Overall, the first encounter between Shidou Hikaru and others with Mirai Kuriyama was quite pleasant. For Shidou Hikaru, Ryuuzaki Kai, and Fushimi Kazakiri, meeting someone from their own world during this long journey naturally made them very happy.
Moreover, from Mirai Kuriyama, they learned some mysterious rumors about their world. They originally thought that things like magic only existed in the Otherworld, but after listening to Mirai Kuriyama’s description, they realized that there were similar existences around them. However, due to intentional efforts to maintain relationships with ordinary people, they hadn’t been aware of them.
This made the girls quite excited, pestering Mirai Kuriyama to tell them more about Otherworldly Warriors and the Demon Dream. After all, the Another World was too distant for them, but things happening around them were a whole different matter.
Besides that, another impression the girls had of Mirai Kuriyama was...
She can really eat...
"Please, please have another serving!"
Wolfing down the food in front of her, Mirai Kuriyama embarrassedly picked up the plate. Watching her actions, the stunned girls exchanged glances for a moment before Fushimi Kazakiri stood up again and handed over another dinner.
"Um... Senior Kuriyama, is it really alright for you to eat so much?"
Seeing Mirai Kuriyama’s flat stomach, Ryuuzaki Kai and Fushimi Kazakiri couldn’t understand it. Although Shidou Hikaru also ate quite a lot, Mirai Kuriyama’s appetite was equally formidable. Even more baffling was that despite eating so much, there was no reaction at all, making them suspect if her stomach was a bottomless pit.
"Ah, I’m really sorry!"
Hearing Ryuuzaki Kai’s inquiry, Mirai Kuriyama trembled like a startled hamster and hurriedly knelt beside them with her head down.
"Sorry for getting carried away because I haven’t had meat in a long time... I’m really very sorry!"
"Ah, we’re not blaming you."
Seeing Mirai Kuriyama kneeling, the three were also scared and quickly waved their hands. Soon, fellow foodie Shidou Hikaru looked at Mirai Kuriyama curiously and asked.
"But Senior Kuriyama, you said you haven’t had meat in a long time, does that mean Otherworldly Warriors are really poor?"
"Ah...Um...yeah..."
Upon hearing Shidou Hikaru’s question, Mirai Kuriyama took off her glasses and wiped them with a cloth. Her eyes glanced to the side before she embarrassedly lowered her head again.
"Because of various reasons, it’s really costly... and the value of the Demon Dream is uncertain. Last time I spent so much effort defeating a Demon Dream, and only got two thousand yen... I mostly survive on cheap cup noodles and rely on restaurant discounts now..."
"Two thousand yen?!"
Upon hearing this, the three girls were utterly shocked. For them, two thousand yen wouldn’t even count as pocket money. Yet this Miss Mirai Kuriyama defeated a creature and was only rewarded two thousand yen?!
This Otherworldly Warrior organization is just too stingy!
"Senior Kuriyama, please have some tea."
"And this piece of cake, please have it too..."
For a moment, the expressions the three had toward Mirai Kuriyama were filled with warmth and gratitude, as they quickly offered her their favorite food, which surprised Mirai Kuriyama somewhat, but she gladly accepted.
"Senior Kuriyama! Why not sell that Demon Dream Stone to our Ryuuzaki Family when we return?"
Meanwhile, Ryuuzaki Kai enthusiastically encouraged Mirai Kuriyama while patting her chest.
"We’ll guarantee a high price for acquisition, unlike that Otherworldly Warrior Association which offers just two thousand yen to fool people!"
"Thank you, thank you."
Upon hearing this, Mirai Kuriyama also revealed a smile, evidently facing financial struggles.
After a delicious meal, the four of them together went to soak in a hot spring, and naturally, Fang Zheng joined in—well, it should be noted that although it was seen in the anime, in reality, Mirai Kuriyama’s chest armor thickness was still less than Shidou Hikaru, Ryuuzaki Kai, and Fushimi Kazakiri, only comparable to Illya or Little Hei...
In a way, it’s quite sad, especially since she’s still a high school student...
After a good sleep, the group continued on their journey, and Mirai Kuriyama also learned from the three girls about Cifilo, Magic Knights, Chaos Invasion, and why she accidentally ended up in this world, of course agreeing to help—after all, they provided food and accommodation.
Additionally, Mirai Kuriyama asked the three girls if they had seen a girl named Ibo Sakura. According to Mirai Kuriyama, it seemed that the other party was also swept in like her but disappeared somewhere. In response, the three could only express that they hadn’t seen anyone like that. Though it disappointed Mirai Kuriyama, she didn’t say much. Her relationship with the girl named Ibo Sakura was complex, not easily explained, so since they hadn’t encountered her... there was nothing more she could do.
After all, Cifilo is so vast, who knows where that girl might have been teleported to.
Following this, the group naturally continued on their journey. Of course, during their travel, they once again encountered Demon Beasts and defeated them, however...
"Don’t you feel that there’s something unnatural about the number of Demon Beasts here?"
Fushimi Kazakiri put down her bow and looked around in confusion, while Shidou Hikaru and Ryuuzaki Kai also nodded. Since they arrived in Cifilo, it has been nearly half a month, and most of their time was spent traveling. However, they had somewhat understood the environment of Cifilo. Simply put, in those deep forests rarely visited by people, Demon Creatures are more abundant. But on more spacious roads, Demon Creatures are scarce. They had been following such roads, yet they encountered so many Demon Creatures, which clearly was perplexing.
Incidentally, they also finally figured out Mirai Kuriyama’s combat style — her ability to freely manipulate blood as a weapon in battle was indeed surprising. However, Mirai Kuriyama apparently didn’t plan to talk much about it, and the three sensibly didn’t ask.
"It’s indeed a bit strange... According to the map, there should be a town ahead. There shouldn’t be so many Demon Creatures here..."
At this point, Ryuuzaki Kai suddenly paused. Though she didn’t continue, the others seemed to understand her meaning — after all, the events that occurred at Ryuuzaki Kai’s school were still fresh in their minds. If the town ahead experienced the same as Ryuuzaki Kai’s school, many Demon Creatures might have appeared there too.
"We should hurry over."
"Mm."
The four didn’t say much else and quickly hastened their pace, moving forward along the road. It didn’t take much time for them to reach a town situated deep in a forest at the road’s end. By now, this town was desolate, with no sign of human presence, only the bloodstains at the gate and the dilapidated houses revealing the kind of disaster the town had encountered earlier.
This is not good!
Seeing this scene, the expressions on the four faces slightly darkened, and they hurried their pace into the town.
Inside the town, there was a deathly silence.
"Little Bai, are there any survivors?"
Shidou Hikaru looked at everything before her uneasily, asking softly. In response to Shidou Hikaru’s inquiry, Fang Zheng shook his head. He could sense that there was no trace of human life in this town, however...
"Be careful, there are many Demon Beasts here."
"Boom!!"
Almost as soon as Fang Zheng finished speaking, a twisted Demon Beast burst through the window of a two-story building nearby, several tentacles darting from behind it, shooting towards the girls!
"Watch out!"
The first to react was Mirai Kuriyama. She raised her right hand, and blood instantly condensed into a Blood Blade in her hand. Facing those fast-moving tentacles that were almost like bullets, Mirai Kuriyama swung her Blood Blade rapidly. With a few "clang clang clang" sounds, the shooting tentacles were immediately sliced apart. Mirai Kuriyama then grasped her sword with both hands and leapt upward, slashing through the Demon Beast, cutting it into fragments in the blink of an eye.
However, this was only the beginning.
"Roar———!!"
The attack from this Demon Creature was like a signal, and all kinds of Demon Creatures appeared from all directions, swarming towards them.
What followed was naturally an epic battle.
For Shidou Hikaru and the others, fighting Demon Creatures had become second nature, and Mirai Kuriyama’s presence greatly enhanced their strength. Therefore, these Demon Creatures lurking in the town, although fierce, were quickly vanquished by the four girls’ efforts.
"I didn’t expect there would be so many Demon Creatures in this town."
After confirming that the surrounding Demon Creatures had been dealt with, Ryuuzaki Kai relaxed a bit, while Fushimi Kazakiri knitted her brows uneasily.
"Could it be that other places in Cifilo have become like here as well...?"
Hearing this, Shidou Hikaru and Ryuuzaki Kai both lowered their heads in disappointment. After all, their mission in this world was to save Cifilo, yet until now, they hadn’t accomplished much, and the people here were already gone.
Mirai Kuriyama glanced around with a puzzled expression, wanting to say something to the three other girls, but remained silent.
"What’s wrong?"
Seeing Mirai Kuriyama’s expression, Fang Zheng walked over to inquire, knowing her extremely introverted character, where you’d have to prod her repeatedly to get a reaction. If he hadn’t asked, she probably wouldn’t say anything.
"Ah, no, it’s nothing big!!"
Upon Fang Zheng’s inquiry, and standing before the big white wolf, Mirai Kuriyama also waved her hand frantically.
"I just find it strange; there are so many Demon Creatures here, yet why are there no human bodies... Could it be that they’ve all been devoured by the Demon Creatures..."
Now that you mention it...
Fang Zheng was also taken aback by Mirai Kuriyama’s words; he had felt something odd about the town before. Upon hearing Mirai Kuriyama speak, he grasped the dissonance — indeed, at least Ryuuzaki Kai’s school had some bodies. But this town, despite having so many Demon Beasts, showed no signs of any remnants of corpses... could they truly have been completely devoured by these beasts?

Comments

Loading...