Chapter 69: Hijiri and the Camping Tank 

“…And that’s how we ended up buying this.”

“Yes.”

Parked in the spacious yard of my house was a vehicle that definitely hadn’t been there the previous night—

A microbus.

“…Why?”

“Because starting today, Eight, I, and Dyke will combine our talents to remodel this microbus.”

“Who’s the last person!?”

“Dyke the carpenter. Nice to meet ya, kid.”

Dyke grinned broadly as he extended his hand.

Hijiri accepted it, and the two men exchanged a firm handshake.

And so…

Without wasting a single moment, the dismantling of my ten-million-point microbus officially began.

“M-My microbus… the one that cost ten million points… it’s being taken apart in the blink of an eye…”

“Hoho… so the engine burns gasoline to generate power, which then turns the wheels. Hmph. Even I could probably build something this simple.”

“Now that we’ve removed the engine, we’ll begin remodeling the interior. Eight, please cut the lumber according to the blueprints using the electric saw.”

Following Raphiel’s instructions, we first removed every single passenger seat from the bus.

“Wow… without the seats, it feels unbelievably spacious.”

“Since the ceiling is fairly high, we’ll build bunk beds at the rear of the vehicle. The adults—Tifana, Sabine, Reina, and Eight—will sleep on the lower bunks. I, Eve, Amate, Luka, Nor, and Rio will take the upper bunks. That arrangement should fit perfectly.”

“…Where exactly am I sleeping?”

“There doesn’t appear to be enough room inside the cabin, so you’ll sleep in the luggage compartment. We’ll make sure it can be opened from the inside, so you needn’t worry.”

“Oh, nice. I actually like cramped, dark places. They’re relaxing.”

…Hm?

I could’ve sworn Raphiel had just said something completely outrageous as though it were perfectly normal.

…Must’ve been my imagination.

Right?

“We’ll also install a shower room, a kitchen, and a sofa so everyone has somewhere comfortable to relax.”

“Raphiel-san… aren’t you trying to cram in just a little too much?”

“It’ll be extremely tight, but it should still be feasible.”

Her expression remained as blank as ever.

Yet somehow, her eyes sparkled with unmistakable excitement.

Watching her become so invested in the project made me find myself getting excited too.

“What about water for the shower and kitchen? Are we just going to bring a huge supply with us?”

“No. The cargo space is reserved for carrying a large quantity of gasoline, so that idea has been rejected. I’ve already asked Cardinal Larsa to create a magical device capable of generating water.”

“You asked Cardinal Larsa?”

“Yes. I promised to bring her back souvenirs, and she happily agreed.”

Wow…

We really owed her one.

“We’ll also install solar panels on the roof and place a battery beneath the driver’s seat. That way, even when the engine is off, the electrical systems inside the vehicle will continue functioning.”

“Oh! Being able to charge our smartphones will be really convenient.”

“Once we leave your house, we won’t have access to television anymore. However, everyone will still be able to play games during the journey, so boredom shouldn’t be an issue.”

…No.

That probably wasn’t happening.

We’d be traveling along the highway connecting the Kingdom of Elde to the Luresia Empire.

Unlike modern roads, it wasn’t paved with asphalt.

Even with upgraded suspension, the bus was bound to bounce around constantly.

Trying to play games under those conditions sounded like the fastest route imaginable to motion sickness.

I’d better warn Luka and the others beforehand.

“Ah. I nearly forgot something important.”

“Huh? There’s still more?”

“The defensive systems. We’ll replace the wheels with crawler tracks so the vehicle can traverse any terrain. We’ll also install large spikes on the front so that any monsters blocking our path can simply be run over.”

“…That’s just a tank.”

“…I see. As expected of Eight. What a brilliant suggestion.”

…Huh?

Before I could even object—

“We’ll reinforce the windows with bullet-resistant film and cover the entire body with steel armor. Eight, does your online shop happen to sell cannons?”

“There’s no way they’d sell something like th—…Huh?”

I hurriedly opened the online shopping app.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head.

A self-propelled howitzer…

Was actually listed.

For one billion points.

…They seriously sold those?

“…Hmm. Too expensive. We’ll give up on that. Instead, we’ll enlarge a repeating crossbow based on the designs available in this world and mount it on the roof.”

She nodded to herself with complete satisfaction.

“We’ll call it… the Camping Tank.”

“Now that sounds fun!! Leave the repeating crossbow to me!! I’ll build it myself!!”

Dyke laughed heartily, already eager to get to work.

“Hasn’t this project completely lost sight of its original purpose!?”

“I’m getting excited now, Eight.”

Raphiel’s eyes sparkled even brighter than before.

…Somehow, that worried me.

Thus began an entire week…

Of turning an ordinary microbus into something that no sane person would ever describe as a camper van.

By the end of it—

The Camping Tank had been completed.

“By the way, Raphiel-san… is the Camping Tank actually… legal?”

“There are no laws in this world regulating vehicle modifications.”

“No, that’s not what I meant!! I meant safety standards!!”

“Please rest assured. Knowing you’d be concerned, I thoroughly investigated every relevant detail. It fully satisfies all applicable safety standards.”

She nodded confidently.

“It’s a legally compliant loophole camper.”

I…

Supposed that was reassuring.

Although…

The moment you mounted a gigantic repeating crossbow designed to kill massive monsters on the roof…

I felt like the concept of “safety” had already left the building.

“…Hmm. Eight, something has occurred to me.”

“What is it?”

“Who will actually drive the Camping Tank? I was under the impression you don’t possess a driver’s license.”

Ah.

“Then building the whole thing was completely pointless!?”

“It can’t be helped. In that case, as the one who utterly dominated Luka and the others in M◯rio Kart, I shall assume driving duties—”

“No, no, no!! You absolutely can’t treat real driving the same as a video game!!”

“However, if no one can drive it, all our hard work will go to waste.”

“Actually…”

Hijiri interrupted our increasingly frantic argument.

Could it be…

Did he actually know how to drive?

No…

He’d been summoned to this world while he was still in high school.

There was no way an ordinary high school student could drive a car—

Especially one with a manual transmission…

“My family was fairly well-off. Ever since I was little, my parents bought me cars as birthday presents, and I’d drive them around on our private property. So yes, I can drive manual transmissions too.”

“We’re saved!! Raphiel-san, Hijiri can drive!!”

Wait.

His parents bought him cars…

As birthday presents…

And they owned enough private land to drive them around on…

“Um… are your parents, by any chance, the CEOs of some huge corporation?”

“Haha, nothing like that.”

“R-Right… I figured.”

“They only run around ten small companies. They’re not CEOs of some giant corporation or anything.”

“…I see.”

Only.

Only ten companies.

That was still incredible.

Maybe growing up in that kind of environment was why Hijiri had been able to establish an Assassin’s Guild at such a young age—and why he’d come up with innovative ideas like Tsurugi Saba’s “Free Meals for Adventurers” system.

Whatever the reason…

Little by little, our preparations for the trip to the sea steadily fell into place.