Volume 4 Chapter 5Posted on February 25, 2017
Chapter 5 ~ Secret Base“Our rewards are not bad at all.”
As Ellie said, the amount of money we got is a lot compared to the efforts we put in.
The next morning, we gather in the living room to discuss our earnings.
Earlier, I already went to the guild and received the rewards. The guild vice leader was surprised that we managed to finish the quest yesterday, but he didn’t doubt my Guild Card and Tilika’s testimony.
I told him that there might be a possibility that there are some Harpy survivors which we didn’t encounter yesterday, but he said that matter is not a problem. I managed to get him to pay us double the amount as promised.
“This is far from bad. Adventurer’s quests are really profitable.”
“But this is to be expected.”
We took down one Orc and 28 Harpies. Our earning from this quest is reasonable. Still, although the rewards for Harpy subjugation was doubled, it didn’t even reach one Big Boar’s level of money. From now on, we’ve decided to divide the income fairly between the party members.
“It will be divided between the 5 of us as a pocket money. The amount will be the same for each of us.”
Usually, a normal adventurer’s party will focus on improving their gear and buying consumables. However, it is different for us since we’re more focused on magic. The only thing that needs to be restocked is Sati’s arrows. But even that can be reduced by recollecting the shot arrows.
Even though I still need to consider our living expenses, I think there is still plenty of room for other things.
“That’s okay.”
“Um, I don’t need this much. Please take it back.”
“Me too. I already have savings of my own. I think I don’t need that much. It’s not like I contributed much this time either.”
Satie and Ann looked at their amounts and said such a thing.
Tilika just stares blankly during our conversation. There’s not one ounce of excitement that can be felt from her.
In our living room, we have a large carpet which can be used to lie down. Sati and Tilika are sitting on top of it.
“You can’t. You guys still need to receive it. If you don’t use it now, then keep it as your savings. Like this we won’t have to worry when we retire.”
“That’s right. This is our debut quest as a team, that’s why I hope that everyone will receive their rewards properly.”
“As expected, for someone who had difficulties defeating a Wild Rabbit for their first time, Masaru’s words have a lot of persuasive power.”
So mean, Ellie! You know that story left a scar deep in my heart!
“You sure you want to say that, Ellie? Think again, just where is your fried chicken right now!”
“*gasp*!? How dare you take my fried chickens hostage!?”
“Kukuku. Too bad for this fried chicken…”
“What do you mean by that?” -Ann
“You won’t take it out for me anymore?” -Ellie
“Right. You fine with that? I sure am.”
“Fine. I’m sorry for saying something cheeky.”
The wand Ellie is holding produces some sparks while producing a *clatter**clatter* sound. Seems like unlocking a level doesn’t only unlock lightning based spells, but also allows her to freely control electricity to some extent. She nabbed my sides which hurts a lot.
“This time we got some unexpected earnings
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from our training. Even though we’re just training at the part of forest which is still near the town.”
Seems like Ellie has decided to continue to our main topic.
“Still, that forest has some goods opponents inside.”
For my current level, I think that I will fare well even against a dragon. But there is no way I’ll do something that dangerous.
“The monsters inside the forest nearby the town are still not strong enough. We need to go deeper inside.”
“I see. We can transfer too now, which will help.”
“I was thinking about that before, so I registered one checkpoint at the Harpy’s location yesterday.”
“Ooh!”
“But do you think we’re going to be okay to delve deeper inside?”
Ann asked, worried. Naturally, for a beginner adventurer like her, the thought of exploring even deeper inside must have scared her. That is not a place for some novice.
“Well, deeper inside, usually we can find an Orc village or something similar. But with Tilika’s reconnaissance skill, it won’t become a problem. Right, Tilika?”
“If it is big enough then there is no way Hawk can miss it.”
“True. Even if the situation gets out of hand, we still can escape by using transfer. We can return back by nighttime too.”
“[s.p.a.ce Magic] is really convenient. Don’t you think so, Masaru sama.”
I saw that Ellie is now smiling. Seems like her mood is getting better.
“Ann and Tilika too, faster learn new magic.”
This time, both Ellie and Tilika managed to level up. We need to have a talk about it.
“I’m going to save my points for now. I want to upgrade my s.p.a.ce Magic.”
“I wonder what skill will be unlocked for level 5 s.p.a.ce Magic?”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure that it’ll be an amazing spell!”
“Yea. It’s great to get a hold of an amazing spell.”
When I give it some thought, I wonder if level 5 s.p.a.ce Magic will be capable of sending me back to j.a.pan. Even if it is possible, I think it won’t reach an extent where I’m capable of free travel between both worlds.
But if I do manage to come back, then I wonder if the timing will be during when I first disappeared or the same time as this world. Whatever, if I do want to get back, then it’s better for me to let Ito G.o.d handle it.
Regarding to this matter, I had especially asked G.o.d about it before. After everything has ended, I’ll be given the choice to either stay here or return back. At that time, I need to make a decision. Whether I can bring along my wives is still unknown. Between a can or a cannot, I’ll just hope for the best.
Although I’m currently inclined to stay here, my mind still can’t let go of j.a.pan.
“How about you, Tilika?”
“[Summoning Magic].”
To raise her [Summoning Magic] to level 4 requires 8P. Then, she is keeping the points for now too.
“Alright, this concludes our meeting. We can take it easy today. Tomorrow, we will return back into the forest.”
“Then, today Ellie can learn cooking.”
Ann said while smiling.
“Err that, I’m planning to take a rest today…”
“That won’t do. It’s time for you to seriously learn cooking. You must be capable of cooking a decent meal at least.”
“Umm, it is bad to waste the ingredients carelessly you know.”
“It’s alright. If that happens then we’ll be able to troubleshoot Ellie’s failure. Just leave everything to me.”
Ann grabbed Ellie by her shoulder and forcibly dragged her to the kitchen. Tilika and Sati followed them. Alright now, what should I do? Watching all my wives cooking together might be fun.
While alone in the living room, I start thinking about plans for tomorrow. Yesterday, we didn’t encounter many demons other than the Harpies. Maybe it was caused by the ma.s.sive flocks of Harpies settling in nearby. If we advance deeper inside, then we might encounter more demons. If we leave the town with transfer and then come back after half a day, then it is possible to raise our level easily.
That time I suddenly noticed something. When we went out of the town yesterday, we went through the gate. But after that we simply teleported back. I wonder if the gatekeeper will get suspicious. Each time a person go through the gate, they will only check the card. No report is taken. It’s okay if that person is just a normal civilian, but as for me, I’m on good terms with those guards.
After realizing it, I run towards the kitchen in panic.
“Oi, bad news!”
“What’s wrong?”
Ann made a worried face, and the other 3 face me.
“Last time, we went out normally through the main gate. But on the way back, we didn’t pa.s.s through it. Other people still don’t know that our party has a Transfer mage!”
I’m on pretty friendly terms with those gatekeepers. If they found out that I’ve not come back after several days, then they might possibility organize a search team for me. I need to explain this to everyone.
“This is really bad.”
Ellie who is practicing with the kitchen knife joins our discussion.
“What now? Should we tell them that we entered by using Levitation Magic?”
“That’s a good idea. I already reported our quest with the Guild. If by any chance they double check everything, I bet they will become suspicious.”
“If we are busted using Transfer Magic, then won’t it turn bad?”
“A scout/recruiter/reporter might come to meet us. I’m an aristocrat from the Empire, so if the story goes out then things will get very troublesome.”
Everyone enters into thinking mode. I’m not worried. As long as there are ideas to hide this situation, I’m okay.
“Let’s do it like this. Masaru, go show your face at the East Gate. Last time we left using the West gate.”
“Will that work?”
“It’ll be fine. They will never question you.”
“Got it. I will go outside now.”
Fortunately, we left the gate yesterday morning. This amount of times should still be within normal range. It would be fine if we normally drop by the gate and say h.e.l.lo.
“Would you like Pani to accompany you?”
It’s better for me to have the summoned beasts along when we’re separated into 2 teams. Although I can’t get detailed information from them, by making simple gestures I can still receive an indication of yes or no from Tilika. It’s not necessary to do it when we’re still near town, but it won’t hurt to be ready. This is because things like phone doesn’t exists in this world.
“Safe journey, Masaru sama.”
“Be careful.”
I put Tilika’s mouse inside my pocket and leave the house.
The temperature outside the house is really cold. Today is the 21st day of the twelve month. It will be 3 months and 10 day since I arrived here. Looking around I find out that the climate around here is not much different from j.a.pan. At first, I wondered why the calendar of this world is exactly the same as the one from j.a.pan. But thinking back, I bet Ito G.o.d simply imported the same setting. It’s very convenient though, to have an accurate calendar.
From the main street, I approached the gate pretending to take a walk.
Today, the usual gatekeeper is in duty. He seems to notice me approaching.
“Isn’t it Masaru. Since when have you come back?”
“I’m back since yesterday.”
I look at the West Gate. My house is also on that side. I cannot tell a lie.
“Ah, is that so. Then, what quest did you take for your new party?”
“Remember the Harpies that raided our town last time? Our party was tasked to find their nest and destroy it.”
“Wow. That’s quite a feat.”
“Well, it did take quite an effort.”
“Still, the nest was located within a day’s distance. Considering the size of the flocks, I bet there are more inside the forest.”
Thinking about it carefully, the nest we destroyed might not be the only one. I don’t know because we never did explore the surroundings much.
“You’re right. I’ll try to search harder the next time I go.”
“Ah, I’m counting on you. We will leave this stuff to people like you because it is not our job.”
“They are paying the rewards accordingly too.”
“True. Since you are man of 4 wives now, you need to gain extra income.”
“Yes. Well, I just dropped by to report that I’ve come back. I’m going now.”
“Roger. Send my regards to your wives!”
This should be enough. Since I’m out, should I go to the shopping district? I have read all my books, so now I want to find a new one.
“With this, my mission is completed. I’ll go back home after shopping for a while.”
I talk to the mouse in my pocket. Then the mouse shook it head.
“I need to go back now you said?”
This time the mouse squeaked.
“Alrighty. I’ll come back soon.”
I wonder what exactly has happened. I start rushing towards my house. But if something happened, then they should have relayed the message earlier.
When I arrived home, everyone already gathered at the dinner table.
“Welcome back Masaru. Now we can use the Team Transfer spell without any worries.”
When I get to my seat, Ann said so.
The problem is like this. Jumping from here directly to the forest and hunting means that you did a hunt when there was no evidence of getting out of town.
In other words, if we set the transfer point outside of the town, then we can transfer to the hunting point after we go out of the gate, and go back to the point outside the town and return back through the gate normally. The number of monsters near the town is not the same as the numbers deep inside the forest. Inside the forest, there are many more monsters and a higher variety of them. Next problem is, if we somehow manage to hunt lots of monsters within a daytrip distance from the town, then a survey group might be dispatched by the guild.
“Like this, we don’t need to camp out inside the dangerous forest, since we are able to go back anytime.”
What Ann said was reasonable. It was said that camping inside the forest can prove to be fatal since the place is not secured from monsters and it can be dangerous.
“We will be wasted in the morning if we were to stay alert the whole night. There is no way I’ll let that happen.”
Ellie also agreed.
“We can get a good night’s sleep at home.”
Is this fine though? Won’t we get caught doing this?
“Surely, it is nice if this plan is not exposed. But if we are found out then it will turn bad.”
“That’s why I keep asking you to find a bigger house. If the house is big, then there is less chance to get exposed.”
“It’s to be expected. This is the only house that fit my conditions, plus I don’t have much money.”
I already used up lots of money during our ceremony last time. I still need to return some money to Nania san.
“How about we ask someone to house watch? If we leave this house, then it’s not strange for that to happen. But if there is at least one person here, then I think it’s not weird if there is a sign of used bath or smell of cooking.”
“Then who is staying?”
Ann played devil’s advocate.
“There is no actual need to leave the house. If we set a secret place within this house, then it won’t be suspicious even if we’re here when we are supposed to be outside for the whole day.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Can’t we create an underground place by using Earth Magic? We just need to be wary of the entrance. That way we can spend our time safely, don’t you agree?”
“That is a good idea too. But isn’t it troublesome to do it every time?”
In term of magical power capacity, then it is possible. But doing it every now or then can be too troublesome.
“In that case, how about we prepare the cellar under this house?”
“Won’t the bas.e.m.e.nt get damp?”
“Still, compared to when we’re camping outdoor, that condition is still preferable.”
Ellie is listening to the cellar plan while contracting her eyebrows, but Ann seems to agree.
“Like that, we need to spend some time to create the room inside.”
We can use a pin code as safety measure. If we’re able to apply this then it is easy to create a comfortable environment.
“This is still not a final solution. Hey, why don’t we just let everyone know?”
“Can’t do. I don’t want them to raise me to S rank just because of my ability as a Transfer mage.”
“Moreover, if my ability is exposed, then those people will immediately come to me asking for help.” -Masaru
Ellie who is very bad in s.p.a.ce Magic can suddenly transfer the whole party. Won’t it cause some uproar? They will ask just how did she manage to do it.
“Are you okay with keeping it hidden all the time?”
“Of course, ideally I want to reach S rank, but A rank is quite enough. If I raise myself as an adventurer, then they won’t know me for my spell only.”
The point here is that she wants to prove that her ability as an adventurer is more prominent than her Transfer spell. Ellie’s basic idea is when she has a proven track record then people will stop a.s.sessing her for her Transfer spell alone.
“How about making the base somewhere secluded? In the Empire there is a story saying that a wise man built a tower somewhere in a remote place, and is living there.”
A tower? It seems to be possible to build one by using the Earth Magic, but what if there is an earthquake? If that place has many earthquakes, then won’t it be dangerous?
“Aren’t there any earthquakes?”
“Earthquakes? Ah, you mean when the ground does some shaking and stuff. There are none around this area.”
In that case, I think it will manage to survive somehow? Build a tower, surround the surroundings with a fence, think about interior decoration. All of this will surely take a lot of time.
“Don’t you want to move to another town?”
“That will be difficult. Even though I’ve been staying in this town since the start, didn’t I already manage to create a record by defeating many demons?”
As expected, the best way not to get exposed is by camping outdoors. However, Ellie’s transfer spell will be wasted. If we don’t need money then we can simply put the Guild Card inside my Item Box, hunt while keeping the prey inside my storage, and release them somewhere else afterward. Man, that sounds like a crime.
“For now, why don’t we try to dig a bas.e.m.e.nt.”
For now, I will create the cellar. I’ll make the decision based on the results. The hunt will be postponed for a while.
“I wonder if this is good.”
Right now, I’ve already cleared the living room’s floor. Then we dug out the floor for about 2-meter square until the soil appeared.
I use Earth Magic to carefully dig the floor. The dug soil will be turned into a rock, then put inside my Item Box. I continue digging downwards until I feel that the height can comfortably fit a person’s body. Inside the hole, I will change the soil into a stone wall so that it won’t easily collapse. After that I made the staircase. Then I dug out horizontally for about 3 meters’ square.
The soil is a bit wet. This town has a river flowing very close to it, and if I dig through it, I may hit the underground water source. Maybe it’s not a good idea to dig too deeply.
I activate my Light magic, and continue to dig around. After some time, I get used to the process and start creating a bas.e.m.e.nt. Our members are all short, so there is no worry about the height. I myself am 160 cm. By holding my hand upwards, I tried to guess a comfortable size.
When night comes, I’ve created one room of the same size as the living room, three other small rooms, and one room for the toilet.
I tried to adjust the cellar to be within the house’s garden. I don’t think that the bas.e.m.e.nt was stretched out to the streets, so it should be okay. There should be no problem if I add a vent somewhere afterward. Even though I did a lot of reinforcing with the wall, I still can’t reach the level of marble. Still, I managed to make it as hard as concrete, and I believe that it has that nice feeling. Because I’m afraid that it might collapse, I hardened the ceiling too.
“Oh my. This is better than I thought.”
Ellie who didn’t contribute any work comes to the bas.e.m.e.nt to see the progress.
“Right, right. I had a hard time building all this you know.”
I worked from morning till nighttime. Who knew that a NEET like me who doesn’t know anything about architecture was capable of building a wonderful bas.e.m.e.nt like this. Magic sure is useful.
“Like this, even if we were to go hunting, it will still be okay.”
“Tomorrow I’ll try to get some beds and put them inside here.”
“Putting that aside, Masaru, you’re so dirty. I already prepared the bath so please get in.”
Usually I’m in charge of preparing the bath. But this time she did it for me. Sometimes you’re so kind, Ellie.
“Then, join me?”
“Hmm, okay. I will wash your back as a reward for your hard work today.”
Ooh! She gives the approval!
We have taken a bath together from time to time, but this is the first time she offered to wash my back.
I’m excited during our bath time. I had my head and back washed pleasantly by Ellie. Suddenly, Sati called to say that dinner is ready. Ellie abruptly stopped her service.
“Masaru still needs some scrubbing to clean his body. Sati, please help me finish it.”
“Yes, Elizabeth sama. I’ll wash his back.”
…the dinner is ready, so it can’t be helped. Yes, too bad. Calm down, me.
Ann’s dinner is tasty as usual. After dinner, I pulled Ellie back into the bath. I had her continue her earlier duty. Of course, this time, there is neither a time limit nor interference.
The next day, I go to buy some furniture. I design the interior based on everyone’s requests.
The doorway connecting the living room and cellar is hidden under the sofa. The hole under the sofa is just 2 square meters.
In case of emergency, I can still use Earth Magic to block the entrance. What kind of emergency, I still don’t know yet.
Eventually we went out hunting. We have come to the conclusion that as long we keep ourselves inside the cellar during our hunting period, then we won’t get busted. After we went out from the gate, we use team transfer into the forest. During the day, we are aiming to hunt until Gorbas Fortress. At night, we will return to the bas.e.m.e.nt and sleep.
Even if we use some magic, since there are lots of others who use magic around the same time, we will not be noticeable, even by Magical Sense.
It’s already near 3 months since I started living in this house. When I renewed the contract, I already paid for half a year worth of rent. I also created a secret base here. Like this I’ll be counting on this house for a while longer.