The Raven Dark Hero 104

Chapter 104 : The Man Loved by God

TL:SummerPeanut

――Sugamo Shopping Street

The Sugamo shopping street, where elderly people usually stroll, is empty due to the bomb threat.

Seven, a.k.a. Kuroyume's number seven, had come to the shopping arcade.

“It's peaceful~. They're really too devilish to set off bombs here. Don't you think so, ‘Shirley?”

“That’s right. But still, Seven, you stink, don't you?”

The sweet coconut scent coming from Seven was so strong that Shirley couldn't help but cover her nose.

“Hmm? Smells sweet, doesn't it~?”

Seven, who has dry skin, always applies oil to his body to keep it moisturized, and today what he used was coconut oil.

“Now, let's find the bomb and recover it quickly.”

The woman called Shirley is Seven's partner and is practically acting as the head of the Okinawa branch since Seven, the original head of the branch, doesn't do anything.

Although she is small in stature, she works hard and looks like a pretty girl with a short cut hair but she is highly regarded in both combat and clerical work and it is said that if it weren't for her certain habit, Shirley would be more suitable for the position of Numbers rather than Seven himself.

In contrast to Shirley who had begun a frenzied search for the bomb, Seven snatched a tomato from a deserted grocery store and bit into it.

“Nnn~, juicy~. Shirley-san, do you want to eat some too~?”

“No, I'm fine. Anyway, aren't there any Kagerou’s people here? I heard reports of guard dogs at the other spots.”

So far, there's no sign of anyone but the two of them.

“Aren't we lucky? There are no enemies here, so let's take our time.”

For Seven, who did not want any trouble, the absence of enemies was only convenient for him.

Then, one of the armored vehicles of the NDF came to a stop in front of Seven.

A tall beautiful woman in military uniform and an active-looking woman with a ponytail got out of the first car.

“You're Seven and Shirley of the Kuroyume Numbers, right? I knew it. The terrorist attack was the work of Kuroyume, just as the Byakkotai had reported……”

Narumi Yoshida, the strongest woman in the primate human family of the NDF's Hanagekitai, glared at Seven.

“Eh? No no, It's a misunderstanding. We're just being set up, and it's all Kagerou’s……”

“I didn't want to believe the information coming from Byakkotai, but it's no use when there were actually Kuroyume's Numbers on the scene……”

Azusa Asakura, a member of the NDF's Hanagekitai, didn't want to believe the information that Kuroyume was the main culprit of the terrorist attack because of her distrust of Hiro, the captain of the Byakkotai, but she decided to believe the information when she actually saw Kuroyume, and her Numbers, at the scene.

“Hmmmm? Wait a minute, we from Kuroyume are dealing with Kagerou’s……”

Wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict, Seven tried to persuade them but his partner would not be quiet.

“The NDF! It’s been hundreds of years since we’ve met, prepare yourself!”

“HEEEEHHH!? WAI-, What are you talking about, Shirley-chan!?”

The moment she saw NDF, Shirley switched to her combat mode and ignored Seven who didn’t want to get into trouble if possible.

……The previously said only flaw in the honest Shirley. That was her excessive hostility towards NDF.

In the past, this hostility towards the NDF had caused her to lose her cool and get into trouble more than once but that was because of her gift.

“URAAAAAAH!”

Shirley turned her body into a beast with the gift of ‘Panther Lessersion’ and attacked Yoshida.

Many gifted of beastmen transformation-type have powerful fighting capabilities. However, there are no such gifted within NDF. It's not clear whether it's the country's intention or the military's, but beast transformation-type gifted are disliked by the NDF and are not allowed to join. In other words, they were not treated as human beings.

Shirley also hated the National Defense Force because of the pain she had suffered in the past.

Yoshida blocked Shirley's claw blow head-on and caught her in the upper half of her body……

“URUOAAAAH!”

She tossed Shirley as hard as she could toward the fruit stand.

“EEEH!? Shirley-chan, are you alright!?”

In his haste to rush to Shirley's side, Seven tripped over a pebble and fell. ……The next moment, a murderous tornado erupted in front of him.

“Ah……that was dangerous~. Lucky that I fell.”

The person who created the tornado was Mizutani Fuuka, the commander of the NDF's Hanagekitai, that had just gotten out of the second car that had arrived before anyone knew it.

“……You're not just a number from Kuroyume for nothing. You sensed my surprise attack and avoided it.”

The truth was that he just fell down, but in this situation full of beautiful women, Seven's good-natured switch got turned on.

“Hmph…… Ladies, I'm not going to say anything bad. Let's just settle this peacefully before I get serious.”

An unearthly aura emanated from Seven as he slowly stood up and made a determined face.

“Peacefully…… I see. But if you're willing to do that, we'd like to see a peaceful resolution too, but unfortunately, your partner doesn't seem to be willing to do that.”

Shirley was huffing and puffing, chomping on a banana with tomatoes all over her body.

“The NDF are enemies. I'll kill them all!!”

Shirley's eyes were in full battle mode as she threw away the banana peel she had finished eating.

“Wai-, Shirley-chan!?”

Shirley's bad habits had Seven scratching his head. He knew that there was nothing he could do to stop Shirley from doing this.

“Interesting……. Then I'll take good care of you.”

Yoshida bared his will to fight against Shirley.

“Naru, this person’s movement, is pretty fast. I'll support you.”

Azusa also recognized Shirley as a complete enemy.

“Hey hey hey~! Everyone, do you understand what I'm saying? Let's be peaceful here……”

Three more strong girls, Watanabe, Okubo, and Kondo, got out of the second car and lined up behind Fuka.

“You think we can't even match you when you're serious? Then feel free to try us.”

Fuuka also went into battle mode. It was Kuroyume’s Numbers in front of her. In fact, the surprise attack that she thought was a bit cowardly was easily dodged, so she had to eliminate any carelessness.

“No, I-, fight with me? Yo-you don't want to do that, okay? You might even get pregnant, you know?”

Seven muttered something unintelligible in a tone that was a mixture of impatience and strength, but this in turn got Fuuka on her nerves.

“We're no match for you guys…… Is that what you're saying? Well, then you'll just have us learn about it firsthand.”

She gave him an icy stare, and a cold sweat ran down her spine.

(GYAAAH! This is BAD! Will I, die!?)

Despite Seven's efforts, Shirley, on the other side, had Yoshida and Azusa at her mercy with her speed.

“Tsk, her speed is tricky.”

“I can't get a clear shot with this thing!”

Shirley's attack was focused on Yoshida. Was it because the beast's instincts were sniffing out which of them was the stronger? Azusa also tried to provide cover fire, but she was unable to catch the beast-like Shirley.

“What’s the matter, NDF!? I knew it, you're just a bunch of cowards who can only take on the weak, right!?”

Shirley's claws sliced through Yoshida's cheek.

“Kuh!?”

“Naru, are you alright!?”

Yoshida told off a worried Azusa that she was fine by waving her hand. She then scooped the blood from her cheek with hand, licked it off and grinned.

“You made me bleed……apparently, you want to die.”

Yoshida's mood changed. Shirley, too, instinctively sensed this and stopped moving.

“I was really hoping I could get away without using my gift…… But I guess I can't say that now.”

Yoshida's body reddened and steam began to boil. Then, her muscles swelled up and her appearance changed to the muscular and bony form that she had when she was called the strongest female in the primate family.

“Fushururururuu~~. Now, come at me, little kitten.”

Yoshida's gift, ‘Burning Blood’, is a rank B gift.

She can control her own blood, doubling the strength of her physical abilities, and can even use her blood to attack.

With this amount of control, she is usually able to maintain a well-proportioned figure, but when she enters full combat mode, she reverts to her previous form.

“Kitten, you say? Don’t you fuck with me!”

Shirley distracted her with speed and attacked Yoshida from behind.

“I can see you!”

Yoshida, however, reacted to Shirley's movement and blocked the attack.

“Tsk, the government is..aaaAaAaAAAAH!”

Shirley and Yoshida engaged in a fierce battle. Seven watched the scene in stunned silence.

(I was going to ask Shirley to help me, but what the hell is that monster? I mean, how can you fight on even ground with Shirley, who's one step away from Numbers’ level!?)

“I can't believe you're looking away, you have a lot of leeway on your hands it seems.”

“Eh? Ah, OWAH-!?”

As Seven jumped back in panic, a kamaitachi arose where Seven had previously been standing and tore up the ground.

“Come, Kuroyume Number 7. You can’t play around forever, get serious.”

(I'm pretty sure I'd lose in three seconds even if I really tried)

“Then you'll have to deal with me this time!”

When Okubo, a fierce women's boxer, swung her fist at him from ten meters away, Seven was hit in the nose and fell.

(BUHA-!? Why am I punched when I’m so far away? No way, it's a gift!?)

Okubo's gift, ‘Mach Fist’, is ranked at B- that allows her to send shock waves with her extremely fast punches.

“? ……Are you looking down on me? Get serious.”

Seven went down with a thud, and Fuuka thought he was joking and she felt she was being mocked. But……

(HIIH, HIIH, I'm getting killed! These people, they're so strong despite being women!)

The number 7 of Kuroyume, Seven. It is not an exaggeration to say that his fighting ability is that of......a small fry, to put it bluntly.

But then, why is he the Number 7 of Kuroyume? That’s because……

“Shit~, you got some nerve! Here I come, ’Lucky Seven’ activate!!”

Seven activated his gift. However, there was no change in his body. He then picked up an iron pipe that had fallen on the spot in distress and started running towards Okubo.

“What? That’s too defenseless, right? As if I will let you come near me!”

As Seven approached, Okubo lashed out with a Mach Punch, and countless shock waves approached Seven.

(HIIIIIH! I AM SCAREDDDDDD!!)

“……eh, wha-?”

At that very moment, Seven's foot slipped on the banana peel that Shirley had just thrown away and he lost his balance, thus avoiding the shockwave. However, he was unable to stop the momentum and approached Okubo, still off balance……

“Wha-! GYAAAH!”

Seven had fallen forward but the iron pipe that he swung down hit Okubo cleanly on the brain. Okubo was knocked unconscious.

Fuuka, watching the scene, once again strengthened her vigilance against Seven.

(That move was completely unpredictable……. Normally, there would always be a preliminary movement, whether it's to avoid or to counter, but……)

Seven took a spectacular fall but he was relieved that he defeated Okubo without incident, and stood up in a cool manner.

“Hmph, what’s the matter, NDF? Is this what you're capable of? How can you expect me to take you seriously?!”

“Kuh……”

Fuuka bit her lip, Watanabe and Kondo also became angry and frustrated from seeing Okubo beaten.

Seven's gift, Lucky Seven, was an unparalleled gift, ranked at X. The benefits of this gift made Seven a little luckier than others even when he wasn't activating his gift but the effects of this gift would be realized when he activated it.

During the first seven minutes of the Gift's activation, an unbelievable amount of luck descends upon Seven. He doesn't know if this is a bad thing or not, but it seems that for a while after the gift is activated, his luck will go down (according to him).

(Now that I've activated the gift, I'll have to settle this as fast as I can……)

“Now, bring it on, girls! This handsome man, beloved by God, will show you what it is to be a real man!”

Incidentally, Seven's appearance is only mediocre, for better or worse.

Author’s Note:

Fuuka is struck by an inexplicable and strange feeling in the face of the unfathomable Seven.

Next chapter:『Lucky Seven』

※Here's the sixth interview to celebrate the publication of the book.

Takahiko: "It's been less than a week since the book was released! So today we have a special guest, the boss of Kuroyume, Shinichirou Kiryu~!”

Kiryu: "Yo.”

Takahiko: "Ah, no, boss. Don't just say, ‘Yo’ here. You should introduce yourself.”

Kiryu: "You already did my part, no?”

Takahiko: "Well, yes, but ...... Oh well. So let's get some feedback on the book version, shall we?”

Kiryu: "Book publishing, huh……. Ever since you announced that your work is going to be published as a book, it seems that your updates on Narou have been delayed for quite some time. Don't you think this is disrespectful to the readers who have been reading this work since the beginning?”[1]

Takahiko: "UG-!? ……that, well…… I'm sure there’s a lot of work to prepare for a book publication, isn’t it?”

Kiryu: "I see. So you're more interested in making money from the book sales than the fans who are reading and yet to abandon this series?”

Takahiko: "NONONO! There’s no such thing! I'm sure the author is very grateful to his fans. He is trying to update as much as possible……wait, why am I speaking up for the author!?”

Kiryu: "It's certainly a great thing to have your work published. However, I'm sure you've seen works in the past that stopped being updated on Narou the moment they were published. How did you feel whenever you encountered such works?”

Takahiko: "That's, well…… ‘Just because your work is published, are you going to heck care your free work in Narou?’, I WOULD think like that.”

Kiryu: "Then, I have one thing to say. Even if your work is published, don’t be tardy. That's it. Bye.”

Takahiko: "…………He has always been a boss that likes to give sermons~……Sigh. Well then, tomorrow's guest is……I don't care who it is, as long as it's not boss.”

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TL’s Note:

1. Narou is short name for syosetsu from syosetsuka ni narou which literally means let’s become a (light) novelist.