Surviving a Shounen Manga

The Shrew Who’s Not Just a Shrew

"I am Bayar Khan."

The aura that erupted in an instant was high like a great mountain.

In her red-tinted eyes, fighting spirit boiled like lava, and a ferocious bloodthirst permeated the air.

The strength that emanated from her naturally, with every breath, convinced me that she was an unprecedented existence.

A warrior who’d never known defeat. The true ruler of the vast meadows.

The pinnacle of strength that was being exuded from the princess' whole body was something not even that Karl Zayed could surpass.

And like that, the first minute passed us by.

I stared at the princess who was still standing with a triumphant pose.

So… what are you trying to say?

With a hoarse voice, she was repeating her self-introduction for the fourth time.

Bayar Khan.

It was my first time hearing that name.

Of course, it was easy to guess that it was the name of a former emperor of the Skull Empire. And, looking at the circumstances, his soul must’ve possessed the princess.

It was impossible to determine whether this was the princess' unique ability, or a curse inflicted by someone else.

I knew one person with a similar ability, but their character wouldn’t have been created yet, and the ability itself was of a different type compared to this one. He called up ghosts, instead of making them possess others.

To be honest, this was my first time seeing a ghost with an ego possess a human body with its own will.

But right now, I didn't feel any novelty, anxiety, or alertness.

I was just annoyed.

Because that princess with the old-sounding voice didn't seem the least bit interested in holding a conversation.

"Oh, so now I know your name, right? But what’s going to happen now? Is the princess okay? Do you want anything from me?"

Whatever I asked –

"I am Bayar Khan."

The same response came back.

Haah, sir…

This was the fifth time.

Gradually, I was starting to become concerned.

‘How should I try to suppress this guy?'

Judging from the princess' soliloquy before her transformation (?), it certainly didn't seem like this was the first time.

It was a phenomenon she’d experienced several times before, and it'd been quiet for a while, but today, for some reason, the old man's soul got excited (?) and popped out.

Presumably, she’d revert after some time passed. Because that's usually how abilities like these work in a shounen manga.

However, the reason why I thought of suppressing her right away was because of those strangely gleaming crimson eyes. In any shounen manga, people whose eyes suddenly turn red like that are usually screwed up in the head.

"I am Bayar Khan."

The sixth time.

I didn’t need to look at her red eyes to judge. She was screwed in the head alright.

I quietly raised my hand.

If you can't communicate verbally, you have to try conversing with your body.

To be honest, I was a tad nervous. Aside from the lack of intelligence, the aura from that body wasn’t anything to scoff at.

Then, while I was looking for an opportunity to sneak up on her –

Suddenly,

"You really are a bold guy. I said my name six times, but you didn't show me any respect."

The princess looked at me and spoke out of nowhere.

"… Erm?"

"What do you mean, ‘erm’? You rude punk!"

It was embarrassing.

It wasn't that he couldn't say anything else. His brain seemed to be working fine.

But his words had a twist. Apparently, I’d been the one ignoring him.

"…"

After a moment of deliberation, I was able to figure out the ins and outs of the present situation.

There seemed to be some communication gap due to cultural misunderstandings between us.

"I'm sorry, but I'm from Westland, so I don't know much about the culture here. How should I have acted?"

"You have to get down on your knees and politely bow down. How dare you raise your head upright in front of the emperor?"

"Eh? But I’m from another country?"

"There’s no one on this earth who does not stand beneath the sky of the Skull Empire. That includes you, too. If you didn't know, I can let it go just this once. Get down on your knees right now. I, am Bayar Khan!"

"…"

Well, his speech wasn't completely incomprehensible.

This did make some sense. Because he’d been an emperor. It might’ve been natural to have such an attitude.

The only problem was that I was from a culture that let me sneer and ignore such a class divide.

Besides, this ancient gentleman wasn't even the incumbent. At his age, he should’ve already learned to shrug off his worldly glory alongside his lingering regrets.

So, in order to make this unknown old ghost understand the situation, I decided to show the opposite attitude from what he was hoping for.

It wasn’t because I hated looking bad, really it wasn’t.

"Ah, forget about it, old man. Where's the princess? Is she with you?"

Then,

"Again! My words go into one ear and out the other, like dogshit! I’ve been waiting for a guy as cheeky and bold as you to show up. It’s been a long time since my blood last boiled like this… although, I don’t have any blood! Kahaha!"

I thought he’d get angry, but on the contrary, he only laughed uproariously.

How absurd.

"… No, really, what happened to the princess?"

"She’s just fine, she’s here too. This is that kid’s body, after all."

The princess clenched her fist and rapped against her own solar plexus, but I couldn't shake the thought that some insidious intentions were mixed inside the gesture.

"But, still. I'm not sure what's going on, exactly, but it sounds like she doesn't like it, so why did you forcefully take over a young woman's body? Haven’t you lived a long enough life, noble sir?"

"Don’t get me wrong. I also didn't have any other options. This kid was the only vessel that could hold me, what could I do? Of course, there seems to be another one now."

He licked his lips, pinning me with his sinister eyes.

"Haah…"

In any case, as it was the body of the princess doing the gesture… I could only stay silent. No wonder this never even appeared in the original.

It felt strange to watch. Somehow, it was like looking at a character that reflected the author's dark desires.

Of course, like Cocoa, this might’ve also been a character that’d originally been scheduled to appear, but was put on hold due to problems with the plot development. In the first place, Eastland itself didn't take up a lot of weight in the original story.

For a simple reason. Not because there was no story to tell, but because the arc came just before the crossing to ‘Midland'.

At that time, the readers all recognized that the main storyline would start after the heroes crossed over to Midland, so there wasn’t much interest in spending time in Eastland for no reason.

Moreover, since a lot of the content was devoted to the appearance of the goblins, there wouldn’t have been much space for other characters to shine.

‘By the way, this isn’t the princess' own ability, right?'

I couldn’t be completely certain, but it seemed that the soul called Bayar Khan was not created by the princess' unique ability. From his words, it sounded like the target of possession could be changed.

Perhaps the old man in the princess costume was conscious of my gaze, so he approached me with his chest high and said:

"Anyway, the reason I came out now is…"

"You want to fight me?"

"That’s right. You understand."

That’s because you’ve told me that already.

Without further ado, I forged ahead.

"Then let’s hurry up and get it done. I have business with the original owner of the body, not you, old man."

As I stretched my arm out –

"That’s some mouth you’ve got on you! You damned ugly bastard!"

This mad old man started screaming again.

"Haah… what is it this time?"

"Don’t try to arm wrestle like a sissy! If you're a warrior, you have to fight with your whole body! Although, I don’t have a body anymore! Kahaha!"

"…"

It wasn't funny.

Didn’t I have to struggle hard just now?

Of course, I thought it’d be ridiculous to keep arguing about it, so I went straight to the point.

"I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have that much time to waste with you right now, old man. Please return the princess."

"Keke, as if! I’ll never go back until I have the struggle I’ve longed for. I've been feeling the itch to fight for so long! Although, I don’t feel anything anymore! Kahaha!"

I was starting to get a headache.

"You don’t seem to understand the situation the princess is in right now, but there are a lot of assassins around here. You know what’ll happen if you make a fuss."

But this, too, failed to convince him.

"Assassins? It's enough to just blow all their heads off."

"Haah… still, a fight? For something like that, we at least need a place ready, right? Even if it's just a small ring or something. But there’s nothing like that on this ship. I'm sorry, but since there's no suitable place, could you please give up and disappear, in various ways…"

That was then.

"There is one."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind me.

"Huh?"

"There is one."

When I turned around, Cocoa was looking at me with an indifferent expression. Who knew when she’d come back in.

"A place where the two of you can run wild."

"… I don’t particularly want to run wild, though."

At a glance, it seemed as if she’d heard everything.

"And by the way, by a place you don’t mean jumping into the sea, right?"

"Stupid Squatjaw. Of course not."

"Then where? Where is such a place on this ship?"

In response, Cocoa stretched out her finger and pointed to the ceiling.

"…"

I scratched my head.

"What does that mean? The ceiling?"

"It’s up above. At the top."

"The top?"

"The top floor of this ship. The VIP arena. That’s the place."

Confused, I again peered at Cocoa's indifferent face.

Weird. It sounded like she wanted me to go up there.

"So now you want to go up? But you didn't want to go there, earlier."

"Because there wasn’t a path there earlier."

"… There’s a path? But you never said anything…"

"I just found it. And you have to go now."

Her expression looked oddly determined.

"…"

A path, huh.

A trip upside now seemed unavoidable. Although, to be honest, this felt a bit silly.

"Top floor, right? Where the VIPs are?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm… Let's talk to the room manager."

"Let’s fight!"

"Ah, okay, I want you to return the princess first. I'll find out the place. Can you wait for me to get things ready?"

"Stop chattering, just arrange things right away. Once I make up my mind to do something, I never stop midway. I’ll be waiting here!"

"… Haah."

He sounded so solemn while spewing utter dogshit, that I couldn't even get a word in edgewise.

"Fine, I’m going to go check it out, so stay here and be quiet. Don’t make a fuss."

Saying that, I rushed out of the room.

"I heard we got a new VIP application."

"New?"

"Why all of a sudden?"

Everyone's attention was focused on the man's words for an instant.

It was the third day of the voyage.

It was too late to apply for VIP status.

Most people had already finished the process a few months before boarding.

"Who is it?"

"Someone we didn’t know was riding?"

"Where does he hail from?"

It sounded interesting.

As the questions poured in, the man shrugged his shoulders once and gave a simple answer.

"He’s just an adventurer. He’s just completed the qualification exam."

Then,

"Huh, heh…"

"It’s not even funny."

"What adventurer, that’s just a young chick…"

Some smirked, and some laughed out loud.

Because the people here were basically high-ranking officials of a various nations, royalty, or magnets who ruled the business world of a continent.

It was a common perception in this world that adventurers were the chosen ones whom ordinary people could only watch from afar, but the people here already had many skilled adventurers in their retinue. Now, hearing the request of a newcomer who’d just become an adventurer, they had no choice but to laugh.

However, some of them changed their words while looking at one man.

"Of course, I don’t mean to ignore all adventurers, but…"

"It's never about ignoring adventurers. It’s true that not everyone can be an adventurer. But even adventurers have different ranks. Don’t they?"

A young red-haired young man who heard their excuses bit out a response with an indifferent face.

"Yes. Not all adventurers are the same. And this friend knows that. Surely there must be more grounds for the application? Just an adventurer, is that the end of it?"

The man who’d spoken first showed a strange smile.

"Yes, there was one more thing. He’s class A."

And then,

"Class A?"

"Oh, that’s a pretty high rating."

"Isn’t that still a bit lacking? Really, if he’s only reached A-class…"

Again, the surroundings began to murmur.

That was then.

"Wait, didn’t you say that he’s just finished the qualification exam and become an adventurer? Is such a young chick an A-class? Then…"

Someone pinpointed a fact. And it was certainly quite meaningful information.

Soon after, everyone's eyes turned to the red-haired young man.

There was a slight change in his expression.

"Did he get first place in the qualification exam?"

Then,

"Correct."

The man who’d brought the news grinned.

And the murmurs grew like an explosion.

Soon after,

"Call him here. Let’s take a look at this younger brother’s face."

The red-haired young man, Xavier, who happened to be an S-class adventurer, spat out indifferently.

"Right now?"

"Yes, they’ve asked you to come right away."

I was given permission, but in return I had to show my face right away.

While the manager’s face was dyed with urgency, I turned my head to look at my guide.

Cocoa just nodded without saying a word.

"Alright, let’s go."

I glanced at the princess who was sitting next to me.

"M-, me?"

"I have to go, so would I leave the person I kidnapped behind?"

The princess looked at me with a confused face, and then nodded her head.

Maybe she thought she might see an acquaintance If we went to meet the VIPs.

And that was a variable for me as well.

"Is that wacky old man gone now?"

"… I don’t know. Once he goes back inside, it’s tough for him to get back out again, but he didn’t get what he wanted before going in this time."

"Be careful so that he doesn’t come out again."

"It’s not really up to me though…"

Fortunately, he couldn’t manage to bear it and had disappeared while I was away. Although, apparently, he’d left a curse or something before disappearing; something like ‘We’ll meet again, Squatjaw!'

After a while –

Ding Dong–.

"Here it is."

The elevator carrying us arrived at the top floor of the ship.

There was a door at the entrance, just like a penthouse.

"We’re here. I've given them a report, so you'll probably be able to get in and out soon. Good luck."

After getting off the elevator together, it was time to wait for the door to open.

As if she’d suddenly remembered, Cocoa spoke from the side.

"The path ended."

It sounded absurd.

"What? Isn’t it here?"

"No, I told you. It ended."

"… Ended?"

At that moment, I felt a sense of incongruity with the word Cocoa had chosen.

The path had ended.

Unlike expressions she’d used in the path, where the path had been ‘cut off’.

Cocoa seemed to have noticed the question mark hovering over my face, and kindly added a word of explanation.

"Maybe this is the final destination?"

"…"

The terminus of the path didn’t mean anything else. It just meant that this was a point where I could achieve the final goal of my mission in Eastland.

And that goal didn't just mean taking the princess to the Adventurers' Association. It included all the quests that would be linked after that.

In a word, it meant that the end to ‘the path leading the princess to the empire' existed here.

At that moment, a clear premonition arose in my mind.

Beyond this was the secret mastermind who’d arranged the assassination of the princess. The door opened soon after.

Editor's Notes:

None for this chapter.

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