Chapter 23

"Be careful not to overdo it and end up collapsing, okay?"

"Today's MVP is definitely Hashibashi. The MD Burger was delicious! Thank you!"

Hagizawa agrees and looks at me.

The crispy texture of the fries, the rich flavor of the burger, and the taste of the ketchup spread in my mouth.

Yeah, it feels like junk food.

Everyone hasn't eaten for over two weeks, and I haven't had a burger either, but I don't find Japanese food nostalgic.

...While thinking that I want to provide an environment where everyone can eat Japanese food as a matter of course...

I ate the burger under everyone's watchful eyes.

The thoughtfulness really touches my heart.

On the other hand, the guilt builds up.

"As I said earlier... Is it really okay for us to indulge in luxury?"

Suddenly, Shigeru's expression darkens and he mutters.

"That's... inevitable, isn't it? If we say we're secretly leveling up and can get Japanese stuff, who knows what will happen?"

Hagizawa bluntly dismisses Shigeru's concern.

No, there's a way to say it...

Hagizawa really doesn't read the room.

He's definitely a mood maker, though.

"That might be true..."

"Indeed, that's right."

"Yeah... But if we say that now, we'll just be taken away or ordered around... I think we should tell everyone after we get stronger."

Meguru opens the window slightly and peeks at the village.

"I heard once, 'Justice without power is powerless, and power without justice is tyranny.' I think we are currently sharpening our fangs to uphold justice."

"Can't getting Japanese stuff be a bargaining chip?"

At Jitsu's words, Shigeru and Meguru are stumped.

"It's difficult, after all."

"Yeah. I think we'll just be used to our advantage, and in the worst case, exploited. Even if I'm favored, considering Taniizumi's attitude, it's hard to change our current strategy."

"Then... Does that mean we have to keep leveling up and beat Taniizumi and the others?"

At Jitsu's words, Shigeru shakes his head.

"No. We may be few in number now, but if we can make the base group recognized as strong and human, not just NPCs, that's enough."

"What do you mean?"

"We need to make the player group think it's hard to overpower the base group and prove that the base group can be a fighting force."

That's right. We need to create a situation where the player group can't keep the base group at level 1 and locked up.

Numbers are power.

Right now, the player group is stronger, but if we can level the playing field with the base group, the relationship with Taniizumi at the top will collapse.

"If someone can beat Taniizumi in a one-on-one, it could break this skewed situation."

"There are other options, though."

I nod at Shigeru's words.

Still, I don't know what he's imagining I'll say.

"This is a different world, but it's not guaranteed that we're the only humans. If there's a human settlement somewhere with a proper civilization, with Meguru here, this relationship will end."

Meguru claps her hands in agreement at my words.

"I see. If there are other people in this world, the meaning of being in a closed environment is almost nonexistent. If there's a country, the base group would have the advantage, right?"

"That's right. We could welcome people who can fight, and we have various abilities. If we negotiate well, we can at least break this situation."

Of course, this assumes we can communicate, but apparently, even without a common language, body language can facilitate communication.

If we can understand the language of this world, we can be evaluated for more than just our combat abilities.

In such a situation, it would be difficult for the combat-focused group to dominate as they do now.

"There are quite a few conditions for victory if we talk it out."

"Monsters might attack, and the situation of being stranded is what forms this village. If we can remove one of these problems, Taniizumi and the player group's actions will naturally be restrained."

Yeah.

What we need to do now is get stronger and explore to get through the forest.

Of course, there's no guarantee we can get out of the forest, and it might be a game-like situation where we can't leave until we clear it, and this could be an uninhabited world.

Still, that's no reason not to explore.

That's why we need to get stronger to move forward.

"So, I think our immediate goal should be to keep leveling up and exploring."

Yeah, that's how it will be.

By the way, Oono, who has the duplication ability, can't possibly notice us.

He can't duplicate expansion abilities, and everyone knows Taniizumi has complained to him, "You're still useless!"

Maybe if Oono levels up, he might be able to duplicate expansion abilities, but for now, it's not a problem.

"I'm looking forward to what expansion ability Shigeru will get when he reaches level 5, and what he'll get at level 10. Let's aim for that."

"Yeah, I got some weapons from Kosei, so I'll try making Metal Turtle weapons tomorrow. With the weapons we've acquired, increasing our combat power... getting stronger is the way to go, right?"

I nod at Shigeru's words.

"Given this situation, I think it's good to make progress, even a little. I want to try my best too."

"Yeah, I think it's better to be positive rather than just thinking it's tough."

Meguru nods strongly.

Yeah. We need to get stronger and break this skewed environment.

The excitement of getting new weapons and the determination to do so made us bond strongly that day.

The next day, we decided to go level up as soon as Taniizumi left.

Hagizawa also wanted to test his new weapon, but since it was his turn, he accepted it.

In return, he said he wanted to eat a beef bowl from Ushinoya for lunch.

I had no choice but to buy it.

When he kept saying it was delicious, I felt good too.

Hagizawa is definitely a mood maker.

"Let's go then."

We set off for hunting on Meguru's portal!

But we each took out the weapons we had hidden.

"I wonder if kitchen knives can be used as weapons in this world?"

"I think they can if Jitsu imbues them with magic."

Checking the stats, the attack power is indeed displayed.

It's much higher than our previous weapons.

Kitchen Knife: No Enchantment, Good Sharpness

"Iron weapons are hard to come by for Taniizumi and the others, and this one has good sharpness."

"Doesn't Shigeru's blacksmithing produce any with good sharpness?"

"The original material isn't good enough... It seems to be influenced by the environment, and a forge isn't enough."

There are issues with firepower.

The equipment bonuses can't be underestimated.

"So, if Hagizawa had the right equipment, he could make even better weapons?"

"Probably. Things like a lathe or a flask might be useful, but since the environment isn't set up, there's no need to collect them forcefully."

There are various types of production abilities.

Mine and Meguru's are action-based, so they're different.

To be honest, we don't need tools for our abilities.

"Getting Jitsu to replenish the magic... Okay! Let's go."

We replenish the magic on the kitchen knives and other weapons.

"By the way, did you make the weapon from the Metal Turtle material?"

"Yeah."

Shigeru hands a sword to Meguru from the back of the workshop.

The hilt has a turtle shell pattern and looks like a strange, shiny metal sword.

"Amazing... The attack power is much higher than the kitchen knife. Is it called the Metal Turtle Sword?"

Meguru gasps.

It must be a pretty good piece of equipment.

"The required points are no joke, but we need to test it to see how good it is."