Chapter 143
"From now on, you'll be living here. This is Noah, the underground shelter humanity fled to after finding its last hope."
After Merry showed them around, they stepped out of the building at the heart of Noah, where the Earthclear device lay dormant. Despite the rocky walls enclosing the underground facility, the group stared in astonishment at the unfamiliar architecture and the vast grounds.
Yet the town’s atmosphere felt strangely similar to Valman, where they had lived, filling them with an odd sense of familiarity.
On closer inspection, the only things that seemed new were the buildings, the steel boxes moving through the sky above the town and along its passageways, and the colorful lights. The clothes worn by the people going about their business and the lively vendors on the streets were hardly any different from what they knew.
"I thought even the people here would be using tools we’d never seen before, but I guess not. They’re not all that different from us."
With a hand against her cheek, Parna sighed, looking a little disappointed at how little the people differed from those in Earthclear.
"Come on, Earthclear had electricity too, remember? The generators needed to produce it were so expensive that they were only used in game centers and casinos. It’s the same here in Noah. There isn’t enough electricity to supply everyone, so it’s only used for the Digders that transport people and supplies, and the ones that light up the whole town and warn us of danger. That’s why everyone’s lifestyle is pretty much the same as it was in Earthclear."
"...Digders?"
"Those things moving up there and on the ground. I think they used to have different names, like monorails and trucks, but now they call machines like those—ones that consume huge amounts of electricity to run—Digders."
Seeing Rex tilt his head, Yuki carefully pointed out the steel boxes moving through the air and along the ground, as well as the lights.
"There’s only a little food and only a small amount of supplies, but they’re distributed among everyone in town. The clever ones find supplies somewhere or make things themselves, then sell them like merchants. But people like that are a big help, you know? We can trade for things we can actually use, and it reminds us that we’re still living like people. It makes us remember that maybe someday we’ll be able to live like this outside again, like we used to."
Hearing Yuki’s wistful words, tinged with sadness, Alice gradually began to notice what she’d overlooked. In the town’s dark alleys, people dressed in rags sat hunched over as if regretting ever having been born. Children, perhaps still clinging to hope, peeked furtively out from the alleys, trying to believe the town’s liveliness was real.
Looking closely, even the vendors’ eyes seemed vacant, as if they were forcing themselves to put on a show in the faint hope that things might improve.
"See that Digder changing colors and lighting up the town? I hear they installed it to take people’s minds off things, even if only a little. These days, it seems to work only on the children, though."
"Why do their clothes look so different? Is there some kind of slum...?"
"No, it just depends on whether they made their own clothes. Remember how I said supplies are distributed? Sometimes they get a lot of fabric, and when that happens, people can make clothes themselves or have them made for them... But those people aren’t interested in anything anymore except eating and staying alive. They think they’ll never escape this life. Their children can’t make clothes for themselves, either, so they end up dressed like that."
At those words, Alice looked down at her own clothes. Despite the poverty all around them, their own clothes had been properly provided for, and she felt at least a little guilty about it.
"If you’re worried about the people in town, don’t. You’re going to have it even worse than they do... So walk with your heads held high."
Merry fixed Alice with a sharp look, as if to nip in the bud her thoughts of finding some way to help the townspeople.
"Come to think of it, we haven’t asked the main question. What are we... being made to do?"
As they walked down the middle of the street, Rex asked the question.
"Basically, it’s no different from life in Earthclear. It depends on which unit you’re assigned to, but... you’ll be joining the same Retrieval Unit as us, so... all you have to do is defeat the enemies. I’ll explain the details once we reach headquarters."
"...I see. But Yuki, was it? You know a lot about Earthclear. Does everyone from Earth know what goes on there?"
"Everyone knows Earthclear exists, but only people who’ve actually seen it know the details of what goes on inside. I’m from Earthclear, too."
At that, everyone’s eyes widened. They couldn’t hide their shock that one of their seniors was standing right in front of them—a woman who seemed scarcely older than they were, and who had either defeated the Demon King or collected 10,000 gold.
"You don’t have to look so surprised. Besides, I came here five years ago... when I was seventeen. And I didn’t defeat the Demon King; I collected 10,000 gold. I had a knack for being a merchant, so my Level was pretty decent, too—117, you know?"
"So, Merry-sa... Merry-chan, you came from Earthclear too?"
"Hey, why did you correct yourself just now?"
"Well, somehow that felt more fitting."
Tina looked at Merry, who was shorter than her, and was reminded of Alice when she was younger. Before she knew it, Tina was smiling warmly, patting Merry on the head and beginning to stroke her hair.
Merry knocked Tina’s hand away as if to ward her off. "Stop it! Don’t touch me! Don’t treat me like a kid! I may look like this, but I’m fourteen!"