Chapter 216: Meeting with the Student Village Chief

After several hours of air travel…

My first ever ride in a military helicopter was more comfortable than I had expected. It felt much more secure than hanging from a dragon. “Having a floor under your feet is wonderful,” I thought with a deep sense of appreciation.

During the journey, there were no unexpected developments like “Hey, where is this helicopter heading!?” or “We’re off course!” and we arrived safely at our destination.

We had no idea where we were flying or our current location. It wasn’t until we saw a certain famous tower that we realized we were in the Kanto region.

Upon landing at the garrison, we were immediately escorted into a tent. It was considerably larger than commercial ones, with a high ceiling and sturdy-looking fabric.

“How do you find the tent size? I tried to meet your specifications…”

“Yes, this will do nicely.”

“Glad to hear it. Well then, I will go and see him now.”

“Thank you, Masaki-san.”

Apparently, the student village chief residence was only a two-minute walk from here. I had confirmed it from the air earlier—his house was surrounded by the Self-Defense Forces. As previously reported, the barrier was a faint blue and not very conspicuous.

After Masaki-san left, I immediately surrounded the inside of the tent with a barrier. Then, I set up a teleportation circle, making it possible to escape in an emergency. Although the future was uncertain, the tent could also serve as a base if we found ourselves at odds with the student village chief or the Self-Defense Forces.

“By the way, chief—”

“Hm? What is it, Touya?”

“Have you ever thought about causing more chaos or rising to power in Japan?”

While waiting for Masaki-san, Touya suddenly asked this.

I understood what he meant, but I wondered why he was asking that now. So, I asked him in return.

“Why are you thinking about that?”

“Well, the thing is, with your power, it should be possible, right? You could probably conquer Japan without relying on the government.”

“Hmm, I’m not so sure about that.”

“You have the barrier and your abilities… you could do whatever you want.”

Was he unhappy with our ties to the government or frustrated by the restraint on our abilities?

“Do you want to cause more chaos, Touya?”

“No, I was just curious. Even in the other world, you showed remarkable restraint.”

I see, he was wondering if I was suppressing myself.

“To be honest… I’ve thought about it, many times.”

“For instance?”

“When I first met Tsubaki and the others, when we went to the city of Keimos, and—oh, also when we returned to Japan.”

“Then why didn’t you do it?”

“Well, why indeed. I can’t say for sure…” 

Maybe it’s due to a Japanese sense of ethics, a desire to avoid trouble, or maybe I’m just a coward. Yeah, all of those are true, but they don’t feel quite right.

“Maybe… it’s because I don’t want to be disliked by others.”

“Huh? Disliked?”

“I want to look good to others. I want to be seen as a good person. I want to be admired. I think it’s something as trivial as that.”

Always trying to maintain a cool demeanor, being praised only by those who agreed with me—that trivial reason probably held me back.

“This might sound like an excuse, but since I can see loyalty as a measure of trust, I was more conscious of it.”

“That makes sense… since your need for approval is quantified.”

As Hayato said, seeing it in numbers made me more conscious of it. Honestly, it felt good when loyalty increased.

“Touya, that’s how it is. I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.”

“I see… It’s kind of a relief to know you’re normal.”

“After all, I was just an ordinary guy.”

“What do you mean? You’re still an ordinary guy, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I wasn’t sure if this was the answer he was looking for. But it felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest… it wasn’t a bad feeling.

◇◇◇

After waiting in the tent for a while, the section chief returned. It seemed the preparations for the meeting were complete. The student village chief didn’t want to leave his barrier, so we had to go to him.

Surrounded by the section chief and several guards, we walked. Like Touya and Hayato, I was unarmed. However, I had given them multipurpose bags, so they could quickly retrieve something if needed.

Everyone was equipped with barrier necklaces and carried several potions. As long as we could prevent a surprise attack, we could handle the rest. With Hayato nearby, we could also neutralize any poison-related status effects.

“We’re here. This is his residence.”

As I was thinking about these things, we arrived near the student village chief’s house. There was a barrier in front of us, but it was hard to see unless you looked closely. Of course, I didn’t make the foolish mistake of touching it recklessly.

The section chief took out his smartphone and began typing skillfully. He was probably sending a message to the student village chief. It was modern, but it felt a bit out of place.

(If he’s not showing himself right away, it means—he’s cautious, right? Or maybe he’s just lazy… no, let’s not jump to conclusions. I need to meet him directly to find out.)

In less than a few minutes, three women appeared.

One was human, and the other two were beastmen—a dog person and a cat person. The two beastmen were likely slaves, wearing slave collars around their necks. They had high levels but no skills or professions.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Keisuke.”

“I’m Aira, a human. So, the village chief Masaki mentioned… that’s you, right?”

“Yes, I’m the village chief.”

“…I see. Alright, I’ll go get Keigo now, so please wait a moment.”

At Aira’s signal, the two slaves promptly went back inside. They were probably going to fetch the person in question. Additionally, they were likely assessing our numbers, armament, and appearance.

“None of them have skills, their levels are around 40.”

“40… that’s pretty high.”

“Chief, are those beastmen slaves?”

“Yeah, it seems so for some reason. They’re inside the barrier, so they’re probably villagers… but I’m not sure yet.”

“She mentioned someone named Keigo earlier… could he be a relative?”

“I don’t know him at all, it’s probably just a coincidence.”

After a while, a boy about Touya’s age came out from the entrance. He stood there confidently, but didn’t come off as arrogant. He was not a relative and was someone I had never seen before.

He seemed to still be on guard, standing at the entrance and watching us. While his true intentions were unclear, this situation was convenient for me, so I began to appraise him immediately.

(Hmm, as I thought, he’s also a village chief. But his abilities are quite different…)

His profession was ‘Village Chief’ and his skill was ‘Village Level 4’.

However, his abilities were completely different from mine.

Additionally, I realized that his sense for naming villages was lacking.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter