The New Gate

“Err… why have I been summoned again?”

“Are you really sure you don’t know why?”

During the restoration of the city, Shin was summoned by the Adventurers’ Guild and was now in the Erkunt branch. He was told that he would be informed once he arrived at the guild, but as soon as he arrived he was brought to a private room.

He could think of a few reasons why he would be summoned, but he had no evidence for any of them.

“We are aware that you are collaborating with the city’s reconstruction. That is the same reason why we wanted you to come to the guild.”

“I see…?”

According to the receptionist, the guild agreed to cooperate with the country’s reconstruction efforts; there were requests available according to each adventurer’s abilities. Shin was expected to use his abilities for rescue operations, but he acted independently from the guild, helping wherever he found it necessary.

“We are very thankful to you, sir Shin. Without you two, many would have surely died. But without prior procedures here, it becomes impossible to add such efforts to your achievements.”

Because of the guild’s system, accomplishments not covered by a registered request were hardly evaluated or considered. Because of the scale of Shin’s actions, he would receive some sort of recognition all the same, but it would be much smaller than what he would garner if he acted officially.

“The reward becomes smaller too…as a citizen of this country, I feel terribly sorry.”

“Ah…I see. Well, er, I’m sorry. But we weren’t thinking about any rewards anyway. We’ll be more careful next time.”

Shin actually hoped that there wouldn’t be a next time, but chose not to mention that.

“Thank you. So, these are the requests specifically for you, sir Shin.”

The receptionist took out one sheet of paper from the file. The request was about removing wreckage from destroyed buildings and rescuing trapped survivors.

Because of Shin’s fighting abilities, he was apparently deemed to be very strong. Since several days had passed since the attack, the rescue of survivors had to be prioritized if they were still alive.

“We are aware of your achievements, sir Shin, lady Yuki, so if you accept this request, we can add more to your accomplishments.”

Shin and Schnee’s combination of Earth-type magic and 【Through Sight】 was very effective. They could quickly find any survivors inside the rubble and ensure their safety first with earth spells.

Normally, removing wreckage had to be done with extreme caution, but since they didn’t have to worry about the safety of the people inside, speed could be prioritized.

The adventurers or the guards were not trained to rescue people in this situation: but if all they had to do was use their muscles to remove wreckage, things were very different. Shin’s assistance was a godsend for them.

“We have no reason to refuse the request, of course.”

Shin signed the request. There was no time limit, so they could step down anytime they wished. The achievements and rewards were fixed, but it was an emergency rescue operation request. Operation evaluation would be carried in secret by the guild: in any case, they wanted people to assist restoration efforts as soon as possible.

Shin was curious about how the assistance efforts would be evaluated, but there was no time to think about that. After leaving the guild, Shin and Schnee headed to the district where Vulcan’s workshop was located.

“There aren’t many damaged buildings around here. I guess it should be expected since there are so many workshops.”

“They’re built sturdier than other buildings after all, so they can withstand much damage when something happens.”

That world’s workshops were always built fairly sturdy, thanks to the widespread usage of magic, a set of techniques developed that were different than science-based techniques.

Using too much magic power could cause explosions, so it was necessary to prevent any such incidents from affecting the workshop. A side effect to this precaution was that the workshops were thus stronger to attacks too.

Monsters had gone wild in the workshop district too, but because of their sturdy construction, the number of destroyed buildings was much lower than the districts where inns or stores predominated.

“I guess that the problem is that any wreckage is too heavy to be moved, so they called us.”

In the real world, transportation would be difficult even with heavy-duty machinery. The materials used were unique to this world, which were much stronger and resilient.

“Oh, you came.”

“You’re helping with wreckage removal too, boss?”

“I’m stronger than most humans after all. Besides, this is more important than forging swords or armor right now.”

The monster invasion had left Vulcan’s workshop unscathed, and his disciple Vaal was safe and sound too. The building’s sturdiness had definitely kept damage to a minimum. Another fortunate coincidence was that because of the large size of most monsters, they couldn’t enter the workshops. If people had taken shelter inside such sturdy buildings, casualties could have been avoided.

“I thought I knew already, but you really are strong.”

“It’s not that unusual, is it? There are plenty of high-ranked adventurers as strong as me.”

“I know that, but in your case, it’s a whole other level…well, compared to your lady, you don’t look as unusual though.”

Vulcan meant that as Shin was a man, being so powerful was not as surprising. Because of his profession, he had the chance to observe all sorts of Chosen Ones.

Seeing Schnee’s thin arms easily lift wreckage many times larger than her, however, left even him dumbfounded. Shin thought that he would feel the same if he didn’t have his abilities from the game era.

The removal operations accelerated immensely after Shin and Schnee joined in: thanks to the fact that few workshops were damaged in the first place, the whole district’s wreckage removal was completed the same day. There was no one in need of rescue either.

“Now that I think about it, we’ve spent a fairly long time here in Erkunt.”

Shin voiced his thoughts while relaxing after dinner, back in their hotel room. It was the first time he stayed longer than one month in a single country. They had stayed a long time in Hinomoto too, but never in the same place, so he didn’t feel like he stayed as long there.

“It’s also the first time for our party to scatter like this.”

In the beginning, Shin was by himself. Then Yuzuha, Schnee, and Tiera joined, soon followed by the others, leading to the current six members and two “pets”.

Shin had proceeded ahead of the rest of the party before arriving to Hinomoto, but it was not because the party had scattered, but because he decided to act on his own. While he was lost in such thoughts, he felt a warm and soft feeling on his right arm and shoulder.

“I find myself hoping for this time to continue, even just a little more.”

Schnee spoke while leaning against Shin. There was no need to worry about the other party members, unless an emergency happened, so now that Avaritia was gone they could spend time relaxing together.

“Right, right…with the others around, you’ll be too embarrassed to act spoiled around me…”

“That’s…! ……I mean, isn’t it…embarrassing?”

Schnee blushed fiercely and looked away. Because of her serious personality, she found it impossible to flirt when other people were around. If she was provoked, however, all bets were off.

“Besides, Filma and Sety would definitely ask about every little detail…I’m sure I’m going to be interrogated when the party is back together.”

The party’s ladies will definitely have a lot to be curious about. No matter the world, love affairs were a never-ending source of curiosity.

“I don’t really mind though. You’re not going to tell everything, right?”

“Not! Absolutely not!! Those two would definitely tease me to no end!!”

Shin thought for a moment that they might as well reveal everything, but Schnee’s panicked reaction was so cute that he kept quiet. This is pretty nice too…he thought as he felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

While caressing her head, Shin wondered how long such a time would continue. It was that very moment, that the notice of an incoming message was displayed.

“Oh, it’s from Tiera.”

“A message?”

Shin whispered to himself and Schnee, happily enjoying being caressed, raised her head.

“Yeah, let’s see….hmm, it turns out things are getting troublesome on their end.”

Shin read the message and laughed bitterly. Their peaceful days had finally come to an end.

“Did something happen?”

“Yeah…Tiera and Shibaid were working to resurrect the World Tree, right? It looks like it’s not going too well, or rather, it’s turned into something pretty nasty.”