Chapter 97

Before showing my face at the investigation headquarters, I thought I would pay my respects at the site of the old school building, so I moved to where the memorial stand was visible, and then I heard the sound of a helicopter from above.

"K-Kent-sama, what is that? There shouldn't be any monsters in this world, right?"

"Yeah, that's called a helicopter. It's a device that people use to fly in the sky."

"People can fly in the sky?"

Reinhardt, who was looking up in amazement, seemed to be saying, "It looks like it's hovering and taking pictures of the ground."

When I shifted my gaze to the other side of the fence, I could see a TV crew with cameras set up there.

"Kent-sama, who are those people?"

"Yeah, they're called the media. They're people who report on incidents and accidents."

"Hmm, they weren't here the other day..."

"Yeah, probably the information that I've returned to this world has leaked from somewhere."

When I moved to the front of the police station, even more media people had gathered.

Let's listen to what the announcer is saying in front of the police station.

"Although there has been no official announcement yet, we have received information from multiple sources that contact has been made with the missing middle school students, and it is expected that an announcement will be made from the investigation headquarters shortly..."

Letters must have been delivered to everyone's families, and if that's the case, it's only natural that the story would spread to the media.

But, thinking about it, in cases of kidnapping or abduction, the people who are released or rescued usually hold press conferences.

Maybe I have to do that too... Can I not go back?

When I peeked into the investigation headquarters, a lot of investigators were moving around, unlike yesterday.

I could also see the people from other ministries who had come for the questioning yesterday.

It feels like if I go out now, I might be detained again.

Since I was told to show my face, I decided to show my face to the extent that I could, and I called out using the Dark Shield.

"Hello, Sato-san, it seems to be quite a commotion."

"Whoa... Kunitomi-kun, please stop that."

"Huh... Was it bad?"

When I called out with only my face showing from the Dark Shield, the previously noisy investigation headquarters fell silent, and everyone's gaze turned to me.

"That looks like a severed head floating in mid-air. Try it in front of a mirror, and you'll see how creepy it is."

"Ugh... You're right, I'm sorry."

I expanded the Dark Shield and stepped into the investigation headquarters.

"He really did come from the air."

"Is that like teleportation?"

"Is it some kind of trick...?"

"How can a person come out of nowhere without a trick?"

The investigators who saw it for the first time were sending suspicious glances.

Well, if you see shadow travel for the first time, you'd react like that.

"Sato-san, the media has gathered. Do I have to appear at a press conference?"

"Regarding that, we don't plan to do so for now, and we intend to keep the fact that you've returned to this world a secret for a while."

The policy of the investigation headquarters and the Japanese government is to temporarily keep the truth hidden because the cause is the unprecedented event of being summoned to another world, which could hinder the investigation and negotiations for release.

At this point, the only way to prove the summoning to another world is for me to use magic, and if that happens, I will undoubtedly become a spectacle for the media.

"We can't say that all the responsibility lies with the media, but we want to avoid your family and you becoming a spectacle for the media, which could have a negative impact on the return of others. So, if you need anything, we will prepare it, but we would like you to stay out of the public eye for a while. Inside the police station, the media generally cannot enter."

"I understand. Thank you for your consideration."

After that, we moved to a separate room and held a meeting with people from other ministries to discuss future plans.

The task assigned to me was to take video footage of the situation in the other world.

They want to film the remains of the school building that was summoned and the landscape of the other world to prove that it is a place that does not exist on Earth.

"Is it okay to film from the tower in the capital city of Aldros in the kingdom of Reisenburg, which has a high tower?"

"How much of a view can you get?"

"There are no other tall buildings, so you can see 360 degrees. The size of the city is roughly the area inside the Yamanote Line."

"Good, I would like you to film from there. A city of that scale is unlikely to exist on Earth, so it would be a good proof of a different world."

In addition to that, we decided to film the appearance of the walls of Volzard, the streets seen from the top of the walls, and most importantly, the appearance of everyone who cannot return due to the summoning.

"Regarding the filming, it's not necessary for you to do all of it. However, can you continue filming without deleting the failed parts? That way, the editing won't be questioned."

"I understand. By the way, since some people have their own smartphones, if you could prepare solar-powered charging equipment and memory cards, we could also make video messages to our families..."

"Ah, I see... Nowadays, smartphones are a given... When I was young, there were no cell phones at all."

The discussion about the filming was led by Mr. Teramoto from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but occasionally, specific requests were made by Mr. Tazaki from the Public Security Bureau and Mr. Sato from the investigation headquarters.

"Regarding the remains of the school building, can you also film the inside, not just the outside?"

"And if there are any traces of the summoning, please film those as well."

"I understand. We plan to obtain materials related to the summoning soon, but they will be written in the language of the other world, so can we translate them into Japanese and then hand them over?"

"Yeah, that's fine, but Kunitomi-kun, are you okay with all this work?"

"No, I plan to ask my teacher for help with the translation. I'm the only one who can go to the location of the school building and the capital, but I plan to ask someone else to film other places."

After everyone nodded at my explanation, Mr. Kajikawa from the Cabinet Secretariat raised his hand and started speaking.

"The footage you will be filming will be shown to the Prime Minister, and depending on the results, you might have to come to the Prime Minister's office. Is that okay?"

"Yes, as long as I'm not followed by the media..."

"We will take that into consideration."

"Thank you."

After that, when I mentioned that we were considering taking funds from the Reisenburg royal family and getting Camilla to approve it, everyone looked surprised, but there were no major objections.

The Japanese government, which had been facing criticism from the public for the lack of clues and the inability to solve the case, seemed to be conditionally accepting the idea of an early resolution.

"What does the princess Camilla Reisenburg look like?"

"In my personal opinion, she is very beautiful, has a good figure, and exudes an aura of royalty."

"I see, in that case, we will probably have to film an apology message from her."

"But Camilla doesn't speak Japanese."

"Yeah, that's fine. When your classmates return, they will probably find it awkward, so the script will be a proper apology, but more importantly, the expression and tone of voice are crucial."

According to Mr. Teramoto, the video of Camilla is to convey the intention of an apology and to convince the bereaved families as much as possible.

"The bereaved families might be convinced by that, but what about the classmates who were summoned?"

"Speaking of which, they seem to have been treated quite badly."

"Yes, they were tricked into wearing slave bracelets and the living conditions were terrible for most of them, except for those with high magical power."

"In that case, we need to come up with an apology that they will accept when they return and see the video."

"That's right. I'll let Camilla think about it. We can show it to the people there and get their approval before filming."

"Sure, let's do it that way. Since the official protest from the Japanese government hasn't been made yet, the filming will probably be a bit later."

In any case, the priority now is to confirm the current situation in Reisenburg and Volzard for the government, so I was handed a video camera and other equipment.

"Sato-san, we can't charge the batteries over there, so can we place a charger somewhere here? I'll come to charge them."

"Sure. We'll set up a place in the corner of the investigation headquarters where the smartphones of the people there can be charged in turn."

"Thanks, but it feels like I'll be running around just to charge them."

"We'll also arrange for solar panels to prevent that."

"Thank you. I'll hand over the memory cards as I finish filming."

"Thanks."

I took the case containing the video camera and other equipment and returned to Volzard.

If I go back now, I should be able to make it in time for dinner, so it might be good to film the meal scene in the cafeteria.

But before that, I decided to go back to the site where we were summoned to check it out.

It had been a while since I last came here, and the concrete building standing alone in the wasteland felt out of place.

The sun was starting to set, so I decided to do some filming.

"Kent-sama, what does this video device do?"

"It records the scenery you see as a video."

"Oh... The scenery is sealed in the board."

"Not sealed, but it automatically records a series of very precise images... something like that."

"Hmm... It seems that the world you live in is indeed more advanced than Reisenburg."

When I started filming, I immediately noticed that the area around the school building had been leveled, but it had been messed up again.

"Reinhardt, the ground is messed up..."

"Probably to erase the traces of the summoning magic circle. Look, there are black, crushed stones mixed in. These are the magic stones that formed the circle, which lost their mana after activation."

"I see... Let's take a look from a distance..."

When I moved away from the remains of the school building, the traces of a huge circle could be seen.

"To build such a large circle, a huge amount of magic stones would be needed."

"Is the magic circle drawn with magic stones?"

"Yes, the magic circle is drawn on the ground with crushed magic stones, then solidified with earth magic and activated by infusing mana."

"I see, so a lot of magic stones would be needed, which means a lot of funds."

One of the methods to return my classmates is to activate the summoning ritual in Japan.

It's not clear if it can be done, but I need to prepare the necessary magic stones based on the information I get from Camilla.

"Kent-sama, if you need magic stones, we can prepare them. Please let us know whenever you need them."

"Sure, I don't know when it will be, but I'll ask for your help then."

The inside of the school building was left as it was on the day of the summon