Chapter 121: The Stolen Japanese

274th Day of Life in Another World – Faith Points: 720pt

The next day, the dungeon exploration team set out early.

It was only their second day in the village, and yet the three of them, including Hayato, were eagerly participating in battles. There seemed to be no fatigue whatsoever from the change in environment, and everyone’s faces were very calm.

Yesterday, I had given them houses, and they were delighted, saying, “It’s been a while since we could sleep soundly without any precautions.” When they were in town, they faced lodging refusals and interference with their accommodations every day… In the early days, they even experienced acts resembling assassination attempts.

In any case, as long as they were motivated, there was no problem. I wanted them to continue leveling up and contributing to the village.

Oh, and about the acquisition of faith points—yesterday, I gained 380 points.

The hunting activities of the expedition team started in earnest yesterday, with them hunting Minotaurs and Orcs in the Eastern Forest Dungeon. About half of the villagers visited the church. While there might be some fluctuations, it seemed that the points obtained from daily life would roughly stay at this level.

As for the order in which to acquire the goddess’s benefits, I still hadn’t decided.

However, for now, I was considering choosing “<Teleportation Magic Circle: 2,500pt>”. If I set it up in the village and the Ruins Dungeon, anyone could access it, and they could return every day. Moreover, the ability to deactivate the barrier I set up along the way was significant.

It was probably not enough to just exchange one magic circle. I thought I would need to exchange two of them and set them up in both the village and the Ruins Dungeon. But even so, the return on investment would be excellent since we would regain a large amount of territory.

As I was indulging in such pleasant daydreams, I received telepathy from Merinard.

“Village Chief, do you have a moment now?”

“Of course, I’m just taking it easy.”

“Thank you. Actually… there has been progress in the negotiations between the Empire and the Beastmen Nation.”

“Oh, they finally made a move. What happened?”

“The negotiations broke down, and the parliament refused to hand over the slaves. Naturally, there has been no alliance formed.”

“I see. That Ryuunosuke, he really went all out.”

(They should have just gotten along for now. At this rate, they might suffer from an Orc invasion, just like the kingdom did.)

“There is more to this story. Village Chief, you are aware that most of the Special Forces have been recalled to the capital, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I know. The samurai who were in town mentioned it. Out of the 3,000 Special Forces, 2,500 were supposedly called back to the capital.”

“Yes, those Special Forces were deployed to the Empire’s border, but… they were all taken by the Empire.”

“Huh? Taken, not killed?”

(Is something like that possible? They have slave collars, after all… And how did they manage to take such a large number of people?)

“It seems that, on the battlefield, the hero gave a speech. He promised the unconditional release of slaves, guaranteed freedom in the Empire, and offered a special status and rank to those who became Empire soldiers.”

“I see, that’s how it happened. They used the Saint’s curse-removing magic and the Sage’s teleportation magic to take them away.”

“That’s correct. However, I find it hard to believe that all the Special Forces members agreed to the hero’s persuasion. Could it be some kind of skill?”

“Hmm, maybe the release from slavery and the promise of special status worked? Well, and… I’m guessing it’s the hero’s influence.”

“Oh, I see. If the Village Chief says so, there’s no mistake. I apologize for my earlier doubts.”

Merinard seemed unconvinced, but… perhaps he had skills like “Luck” or “Intuition,” and si had skills that guided people. Well, there’s no point worrying too much about it. It was a success in any case, and that’s how things go.

“So, how did the parliament, or rather, Ryuunosuke, react to this?”

“To deter both the kingdom and the Empire, they are gathering forces in the three northern cities. Almost all Orc subjugation squads have been mobilized.”

“I see… Sorry, but keep an eye on the west of the Beastmen territory and also the southern region. Orcs might start appearing there soon.”

“Understood. I will report back as soon as I receive any information.”

“Yeah, thanks for the good information.”

With this, the Empire had strengthened itself again. The ones they had taken were likely high-level combat professions, and there should be many among them who held grudges against being enslaved. Still, I couldn’t help but envy their story about gaining new residents at such a fast rate.

(There’s no way I can do something like that. I might get killed easily one day, considering I don’t know when they might betray me… Could it be that the hero’s bonus somehow covers for that?)

After obtaining useful information from Merinard, I continued my work in the living room at home. It was definitely not a pastime.

Today’s task was to record the timing of the faith points increase and the increased points.

“Oh, I’ve gained another 7 points. 1, 2, 3… This is the sixth time today.”

I diligently noted the time and points for each increase.

To an outsider, it might seem like an incredibly dull task, but it wasn’t particularly troublesome. In fact, every time the numbers increased, it made me smile, and it was an enjoyable task.

“Oh, Keisuke-san, here’s some tea for you… You look so happy.”

“Thank you, Tsubaki. Oh, I just gained 1 point this time! This is already the 90th time. It seems like it might be the reward for defeating monsters other than through church prayers.”

“Um, Keisuke-san?”

“What is it?”

“Why don’t you try telepathically communicating with the hunting teams? If you ask them to report immediately upon defeating a monster, you’ll know right away, won’t you?”

“Ah… You’re right. That’s a great idea. Let’s do it right away!”

(I can’t believe I didn’t think of something like this. I must be getting carried away.)

Following Tsubaki’s advice, I immediately sent telepathic messages to the dungeon exploration teams. Since there were members in each party with loyalty ratings of over 90, there shouldn’t be any missed reports.

They would report as soon as they defeated a monster, telling me the type and number of monsters they encountered. Furthermore, I had asked the party with Haruka to also appraise the level-ups.

—And then, for about three hours, while tallying the results, Tsubaki and I compiled the verification results. While it might not be entirely conclusive, we had a rough idea now.

Methods of acquiring faith points and the obtained points (tentative):

=========

– One villager joining: 10pt

– Level up to Level 1: 1pt

– Prayer at the church: 1pt

– Monster hunting:

  – Goblin-level: 0pt

  – Orc-level: 1pt

  – Minotaur-level: 3pt

  – Giant Cow-level: 7pt

=========

“When it comes to the village’s development, we’re still not sure, but this is roughly how it seems, right?”

“We should thoroughly verify how we can acquire points through facility expansion and livestock breeding.”

“But when you look at it this way, it’s not much different from what we’ve been doing so far.”

“How many monsters you can hunt seems to be crucial. Plus, it would be great if more villagers could fight.”

“It seems like we might end up with a formidable warrior society… Not that it’s a bad thing, though.”

Is fighting everything for all races…?

I’ve heard that phrase somewhere before, but… it’s dangerous to think too deeply about it; I should avoid it.

“Why do Goblins have 0 points for hunting, I wonder?”

“Well, it’s just a guess, but… maybe it’s because they’re not considered a threat in this world? After all, they’re hunted as a matter of course.”

“I see, that interpretation makes sense.”

“Well, I’ll ask the goddess about it when I meet her.”

In this way, the method of acquiring faith points became clearer, and I had also gained insight into the situation in other countries.

Thanks to that, I was beginning to have some vague ideas about future plans.

After that, the middle-aged man who was in high spirits throughout the day continued to let his imagination run wild.

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