I Don’t Want to Die as a Mob in My Second Life! ～A Story Where I Kept Training from Inside the Womb and Ended Up Being Mistaken for a Monster～ - Chapter 21: The Stubborn Star of the Sow

Chapter 21: The Stubborn Star of the Sow

—The appearance of the Conceptual Spirit of the mythical metal [Hihiirokane].

When Maro told me about it, I thought, “Oh yeah, that did happen, didn’t it?” The memory came flooding back.

I’d been so focused on saving the Reisoushis who were destined to die in the future that I hadn’t given much thought to this event. 

After all, during the fight with [Hihiirokane], there hadn’t been many casualties among the Reisoushi.

“Hmm… (Hihiirokane is an incredibly powerful mythical metal. Back in the first loop, the Spirit Conductor Agency tried to capture it before it ascended, but…)”

But [Hihiirokane] was gigantic and absurdly heavy. It shook off the Reisoushis trying to capture it, rampaged through a small mountain town, and ascended after wreaking enough havoc.

Conceptual Spirits tend to become satisfied once they’ve fully unleashed the concept they embody. This one was no different. It proudly showed off its ‘hardness’ and ‘strength’ as a metal until it was completely satisfied.

It’s like it reached its peak by proving how strong it was.

“Alright, let’s move, everyone!”

Maro clapped his hands and fired us up.

“The Chichibu Mountains, where [Hihiirokane] has appeared, straddle the borders of Gunma, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Nagano, and Yamanashi. It’s a massive boundary zone! If we don’t get there first, someone else will snatch the credit~~~!”

Okay, let’s do this.

If we can get our hands on [Hihiirokane], we’ll be able to make some incredibly powerful equipment.

Japan’s combat strength will increase, which means we’ll have an advantage in fighting [Meat Angel], the supreme Conceptual Spirit of the [Regression] process.

It’ll also help in the war against the Holy Libertarian Empire, the ones who crippled Ouma Shiranui.

And most importantly, I’ll earn some credit and prove to everyone that I’m a decent human being.

“By the way, even if you don’t have a Reisoushi qualification, as long as you’re under the supervision of an active Reisoushi, you can still use techniques. So Kanata and that blue-haired brat can relax, de ojaru!”

“I’m not a brat, de gojaru!”

◆　◇　◆

And so, about ten minutes later—

We were leaping through the tall trees, heading straight into the Chichibu Mountains.

No need to run along the slopes; this was the unique way Reisoushi, with their ability to enhance their physical bodies, could move.

“There it is, Kanata. The giant Conceptual Spirit [Hihiirokane].”

Dad’s golden eyes spotted it first. His sharp vision, thanks to his affinity with bird-type Conceptual Spirits, was as impressive as ever.

I focused my eyes in the same direction and, sure enough, I saw it too. A massive red-gold giant radiating heat, boldly striding through the mountains.

It was nearly 50 meters tall, effortlessly cutting down the surrounding trees for fun as it moved.

“Father, that giant looks like it’s having fun.”

“Yeah. For ‘metal,’ there’s probably nothing easier to destroy than wood. It’s like munching on crispy potato chips.”

That’s kind of adorable… but also a problem. It’s racking up satisfaction points, which means it’s getting closer to ascension.

If we don’t act quickly, it’ll end up like it did in the first timeline and ascend.

“Let’s disrupt it quickly.”

“You’re right, Kanata. Mr. Maro, and you two as well—are you ready?”

I glanced back at the three following us, and they nodded in unison.

“Hohoho. If I can contribute to capturing [Hihiirokane], the prestige of the Godaiin family will rise even further!”

Maro kicked off a tree and simultaneously cracked a whip tipped with an octopus tentacle.

He’s using an Object Imbuing weapon that houses the Conceptual Spirit [Octopus], effectively giving himself three legs for movement. Clever.

While I have my strong body and Dad enhances his strength by hosting [Dove], without such boosts, we’d be left in the dust by Maro’s mobility.

“Hold it right there! The one who will shine here is me! As the next head of the Kirisame family, I must restore my dignity…!”

The one bursting with determination was none other than Setsuna Kirisame. Her method of movement was even more unusual.

After all, she was gliding on a sheet of ice, leaving a frosty trail behind as she flew through the air.

She was likely forcing a convection phenomenon to occur. 

By surrounding herself with a layer of cold air, the warmer air around her would create an updraft, generating lift. On top of that, by creating cold air currents in the lower layers, she essentially produced an artificial “cold front.”

This continuous updraft accelerated her movement, and by precisely controlling the cooling coordinates in real-time, she managed to steer herself in this bizarre way.

Setsuna’s intelligence was on a whole other level. Too bad she turns into a complete idiot when it comes to her sister.

“Zeeeh, haaah, haaah… w-wait for meee, de gojaru~…! Kanata, give me a breaaaak~…!”

Meanwhile, her younger sister, Sharo, was struggling to keep up.

Unlike Setsuna, Sharo didn’t have any advanced techniques. If she used Spirit Hosting with [Ninja], she’d be amazing, but her spiritual control was so bad that she’d burn through her spiritual energy in an instant.

As a result, she was stuck using basic “spirit-enhanced limbs” to move around.

But that wasn’t enough to keep up, so I tied a thread to her and dragged her along by force.

“Come on, Miss Sharo. Keep at it. Think of this as training.”

“You’re a demon! A monster!”

“Was I too harsh?”

“But that’s what I looove about you, Kanata~! ♡”

Sigh… both sisters have some seriously messed-up tastes…

◆　◇　◆

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

We finally reached the giant Conceptual Spirit [Hihiirokane].

Up close, its sheer size was overwhelming. Even its footsteps caused the ground to quake.

And the halo-like [Spiritual Light Ring] on its head confirmed that this was indeed a high-ranking spirit.

“A formidable foe. No wonder multiple Reisoushis failed to capture it in my previous life…”

The giant roared as I muttered to myself and cautiously approached it.

But then—

“—Don’t let the Tokyo folks steal the glory! [Hihiirokane] is gonna be the pride of the Spirit Conductor Agency’s Yamanashi division!”

A group of Reisoushi had already surrounded the giant.

Some were throwing ropes at its feet, while others were flinging large amounts of beeswax at it. Judging by the commands being shouted in Kōshū dialect, they were from Yamanashi.

And then—

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement! No way we’re letting Gunma folks lose it, yeah?”

“You all back off. That’s a catch for the Nagano division!”

Reisoushi speaking in Gunma and Nagano dialects had also joined in the battle.

One person even tried to tangle its feet with a ridiculous amount of natto. That probably won’t work… but they better save some for me to eat later.

“Father, looks like we’re a bit late to the party.”

“Yeah. From the looks of it, none of their techniques are working, and they’re just being scattered like leaves…”

Damn it. The appearance of [Hihiirokane] was in the northwest.

Since we came from Saitama, we ended up being pretty late.

News helicopters from the surrounding regions were already heading toward the scene.

“Kanata, soon enough, folks from Tokyo and Kanagawa will be here too! We’ll let them take the lead, so hurry up and go, de ojaru!”

“Really, Mr. Maro? That’s surprisingly kind of you.”

“It’s just so they can weaken it nicely, making it easier for this Maro to catch, de ojaru.”

“Wow, as expected of Mr. Maro. Truly Maro through and through.”

As always, his shameless honesty was almost refreshing.

Wishing I could live as boldly as him, I leaped onto a tree in front of the giant. 

At that moment—

“Ah—Isn’t that ‘Kanata Soranaki’ zura!?”

“Why is the rumored demon child here!?”

“He’s not going to attack us, is he!?”

…The Reisoushis from the regions were all staring at me with fear in their eyes.

I’m not scary, okay!? 

Sure, my body’s intimidating, but deep down, I’m just Kanata with a mob character mentality!

“Hmph, I’ll handle this first, Kanata!”

And with that, Setsuna dashed past me and charged forward.

“I’ll stop its movements first! Charm Crafting, activate! Freeze!”

She sent out charms infused with freezing energy. They flew straight at the giant’s legs and, upon contact, began to freeze the surface with a loud crackling sound.

“GAAAAAHHH!?”

This was a breakthrough. The giant’s movement had completely stopped.

The regional Reisoushi, who had been scattered earlier, started cheering.

“Whoa, that’s incredible!”

“That’s the rumored Kirisame family’s talent!”

“It’s incredible, but… why is she wearing an apron dress? Not that it isn’t cute, though.”

Everyone seemed to admire her. I’m so jealous. I want people to like me too!

“Fufun! And now, this is checkmate!”

Feeling good about herself, Setsuna leaped at [Hihiirokane].

“Curse Wielding, activate. [Snow Woman], steal all of this one’s heat!”

In midair, she formed her fingers into a sword shape and aimed it at the giant like a gun.

Then, with a flick of her thumb—she “fired.”

From the tip of her fingers, the soul of [Snow Woman] shot out at high speed and was absorbed into [Hihiirokane].

“Gahhh, GAAAAAHHHHH!?”

The giant let out a deafening roar and began writhing.

Its once-blazing-hot body rapidly cooled as heat drained away. Starting from within, ice began forming and spreading across its joints and surfaces.

So that’s the effect of [Snow Woman]’s Curse Wielding. A straightforward ability: “Heat Seizure.”

Simple but extremely powerful. Even a metal giant becomes immobile if its joints freeze from the inside.

“Fufufuu~. Did you see that, Kanata? This is what your elder sister’s true power looks like!”

Setsuna stood proudly on the giant’s head, flashing a smug smile and making a peace sign at me.

Since she’d housed the [Snow Woman] in the giant, she couldn’t fly anymore. That’s one of the weaknesses of Curse Wielding.

“V for victory. Victory.”

How annoying.

“Ufufufufu. The credit for capturing [Hihiirokane] belongs to me, Setsuna of the prestigious Kirisame family. With this, Kanata, you’ll never again dare to—”

As she boasted with her smug face, it happened.

You’ll never again call me a sow— Wait, why is the ground so hot!?”

“RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

The giant’s body began glowing red-hot again!

Its massive limbs started moving once more.

Sizzle. The sound of ice melting into vapor echoed loudly.

The heat and kinetic energy of its massive movements completely shattered the ice that had bound it, both inside and out.

From the giant’s body, the spirit of [Snow Woman] floated out, looking like she was about to cry. Poor thing.

“N-No way! My Curse Wielding was broken!? Aaaaahhhh!?”

The giant [Hihiirokane] began moving again, causing its massive body to shake.

The vibration made Setsuna lose her footing, and she slipped.

“Ahhhh! I’m gonna die a virgin~!?”

“What are you even doing!?”

I was already on the move.

Taking inspiration from Maro, who used Object Imbuing for mobility, I shot a thread toward a tree, hooked it, and propelled myself forward with its pull.

Using that momentum, I dashed through the air at high speed and caught Setsuna mid-fall.

“Wahh!? K-Kanata…!”

“Miss Setsuna.”

“Y-Yes…!”

Setsuna’s face turned red.

Holding her soft body securely in my arms, I leaned in close and whispered into her ear.

“—Don’t let your guard down, you sow.”

“Haun!?”

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[Tips]

Dialects: 

Subtle linguistic variations that exist in different regions.

In this world of the Sacred Calendar year 2030, language differences on Earth have been reduced to mere dialects.

This phenomenon occurred in 1887, when the supreme Conceptual Spirit of [Unified Language] appeared, causing planet-wide memetic contamination and making “all humans capable of speaking the same language.”

Incidentally, the incomprehensible Aomori dialect is considered the “star of hope” that resists the [Unified Language].

Joppare.

Pointing with Fingers:

One of the actions performed with hand gestures. Generally considered rude.

Biologically speaking, living beings instinctively feel fear toward sharp objects, which might explain the reaction.

From a mystical perspective, fingers are seen as outlets for magical power, with the index finger specifically referred to as the “cursing finger” in Norse traditions.

Even the Book of Isaiah (58:9-14) in the Old Testament mentions “pointing fingers” as a sin, associating it with contempt.

Similarly, the middle finger carries its own connotations. In Libertalia, raising the middle finger, seen as a phallic symbol, is called the “F*** Sign” and is considered an ultimate insult.

The origins of the “F*** Sign” trace back to ancient Greece, where it was known as the “arrogant finger.”

Because of this, the “sword finger” gesture, made using the index and middle fingers together, carries immense spiritual power.

When used in spiritual control, it increases precision, and when employed in Curse Wielding, it works like a gun, allowing curses to hit with high accuracy.

This technique is referred to overseas as “Gand.”

[The Ice Queen]:

The title given to Setsuna Kirisame in the first timeline’s future.

She was always cool and composed, but losing her beloved younger sister plunged her into despair.

As a result, she became like an ice statue—completely devoid of warmth or emotion, fulfilling her duties mechanically.

[Sow]:

Setsuna’s current title.

It’s now absolutely impossible for her to revert to being the [Ice Queen].

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