Surviving a Shounen Manga

Chapter 71 A Strange Result

Fortunately, his confusion quickly subsided.

It wasn’t the voice of somebody he’d overlooked. It wasn’t an unexpected variable.

It was the dove.

The pigeon Squatjaw carried around with him.

A new divine beast that Squatjaw had purchased at a horse market.

For some reason, he hadn’t seen around since the clash with the Trainers, but he’d apparently been hovering around nearby.

The fatty shook his head quickly for a moment.

What should he do now?

The pigeon himself wasn’t the problem.

This guy was a divine beast that could speak, but his abilities were all sealed. Wasn’t this guy the one used as a ‘bait’ by the Trainers?

Of course, his seal might’ve been released on the day Squatjaw and the Trainers had collided. Investigation into the site of the battle had revealed that the result that day had been an easy victory for Squatjaw’s side.

However, the divine beast didn’t look like his seal had been lifted. Had that been the case, it wouldn’t have looked like a pigeon.

And even if the seal had been released, he never thought he’d lose to that pigeon as long as he was careful.

The only concern was that the beast might be connected to Squatjaw via his consciousness. He’d heard that high-level divine beasts could communicate with their masters even from a long distance.

Should he start with the bird instead? Or just ignore it and start with Squatjaw?

He didn’t worry for long.

‘… Let’s catch this pigeon first and then consider the rest.’

Some preparations were needed to finish Squatjaw off in one shot. First, he had to find a way to reliably bind the bastard, then make some poison and apply it to his dagger. Also, if he wanted to lower the enemy’s defence, he had to spray curse potion all over Squatjaw’s body. There was a lot of stuff to do.

And obviously the pigeon won’t quietly watch him work.

“Ooh, aren’t you a cutie?”

The fatty approached the pigeon with a friendly expression on his face. His hand holding the dagger was hidden behind his back.

Then,

“Disgusting.”

The pigeon suddenly flew away.

Then,

“Huh?”

It went straight past him and rushed towards Squatjaw.

Bu-ump!

“Uh… huh?”

The fatty was surprised twice in a row.

Once for the fact that the pigeon was much faster than expected, and once again for the act of smashing his head against Squatjaw without hesitation.

‘D-, damn, did he wake up?’

But fortunately,

…

Squatjaw still showed no sign of movement.

“Shit, it surprised me! This little pigeon!”

The pigeon also looked a little embarrassed.

“What is this… aren’t you just sleeping?”

“Heeh…”

It took him a moment to get over his frozen state, but then the fatty grinned.

Looking back, it seemed that the two were not linked via their consciousness. One worry down.

“Heh, are you surprised, kid?”

Although he’d been a little flustered, but now he rather felt more at ease. Now that he know he didn’t have to worry about the enemy waking up, he just needed to catch this stupid bird.

The fatty didn’t hide his dagger any longer. Rather, he took an offensive stance straight away.

Clearly, divine beasts couldn’t be underestimated. Although the power was sealed, that surprisingly fast speed was definitely extraordinary. If he didn’t get sincere, new troubles might arise.

But, of course,

“Be prepared, pigeon.”

In any case, it was nothing more than a divine beast whose power was sealed. At the very least, the pigeons couldn’t stand up to him in combat – now against one of the leaders of the infamous ‘Ash-Swallowing Serpent’.

But,

“Hey, I don’t want to deal with an ugly fat guy like that… Squatjaw, you really aren’t waking up? Should I hit him one more time?”

Far from being frightened, the pigeon bastard was cheekily chirping on. While rubbing Squatjaw with his small foot. As if he didn’t even care.

“Haah…”

It wasn’t funny.

At that moment, the fatty felt some kind of unbearable anger swell up inside him.

He’d been very cautious and fearful all this time while chasing Squatjaw, true, but he was still a proud member of the ‘Ash-Swallowing Serpent’. He was a leader of the infamous assassination squad that made the entire Skull Empire tremble in fear. But, forget Squatjaw, even the pet bird he carried around was now ignoring him.

What nonsense. An Ash-Swallowing Serpent being ignored by a bird…

That was then.

“… Uhm?”

A voice suddenly came from the floor beneath his feet.

“Ugh… my head’s pounding. This wasn’t a good time to break it off. It’s like a hangover.”

It wasn’t from the pigeon. Although it came from a similar location, the source of the voice was at a slightly higher elevation than that, the keen senses of an assassin informed him.

Furthermore,

“Wake up sooner, Squatjaw! You lazy idiot!”

The pigeon bastard was kind enough to confirm it. That this hadn’t been his voice.

“Huh? Coocoo? Why are you here… eeh, stop, stop. What are you pecking at… is that some kind of powder?”

“Hey, you idiot! That’s what that fatty was trying to put into your mouth!”

“Ah? Fatty?”

…

The cold sweat that had started running on his back had become a waterfall.

“Who are you? Wait, where have I seen you, again?”

Of course, he had pulled back a little by then.

He was still slowly retreating.

But he also knew very well that this was not enough.

The fatty thought fast, as if his life depended on it.

“The powder… is a stimulant. To wake you up…”

“What?”

“Wake you up… and let you know that there’s an emergency…”

“What are you talking about? What do you… huh? Wait, my body feels a bit…”

For a moment, a cold light flashed in the fat man’s eyes.

Yes, the anaesthetic!

He’d been so startled that he’d forgotten. But Squatjaw had already inhaled that poisonious anaesthetic.

It’d worked. If he could handle this properly…

“Why does it feel a little heavy?”

Squatjaw raised himself up, and started rubbing all over his body as if he was just a little stiff.

“…”

Was it only this much?

That was then.

“What are you doing! Run!”

A hoarse voice came from somewhere. And at the same time,

Susu–.

Dark shadows began to spread through the air.

A curtain of grey fog.

It was a smoke grenade used by the thin man.

At that moment,

“… Ah, aaaaah!’

The fatty started running backwards before he was even consciously aware of it.

Fortunately, his legs didn’t stumble. He wondered what might’ve happened if they’d frozen, but they did move.

He had to run.

He didn’t think of anything else. All he could think of was that he had to run away.

Then,

“Who is this guy?”

The murmuring of Squatjaw behind his back sounded like the whispers of the devil.

I looked at the fat guy running away quickly, and then I turned my head to Coocoo.

“Who is this guy?”

“I don’t know. I came here and found that guy standing over you. It looked like he was trying to do something to you.”

“Do something? Hm.”

By that time, my hazy mind had cleared up, and I was able to remember the guy right away.

He was one of those assassins. There was a fat guy and a skinny one, in a set.

“Should I catch him?”

In fact, I could still catch him if I put my mind to it. He didn’t even seem that fast.

But he wasn’t that threatening, and I had other things on my plate right now, so I decided to just move on.

Well, I might get another crack at him later if he came to bother me again.

‘By the way, I should use this ability with caution.’

In the spirit state, I was still connected to my body, but the senses weren’t easily shared. In other words, unless a specific shock was applied, outside threats to the body couldn’t be known.

If it had been a strong guy instead of the fatty, something really dangerous could’ve happened.

‘From now on, I’ll only use it in when I’m in a safe zone.’

After organizing my thoughts, I turned my gaze to Coocoo.

“By the way, you sounded like you had to travel a long way?”

“Aah…”

Coocoo replied indifferently.

“Just a bit. It wasn’t fun. Flying alone.”

“What the heck.”

He said that he should taste freedom someday, that the whole sky was his, and that he should take a look around the world.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s better when more people have fun together. It’s different when you’re traveling alone. You travel a long way and then end up taking a photo with just yourself. Boring.”

“… Photo?”

“Ah.”

Without realizing it, I’d started talking about my previous life.

“Um… ah, there’s something like that in Northland. What’s it called, a camera? A machine that draws out the sight that catches the eye as it is? That too, in an instant. Let’s take a photo together next time.”

“… A photo, huh.”

“Oh, I have to quickly rush up there. Because that guy called Khan might do something strange again.”

I quickly changed the subject. Because if I made a mistake, I could even face suspicion from the readers.

Then,

“Let’s move, Squatjaw.”

Coocoo perched quietly upon my shoulder.

This guy had gotten a lot politer in the few days I hadn’t seen him.

It felt like a kid who came back home to eat because he was starving outside.

Surely he’d return to his original state soon, but… well, this too was cute.

“But are you going to go like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t you show your unsealed form? The princess hasn’t seen it yet.”

“Oh, is that so? I suppose I can.”

“Uh… no, no, wait.”

I quickly stopped Coocoo from transforming.

‘One of the mascots of the first emperor was a white hawk. I think it could be used for a dash of spectacle at the final obstacle…’

Of course, no clear solution came to mind right away. Still, it might be a good idea to save it just in case.

“Save it for now, and… transform when I give you the signal next time. Let’s get the timing right.”

“What signal…? Alright.”

“Then shall we go?”

That was then.

“Oh!”

Coocoo spoke as if he had suddenly remembered.

“That cat… was around here.”

“Cat? Which cat?”

“The one who fought with you, Nero.”

“Huh? Aah…”

I didn’t know he was going to come back so fast. And just by listening to Coocoo’s words, it felt like he was hovering around me somehow.

“Did you see him nearby? Is there a problem?”

“Well, I don’t really have a grudge against that guy. It’s just, I saw him when I was flying around, so…”

“Were you scared?”

“… What?”

Then,

“Scared! Of that little kitten? I didn’t get beaten back then because my will was weak…”

Coocoo started running his mouth

“They say a strong negative signifies a strong positive.”

“Hey, you idiot Squatjaw!”

“Okay, okay.”

By the way, that Nero came back? It was a bit weird.

‘Does he need something?’

Hmmm.

I immediately shook my head.

Well, if he had any business with me, he’d show up sometime or other.

“Okay, let’s go.”

I ran like the wind towards the peak.

Three days later.

The second obstacle, the sixth night.

“Are you really going?”

“Just in case.”

“He did say he won’t do anything. Although you might have a hard time buying it…”

The princess tilted her head.

“Are you sure you can afford to believe him? A guy who’s done such a shameless thing so openly?”

“Hey, what the hell? Is this guy crazy? That’s Khan, Khan! To insult him inside the Skull Empire…”

“Well, I’m not even a citizen. From what I can see, that guy is clearly up to something. It doesn’t make sense for him to be so silent.”

“But… I’m sure he won’t touch us anymore…”

“Hey, you really are naive. Even after all that, you still don’t know whom to believe. Anyway, it’s just a short trip. If nothing happens, I’ll just come back.”

“… Okay, got it.”

“Take care of your body. It’s the last day, so who knows what’s going to happen.”

Then, leaving the princess behind, I started going down the peak.

Soon after,

“Huh… acting is hard.”

I stopped at the bottom of the mountain and sighed softly.

In fact, spying on Khan’s suspicious behaviour was just an excuse.

Actually, I was moving in order to do something.

That’s right, to capture the second peak.

The last three days had been too quiet, and the chapter would soon be over. I wanted to finish things off with an eye-catching event.

Also, rather than being a subordinate to the princess, I thought I’d better advance to the final hurdle as the occupant of the second peak.

Of course, I wouldn’t take any subordinates with me.

Maybe even the princess noticed this to some extent. Because I didn’t hand over my nameplate to her.

‘… Did she know, when she told me to go?’

Hmmm.

I couldn’t figure out what the princess was thinking, but I decided not to care. Because my actions won’t harm her anyway. Even if there were misunderstandings, they would be resolved soon.

Before long, I arrived near the border between the first and second peaks.

The surroundings were full of people who had not yet decided on their affiliations.

They really were hard-working. To be honest, by now, they must’ve been feeling pretty much stuck.

In fact, this was also a problem caused by our own lukewarm attitudes.

If we had threatened to destroy them all if they weren’t on our side, or even carried out an attack and pushed them hard, most of them would probably have been cleared up.

In particular, if I had taken the lead, maybe 90% of them would’ve taken our side.

But I didn’t do it, on purpose. I did feel a little sorry for the princess, but the final hurdle would be far too easy if I did this.

Of course, there was no guarantee that I’d have the leading point of view in the next chapter. After this chapter, the point of view might pass to Leo again.

But again, what if it didn’t? What if support came from the readers this time as well?

And if that did happen, the show wouldn’t be as eye-catching if the enemy were weak. There had to be a certain sense of crisis in order for viewers to be immersed in it.

So, frankly, I was hoping for more enemies.

‘So, I’m going to tell them to get out of my sight and go somewhere else.’

I glanced at the audience, then secretly hurried my steps.

After a while,

“… What?”

As the second peak began to become visible, I suddenly noticed something strange.

‘Where’s everybody?’

The number of people had decreased significantly.

Even when I got near the peak, I didn’t see anyone at all. It was so empty that even traces of people were hard to find.

It was unfortunate.

‘Have they all gone down already?’

I supposed that all the guys occupying the second peak area had no choice but to go down the mountain, failing the second obstacle. If Khan wasn’t going to continue the challenge anyway, all of his subordinates would’ve been eliminated as well.

But it was still late at night. There was still a little bit of time until dawn.

There was still plenty of room to have some ‘fun’.

‘Or has he already started attacking?’

I immediately focused on my sense of hearing and listened. I wondered if I could hear the sound of a fight somewhere.

But it was quiet. For some reason, it felt like the entire Mount Maroon was asleep.

“Heeh…”

Disappointing. It was a real letdown.

‘I was going to take him out myself, but…’

I sat down on a rock near the peak.

Should I just go back?

Frankly, I was worried. It was very unlikely that anything would happen here tonight.

The beginning might’ve been a different story, but this was already the last night. Even if I did occupy this place, if I couldn’t find any subordinates, I’d have to form a camp without any troops at the final challenge. Those hundreds of people who were just ‘watching’ were hardly going to come up here either.

Meaning no one would come here except me.

“Whoo…”

What to do…

After thinking about it for a long time,

“Ugh, I don’t know.”

I put my flag in the empty pole at the centre of the peak.

To be honest, there was no guarantee that I’d find something happening even if I went back, and I thought the scene would look good anyway, to face the final gateway as a peak occupant.

‘I’m sorry, readers.’

I can only ask you to be patient and endure your boredom right now.

It was a lonely night.

The next day.

– The second gate of the Warrior’s Path has closed. Please, all of you, descend.

As I descended the mountain following the voice of the guide, I saw a large number of people gathered together and murmuring.

‘What is it now?’

As I approached –

“It’s Squatjaw!”

“Is this little guy called Hiro?”

“You did something stupid!”

Some of those gathered were laughing at me.