Chapter 109: Old Man, You Might Get Caught…

236th Day in the Otherworld

“Good morning, Keisuke-san.”

“Good morning, Tsubaki. Did you get a good night’s sleep?”

“Yes, thanks to you. By the way, I heard this from Sakura-san before, but what do you say in times like this? I think the classic line is… ‘Last night was so much fun—'”

“Wait, hold on! You’ve got it right, but wait!”

“Just kidding. Now, let’s have breakfast.”

“Oh, right. Let’s eat soon.”

Shortly after waking up, I was about to receive a powerful blow.

“Today, we’re going to start testing it right outside the forest, right?”

“Merinard and the others should be coming soon, so I plan to wait for them before starting.”

“Since we’re here, it would be nice if we could go to the town. I’m actually looking forward to it. I’m curious about the townscapes of this otherworld.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too.”

The two of them had breakfast while waiting for Merinard and the others to arrive. They had explained the situation yesterday at noon, and since they had said they wanted to witness it together, they planned to start the testing after they arrived.

They had thought about it a lot, but if the testing here was successful, they would try it in the town as well. Even if there was a commotion due to the barrier, they could probably deactivate it quickly.

After finishing breakfast and while waiting for their arrival, two carriages coming from the direction of the town caught their eye.

When he sent a telepathic message to Merinard, it seemed that Urgan and Uruk were accompanying him. Merimas seemed to be riding in the other carriage.

“Village Chief, Tsubaki-san, good morning.”

“Good morning. Merimas, you seem energetic too.”

“Yes, Village Chief! By the way, I heard about the giant bull. I also want to fight it someday! It’s unfair that only Father gets to do it!”

“Oh? Is Merimas aspiring to be an adventurer too?”

“Stories from my father have always been about business or adventures. Can’t blame me for admiring it, can you?”

“I see, I can understand that. So, is Merimas going straight to the village from here? If that’s the case, you can ask Rado to train you.”

“Yes! Thank you very much!”

(They have similar interests as father and son. Well, his father suddenly became strong. It’s no wonder he admires him.)

“Sorry for coming right after you arrived, but can we start now?”

“Of course. We were looking forward to it too.”

“In that case, let’s start by testing it in the grassy field.”

Saying that, I expanded the area. Although nothing happened when I tried various things last time, this time…

“Oh, it worked. But this color…”

I succeeded in fixing the area, but the color of the barrier was pale blue. It was only 10 meters high, just like in the early days.

I tried appraising the barrier, but there was no response. When I entered the barrier and appraised myself… I noticed something strange in the village bonus display.

“Hmm… The ‘Blessing of the Earth Goddess’ that was on the barrier seems to have disappeared. I can see the village bonus, but the display is grayed out. I think it’s in a non-functional state.”

“There was a note saying that the benefits would be restricted, right? It’s probably because the quality of magic (dragon aura) in the Great Forest and elsewhere is different.”

The barrier’s grade seemed to have dropped, but it could still prevent others from entering, and normal material transfer settings seemed to work. Of course, we couldn’t create the all-purpose warehouse or the church. With this feeling, the soil quality bonus probably wasn’t functioning either.

“Village Chief, despite the difference in blessings, we have achieved satisfactory results. The lower height of the barrier is actually quite advantageous, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Indeed… With this height, maybe we can completely cover it.”

“Yes, we have a warehouse owned by the Merry Trading Company. With that, we should be able to completely covered by the barrier.”

“That’s good! It’s time for us to go to the town!”

“Let us guide you. Village Chief and Tsubaki-san, please ride in the back.”

<Beyond S-rank adventurers

<Obtaining equipment to prevent surprise attacks

<The existence of a barrier that can be placed anywhere

Eight months since being sent to another world, the old man, who had made thorough preparations, was finally advancing to the town. He had no intention of dying, but if he were to be killed now, he could accept it.

Now, let’s see. Show me what it’s like to live in a world where otherworldly people reside!

***

“…Hey, Merinard, are you sure about this? There’s a really tough gatekeeper…”

Where did all the energy from earlier go? The old man was panicking as they approached the town.

“It’s okay. Leave it to me.”

“We don’t have any travel permits… Are we not going to get caught?”

“Just stay in the carriage as you are, there’s no need to worry.”

The city was surrounded by an outer wall gate, where several gatekeepers stood with stern expressions.

“Hey, hey, hey, why are they increasing in numbers so quickly? They’re clearly looking at us… This is definitely bad.”

As one of the gatekeepers noticed us, he hurriedly ran into a waiting room. Soon after, soldiers began to emerge one after another.

Our reliable Merinard completely ignored my telepathy, and as soon as he reached the gate, he was surrounded by soldiers, talking to a person of authority.

“Merinard, have you returned already?”

“Yes, Captain. This time it was a trade near the forest.”

While saying this, Merinard took out several bags of sweet potatoes from his spatial storage and distributed them to the soldiers.

“Hmm? Isn’t it more than usual?”

“This time we had a lot of surplus… We appreciate your help with the collection as always.”

“Oh, I see. If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped. Leave the rest to me.”

The soldiers carried bags filled with high-quality sweet potatoes one after another. All of them couldn’t hide their beaming smiles.

In the end, without any cargo inspection, we were able to pass through the gate. Normally, newcomers would be taken to the church as soon as they were found. However, this time, that didn’t happen, and we also successfully avoided the appraisal inspection.

“Village Chief, you don’t have to hide anymore. I’ve also obtained permits for two people.”

“Sigh. We were suddenly surrounded by soldiers… I seriously panicked. Was that exchange just now something you’ve been doing for a while?”

“Yes. I anticipated that something like this might happen someday, so we started trading with the village right away.”

“I’m relieved… but wouldn’t it have been better if you had told me in advance?”

“I’m sorry about that. I couldn’t resist the temptation to see the Village Chief’s surprised face. By the way, Tsubaki-san knew about it.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

“Hehe, I’m sorry, Keisuke-san. You were so enthusiastic before we left… I thought I’d tease you a little.”

“Oh, come on, cut me some slack…”

When did they have this discussion…? Fooled completely, I continued riding in the carriage as it headed to the Merry Trading Company.

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