Can Someone from a Tradition-Ridden Village Pull Off a Narou-Style Story in a Modern Dungeon? ～The Higher Being Behind Me Is Way Too Much of a Final Boss～ - Chapter 159: Crescent Moon (Patreon)

-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and CannedbreadFollow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-

Inside the house overflowing with nostalgia, sounds of violence far too brutal for such a place were now ringing out.

"Ugh, damn it! Open up already!"

Senano's expression as she desperately slammed a chair against the window was terrifyingly intense.

Watching beside her, Shiwo furrowed her brows each time the chair struck the window with a dull thud.

"Let's stop now. You can't get out of here."

"That's not the point! Ei's fighting outside, isn't she!? Then we need to hurry and help her!"

Piecing together the fragments of information Shiwo had told her, Senano had managed to grasp the situation, albeit vaguely.

"While I was wasting my time in a place like this, Ei summoned something. Something I still don't know about."

“A beak came down from the sky, you know, and it was really scary. But my onee-chan and... my onee-chan-in-law saved me.”

"Why do you have another onee-chan now?"

Shiwo quietly shook her head with a look as though she'd swallowed something bitter.

Apparently, there were things she didn't want to talk about, either.

"...I knew I shouldn't have entrusted Ei to an organization like the Enri Agency. I need to stay by her side and keep an eye on her myself."

"Huh? The Enri Agency's full of good people, isn't it? They cured my illness and made me this healthy. And I get to see my onee-chan, too."

"That's..."

She probably didn't understand what she'd had to pay in exchange.

Bathed in the false sunlight, Shiwo brought the tea to her lips.

Shiwo inhaled deeply through her nose, as if savoring the aroma, and then swallowed the tea. It was almost as though she were demonstrating that she could freely put something into her mouth.

There was no need to go out of her way to force a painful reality upon a girl like that.

Thinking so, Senano desperately tried to force a smile onto her face, but it seemed she just couldn't manage one right now.

"That's right. Maybe the people from the Enri Agency you met were kind."

At least they hadn't completely overwritten her entire personality.

Though that was all they had done for her, in the end.

"But right now, Ei's being bullied by the bad people at the Enri Agency. That's why I have to go help her. Shiwo, please, won't you let me out of here?"

"I'm sorry. I can't do that."

Pointing apologetically outside, Shiwo continued.

"I got locked in here by my onee-chan-in-law."

“Your onee-chan... you mean Shio?”

"No, the Tide-Weeping Shrine Maiden."

“Huh? Why is Minako your onee-chan...? No, that's not it. So the Tide-Weeping Shrine Maiden is the one who locked you in here, right?”

“Yeah. She hid me from the beak. I'm so pissed off that I want to kill her for kissing my onee-chan, but I can't beat her, and she saved me, so I guess she's my onee-chan-in-law.”

"????????"

Already overwhelmed by everything happening with Ei, Senano could do nothing but stare in confusion as this inexplicable information was thrown at her.

For the time being, she lowered the chair she'd been swinging around to break the window and sat down on it.

"Then ask Minako to let me out."

"I can't. My onee-chan-in-law's fighting the beak right now, so she can't hear us."

"The beak...? Does that mean she's fighting against the Aberrant Entity Ei summoned? I don't know why, but that makes it even more important for me to hurry and go help!"

Judging from Shiwo's words alone, it seemed that Sorayodo no Oohito and the Tide-Weeping Shrine Maiden were fighting.

Senano couldn't begin to imagine why those two, who'd gotten along so well, would fight each other. But if that was really happening, she had to stop them.

"No, Senano-chan. If you go outside, you'll die from the tide pressure. This is the underside of the sea, so if a human goes out there, they'll be crushed flat, even if they're an Enri Bearer. I don't want to see my friend get crushed flat!"

Shiwo desperately clung to Senano with her slender arms.

She seemed genuinely worried about her.

"Shiwo... But if I don't go, Ei will..."

"My onee-chan-in-law's strong, so she'll be fine."

At her wits' end with Shiwo desperately clinging to her and refusing to let her go, Senano looked out the window as if to escape from reality.

What she'd hoped to see was a blue sky that reminded her of a precious girl.

But what lay there instead was a moon with a piece missing.

"...The moon?"

"Ah, Senano-chan... Something's come in."

Shiwo, the ruler of this world, spoke with a frightened expression.

Her trembling voice was filled with fear of the unknown.

"...It's okay. Stay hidden in my shadow."

"O-Okay."

Dragging her hospital gown behind her, Shiwo hid in Senano's shadow.

The two of them stared intently at the door leading to the hallway.

They could hear footsteps approaching from beyond it.

(This is a labyrinth created by Shiwo. I wonder what intruded here, especially when Hibari isn't even around.)

All she had left was the body Nene had trained to perfection.

Senano took a stance, ready to kick whoever was on the other side of the door flying at any moment, and waited.

Dry footsteps slowly approached.

As though the person had sensed Senano and the others, they stopped dead in front of the door. Before long, the door creaked open.

"!"

"Eek!"

The two braced themselves for whatever was on the other side.

However, there was nothing beyond the door. Only a dimly lit hallway stretched out before them.

"...?"

"There's nobody there."

"—You shouldn't look away."

The voice came from overhead.

Startled by the ordinary girl's voice, Senano and Shiwo looked up.

There was nothing there. They even stared at the wood grain in the old ceiling, but once again, nobody was there.

Just then, the sound of tea being poured into a cup rang out.

When they looked back at the table, a girl with a familiar, utterly unremarkable appearance was enjoying her tea.

Brown hair, ordinary features, and a dull-looking blazer uniform.

Only her golden eyes, which gazed at Senano, made her recognizable as an individual.

"...Fuefuki."

"Hey! We meet again. It's another happy day in a row!"

Fuefuki dangled and shook the cup she'd finished drinking from, grinning carelessly.

Then she pointed toward the far end of the hallway.

"Let's go. It's time to get out."

"E-Excuse me, who are you?"

"I'm Fuefuki. Nice to meet you, pretty young lady."

Fuefuki stood up and gave Shiwo a respectful bow.

Perhaps she'd instinctively sensed something suspicious about her, because Shiwo glared fiercely at her.

"Get out!"

A labyrinth could change in any way under the influence of its ruler.

The reason it currently took the form of the house in Senano's memories was that Shiwo had been considerate of her.

However, the moment hostility arose, the house would become a monster and bare its fangs.

"Whoa, that's dangerous. I never expected a kitchen knife to suddenly come flying at me."

A kitchen knife shot out of the kitchen and flew toward Fuefuki along a trajectory like a guided missile. However, all Fuefuki had to do was point a finger downward, and the knife was slammed into the floor.

After that, furniture came rushing at her one after another, but she dealt with every single piece with the casual ease of swiping across a screen.

"Hey, Senano-chan, clear up her misunderstanding! Explain that I'm your friend!"

"Is that true, Senano-chan?"

"...I suppose she's a friend who's just barely more than an acquaintance."

"In other words, love, right!"

"Anything but that with you."

"Come on, don't be so shy! We're in a naughty relationship because we share secrets, aren't we?"

Fuefuki made a heart shape with her hands.

Then, with a fluid motion, she rearranged her fingers and formed a frame with both hands.

Despite Shiwo hiding behind Senano, the only person framed in the center was Shiwo herself.

"Go get some shut-eye, young lady. From here on out, we're entering the adult world."

"Senano-chan, run...!"

Shiwo lost consciousness and collapsed where she stood.

Senano caught her, surprised by how light her body was, and gently laid her down on the sofa.

Then, as if she'd made up her mind, she turned to face Fuefuki.

"What are you after?"

"I told you, didn't I? It's time to get out. Senano-chan, you're such a straight-ahead little wild boar! ☆彡"

Still speaking in that flippant tone, Fuefuki headed toward the door.

Beyond it, where the hallway had extended just moments ago, there was now nothing but pitch-black darkness.

"Let's hurry. Your precious princess is in serious trouble because of the Enri Agency."

"Ei...!?"

Fuefuki's words were so carefree, casual, and frivolous, as though she were talking about plans for tomorrow. And yet, they were more than enough to move Senano's heart.

-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and CannedbreadFollow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-