Chapter 130 – Spice-chan on the Ox-cart

Wе dесidеd to head оut tо Iriomotе Island and tаkе а bullосk сart ride.

Sinсe it’s a lосal sресiаltу, we shоuld definitеly eхреriеnce it.

Тhat’s whеn it hits me.

“How аbоut we ride as Spiсе and get some phоtоs taken?”

“You mean tаkе picturеs in both уоur usuаl fоrm and as Little Spiсe?”

“We’ll usе thе flоppу fоr Sрice Мode, аnd Mashiro, yоu сan just takе rеgular рhotos оf me like this.”

“Hmm, аs long аs wе’re not streaming, I guess it’s finе!”

Mаshirо insists оn keеping it privаtе sinсe this is, aftеr all, а hоnеуmоon triр.

I undеrstаnd the sеntimеnt.

And so…

“Yeeeah! Bullock cart ride! Woo-hoo! It’s moving slowly, but it’s got quite the presence, you know? It’s a different kind of thrill from riding a dragon.”

‘Master’s bullock cart report is perfect. We’ll edit the video later.’

“Even a single page of our honeymoon becomes fuel for the stream!”

Mashiro looks utterly shocked.

Well, it’s both work and a hobby, you see.

“Aren’t you and Mr. Daikyo’s wife going to do a stream together once we get back from the trip, Mashiro?”

“W-well, that’s true, but~”

“It’s better to get your groove back while enjoying the trip! You should Virtualize too, Mashiro!”

“Ehh?!”

In the end, we both Virtualized, swayed along on the bullock cart, made a ruckus, and went to Yubu Island.

The entire island is a botanical garden.

The scale is impressive.

“This is something else. There are even restaurants and stuff!”

“Senpai, aren’t we getting some attention?”

“Well, Spice and Mashiro are walking together, and streamer outfits are bound to stand out! But with all sorts of Other Species with unusual appearances showing up lately, I think people have gotten used to it.”

“Is that so?”

Right as we were having that conversation, a girl with cat ears, a cat tail, and partially feline features went trotting by.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Mashiro seemed convinced.

The cat person appeared to be a staff member here.

They are a feline beastfolk race called the Lyunx, who live in settlements in the forests of Iriomote Island.

When she noticed Spice and Mashiro, she exclaimed, “Oh my!”

“You’re streamers, right? You must be from the mainland. I can tell right away. I know the faces of all the streamers in the Yaeyama Islands.”

“Whoa. Are you all close?”

“Absolutely! Us and all the streamers work together to protect the peace from Ishigaki to Iriomote!”

“W-wow!”

“Senpai, senpai, look at this! There’s a group channel for streamers in the Yaeyama Islands! The beastfolk are on here too. They’re Otherworld collaborators, a race called the Lyunx.”

“Whoa! Relationships have been expanding in places Spice didn’t know about, huh?”

“That’s right. You two are here as tourists, right? The Yaeyamas are safe, so please enjoy your stay!”

“Is the Dungeon Emergence frequency low?”

“Small, wild Dungeons pop up here and there in the forests. But we Lyunx can handle them.”

Apparently, those are extremely small Dungeons.

They occur naturally and disappear naturally over time.

Probably lots of Dungeons are being born and vanishing in places we don’t know about.

And the Lyunx go around crushing the dangerous-looking ones, and for larger-scale ones, they call in streamers for help.

The Lyunx mainly work in various places around Iriomote Island.

The bullock cart driver when we left Yubu Island was also a Lyunx.

Once you start paying attention, you see Lyunx everywhere.

I wonder why feline beastfolk appeared on Iriomote Island.

Maybe related to the Iriomote wildcat?

“The world we know keeps changing more and more. But it’s strange how tourist spots like this remain preserved even as things change.”

“Well, you know. They say entertainment is the greatest power for fighting Dungeons. Especially in Japan, where there’s lots of entertainment, it’s become popular to use it for Dungeon Clearing. Tourism is part of that!”

“I see, I see. It’s a strange thing.”

For this sightseeing trip, we didn’t bring the Grimoires because they’re bulky.

It’s floppy-only.

Right about now, the Grimoires are probably making a racket back in our hotel room.

‘Master, why does entertainment become the power to fight?’

Oh, seems like we’re recording video.

Well then, let’s talk with the Daimesha Road Park as our backdrop!

“It’s like this. Many Dungeons are born from people’s negative emotions. Without entertainment, right, the ways to vent those negative emotions are limited. That makes it easier for Dungeons to be born, and the method of Clearing them through streaming also becomes weaker.”

By gathering Concurrent Viewers, streamers collect the power of faith and temporarily gain god-like power.

That’s how they can clear Dungeons.

But that kind of faith from Concurrent Viewers is hard to generate unless they internalize the same narrative.

Streaming is, in a way, a farce, and people who laugh at it as ‘just a farce’ won’t contribute to the combat strength even if they’re among the Concurrent Viewers.

Because everyone participates in the narrative of the stream, the streamer becomes stronger.

For that, you need a foundation cultivated through various forms of entertainment to be able to recognize a farce as a narrative!

“And so, countries with little entertainment have been getting swallowed up by Dungeons and disappearing one after another. Scary, huh. Currently, isn’t Japan the strongest in Dungeon countermeasures? With Other Species people coming, both Concurrent Viewers and entertainment seem to have gotten even stronger!”

When beings different from ourselves arrive, friction over culture and such can lead to conflict.

But you could also say that kind of thing happens precisely because there’s peace.

The Other Species people lived in worlds much closer to hell than Earth, where Dungeons were an everyday reality.

So their awareness that they must cooperate or be destroyed is much stronger than that of Earthlings.

That’s why the Other Species are cooperative and are blending into human society more and more.

Apparently, even though their forms are different, they can normally have children and such.

“Whoa, I’m learning so much!! You’re really knowledgeable!”

“Spice is a capable little girl, after all!”

Incidentally, a tourist who overheard this nearby went “Ooh!” in admiration, then started clapping.

Thank you, thank you!

“Thank you for your kind attention!”

“I had no idea Little Spice was so knowledgeable!” “And to think we’d meet Little Spice on Iriomote Island!” “Please give us your autograph!”

It was the Meat Brigade!!