Chapter 52

"......Huh?"

With one hand supporting the tatami, Ichirou stared blankly at the iron plate that had suddenly appeared in front of him, letting out a puzzled voice.

Why would such a thing appear under the tatami? This house was supposed to be a very old mansion, passed down through generations of the Shino family. It was impossible for the floor of an ancient house to be made of iron plates.

After staring at the iron plate for a while, Ichirou moved the tatami he was holding to the corner of the room and started peeling off the other tatamis as well.

"Wow..."

After removing all the tatamis, Ichirou couldn't help but groan at the scene before him. The entire floor of the room was covered with iron plates, and at the edges of the plates, there were visible welding marks, spaced about 50 cm apart. Moreover, upon closer inspection, the surface of the iron plates had striped patterns for slip resistance.

Clearly, someone had laid the iron plates after the building was constructed.

Ichirou silently took out his mobile phone from his pocket and called the person he suspected the most.

"Mutsu, I picked some watermelons from the field, can you cut them for me?"

With a headband on his head, a handkerchief around his neck, and a soccer ball-sized watermelon in his hands, Shinji opened the front door and called out to his wife. Immediately, his wife, Mutsu, came running and smiled happily when she saw the watermelon Shinji was holding.

"Wow, they turned out well this year."

"Yeah, and they're seedless. Last year, I didn't know that seedless watermelons need to be grown with seeded ones to bear fruit, so I didn't get any. But this year, it's perfect."

Last year, Shinji had planted dozens of seedless watermelon plants in the field, hoping to grow a large number, but none of them bore fruit, leaving him frustrated. He had no idea why they didn't bear fruit, so he asked a colleague whose family ran a farm, and learned the shocking fact that seedless watermelons need to be pollinated by seeded ones. This year, he planted seeded watermelons for pollination, and successfully grew a large number of watermelons.

"But, isn't the watermelon not chilled? Wouldn't it be better to chill it in the refrigerator for a while before eating?"

"No, I put it in a bucket of well water from the field and chilled it for about an hour. It's plenty cold."

As Shinji said this and handed the watermelon to Mutsu, his mobile phone, which was in his chest pocket, rang.

"Oh, it's Ichirou."

Shinji took out his mobile phone, confirmed the caller, and pressed the call button with a slightly happy expression, holding it to his ear. Mutsu smiled at Shinji and went into the kitchen to cut the watermelon.

"Hey, Dad? It's been a while, how have you been?"

"Yeah, I'm doing great, both my body and the field. How about you, are you doing well?"

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. Actually, I have something I want to ask you, is that okay?"

"Sure, what is it? Go ahead."

"About the suitcase you gave me the other day, there was something like a Western knight's sword inside."

"Oh, I made that. Pretty good, right?"

"Wait, you made that!?"

"Yeah, I got some springs from a scrapped truck and had a friend who works in metallurgy straighten them out. Then I ground them myself to make the sword."

"Really? But why did you make something so dangerous?"

"Most people who work with metal try to make something like that. It's quite interesting."

"Don't lie. Besides, that sword had marks from cutting something. It looked like it had been used quite a bit."

"I tried cutting various things. It would be boring to just leave it as a decoration after all the effort I put into making it."

"......Alright. Anyway, I flipped over the tatami in the mansion for some reason."

"......Really?"

"Turns out, there were iron plates under the tatami."

"Strange things do happen."

"......So, to be direct, did you lay these iron plates? Why did you do it?"

"I don't know anything about that. Why did you flip over the tatami? Was it damaged or something?"

"No, I was thinking of bringing something heavy into the mansion. The building is quite old, and I was worried the floor might give out."

"......"

"Then, when I flipped over the tatami, I found the iron plates. I was like, 'What the heck is this?' The edges of the plates had welding marks at regular intervals. I thought about who might have done this, and the first person who came to mind was you."

"......What heavy thing were you trying to bring into the mansion?"

"Huh? Well... things like a refrigerator or a washing machine. The one I liked was quite large and heavy."

"......I see."

"Anyway, if you don't know, that's fine. I have one more thing I want to ask."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever been inside the room at the back of the mansion that's sealed with a padlock?"

"I've already told you, when I went to the mansion, there was no room with a padlock. Which room are you talking about?"

"The room at the very back of the mansion. The one with a padlock on the doorknob."

"I've been in the room at the back, but there was no padlock. I certainly didn't put one there. When I went to the mansion a few years ago, there was no such thing."

"......I see. Thanks. I'll call you if anything else comes up."

"Alright."

As Shinji pulled the mobile phone away from his ear after the call ended, Mutsu, who had gone to the kitchen, returned to the entrance. Seeing that Shinji had finished the call, Mutsu looked a bit disappointed.

"You already hung up. What did Ichirou want?"

"He's doing well, don't worry. Just a status update."

"Is that so? Did he say anything about coming back?"

"He didn't mention anything."

"Too bad."

With that, Mutsu went back into the kitchen. Shinji watched her go, then looked down at his mobile phone with a puzzled expression.

"......What is he trying to bring into the mansion?"

Meanwhile, Ichirou, after putting his mobile phone back in his pocket, sighed as he looked at the iron plates under his feet. Through his conversation with Shinji, Ichirou had become certain of something.

Shinji knew that the room in the mansion was connected to another world.

The atmosphere during their conversation was suspicious, and the contents of the suitcase Shinji had given him were clearly odd. Normally, a father wouldn't give his son a 60 cm long sword, which would violate the Sword and Firearm Control Law, or items like a stab-proof vest and a gas mask, which have no clear use in Japan.

Moreover, Shinji had let something slip during their conversation.

Previously, when Ichirou first came to the mansion, Shinji had said, "When I saw it 30 years ago, it wasn't that rundown, and the pillars and roof were solid." However, during their recent conversation, Shinji had said, "When I went to the mansion a few years ago."

For some reason, Shinji had hidden the fact that he had visited the mansion a few years ago and told Ichirou that he hadn't been there for a long time.

However, Ichirou tilted his head in confusion as he looked at the threshold of the six-tatami room that led to the other world.

If Shinji knew about the room that connected to another world, why did he send Ichirou to the mansion without any prior knowledge? From their conversation, it was clear that Shinji had no intention of telling Ichirou about the room. But the reason for this was completely unclear.

Ichirou wanted to find the room that connected to another world, but Shinji refused to answer any questions. What was Shinji's plan?

"......At the very least, I wish he had told me that the food in the other world wouldn't provide nutrition. I could have starved to death without realizing it..."

While the level of civilization and technology in the other world might not have been a big deal, Ichirou wished Shinji had told him that food from this world would have a miraculous effect in the other world, and that people from this world couldn't get nutrition from food in the other world. There must have been a significant reason, but Ichirou couldn't imagine a reason that outweighed the importance of such a life-threatening issue.

Perhaps Shinji knew about the room that connected to another world but had never actually gone there. If that were the case, Shinji might not have known anything about the other world and thus couldn't tell Ichirou anything. However, this would still leave the mystery of why Shinji wanted Ichirou to find the room and why he refused to answer any questions.

"......I have no idea what's going on. What does Dad want me to do?"

Frustrated by the lack of answers, Ichirou scratched his head. However, there was no point in dwelling on what he didn't know.

Shinji must have had a good reason for not telling Ichirou anything, and it would be better not to force him to talk. Shinji, despite his somewhat brusque manner, was very doting on his son, Ichirou. It was unlikely that he would withhold information out of malice.

Instead, there were many things Ichirou needed to do. He would have to put the mysteries of the iron plates and the room that connected to another world on hold and focus on the tasks he needed to complete today.

Ichirou glanced at the iron plates under his feet and headed towards the car parked in the yard.

A few minutes later, Ichirou was driving through the mountains and arrived at the entrance of "Gumma Ranch Co., Ltd.," which he had looked up on his mobile phone's internet. The vast pasture, covered with grass, was surprisingly comfortable despite being in the middle of August, the hottest season. The high altitude of the ranch made it cooler and less humid than the mountains he had just left.

At the entrance of the ranch, a large sign read:

"New Sensation! High-rise Treehouse Construction in Progress!! Scheduled to be completed in May next year. Book your stay early!"

What direction was this ranch heading in?

As Ichirou entered the ranch and drove past the grazing cows, he soon saw what looked like a souvenir shop. He asked the shop employee about the sale of compost and had them call the ranch owner. Soon, a young man arrived at the shop. He looked to be about the same age as Ichirou and seemed to be the ranch owner.

"Hello. I saw on the internet that you sell compost directly, so I came to see if I could get some."

"Compost, right. It's 3,000 yen per ton, and the shipping cost is extra. How much do you need?"

"About 50 tons. It would be great if you could deliver it by tomorrow. It's only a few minutes' drive from here."

Ichirou planned to transport the compost he would buy from this ranch in 3,000 cloth bags prepared by Isaac to Isteria. Each bag could hold about 15 kg, so 50 tons would be enough. If there was any left over, he could use it in the fields of the Grisaea village.

While he could transport the compost to Isteria without bagging it, there was a risk that it might spill and cause abnormal plant growth on the road to Isteria. Using bags made in Isteria, the compost would look like ordinary soil and reduce the risk of theft.

"50 tons, huh? That's quite a lot, so I'll arrange for it to be delivered first thing tomorrow morning."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

The ranch owner, who seemed experienced in dealing with farmers, smoothly negotiated the deal. Ichirou handed over a memo with the address of the mansion and the payment for the compost, including the shipping cost, in cash. As he was leaving, he noticed a poster in the shop.

"Building a treehouse is quite unusual."

"Yeah, this trend is starting to become popular on the internet, so I thought I'd give it a try since I run a ranch in Gunma. I hope it becomes a topic of conversation."

"Interesting... You could collaborate with ranches in other prefectures and hold events. It might attract more visitors."

"Ah, that's a good idea."

After a brief and somewhat aimless chat with the ranch owner, Ichirou left the shop to head to his next destination. As he was leaving, the ranch owner muttered something that stuck in his mind.

"Maybe an attack event from ranches in other prefectures would be interesting."

Ichirou found this comment oddly memorable as he drove away.