Chapter 65: Finally Found an Ahoge I Can Touch
They initially intended to head straight for the Koutetsujou, but Mumei said she needed to retrieve some equipment from the Yomogawa family home.
They made their way up to the upper district of the station.
The distance to the Koutetsujou was just over two miles—easily within reach with their pace.
Masses of residents were packed inside wooden shelters, and as the two of them walked by, they could hear the soft weeping of women and the resentful muttering of cowards within. Loud voices cursed the Yomogawa family's incompetence, blaming them for their misfortune that shattered the brief peace they had managed to secure. They didn't even bother to lower their voices, as if determined to let the samurai hear their complaints.
Yet, the samurai—no matter how inept—were out there defending them from the Kabane.
This, Kurumi thought with distaste, is what she hated most about this world.
Such people did not deserve to be saved.
"Mama, mama! That's the lady from the shadows," a little girl whispered from the corner, tugging at her mother's sleeve and pointing to Kurumi. But her grief-stricken mother didn't look up, and those around her simply brushed it off as a child's babbling.
Reaching the guest room where Lord Shiwen had left Mumei's belongings, Kurumi folded her arms and followed her in.
"Kurumi-nee… could you turn around?" Mumei asked, her face reddening, and Kurumi raised a brow before obliging and turning away.
Mumei also turned her back to Kurumi as she undid the vermilion cord of her sash, letting her soft pink kimono slide to the floor.
Her bare, delicate shoulders had a graceful, slender curve, her figure's contours surprisingly mature for her age. But from behind, Kurumi could see it clearly—that burning, bright red heart beneath her skin, like that of a Kabane.
Mumei quickly got dressed, her movements brisk and practiced, slipping on her sleeveless white short garb and a brief white skirt. She wrapped the long, pale cloth around her legs and secured her boots.
Just as she finished tying her hair back, she glanced over her shoulder—and there was Kurumi, smiling softly, looking right at her.
"Kurumi-nee!" Mumei's cheeks puffed out in indignation.
"I didn't see a thing," Kurumi replied with a gentle laugh, handing her Mumei's personal steam rifle and crimson leather armor.
Once Mumei had secured her steam gun and dagger, the two left for the outer walls of the mountain fortress.
"Kurumi-nee, aren't you going to change?" Mumei asked as she adjusted the tightness of her steam rifle, looking up at her. "At the very least, you should switch your shoes."
"No need," Kurumi replied, lightly patting Mumei's head.
Mumei's newly styled hair had a single, swaying ahoge sticking out at the top, and Kurumi couldn't resist the urge to play with it.
She was reminded of that little lion cub's ahoge (Artoria), which had been just as amusing. No matter how many snacks Kurumi had offered as bribes, the cub's ahoge had never yielded.
"It's the symbol of a king!"
The station's layered defenses were built into the mountainside in a series of overlapping barricades. Squatting behind the barricades, the samurai fired at the Kabane climbing up the slope, trying to knock them down as they crawled up the cliffs.
But one mistake was all it took. They watched as a samurai, known as Hyakuya, was dragged down by the Kabane clutching his steam rifle, quickly overwhelmed by the horde.
The Kabane horde now completely blocked the route leading from the upper district to the Koutetsujou.
When Kurumi and Mumei arrived, they overheard noble elders arguing with Ayame Yomogawa.
"Lady Ayame! How much longer are we supposed to wait?" they yelled, encircling her. "If we don't leave for the Koutetsujou now, it'll be too late!"
"Father said… we need to wait for the signal," Ayame replied hesitantly, her voice weak.
Kurusu, standing guard over Ayame with his gun, asserted, "While the lord isn't here, you will obey Lady Ayame's commands!"
But the noble elders had no regard for the young lady's authority, clamoring to leave for the Koutetsujou immediately.
"He said to listen to Ayame. Didn't you hear him?"
The slightly seductive voice came from behind the samurai.
"Tokisaki-san… and Mumei?" Ayame looked up, clearly surprised.
"Hey! Who do you little girls think you are, telling us what to do?" One of the disheveled elders, his robe hanging open, reached out to grab Kurumi.
Mumei grabbed his outstretched arm, and with a swift uppercut to his jaw, she sent him reeling, blood spurting from his mouth as his eyes widened in shock.
But she wasn't done yet. Mumei lifted her right leg and delivered a vicious kick between his legs.
In a heartbeat, the scruffy old man collapsed onto the ground.
One hand covering his mouth, the other clutched over his groin, his face instantly drenched in cold sweat.
Kurumi bent over, gently ruffling Mumei's hair.
Mumei's ahoge twitched happily, clearly delighted.
"Mumei, you were amazing!"
"Meow!"
"Alright, Ayame, find someone to drive the train," Mumei said, her crimson steam guns in her hands. "Leave the path-clearing to me."
The ribbon around her neck had already been untied, and Mumei leapt down the steps, rolling over the barricade and dropping two meters onto Kabane territory.
"Oh my, we can't let little Mumei have all the fun, can we?" Kurumi laughed, following close behind.
Unlike Mumei, who was outfitted in combat gear, Kurumi's half-sleeved kimono looked entirely unsuited for battle, as if she were simply on a stroll.
"Tokisaki-san… Mumei-san!" Ayame Yomogawa called out anxiously.
"Pressure… check."
"Reload… check." Mumei calmly inspected her equipment as the Kabane began to close in on her.
Then, she heard a sharp whistle sound behind her.
"Eh? Kurumi-nee?"
"Come now, Mumei, are you up for a competition?" Kurumi teased, playfully patting Mumei on the head.
"A competition?" Mumei's eyes sparkled with excitement. "But Kurumi-nee, are you even equipped for this?"
Clink—clank.
Chains dropped down, wrapping around Kurumi's wrist. "Always ready."
"Well then, let the game begin!"
Mumei pressed the mechanism on her steam gun, and a short blade popped out.
"Clean as a whistle!" she shouted, twisting to grab a Kabane's hair as it lunged at her. In one fluid motion, she slashed off its head, then tossed it high, blood spraying into the air.
Instantly, all the Kabane turned their attention toward her.
Watching this from the top of the wall, the people began to push and shove, desperately trying to flee.
"It's like aiming in archery," Kurumi's voice echoed in Ayame's ear.
Ayame steeled herself, grabbed Kurusu's steam rifle, and fired down the single escape route, aiming directly in front of the panicked mob.
"Let's see who dares to leave their post now!"
Meanwhile, a shadow beside Ayame, as if acting on its own, slipped away.
"Kurumi-nee… so strong," Mumei muttered.
Kurumi dashed forward, leaning into her attack, her blade flashing with a crimson gleam visible to the naked eye. Her black dress rustled in the wind.
Her razor-sharp edge swept across the Kabane's chest. The two creatures barely had time to react, simply catching the scent of blood which made them even more frenzied as they pounced at Mumei.
Just as they moved, their chests burst open, emitting a blue light that flared like shattered strands. Their searing hearts and bodies split apart, collapsing in heaps on the ground.
Kurumi had already cleared a path but didn't stop there. As she reached the edge, she flipped in midair, swinging her dripping gun-blade downward in an arc before releasing it.
Death's Chains.
Clink, clink, clink, clink…
The blade shot through the Kabane's steel-plated hearts, pinning them to the ground with a streak of blue energy.
"Go for it!" Kurumi mouthed as Mumei caught her eye, her own eyes sparkling.
"Like I'd let myself lose!" Mumei's steam boiler roared to life as she slid and darted toward the remaining Kabane.
Unlike Kurumi, who stood her ground and cut through whatever charged at her, Mumei weaved through the narrow streets and pipes, close-range firing directly at the Kabane hearts, focusing her shots to penetrate their blazing furnace-like cores.
Within a minute, the two had cleared the Kabane entirely.
Mumei counted on her fingers, "Twenty-one… twenty-two…"
When she reached the street and saw Kurumi waiting, standing among the Kabane corpses with her usual sweet smile, Mumei's ahoge drooped.
"Ugh… I lost."
With Ayame and Kurusu riding ahead to lead the crowd toward the Koutetsujou platform, no one dared to make trouble with Kurumi and Mumei up front.
Mumei hopped around Kurumi, peeking here and there, even attempting to sneak a glance under Kurumi's skirt. "Hmm… where?"
Kurumi clamped her hand down on Mumei's ahoge, holding the fidgety girl still.
"What are you looking at?" Kurumi wore a mild, "warm" expression that made Mumei realize she might be in trouble.
"Ow, ow, ow, Kurumi-nee!" Mumei whimpered, trying to loosen Kurumi's grip with both hands. "I just wanted to see… where you pull all those gun-blades from, Kurumi-nee."
Due to her limitations in this world, Kurumi couldn't use the full power of her Zafkiel, nor could she fire. She hadn't drawn her usual flintlocks or short-barreled guns.
Her current firearm was a heavy, serrated revolver, its chain-linked grip trailing back to a short blade at the other end.
Mumei's curiosity was understandable.
Seeing Kurumi wasn't going to let go, Mumei's eyes grew watery.
"Meow! Meow! Meow!"
"Oh dear, you're showing hardly any sincerity." Kurumi chuckled, still ruffling Mumei's ahoge. "It's common knowledge to apologize by exposing your belly, no?"
Mumei flushed deep red. She was wearing a short battle outfit… wouldn't that mean opening her entire vest?
She raised her face toward Kurumi, trying to recall what the kids in the Kabukicho district would do when they tried to look cute. She lifted her hands, mimicking tiny paws.
"Mew… mewmew!"
Kurumi released her ahoge, quietly walking forward.
This expressive little Mumei reminded her fondly of the twins, Rin and Sakura. There was a soft, strange feeling somewhere inside.
A loli with a figure comparable to her own? Perfect.
And shorter than herself? How delightful.
But she really should try to find a pair of cat ears and a tail for her.
Mindful of the crowd behind them, they kept their pace moderate.
In the distance, the platform was coming into view. Before the armored steam train, samurai were lined up, carefully examining refugees.
In a situation like this, even the slightest injury would get one denied boarding.
For now, there were no wounded, though. Amidst such chaos, anyone carrying a scent of blood had probably already been devoured by Kabane.
"Hm? What's that?"
They looked toward the Koutetsujou, spotting two mangled Kabane dragging themselves along, drawing closer with each painful step.
The crowd grew restless at the sight of these limping monsters, panic spreading as people hurried to board.
But… once they were on board, would the train leave?
The samurai had already formed a firing line, ready to shoot as soon as the Kabane were within range.
Kurumi reached over, drawing one of Mumei's crimson pistols from its holster.
"W-wait! Kurumi-nee!" Mumei clung to Kurumi's arm. "That's too far to hit anything."
"It's fine," Kurumi said, gently pulling Mumei into a side hug.
"As long as it's a gun, it'll work."
The moment she took hold of the pistol, Kurumi grasped its full mechanism. Under Mumei's astonished gaze, she smoothly cocked, loaded, and pressurized the weapon before raising her right arm.
Deadly Shot.
The lead slug shot out, whistling as it blasted through the air.
Without looking back, Kurumi spun, and took another shot.
Bang—Bang—
The bullets struck the Kabane from the side, shattering the steel hearts in bright bursts of blue, leaving only the severed lower halves crumpling to the ground.
A shower of black and red blood splattered nearby, leaving a plump and lanky steam engineer standing there, gaping.
"How… how is that possible?" Mumei snatched her steam gun back, disassembling and inspecting it repeatedly. It was definitely her gun.
She tilted her head up at Kurumi.
"Kurumi-nee! You're telling me you're not a goddess?"
As the refugees lined up to board the Koutetsujou, Kurusu spotted two engineers in the crowd.
Or rather, he noticed a certain green-haired boy who was supposed to be in a holding cell.
Rifle in hand, Kurusu started arguing with the green-haired lad, clearly not planning to let him off easily. In these chaotic times, anyone that naive, without the strength to back it up, would only add to the trouble.
Mumei gave the green-haired boy a long, thoughtful look.
Kurumi's eyes narrowed as she took in the scene. That one… he's become something like Mumei… something between Kabane and human.
"Kurumi-nee," Mumei tugged on Kurumi's sleeve.
"Hey, Kurusu," Kurumi called, stifling a yawn. "Don't say I didn't warn you. A massive Kabane horde is closing in fast."
Although he didn't understand how she knew this, it was clear that compared to the green-haired boy, this new companion of Ayame's was someone he couldn't ignore.
"Take them to the passenger cars!" Kurusu barked at the samurai, motioning for the refugees to board.
"Come on," Kurumi murmured to Mumei, leading her to the front of the Koutetsujou, where the samurai automatically parted to make way.
"Well? What're you just standing around for?" Mumei called over her shoulder at the green-haired boy, raising her chin.
"Or do you really think you'll pass the check?"
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