Kays Translations

Chapter 204: Can I Call This “Serves You Right” Too?

While Natsuki and the others were engrossed in video editing, I found myself with nothing to do and relaxed in the living room.

Leaning back in my chair, I lazily sat there, and after a while, absentmindedly gazed out towards the parking lot. Reflected in my gaze was my favorite white van, a light car modified for camping.

Before being transferred to another world, I used to do pseudo-camping in the nearby forest from time to time. Well, now I’m not just camping, but rather creating a village that goes beyond survival…

(Since I have nothing to do anyway, maybe I’ll refuel now…)

With that thought, I called out to the filming crew and decided to head out. Forty minutes of driving later, I arrived at the nearest gas station.

Although my memories from before the transfer are vague, it seems that the fuel costs haven’t skyrocketed. If anything, they might have even decreased. In any case, the transition to magic stone energy was progressing smoothly to the point of being excessively successful.

However, in just ten more months, the monsters will disappear from Japan. Naturally, this means that magic stones will also become unavailable. At the same time, the barrier will disappear, so there shouldn’t be any problem… But it still feels a bit wasteful despite the significant technological innovation.

Well, in any case, the only way to obtain magic stones will be through the Nanashi Village. It’s likely that a bunch of weirdos will gather there, and in the end, we’ll be criticized by society for monopolizing or demanding liberation.

(Well, I can’t stay in Japan if I get greedy. There are plenty of magic stones, so I have to sell them at a fair price.)

While indulging in such fantasies, I completed refueling. Since I didn’t have any particular business, I decided to return home. However, just as I was halfway there, I noticed a crowd gathered in the park.

This area is far from downtown, with only a few residential houses scattered around. What kind of event could be happening in such a deserted residential area? I became curious, so I parked my car by the side of the park and decided to peek from inside the car.

There were about thirty people gathered there, which is quite unusual for this area. At first glance, it didn’t seem like an event. Instead, it looked like they were all surrounding some dark-colored play equipment.

(Is that supposed to be playground equipment…? No, it looks like just a statue… But I can’t tell from here.)

Blocked by the crowd, I couldn’t see clearly. I could have just ignored it, but for some reason, I was curious, so I got out of the car and headed to the scene.

“Excuse me, what are you all doing here?”

“Huh? Oh, it was a little while ago… didn’t you notice, nii-san?”

“No, not particularly. I just stopped by coincidentally.”

(But what the heck is this? Why is something like this in the middle of the park…?)

In front of me, there was a small hill about a little taller than me. It had a neat shape and looked like a brick-made hut. However, it seemed to have no entrance…

“A tremendous rumbling occurred around here a little while ago. Although the houses didn’t shake at all, this place was shaking abnormally. So we came to see…”

According to the kind looking old man, it suddenly appeared here about 30 minutes ago. When I went around to the other side, the brick hut had a gaping hole, and it seemed to lead underground.

The appearance was completely different from things in the other world, but the result of appraisal confirmed it was undoubtedly a dungeon. Apparently, several young people had already dived in. Armed with metal bats and iron pipes, they confidently went down, he told me.

“Are those people okay?”

“Who knows? I told them to stop… But they went down without listening to me.”

“I see. That’s quite reckless.”

The surface monsters are certainly docile, but it’s not certain that the dungeon monsters will be the same. There’s a possibility of being suddenly attacked. I don’t know what level those young people are, but I doubt they can make calm judgments when faced with intense hostility.

After a while, two young people emerged from the dungeon. They were covered in wounds, and one of them had a severely injured arm. They seemed unable to even scream, and their faces were twisted with fear and pain.

“Hey, what happened to you guys? What about the other person who went in with you? …Did you leave them behind?”

“Ugh…”

“But these are terrible injuries. What on earth happened?”

…

Despite the kind old man’s attempts to talk to them, the two only sobbed. It was hard to understand what they were saying.

It’s true that the injuries are severe, but they can’t afford to stand out, and they can’t use recovery magic or healing potions. Or rather, they have no intention of using them, and I have no obligation to help them. I don’t care about such arrogant people.

(But still, these guys… they look familiar somehow…)

When I looked closely at their faces, they were the ones who harassed Sakura and me at the burger joint on the first day. Although the people around us looked anxious, no one called an ambulance or tried to help. They probably went in with a very arrogant attitude.

As someone in the crowd said, “Are monsters going to overflow?” everyone scattered as if fleeing. Some people were contacting the police, so I assumed this place would be cordoned off soon.

Since I didn’t want to get involved in the commotion, I decided to leave early. Of course, there was no barrier set up. 

(Is this a naturally occurring dungeon? Well, I’ll just leave it alone for now.)

◇◇◇

By the time I returned home, Touya and Akiho had also arrived in Japan. It seems that the dungeon filming has ended, and now they are watching the finishing touches on the video.

“Hey, Village chief, welcome back!”

“Welcome home!”

“I’m back. How’s the progress over there?”

“We’ve just finished editing!”

“Oh, is the one being shown now the finished version?”

The current footage is of the dungeon segment.

The first half of the video introduces scenes of monsters like goblins with captions. Orcs and minotaurs were also filmed up close, giving a tremendous sense of power and realism.

The latter half shows scenes of Neil thrusting at orcs with his spear, Roa using earth magic, and it ends with the dragon’s finishing move, “Dragon Roar.”

“Wow, this is really powerful. Even I, who saw the real thing, feel that way.”

“We’ve also kept the duration short, so it’s easy to watch.”

“Yeah, it’s short but… makes you want to see more.”

“Yes, that’s the intention!”

As if to say ‘how’s that’, Juri proudly presents the video. As she says, this time the video has been condensed to about three minutes. It ends quickly, leaving you wanting to see more.

According to Juri, rather than dragging it out, a digest version is more effective. They plan to post two videos this time, “The Town of Nanasia” and “The Dungeon.”

They seem to be planning the next editing based on the views and comments of each. Since I’m not familiar with these matters, I leave everything to them without interfering.

“Now, village chief, please have a look at this one too!”

“Oh, this time it’s Nanasia, right?”

“We got some really nice shots. Especially the first one is perfect. Village chief, you’re doing a great job!”

“The first one… the aerial shot, right? Well, I haven’t checked it out, but… that one, we can’t use it, can we?”

“Huh? The view from above, the sturdy fortress visible from the sky, and the shimmering barrier in the dome shape. I think it’s very fantastical, don’t you?”

“Oh, that one… Yeah, that’s indeed a breathtaking view.”

It seems that the footage that was shelved wasn’t shown. Whether it was completely deleted remains unclear, but since no one has said anything, I suppose it’s fine.

(Hey, are you sure it’s fine? Since a while ago, Natsuki has been sending glances my way…)

While praying that there won’t be any revelations now that everyone has gathered, the old man continues to stare at the screen.

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