Home Improvement Store

While using 'Enemy Search,' I look for somewhere we might be able to get inside.

As expected, there is a student standing guard at the supply loading bay.

There's only one of them... If I caught them off guard, I could probably get in, but better safe than sorry.

Looking for another easy way in, I find a window in just the right spot.

It is locked, but that's no problem.

"Momo"

"Woof."

Momo emerges from 'Shadow.'

Momo slips 'Shadow' through the gap in the window and unlocks it from the inside.

If there's even the slightest 'gap,' 'Shadow' can slip through it.

It's a really convenient Skill.

"Thanks, Momo."

I want to give Momo a good pet as thanks, but I force myself to hold back.

I give Momo a light pat on the head, send it back into the shadows, and quickly climb inside.

I'd already confirmed with 'Enemy Search' that there was no one on the other side of this window.

I'm in.

It's dark inside, but I can see clearly thanks to 'Night Vision.'

This is... the employees' break room, I guess?

There are tables and folding chairs, along with lockers for storing things against the wall.

"Looks like someone was here until just now..."

There are plastic bottles and half-eaten CalorieMate bars on the table.

Someone might come back, so I should move on quickly.

When I step into the hallway, I find it packed with cardboard boxes and products waiting to be put on display.

It's dim, but it shouldn't be hard to find places to hide.

The installed fluorescent lights aren't on.

So electricity really doesn't work...

A home improvement store like this should have generators and solar panels, but I guess even those weren't working.

But why? My apartment was the same way, so is there some reason only the electricity doesn't work?

A small light illuminates the dim hallway.

Stationary flashlights have been placed at regular intervals.

"There are quite a lot of people here after all..."

There are more than ten presences within the current range of 'Enemy Search.'

"...Hm?"

Someone is coming this way.

Two people.

I quickly use 'Stealth' and 'Presence Concealment' and hide behind some merchandise.

The newcomers are students.

It's the guy who seems to be their leader, the one everyone called Nishino-san, along with a quiet-looking student wearing glasses.

Without noticing me, they enter the break room.

Once I've confirmed that the two of them are out of sight, I move.

I head toward the sales floor through an entrance that has been left open.

The sales floor is spacious, and the interior is dim.

I'll check the merchandise layout and where everyone is.

As expected, the combination of 'Enemy Search,' 'Presence Concealment,' 'Silent Movement,' and 'Night Vision' really shines in situations like this.

Momo is hiding in 'Shadow,' too, so there's no chance of it being spotted.

I move slowly, gradually checking the number of people and the arrangement of the merchandise.

As a result, I learn that there are twenty-two people in this home improvement store.

Ten students and twelve refugees.

All the refugees have been gathered in one area of the sales floor.

Three students are standing guard around them with their weapons ready.

The refugees are all sitting on the floor with exhausted expressions, but they are clutching plastic bottles and food in their hands. Apparently, the students gave them those supplies.

Huh? One of the refugees stands up and walks toward the students.

Isn't that the old man who was prostrating himself at the entrance?

H-hey, could I get one more? I'm out of water...

No. I told you, one per person to start with.

B-but I haven't eaten anything since this morning...! Please, just one more bottle of water! It's an emergency. Think of it as helping an old man out. Come on?

Good grief, how shameless can he be...?

The other students glare at the old man as if to say, "What the hell is this guy talking about?"

Tch. I'll ask Nishino-san. Don't move from that spot.

Spitting on the ground, one of the boys leaves his post.

I thought he was going to lose his temper, but it looks like he managed to hold himself back.

Wow, this looks like a real pain...

The other two don't look like they're going anywhere.

Well then, I've confirmed the layout of the sales floor and the number of people.

I can store the supplies later, so I might as well gather information first.

I'm eavesdropping on the old men's conversation with the 'Eavesdrop' Skill, but they don't seem to have any particularly useful information. All they keep muttering are things like, "We just have to hold out until the Self-Defense Forces arrive," and "This is a dream. It has to be a dream."

As expected, the students are the ones I should investigate.

I move toward the break room and hide along the wall.

There are plenty of cardboard boxes and products, making it the perfect place to conceal myself.

I press my ear against the wall and activate the 'Eavesdrop' Skill.

Using 'Enemy Search,' I know there are three people inside.

Now then, what are they talking about?

"―――-san, was it really okay to take them in?"

"Y-yes, that's right. We're barely managing as it is, and if we let even more people in..."

Those voices belong to the delinquent-looking guy from earlier and the quiet boy wearing glasses.

All right, I'll call them the delinquent and the bespectacled boy.

They seem opposed to taking in the refugees.

Well, of course they are. To be honest, the refugees are nothing but a burden.

"...Yeah, that's true. But as things stand, we're also short-handed. Shibata, did they believe us about levels and Skills?"

"I demonstrated it for them, but they're still only half-convinced. To be honest... even we couldn't believe it until our levels went up like this. And besides..."

"Besides?"

"Well... some of them can't bring themselves to kill monsters. Those guys won't do a damn thing, but they sure are good at making demands... Damn it!"

So what happened earlier must have really gotten to him.

The delinquent pounds the wall.

"That's right. A-and that food was stuff we risked our lives to bring back from another supermarket...!"

The bespectacled boy murmurs in agreement.

"I understand how you two feel, but bear with it for now. Once they level up, procuring food and exploring other areas will be much easier than it is now."

"But do you think they'll actually do what they're told?"

"It's fine. You know my 'Skill,' right? Besides... at worst, they're disposable pawns. If a monster we can't handle appears, we'll use them as bait to buy us time to escape. I told you that, remember?"

"Well... true."

Wow, Nishino-kun looked so calm while thinking up something pretty brutal.

I suppose you need to be that calculating to survive.

And he's awfully confident. What kind of Job and Skills does he have, anyway?

I'm curious.

"More importantly, now that we've taken them in, we need to increase our food stock as soon as possible. Once the two people outside return, we'll reorganize the rotation."

"Got it."

"Yes..."

"In any case, securing food is our top priority. Fortunately, if we go to a nearby supermarket, there should still be nonperishable food―――"

"T-there's trouble!"

A student throws open the door and rushes in.

Well, I'd already noticed them with 'Enemy Search.'

"What is it? Did something happen?"

Nishino-kun asks without even being surprised by the sudden entrance.

"Hah, hah... the guys who went outside just got back, but... hah, hah... I-I can't believe it. This is impossible...!"

"Calm down. What happened?"

What could it be?

Could a powerful monster like the High Orc have appeared?

But what he said was something I never expected.

"T-the drugstore was completely empty inside, they said... And that's not all. The supermarkets and convenience stores all around here had been stripped bare of every bit of food and merchandise...!"

"W-what did you say!?"

The three of them cry out in shock at the report.

...Huh? Then that means I'm the culprit, doesn't it?