Misunderstanding
I could feel my face becoming tense as I listened to the students’ conversation.
This was bad, I had gotten carried away.
It was just so fun testing out the capabilities of the item box.
After all, you could store things by just looking at them. Of course, this would make me get excited.
But, clearly wiping the buildings clean was going too far. It was bound to attract undesirable attention.
…Though, I didn’t feel like returning it either.
“No food…you say? Is that really true?”
“Yes… I asked them again and again myself. But they don’t appear to be lying. So, so what are you going to do, Nishino? If we don’t have food…”
The student who had come to make the report was extremely shaken.
Even beyond the wall, I could sense that Glasses and Punk were shaken as well.
Among the group, the only one who remained calm was the leader. Nishino.
“…Ono, how much food supplies do we have left?”
“Eh? Oh…um, hmm, there should have been enough for three days if it was just us…but, we have less now, since we gave some to the others…so…”
“Hey! Stop beating about the bush and just give the answer, idiot!”
“Aah! I, I’m sorry!”
Punk barked towards Glasses as he fumbled incoherently.
“Calm yourself, Shibata. Do you know that you have a bad habit of being quick to shout at people?”
“…S-sorry.”
“Ono, take your time. How much food do we have left?”
“…! S-sorry. Um, uh…very, very little…I think. Maybe, one day at the most…”
Everyone fell silent at Glasses’ reply.
“Right…I understand. And the refugees do not know this yet?”
“Yes. Of course not.”
I was hearing it all though.
“That’s good. We will continue to keep them in the dark about this. We won’t be able to stop them from revolting if they find out there is little food left. Tell this to the others as well.”
“U-understood.”
So saying, the student who had made the report, left the room.
“Ahh…things have certainly gone bad…”
“They sure have…”
“Let’s organize our thoughts. Looking at the situation, the supplies must have been taken between the end of our third transportation trip and the beginning of the fourth. I suppose that would be around 2 hours. Normally, it should not be possible to wipe the surrounding stores clean in just 2 hours.”
“That’s true. But then, how could—-”
“Yes, it would mean that it is the work of someone with such a ‘Skill.’ And considering the scale here, this person must be at a very high level.”
“Oh, like item boxes and teleportation magic. Those kinds of skills? In web novels, those kinds of skills usually make an appearance.”
Yes. Correct.
Well done, Glasses. Anyone who loves web novels should know to acquire ‘Analysis’ and ‘Item Box’ if you can.
“This person’s really done it.”
“Damn, who the hell! Stealing from other people!”
Nah, Punk.
That line would hit you like a boomerang.
It wasn’t yours to begin with.
“…”
“What, what is it Nishino? Are you thinking…?”
“No…the timing just seems too good. That something like this would happen just as we started to accept refugees in…”
“Ni-Nishino, are you saying that this person chose this moment deliberately?”
“Ono, we don’t even know that it was a single person yet. It could be another group just like us.”
“Ah, right…”
Nope, I’m solo.
“Also, it could just be a series of coincidences. The person may still be close by.”
“Are we going to go and search?”
“If we can. But…if, for instance, this person ‘planned to steal everything from us,’ then this could be a bigger mess than we thought.”
“What…what do you mean?”
“You don’t get it? There would only be one reason to do such a thing. The same reason that we took in the refugees. How much do you think food and daily supplies are worth in this world now? That worth will only rise as time goes on. If they can use it to negotiate with others, there will be many who will do whatever they order.”
“Ah, right…”
No, no. That’s not what I mean to do.
Shit, they really have me wrong now.
I hadn’t even considered such a thing.
I was just having too much fun with testing the item box. I just got carried away. But I couldn’t tell them…
“In any case, we can’t afford to have any more of our food stolen like this. We need to hurry and secure as much food as we can.”
“Are we going to increase our search parameter?”
“It will be risky, but we have no choice. I’d like to send people out as soon as possible, but unfortunately, it’s already night time. Exploration at night would be too dangerous with all the monsters roaming the area. We’ll rest tonight and begin to move with the rising of the sun.
Also, if the culprit’s aim is to monopolize all resources, there is a possibility they could come here. We need to be careful.”
“Yes.”
“Understood, Nishino.”
Apparently, they had finished talking now.
The three of them left the resting room and started back for the main floor.
After seeing they were gone, I took the opportunity to sneak back out of the home center.
“Fuu…”
I released a deep sigh without thinking.
What should I do? Really.
They completely have me wrong…
After that, I entered a building that was a little ways off from the home center and secured a good resting space.
I took out some food from the item box and had a late dinner.
Momo came out of the shadows too and I fed her some dog food.
Suppose I’ll just sleep now… A lot had happened and I was tired.
There would be time to think about the supplies in the home center tomorrow.
I thought, as I covered myself with a blanket and tried to go to sleep.
Suddenly, ‘Scout’ detected something.
“…Hmm?”
It had detected monsters.
The numbers were…4 in all.
They were headed right towards me.
No, more correctly it wasn’t the building I was hiding it, but in the direction of the home center.
“Momo, let’s go.”
“Bark!”
I exit the building and head for the home center.
Hiding from view and watching, I can see that the monsters looked like wolves.
Hmm…they looked like that first monster I had run over and killed.
I think it was a shadow wolf?
But these were a size smaller than that one.
Perhaps they were a weaker version of the shadow wolf.
They were surrounding the home center and appeared to be trying to see what was happening inside.
“Wooo…!”
Momo let out a deep howl.
Was it because these monsters resembled dogs?
She seemed to be very cautious of them.
“The students…don’t seem to have noticed yet.”
There were two of them guarding the entrance, but they didn’t seem to be aware yet.
It was already dark, so perhaps they couldn’t see them.
But really, did not one of them have any ‘Detection type’ skills?
Well, if they did, then they would have noticed me too.
What should I do…
I felt like this was the kind of situation that could get complicated if I acted without thinking it through.