Chapter 335: What Can Be Done with the Tablet
The alert level has been raised to two. This means that the possibility of a horde of monsters attacking the town has shifted from a mere possibility to a near certainty. Preparations for defense are being organized throughout the town, and a request for military deployment has been sent to the kingdom.
At the Adventurer’s Guild, it seems that all requests requiring a long-term expedition into the Forest of Enchantment have been withdrawn. Instead, requests for the town’s defense have been issued, and these will be mandatory. Adventurers ranked D and above are required to accept them. Given that this town is mostly populated by D-rank adventurers and higher, it seems that nearly all adventurers will have to take on this mandatory request.
“Is that really how it’s going to be?”
As I stepped out of the office and returned to the guild’s counter hall, I found Ivan back and shared what had happened today.
“It seems like we can still accept requests for now, but who knows what will happen next…”
Ivan crossed his arms, deep in thought, but then suddenly looked up as if he remembered something.
“By the way, what happened to the knights from this morning?”
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
I answered immediately, and he looked at me with a puzzled expression. But if I don’t know, I simply don’t know, and I have no interest in it.
“Well, whatever. I didn’t like how they acted all high and mighty anyway. Honestly, it would be great if they just perished in the Forest of Enchantment.”
“Hmm. They had some decent skills, though. Who knows? Anyway, let’s just head home for a meal.”
“Food, food!”
“Woof!”
At the mention of food, Phonia and Nil perked up.
“Welcome back, Master.”
Upon returning home, El greeted me with a displeased expression, her maid mode activated.
“Did something happen?”
“A knight affiliated with the councilor left this for you.”
What she handed me was a letter sealed with an elaborate wax stamp. It felt oddly familiar, as if I had seen this scenario somewhere before.
“Could it be that I’ve been labeled a criminal?”
As I voiced my suspicion and took the letter, I opened it and began to read.
“Ah ha ha ha!”
“What does it say?”
I couldn’t help but laugh; it was exactly as I had expected. I passed the letter to Rio and relayed the contents to Ivan and the others. According to the letter, my crimes had been confirmed based on the knights’ assessment. I couldn’t help but wonder what they had seen, considering they couldn’t keep up with me. It felt more like a grudge than anything else.
“What are the charges?”
Rio, now frowning, urged me to continue.
“Um, it says here that I’m charged with lèse-majesté, robbery, and attempted murder.”
“Huh?”
As I read out the charges, both Rio and Ivan’s voices overlapped in disbelief.
“Lèse-majesté and robbery are one thing, but attempted murder? What the hell?”
“Do you have any idea about the first two?!”
Ivan reacted as usual to Rio, who didn’t deny the first two charges. I had forcibly taken items that were demanded of me, so it was likely that they twisted that into a robbery.
“I have no idea what they mean by attempted murder.”
“…I wonder if they thought they could squeeze money out of me by fabricating charges.”
“That does seem likely… It’s infuriating, but it’s a waste of time to let such people bother us.”
“Right… Well, let’s just forget about it and resolve to knock them out the next time we meet. Let’s hurry up and eat.”
Thus, we decided to forget the unpleasantness over a meal.
“So, is that the treasure from the dungeon?”
After finishing our meal, everyone, including El, gathered around the tablet.
“It looks just like the tablet I saw in Japan.”
“What can it do?”
El and Phonia were filled with curiosity, while Ivan regarded the tablet with a skeptical eye. Perhaps having seen Japan’s high-tech tablets first made him think that this world’s version was lacking.
“Let’s try a few things.”
“Yeah!”
As I admired Phonia, who was wagging her tail excitedly, I powered on the tablet. When I took it out of the Dimensional Box, the screen had been black, but pressing the button on the side brought it to life without issue.
“Machina Raise?”
El tilted her head in confusion, mirroring Rio’s reaction. It seemed neither of them had heard of it before. I pressed the “Map” option next to the menu to display the map.
“Whoa, what is this?”
“Is this… a map of the dungeon?”
“It seems so. We explored the dungeon today, and it looks like the places I mapped with my Map Skill are accurate.”
“The traps were vicious, but it feels like they suddenly became more accommodating, doesn’t it?”
Rio shrugged casually, but she had a point. The 3D map was convenient, allowing for zooming and rotation. I tapped on the second floor to see if I could check other layers, but a warning box appeared, stating that the map could not be switched.
“What the?”
“It says, ‘You do not have permission to display this.'”
“What does that even mean?”
“Wait, we can’t see it?”
Phonia pouted in disappointment. Naturally, I tapped on the menus for the third floor and beyond, but the result was the same.
“Can I touch it too?”
As I pondered over the tablet, Phonia, who had been itching to try it, timidly asked.
“Sure, go ahead.”
Thinking there was no danger, I handed the tablet to Phonia, who touched the screen with sparkling eyes.
“Ah, huh…?”
However, the moment she touched the map menu, the same message appeared: “You do not have permission to display this.” She had been able to see the first-floor map just moments ago, so why was it suddenly unavailable?