Chapter 176: Village Investigation and Manga Café

What Akiho pointed out was the publication date of the book. Indeed, it was dated three months ago.

It had been over a year since coming to this world. It was definitely strange to have the latest volume in hand. And even the village chief hadn’t recently transmigrated.

“I think the village chief got it using his skills.” 

“That’s quite possible. There were no signs of farming activities, and even food-related… There’s even a possibility of anything goes.” 

The terms or conditions of obtaining it were unclear, but if you could get anything you wanted, it explained the lack of a sense of life. They probably lived comfortably without worrying about food, clothing, or shelter, enjoying their leisure time and hobbies, living a carefree life.

“Chief, we should be careful tomorrow and investigate. In the worst-case scenario, he might have firearms.”

“He might even have tanks or combat helicopters, or be living in an underground shelter. Well, amateurs wouldn’t be able to operate them, though…”

“Anyway, everyone should be cautious. They might be more dangerous than we think.”

After hearing Akiho’s story, the others showed tense expressions. The discussion then shifted to local arrangements, and after summarizing several plans, they concluded.

(Using magic stones as payment seems quite likely. … But still, it’s enviable. Could they even use the internet or electricity?)

◇◇◇

The next day, after breakfast, we headed back to the site.

Yesterday’s discussion had been exaggerated, but truth be told, we weren’t that worried. If the opponent’s power was formidable, it wouldn’t be contained on such a small scale as Saint Seria had mentioned, and their existence would be known beyond the kingdom.

However, there was always the possibility of the worst-case scenario. As part of the Nanashi Army’s exercises, we were prepared to act as if it were a real scenario until the defensive positions were set up.

The advance team consisted of me, Touya, and Drago and Hayato, four in total. Although all of us were close combat specialists, this time, priority was given to mobility and emergency evasion capabilities. With this lineup, even if we were separated along the way, we wouldn’t be easily defeated.

With Hayato around, we could handle abnormal statuses, and if necessary, there was also “Hero’s Strike.” If we could withstand being caught up in that, this team was deemed suitable.

“It’s almost time. Don’t leave the barrier without careful consideration. If something happens, make individual judgments.”.

After leaving the dungeon, we ran at full speed while setting up the barrier. We ignored all the orcs crowding around us. After about ten minutes of cautious progress, we safely arrived at our destination.

“All right, for now, the barrier seems fine. I’ll set up the teleportation circle, so everyone, please be vigilant.” 

“Chief, we’re ready whenever you are.”

“Me too. I’ll definitely protect Keisuke-san!”

I signaled Drago in the air and set up the teleportation circle. I immediately sent a telepathic message to Sakura and the others, asking them to start moving—.

“Kyoko-san, Roa-chan, please proceed as planned. We’ll provide escort, so give it your all.”

“Got it, leave it to us.”

“We’ll finish it all in one go!”

After the arrival of the magic team, they immediately began constructing stone walls. Walls about 4 meters high began to grow along the perimeter of the barrier with a shuffling sound. Meanwhile, the rear team also teleported, and they promptly took up their respective positions.

In no time, a fortress and warriors forming battle formations were completed.

(What is this…? Even though they’re allies, their level of training is terrifying. Isn’t this a bit too impressive? After all, this is just a training exercise…)

Before I knew it, within about five minutes, all the operations were completed. After Tsubaki and Natsuki arrived, they quickly transitioned to the next reconnaissance mission. Since my role was to maintain the barrier, I stationed myself in the center, playing the role of a commander in name only.

“Hey, Sakura, do we really need to go this far? Oh, it’s not criticism or anything. It’s just a simple question.” 

“Both Touya-kun and I understand that. This time, it’s training to prepare for the future. Opportunities with this much tension are rare.” 

“I see… I guess you can’t suddenly operate in a real battle. Thanks, I understand now.”

While waiting in the center, I had such a conversation with Sakura by my side.

Afterward, about 30 minutes passed without any signs of attack or external threats. We had completed the construction of the barrier and stone wall, as well as perimeter and auditory surveillance. Since security had been ensured, we relaxed our vigilance and transitioned to normal mode.

“Keisuke-san, it seems safe now. Since we’ve completed the exercise, why don’t you go check the investigation? I’ll take a look around the surroundings.” 

“Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll be back soon.”

“Oh, and when we retreat, we’ll also conduct withdrawal training. Please take care of it then.”

It seems it’ll get noisy on the way back too. Thinking such, I walked towards the building—.

However, in this place, there were only three simple houses and a slightly sunken empty lot. Since the investigation team was searching inside the houses, I decided to head towards the vacant lot for now. Upon arrival, I noticed that an area about 10 meters square was slightly sunken by about 20 centimeters.

There was nothing particularly lying there, and there were no new discoveries. Normally, there would have been a house here. Given the size, it could have accommodated a high-level spatial storage.

(I don’t see anything particularly suspicious. It seems like the houses were relocated. Judging from the way the grass and plants have grown, it’s been left unattended for a few months.)

While reaching that conclusion, I headed towards the houses… but somehow ended up at a manga café. It was stocked with such a large quantity of manga and light novels that it was almost an illusion. Moreover, it was kindly designed with bookshelves fully equipped.

As I glanced towards the edge of the room, I saw Natsuki and Akiho. They were sitting down with serious expressions.

(Hey, is that really an investigation? To me, it just looks like they’re devouring manga… No, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. That’s a bad habit of mine.)

They might be investigating publication dates and other details. And they looked so serious. Thinking that it wasn’t good to make selfish assumptions, I gently called out to them.

“Great job, both of you.”

There was no response; they seemed to be deeply focused.

“How’s it going? Have you found anything?”

They didn’t even turn around. Upon closer inspection, both of them were occasionally grinning. And finally, I burst out laughing.

“Chief, we’re sorry…”

They straightened their posture and offered apologies. They had indeed started out investigating, but they got curious about the content and ended up getting lost in reading.

“No need to apologize. If I had come here with you two, I might have done the same thing. More importantly—since it’s going to be thrown away anyway, let’s ask Hayato to take everything back later. It’s valuable research material.”

“As expected of the chief! You understand us!”

“We believed that the chief would say that.”

Whatever they believed, it would be a waste to leave it all behind. It’s a valuable source of information, and the lineup is good… I also want to read it later…

“Oh, but Chief, I found something. I think the village chief here is probably around middle school or high school age.”

“Yeah, I thought the same thing. The choices are identical to ours, and the way they chase trends is the same too.”

Can you tell from such things? Well, if the two of them from the same generation say so, then maybe. By the way, it was definitely a boy without a doubt. There were quite a few of those kinds of books mixed in, and even I could tell.

“All right, I’ll go check the next house. I’ll leave the chronological confirmation to you two. Let’s conduct a thorough investigation after we return over there.”

“Yes, leave it to me!”

“Me too! I’ll tackle it with all my might!”

These two are as suspicious as they come… but there might be some unexpected discoveries. For now, I’ll just leave them be—.

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