Surviving a Shounen Manga

Chapter 85

Monsters (?) in the Sky

It was six o’clock in the morning.

The time to begin the day’s work.

While getting ready to go out, Haka suddenly counted the days.

"Today is the eightieth day…"

Three months was supposed to be the limit, so there wasn’t much time left by now.

Soon, they’d return.

Hm?

Haka felt a little embarrassed seeing his own reflection in the mirror.josei

He was laughing. Him. The indifferent character who always wore the same smile in public, but never smiled when he was alone.

"…"

He couldn’t deny his own anticipation. Clearly his heart was moving a bit differently than usual.

Then,

‘… That gent would definitely check up on my homework.'

The requests he’d made before he left slowly came to mind.

First, the role of the cuckoo.

Second, organizational restructuring.

Third, spreading rumours about the goblins.

"Hmm."

To be honest, he couldn't say that he'd fully completed everything.

One had been done perfectly, one only on occasion, and a third had been left to gather dust for a long time.

The reason why things had happened this way was also simple. One needed to be dealt with meticulously, the other had to be done step by step, and he hadn’t found a good opportunity to implement the third yet.

But Haka was confident. He’d accomplished a good portion of his duties.

At that moment,

Ding Dong–.

A ringing sound could be heard.

The sound that signalled the start of the day.

Haka stopped ruminating and went out the door.

Creak–.

As soon as he opened the door,

"Hey, Boss. Did you have a good night’s sleep?"

Thirnut, one of his subordinates, dressed in a suit, greeted him with a bowed head.

And the hundreds of personnel lined up behind him also bowed in unison.

"Hope you’ve had a restful night!"

The second task which Haka had performed perfectly was ‘organizational restructuring'.

Two bandit groups including the Windrider Gang, a mafia group, three assassin organizations, two secret intelligence organizations, and so on. In less than three months, he’d integrated sixteen organizations into one.

The reason he’d gone with the mafia style during the process of unification was just because Haka thought they looked the cleanest. Also, he wondered if ‘that gent’ would find this the most familiar.

"Is there any news?"

"Yes, Boss. There’s one."

"Tell me."

"The Poison Mists has declared that it’ll participate in this war."

"… The Poison Mists?"

The Poison Mists was an assassination organization that’d been making a name recently. It was famous for its brutal methods, mainly using poison, that didn’t even leave corpses behind.

"Hmm, these friends really aren’t lacking in courage."

"But there’re rumours that their quest success rate is around ninety-eight percent…"

Haka looked at his subordinate who’d just said that.

The man couldn't stand that silent stare and quickly bowed his head.

"The really scary ones don’t bother to make up those kinds of numbers. Who have they hunted? Were there any famous people among their targets?"

"There were a few government officials of Westland, the mayor of Brindisi, and also some bandits…"

"And how does that compare against, say, the Kingslayer?"

"… There’s no comparison."

The Kingslayer.

An assassin who’d survived even after assassinating a king from Eastland, he was evaluated as the highest level among those who’d declared that they’d catch the ‘monster'.

"Of course, for a hundred billion gold… it’s worth it to at least make an attempt. Also, if the quest succeeds, their reputation will skyrocket."

So far, the number of assassins who’d declared their intention to join the ‘monster hunt’ was about a hundred. Even leaving aside the Kingslayer, at least twenty of them were famously talented.

Besides, about half of these people were leaders of their own organizations. Hence nobody could calculate exactly how many assassins would rush towards ‘him' in the end.

Then,

"Then, should we stop spreading rumours about the Poison Mists for now?"

The subordinate again asked a stupid question.

Haka gave him another look.

Just how did this idiot end up being his adjutant?

Although, of course, he didn't frown or anything. Instead he just gave a brief smile.

"No, just keep at what you’re doing. If the rumours no longer match their level, tack something else on to make it more sensational. How about this? Spread the word that the Poison Mists and the Soramites have united to pursue the ‘monster’."

"The Soramites? But they don't get along with the Poison Mists much…"

"So this is an opportunity for them to improve their relationship. The Poison Mists should welcome this too."

Not long after the ‘organizational restructuring’ had finished, Haka had started a proper attempt at his task as the ‘cuckoo’.

To reproduce the news of the Squatjaw Adventurers.

But no matter how many lies he mixed in, a certain number of actual facts had to be there as the base. Yet the Information Guild didn’t have any suitable news for him no matter how many times he nagged them.

At best, they’d gone to Eastland, had met and gotten entangled with with the princess of a small kingdom, and had stayed in a country called the Skull Empire for a while. That was it.

Haka himself was very busy, and there hadn't been any appropriate news to spin into a tale about goblins, so he’d forgotten about it.

"Isn't this… is this related to the person you were talking about, Boss?"

The news of ‘him' had become famous all over the Leeches’ Cradle.

[Assassination Request – Express]

An express-grade request with a hefty reward.

But what was even more surprising was the deadline, ‘unlimited'.

There were only two cases where such a time limit could be attached to such a remuneration.

Either it was an enemy who couldn’t be allowed to live under the same sky, or it was a message that another ‘monster' that no one could hunt had appeared.

After paying a fairly expensive information fee, Haka had found out the identity of the client. It was a famous assassination organization from Eastland.

The fact that an assassination organization had put up a quest in their own line of work, naturally meant that this was the latter case.

From then on, Haka had been able to perform the ‘cuckoo role' once in a while. Because the organizational integration had been ongoing, he’d assigned the task to a few subordinates, and above all, fresh news had started pouring in.

However, the third and last task, ‘goblin rumours', was different.

Haka hadn’t touched it even once in these last three months.

The reason wasn’t anything complex either. He’d simply been too busy, and it just didn't seem so important.

In fact, this was the bit that made him a little puzzled. He’d been so serious about goblins in the past!

Every time he met someone new, he’d come up with a riddle and try to find a point of contact with the goblins. How many hoops had he jumped through just to catch a glimpse of a goblin?

At that time, there’d been no rational reason to be obsessed with such an act. He’d simply thought that this was his ‘identity'.

Even though he’d been a part of dozens of organizations, he’d never had a sense of belonging to any of them. Those had been simply relationships of convenience that could be scattered into dust at any time. Because he’d only thought of the ‘goblins' as his home.

Looking back now… well, his behaviour had been ridiculous.

In fact, it wouldn’t have been much different with the goblins either. After all, to them, he’d be a human being – and nothing more than a stranger at that.

All this was because… he still remembered the little kindness he’d received as a child.

‘Well, there’s no denying that they were good guys.'

Of course, it was still a precious memory, but his identity no longer revolved around it.

That was why he could now smile so comfortably. Because he’d finally found a place to rest his heart.

Even if it wasn’t his identity… there were people whom he wanted to share the future with.

And they were coming.

"The Poison Mists and the Soramite Band… Then we’ll spread it like that."

"Oh, and one more thing. I almost forgot something important. Make sure you stick to this exact wording…"

That ten days later, a monster would arrive here at Westland.

Nanma Port.

As I sat on a bench by the harbour, I glanced over the rows upon rows of seafaring vessels.

White Rain – Destination: Brindisi

Iron Mary – Destination: Sonoka

Black Wales – Destination: Gibrante

⁝

"Hmm."

I couldn't help but worry.

Depending on the ride I chose, the time and location of the battle for ‘Ramirez’s Treasure' would change.

Brindisi (Southern) – The starting point of the Ramirez Scramble.

Sonoka (Central) – The point where the treasure changes hands for the first time.

Gibrante (Northern) – The site of the biggest battle.

My thoughts were running in circles.

Where should I go to get the most attention?

Where would my hand of cards have the maximum impact?

It would be nice to be able to follow the arc from start to finish, starting in the south, but honestly, that wasn't possible. How would I control a hundred goblins for so long?

These bastards were good for the initial impact, but that was where my involvement ended. The author could figure out the rest on his own.

‘What should I do…'

I revisited the arc of ‘Scramble for Ramirez’s Treasure' again in my memory.

Ramirez’s Treasure.

It was an artefact called the ‘Mirror of the Soul'.

An ancient artifact that showed the ‘secret one most wanted to hide', of the object reflected in the mirror’s surface.

Numerous characters would appear in this arc, some of whom would even turn into named characters who’d last beyond the King's Road. It was an incredibly long arc in which rice cakes would be sprinkled everywhere and Chekov’s guns would be left at every roadside, but its core plotline was very simple.

Simply put, if I took the high-speed ship bound for Brindisi, I could start right from the first stage.

For the fourth stage, I could head for Sonoka at the centre, and for the sixth, I could go to Gibrante in the north.

Since the duration of the voyage was the same at ten days for all three routes, I didn’t have to worry much about the precise timings.

Therefore, as long as I had a good plan and a detailed strategy, I could start.

There were three options, but I started with rejecting one for now.

Starting in Brindisi in the south was going to be problematic. If this were a game about simply snatching the treasure, it would’ve been one thing, but this ‘scramble battle’ wasn’t like that.

If I acted like everyone else, if I stole the treasure and tried to hide it, I’d definitely be sanctioned by the preceding plot and suffer an explosive penalty.

Even if the other guys were doing a treasure hunt, I had to play a different game by my lonesome.

In other words, I had to somehow follow the overarching plot development, yet find room for my own activities, while avoiding the sanctions of the preceding plot.

After excluding the south, only the central and the northern regions were left, but the choice between them wasn’t easy.

The central area would let me concentrate on the big picture, and I’d have space to prepare a trick or two, but the scale of the incident would be unsatisfactory. Releasing the goblins there probably wouldn’t have as big an impact.

The northern area was the place where the named would appear in large numbers, and large-scale battles would take place. We’d even get to see the science-based weapons of Northland for the first time.

But the con was that my appearance would have to be delayed a bit.

Also, it niggled at me a little that I couldn't predict what’d happen once the goblins popped up at the site of a large-scale battle. Impact was one thing, but these guys weren't adversaries, and they weren’t going to join in the fight head-on.

I’d definitely piss the author off because it’d disturb the future plot, but other than that I had no idea what’d happen.

"Huff…"

I was back to square one.

‘If I’d only had a little time to prepare, I would’ve preferred the south…'

While my worries were getting deeper and deeper –

Suddenly,

"What the?!"

"Look over there!"

"Look at the sky!"

Murmurs started up all around.

The sky?

When I heard that and looked up, I saw a strange creature flying in the sky. No, two.

‘What is that… a griffin?'

An animal with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion.

It was impossible to be sure because the figure had the sun at its back, but the silhouette was definitely similar.

But, of course,

"That doesn’t make any sense… so what is it? Some mutant bird?"

It couldn't be. There was still a long stretch to cross in the story before a griffin could appear.

In fact, mythical animals like griffins didn’t exist in nature here in the world of Adventure King. The same went for harpies, manticores, sirens, etc.

Of course, only ‘in nature'.

Those beasts would appear in front of Leo and party in one of the three arcs covering Northland.

A mechanized manticore, a griffin with a chemical weapon, and a harpy with steel wings.

In one word, ‘chimeras'.

There was no way a chimera would appear at this point, so of course there was no way that was a griffin.

Just then,

"I-, it’s diving!"

"Dodge!"

"It’s a monster!"

One of the monsters began to descend downwards.

And its destination was none other than –

"… Huff."

Yes, me.

First, I took a quick look around. Just in case one of the goblins was playing some strange prank.

But nobody stood out as suspicious.

‘Is this really an attack?'

Well, then I’d just have to grab them and do the interrogation myself.

While I was preparing to meet the monster diving down from the sky –

"Squatjaw!"

Huh?

Somebody called me.

"Look over here! That's right! Squatjaw!"

The owner of the voice was a monster.

A monster was calling me. It was a very familiar voice, too.

"Huh…?"

So, once I looked more closely,

"Coocoo?"

It was Coocoo in his hawk form. Not only that, he also had something hanging from his claws.

And hanging there was –

Without any mistake –

"… Nero?"

It was a black panther.

Crash-!

…

I scratched my head.

I couldn’t make head or tails of this situation.

Several questions came to mind at the same time.

Why were these guys here?

Could it be that Coocoo had followed me?

Then why now?

And why was that cat tagging along?

Although I was very curious –

I couldn't clarify any of my questions.

"Ugh! Why did you leave me behind!"

Because the other monster flying in the sky had followed these guys and flown towards me.

Crash–.

And then,

"What’s going on, Coocoo! Is that that Squatjaw guy you told me about? He doesn't look very strong, does he?"

When I saw ‘it', I was astonished.

The identity of the newly arrived monster – was a human. More specifically, a woman.

As soon as she landed on the ground, she threw off her cloak, drenched in sweat and some kind of unidentifiable green liquid, like an animal shedding its wings.

The smell wasn’t easy on the nose either.

"Ugh…"

But my surprise didn’t stem from merely that.

The reason I was so shocked at the sight was because her face was very familiar to me.

The eighth guide of the Huntington Bandits.

Whose arrival was the signal to start the Ramirez Scramble.

And the character who’d later become the fifth member of the Leo Adventurers.

Tanya.

Currently, she was the thief hiding the ‘Treasure of Ramirez' in her arms.

Editor's Notes:

None for this chapter.

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