Chapter 194: Off to Grandpa’s Village

Before heading to his Grandpa’s village, he first went to the western-style room in his home to set up a teleportation circle.

This way, they could return in an instant and safely. Eventually, he planned to reinstall it in the garden… but that would have to wait until after they finished shopping for things like tents. There wasn’t any particular reason for choosing the western-style room; it just happened to be the most tidy.

“Keisuke, is your Grandpa’s village far away?”

“Not really. If we drive, it should take about 30 minutes… or at least it used to. My car is still in for inspection…”

“Oh… That’s unfortunate.”

“It’s been neglected for over a year… Huh? Could it have been scrapped without my permission?”

“Then let’s just run there. With our current abilities, it shouldn’t be much different from using a car.”

“…Yeah, but let’s wait until we’re out of the residential area.”

“I’m excited to see what kind of monsters are outside!”

“Yeah, let’s not let our guard down…”

(Though I’m curious about monsters too. Right now, I can’t help but worry about the fate of my beloved car…)

◇◇◇

The two left their home and leisurely walked through the residential area.

So far, there were no signs of monsters anywhere. The roads were clean, and there were no traces of houses being ransacked. The occasional passersby were dressed quite normally. They didn’t seem to be carrying weapons or armor, nor did they appear to be wary of their surroundings. It was just an ordinary, typical day in Japan.

(Well, that’s to be expected. If monsters were roaming around, it would be too dangerous to go outside.)

With that thought in mind, they gradually found fewer and fewer houses around them. The scenery also started to change to a more rural atmosphere. Fields and rice paddies stretched around them, creating a relaxing atmosphere that didn’t seem to harbor any monsters.

And then, at that moment—

“Sakura, see that over there?”

While asking Sakura, he pointed towards a radish field nearby.

“Wow, they’re really there.”

“They look exactly like in the video.”

“There seem to be… one, two… three of them?”

“Yeah, Goblin Level 3. Their appraisals are exactly the same as the ones over there.”

Finally, they spotted what they were looking for in a corner of the field. They had confirmed the existence of the real thing, even though they had seen it in videos before.

The goblins were feasting noisily. Despite the presence of quite a few scarecrows and noise-making machines around them, they seemed completely unaffected.

“As expected, they seem to have a certain level of intelligence.”

“Let’s confirm if they’ll really attack. If they run away, we’ll leave them alone for now.”

With that declaration, Sakura rushed towards the goblins without waiting for my response. Since they were opponents we couldn’t even get injured by if we were careless, I decided to watch while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

A mysterious figure suddenly appeared in front of the goblins. Of course, it was Sakura, but the surprised goblins dashed away in a panic. However, they didn’t forget to grab some food before fleeing. Their reaction was completely different from the monsters in the other world. You could say it was the exact opposite.

“They’ve fled towards the mountains. Is that where the goblin settlement is?”

“I’m not sure… but if other monsters are like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if they’re considered pests. They seem to pose a low threat level.”

“They might live in groups in the forest and eventually give rise to evolved individuals, leading to more dangerous situations.”

“Even so, we should be able to handle them, right?”

“Well, yeah… Now that we’ve confirmed the monsters, let’s hurry to the village.”

“Got it!”

Ignoring the goblins fleeing deep into the mountains, they dashed towards Keisuke’s Grandpa’s village. They were moving at a speed that didn’t seem possible for humans, causing the scenery around them to blur rapidly.

(We’re the real monsters here. We’re completely different from humans. We need to be careful not to show off our strength and be mistaken for pests…)

It seemed that the chances of encountering monsters increased as they ventured further away from civilization. They would later see goblins a few more times. Of course, they would flee as soon as they noticed them.

To test the strength of the monsters, they defeated one along the way. Similar to the other world, it dropped a tiny magic stone the size of a pinky nail and a foul-smelling loincloth. As for its strength, it was still unclear. Our level was too high to judge accurately.

◇◇◇

After a solid 30 minutes, they arrived at Grandpa’s village without any trouble.

The improvement in physical abilities was truly remarkable, and there was no sense of fatigue at all. Honestly, I couldn’t help but think, “Do we even need a car anymore?”

“Ah, the houses are still standing. There are no signs of damage… Everyone should be alive and well.”

“It’s a relief that the flag didn’t break, huh?”

“I was worried for nothing. But if the monsters are behaving like that, I think we’ll be fine.”

If everyone in the village was alive, there should be Grandpa, his nephew, and six elderly couples living there. With a total of 14 villagers, it was a small village with nothing particularly remarkable about it, despite its spacious land. Seven houses stood around the old and weathered warehouse in the center.

By the way, I’ve never seen the door of this warehouse open even once. It seems empty inside, and even Grandpa hasn’t been inside for decades. I vividly remember being scolded severely when I tried to pick the lock when I was still in elementary school. Now that I’ve experienced another world, I can say this warehouse is actually quite suspicious.

Anyway, putting aside thoughts about the warehouse, they arrived at Grandpa’s house and immediately called out through the entrance. There was an intercom, but… since it was his family home, he hesitated to press it for some reason.

“Grandpa, are you there? It’s Keisuke!”

Calling out in a carefree manner, he heard bustling footsteps from inside the house. It seemed like they were living safely, which relieved them for the time being. However, when the sliding door opened, it wasn’t Grandpa who appeared but his nephew, Keita.

He looked the same as before the transfer to the other world… no, he might have grown a bit taller. Other than that, he had the same energetic face as always. Maybe it’s just bias as a family member, but he’s quite handsome and of decent height. He’s probably quite popular at school.

(Oh, he’s already in high school. In terms of age, he’s the same age as Touya and Natsuki.)

“Uncle, you’re alive! Oh, but… is it okay to call you ‘uncle’?”

Keita gave a somewhat awkward response upon seeing the rejuvenated me…

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