Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? 249

The ring is prepared, the spectators have taken their seats. Vampire vs Oni, part 3…

249 – Here oni, oni

With what’s pretty much perfect timing there is an off-campus exercise, and I allow vampire girl to participate. The location is inhabited by low level monsters, in other words a beginner orientated level training ground. The monsters of this world are categorised by different danger level ranks, and there should only be monsters of around danger level E at the forest which serves as the training ground. For a danger level E, that’s equivalent to the frog from the Elro Great Labyrinth. No matter what, they’re not going to give the current vampire girl a hard fight.

For these danger levels, it appears that humans were the first to establish it, the criterion being that if 6 adventurers are equivalent to a single monster then that decides the level, apparently. So that means that, in the case of a danger level B monster, then if 6 rank B adventurers fight it then it would be a good match, basically. In short, it’s not the case that a rank B adventurer equals a danger level B monster. In practice there’s a six fold difference in strength.

However, it seems that the lowest rank for adventurers is D rank, a rank that anybody can casually achieve. Thus, if an ordinary person decides to register then from that day on they can call themselves a rank D adventurer with just that. For that reason, for the strength of monsters of rank D and lower, the ranking is generally just for show. After all, there’s a large gap in actual strength between a freshly minted D rank adventurer and a properly trained D rank adventurer. Amongst the rank D adventurers, because there’s many fake adventurers who make a living by collecting medicinal plants without fighting monsters, they’re not really considered to be that reliable. Well, though I began by saying that, for adventurers raised to a particular rank, there’s also a difference in strength compared to those who are on the verge of rising to the next rank, so this is all just an approximation okay.

In practice, to be able to solo fight a monster, the appropriate rank would normally one or two levels below. So a B rank adventurer would take on a C rank monster, for example.

Incidentally, for my original species of Small Lesser Taratekt, the danger level is F. Danger level F. Danger level F! That’s just how weak it is. That’s pretty much saying that even an ordinary person can beat it you know.

Let’s return to the main subject. In the forest, vampire girl continues to hunt. Her face is clearly showing that she is dissatisfied. Sure enough, she seems unhappy that the monsters are just so weak that there’s no resistance. I have heard what Mera said, but for what a vampire desires from battle, it’s not to trample over them, but the desire to have a good fight with an equal or stronger opponent, or so it seems. Considering that, these danger level E class monsters are not fit to be the current vampire girl’s opponents.

Well, be at ease. Since I have already prepared a perfectly suitable opponent.

Ogre-kun, whose path I’ve been indirectly guiding, has arrived at the forest. I can’t use appraisal, so I don’t know how far ogre-kun’s status has now grown to. Or rather, it might be wrong to call him “ogre-kun” now.

He’s evolved. Maybe it’s because he’s been slaughtering repeatedly, but I guess his level rose enough for him to evolve. His well built body has become smaller, and now he’s become the same size as a human. However, even though his body has become smaller, the amount strength packed within it has increased. In my opinion, it’s about the same as vampire girl. With those horns growing on his forehead, he should be called an oni.

What surprises me, is oni-kun’s face. When I wonder where I’ve seen it before, I realise it’s Sasajima-kun.

From Wakaba Hiiro’s memory, Sasajima-kun should be on good terms with Yamada-kun and Ooshima-kun who are currently in the human academy. I have many memories of those three talking together. Though I had known that oni-kun was a reincarnator, I hadn’t known who he was though. Both Yamada-kun and Ooshima-kun were concerned about Sasajima-kun’s whereabouts, and have asked sensei about him several times. I had gotten the feeling that sensei actually knew about Sasajima-kun, did she figure it out while he was rampaging through the human territory I wonder? If I combine the reincarnators in the elf village with the reincarnators in the human academy, I could have figured out who it probably was by calculating back. Ah, I guess so. Thinking that way, it was possible to figure out who oni-kun was by a process of elimination ya know. Though rather than it being that I didn’t know, it’s more like I wasn’t interested in knowing, I guess.

Well, I don’t really care who oni-kun really is. What I care about, is why has he’s gotten the same face as in his previous life. When I became an arachne I had Wakaba Hiiro’s face though, so maybe it’s that when a monster evolves into a more humanoid form, their face becomes how they imagine it to be? That being the case, I could then accept that my own face gained the form that I was most familiar with in my previous life.

I wonder how vampire girl will react when she sees Sasajima-kun’s face?

And then she doesn’t react! The battle starts the instant that they meet. Even though this is supposed to be a deeply moving reunion between two reincarnators!

Oh? Vampire girl hasn’t realised? Or perhaps, she’s realised but is ignoring it? Hmm. One vote for she hasn’t realised. Though I can’t abandon the pattern where it goes “I had noticed but because he seems strong that doesn’t matter!”

Well, whatever. They’ve clashed all according to plan anyway. I’m sorry oni-kun, but please become an opponent for vampire girl to let out her stress on. Afterwards, whether you win or lose, I’ll have you go to your eternal rest, okay.

At the start, vampire girl takes the initiative. Yee-hah! I couldn’t help it! With that charge I felt that I heard such a yell. Vampire girl, you’ve grown up to be such a fine muscle-brain…

Her large sword strikes at oni-kun. Oni-kun tries to stop that with the katana in one hand, but can’t defend and uses the katana in his other hand both together, and is finally able to stop the blow. Probably, he intended to stop the blow with one hand, and then use the katana in his other hand to aim for a counter instead. However, vampire girl’s strike was heavier than he expected, so her hurriedly put all his strength into defence I reckon.

「Fwah, fwahahah. You stopped it. You actually stopped my attack. Fwahahah!」

O, o-o-kay. Vampire girl brings out a dangerous smile.

「This is, a fight! For the first time in my life! A proper fight!」

Just how frustrated has she actually been? She has well and truly lost it. If there was a Battle Junkie title then she’d certainly acquire it. There’s no such title though.

Vampire girl activates her magic and skills. Oni-kun prepares to receive that. I observe with popcorn in one hand.

FIGHT!

Munch, munch.

Translation notes:

For the title, say it to the tune of “here kitty, kitty” 😀 Okay, not a particularly literal translation but it’s not wrong either. The title references the Japanese equivalent of a the game of “tag”, where the person who is “it” is the oni instead. The literal translation would be “Oni-san, this way”.

Incidentally, for personality, the “image” of an “oni” is someone fierce, relentless, merciless etc. Also, the word for vampire in Japanese basically means “blood sucking oni”, hence the “oni vs oni” chapters. The literal translation of how Shiro calls “vampire girl” would be more like “blood sucking girl”.

For reference, the Small Lesser Taratekt being danger level F was first revealed in Extra Bestiary①.

“Yee-hah” – possibly a “First of the North Star” reference. Something like this.

“Popcorn” – another liberal translation here. Technically, just sweets/candy… but “somehow” popcorn feels more appropriate…