Chapter 128

“Over here, over here. If we cut straight through the trees, this way’s a shortcut.”

“Got it. As expected of you, Melt.”

“Heheh, leave it to me! Ah, next we just have to jump across that little stream up ahead and we should be there.”

The Great Forest of Dreamhill. Following the river that runs behind the royal capital Golda upstream, past the mountain path, there spreads an enormous natural dungeon.

Inside that vast forest, Melt moved as if she owned the place, dashing forward with a cheerful smile, completely at ease.

“Same, stop. There are monsters.”

“Hm… should I take them down?”

“It’s fine. Just watch.”

The monsters that appeared along the way this time were Owlbears. Judging by their behavior, they seemed to be moving as a pack—there were at least seven of them visible even from a distance.

But Melt didn’t so much as flinch. Instead, she boldly revealed herself before the group.

“Alright, all of you, go on, get lost! Otherwise I’ll turn you into meat and eat you all up!”

“Gyee! Gyeeeeeee! Gyueeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”

The next moment, at Melt’s threat—though her words and posture were almost too cute to be menacing—the Owlbears all let out a collective cry and bolted away at full speed.

“See? Every monster in this dungeon knows that aside from the Dungeon Master, I’m the strongest around here. Not a single one dares to challenge me.”

“Whoa… Melt, that was amazing. You looked really cool just now!”

“Ehh? Really? You’re making me blush!”

No, seriously, that was both cool and adorable, that little intimidation act.

And just like that, without the slightest delay, we reached the deepest part of the forest—the former site of the Dungeon Master’s fortress, once called the Greedy Mansion.

“So this is… the remains of where he lived? There’s nothing here at all…”

“Yeah. When I beat him, everything just shimmered and disappeared.”

“I see… huh? What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s something that got ‘summoned along with me’ from my world.”

When I explained to Melt, who was pointing at the microbus now half-covered with vines and grass, that it was an object from my world, she dashed toward it excitedly.

“Wow! What is this? A huge iron box with windows?”

“It’s like a passenger carriage. Look, it even has wheels.”

“You’re right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this material before. Huh… what pulls it? It looks really heavy.”

“It doesn’t need monsters or animals to pull it. Like a magic tool, it moves under its own power. Of course, it needs fuel.”

“What!? I want to see it!”

…What about the keys? Didn’t the driver return with them back to Earth…?

I opened the door of the microbus for the first time in a long while.

The moment the familiar smell of Earth flooded out, my thoughts froze, my body stiffening.

…They say the senses and memories are closely linked, after all.

“Same?”

“Ah—nothing. Just give me a second.”

After checking, I found the keys still in the ignition.

Well, of course… in the middle of such an emergency, there hadn’t been time to remove them. Or maybe they’d been left in so the bus could move out quickly in case of danger.

“…Even without a license, just starting the engine should be fine, right?”

Not like licenses matter in another world anyway.

I sat in the driver’s seat, mustered what little I knew about cars, pressed the brake, and slowly turned the key.

The bus made that frustrating sputtering sound—like it was almost about to start, but not quite.

Each time, Melt jumped in surprise, backing away from the bus in caution. …Adorable.

“Is it not going work…?”

It had only been sitting here for a few months. Could it really have broken down already?

But after trying several more times, the engine finally caught, the intermittent roar echoing all around.

…Okay, now what do I do!?

“Sameee? You alright? It’s making weird noises!”

“It’s fine! It started up!”

It’s automatic. That means I should be able to drive it… right?

I shifted the lever and pressed the accelerator gently. The bus began to move forward, slowly but surely.

“O-ohh! It’s moving!”

“It moved! Even though it’s so big! Let me ride too!”

“Sure, come on in. Sit somewhere close by.”

“Oh, this is the door? Heave-ho… excuse me for intruding!”

Melt plopped herself into a nearby seat, looking around the interior in wonder.

Like a borrowed cat—well, a fox, but still—she was ridiculously cute.

“Wow! It’s so comfortable! The seats bounce all springy!”

“Haha, quiet down, I’m driving now.”

I rolled the bus slowly around the grounds of the old fortress site.

The moment the microbus started moving, Melt cheered in delight.

“Amazing! It hardly shakes at all! Completely different from a carriage!”

“Yeah. This kind of technology was developed in a world without magic, so they had to get creative.”

Driving it myself, I couldn’t help but realize—wasn’t one whole microbus for just nine people, teachers included, kind of excessive?

Maybe our group was just the leftover one, and the sightseeing destination we were assigned wasn’t very popular with the other students.

Still… this space was appealing. If I could somehow store it, it would make a perfect portable lodging.

Sure, the gas and tires wouldn’t last forever, but even just as a sturdy movable shelter, it was pretty valuable.

“Alright, time to get out now.”

“Ehh, but I want to ride more!”

“Not now. I’ve still got other things I need to check.”

I gathered up all the bags left in the passenger seats.

Since our main luggage had been unloaded at the hotel, only personal handbags and backpacks were left.

I picked up my own familiar backpack and rifled through it.

“…Unopened sports drinks, our field trip itinerary, some manga for killing time… snacks. Expiration date’s… just barely okay. And—writing utensils, plus a phone battery pack.”

Speaking of which, the smartphone I had when I turned into Shizuma had also been stored away in the item box.

That thing too, sooner or later, its battery will run out and it’ll be useless.

Somehow, that makes me feel like my ties with Earth are being cut one by one as time passes. And I felt… just a little, really just a little, lonely about it.

Even I feel like this. The guys currently captured by Kokuri-san must feel far lonelier.

Not that I pity them, though.

I collected my classmates’ belongings as well and got off the microbus.

“Hey, Melt, you too—get off!”
“Ehh! I want to stay on longer! I want to drive it too!”
“Mm… actually, it’s kind of dangerous. Even I was moving it super carefully and slowly… if it suddenly sped up, it could crash into a tree or something.”
“Eek!”

Melt quickly leapt off and hid behind me like she was escaping.

I keep thinking the same thing over and over again… she’s cute.

“So it’s a dangerous thing, huh…”
“Yeah. In my world, to drive something that big, you have to pass a difficult test and get the government’s permission. If you drive without permission, you can even get arrested—that’s how dangerous it is.”
“H-horrifying…”

And yet I drove it without a license.
But hey—it’s another world, so it’s fine, it’s fine.
Actually, this dungeon is basically my private property anyway.
So… either way, it’s fine!

“Alright… let’s see if I can store this thing away.”
“What!? There’s no way you can store something this big!”
“Well, I’m not so sure. My storage is technically different from your magic tool storage. You see, it’s a side effect of the power I got from the Dungeon Master.”
“Hm hm… the power to take on the forms of other souls sleeping within your own, right?”

Yes, that’s how I’d explained it to Melt.

“Mmm… storing objects inside a soul…? What a strange power.”
“Yeah, I don’t really get it either.”

Well, let’s try storing this bus the same way I store other items in this world…

“Oh, it worked.”

The bus vanished in an instant. And on the menu screen, inside the item box—

“Huh? It’s not showing up in the item list…”

What the… what’s going on?

“It disappeared! So that means it worked, right?”
“M-maybe… but this is weird… I can’t take it back out… it’s not in the item list…”

What’s going on here?

“Let’s check it out later. Melt, next we’re finally heading to your house, right?”
“Yes! It’s a little far from here, but we’ll reach it by night, so let’s stay over at my place tonight!”
“Got it. I’m kind of excited—going to the place you grew up in.”
“Right? It feels strange for me too—Same being in my forest!”

Yeah, that makes sense. If Melt came to my hometown, I’d definitely feel a strong sense of weirdness too.

Before setting off, I looked once more around the ruins of the mansion. Then, I pulled out the Grim Gram’s Heart Core from the item box.

“…It was here that I killed that thing and obtained this. If I hadn’t, Melt probably wouldn’t have been able to come outside, and I wouldn’t have been able to live in peace. I’m sure it would’ve kept putting up some kind of interference or restrictions.”
“Yes… I was only able to come outside because Same—because Silent defeated him.”

The core. A deep crimson, transparent core.
As I gazed into its glow, I let my thoughts wander—but then—

“—!? What the!?”

Suddenly, the core began to shine intensely, blinding me and making me drop it.

“Same! Something came out of it!”
“Huh?”

When I opened my eyes, from the fallen core on the ground, something like a bluish hologram emerged… like the dungeon control screen that appears in our sunroom at home.

As always, the dungeon menu screen was displayed in Japanese. Why did this suddenly show up?

[Administrator information unknown. Temporary authority: Grim Gram recognized.]
[Connected via advanced terminal.]
[Select jurisdiction management item.]
[Territory Reinforcement]
[Base Reinforcement]
[Base Relocation]
[Base Transfer]
[Base Management]
[Construct Temporary Base]
[Compatibility Program Detected]
[Follower Management]

The displayed screen was different from before—every option was now unlocked.

What is this… could it be that having this location and the core together has meaning…?
This was Grim Gram’s base, after all…

“What the… ‘Compatibility Program Detected,’ ‘Follower Management’… and even ‘Construct Temporary Base,’ which I didn’t touch last time…”

All the restrictions had been lifted. I should definitely try this out now.
I mean, I’ll only be at this place today anyway.

“Melt, Melt, I’ve suddenly got a ton of things I want to check. We might end up camping here.”
“Okay, I understand. I mean… something just appeared from his core at his ruins… we have to be cautious. What if he comes back again…?”
“I’ll kill him. This time I’ll make him suffer even more before I do. He hurt my family—I’ll never forgive him.”
“Same, don’t get so angry. It’s reassuring, but also scary.”
“Sorry, sorry. Still, I don’t think revival is possible…”

Most likely, the correct terminal and the correct authentication key were combined, unlocking more functions.

For now, I decided to check out the option labeled Compatibility Program Detected.

[Detected program is low compatibility but can be booted.]
[Execute forced startup?]

Hm… it detected some kind of program.
…Alright, let’s try forced startup.

[Startup complete.]

“Huh? Nothing happened… what was that?”

I wondered if anything had changed, so I opened the menu screen—the only thing I could think of as being “program-like” right now.

And then—

『Inventory』
『Equipment』
『Character Status』
『Map/Quest』
『Mail/Chat』
『Logout/Character Change』

It was just the usual menu screen that appeared.
But then, in the next instant—

『Inventory』
『Equipment』
『Character Status』
『Map/Quest』
『Mail/Chat』
『Base Settings/Construction Menu』
『Logout/Character Change』

An option had been added.
One that should not normally be displayed—the game’s “Housing-exclusive option.”

“No way, seriously… I see… the Core’s ‘Temporary Base Construction’ function must have triggered this…?”

That option was originally only visible when connecting to a dedicated server—used for building or expanding a player’s base, their personal home.
When I checked the option—

“…There it is. So the microbus is treated as a construction item?”

That menu contained all the various furniture and building materials I had been carrying.
Items that normally could only be opened, or materialized, in a housing area.
But now… could I really use them freely?

“Melt, Melt, come over here for a sec.”
“Hm? What is it?”

Since it might be dangerous to get caught up in it, I called her closer, then tried materializing it in the spot where the microbus had been before.
And then—without a sound, in an instant, the microbus appeared.

“It came out! You can summon it now!”
“Looks like it. I think I’ll be able to bring out even more things from now on.”
“Hmm… what do you mean by that?”
“The power of the Grim Gram’s Core—I think I’ve fully absorbed it.”
“Whoa! So that means it’s not going to come back or anything, right?”
“Yeah, exactly. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

Being able to use the housing system anywhere… this was an incredibly convenient power.
But no—that wasn’t all. This was far too great a power to be celebrating so lightly.

…Most likely, the ‘Construction Menu’ option that already existed had resonated with the Core’s ‘Temporary Base Construction’ function, allowing this operation to be performed.

But… ‘Base Settings’ was the option that “governs base-related features outside of construction.”
And most likely, what it had resonated with… was ‘Subordinate Management.’

I already knew what that ‘Subordinate Management’ element referred to.

“…Summoning… is that possible…?”
“Summoning? What, like a hero from another world? No way, that’s absolutely forbidden. It would probably require a sacrifice!”
“Ah, no, not that.”

There were options like ‘Auto-Production,’ ‘Gatekeeper Placement,’ and ‘Resource Gathering Deployment.’
And those essentially meant “giving commands to characters not currently in use.”

…Could I really do this? Was it really possible…?

“…Huh?”

But the display wasn’t quite what I had expected.

『Orderable Characters: 0/1』
『Silent』【Gatekeeper】【Gathering】
『Sheele』【Gatekeeper】【Gathering】【Research】
『Seira』【Gatekeeper】【Gathering】【Cooking】
『Hash』【Gatekeeper】【Gathering】【Composition】【Performance】
『Still』【Gatekeeper】【Gathering】

It looked just like the game interface.
But the maximum number of orderable characters was shown as “0/1.”
In other words, only one.

And apparently, it was limited to characters I had transformed into and used for combat or production at least once.

“…So there are conditions… or is it something else…?”
“Mmm… seems like you’ve run into a tricky problem? You okay? Want to take a break?”
“Yeah, let’s take a break. But just one last thing first…”

If I could only choose one, then—I selected Sheele from the list.
And in the next moment—

“No way…! Why? How can this be, when Same is already here…!?”
“…It worked.”

A light appeared before me, and as it subsided—
There she was, an elf with silver hair and beautiful rose-colored eyes.
Sheele stood right there before us—

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