Three weeks have passed in June. Itās still the rainy season, but the temperature has risen and the humidity is clinging to my skin, making me feel more uncomfortable. I used to stay in my room and not notice the change of seasons, but since I started going out as a matter of course, I can feel the seasons on my skin, for better or worse.
Even as I was thinking about it, sweat was pouring out of my body and my shirt was sticking to my body. Iām cleaning a room in the office with no windows open and no air conditioning.
āBoss, Iām dying from the heat and humidity. Letās turn on the air conditioner.ā
During the cleaning process, Mr. Yamamoto was wiping off his waterfall of sweat with the towel around his neck and talking directly to the president. As a newcomer, I canāt say what I think, so Iāll just cheer him on in my heart. Please speak up!
āAs much as Iād like to, my client told me not to use the air conditioner.ā
āWell, at least open a window.ā
āHe doesnāt want me to do that either. He said it would be a problem if important documents were blown away by the wind.ā
The president seemed to be dissatisfied with the current situation and started to complain. Well, I guess so. The president, despite his stern appearance, cares about his employees. I knew it was strange to impose such an absurd situation on him.
āRefill your water often. When weāre done here, weāll take a break and get some ice cream at the convenience store.ā
āReally? Iām feeling a little more motivated. Hey, Yoshio, Makoto.ā
āThatās right. I think I can work a little harder.ā
āYeah!ā
I was too busy giving a feeble reply, and even Makoto was about to run out of steam. All that was left was to continue cleaning in silence, rehydrating without talking to anyone.
āThanks for your help. Which ice cream would you like?ā
As I was cooling off outside the building, the boss asked me to unfold a bag from the convenience store and choose one.
āExcuse me.ā
āI had to go get it.ā
When Makoto, who was dying next to me, apologized, the president broke into a smirk.
āWhat are you talking about? Running errands is not part of the job description. Besides, it was cooler at the convenience store, so it was a perk.ā
Itās amazing that the president can say these things so naturally. He deserves respect as a person in a superior position. I want to respect him, too. I chose the ice cream on a stick, and Makoto chose a cup of shaved ice. The president and Mr. Yamamoto were fighting for the ice cream at a distance. It seems that Mr. Yamamoto chose the most expensive one.
āThatās mine, give it back.ā
āWhat are you being so stingy about? Itās only fifty yen difference. Youāre abusing your authority!ā
āYou bought it with my money, didnāt you?ā
To a stranger, it might look like a tense situation, but I know itās just the usual joking around, so Iāll just watch while I chomp on my ice cream.
āAt first, I was worried that the president and Mr. Yamamoto didnāt get along well, but I guess thatās not the case.ā
Makoto, who was watching with me, seemed to have recovered a little after eating the shaved ice. I knew he saw it that way too.
āYou two are always like that, you know. Weāre lucky to have people like that at work.ā
āYes, youāre right. Everyone is so kind hereā¦ā¦.ā
Makoto looked at the cloudy sky with a distant look in his eyes. I hadnāt heard the details of why he was withdrawn. His father had told me before that he was having problems with his relationships at school. I was a recluse too, but he seemed to have a very different and more serious reason.
āIām really glad to work here.ā
I nodded my head with a smile at his words filled with real feeling. It looks like I made the right decision in recommending him a part-time job.
āIām going to attack another capture point in the next few days.ā
I changed the subject and brought up the topic of the Village of Destiny.
āThatās where all the bugs areā¦ā¦.ā
He looks scared to look at them. I guess he really doesnāt like them. Well, if I were asked to actually go to that place, I would refuse with all my might.
āThere are a lot of spiders there, so Iām worried about their webs and stuff.ā
For some reason, spider monsters appear frequently in horror movies, and I guess they are excellent creatures designed to make people dislike them.
āOh, what are you going to do, exterminate spiders?ā
Before I knew it, the stern face of the president, who was standing nearby, came into my vision. It was a close call. We hadnāt had a conversation that would have conveyed the contents of the game, but I guess I was distracted by fatigue, and I had to be careful.
āYes, actually, I do.ā
āIāve heard that spiders donāt like citrus smells, so itās useful to bring a spray with tangerine juice in it. Iāve also heard that if they drink coffee, theyāll get drunk. But the best thing to do is to use insecticide.ā
He has a lot of knowledge because he used to work as a pest control operator before he started his own business. Iāll take out my phone and write this down. After that, I asked him a few questions about pest control. Iām sure this information will come in handy later.
I managed to finish my work for the day and made it home. First, I took a bath to wash off the sweat and dirt, and then went to the living room to find that dinner was already prepared. I heard that both my father and sister were coming home late, so it would be just me and my mother for dinner.
In the past, I avoided seeing them as much as possible, so it was normal for me to eat dinner alone or with my mother. These days, if Iām running a little late, I tend to wait and have dinner with the family of four.
āIt was hot today, wasnāt it?ā
āGloomy and awful.ā
In the past, my mother would only talk to me about two things: one-sided topics or reprimand me for not doing anything. I am relieved just to be able to have a peaceful conversation. I used to feel pressured to have dinner with my family, but now I donāt even think about it. Rather, I find myself actively talking about what happened at work. Oh well, I guess Iāll tell them about it now.
āOh, I might go on a trip for a couple of days around the end of the month.ā
āOh, really? Are you staying with Seika?ā
āHahahahahaha! No, thatās not it. What are you talking about?ā
I cough upset at the blow that was released with a smirk on her face.
āYouāre all old enough to know better than to be embarrassed.ā
āThatās not the point! Iām going to participate in an offline meeting of lizard lovers. So Iām taking Destiny with me.ā
If I donāt do something, Iāll get caught up in my motherās pace. I quickly rattled off the details of the false event that I had prepared in advance. If I wanted to take Destiny with me, I would need a good reason, so I thought of a setting for an off-line meeting that would actually happen.
āThat sounds like an event your father and Sayuki would love.ā
āYou know. If I tell them, theyāll want to come along, so youāll have to fake it, Mom.ā
I could see the trouble I would get into if I told this lie to my father and sister, who are unparalleled lizard lovers, so I would get my mother on my side.
āAll right. You have to take care of his condition. Well, he seems to be fine in any environment.ā
My mother is the second closest person to me in this house. Every day, she and Destiny watch a TV show together when he sneaks out of my room. She seems to think that heās a smart lizard with a good ear and doesnāt even pay attention to him when he walks around the house.
The only person who is still surprised when he sees him is Seika. As a matter of fact, Destiny can adapt to any environment. He has a weak constitution against the cold, but when he went to Hokkaido, he used a disposable body warmer to keep himself warm. The high temperature and humidity seems to be a more comfortable environment for him, and he has been thriving lately.
When I returned to my room after finishing my meal, I found Destiny lying in the corner of the PC desk in a fixed position, idly looking at the PC screen. Basically, heās either taking a walk around the house or observing the village on my PC.
āDid you notice anything unusual?ā
When I asked him that, he just turned and tilted his head back and started to flick his tongue in and out. Whatās going on with your neck joints?
āThere didnāt seem to be any change.ā
I sat down in front of my computer and took a quick look at the past logs, and then went through the village as usual. The villagers are trustworthy, but there have been times in the past when people from the evil god side have infiltrated the village, so checking the village like this has become a daily routine. I also have to keep an eye on the newly arrived hunters to make sure they donāt do anything stupid.
The regular hunters have become so accustomed to the village that some of them have even bought houses in the village and are living there. The village has a reputation as a hot spot in the capital and surrounding villages, and several people a month come here to settle down.
However, the only drawback is the āTemptation of the Evil Godā that occurs at the end of every month, and our village is almost always attacked on a large scale, so that is the biggest obstacle for people to move here.
āThe population of the village is now over a hundred, so thatās about right.ā
The truth is, I canāt keep track of too many people, so this is almost my limit. Iāve memorized almost all of the names and faces of the villagersā¦ā¦80%ā¦ā¦70%ā¦..60%, but to be honest, I donāt think I can do it if there are more.
āBut if I want to get to the next level, Iāll probably need to increase the population.ā
I know that my current level is 4 and that there is a level 5. So, there is at least one more level up possibility. It seems that reaching that level is one of the goals of the game, and there are rumors on the forums that the benefits of the game increase once you reach level 5.
So Iām aiming for that level, but if I want to increase the population of the village any further, Iāll have to start by expanding the village grounds. The trees around the village have been cut down, so there is enough land for expansion, but I need to rebuild the log fence from scratch.
If the number of people increases and the defense capability increases, there may come a day when we donāt have to be afraid of the Temptation of the Evil God. If I think about it, it would be wrong to say that I donāt want to grow the village because of my ego. However, there is a downside to growing a village. This is what I heard from Habata, a player on the Evil God side, and the God of Fate.
The bigger the village, the more points the evil gods will get when they destroy it. Apparently, population is one of the conditions for assessing points, and 10,000 points are added for each villager. In other words, if they destroy a village with a population of over 1,000, they can get at least 10 million yen. So, if I develop, I may become a target for high-level players on the evil side.
āIāve heard that some players purposely miss the smaller villages and wait for them to grow bigger before harvesting. It goes without saying that those people are the old-timers, high-level, strong characters.ā
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Because of these circumstances, Iām hesitant to develop the village any further. Whatās better is that Iām working with Makoto to build the village, so itās easier for me to see whatās going on than others. Itās quite an advantage that even if I canāt handle an unexpected situation, Makoto can.
āIf thatās the case, maybe we can get another player from the Lord Godās side to join us and live in the village, so we can work together to build it.ā
Itās difficult, though, because of the problem of selecting the right people. The only player I can get in touch with isā¦ā¦Habata, but heās on the evil side. I donāt want to invite that guy into the village.
āI guess the development of the village will have to wait. First, letās look at the next capture point, and the matter of Iryu Mujin Village.ā
Letās do what we can, one thing at a time. Iām going to look up on the Internet what I heard from the president today and make a note of it. Iāll just keep moving forward steadily without stopping.