As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback Lifestyle~ - Chapter 209

Chapter 209 – Riwa’s Background

I had returned to the Maiden Rebirth Order’s church base. I was given permission to wander around the church grounds as long as I was monitored by an accompanying ‘bodyguard’, so I headed to the back of the church with Shakuhara and Saniwa.

There was a vegetable garden there, which the followers tended to in order to help them be a little more self-sufficient.

In the end, they couldn’t survive without food. There were more than a hundred of them. In order to keep everyone from starving, they had to have enough food.

Naturally, the women scavenged for food and provisions in convenience stores, department stores, and other unoccupied places. But even that wasn’t an inexhaustible supply. Other people were probably searching for food as well.

It was only natural that full-scale self-sufficiency would then become necessary. Not too long ago, if you got hungry, you could easily buy food at a convenience store.

It was somewhat like traveling back in time to olden-day Japan, where such convenience didn’t exist. That being said, I had never actually experienced that era, so I could only imagine what it was like from what I’d seen in movies and manga.

“Vegetables aside, what do you do about protein… like meat and stuff?” I asked Saniwa, who was explaining various things about the garden to me.

“The exploration faction visits mountains, rivers, and the ocean to procure those things.” (Saniwa)
It was a different faction, separate from the hunting faction that I’d heard about earlier. Apparently, the main focus of the exploration faction was to forage for food.

“At first, Kei-chan and I were part of the exploration faction.” (Saniwa)

“Hoh, and now you two are in the hunting faction?” (Torimoto)
“…Yes.” (Saniwa)
“What, you have a problem with that?” (Shakuhara)
There she goes again, flaring up at everything I say.

“I didn’t say that there was anything bad about it, did I?” (Torimoto)
A wry smile rose to my face, but Shakuhara just turned away with a snort.

She seems to be in an even worse mood than usual. Maybe it has something to do with me scaring her before?

But she did appear to be sighing a lot since a while ago. Saniwa also seemed to notice this, and I could tell because she was sending Shakuhara quizzical glances.

“U-Umm… Right, Torimoto-san! You’re a traveler, right?” (Torimoto)
Saniwa spoke to me in a flustered manner, as if she wanted to clear the strange atmosphere.

“That’s right. I’ve been to all kinds of places.” (Torimoto)
It was true that I had traveled throughout all of Japan. But that was only with my father when I was younger.

“What was the best part of your travels?” (Saniwa)
“Hmm… Well, I guess every place was wonderful and had its own charm, but… I think I was most moved when I was standing at the top of Mt. Fuji.” (Torimoto)
“Mt. Fuji?! You’ve climbed Mt. Fuji before?!” (Saniwa)
She seemed a bit too excited, making me a bit confused.

“Ah, err… sorry. Actually, I like mountains a lot…” (Saniwa)
“Hoh. May I ask why?” (Torimoto)
“Ah, yes. But it’s not that big of a reason, okay? My father was a mountain climber, and I used to climb mountains with him often. So I ended up falling in love with the mountains too.” (Saniwa)
Her father… Come to think of it, her parents… what was the situation like with her family?

If they were still alive, did they know what these girls were doing?

“…Kei-chan too. Right, Kei-chan?” (Saniwa)
“Well… Every time we go, it’s really tiring though.” (Shakuhara)
It was a sullen response, but Saniwa smiled broadly, seemingly happy that Shakuhara had responded.

“Eheheh. My father thinks of Kei-chan like his real daughter. Ah~ those times were so much fun.” (Saniwa)

She had a distant, nostalgic look in her eyes, as if she were reminiscing about the times they had gone mountain climbing together.

“Yeah. But… We couldn’t climb Mt. Fuji together.” (Shakuhara)
“…Yeah.” (Saniwa)
I watched the two of them, wondering why their expressions suddenly darkened. And then, Saniwa spoke with a regretful tone.

“Ah, err… My father… he’s dead…” (Saniwa)
“…! Was it an illness…?” (Torimoto)
“It was an accident. He got lost while climbing a mountain in a foreign country.” (Saniwa)
Of course, a strenuous search and rescue operation had been conducted, but it was apparently a harsh mountain covered with snow all year round. And as a result… Saniwa’s father was never found.

“So you don’t actually know for certain if he’s dead or not?” (Torimoto)
“Your terrible attempts at consolation aren’t needed. It’s already been more than three years since her father went missing.” (Shakuhara)
I see. If that was the case, then there was no chance that he was still alive. Even if he had somehow survived and descended the mountain to some town, he would have already figured out some way to contact Saniwa.

If they still hadn’t heard anything from him for three years… then he probably wasn’t alive.

“I’m sorry for reminding you of something so sad.” (Torimoto)
“Ah, no, it’s fine! I’m already over it! …Well, back then, I cried all the time… But I always had Kei-chan and her family by my side.” (Saniwa)
“…? I’m sorry if this is another impolite question, but what about your mother?” (Torimoto)
“…She was sick when I was young. So I don’t really remember much about her.” (Saniwa)
…Her family circumstances were really similar to mine. I lost my mother when I was young, and I was raised by my father, alone. But now, my father was gone too.

“Kei-chan really saved me. We’ve always been together… We’re family, and we’ll always be, right…?” (Saniwa)
“…I suppose so.” (Shakuhara)
At that moment, I became somewhat concerned. I thought Shakuhara would confidently declare ‘of course’.

But for some reason, her tone sounded so indifferent just now that it made me feel a bit uneasy. Naturally, Saniwa noticed and asked her if something was wrong.

“I-It’s nothing… No, I just have a bit of a headache.” (Shakuhara)
“T-That’s not good! You need to get some rest right away! Come on, let’s get you to the infirmary!” (Saniwa)
“H-Hey, I’m fine! I can go on my own! So you, keep watching him!” (Shakuhara)
“Eh? Kei-chan!” (Saniwa)
“Like I said, I’m really fine! But Torimoto! You better listen to Riwa! If you scare her, I won’t let you off easily!” (Shakuhara)
With that, Shakuhara quickly left.