Chapter 131: The First Villager Certification Ceremony

In Another World – Day 313 – 1345 points

The next day, at the center of the settlement, the momentous “First Villager Certification Ceremony” was taking place.

Despite the grandiose name, the ceremony itself wasn’t that extravagant. It was simply a matter of trying to enter the barrier one by one. Those who successfully entered were registered in the ledger and then used the teleportation magic circle to go to the village. After that, they were scheduled to tour the village and visit the church.

Those who were rejected, unfortunately… would have to try again next time. Well, unless their loyalty was ridiculously low, they were allowed to continue living in the settlement, so all I could say was to do their best.

“Now, those who were able to enter the barrier, please come this way. You will be teleported to the village along with the security team. There are representatives over there, so if you wish to live in the village, please make your request there.”

Tsubaki’s explanation led 40 people to gather and follow the instructions of the security team.

“Everyone, please be aware of one thing… Though it’s in the past, there were people who harbored ill intentions and were expelled right after becoming villagers. What happened to them afterward is unknown.”

Tsubaki added this, making quite an impact.

(To say that at this moment… It seems like it’s deeply affecting everyone.)

After the new villagers were teleported, those who remained were addressed.

“Even those who couldn’t enter this time, please don’t give up. If you listen to the stories of those who went to the village, your loyalty will surely increase. We look forward to the day when you all become villagers.”

“Yes, yes! Anyone who wants to know their loyalty, come talk to me during the day when I’m at the reception. I’ll appraise you anytime, so use it as a reference. Oh, and by the way, if you listen to Melinard-san’s story, your loyalty might increase remarkably.”

“All I convey is the greatness of the village chief and information about the village… If anyone wants to become a villager, please come anytime. We’ll always welcome you.”

(They’re doing this quite skillfully… People who seemed disheartened are already showing motivation. Some are already consulting… )

It seemed that those who were unsuccessful this time hadn’t given up yet.

◇◇◇

The certification ceremony concluded successfully, and those who had gone to the village returned by early afternoon.

Among them were those who took up production jobs, and those who joined the security team accounted for the majority. Some even volunteered to join the Nanashi Army, including Kana and her group I met yesterday.

Back when they were in peaceful Japan, they probably never imagined daily life so closely tied to death. But this world was an entirely different beast; entering a dungeon could turn colleagues into enemies, and safety wasn’t guaranteed even in the city.

According to them, their reasons for aspiring to join the military were, “If you don’t want to die, you have to become strong,” “Here, you can focus on hunting monsters, and nightly rest is guaranteed,” and “If you don’t kill, you’ll be killed.” 

Surely other adventurers were undergoing similar changes in thinking to some extent. It had been over 10 months since they were transported to this different world. If not, they would have died long ago.

(Thinking about it, the remaining Japanese people might be quite reasonable…? It would be great if they continued to increase like this.)

And, unfortunately, it seems I shouldn’t have raised such a weird flag.

A telepathic message came from Haruka at the reception— “A suspicious group seems to have arrived,” and I received a summons.

“Haruka, I’m heading there now. Have the security team been called?”

“Yeah, there are eight people on standby right now. Rado and Aki-chan are also here today.”

“That should be enough. I’m coming over right away.”

When I arrived at the reception, Haruka and the security team were standing in front of the gate.

The opposing group consisted of 38 people, all of them Japanese. Their levels ranged from 40 to 55, and they claimed to be adventurers from the city.

All of them wanted to immigrate and volunteered for the settlement’s security. However, from a few of them, Haruka mentioned a “strange feeling.”

“Sorry for the wait, Haruka. First, I’ll grant them permission to reside.”

Arriving at the attached reception room near the gate, I immediately granted residence permission to everyone. Of course, it was to check their loyalty.

“Village chief, sorry for calling you out. But, as expected… my instincts were right!”

“At first glance, only eight seem suspicious. Alright, I’ll leave the handling to you. It’s your first job, so do it as you see fit.”

“Understood!”

There was no need to use telepathy to discuss this secretly. I just appraised them and left the rest to Haruka and the others.

Among them, only eight had extremely low loyalty. Although they still had at least 10, they seemed on the verge of murderous intent. On the contrary, the remaining 30 people all had loyalty above 40, with some exceeding 50.

“Now, let’s process them one by one. Those whose names are called, please register here. Afterward, go inside and wait, please.”

After explaining, Haruka began calling them in order of high loyalty, swiftly completing the registration—

Eventually, only the infamous eight remained, and that’s where Haruka closed the registration.

“Yes! Registration is closed now. Unfortunately, we cannot accept you. Your loyalty is too low.”

“What? That’s ridiculous!”

“Yeah, exactly!”

“Bring out the person in charge! The person in charge!”

As the expected development unfolded—Haruka was grinning and looking at me. Well, she seemed ready to kill already, so it wasn’t exactly unwarranted…

“Umm, I am the person in charge. And, if you leave immediately, I’ll overlook it… but if you resist even a little, there’s no guarantee for your lives. There’s no intimidation or warning, so be really careful.”

“Hey, are you an idiot?”

“How can you talk like that when you see our levels? Seriously, you have no idea what could happen to you?”

“This woman doesn’t seem to understand that we’re A-rank adventurers.”

“Living in such a remote place, it can’t be helped, right?”

“Just let us in already!”

(These guys are incredible… They’re so talented that you wouldn’t think they’re Japanese. Could it be that they’re doing this on purpose?)

While this was going on, Kana, who had recently joined the Nanashi Army, spoke to Haruka.

“Haruka-san, I went and listened to the stories of the adventurers who entered first. They said they are not allies with these people. They just joined up on the way here.”

“Oh, thanks, Kana-chan. —In that case, everyone, please go home immediately. If you don’t leave, we’ll consider you hostile and take measures to remove you.”

“Hey, these guys are no good. Let’s take them down.”

“But… what about the ones inside? There are quite a few of them.”

“They’re all around level 40, right? They’re just small fry.”

“Well, yeah. Then let’s kill them all and take over.”

“You idiot, leave the women alive. It’s pointless to kill them all.”

“Haha, that’s obvious.”

All eight of them had relaxed expressions. They seemed to have absolute confidence in their abilities. With high levels, they were probably among the top in the city in terms of strength.

(Indeed, everyone has a level over 50, but… if they move, they’ll really die? What idiots, drawing their swords…)

From then on, it was an instantaneous event.

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