Hideout in Another World: I Tried Building a Secret Base in the Middle of Nowhere

Chapter 107: Reconnaissance

It’s been a while since I last visited Vaintz Village. Riding on Elizabeth made it feel surprisingly close. I wish I had come sooner. However, even though I was aware of it, I might have unconsciously avoided coming here. The experience of being chased by the black wolves wasn’t a pleasant memory.

Unlike that time, the weather is clear and sunny now, but standing on the remains of the village brings back a creeping, unsettling feeling, as if the fear from back then is crawling up from my feet.

“My clothes might get dirty.”

“Hmm, there are quite a variety of them wandering around.”

“It’s a hassle since the carrion scavengers won’t come near.”

“Gugya~u~!”

However, it seems I’m the only one feeling this way. Everyone else casually brushes off the monsters like dust on their clothes. Even Mil, who I thought would be shocked by the devastated village, is cheerfully rummaging through what used to be her home. It seems there were more usable items left than expected, as her delighted monologue can be heard outside the house.

Elizabeth is a bit further away, chasing the fleeing monsters with incredible speed and turning them into chunks of meat. I can’t see her directly, but from the powerful sound of hooves and the monsters’ screams echoing in the distance, I can roughly imagine what’s happening.

Shiro and Gisella, without even drawing their weapons, pick up sun-dried bricks and stones lying around as they walk and throw them at any monster they see in a competition-like manner. Their speed is as crazy as ever. With each swing of their arms, there’s a violent impact sound, and the monsters lose parts of their bodies and fall.

I definitely can’t play baseball with them. Watching them, I can’t help but think that my squabbles with Piri were extremely peaceful in comparison. Kuro, sensing my feelings, holds my hand tightly as we walk. Unfortunately, Kuro’s small, soft hand feels very reassuring right now. I worry I might accidentally call her “Mom” someday.

And for some reason, a pretty yellow-green bird perched on Kuro’s head is looking at me curiously.

“You’ve grown quite a bit without me noticing.”

“Gugyau?”

“That bird’s feathers are as beautiful as Kuro’s eyes.”

“Kyaaah!!”

Kuro lets out a happy cry, and the bird responds with a complex chirp, sounding pleasant like a narcissus flycatcher. Pink peeks out of my pocket and waves at the bird. Thanks to Kuro and the little bird, my frayed nerves are soothed despite the violent scenery of the ruined village.

I wonder if Laura can really operate in a place like this for days…

“We’ve cleared most of the monsters within visible range.”

“There are quite a few buildings still standing.”

“Yeah, most of the roofs and fittings are broken, but surprisingly, many of the sun-dried brick walls are still intact.”

Shiro climbs onto the roof of Mil’s house to observe the surroundings for any remaining monsters. Mil emerges from the building below, her hands full of various items. Most of them seem to be tools, and she looks really happy that many things survived.

“Mil’s house still has its roof, so it’s relatively okay.”

“Yeah, because there’s a bread oven. I was afraid of fire, so I used plaster thoroughly for the interior.”

“That makes sense.”

“But monsters broke through the windows and messed up the inside quite a bit.”

“Gyaw~!”

Kuro points into the distance. It looks like Elizabeth is coming back. This should ensure our safety for a while. Feeling a bit more settled, I take another look around the village. When I first saw it, the village seemed much more devastated compared to its original state, but it feels like many buildings could be easily repaired.

“Cleaning is going to be troublesome. There are lots of black wolf and monster remains.”

“Yeah, that’s true… But this time, we have villagers with us, so we should have enough manpower. The main issue will be securing safety.”

“Monsters are weak, though.”

“That’s easy for you to say, Gisella… It would be easier if they gathered in one place.”

Gisella, sitting on some rubble, relaxes while playing with Kohaku. Meanwhile, Zamza has been walking around the village alone since we arrived, continuously checking the map, killing monsters along the way, and occasionally stopping to add notes.

He’s been meticulously updating the map of Vaintz Village with the current state. I’m glad we managed to finish drawing it last night. We’ve also marked the homes of those passing through Vaintz Village in advance.

If we can better understand the collapse of the buildings from this reconnaissance, we can get a pretty detailed grasp of the current situation. This would make it easier to plan how to set up a temporary base. With a temporary base providing minimum safety and living conditions, the villagers can begin to rebuild their lives independently.

I had thought about investigating the collapse situation myself and documenting it, but last night, Zamza asked to handle it. It has been a great help. Alone, I wouldn’t be able to ensure my safety or move as quickly as Zamza. Especially now, with monster corpses scattered everywhere, I don’t feel up to the task.

“Gyaougya~u~?”

“Well, at this level, we should manage somehow. We don’t need Pink and Elizabeth’s help this time, do we?”

“Because there are too many people around?”

“That’s the main reason, but also, if we do everything ourselves, it could cause problems in the long run.”

Sitting next to Gisella, I watch Kohaku play innocently against the backdrop of the devastated village, thinking about what lies ahead. Kuro comes from behind, wraps her hands around my neck, and peers into my face. I wonder if I look worried.

“It’s okay, Kuro. Seeing the ruined landscape is a bit depressing when you know what it used to look like. But that’s all.”

“Bonus, you’re surprisingly sensitive, Mil-chan.”.

“As a village resident, it doesn’t affect me much. I’m just happy to have found my favorite tools intact!”

Gisella and Mil laugh, teasing each other. They might be trying to cheer me up, but they genuinely seem to be having fun.

Seeing this scene, I thought some villagers might lose motivation, but seeing Mil, it seems they’ll be okay.

“People living in such a remote place must have some resolve and an easygoing nature to survive.”

“Is that so?”

“Hey, Bonus, let’s go soon?”

“Gugyauu!!”

As Shiro descends from the roof, she gestures with her hand. Hearing this, Kuro runs to the storage area, retrieves fishing rods for everyone, and wobbles back. The six fishing rods sway precariously with each step Kuro takes, but she seems unbothered and is visibly excited.

Everyone hurriedly grabs their fishing rods in one hand, climbs onto Elizabeth and points energetically towards the sea.

“Yeah! Today’s main event is fishing!”

“I’ll show you how it’s done! Hey, Zamza!”

“Mil-chan, is sea water salty?”

“Elizabeth, can we get to the sea from here?”

“Meeh… Meheh…? …Meeh meeh…”

Elizabeth tilts her head in thought but decides to go ahead. She seems unsure how far she can move without getting disoriented lately.

“Bonus, I’ve mostly mapped it out! If we build a barricade between these five houses, we can protect the village with minimal resources and manpower!”

“Oh, wow… That’s smart. Since these houses are unoccupied, we could add a watchtower and make it a mercenary garrison—”

“Gya! Gyaugya! Gyaugya-gyauu!”

“Okay, okay, Kuro, I’m sorry! Alright! Let’s go fishing, Zamza, and talk while we do!”

“Uh, sure.”

Guided by Mil, we reach the rocky coast. It seems to be the village’s fishing spot. Elizabeth seems comfortable here. Thanks to her, we easily bypassed the cliffs and arrived without trouble. The steep cliffs were no challenge for her, who can move effortlessly on sheer drops.

Once at the rocky coast, she quietly watches the sea with her mouth slightly open, tongue out. I wonder if she’s seen the sea before.

“Hey, Bonus. This is a bit scary.”

“Really? Well, I guess it can be… But Gisella, you can swim, so you’ll be fine.”

“Let’s fish!”

“Gyaugya-u!”

“The rocks are slippery, so be careful!”

Gisella clings to me, surprisingly afraid of the sea. While it’s nice in a way on flat ground, the unstable rocks make me anxious in a different sense.

Kuro and Shiro walked energetically, undeterred by the rough footing. Mil, who volunteered as the teacher, seemed not very skilled in rocky terrain. She was moving cautiously with Zamza’s help. Her cheeks were oddly flushed with happiness, but let’s pretend we didn’t see that.

“For now, Gisella, let’s hold hands and walk together.”

“Okay… I’m scared…”

There’s no point in staying frozen in place, so I took Gisella’s trembling hand and pulled her along a bit firmly. I was also excited about being at the sea for the first time in a while. In front of us, the emerald green sea stretched out under a clear blue sky. The unsettling feelings I had earlier were completely blown away by the liberating view. Additionally, the smell of the tide brought a nostalgic feeling I couldn’t quite explain. I didn’t grow up by the sea, nor did I have a particularly sea-centric lifestyle, yet it made me think of my younger days. It also made me crave yakisoba for some reason.

“Hey, a crab!”

“Wow, it looks like a spider…”

Today, holding hands or being pulled along… it’s a strange feeling. While holding Gisella’s hand, I noticed a crab scuttling by our feet. Watching the crab, I realized that there were creatures everywhere. Looking closely, I could see many fish in the water. Gisella and I reported each creature we found to each other. After a while, Gisella seemed to get used to it and could move around without holding hands.

“Can we eat this?”

“Yeah, those shells are safe to eat if you cook them. But Bonus, it’s impressive you thought of eating them. Outsiders usually find them gross.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Yay! Hooray!”

Eventually, Gisella got used to the environment and sat on a rock back-to-back with Shiro, happily swinging her legs while fishing. It was hard to believe that she had been clinging to me out of fear of the sea earlier. As for me, I left the fishing to my companions and decided to play in the tide pools with Kuro. It seemed Kuro wasn’t physically suited for catching the fish here. Although fish were biting, she almost got dragged into the sea several times and reluctantly gave up on sea fishing. However, Kuro found playing in the tide pools just as fun, if not more, than fishing. It seemed similar to catching bugs; she clapped her hands in joy whenever she found a new creature. I had a feeling she was eating something occasionally, but I chose to ignore it.

Nearby, Kohaku was engaged in an intense battle with crabs and waves, with Pink riding on his back. Pink was fascinated by the different surroundings but seemed scared of the crabs’ pincers. Although Pink tried to intimidate them with an open mouth, I hoped it wouldn’t fire its main cannon here. Occasionally, a small bird perched on Kuro’s head joined the fight. Apparently, it could fly normally now. Kohaku and the bird were unexpectedly helpful in preventing the crabs from escaping the wooden bucket.

“Uggyaaah!”

“Whoa! It’s an octopus! Well done, Kuro!”

Kuro suddenly thrust her hand into a crevice in the rock and, after some effort, pulled out a large octopus. I was so happy that I hugged Kuro in celebration. With such a plentiful catch, the trip to the village didn’t seem so bad. The fish were not abundant, but we were catching enough. Shiro caught a brightly colored fish resembling a stone bream, which made Mil very happy. Ah, I wanted to eat it as sashimi.

While we couldn’t spend all our time playing, the sea was a great way to unwind. This village, despite the dangers of monsters and political hassles, was blessed with natural resources. It wouldn’t be surprising if it became a more popular place. At least we wouldn’t have to worry about food. Someday, I’d like to have a villa here.

“Whoa! Pink!”

“Gyaa!”

Pink, who had been watching the wooden bucket with Kohaku, got tangled up with the octopus. The octopus had camouflaged itself to match Pink’s color, making it hard to tell where Pink ended, and the octopus began. After prying off the octopus’s tentacles, Pink, with tears in its eyes, wobbled into my chest pocket.

“I hope Pink doesn’t grow to hate the sea…”

“Gyaa…”