“Safe…Zone?”
Nishino doubted the words that came into his ears. Shibata and Goshogawara must have been the same. They’re making strange faces while having their mouths wide open.
“Yes, no monsters cancome here. It’s set that way.”
“…”
Unbelievable, Nishino thought to himself. Did it function like a “Save Point” in games? No, this man just said that it was “set” that way.
(A skill or an occupation that can create… no, set a safe zone…?)
Was it governance? Management? Or barrier? Various guesses were made, but there was no way to confirm.
“I see that you can’t believe what we said. It’s natural. I was like that at first as well.” The one who smiled wat the secretary-like woman sitting next to Fujita, Shimizu.
Watching the mature woman speak in a calm manner with her legs crossed, Fujita laughed.
“Yeah. Also, Shimizu-chan panicked more than you guys. It’s a lie!! You screamed so very loudly.” “H-hey, you don’t have to tell them about this! And Nijou-san was screaming more loudy than me!” “But Kamome-chan is cute, so it’s fine.”
“What do you mean by that! Are you suggesting that I’m not…”
At that point, Shimizu noticed the gaze of Nishino and the others. She quickly averted her eyes away from them. Then, she raised her glasses and fixed her posture. Betraying her heart, there was a tint of redness on her cheek.
“Anyways, what he said is all true. There aren’t any monsters here, so you can rest without worrying.” “Um, how exactly does that….”
Nishino was not able to finish his sentence. Before he did so—
BAM!
Opening the door swiftly, an old man walked into the reception room.
“!!”
Nishino readied himself unknowingly. Then, he stared at the individual that just entered.
It was an old man with a good physique. He knew with a glance that the man’s age was quite high, but the atmosphere around him betrayed such a notion.
(I think I’ve seen him somewhere before….?)
Where was it? Nishino tried to remember, but his exhausted brain kept refusing and proclaiming “I don’t want to work anymore-degozaru!” “Oh! So you’re back, Soichiro! Seems like you were safe. I was worried for you!” “… Good work, Mayor Uesugi.”
With Fujita’s greeting, Nishino finally rememberd. Oh right. This person is the mayor of this town. If his memories were correct, this man had won his fourth election this year. His strong looks and remarks as well as his solid political skills garnered the trust of the townspeople. His reputation and approval rate were said to be much higher than the governer and some mediocre politicians.
He was so impressive that some people thought. “isn’t it better to have this person as govenor?” “Ah, you guys should at least recognize his face right? This person is the mayor and is called-” “Uesugi Kansei. Nice to meet you, young uns. And welcome to the City Hall!”
The major who was smiling looked somewhat like Fujita. By the way, he called them young uns, but he completely ignored the fact that there was an ossan among them. The 55 years old Goshogawara Hachiro felt slightly hurt.
“Um, mayor…. Why are you even here?”
“Because I was bored! I’ve been constantly at work in the office, so much that I felt my body was becoming dull!” “You were bored…”
Sighing, Fujita pressed his cigaratte against an ashtray.
“I really want you to understand. Do you know that we’ll be finished if some accident happenes to you?” “Umu, I know that. S’why I’m only walking inside of the building. It’s my way of thinking for the employees that are working for me!” “Is that so.”
Fujita looked over at Shimizu, hoping that the mayor would open his ears and listen for once. She nodded and offered the convenience store bag she had set aside to the mayor.
“Mayor, these are the magic stones that we gained from this time’s exploration. Please take them.” “Oh, this will truly help.”
Upon receiving the bag, Mayor Uesugi’s mood become better.
“Now, I’m going to go cheer up the others. Oh, and Fujita, the bed is vacant right now. It’s not a bad idea to converse with the young uns, but have them rest first. Well then. Bye!” And then he left like a storm. For a few seconds, there was silence in the acception room.
“…He’s one hell of a peson…”
“Yeah, he is.”
“So about the continuation of our discussion…”
“Wait a moment.”
Fujita stopped Nishino with his hands.
“We’ll put our conversation on hold for now. You guys should sleep first.”
“Eh? But…”
It was too half-baked. He hadn’t heard enough information yet. More like, he hadn’t virtually learned anything at all. Nishino thought so, but exhaustion suddenly washed over him, making him dizzy.
“Tsu…”
“A-are you okay, Nishino-san?”
Shibata who was beside him supported him.
“Look at you now. Don’t push yourself too much. You body was a its limit a long time ago… Well, it’s partially my fault that you didn’t get to rest immediately. Sorry about that.” “No… it’s not something Fujita-san should apologize for…”
“Regardless. Please have some rest first. We can talk later.”
“…”
He had no choice but to say yes. Nishino obediently followed Fujita’s words. Thereafter, they were guided to the napping room. Although the beds were cheap because they were for workers, the comfort of the beds after not using for several days was enough to put them to sleep.
Several hours later.
The sun was setting and the evening was coming. Nishino woke up.
(I slept for around three hours…)
Looking next to him, he saw Shibata and Goshogawara still asleep. To be honest, he hadn’t had enough sleep either, but he felt like it was too wastful to spend his time sleeping. As there was noone around him, he decided to do what he had to do.
“Status open.”
Nishion opened is status plate and gazed at th “Mail” items.
(Fujita Soichiro, Shimizu Yuna, Uesugi Kansei… they’re all real names.)
The names displayed in the address book were identical to the ones they claimed to be. Apparently, they haven’t used a pseudonym.
(Either they aren’t wary of us or they don’t feel the need to be wary of us…. It remains to be seen.) Next, he checked the undread mails. As expected, several mails have been sent from his friends. From the content, everyone seemed to be safe when they sent the mail. Apparently, they were mostly hiding near the City Hall.
(I’ll have them join us here.)
Nishino sent mails to his friends saying, “Come here while pretending that you guys found this place by chance. ” Fujita had promised to cooperate in searching for his friends. In that case, they shouldn’t be mistreated when they arrive here.
(Next up is Rikka)
He also sent a mail to her. The meeting time had already long passed. A mail had arrived from Rikka, asking what happened. He sent a reply, answering why his reply was late, wher he was, and what he knew about the situation.
(Safe Zone…)
From the conversation earlier betweeen Fujita and the mayor, it was likely that the mayor has a skill to create a Safe Zone.
(The mayor…. Does it have to do with governance or politics?)
Nishino recalled his initial list of occupation that he could obtain. He chose “Commander” in order to suvive, but there were other obtions such as “Adventurer”, “Student”, “Chairman”, and “Politician”.
He had initially dismissed some of these thinking, “In this kind of world?”, but if his guess was right, the professions that were irrevelent to fighting monsters also should have some important skills that could ensure survival. Maybe.
Since he couldn’t verify his hypothesis himself, he had to ask others. This was an area of research for the future.
(This should do for now… Now, should I call someone….hm?)
He suddenly noticed the small table beside his bed.
“Rice balls?”
A plate or rice balls and a bottle of tea were on the table. There was also a memo underneath the plate.
– There isn’t any poison, so you can eat without worrying. Fujita.
Such words were written on the paper. What was this man thinking? Be more vigilant! Be more wary! Be more suspicious!
(If he’s like this, I would look like a fool for worrying so much.)
No, his behavior was not the wrong one. In this situation where one wouldn’t know when others will come at his or her neck, it is wrong to trust others so easily.
Even so—
Gurururu.
His stomach rumbled.
“…”
Nishino brought the rice ball to his mouth. It was filled with salted Japanese plum (umeboshi). It was not particularly delicious. Those in convenience stores were actually better than this. Nevertheless(Really… all this is making me go out of tune)
His mouth was full before he noticed. The taste strangely penetrated his heart.
Fujita was in the parking lot, thinking about the teenage boys and the ossan that he brought back a few hours ago.
(That boy is carrying quite a bit on his shoulders….)
He wasn’t trusted. The other side was suspicious of him. That much he noticed quickly.
(Despite being a high-school student…)
Those eyes weren’t what kids should have. He didn’t know what happened to them, but the past five days must have been quite the hellish experience.
He was glad he saved them, but he was at the same time filled with a sense of helplessness.
(I want to do something for them but…)
There was nothing he could do if they didn’t open their heart first. The only way to resolve this issue was to slowly build trust by confronting them openly. He had promised to search for their friends, so he could start from there.
“Fujita-san, do you have some time?”
“N? What is it?”
From the barricade, a man who was patrolling called out to him.
“No, it’s just about two girls who want to enter.”
“Just let them come in. Things like this, do you really need to report to me?” “It’s just that they had weapons, and they asked me ‘Is there a student named Nishino-kun here?’ If I’m not mistaken, one of the guys that Fujita-san brought in the morning had that name right…?” “Say that first!”
As soon as he heard that Fujita started to dash. There were two girls that were coming down from the barricade. Both of them were quite pretty. One of the girls had a gal’s appearance, with her blond hair made into side-tails. She was probably a high-school student judging from her uniform. She was carrying a backpack, and a hatchet was hanging from her waist.
The other girl had pink hair and appeared more mature. She wasn’t wearing any uniform. Rather, she was wearing plain jeans and a hoodie, something men often wore. The most noticeable thing was the ridiculously big rife on her back. Where did she even get that?
(They have weapons… meaning these girls possess skills as well?)
However, it wouldn’t be wise to take their weapons away by force. Fujita wanted to avoid stimulating them as much as possible.
“Are you guys the ones that are claiming that they are acquainted with Nishino-kun?” “That’s right! This means that Nisshi must be here. Ah, thank God.”
“They’re currently resting in the napping room. If you want, I can guide you guys, uh—” “It’s Rikka. Aisaka Rikka, pleased to make your acquaintance. Hey, you too, onii—Natsun.” “I-I’m Ichinose Natsu. Nice to meet you.”
“Aisaka-chan and Ichinose-chan, right? I’m Fujita Soichiro. Nice to meet you.” The two girls bow their head at Fujita’s introduction.
“Then let us head to where Nishino-kun is.”
Thinking about how he could fulfill his promise earlier than expected, Fujita led the two towards the napping room.