0p0 #321 - Zun Zun, are you very proud?
#321 - Zun Zun, are you very proud?
【Dorto of Knowledge, Shallegu of Body, Gad of Mystery】
【Go to the shrines. After passing the trials of 3 shrines, the warrior from a foreign land guided by God will bring hope, and that is the Hero.】
【Protect the shrines. When all 3 shrines are destroyed, the great power of God will run rampant, bringing disaster.】
Inside the bar on the first floor of the inn.
Zun Zun sat at the bar with a piece of parchment with lyrics on it, deep in thought.
“Hmm—hey—ho—”
Since a while ago, meaningless groans had been coming from beside him, making him a little irritated.
He turned to look at the beautiful elf girl beside him.
“Miss Elga, you've been making subtle noises since this morning. Are you feeling unwell?”
“That's not it! And don't give me healing potions. I don't feel sick!”
Even as she said that, she snatched the potion Zun Zun offered and stored it in the space created by her storage magic.
Shimazaki Yosuke clicked his tongue in annoyance.
After all, from a staunch heterosexual's point of view, the beautiful elf girl's actions were purely selfish and greedy, but he didn't say anything.
“You've been sitting here since morning, staring at that parchment without moving. What is it, anyway? Are you lost in thought over something!?”
“Th-this customer…”
The beautiful elf girl slammed the counter, prompting the barmaid to quietly try to dissuade her with an embarrassed expression.
“Sorry,” Zun Zun apologized to the barmaid, then explained, “This is what Miss Mabel…”
“Mabel, Mabel, you two are so close, you're even calling each other by your first names! You haven't even called me by my first name!”
“…Haven't we already been calling each other by our first names, Miss Elga?”
“Elga is my surname, you idiot!”
The beautiful elf girl was being unreasonable. She strongly demanded to be called by her first name like Mabel, but it was impossible to say the elf name perfectly every time.
“Sootsuilu Kila Zeaga Lunellurea Aglanzelga, Miss.”
“That's too long! And don't add 'Miss'!”
What else do you want from me!?
Normally, shouldn't this be the time to smoothly say her name, calm her anger, and successfully gain some favor? Why is it turning out like this instead!?
Shimazaki Yosuke couldn't understand tsundere, so he couldn't do anything, while Zun Zun understood tsundere too well and ended up messing things up because of his self-righteousness.
The beautiful elf girl was really too difficult to deal with.
Therefore, he said somewhat resignedly, “Then let's shorten the name. Soo or Tsui, you choose.”
“I…!”
“Okay, then it's Tsui.”
“Why are you deciding on your own! Besides, my family… my kingdom, will not allow anyone to disrespect royalty!”
She slammed the counter, seriously affecting the other customers drinking at the bar.
Zun Zun rubbed his temples.
“Because your eyes are as beautiful as jade, that's why I thought of it. And this is the name I chose. Don't you like it?”
“Of course—! …I-I like it…”
I still preferred your unruly self from just now.
For some reason, even though he was just giving the beautiful elf girl a simple nickname, she became happy instead.
Seeing this, Shimazaki Yosuke also said, “Um, I also find it troublesome. Can I call you Tsui too?”
“No. You can't even remember other people's names. As expected, you have the brain of a beastman.”
“Ugh!”
The beastman, rejected on the spot by the elf, looked even gloomier.
What a tragic man.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, Zun Zun quickly changed the subject, saying, “This is…”
“The song that girl sang yesterday, right? Amazing, isn't it, that you could get a descendant of the Ice Clan to sing for you… Zun Zun, aren't you very proud of yourself?”
The beautiful elf girl waved the parchment.
No, buddy.
Shouldn't you be the one saying that?
“By the way, that Ice Clan girl is still in your room, right? Staying in the room all night, surely…”
“No, she's already left.”
“But I waited all night, and I didn't see her come out of your room until dawn…”
“She left through the window.”
Huh? Waited all night?
Zun Zun carefully stared at the beautiful elf girl's eyes, noticing faint dark circles under her eyes, which seemed to prove that she had been waiting outside the door all night.
“I-is that so… She's already left?”
Suddenly, the beautiful elf girl smiled radiantly, and even the dark circles under her eyes seemed to fade a little. Could it be that she felt happy because Mabel wouldn't be traveling with them next?
“Then—”
Shimazaki Yosuke, who had been silent since just now, suddenly spoke, “This parchment… no, to be precise, the lyrics on it, are related to what we're going to do next, right?”
“That's right. As expected of Yosuke, his mind is quick.”
“Of course! In the game, Mabel was the NPC who delivered information at crucial moments. She would always appear whenever I got stuck, so I have a lot of experience.”
Shimazaki Yosuke looked proud.
No, no, no, that's not right.
Treating reality like a game feels wrong. Besides, Mabel is a living girl, so it's too much to call her an NPC. And I feel like Shimazaki Yosuke doesn't respect Mabel very much.
“Hmm? Related? I don't see it.”
“These are just lyrics, not a treasure map, Elga… cough cough, Tsui.”
He stopped the beautiful elf girl from constantly fiddling with the map, as if trying to decipher the truth, and instead guided her to think about other things.
“Tsui should have heard the story of the Ice Clan, right?”
“Of course, I've heard it countless times.”
“…What story?”
Shimazaki Yosuke was confused. He was the real outsider. Regardless of the Ice Clan, the Frozen God Sword, or the Flame Demon Dragon, he never wanted to understand these background stories. Instead, he always focused on enjoying the battles.
“Ah, how ignorant can you be?”
The beautiful elf girl sighed helplessly. Although her words were a bit harsh and her personality was tsundere, she still explained it properly.
The ancestor of the Ice Clan was a warrior from a foreign land who came to this world about 400 years ago. He died in a great battle and was sent to this world by God, who gave him a new life and body.
Furthermore, to ensure that he could live successfully in this world, God said he could grant him one wish.
Later, the ancestor of the Ice Clan obtained a Frozen God Sword that could only be used if one had no evil intentions. He learned the general knowledge and language of this world in the Shrine of Knowledge and fell in love with the village priestess.
With the power of love, the Frozen God Sword unlocked its seal, defeated the Flame Demon Dragon, and then the Frozen God Sword was passed down through generations.
“No… Have….”
“What?”
“Nothing! Why didn't I get the same benefits as that Frozen God Sword! Besides, I haven't even spoken to that damn God. What's going on!?”
Shimazaki Yosuke suddenly lost his temper.
He became even scarier than the beautiful elf girl when he got agitated. His hoarse roar was truly heartbreaking to hear.
“That kind of thing—”
“That kind of thing doesn't matter at all!”
With a bang, a wooden wine glass smashed on the counter, and the barmaid seemed unable to endure the trio's startling behavior any longer. Forcing a smile, she said with a dangerous tone:
“These customers, it seems you've had enough to drink. Please leave our establishment!”
“…Yes, sorry.” X3
The three of them were kicked out.
Shimazaki Yosuke was walking behind, doing something. A small screen-like thing appeared in front of him, and he kept swiping back, as if searching for something.
The beautiful elf girl was even more curious.
“Was that just now related to you two?”
“Don't you understand, Tsui?” Zun Zun waved the parchment, saying, “Look, the lyrics say…”
“Go to the shrines. After passing the trials of 3 shrines, the warrior from a foreign land guided by God will bring hope, and that is the Hero. Hmm? A foreign… warrior?”
She looked at Shimazaki Yosuke behind her and then at Zun Zun beside her.
Come to think of it, they both stated from the beginning that they were transmigrators from another world, adventuring to find a way home. They even sealed the Flame Demon Dragon as a method to return.
“So, in other words, we need to clear 3 shrines to become stronger… right?”
“In a sense, that's right. But it's not just about clearing 3 shrines, but also…”
“Also?”
“Destroying them!”
Just like what Shimazaki Yosuke did, Zun Zun planned to replicate it. However, Shimazaki Yosuke did it by accident, while Zun Zun was doing it on purpose, to release the 【Rampaging Great Power of God】 that would appear after destroying the three shrines.
He would then merge it with the Flame Demon Dragon, and then Zun Zun, Shimazaki Yosuke, and the evolved Flame Demon Dragon would work together to forcibly break open the spatial passage.
That way, Zun Zun could use the crown to successfully return to Konosuba.
“…What a reckless plan.”
“That's the Crimson Demons for you.”
It could succeed. Shimazaki Yosuke and the Flame Demon Dragon's power might not be enough, but with Zun Zun added, it might work. Gathering the power of all three at one point could completely distort and break open space.
That way, he could go home!
“Yosuke, you have to do your best later!”
“Huh? Ah, ah… I will.”
Shimazaki Yosuke just subconsciously agreed, which surprised Zun Zun. Turning around, he saw that he looked refreshed. Most importantly, he was holding a notebook in his hand.
Seeing him like this, Zun Zun couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Could this guy have just deleted some bad memories of himself? Could it be the memory of choosing a cheat when he first transmigrated? That's not right. Normally, wasn't it that God messed up the area, causing Shimazaki Yosuke to not understand anything at all?
Could it be…!?
Because Shimazaki Yosuke couldn't understand and felt like he was cursed by God or something, he deleted that tragic memory from his mind?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed!