Surviving a Shounen Manga

The Conquest of the Peak (4)

The first time he’d seen the child called Thermis was six months ago.

It’d been a coincidence.

His son, who couldn’t even walk properly, suddenly had a brainless idea and for some reason declared that he was going on a trip.

At the same time, a public service that’d been scheduled was suddenly cancelled, so he had some time on hands.

So he ended up secretly following his son to the Mainin Kingdom.

It was a coincidence from start to finish.

The second princess of the Mainin Kingdom.

He’d never seen her before, but he’d heard her name somewhere.

She was a woman with strange rumours about her, that didn’t fit her country and gender.

– Bayar Khan’s soul sleeps within the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom!

Of course, he didn’t believe those rumours outright.

Bayar Khan had been a man who’d won a contest of strength against as many as a thousand people. In a sense, along with the first emperor Umir Khan, he was a symbol of the empire’s spirit and might.

In other words, if the topic of discussion is ‘strength’, Bayar Khan’s name is bound to pop up.

Still, it didn’t sound completely made-up, and it was about a woman no less, so he did have a faint interest in it.

Then they arrived at the Mainin Kingdom.

It was at the banquet hall in the kingdom that his excitement skyrocketed.

He saw it. For the first time in his life.

That smart and boring son of his went crazy.

"A-, are you… Princess Thermis?"

"Uh… yes? Uh, why?"

"Uhm… if you have some time, I was wondering…"

"Ah, I’m sorry, but I’m a little busy right now… but, are you from the Skull Empire?"

"Eh? Ah, yes, yes…"

"Then may I ask where General Mong is? I heard that he’s come, too, but it’s difficult to find him in this crowd…"

"Ah, General Mong? That man… but, if you want to meet him, I could guide you…"

"No, no, I want to find him myself."

"Ah… but, if you don’t have a personal acquaintance, I can help you…"

"Oh, that’s okay, it’s fine."

"…"

His son was a strong man.

A straight-laced and upright kid who shared not even a shared of resemblance with him, enough to make him doubt whether the kid truly was his own son.

If he hadn’t been so sickly, he would’ve taken over the place of his playful father a long time ago.

Perhaps that’s why, he longed for ‘physical strength’ more than anyone.

That was the only thing this strong son of his didn’t have.

"… Are you alright?"

Even Mong was concerned enough to forget he was ‘acting’ and ask. At the time, he was disguised as one of Mong’s henchmen.

From the moment he witnessed the sight of his son falling in love at first sight, Princess Thermis became a subject of deep interest for him. Because that child might become his daughter-in-law one day.

But, of course, he had no intention of directly intervening in the relationship between the two of them. It was only interest and curiosity.

At the message that Princess Thermis had finally rejected the prince’s proposal, and even ran away, he’d only cheerfully laughed applauded.

But he was sure he’d meet her on this Warrior’s Path.

Of course, Squatjaw was also a subject of interest, but he was at strictly the second place. It was the woman in front of him who had his interest from the beginning.

"Hmmm…"

And now, that interest had risen to a level incomparable from before.

Squatjaw? He didn’t even remember somebody called that.

The princess in front of him was truly someone he couldn’t take his eyes off of.

Khan spoke softly with a light smile on his lips.

"Are you alright? You look a bit tired."

"… It was nothing."

Then, she also tried to mimic his smile, but it didn’t seem to work. It ended up as more of a frown.

In fact, she’d been looking ragged for a while. Sweat was dripping all over his body, and her legs, which had already dug deep into the ground, were buried beyond her calves and up to her thighs. Her hands were torn and bloody.

But surprisingly, the rope still held taut, without the slightest sign of slacking.

"Looks like you’re slowly reaching your limit… What, didn’t you accept the match because you were confident?"

"… I haven’t lost yet."

Surprisingly, that was true. That she was having difficulties was obvious, but the strength in her arms holding the rope was not waning.

At first, he’d just made this suggestion out of curiosity about what it’d look like.

Now that they’d confirmed that Squatjaw has indeed gone down, what if they went and pulled out the flag and took over the peak? She could of course choose to resist. At something other than combat, as well.

The princess had answered bravely.

"… The public rumours weren’t at all exaggerated, was it? But I will resist. I have no intention of just standing here and letting you take it."

"How do you want to do it?"

"It doesn’t matter. Even individual battles are fine."

"Anything? But it can be a little unfair… is that alright?"

"It’s fine. And why are you asking me that? Aren’t you going to do it anyway?"

To be honest, he’d had no intention of hurting anyone, and then there were those rumours.

Therefore, Bayar Khan’s legendary game, the ‘Tug of War against a Thousand’ was chosen as the event.

Of course, there were only about a hundred people here on the peak right now, but that wasn’t any worse, necessarily. In fact, each one of them had the power of more than ten men.

And,

"Hey… are you saying you still aren’t all tapped out?"

This really had been an excellent choice.

He’d never dreamed that he’d be able to see such a dynamic image without a single splash of blood.

Sway–.

Hundreds of his subordinates were shaken by the power that the princess radiated in an instant.

Of course, the rope quickly went taut again, but it was a scene that made me think ‘I couldn’t do this’.

"Whoo… it’s okay if it gets harder than it is now, right?"

"…"

"Looks like it’s fine. All right, Mong, you go."

Khan nodded at Mong, who was standing next to him.

Then, Mong slowly approached a vacant position along the rope and gently grabbed it.

What would happen now?

"I don’t know if you know him? That’s Mong, the chief general of the Skull Empire. He looks thin on the outside, but the reality’s different. He’s a big, rough fellow."

"… Great General Mong."

She seems to be aware. From how her complexion hardened so visibly.

In fact, it was difficult to find anyone within the Skull Empire who didn’t know Mong’s name, or even within the East Continent. Even if they might be confused about his own name, it was difficult to find people within the empire who didn’t know the name of the general.

Soon after,

"Ugh, uh…"

The princess’ face contorted visibly.

He thought things would start off a bit more relaxed, but apparently that guy was being earnest from the start. Anyway, he was a kind sort. Was he trying to finish this up soon?

After a while,

Sssh–.

"Ugh…"

The princess’ body, which had stood firm till now, began to shake gently.

Her legs, which had been embedded in the ground, trembled like reeds, and her hands holding the ropes trembled like she was having a seizure.

‘… This is the end.’

It’d been a lot of fun, but all things inevitably come to an end.

As always, this was the most disappointing moment. He used to hate this feeling when he was young, so he’d always tried to hold on to the end, even by force.

But he was old enough to accept that if joy has a beginning, it had to also have an end.

And then,

"I will finish it."

Khan nodded at Mong’s signal that he was ready to close the curtains.

Wasn’t there one more fun toy left anyway? It was the turn of that little squat-jawed kid next.

‘I hope he gets here all fired up.’

Then as he was about to come up with a new idea –

"Huh?"

Swish–.

‘Something whitish’ appeared from somewhere in the air.

Then, it was sucked into the princess’ body.

"… What?"

Khan closed his eyes and opened them.

He couldn’t see it anymore. The princess looked the same as before.

Was it an illusion?

That was then.

"Uh, huh!?"

"What!"

"What, what?"

"Everyone, give it more strength!"

A change had taken place.

Surprisingly, the princess suddenly began to pull the rope towards her. As if all the struggle until now had been a joke, she was now pulling the rope with a relentless force.

"No, Mong! What’re you doing…"

It was embarrassing.

There was a tendon sprouting on Mong’s forearm. His face was scrunched with effort. He wasn’t taking it east. Mong was also doing his best.

But,

‘Oh, is she really dragging them all in?’

The rope was being pulled towards the princess.

How strange. The whitish ‘thing’ he’d noticed a while ago hadn’t been a trick of the light after all. Intangible power had somehow infused the princess.

He didn’t think any further.

"Move!"

After grabbing a guy who was being dragged powerlessly and pulling him out, Khan took his place.

Then he quickly grabbed the rope.

"…"

It was heavy.

It was enough to feel the presence of the person holding the rope from the other side. A huge presence that would never being a single, slender woman to mind.

He’d never dared to imagine that there would be a person with such power in the world.

The only one he could think of was…

At that time,

"Look over there!"

"What is that?"

"Uh, a ghost?"

Behind the princess’ back, something like white steam began to rise.

It was different from the ‘whitish substance’ he’d noticed before.

The vapours were thicker, clearer, and massive by comparison. And it continued to change, ending as a single, ghastly human figure the size of an elephant.

When Khan saw the human made of steam, he gulped unconsciously.

"… Bayar Khan."

‘Wow! Squatjaw, you! Were you always this strong?’

– Quiet.

Of course not.

The princess didn’t know the concept behind this ability itself, she only knew that my power had been transferred to her. But this was completely different from the truth. It was me who raised the power of the princess, but there was no transfer of power. What was being shared was instead my ‘character rank’.

Of course, it couldn’t have resulted in any dramatic growth. I was still clumsy at it, and the princess’ ‘character potential’ was still a bit on the low side.

But even so, she’d been transplanted with the ‘rank’ of a person who could be called the ceiling of power in the known scope of the present world. Of course she’d end up strong.

‘Wow! That old man can’t even compare, can he? Have you just been humouring him all this time? And to think he was bragging about being the most powerful person in the world!’

No.

The increase in force was not significantly related to the actual strength of the body.

Rather, seeing that the balance had been adjusted in relation to the ‘character rank’, the actual power of Bayar Khan might be stronger than I thought.

I thought he’d get angry and start a fuss, but –

– Be quiet! You little shits! You think sharing my strength is easy? Ugh, I’m seriously dying here!

Apparently, he couldn’t even listen to the princess properly.

In fact, a little while ago, I’d ordered him to reveal his form for a while.

– You have to look as dignified as possible, like a beast that subdues its prey just by staring at it. You know? I am Bayar Khan, you bastards! Just aim for that feeling.

– No… it’s not that simple. No, now that I think about it, I think I might be able to swing that… But why are you asking me to show my face?

– Because you’re the one and only Bayar Khan! Someone is bound to recognize you. So, from today onwards, their attitude towards the princess will be slightly different. They’ll also spend time trying to trace the relationship between the two of you.

Currently, it was the princess who had to attract the people of the Skull Empire, not me. There was no better chance than this for her to endear herself to the people of the Empire, and later to the position of emperor.

And I was already getting enough aggro from people really I cared about. A normal person, turning into a ghost and wandering around? Talk about eye-catching.

Of course, I wasn’t providing much visual stimulation right at this moment. Unless I revealed my form as vapor, I was just a ball of transparent gas.

But I didn’t even think about doing that. What if I got noticed by the guys of the Skull Empire? It’d be a right headache. This was supposed to be recognized as the power of the princess, not my power.

Anyway,

– For now, focus. Because this ain’t over yet.

‘Don’t you think it’ll be over if I just keep pulling? I’ve become incredibly strong!’

– Hey, don’t put your guard down!

I urged her to be more attentive.

Of course, the rope had already been pulled back entirely completely. It was indeed almost finished.

Still, the reason I couldn’t relax was –

"Ugh–."

Because the condition of the guy over there called Mong wasn’t very good.

Like everyone else, he was pulling the rope with a scrunched-up face like he’d die before he let go, but strangely, his body had been swelling up for a while. Even to the extent that the guy behind him was being crushed and had to swerve to one side in a hurry.

In the process of using his power, it seemed that ‘some kind of ability’ was about to be activated without knowing it.

‘What? Are you a transformation-type?’

That was then.

"Mong!"

Khan called out to him from behind.

Even while Mong was frantically pulling the rope –

"… Uhm?"

Hearing this, I glanced behind me.

Then, after exchanging gazes with Khan,

"… It’s my mistake."

He let go of the rope stepped aside.

And soon,

"Uh, huh?"

"Ugh!"

"Ugh, I’m being dragged!"

"Leave the rope!"

It meant the end of the tug of war.

…

100:1, or rather 100:3.

Anyway, the unfair tug of war was over.

Leaving behind only the first legendary anecdote of the (probable) future emperor of the great Skull Empire, ‘Arte Khan’.

Khan had a strange expression on his face.

He might’ve been angry, or he might’ve been holding back your laughter.

Then,

"Princess Thermis, right?"

His voice was very calm.

"… Yes."

"You are very strong. I chose the wrong toy to play with."

"You overpraise me."

"Oh? Are you kidding me right now? Did you beat a hundred people alone just now or not?"

"Uh… Oh, no."

The impression of calm seemed to have been an illusion.

"Okay, maybe you… and Bayar Khan, something… No, no."

Khan then turned back immediately.

His face looked like he had a lot to say, but he seemed to back away more than I expected. Well, right now, it would be more important to calm the startlement in his heart than to solve the question.

Of course, he might still be cheating.

"Yeah, then. I won’t touch you anymore. Let’s finish the second obstacle properly and see you at the finals."

"…Yes, Your Majesty."

"Oh, and…"

Khan then turned around and added a word.

"I feel sorry for my son."

Soon, a smile appeared on the princess’ lips.

"Calm down, your chance is here. It could be a trap… but more likely an opportunity. Let’s be calm, be calm."

The fatty looked at the thin man who continued to mutter to himself.

This was already the fifth time.

It was his first time in years seeing this guy so nervous.

"Hey, I’m fine. If only you could calm down…"

"Calm down! Shit!"

"…"

Fatty shook his head.

This was guy was done for. Finished.

There was no hope to fix the thin man as he was now.

‘Now what do I…’

He had to make his own decisions and move.

It was, after all, an opportunity. Although, well, it could be a trap, too.

But frankly, it didn’t seem like one. Why would they suddenly set a trap at this time? Why? Aiming at whom, except maybe themselves?

‘It makes no sense.’

If that were the case, there were other options.

At least in such an urgent situation, there was no way to suddenly start setting traps.

The fatty turned his gaze to the cave in front of him.

Deep inside that place, hidden by the bushes, there was a man they had been chasing for a long time.

Squatjaw.

There, the man lay on the ground out cold, looking dead to the world.

Obviously, something must’ve gone wrong.

When Squatjaw had realized that Khan had tricked them and sprinted back towards the peak, they, too, had thought that their plans had gone up in smoke. But oddly enough, Khan’s attention had turned to something other than Squatjaw.

But look how the wheel turned. They’d thought it’d been a waste of effort, but a good opportunity knocked on their door right afterwards.

Yes, this was an opportunity.

"… Then I’ll be the one to go."

"Oh no! Come on, wait… c-, calm down!"

However, the fatty ignored the thin man’s words, and took one step at a time.

Soon,

"… There he is."

The fatty looked down at the giant lying at his feet.

It was as if he had fallen asleep without caring about the world.

What should he do now?

"Whoo…"

Calm down, Calm down.

What the thin man had said was correct. He had to be a little calmer.

His brain wasn’t working right.

Should he stab the heart with a dagger? Use poison? But what if this bastard woke up?

If it seemed impossible to finish it all at once, any shocking actions had to be avoided as much as possible. Or he might end up being counterattacked.

Then how about spraying him with some anaesthetic powder, first?

‘Yeah, that’s right. This is the way.’

The fatty then pulled out a vial of white powder from his waist.

A handful of it was said to put an elephant to sleep at once.

Then, after opening the lid, he carefully brushed it under Squatjaw’s nostrils, and also dabbed it around his mouth.

Fortunately, Squatjaw never stirred, even when the bottle went empty.

‘It’s done. Success.’

The fatty carefully wiped the drops of sweat from his forehead. A cold sweat was drenching his back.

Now, what next?

Capture, or assassination? It depended on the purpose.

‘… Capture is right out.’

Even if he had ten lives, it would be an irrational idea.

So, there was only one answer.

To kill him.

The fatty pulled out the dagger from his waist.

"Huh… let’s do it like the usual."

Then just when the fatty was about to start –

"What are you doing?"

"…” Thud!

His heart was about to burst out of his chest.

It was a very sudden voice.

It was also very close.

‘M-, maybe…’

He jerked back in surprise, but that wasn’t the case. Squatjaw still had his eyes closed.

Then, from where…?

Then, while he was looking around in haste,

"Where’re you looking, you idiot?"

Again, the voice could be heard.

The sound was right next to his position.

The fatty slowly turned his head towards it.

What immediately caught his eye was,

"… A bird?"

A pigeon. Or maybe a dove?

A small white dove was sitting on a branch and staring at him.

It had a very dirty mouth, apparently.

"What do you think you’re doing, you fat fuck?"

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.