, the Five Finger Generals (and Left Arm) are as follows:
左腕将軍 Left Arm General, Ruler of the Netherworld (Skeleton)
小将軍 Pinky General Kayorings (Goth wraith thing)
薬将軍 Ring Finger General Sulrim (Snow Spirit)
中将軍 Middle General Zen (Samurai wannabe)
人差将軍 Index General Eno (Half Shark)
親将軍 Thumb General Kyous (???)
“Looks like we’re about to catch up to the horde!”
Leader Keyroil, my father, called from the driver’s seat of the boar-drawn cart against the wind. His eyes are intent on the road ahead.
“Luckily, that fused-up Floor Boss thing is charging ahead, Leader.”
“You’re right, Vice-Leader. It would be impossible to take that down, but the others? We can take on those and reduce their numbers.”
Even though they’re married, our parents still call each other ‘Leader’ and ‘Vice-Leader’ in front of others.
“Let’s get serious, Red!”
“You got it, White!”
My younger brothers grinned confidently as they smoothed back their red and white hair. They’ve grown so much since the last time I saw them. It was a strange sight since I was the only one who had stayed so small.
“I’ll do my best too.”
“You don’t have to push yourself, Ash. I’ll do my best to carry us, so don’t worry,” said a voice just behind me.
It was Sulrim. She was hugging me from behind and was wearing her usual gentle smile and spoiling me as usual. At first, I acted boyish and charming just to keep her near me against my curse, but now…
“Thank you, Big Sis Sulrim. But please, don’t overdo it either.”
“Leave it to me,” she said, her smile never wavering.
Seeing that smile made me happy, too.
Any doubts I might have about her, the woman who had turned her back against the Ruler of the Netherworld to save my family and me, have vanished. All that was left was trust and affection that is equal to, or even greater than, what I feel for my family.
If Big Sis Sulrim truly wants it, I hope we can really be together someday.
“The world is all wrong, isn’t it? Why is my elder brother more popular with the ladies?”
“Right? Look at him, there’s no way he can satisfy women with that body…”
My idiot brothers were glancing towards me with envy and muttering something, but I decided to ignore them.
“That’s because you two focus too much on appearances and neglect your inner selves,” Mom said.
“But Mom, don’t men and women fall for looks first?” Red argued.
“I’m with Red. No matter how you think about it, looks are the priority,” White added.
Phelmina, my mother, tried to rebuke them, but my brothers weren’t convinced and kept arguing back.
I understand what they’re trying to say, but I don’t think looks are everything.
“You boys don’t understand a thing. A man’s charm is right here.”
Dad must have heard us from the driver’s seat. He looked back and pointed his thumb at his chest, joining the conversation.
“But look at Mishael. He’s only that popular because of his face, right?”
“Yeah, yeah! In the end, it’s all about the face!”
My brothers refused to budge. I do think Mishael is handsome, even from a man’s perspective. I can understand why they’re bitter.
“Hey, if looks are all that important, that means Mister Hakkon can’t be popular with the ladies, right?”
The moment I said that, the two of them went silent.
That’s right, if looks were the only factor, what about Hakkon, who is literally an iron box? Yet, among our circle of allies, Mister Hakkon was the most popular.
“W-when you put it that way, I can’t say anything…”
“Ugh, we’ve lost, Red!”
Mister Hakkon is the perfect example of why the inner self matters.
Even now, whenever I think of him, his remains a mysterious existence. A magic tool imbued with a human soul capable of producing not just food and drinks, but all sorts of rare items. He had helped me, and had apparently saved my family many times over as well.
“I hope Hakkon gets excavated soon. We owe that guy a whole lot. We’d be in trouble if he doesn’t return safely.”
“Indeed, Leader. We must repay the kindness he showed our children and us.”
Mom moved over to sit beside Dad. Despite everything, I still think they are good parents who got along well. Even if Dad gets bossed around a lot.
“Once we get together, I’m gonna grill Hakkon on his charm techniques.”
“Oh, that’s a brilliant idea!”
As long as you boys keep saying things like that, you’ll never become popular like Mister Hakkon. Still, it’s not a bad idea to learn from him. I’d like to learn something from him, too. Someday, I’d like to grow up to become a kind, manly adult like Mister Hakkon.
“That magic tool was one of the main reasons this frozen heart of mine melted enough to see reason. I wish to drink that sweet beverage again, so I won’t hesitate to help.”
Looks like Big Sis Sulrim also likes Mister Hakkon. He’s a really strange existence, isn’t he?
“Right, enough with the idle chatter. We’ve caught up with the horde’s rear army.”
Sure enough, we could see the back of the monsters coming into view several hundred meters ahead. The slower monsters were obviously trailing slightly behind the others. After all, even if the enemy could fully control the monsters, [1] there are still physical limitations. Therefore, we figured that we could take some of them down, starting from the stragglers.
“Our job is to kill off as many monsters as possible. But don’t throw your lives away. The Whimsical Fool’s party main priority is to stay alive.”
“You got it, Pops. Just leave it to us. Death to evil!”
“Tonight, my spear hungers for blood!”
Clearly, my brothers have been influenced by the plays they watched on the ka’ar. They seemed to have taken a liking to some of the catchphrases Miss Hyurumi managed to decipher from Hakkon’s world. To be honest, I’m a bit worried about how easily influenced my brothers are…
“I’ll start off with a spell,” said Mom as she raised her staff from the driver’s seat.
“I shall assist,” Big Sis Sulrim said as she stretched out an arm, the other still holding me from behind.
A stream of water erupted from the tip of the staff, raining down on the monsters in huge torrents. Partway down, the water transformed into giant chunks of ice, crushing them instantly. Even those that were lucky enough to avoid being crushed frozen solid as soon as the water touches them.
“A mother and daughter-in-law combo spell, huh? That’s… pretty brutal,” Dad muttered under his breath.
“Did you say something, Leader?”
Ah, Mom’s glaring at him. Dad quickly looked away.”
“Daughter-in-law…oh~”
Big Sis Sulrim was blushing and giving me this rather heated stare. However, Dad and a few others had told me to just… ignore it when things like this happen, so I’ll pretend not to notice anything.
“Well, shall we get started?”
The cart stopped, and my brothers hopped out along with my father.
I’d like to help too, but with a body like mine, it’s best to avoid close-quarters combat. I took out a bow that Miss Shui had given to me and notched an arrow.
I’ve always been good with a bow, so hitting a monster isn’t the issue. However, as you can imagine, this weak, child-like body can only contain so much power.
A dozen or so monsters that had escaped the magic’s range continue to charge forward, mercilessly shattering their frozen comrades into pieces. You’d think the other monsters should have noticed the abnormal situation, but they continued their march in silence, not even sparing us a glance.
Just as Miss Hyurumi said, monsters that perceived an attack would strike back, but others would ignore us and relentlessly follow their original directive.
In other words, we can whittle down the enemy bit by bit on our own. So, let’s do our best.
Everyone moved with practised ease, eliminating monsters without any trouble. Everyone’s getting stronger, which made me hate this powerless body of mine even more. However, even if my options are limited, I’ll continue to do what I can.
I let an arrow fly towards the head of a Frog Demon that had started to make its way towards us. The piercing power was weak, but enough to make it flinch. That was when my brother drove a spear through its body. For now, this is the only way I can contribute to this fight.
Once we had defeated all approaching enemies, we hopped back onto the carriage and pursued the horde again.
We repeated the same attack pattern countless times.
First, use wide area effect magic to destroy a large number of enemies. Then, deploy close-contact fighters to eliminate those charging towards us.
To a horde of tens of thousands, our contribution may be insignificant. But right now, we have no choice but to try and reduce their strength however we can. If we can give even one more person a fighting chance to survive, then our actions won’t be meaningless.
My entire family must share the same thought as we continue to fight as a single unit without a single word of complaint. I feel really proud of being part of this family. As we got ready to launch our fifth attack, a translucent figure suddenly appeared between us and the monster.
The translucent body was not as odd as their strange outfit. The person was dressed in a black leather dress that left one shoulder bare, which was not too strange, but the silver chains wrapped all over her body were… well, it looked hard to move in those things for one.
Also, she had black painted lips and black makeup around her eyes, as well as black hair that reached all the way down to her waist. Mom stopped the carriage, and we all hopped off as a precaution.
“Who are you?”
“Hah! How I wish I could say that I have no name to give to traitors who turned their backs on the Ruler of the Netherworld, but I shall introduce myself anyway! I am Kayorings! The one and only Kayorings! World famous Screaming Diva!!”
We all stared at her as she literally screamed the last two words.
Her crazy words aside, her translucent body suggested that she must be some kind of spirit creature or race. I’ve heard that intelligent spirits are quite powerful. In short, we might have encountered a troublesome creature.
“It’s been a while, Ring Finger General Sulrim!!”
So, she knew Big Sis?
When I looked up, Big Sis Sulrim was staring at the woman with a face devoid of expression.
“Indeed, I heard that you were captured. Looks like you managed to escape, Pinky Finger General.”
Pinky Finger General? So, she must be one of the Five Finger Generals.
I braced myself and readied my bow, Big Sis Sulrim’s warm existence against my back a great reassurance.
[Gumihou: Ah, that crazy one…] [1] Added details for clarity
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