We relaxed in the massage chairs in the rest area, and by noon we returned to the room for lunch.
Lunch was a sashimi set meal.
“Raw fish for the first time in ten years, seriously.”
“And the soy sauce too… damn, this is good…”
“So happy…”
Fresh sashimi really was delicious, and it went perfectly with white rice.
“Do demons catch this stuff too?”
I asked Elvis while eating.
“Yeah. You saw the sahagin in the bath, right? Those guys are good at that sort of thing.”
Sahagin are fish-men.
Sea monsters that used to attack fishermen—but in this world, it’s the opposite. They’re basically fishermen themselves.
“Wow. I mean… I’ve got nothing but gratitude.”
Yeah, it was delicious.
“There were sahagin?”
Ayaka asked.
“Yeah. Orcs and kobolds too. The orcs were huge.”
Yeah, huge.
“Orcs really are big. Doesn’t it overflow the bath?”
“It did overflow. After the orc got out, there was barely half the water left.”
Well, it filled back up quickly anyway.
“There weren’t many on my side. There was that Medusa attendant grinning at everyone, though. And a harpy too.”
Isn’t that Medusa supposed to be working?
And a harpy? That’s a bird monster.
Does it even bathe?
“Wanna go again?”
“Hmm… maybe at night.”
“Then I might go too.”
After finishing the meal, we had nothing else to do in the afternoon, so we stayed in the room.
Which basically meant gathering information on social media again.
“Elvis, is this true? The Self-Defense Forces are recruiting soldiers?”
Ayaka showed him her phone.
“Hmm… yeah, probably. There are actually a lot of civilian soldiers lately.”
“What about the demon side?”
“There aren’t really any armies on the demon side. They don’t form groups unless they’re the same species.”
That did match the image.
“So demons still have the advantage because of strength differences?”
“Yeah. Human weapons don’t work that well on them. They probably have heavy weapons too, but they don’t really use them. Still, more humans are getting mana now, so it’s becoming harder. Those civilian soldiers are basically people like that.”
So basically adventurers.
There were even posts on social media of armed humans claiming they’d defeated demons.
“If we go to human-controlled cities, we’ll still need to be careful… huh?”
Ayaka suddenly stared at her phone.
“What is it?”
“Oh, it’s Mayumi. She says Hina got a smartphone.”
Did she get it from a succubus or something?
“I got one too, so send me their contacts.”
“Okay.”
Ayaka showed me her phone, and I registered both of their numbers.
This was only the third time in my life I’d exchanged contact info with girls my age.
Ten years for something that simple.
“Let’s try calling them.”
I called Takamiya-san on speaker.
The ringing stopped after just a few seconds.
“Hello?”
It was Takamiya-san.
“Ah, hello… it’s Takanashi…”
Talking on the phone still made me nervous.
“Huh? Takanashi-kun? This number—wasn’t it unusable?”
“I got it from Elvis. Ayaka just gave me your and Kitaura-san’s contacts.”
“Ohh, I see. I’ll tell Hina too.”
That was fast.
“Thanks. By the way, have you been able to contact your family?”
“No. It won’t connect. Hina’s the same.”
So theirs didn’t work either…
Had phone numbers really changed that much in ten years?
“Same here. Mine doesn’t work either.”
“I see…”
Her voice turned a little dark.
She was probably imagining the worst.
“So what are you guys doing right now?”
I changed the subject.
“Still at the racetrack. Linda-nee and Hina are really into it, but I’m not that interested, so I’m gathering information.”
As expected of Takamiya-san.
She was basically our vice leader.
(Somehow, I was the leader.)
“How’s it looking?”
“The Onga River lies between here and Hakata. It’s basically the front line. Things have been calm lately, no large battles, but there’s strange movement from the human side. There are rumors they might launch a large-scale offensive.”
Hmm…
“Mayumi, are you guys okay over there?”
Ayaka asked worriedly.
“Demons seem strong too. Humans are getting mana and becoming stronger, but they still can’t use magic. That advantage is huge. Also, humans don’t want to destroy their own cities, so their movements are limited. There are even groups interfering with the military.”
So that’s why they can’t just use heavy weapons.
“Good news, then. If they fired missiles, even we wouldn’t be safe.”
A handgun might still be blocked by defense magic… probably.
“Exactly. So for now it’s relatively safe. But we shouldn’t take too long either—we should head to Tokyo as fast as possible.”
If only it were that easy.
“Mayumi, can we even get to Honshu? There’s a bridge, but it’s heavily guarded, right?”
Elvis asked.
“It looks like Linda-nee’s group is handling that. So we’ll just leave it to them.”
I see…
“That Linda is really cooperative.”
“It seems like if you give them mana, they’ll help you.”
So it’s the same as Elvis.
Demons really do prioritize mana above everything.
“Then I guess it’s fine.”
“Yeah. Also, Hina and I talked a bit… should we decide on our overall direction from here on out?”
“Hm?”
“What do you mean, direction?”
“Our goal is to get to Tokyo. Basically, to see our families. But the question is what happens after that. We’re not exactly normal civilians anymore. And we’re humans. So what do we do?”
So that’s what she meant…
“I’m basically just benefiting from the demon side at this point.”
“Same here. Honestly, if you didn’t know anything, you’d just assume demons are the enemy. But after actually talking to them… it doesn’t really feel that simple. They’re just living normally too. Yeah, they’re invaders, but it almost feels like they didn’t have a choice either.”
That made sense.
We’d spent so long in another world that things weren’t as simple as they were when we were normal students living peacefully in Japan.
“It’s probably not that they came to invade—it’s more like they were forcibly transferred here, just like us.”
“Exactly. So what do we do? If we don’t decide that now, we won’t be able to act when it matters.”
Yeah…
“I’ll think about it here too. We’re leaving tomorrow anyway, so we’ve got time.”
“Got it. We’ll think about it too. But ultimately, Takanashi-kun, you decide. We’ll follow your lead.”
“Huh? Me?”
“You’re the one who can make potions and maintain weapons. Without you, we can’t fight safely. So it naturally comes down to your judgment.”
Hmm… I feel more like a low-level support role than a leader.
“Well, I’ll think about it, but you guys should think too.”
“Of course. We’ll keep looking for information on Minato and Riku too.”
“Thanks.”
“Roger. Talk later!”
With a cheerful tone, the call ended.
“…So I really have to decide this?”
I looked at Ayaka.
“Well, you’re the leader.”
“If I turned into a tyrant, would you still follow me?”
“You wouldn’t become one. That’s why you’ve been the leader for five years. Also—you’re basically our ‘boss,’ remember?”
“Right…”
Well, I do tend to choose the safe option…
Hm?
My phone went ping.
I checked it.
[High School Alliance Group Chat]
Mayumi: I made a consultation room~ Feel free to ask anything~ How’s it going over there?
I’d been added to a group chat.
Yuu: We’re at an inn right now. We’re sharing a room… what should we do?
Mayumi: Go for it, Ayaka.
Useless consultation room…
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!