Higashikami Town

Beside me, Elena’s expression suddenly brightened as she looked around the storeroom.

“There’s rice, flour, and curry roux, too!”

It was a small storeroom of about four tatami mats in size. The inventory stored there consisted mainly of heavy food items. There was probably around five hundred kilograms of rice alone. Including the flour, there was enough food to sustain approximately ten people for an entire year.

After seeing how much food there was, Elena began crying tears of joy. She must have been having a difficult time obtaining food.

“But how are we going to carry all this?”

“I’ll carry it for you.”

“Really? …Oh, but you’re the one who discovered this place, Maki-san. Could you spare us some of the food?”

“There’s more food here than I could ever eat. Take as much as you like.”

“Really? Thank you so much!”

“By the way, where do you need this food delivered?”

“I’m living at a nursery school in Higashikami Town.”

“Got it. I’ll carry it there. But I’ll have to start tomorrow.”

“Can’t we do it today?”

“My backpack is already full.”

I opened my backpack and showed her what was inside. Seeing the portable gas stove and pot, Elena made a suggestion.

“Why don’t you leave the things that aren’t food here and carry some food instead?”

“How much food do you need for today and tomorrow?”

“Enough for ten people would be…”

I left the portable gas stove and pot in the storeroom and placed a ten-kilogram bag of rice in my backpack. Elena also stuffed as many bags of flour as she could into her own backpack.

After leaving the storeroom, we made sure to close the fire door securely.

“Lead the way to the nursery school.”

Elena and I began walking side by side. After walking for a while, I noticed that Inuyama Town had an unusually large number of Goblins.

“Why are there so many Goblins around here?”

“Because this is the Goblin Zone.”

Apparently, the names people used for different areas had changed after the day Aberrant Beasts appeared in Japan. Inuyama Town had become known as the Goblin Zone, Tennoji Town as the Beastman Zone, and Saikyo Town as the Strange Beast Zone.

“Are Goblins the only monsters living in the Goblin Zone?”

“No, there are Bad Rats and Magnebu Birds, too. But there seem to be fewer of them compared to the Goblins.”

We encountered a Goblin. I took out a throwing knife, gripped it between my fingers by the blade, and threw it. The knife completed half a rotation in midair before sinking into the Goblin’s chest as though drawn toward it, killing the creature instantly.

Elena looked astonished.

“That’s amazing. Fighting a Goblin is a matter of life and death for me.”

“I trained my skills on the island.”

Elena tilted her head.

“What do you mean by training your skills?”

I didn’t understand what Elena found so strange about that. After listening to her explanation, I learned that people here apparently used Skill Points to raise their Skill Levels.

“Wait a minute. How do you raise a Skill Level?”

“What? You don’t know? You can do it from the Status screen.”

When I asked for details, she explained that by opening the Skill Selection list on the Status screen and mentally moving it to the left, another list would appear showing the skills whose levels could be increased.

“I-I had no idea.”

Elena gave me an exasperated look.

“Then how did you raise your Skill Levels?”

“Skill Levels increase through practice and actual combat. I thought everyone else was raising theirs the same way.”

“But wouldn’t that take a long time?”

“Yeah, but it saves Skill Points.”

“Maki-san, you must have quite a few skills, don’t you?”

“I’ve got several, but I don’t know whether that’s considered a lot. I’ve never compared mine with anyone else’s.”

“My individual level is only ‘02,’ so I have just four skills.”

Apparently, the number displayed under [Level] on the Status screen was called one’s individual level.

“Huh. My individual level is ‘20,’ and I’ve got thirteen skills.”

“That’s incredible. But you really shouldn’t tell other people your individual level so readily.”

“But you’re the one who told me yours first, Elena-san.”

“My individual level is low, so people would just laugh at me if I told them. But you’re different, Maki-san. You’re incredibly strong. I think other people might become wary of you.”

“Is that how it works? I’ll be more careful from now on.”

By the time we left the Goblin Zone, I’d defeated four Goblins. Since Goblins possessed the darkness attribute, their Heartstones were particularly valuable to me.

The Higashisuna River came into view ahead. Once we crossed Shimojo Bridge, we would enter Higashikami Town. As we approached the bridge, I exclaimed in surprise.

“What the heck is that?”

“That’s a fortress built to keep Aberrant Beasts away.”

A wall had been constructed in front of Shimojo Bridge. It surrounded the end of the bridge and appeared to be a thick reinforced-concrete defensive barrier. It really did resemble a fortress.

Elena knocked on a steel door at one end of the fortress.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s Elena from Taiga Nursery School.”

The heavy-looking door creaked open. Elena and I stepped inside. The interior of the fortress was a bare, unadorned space with nothing but a roof overhead. Apparently, three men were responsible for guarding it.

“Hey, who’s that guy with you?”

One of the men guarding the fortress asked Elena. His name was Kiichi Sakuma. He was around forty years old and had a sturdy build.

“He’s Maki-san from Saikyo Town. He’s been living on an island for the past six months and only just returned.”

“Huh, an island? Were there monsters on that island, too?”

I nodded. Then I told him about the Lizardmen and Minotaurs. He looked disappointed to learn that Aberrant Beasts had appeared even in places like isolated islands.

“So, did you find any food?”

“Yes. This is for you and the others, Sakuma-san.”

Elena handed Sakuma two bags of flour. Apparently, in exchange for guarding the fortress, the men received a share of the food brought back by those who ventured outside to search for supplies. It wasn’t an established rule, but Elena seemed grateful to Sakuma and the others for preventing Goblins from entering.

Sakuma and the others were delighted to see the flour.

“Flour, huh? Looks like we’ll finally get to eat bread again.”

We crossed Shimojo Bridge and entered Higashikami Town. This town was an area that had been left behind by development. Apparently, Taiga Nursery School was located in the residential neighborhood near its center.

Apart from the residential area, most of the town consisted of farmland. There were many fields and orchards near the houses, while rice paddies were more common toward the mountains to the east. There was also a fishing harbor near the coast, where fishing boats were moored. However, I’d heard that they couldn’t go fishing because there was no fuel.

Taiga Nursery School wasn’t a particularly large facility. Around ten children were playing in its yard. A middle-aged nursery teacher named Nakazono was looking after them by herself.

“It’s Elena-sensei!”

The young children came running toward her. In no time at all, Elena was surrounded by them. She seemed very popular.

“Mister, who are you?”

I was hurt by the question from one of the children. I wasn’t old enough to be called mister.

Elena hurriedly introduced me.

“This nice young man is Kojiro-san.”

One of the children looked at me and said,

“Kojiro!”

That was what he called me. Elena looked rather troubled. For some reason, I found her expression amusing and laughed.

“What’s your name?”

“Korechika! I’m five!”

“Very good. You can even tell me how old you are.”

Korechika gave me a broad grin. Arriving here had brought me a strange sense of relief. When I’d seen Saikyo Town transformed into a ghost town, I’d wondered whether humanity had reached its end. But apparently, people were still surviving here, showing remarkable resilience.