Chapter 305: The Visitors
“Good morning.”
“Good morning. They’re here again today.”
Suppressing a yawn, I stepped into the living room to greet Rio, who was already awake and pointing towards the entrance. It seemed I was the last to rise; everyone else was already up. The beds in the Camping House were surprisingly comfortable, making it easy to oversleep sometimes. And when our morning departure is delayed, it occasionally leads to unexpected visitors.
“Well then, I’ll be right back.”
After washing my face and feeling refreshed, I opened the door and stepped outside. It appeared today’s visitors were a passing adventurer party.
“Oh, hello there. Are you fellow adventurers? We’re just regular adventurers, so no need to mind us.”
I pulled out my Mithril Adventurer’s Certificate from under my collar and hung it around my neck for them to see, waving my hand dismissively as if to shoo them away. Reactions varied: some shrugged and walked away, others grew increasingly wary, and a few approached with narrowed eyes. Perhaps it was because the path led towards the Forest of Enchantment, a place known for its formidable monsters, that many of the travelers here were seasoned adventurers.
“What is this?! There’s never been anything like this by the roadside before!”
One female adventurer approached, her voice rising with indignation.
“What do you mean? This is our mobile base.”
“What? A base? This thing?!”
Leaving the bewildered adventurer behind, I returned to the Camping House, making sure to lock the door securely. She seemed like she could become a nuisance.
“Welcome back.”
“I’m back.”
“There are always idle folks around, huh?”
Ivan grumbled, but I understood his curiosity. It’s only natural to be intrigued by something unfamiliar on a well-known path. Still, we were aware of what we were doing. After some time living in this Otherworld, we had grown more brazen. I suppose one could say we were getting used to it.
“By the way, about yesterday’s message, haven’t you heard back from Mr. Jinpei?”
We had all shared the message we received from Mr. Jinpei yesterday. Even though there’s a time difference between Japan and here, it wouldn’t be surprising if a reply had come in overnight.
“Yeah…”
But it felt like a hassle to head over there just to get my smartphone online. It consumes quite a bit of Magic Power. …Should I try making a small hole to connect the two spaces?
“…Oh, did it connect?”
After creating a thirty-centimeter diameter hole to link the two spaces, the smartphone’s signal icon changed from “out of range” to a single bar of reception after a moment.
“Huh? …Oh, it really did.”
Rio pulled out her smartphone to check, and it seemed she too was no longer out of range. If it wasn’t just me, then it must be properly connected.
“It looks like it’s connected. I just opened the weather forecast.”
“Wow, oh, I got a reply!”
When I opened the message, it was indeed a response from Mr. Jinpei. He mentioned he could spare some time in four days and asked if I could come.
“Got it.”
I replied and informed everyone that I would be heading back to Japan in four days. El had expressed a strong desire for a sharkskin grater.
“Well then, shall we eat breakfast and get going?”
“Sure!”
“Alright!”
“Woof!”
With Rio’s cheerful call, everyone responded in kind. As we settled at the table where breakfast was already prepared, a loud banging echoed from the entrance. The muffled voice of the female adventurer from earlier could be heard demanding we open the door immediately. It was quite bothersome. I vowed to modify the entrance later to prevent such noise from reaching us, but for now, I quickly cast a Spatial Isolation Barrier over the door.
“Oh, it’s quiet now.”
Ivan remarked, drawing everyone’s attention back to the breakfast spread on the table.
“Well then, let’s eat.”
“““Let’s eat!”””
As if the noise from the entrance had never existed, we enjoyed our breakfast and proceeded to prepare for our departure.
Once we finished getting ready and stepped outside, we found the female adventurer from earlier leaning against the ground, propping herself up with a hefty halberd. Her yellow hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head, and her scarred face bore a grin that held a certain intimidating charm. However, the lanky man standing behind her with a troubled expression somewhat diminished that intimidation.
“Finally decided to show up, huh?”
The woman smirked, but her companion let out a heavy sigh in response.
“Oh, you’re still here?”
I had sensed their presence but decided to voice it anyway.
“What did you say, you punk?! After we asked you multiple times, you finally show up, and that’s your response?!”
It was clear that they hadn’t been asking us for anything, but apparently, that was how they saw it.
“That lady is scary.”
Ivan was visibly taken aback, hiding behind Phonia.
“Honestly, I have no obligation to listen to whatever request you think you made.”
“What?!”
Ignoring the furious female adventurer, I stored the now-empty Camping House into the Dimensional Box.
“—Huh?!”
She exclaimed, her tone shifting dramatically as she froze in place. The man behind her stood there, mouth agape, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Let’s get going while we can.”
“Yeah, it seems like it could get noisy.”
“No objections here.”
Eager to leave, Ivan helped Phonia onto Nil’s back. After a brief stretch, we picked up the pace and set off down the road towards the Forest of Enchantment.
“…Hey, wait up!”
Leaving the bewildered duo of adventurers behind.