Chapter 28
Oh boy...
There are troublesome people here again.
I sigh inwardly.
Hiding in a corner of the parking lot, I watch what is happening.
So there are twelve people who fled here in all.
Most of them are middle-aged or older.
The students, by contrast, number five in all.
They look like delinquents through and through.
They hold iron pipes and survival knives, intimidating the people who came seeking refuge.
...There are people inside the home improvement store, too.
At least four.
The distance is a little too great, and at my current level of 'Enemy Search,' I can't cover the entire home improvement store, but it looks like at least some of their companions are inside, too.
I use the 'Eavesdrop' Skill to listen in on their conversation.
"We claimed this place first. Go somewhere else!"
"P-please, don't say that. Please let us in. At least the children..."
"We don't have room for that! Fend for yourselves. Damn it."
"Please, we're begging you. Please."
The same sort of exchange kept repeating.
Now, what should I do?
For now, it's best to leave them alone.
There's nothing in it for me.
More importantly, I'd rather not stick my neck out and saddle myself with trouble.
Maybe because the refugees were getting too persistent, one of the students came outside.
He looked flashy, but not vulgar.
He had the sort of air that made it easy to accept the look as just his fashion.
The delinquents at the entrance looked surprised, so he was probably their leader.
"What's this commotion?"
"N-Nishino-san. These guys—"
The students at the entrance explained the situation to the student called Nishino-san.
The refugees also looked relieved at the appearance of a young man who seemed capable of talking things out.
After hearing everything, he stepped in front of the refugees.
"...I've heard your story. To get straight to the point, we cannot accept you."
"N-no...—"
Despair settled over the refugees' faces.
"However, under certain conditions, we would be willing to accept you into our group."
Conditions...?
Only cute girls?
A sleazy thought crossed my mind, but he said something entirely different.
"Does anyone here have experience killing monsters? If so, we'll take you in."
...What?
The refugees were bewildered by that condition.
"...It doesn't seem like any of you have. Then, even now, go kill a single monster. All of you, of course. If you do so, we may accept you."
The people who had fled here shouted about what nonsense he was talking, but I understood.
Killing monsters. I knew what that meant.
"...Those students have Skills."
I didn't know what level they were, but they must have at least some ability to fight monsters.
Furthermore, if they had chosen this home improvement store as their base, it was a sound choice. They wouldn't have to worry about weapons or food here.
"In this world as it is now, killing monsters raises your level and grants you Skills and Jobs—the power to fight monsters. This is a fact we've established by risking our lives over the past two days. If you insist on 'helping one another,' then we want something in return as well. We want a return in the form of 'combat power.'"
Huh. That was unexpected.
They're actually presenting their information and conditions properly.
Despite their appearance, their position is pretty reasonable.
But the refugees apparently couldn't believe what he was saying.
They shouted things like, "What the hell are you talking about, you heartless bastard!" "Skills and levels? This isn't a game! Don't be ridiculous!" and "Are you out of touch with reality!?"
Come on...
You're the ones who are far more out of touch with reality.
Besides, you people have done nothing but run away. You have no right to criticize them. At least they fought monsters and learned about this world; they're far more admirable than you are.
In a situation where no one knew whether help would arrive, food was a limited resource.
Anyone would prioritize themselves and the people close to them in circumstances like these.
What's more, surviving while burdened with people who couldn't contribute was virtually impossible.
That's why they were presenting conditions and saying they would accept them as companions if they met them.
Their position was perfectly reasonable.
But the refugees apparently couldn't understand it.
Perhaps realizing that shouting wasn't getting them anywhere, one of the middle-aged men began prostrating himself.
"Please! Please! I'm begging you, help us!"
He rubbed his forehead against the ground and began clinging to the students' legs.
Even the students began to falter at that.
"P-please, move away! Even if you do that, we—"
"Please! Please! Please!"
...People like that really are such a pain.
They won't do anything themselves. They just expect someone else to solve everything.
They think crying and begging will make everything work out.
I definitely don't want to get involved.
"...We'll leave the home improvement store for later."
Let's try the drugstore and the other shops first.
I turned on my heel, and Momo and I left the area.
I wonder whether those students can actually bring themselves to 'cut them loose.'
I found myself thinking that as I listened to the cries still echoing behind me.
The drugstore was right next to the home improvement store.
As we approached, 'Enemy Search' picked up a presence.
"There are people over here, too..."
Several men were inside the drugstore, rummaging through the merchandise.
Judging from their school uniforms, were they companions of the ones at the home improvement store?
I used 'Stealth' and watched them for a while. Eventually, they left carrying as much as they could hold.
So they don't have an Item Box.
"All right, let's go."
"Woof."
Once they were gone, Momo and I entered the drugstore.
There's still quite a lot left.
Only the shelves near the front had been picked over haphazardly; there was still plenty of medicine farther inside.
Cold medicine, painkillers, bandages, gauze, and more.
Now, let's get this stuff stored, shall we?
It's time to put the Item Box, now at LV 9, to use.
When I willed 'Storage,' the medicines before me were stored away.
That was the new function that had been added.
I could now store objects in my Item Box simply by seeing them, without having to touch them directly.
I could store up to ten objects at once, with a maximum range of about five meters.
What amazing functionality.
Thanks to this, the time needed to loot places like this was drastically reduced.
I stored everything in the Item Box one after another, and within just a few minutes, every item in the store had vanished.
As my level increased, the Item Box's own storage capacity had increased as well.
When I opened the list, it contained an astonishing amount of stuff.
And even after storing all this, I still hadn't reached the limit.
Since we were here, we might as well visit some other places, too.
After that, we went around the supermarkets, restaurants, and other businesses near the home improvement store, storing everything we could in the Item Box.
Of course. The mighty Item Box stored every last thing properly.
Seriously, this thing was convenient. Was it a god or something?
I'll definitely raise the Item Box's level when I level up again.
Then it would reach the major milestone of LV 10.
I expected that the long-awaited 'Preservation function' would be added then, too.
If that happened, the food problem in this world would be almost completely solved.
Ah, I couldn't wait.
Momo and I went around the shops in a frenzy, and by the time we returned to the home improvement store, the sun was already beginning to set.
"...Now then, I wonder what happened to those people?"
When we returned, the crowd at the entrance of the home improvement store was gone.
About three male students remained as lookouts.
Let's see...
I moved a little closer and brought the entire home improvement store within the range of 'Enemy Search.'
This is—ah, I see.
"So they accepted them in the end..."
I could sense quite a lot of people inside the home improvement store.
They were the same presences I'd sensed earlier.
In other words, they had accepted the refugees.
I had no right to criticize them, but was that really okay?
Or perhaps they intended to force the refugees to level up, no matter what.
Well, either way, it didn't matter to me.
"Now, I wonder if I can get inside from somewhere."
It's not as though I've given up on the home improvement store's supplies.
Besides, I was curious about how high their levels were and how much information they possessed.
"We could probably get in from the back."
Well then, let's give it a try.