Kays Translations

Chapter 110: Special Mission Task Force, Abbreviated as...

Having safely entered the city, I occasionally peered out of the small window while being jostled in the somewhat shaky carriage.

Along what appeared to be the city's main street, two-story buildings stood out, with some even being four stories tall. 

Everything I could see portrayed the unbroken charm of a fantasy world city.

"Oh, is that the Adventurers Guild?"

A particularly prominent building had a sign that looked like it belonged to an adventurers' guild, featuring a design that depicted a goblin pierced with a sword.

"Yes, that's correct. All the adventurers in this city take on requests there. If you're interested, would you like to stop by?"

"Hmm... not now. Let's proceed with verifying the barrier first."

The scenario of a newcomer old man registering as an adventurer, only to be defeat self-proclaimed veteran adventurers who then harass him—it's tempting to imagine, but I'll resist it for now.

There were also large shops dealing in weapons and armor, a church with a statue of a goddess, and various shops of different sizes lining the streets. As we advanced, captivated by the unfamiliar cityscape of this otherworld, we finally arrived at the Merry Trading Company.

"Welcome once again. This is the main branch of the Merry Trading Company."

"Wow, it's even bigger than I expected... I hope I didn't inconvenience you, but is this considered a medium-sized shop?"

No matter how you looked at it, it was just as impressive as the large shops I'd seen earlier.

"We moved the main branch here after our trade with the village. Thanks to that, we've been able to make a decent profit."

"I see, that's good if you're making a profit. I've received quite a bit of help from you, so I've been curious for a while."

"I appreciate your consideration. Please follow me."

Merinard was led not to the entrance of the store, but to a building next to it. While the exterior was plain compared to the store, it was even larger in scale.

It seems that this is the warehouse they mentioned this morning.

"There are goods stored here, is it okay? Non-villagers won't be able to enter."

"Yes, I have one request regarding that... I'd like you to test later if our employees can become villagers."

"Is that what you mean? Then I'll try setting up the barrier first."

I envisioned a barrier of 10 meters in height and width within the warehouse. The expanded barrier left quite a bit of space on both the sides and inner walls of the building. There was also some room to spare in terms of height.

Even after fixing the barrier, nothing unusual happened. The goods in the warehouse and the partition shelves were all in their original state.

"All right, that's good. I confirmed that I can set up a barrier even in the city."

"Keisuke-san, you can finally relax with this."

"Yeah, I think the other members can come here with peace of mind now."

"Let's use telepathy to let everyone know later."

As we had this conversation, Urgan arrived with the company's employees. However, something was amiss. There were quite a few children who seemed too young to work.

"Village Chief, nice to meet you."

"Hello, everyone. I'm Keisuke, the Village Chief of the Eastern Forest. This is my deputy, Tsubaki."

"I'm responsible for overseeing the village. Nice to meet you all."

"Everyone is being very polite. So Merinard, these are all employees' families, right?"

"Yes, we have 5 employees and 16 of their family members. These are all the people related to the Merry Trading Company."

All the employees, along with their families, expressed a desire to become villagers, including relocating to the village. Some employees who didn't wish to become villagers were given a severance package to start their own businesses.

"I've spent the last four months teaching them about the Village Chief's greatness since I became a villager. Please accept them."

"I'm very happy, thank you all. It might not be as comfortable here, but safety and the basics of life are guaranteed from monsters."

With everything arranged this way, it was a quick conversation. Residential permits were immediately issued, and we began testing if they could enter the barrier.

Villagers began to enter the barrier one after another. As soon as they safely entered, some showed relief, some expressed joy, and some families hugged each other. Among them, several families seemed unsure and hesitant to take that final step.

"Don't worry everyone. Even in my appraisal, your loyalty isn't a problem. I'll let all your family members in, so please rest assured."

In response to my reassurance, the families, who had hesitantly touched the barrier, joyfully jumped in as soon as they realized their hands passed through it.

"On behalf of the company, thank you for accepting us. We look forward to working with you in the future."

"Likewise, I'm looking forward to everyone coming."

Successfully welcoming all of them, the total number of villagers had now reached 150.

Among those accepted this time were 21 men and women from the Sheep beastmen. The breakdown included five adult males, five adult females, and 11 children ranging from 1 to 14 years old. All the company's employees were women, and the men each had different professions. They had apparently taken a day off and gathered here today.

After about 30 minutes of conversation, everyone went back to work, and we also moved to the guest room of the store.

◇◇◇

The Merry Trading Company was a four-story building with a shop on the first floor, offices on the second floor, and living quarters on the third and fourth floors. Tsubaki and I planned to stay in a guest room on the fourth floor.

Since we had left the village abruptly this time, we decided to stay for two nights and return to the village tomorrow. Sakura and Natsuki seemed to suggest, "Take it easy a bit," but there were various reasons why that couldn't be done.

Today, Tsubaki and I planned to explore the city together, do some shopping, and have fun. It would be great if we could find some unusual food or magic items, but even just looking around seemed interesting.

Oh, and as for Hayato and the others... they had gone on an expedition to a dungeon a bit far from here a few days ago. I had been looking forward to their reunion, but it seemed the timing wasn't right. They were supposed to let me know when they returned, so I would wait and see until tomorrow.

"Well then, I'll be off."

"Yes, take care. We'll have dinner prepared here, so please return before then."

"I appreciate it. Well, Tsubaki, let's go!"

"Yes, let's go."

We received a map of the city from the store clerk and set out on foot together.

The Merry Trading Company was located a little away from the main street. There were various shops in this area, and the streets were bustling with people. Considering the appearance of orcs, I had imagined an atmosphere of despair, so it was a bit off.

"The city seems incredibly peaceful. Maybe the influence of the orcs isn't as significant as we thought?"

"Merinard-san mentioned earlier that the 'Special Task Force' might be active, right?"

"Special Task Force, huh..."

Since orcs overflowed onto the surface, a special operations task force, known as the 'Special Task Force,' was organized directly under the parliament.

The total number of members in the task force was 3,000. One thousand were stationed in the capital, while 400 each were dispatched to five territories. About 250 were stationed in this city, where they were responsible for patrolling the outskirts and exterminating orcs.

What was particularly noteworthy was that this Special Task Force consisted entirely of Japanese slave soldiers.

In the early days of the transition, those who had been rebellious ended up becoming slaves and were made into soldiers. Under military supervision, they were leveling up in dungeons when orcs appeared. They were hastily dispatched as extermination squads to various places.

By the way, the head of this Special Task Force was Ryuunosuke. All ownership rights to Japanese slaves belonged to Ryuunosuke, and it was also his proposal. As a result, his popularity was rapidly rising.

"It might be pure coincidence, but in the end, he's turned out to be an excellent strategist... At worst, he might even be treated as a hero."

"But at some point, there might be a slave rebellion, right?"

"The city has about 1,000 soldiers, and against that, there are 250 Japanese slave soldiers. Depending on their levels, it's hard to say... "

"Oh, Keisuke-san, look at that. I think those people are like that too, right?"

"Hmm, there's no mistaking it. They're dressed quite conspicuously."

The groups we passed had collars of subjugation and wore bright red fabric around their arms, making them stand out. It seemed they were quite popular... People passing by would call out to them or give them offerings.

Even though they held the status of slaves, there wasn't a single person who looked at them with disdain or contempt. On the other hand, the Japanese slave soldiers also responded with smiles. It was a truly distorted scene.

At that moment, the eyes of one person in the group happened to meet mine.

Then, that Japanese person, after speaking to their companions, began walking towards us.

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