Chapter 286: First Report
That night, I busily created social media accounts on my smartphone. Of course, I didn’t expect to earn any real money from posting videos. It was more of a side project because Phonia wanted to be seen. Since I’m not usually in this world, I figured there was no harm in revealing my true identity.
“Alright, let’s see… ‘Look at my adorable child!’ That should do it.”
With a tap, Phonia was sent out into the world. Still, I hadn’t come up with any solid ways to make money. Since products from the Otherworld don’t sell well, it might be best to just provide them to Mr. Jinpei and the others for now. There’s no rush, so I decided to take my time thinking it over.
The next day, I took everyone with me on the train for shopping. By the way, I had already sent Nil to the Otherworld ahead of time. He had to stay in a cage during the train ride, and I told him he would likely have to wait at the store entrance once we arrived. He responded immediately, understanding the situation. I had made sure to instruct him to listen to Mesaria-san, so I figured he would be fine.
“I’ve thought this since the first time I saw it, but there are so many people…” El complained as she looked around the train, which was packed just past nine in the morning.
“Morning rush hour is even crazier,” I replied.
“Yeah, even when the train doors open, it’s packed. It’s common to have no space to get on.”
“Exactly! There was a time I couldn’t get off the train and almost ended up late.”
“Totally relatable.”
As we reminisced about our experiences, Ivan glanced around the train.
“So, this is considered less crowded?”
He sighed as he spoke. While the seats were filled, there were hardly any standing passengers. Phonia was glued to the window, gazing at the scenery outside. Enjoying our train journey, we finally arrived at our destination: the warehouse store.
We brought in two large carts and began tossing products into them. Naturally, the items Phonia selected with sparkling eyes were also going into the cart. Even if we didn’t use this amount daily, it wouldn’t last a month.
“If we run out, we’ll just have to come back for more.”
“It would be nice if we could make some over there too,” Rio added.
Her words sparked a realization in me that it was time to put into action something I had previously considered.
“Then let’s get the Soy Sauce and Miso Handmade Kit as well.”
“Is that the one you mentioned before?”
“Exactly. Once we translate the instructions from Japanese to their language, we can just leave the rest to them, right?”
I found the handmade kit and tossed it into the cart.
“That sounds great! I’m interested in making miso and soy sauce too, so maybe we can try it together. Of course, I’ll have El help out as well.”
“Of course! If I can make it myself, I’ll definitely give it my all.”
“I’ll join too!”
“Ha ha, then let’s all make it together at least once.”
As we each filled our carts with our favorite items, it didn’t take long for both carts to be overflowing.
“Let’s check out once and come back again.”
“Sounds good. Shall we have lunch first and then return?”
“Yeah!”
“Please do that.”
“…You all have so much energy.”
While we were all pumped up, Ivan seemed to be full and perhaps a bit bored from all the shopping. But I figured I’d keep him with us until the end. After having lunch, we stored our purchases in the Dimensional Box and continued shopping, returning to the Otherworld around evening.
“Lord Shu. New information has arrived.”
As soon as we returned to the Fairy Inn in Fairy Valley, Mesaria-san rushed over, looking flustered.
“New information?”
“Yes. It seems to be connected to Kaede-sama.”
“Seriously?”
“Wait, isn’t that information gathering a bit too fast?”
We were all surprised, but Ivan had a strange expression on his face. Although this world had a slow information relay, it seemed that spreading smartphones had made a significant impact.
“Let’s hear what it is.”
We were in the office of the inn, so once everyone gathered around the table, Mesaria-san began to explain.
“First, the location is the Commercial City Comets in the Commercial Nation Aresgute.”
“I see… So the place where we got the smartphone was the closest.”
“Yes, that’s correct. And the person discovered is the one depicted in the drawing you provided, Lord Shu.”
Mesaria-san placed the photo we had given her on the table. It showed a woman with unhealthy-looking wine-red hair and a sharp gaze.
“Wow, so they found her?”
Mesaria-san nodded in response to my question. I hadn’t expected to find a lead so quickly, but if they had found someone connected, it meant we were getting closer to finding Kaede. Now, all we could do was hope she was still alive…
“We’ve already contacted the locals. Should we head out immediately?”
Looking around, I noticed Phonia was dozing off, and Ivan appeared tired as well.
“Well… I think we’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
Even though we had found information quickly, there was no need to rush. I decided it was best to rest well before heading out.