Omaru Polka IF: The Dododododo Band! Rescue the Circus Prince Arc - Episode 2

The sea breeze blew, lukewarm and damp. Half a day had already passed since the Hydra left the port of Portina. The land had long since sunk into a tiny speck beyond the horizon. All around, nothing but blue and blue. Sky and sea stretched on endlessly, and right in the middle of it all, a single small sailing ship plodded along. Omaru Poruka leaned against the stern railing, gazing absently at the waves. Her orange-and-gold two-tone hair bounced and bobbed in the wind off the sea. [sad] "Hah..." Her sigh vanished, swallowed by the wind. Deep in her chest, a restless unease had been churning for a while now. Sure, she'd said she'd save the marinefolk, but how? The enemy was a clown mage with a face painted stark white, who'd usurped an entire country with magic. A genuine monster who ripped out adults' hearts with black balloons and turned them into laughing dolls. (*Can I really beat someone like that?*) She gently touched the red nose in her breast pocket. A keepsake from her master. The rough, grainy feel of the wood eased her anxiety, just a little. But it wasn't enough. [angry] "Dammit, no point thinking about it!" Poruka shouted, then slapped both her cheeks with a sharp *smack*. Her petite frame jolted. The hem of her red-and-white striped tank top fluttered softly. "I'm gonna cheer up! The leader of the Hololive Troupe, Omaru Poruka, isn't gonna get stuck in a rut like this!" As she raised her voice, a seagull perched atop the mast took off in surprise. From the deck, a soft giggle reached her ears. [gentle] "Poruka-san, you're always so energetic." It was Aqua. Her long, bluish hair streamed in the wind, and her white silk coat shimmered and sparkled. This girl really was a prince, no matter how you looked at her. Her every movement was elegant; just standing there, she looked like a painting. [excited] "Of course! Being energetic is my only redeeming quality!" Poruka planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest. Her star-patterned skirt billowed out softly. ...But, truth be told. (*If I don't keep pretending to be energetic, I feel like the fear's gonna crush me.*) She murmured that only in her heart. [serious] "Aqua, aren't you scared?" Before she knew it, the words had slipped out. Aqua looked down for just a moment, then gave a small nod. [scared] "...I'm scared. My father, my mother, everyone... they all turned into dolls. I was the only one who ran away. It feels like I abandoned them all. I can't even sleep at night." "Aqua..." [excited] "But!" Aqua lifted her head. Her blue eyes stared straight at Poruka. They were beautiful eyes, as if reflecting the color of the sea. "Because you and the others came, Poruka-san, I'm not alone anymore. So... I'm scared, but I can keep going." At those words, a fierce warmth surged deep in Poruka's chest. (*That's right. This kid crossed the sea all alone. This is no time for me to be losing heart.*) [excited] "Oh, for crying out loud! If you put it that way, then as the troupe leader, I've got no choice but to get serious!" Poruka rolled up her sleeves with gusto. Just then— [sarcastic] "Oi, oi. Hate to interrupt when you two are getting all fired up, but..." Dario, emerging from the cabin, called out to them as he scratched at his stubble. A thirty-year-old sailor, his skin weathered by the sea breeze and his worn linen shirt suited him perfectly. He was the owner of this ship, the Hydra. "We've got ourselves a bit of a problem." [surprised] "Huh? What, what happened!?" Dario pointed ahead. Following his finger, Poruka was struck speechless. Floating on the sea were black balloons. —Black balloons. The very magic that the clown mage, Falsetto or whatever his name was, used to seal people's hearts. And it wasn't just ten or twenty. At least fifty. No, more than that. There, and there, and over there too. They bobbed and floated, practically blanketing the surface of the sea. Drifting slowly on the wind, they bumped into each other with soft *clunk*, *clunk* sounds. The noise was eerily like human skulls knocking together, sending a chill down her spine. [scared] "Wh-what is this..." A cold sensation slithered down from the nape of her neck to her back. "This is the real deal. The stuff they say drifted over from Marinefolk. It's a region called the Nebra Mist Sea. Always been a rough patch of water, prone to fog, but lately this stuff's been drifting around. No ships go near it anymore." Dario's voice was low, his usual lighthearted tone completely gone. [scared] "Please don't break them. Absolutely do not." Aqua's voice was trembling. [serious] "What happens if you break one?" "The sealed hearts come flooding out all at once. Screams, crying... Anyone who hears it gets swallowed up by those emotions. Several of the adults in my country, they..." Aqua stopped there, clamping her mouth shut. Poruka gulped. (*This is bad. Way too bad. What is this, seriously bad.*) [angry] "Dario-san! Can we go around!? Take us as far away as possible!" "No can do. With this many scattered all over the place, it's the same whichever way we go. Only thing we can do is try to avoid the spots where the currents have clumped 'em together." Dario yanked the wheel hard. The wood groaned with a *creak, creak, creak*. The Hydra slowly changed course and began to slip through the gaps in the swarm of black balloons. The wind died down. The ship's speed dropped, and a fog began to roll in around them. True to the name Nebra Mist Sea. A white haze crept across the sea's surface, and before they knew it, they couldn't even see fifty meters ahead. *Clunk.* A single black balloon bumped lightly against the ship's side. Poruka felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest. (*No, no, no, don't break! Please!*) She squeezed her eyes shut. But the balloon just went *clunk* against the hull and then drifted away with a soft *bob*. [angry] "...Absolutely no problem at all! Is what I'd like to say, but this is way too bad for my heart!" Poruka yelled. [laughing] "Haha, ain't that the truth." Dario laughed. Aqua's lips curled up just a little, too. (*Good. The mood lightened a bit.*) Poruka breathed a sigh of relief. And so, repeating that cycle of tension and small laughs, the Hydra slowly, slowly made its way through the misty sea. ——Evening. Just as the fog was starting to thin out a little. The number of black balloons finally began to dwindle. A few were still bobbing here and there, but not packed together like before. Dario let go of the wheel and stretched his arms wide. "At this rate, we should be out of the mist sea by tonight. After that, it's about two more days to Marinefolk." [surprised] "Seriously!? Yay!" Poruka jumped for joy. "But hey, Poruka." Dario looked at Poruka with a serious face. "The real deal starts once we get there. How exactly are you planning to take down that clown bastard?" [surprised] "...Urk." Poruka was at a loss for words. (*Right. That's the problem.*) As the leader of a traveling troupe, she had zero combat experience. Her job was entertaining people with acrobatics, magic tricks, and animal acts. And besides, right now, her troupe members— She got that far in her thoughts and gasped. [scared] "Ah! What about Ramii and Ruuna!?" When they'd set sail, the two of them hadn't been on board. Ramii had said she was going to buy alcohol, and as for Ruuna— [sarcastic] "Took you long enough to notice." Dario said, looking exasperated. "Ramii's on board, all right. She's in the cabin, soaking in booze. Dunno about this Ruuna, but she's that Himemori purple one from your troupe, yeah? She ain't here." [sad] "...Ah, geez. I figured. That Ruuna... she probably overslept or something and didn't make it to the port." Ruuna was the troupe's princess, capable of using astronomical magic. But she was a free spirit, lazy, and wouldn't lift a finger for anything that didn't interest her. (*We're one short. But we can't go back. We don't have the time or the fuel to turn around.*) Poruka bit her lip. [gentle] "...Are you okay?" Aqua peered at her with concern. [excited] "Yeah, I'm fine! Ruuna's tough, despite how she looks. She'll manage on her own somehow. I'm sure she'll catch up with us later!" Poruka put on a smile. (*But honestly, I'm really worried. We're a three-person troupe. I'm the leader, and one of my members is missing.*) What would Master have done at a time like this? — *'Don't worry. You're better at smiling than anyone.'* She recalled her master's voice. That's right. Putting on a smile is my job. Acting cheerful so my comrades don't get anxious—that's the role of the troupe leader. Poruka took a stealthy deep breath, then clapped her hands together with gusto. [excited] "Alright! Let's pull ourselves together! Tonight, we're having a party on the ship! At times like this, we've gotta have fun!" [laughing] "If there's a party, I'm all for it!" The cabin hatch burst open, and Ramii came flying out. Her long silver hair streaming behind her, she already had a bottle of alcohol in her hand. Having run away from a noble family to become a traveling performer, there was a certain grace in her bearing, but the smell of alcohol utterly ruined it. [angry] "Hey, Ramii! How long have you been awake!?" [laughing] "The smell of booze woke me up." "That makes no sense!" She gave Ramii a light smack on the head. Ramii cackled. Aqua giggled. Dario sighed in disbelief. (*Yeah, yeah. This is fine.*) Poruka thought to herself. There were plenty of scary things, plenty of things to be anxious about. But she wasn't alone. Ramii was here. Aqua was here. And there was that slightly unreliable sailor, too. And besides— She placed a hand on her breast pocket. (*Master is with me, too.*) [excited] "Come on, come on, Ramii! Don't just drink all day—do a trick or something! I wanna see some magic, it's been ages!" [surprised] "Ehh, what a pain." "Just do it, just do it!" Poruka pushed Ramii's back, herding her to the center of the deck. Grumbling all the while, Ramii nevertheless pulled out a deck of cards from her pocket with practiced ease. "Alright, just a little then. Aqua-chan, pick a card." Aqua timidly drew a card. Ramii's fingers fluttered and danced; cards vanished and reappeared. The playing cards twirled through the air, landing neatly back on her fingertip. [surprised] "Whoa!" Aqua's eyes sparkled brightly. (*Good. Aqua smiled.*) Poruka found herself smiling too, caught up in the moment. Ramii's magic tricks weren't any great sorcery. Just simple sleight of hand, with gimmicks and setups. But that was more than enough. You didn't need real magic to move someone's heart. (*—Laughter is the magic of the heart. Just like Master used to say.*) Poruka looked up at the sky. The fog was gradually clearing. Through the breaks in the clouds, stars were beginning to twinkle into view. Night over the Festiva Sea slowly deepened. The ship continued on, still heading for Marinefolk. —Far in the distance, the *clunk* of black balloons bumping together echoed.

日本語

What is Novelia? →

Episode 2

Name: Omaru Polka IF: The Dododododo Band! Rescue the Circus Prince Arc
Author: Novelia

What is Novelia?

Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.

Learn more about Novelia →New sign-ups get 5,000pt