Chapter 97

Today, Chapter 1

"I'm home!"

"Wow! You're really fast!"

It hasn't been more than a minute since she disappeared.

Ferlin appeared with her bag, holding it, at a speed that vividly demonstrated just how excellent the transfer was.

"I thought there might be something else, so I looked around, but the only thing I found was the bag."

As she said this, she placed it on the table. It was indeed a cream-colored women's bag, just as Ferlin had described.

It didn't seem particularly dirty.

"Are the remains nearby?"

"Yeah, but it was mostly just the head and a few other parts..."

"I see..."

I can kind of imagine what happened.

The woman died there for some reason.

But, most of her body was probably taken away by goblins.

That's probably why her clothes were left behind.

Well, there's no point in thinking about that now.

Since there was a head, she's definitely dead.

If so, I'll gratefully make use of her belongings.

Some people might say, "Hey, hey," but this is a different world.

Since we can't return these items to her family, it's better to use them rather than let them just sit there.

"Let's start by taking everything out of the bag."

As she said this, she began to lay out the contents of the bag on the table—

(Wallet, smartphone, pouch, candy, deodorant spray, pouch, notebook, a book, sunglasses, pouch, pouch... There are a lot of pouches...)

The table quickly filled with the items she took out one by one.

She's a woman, after all.

Even though I think it's a personal bag, it seems to contain a lot more items than a man's would.

"Wow, people from Earth carry so many things!"

"Maybe it's because she's a woman. Oh, and by the way, there are only humans on Earth, so you don't usually hear the word 'race.'"

"Really!?"

"Yeah. The goddesses always say 'race, race,' but I think it's because this world has many different races."

"Ah, I see! So it's better to say 'human' or 'beastman'!"

"Right! You got it, Ferlin! You understand!"

"Hehe~"

With Ferlin all excited, we started the investigation right away.

First, let's check the wallet.

I picked up a flashy emerald green long wallet and started checking its contents.

I quickly found what I was looking for.

"Here it is. A driver's license."

"What's that?"

"It's a card you need to drive a vehicle called a car. In this world, it's similar to a guild card, which is used as an identity card."

"Hmm?"

She doesn't seem to understand, but it's no use trying to explain cars to someone who doesn't know what they are.

Explaining everything one by one would be too much, so I just told Ferlin to look at the Earth items as she pleases.

(Hmm... Ms. Furukawa Seimi, 27 years old. She has a sharp gaze but is a beautiful woman. She's a Japanese person living in Tokyo. From the date of issue—she was probably sent here within the last two years.)

The Hunter's Guild has items from six years ago.

And Ms. Furukawa was sent here within the last two years.

I don't know the frequency, but there must have been people sent here between her and me.

And the only common point we share is that we are both Japanese.

There's no other significant information in the wallet.

I checked the cards in detail, but nothing stood out to me.

I tried turning on the phone, but it didn't work, and the book seemed to be a self-help book.

Flipping through it, I only got the sense that it was about how you can do anything if you have the energy.

At this point, I felt my theory was probably wrong, but I still reached for the notebook, which could be a source of information.

The cover read "2020."

Checking the contents, I saw that something was written for each day up to May 2020, but from May 27th, it was blank.

This suggests she was sent here around that time.

Looking at the previous day's entry, it only mentioned a dentist appointment, nothing special.

Well, I was also sent here without any warning while at work...

Ms. Furukawa was probably also sent here suddenly without any warning.

I checked back further, but from March, there were a lot of heart marks, so she probably had a boyfriend around that time.

The blank pages I often use as a notepad were mostly filled with messages that seemed to be from her boyfriend, which just made me feel like my mouth was stuffed with sugar.

"What's with that face?"

"Ah, I just saw someone else's sweet memories."

"Maybe it's about love!?"

"Yeah... you're really interested, huh? Now..."

"Ah, I want to see, I want to see!"

"Ferlin, didn't you seem down when you first found this bag?"

But she was still so interested, so I just handed her the notebook and continued checking the other items.

(Does a typical woman carry four pouches? That's a lot.)

Thinking this, I started opening the items one by one. The largest pouch contained makeup, as expected.

The small one was for contact lenses, and the medium one was for menstrual products, but when I opened the last pouch, I couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!"

(This is a power bank, right? And a charging cable... Seriously? Seriously!?)

I quickly thought about what to do, but first, I needed to check if the power bank worked.

If it did, there was something I wanted to check.

I connected the cable to the power bank and then to her phone.

"Alright!!"

"Huh? What's going on!?"

"The phone is charging."

The battery icon appeared on the screen.

I've never used a power bank before, so I don't know how it works, but I just need it to work a little.

"Phone?"

"It's a cutting-edge device from Earth, a tool of civilization."

"Wow~"

I'm sorry, but I don't have the time to entertain Ferlin right now.

The real challenge starts now... Yeah, of course, there's a password.

But it's a four-digit number, so there's still a chance.

I tried the birthday from her driver's license and its reverse, but no luck.

What else? I borrowed the notebook from Ferlin and looked for numbers that might work.

(There's no way she'd write her phone password in the notebook. If it's related to her boyfriend, maybe his birthday or an anniversary?)

But there were heart marks from January 1st, so it would be hard to find the start of their relationship.

(Then... Ah! Her boyfriend's birthday!!)

On February 12th, it said "Yuki's birthday" with lots of heart marks.

So it must be "2012" or "2102"! I quickly tapped in the numbers, but no luck.

The password was tough, and I couldn't help but look up at the ceiling.

(Ah, no good. I can't crack it. Without this, I can't see what apps she had. That means I can't confirm if my theory is right. What kind of password do women set? Usually, it's related to their boyfriend? But this person might have broken up... So what else? Parents' birthdays, or a favorite idol's birthday? If it's something like that, there's no way I can guess. And if I get it wrong too many times, it might lock up... Hmm? Hmm?)

I suddenly looked at Ferlin.

She looked cute with her puzzled expression.

I've always known that, but that's not the point right now.

She's a goddess. Right, a god.

Then—

"Ferlin, can you use magic to unlock this password?"

"Huh?"

"Ferlin, you're a powerful being. Can you read the four digits the owner set?"

"Um..."

As she said this, Ferlin looked at the phone.

Her gaze was unusually serious.

Please, Ferlin!!

"No, I can't!"

"Too quick! Don't give up so quickly!!"

"Well, it's a machine, right? If it were a living thing, maybe I could do something, but I can't do anything with a machine!"

"Ugh... Goddess..."

"Even among goddesses, Felsa-sama might be able to do it, but we're just minor deities."

"Ah! Don't be so modest. Being cute is enough."

"I don't understand what you mean!"

Hmm, even a goddess's power can't do it.

Modern technology is truly formidable.

So, is there anything else I can do...

Even if I can't confirm, it's not like I'll die.

Thinking this, I flipped through the notebook, checking if her home phone number was written anywhere. The address section was blank, but on the last page, there was a phone number and fax number that seemed to be from her workplace.

Then, I remembered that my phone password was the last four digits of my branch number, so I tried it out.

"..."

"The screen changed, didn't it?"

"Yeah... She had the same thought process as me."

Seriously?

Thinking about what to do if it were a woman was a mistake.

Well, it's fine!

At least I managed to unlock it, so everything is okay!

Now, I can start checking the part I wanted to confirm.

The common point between me and her, Ms. Furukawa, and the reason we were sent to this world.

I think it might be because we are hardcore gamers or fans of fantasy novels about other worlds.

If my hypothesis is correct, Donduri wants us to kill a lot of monsters.

Even if we were given a game-like status screen, the way we perceive magic, skills, weapons, and the world's setting would differ greatly depending on whether we had played RPGs or knew about them.

If my mother, who knows nothing about such things, were sent to this world, she would probably be killed by goblins in the forest without even knowing what they were.

—But the book was a self-help book.

At this point, the line about being a light novel fan seems less likely.

And the line about being a hardcore gamer is also less likely, given that she was reading a book while traveling.

When I was obsessed, I used a PC, but I know that mobile apps are now the norm.

If she were a hardcore gamer, she would probably be playing a game instead of reading a book while traveling...

(Hmm, as expected. There are some puzzle games that seem like something a girl would play, but no famous MMORPGs that I know of... And no novel apps either)

Sigh...

My hypothesis is probably wrong.

I thought knowing the common point would help me understand Donduri's purpose.

But in the end, we only share the fact that we are both Japanese.

If I could use the power bank to check the contents of the phone, I might be able to determine where the owner of the six-year-old items was from...

But even if I knew where they were from, what would that tell me?

(Damn... If she were an RPG fan, it would connect with Donduri's "found" condition and the hypothesis that he wants us to kill a lot of monsters)

Honestly, this has made Donduri's purpose even more unclear.

"Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, I found out that I don't know why I was called here..."

"Huh?"

"On Earth, there are many stories about people being sent to other worlds. Many people like such stories. I thought maybe people familiar with such stories were being sent here. Or people who are used to a world with weapons, magic, and skills. There are many such games on Earth."

"Roki, you fit both, but this person didn't?"

"That's right. Just based on her belongings. If she liked such stories, the book would have been about that, and her phone wouldn't have had such games."

"I see... So why were you called to this world, Roki?"

"If I knew why, I might understand the purpose."

"Right. The purpose and reason are connected, I think."

"My hypothesis was that Donduri wanted me to kill a lot of monsters, but that seems doubtful now."

"But, Roki, you like this world and are used to it, right?"

"This is my first time being sent here, so I'm not used to it. But I do like it, and I can adapt to the situation. Most people would panic and die quickly."

"I see, I see! Then it's good!"

"Huh?"

"If you like this world, you can enjoy it! While you're enjoying it, we might find more Earth items, and then we might learn more."

You're such an optimist, Ferlin.

But since I didn't get any results, your words are very appreciated.

"Right. Thanks, Ferlin."

"Uh, uh! It's okay! No problem at all!! ...But what about these things in front of us?"

"Ah, what should we do..."

The items were spread out on the table.

Ideally, I should show them to Yagov and Amanda and see if we can recreate any of them in this world...

But if I do that, I'll have to explain where I found them.

If I tell them I found them near where I was sent, they might form a search party for more items.

And since I met Yagov and the others yesterday, they'll wonder how I got there so quickly.

If I have to explain, I'll have to tell them about Ferlin, which is out of the question.

Even saying I found them in a shallow part of Palmera is risky... Besides, I'm afraid Yagov will see through my lie.

So, it's better not to say anything about this.

If I tell them, it might make it harder for the goddesses to search for more people, so I need to avoid that.

If I do give them the items, it's better to wait a while.

"Yeah, I thought about it, and it's better not to tell the people I usually consult with. It won't make sense if I don't reveal Ferlin's existence."

"Got it! But then, will you carry them around?"

"Hmm... Isn't the next one Riste-sama?"

"Yeah, that's what she said!"

"Then maybe I'll show them to Riste-sama. She seems the most interested in Earth items."

"Good idea! Riste is the goddess of commerce, so she should know a lot about things!"

"Then let's do that. Oh, just to confirm, Ferlin, you don't have the [Spatial Magic] right now, do you? You can use it to 'store' things, right?"

"Yeah, I should be able to do that."

"Can you take them to the divine realm?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I've never tried it."

"You mean the sub-dimension connected to your main body might be different?"

"Right. I should be able to store them in a sub-dimension here, but they might disappear when I dispel the [Avatar]."

"I see... Then let's try it for future reference."

I don't plan to use the goddess's power to get an infinite box.

But carrying around a modern woman's bag is embarrassing.

I already have my own bag and other items.

So, at least I want to temporarily store this bag...

With this in mind, I decided to conduct a storage experiment using the goddess's skill.