Kays Translations

Chapter 175: Village Chief of the Kingdom… Found?

Alternate World Life Day 450 – 396,289pt

It had been a month since the establishment of the Goddess’s city, Nanasia.

Since then, the loyalty of the settlers had gradually increased, and many had become villagers. If things continued smoothly, it wouldn’t be long before all the people became villagers.

The conflict between the villagers and the settlers, which had been a concern, was more like “well, that’s how it is.” With different individual values, it was inevitable that there would be likes and dislikes. At least it hadn’t escalated into anything dangerous.

Moreover, since the loyalty was to me, it wasn’t directly related to conflicts among the residents. While it wasn’t nonexistent, as long as I didn’t overtly discriminate or behave arrogantly, it wouldn’t decrease significantly.

On the other hand, about 70% of the city’s facilities had been completed. Schools and government offices had also been relocated here, and most of the work was being done in the city. You might hear something like, “Hey, what about the village? Is it already a cold village?” But rather, it was the opposite.

Not only agriculture but also the newly established industry of sake brewing was being done in the village. Since sake lovers would visit every day, it turned into a festival venue near dusk.

I thought it would settle down soon, but it seemed like it would continue for a while longer. Well, there was no helping it if they said, “This is our purpose in life!” I decided to leave it alone until the sake brewing stabilized.

◇◇◇

“It seems like this place is also a bust. We found an abandoned village nearby, but there was no sign of a village chief’s house. Of course, there was no barrier either.”

“Drago, and Dori, good work as always. But isn’t the sea nearby?”

“Yes, lately, we’ve only been encountering dungeons along the coast. We’re definitely getting closer…”

For this past month, I had been continuously searching for the other village chief.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, we stumbled upon a dungeon near the capital of the kingdom quite early on. When Drago and Nail teleported to the first floor, they unexpectedly encountered a human adventurer party. Fortunately, it didn’t lead to a battle, and although they were cautious, they managed to have a somewhat fruitful discussion.

According to the adventurers, this was what they called an unpopular dungeon. Due to its terrible location, hardly anyone visited. They said they had stopped by on their way to defeat orcs that were spawning in the area, upon a request from the guild.

Upon hearing that, I immediately went to set up a barrier. This way, nobody could intrude, and it would be safer when they came back next time. Just to be sure, I used detection skills on each floor of the dungeon, but it seemed deserted… There probably weren’t any people left behind.

And so, while continuing the search, about two weeks after starting, we finally discovered the northern sea. Since then, I had been accompanying them every day, setting up a barrier at the entrance to the dungeon.

“Are there still a lot of orcs?”

“No, not really. Adventurers aside, there are enough to be a nuisance to ordinary citizens. This place is no longer suitable for human habitation.”

“In that case, the barrier should at least be set up. There’s a possibility they’re already dead…”

“Why not continue flying along the coast? There may be some danger, but…”

“Mm, let’s not do that. We seem to be making progress smoothly, so I think we should continue like this.”

“I thought you’d say that. Alright, we still have time before lunch, let’s check one more place.”

There was no need to rush now. We decided to avoid reckless actions and diligently continue the search. We returned to the dungeon to do so…

After sealing off several dungeons and investigating the last location of the day—finally, we found what we were looking for.

In Drago’s hands were several light novels… Since I was also a fan, there was no doubt they were from Japan. Naturally, they were written in Japanese.

“We’ve finally found it. But how did they bring these here? Were they left outside the barrier?”

“That’s the thing… There wasn’t even a house that looked like yours, let alone a barrier.”

“What does that mean?”

“There were three dilapidated houses, and one of them had a bunch of these books left inside. There were no signs of life inside the houses or around them.”

“If that’s the case, they must have moved somewhere else. But if there’s no house, did they use spatial storage? Or maybe when the village chief dies, the house disappears…?”

“But there was no trace of anyone dying. There were no signs of a fight either.”

It seemed that they had indeed moved somewhere else. Depending on when they moved… if the scene wasn’t in disarray, I felt they couldn’t have gone too far.

“Hey, take me to that place now. Of course, we won’t investigate. I just want to set up a barrier to preserve the scene.”

“Understood. Are we heading there right now?”

“No, call for scouts Lev and Kana. We’ll also bring back Dori and the others and have them transport us closer.”

Setting up a barrier might have been fine, but it would draw too much attention, and there was a possibility it could be countered by the opponent’s barrier. Anticipating that they were nearby, we decided to make full use of detection and stealth, and headed to the scene with maximum vigilance.

Soon after, when we safely arrived at the scene—

Just as Drago had said, there were three simple houses lined up. At first glance, they didn’t look too shabby. Well, compared to the houses Rudrug built, they seemed quite unreliable.

The area around the houses had been neatly cleared, but the grass and trees were overgrown, and there was no sign of a field. I didn’t know how to describe it. There was absolutely no sense of life.

Even if they had moved, there should have been traces of a bonfire or a cooking area, or even a toilet… But there was not a single trace of such things left behind.

“I see. We’ve confirmed the location for now. Let’s not proceed any further. I’ll set up the barrier now, so I’ll rely on you to be vigilant around the area.”

“Village Chief, there are no abnormal readings in the detection skill. There’s no response to enhanced hearing either.”

We immediately set up the barrier and returned from the scene without doing anything unnecessary.

◇◇◇

In the evening of that day, I promptly gathered the key members to report on today’s findings.

“So that’s how it was… What does everyone think?”

Without any barrier and no Japanese-style houses in sight, not even a field, there was no sense of life at all. It was a space that couldn’t even be called a village, and the only evidence was a few books that Drago had found. I finished my explanation while placing those books on the table.

“We won’t know until we see the site, but I don’t think anyone died. If there’s a barrier, it should be safe as long as we don’t let our guard down.”

“But Sakura-chan, isn’t there a possibility of being betrayed by comrades?”

“As Haruka-san says, that possibility exists. But considering they’ve survived for over a year, they probably have dealt with that kind of risk.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Today’s purpose is simply to share information. Until we actually see the site, it’s all just speculation.

Amidst various opinions being exchanged, while flipping through the books she brought, Akio suddenly muttered:

“This book… something’s definitely off.”

Akio brought up something strange out of the blue. To me, it looked like an ordinary book, but what exactly was wrong with it?

“I’ve been following this series for a while, but… it definitely hasn’t progressed this far. And look here.”

While saying that, she pointed to the end of the volume.

“This volume was published three months ago. There’s no way something like this would exist in this world.”

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