Chapter 128 – Star Fall (11)

“Yep, that’s it. See you later~”

Spt!

As the light that lit up the early morning dimmed, the image from the communication magic that the Light’s Order priest connected to him disappeared.

“What is the main church saying?”

“Welp. They said good job. And that we should return now.”

“That’s it? Do the church and Rodrick’s higher class not know how amazing of an achievement killing a Chamber Maid is?”

“They said they found a few more across the world, so probably not. Her voice sounded tired, but I could tell she sounded happy.”

It is 3 in the morning right now.

After arriving at where the priest was, since the time was late and all, he just planned to contact anyone that picked up and tell them to send the news to Senadis later.

But whaddya know? Light started to glow from the relic, and only a few minutes after the acolyte priest told us to wait a moment, Senadis appeared. In a state that looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion, too.

“To think that the Bishop is still working at this hour. It’s clear what state Kingsland is in right now.”

“Latura, Ro Haram… It is natural for the people related to administration to be busy since the Warriors of the entire world are gathering in one city. It should be advised that you also come soon. Just before I left, I heard the news that all of the luxury suits that the capital could offer are now full, so any later and you may need to sleep in a rundown inn that does not suit your prestige.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t take it even if there was any room. Warriors from all over the world… I’d rather sleep on the streets.”

“I agree. It would be much better to set camp outside next to a nice stream than crawl into that chaos.”

Ottman responded with earnest agreement to Professor’s comment.

What is a warrior? Just as a base, the word is used to describe people who have achievements on an ‘I saved an entire country!’ level. Like the legendary knight that beheaded the Sun Mage Tower’s Lord, who went out of control in the process of reaching Level 8, or the castle knight that blocked the Orc Lord’s march at the frontlines for 3 days without any reinforcements and bought time for the kingdom to prepare, or Bard Hamellen, who warded away the boosted black rat population that caused the Great Famine. Each and every one of them has either a person or group that has incredible ability and the fame and power that come with saving a nation.

“In the first place, about 60 percent of Warriors are prince consorts. From the nation’s perspective, they would want to maintain ties with such an outstanding being. And the easiest way to do so is to marry them to a princess and connect them by blood. Think that tens, dozens, of the king’s in-law sons are coming into just one city. The nobles related to diplomacy are probably crying out to their gods, running around everywhere.”

“They’re wasting people on such useless things? When none other than an evil god was just born and coming their way?”

“The churches are, of course, going to send in their reinforcements. Since they experienced World 2… a-hem! The Undead Wave 70 years ago. But it’s a different story for the nobles. The churches are going, ‘It’s an evil god! We will consider you heretics if you do not cooperate with us and kick you out!’ so they’re going along with it for now, but when they think about it, it doesn’t seem fair to send their best troops here for free. Especially when they’re holding a powerful card called [sending reinforcements to a kingdom that’s about to get destroyed]. On the outside, they probably say that they volunteered to come without wanting anything in return, but they definitely sent about two or three ambassadors with the Warrior group they’re sending.”

The knight commanders and nobles who are well versed in military strategy are being grinded to a dust right now, organizing the nuclear bombs that each nation sent them, and the nobles that were good at the social and diplomatic aspects were being grinded out, making sure that the warriors didn’t feel uncomfortable or fight amongst themselves. In addition to that, there are also probably going to be some guys going around trying to make connections in the midst of that chaos. Eugh, just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.

So currently, the ‘victorious’ part of their ‘victorious return’ is all done, but the place they were supposed to ‘return’ to is going up in flames.

Hanging the relic back on his neck after its role was done, Professor let out a deep sigh and tapped on Borka’s leg.

“You still have some energy left, right?”

“I have enough to carry one person.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

“Do you mean right now?”

Professor nodded in response to Aldrich’s horrified expression. Everyone clearly looked exhausted, but they needed to get back to the capital as soon as possible.

‘5 days to the capital… We’re already way beyond late, but it’ll still be better to hurry.’

Under Professor’s urging, the party eventually started towards the capital. From the vicinity of Pelas to Kingsland. Since they already cleared out the path on their way here, there shouldn’t be many threats anymore. It’s not like the enemy will abandon the western frontlines that they already secured to come back here.

Ding—!

’…It’ll be okay, right? All we’re doing is going back through a path with Rank 9 mutes that we’ve already been through.’

It’s been about 8 days in-game, so it’s been over 24 hours outside. The outside world changes by the day as well, so he couldn’t just stick to one side.

‘It’s five days from here to Tobrune and about a week to get to Kingsland, so let’s put it on autopilot just until we get there!’

Settling down his anxious mind, Professor pressed the YES button on the warning message.

Trr-tnk! Thunk! Thunk!

“Hm? Why isn’t it open…?”

Thunk! Thunk!

“Ah, right.”

He looked around after opening his eyes when the door didn’t open and found the door caught at the end of his left arm that he forced into the pod.

“…I seriously can’t get used to that.”

Getting out of the pod and being careful not to break it, Gyosu slowly moved the left arm that still didn’t feel like his.

Ckkkgk, cckk!

“…Well, gotta adapt somehow. Can’t do anything about it.”

There was an alarm clock on the worn-out sofa that someone must have placed there. 1 pm.

“…Koduro!! Master’s here!!”

First, he’ll get something to eat.

Lunch.

Instant ramen and five lettuce leaves.

It was a ramen that the Dome released on the Marketplace called ‘Doodle’.

Instead of packaging everything inside a plastic bag like the old ramen, the food was more luxurious, with the noodles, seasoning, and dried toppings packaged separately. They sold it by box, so they needed to buy at least 20 portions per purchase.

What that meant was that it was far too luxurious of a lunch for a sudden request for food.

’…Is this guy’s programming wrong somehow?’

Looking at the steam billowing up from the red broth, he remembered the ‘Bucketlist FLEX’ that Koduro had done in the past.

“Aren’t we using a little too much just because we’re rich? We did get a pretty good haul this time, but who knows when we’re going to get more… We have to keep track of not the money we have right now but the money that’s going to be used in the future.”

“Aw, don’t be so harsh like that. Do you know how careful I’ve been since I endangered Master last time? I wanted to save, but Master Vex said that kids needed to have a balanced diet to grow well. So I made the big decision to purchase this. It would be a complete meal if we added an egg to this, but unfortunately the Dome is currently in their poultry population control period, so I couldn’t buy eggs.”

“They’re raising chickens? I mean… it would be profitable, but I thought the food shortage at the Dome was pretty bad right now. All the hoarding and embezzlement… the profits won’t balance out because the grain prices skyrocketed, won’t it?”

“From the rumors that are going around, they said they took all of the chicks into the Underdome. Chickens unexpectedly take animal protein-based feed pretty well. They eat worms and bugs, after all.”

“Animal protein-based means…”

“It’s only a rumor… but they can’t be taking such drastic measures, right?”

Shluuurp!

Sucking in the graciously scrumptious noodles, Gyosu remembered the ‘cheap meat’ that was up on the Marketplace. Quite a few people did die near the Dome recently.

“…Naw. But just in case, let’s not buy any eggs or chicken for the time being. I don’t think the Director is that kind of person, but it’s not completely impossible if he leaves other people to do the job. But where did you hear those rumors? It isn’t easy for Dome news to leak outside.”

“Master Ian sent us a message from the Dome. He said, ‘These bastards are selling beer but say they can’t sell chicken! They’re tryna start a fight, right?’”

Heh.

“Just what he would say.”

That reminded me… He told me that he was going to the Dome to sign a contract with Life & Murder. Seeing that he wasn’t back yet, they must still be talking it out.

“What about Vex? And Synthia?”

To Gyosu’s question, Koduro pointed to an empty wheelchair and cut ropes.

“They went out to play.”

“What?”

“He claimed that he was all better now, so Master Ian tied him up before leaving, but the moment he heard the car leave, he cut the ropes and went out with the miss. He said that children become too shy if they stay inside too much, and was going to show her around the neighborhood and teach her some things about living in the Wastelands.”

“Isn’t that… a little too dangerous? Even if it’s Vex, he hasn’t even fully recovered yet, and took out Synthia. There’s still a decent number of Type 2 mutants around our house, too.”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. The situation has changed a bit. Master Vex told me to report after Master came out, so if you finished eating, can you spare me some time, Master?”

“What exactly happened? It’s only been a day and a half since I’ve come out of the game.”

“It’ll be quicker to see for yourself.”

Tzzt—

After cleaning up the table, Koduro opened the drone’s panel and turned on its screen. There were a bunch of numbers moving on the screen…

“What is this?”

“Master’s account balance.”

“…What?”

I cleaned my ears in case I just heard it wrong.

“What did you say?”

“This is Master’s account balance. Bank account! Money!”

I heard it right the first time. Then it must be my eyes that have a problem!

This time, I rubbed my eyes and looked at the screen again.

Balance : 304,237,650 sil

Click!

Balance : 304,257,690 sil

“…Is it bugged?”

T-that’s weird. Why are there so many digits? Why is it still going up?

About 2 hundred million, yeah. That might make sense. I didn’t know the Director’s double espresso shot would really be in the hundred millions, but I knew it was a possibility. But 3 hundred million? From where?

Looking at my mouth still agape, Koduro answered with a bright voice.

“It’s the sum from the rewards sent by the Dome and stream donations.”

“I got that much from donations?”

“Yep! Actually, most weren’t from the stream, but when Master was still in the hospital. Most of them came with a message along the lines of, ‘Hope you get well soon,’ ‘Thank you,’ and such. About 25 million are from the Marketplace, and about 40 million are from the Life & Murder Co. as a thank you for advertising their products. And several more with deep pockets also stopped by.”

“My goodness… But still…”

“You need to start accepting it. I told you a month ago, You’re a ranker, Master! Money is just going to flow in like a waterfall now. Master doesn’t need to worry about money for the rest of your life.”

Being completely stunned from the get-go, Gyosu was about to rub his hands against his face but got startled and put down his hands again.

He’s rich now—filthy rich. He has an unbelievable amount of money now. He could eat expensive steaks and run ten of the highest-quality air purifiers for the rest of his life and still not use up all three hundred million Shillings.

“Mmm… It’s a little too late to be shocked.”

“Why, there’s still something left?”

“There is indeed something left. A little odd one, too, at that. It’s predicted that this problem happened because of Master’s recent spike in fame…”

Thunk— Drrrrrrrrrkk—

Just then, through the window, I saw the main door to the wall surrounding the shelter open. The doors opened to the side, and the turret aimed at the area it sensed movement from. In the typical outfit of a Wasteland survivor, the person had on a ragged outfit with all sorts of odds and ends dangling from their pockets. They were a complete stranger.

“Goodness gracious! They’re back again! I even wrote a sign telling them to stop!”

Click!

“What. You know them?”

“Hm? Ah, I don’t really know them. They’re not hostile, so you can put down the gun.”

I pointed the gun down at Koduro’s assurance and peeked out of the window. The visitor, who seemed surprised by the doors suddenly opening, bowed down towards the shelter several times in greeting, pushed in a pile of something that was in front of the doors, then hurriedly disappeared.

When I looked back at Koduro questioningly, he continued.

“They’re an outsider that’s been visiting for a few days now. I’ve, of course, warned them the first time they came to the doors. I will fire if you move. Do not approach. Reveal your identity. But they still hung around after I warned them, so I even fired a few warning shots.”

“So… what happened?”

Instead of answering, Koduro took out his screen again and showed him a video.

Du-du-du!

[This is your last warning. This AI is permitted to neutralize any unidentified trespasser—ack!]

“P-please don’t shoot! I’m… just here to give my regards!”

[…Reuniform yourself. Public acts of obscenity will also be considered terrorism.]

“I’m unarmed! Look! I don’t have anything!”

Tzzt!

The moment the middle-aged woman’s hands started to head towards her rags, the screen turned off.

“Do you want to see the rest? I’ll warn you, that woman has one spicy way of showing she’s unarmed.”

“No need to. She definitely proved she’s unarmed, that’s for sure. Why’d she come? Regards?”

“Since that day, she has been bringing small bits of scraps and junk and leaving them in front of the door like this. There are two others doing this other than the woman, but they must have seen some kind of article online, because they all stripped in front of the door and are leaving scraps.”

“Ugh, why does everything have to be such a headache…?”

I think I know what this is. Unarmed, regards, valuable items.

“Those are protection fees.”

Out of the Scavengers, some with a larger organization manage small territories, who are called Raiders.

They’re hard to see where the Dome and Raptors run the place, like in our neighborhood, but under Area 42, those Raiders are always fighting over territory like they were Napoleon, and their main source of income was those protection fees. According to what they say, it’s the proper price to pay when the survivors within their territory are living safely because they’re fighting off the mutants, risking their lives, but it’s basically like how gangsters rip off money.

In that context, it was easy to figure out the meaning of those outsiders.

“So, they want to live near here and receive our protection?”

“Basically, yes. But you don’t need to worry. Master Ian said that he’s going to handle it, so Master shouldn’t worry about it and just concentrate on what to do with Master’s arm.”

“Well, if that’s what he said… But tell him not to kill them. They’re people that came to live, so I don’t really think killing them is gonna feel right.”

There were some pros and cons to outsiders living around them. The pro was that the surrounding area was definitely going to become safer from mutants. When the people settle down, they’ll go around trying to make a living for themselves, and as a result, they’ll clean up a lot of the mutants, so the population of mutants in the nearby areas will drastically decrease.

The con… was that those people were going to be dangerous.

Even people who seem harmless, like that woman, could possibly be a scout someone sent. Since the video’s out now. Out of the people that saw us shooting things out with the Dome’s epic gear, there will definitely be some idiots that think, ‘I’m gonna kill them and take it for myself! There are only three people anyway!’ Since there’s news going around that we got rich, some suspicious guys are definitely going to come sometime soon.

Ckkkg, kkkkc.

Closing his eyes and scratching his palm for a moment, Gyosu then said to Koduro.

“Koduro. From now on, don’t open the doors to anyone other than our people. It’s a lot easier for them to invade if they know the inner layout. Who told you to open it?”

“Miss Synthia. She said that it’s hard to get the car in, so I should let them in. She even sorted out the scraps.”

“That’s probably to grub the ones she wanted from the scrap pile. Don’t open it from now on. And tell that to Vex and Synthia when they come back later. People are more dangerous than mutants. Vex should know that, but I think he’s gotten a little soft because of Synthia.”

“Why not tell it to them yourself…? Are you going to go back in right now?”

“It looks like I’ll need to be out for a while when Ian comes back. So I’m gonna make some progress while we have time. And put in some nice nutrition maintenance powder into the game pod.”

“Yes, sir! Please notify me if you need anything else! Have fun~!”

Koduro flew away. Most likely to go clean up the ‘offerings’ in front of the house.

“…Everyone’s busy. Can’t be the only one who’s resting. I’ll get back in after a quick wash.”

Encouraging himself, Gyosu entered the shower booth inside of the greenhouse and turned on the water without thinking.

Shwoooo—

And for two hours, he relished the pleasure of a hot shower he had forgotten.

He only went back into the game pod after eating dinner with Synthia, who was much happier after going out to play, and Vex, who nagged him about using up several days’ worth of pump water.