The room assignments were done and base preparations were finished, so I was having tea with Pakira at the counter.
For the rooms, Lupinus and Pakira got the back right.
The middle rooms went to Riv, Bidd, and Juicy.
The left side was me, Agaro, and Hyarn. Though Agaro looked like he'd end up holing up on the first floor.
A little secret base — or hideout, I guess. Kind of exciting.
I stood behind the counter while Pakira sat across from me.
Being on the counter side was just a matter of feeling.
As we were having a lazy, idle chat, a bell chimed and the door opened.
Agaro and Bidd had returned from scouting.
"— Phew. I want a drink."
"— Welcome back."
"— Man, this area is pretty maze-like, huh."
"— I set up as many response stones as I could."
"— Good work."
"— Also, the buildings on both sides. Nothing in them. Looks aside, they're empty."
"— This place is a little unusual, but it's the usual dungeon ruins at the end of the day."
"— Since they're empty, they're easy to set traps in, y'know."
"— Well, we'll get to that in due time."
"— Yeah."
Reaction stones are a type of Legacy — a variant of barrier stones.
When a monster touches one, it signals its location with sound and light.
Then it cracks and shatters. The price isn't bad, either.
But they're rarely used in dungeons.
Because the sound and light draw more monsters.
Still, people have figured out ways to exploit that, so the downside isn't all that severe.
"Also, I saw a new monster."
Agaro said that while drinking. He was already drinking.
"What kind?"
"A big, four-legged square spider."
"A square… spider?"
"It's pretty huge, y'know."
"Yeah, but it didn't really feel like a living thing."
"Right. More like a black-and-white puppet, that sort of vibe."
I see, I see.
I had a rough idea of what this monster was like now.
Rough, but probably something along the lines of a multi-legged tank or thereabouts.
"Hmm. Do you lot think you could take it down?"
Pakira asked.
"On my own, no way."
"Well, I'm fine with it."
Agaro said, laughing and taking a drink.
Hmm. If that's the case, maybe they're not that strong after all.
"But there sure are a lot of them."
"Yeah, that's the thing. They feel like they're hanging around with those black and white dolls."
"Now that's a bother, isn't it."
"Well, it's not like we came here to wipe them all out."
"That's true too."
"It is, yeah."
"So here's the thing. We just need to think carefully about how we're going to explore. That's all."
"Hmm."
How we're going to explore. Those words got me thinking.
"Hey though, this thing sure is handy."
Agaro grabbed the necklace hanging around his neck with his fingers.
It had a communication app built into it.
"Right? Having this lets us get in touch instantly, it's a huge help."
"It's practically a necessity now."
"I was worried whether it would even work here, but it works perfectly, so that's a relief."
We'd given it to Agaro since he was heading out on reconnaissance.
Come to think of it, I'd also remembered that I hadn't given it to him yet.
"Wof. Is this some new product from the Haighern Trading Company?"
"No, Haighern doesn't know about this yet."
"Oh, really?"
"Come to think of it, I haven't given you one, have I?"
"So that's how it was."
"Well, it'll come out this time, I guess."
I gave a wry smile. Nothing to be done about it.
Personally, I had no intention of commercializing it anytime soon.
"Well then, I'm gonna go take a bath."
"Yeah. I'll be right here drinking."
"Perhaps I shall read a book in my room."
"You brought those with you?"
"Mm. For exactly this kind of situation."
Books, huh.
There might be something similar here too. E-books, maybe.
I was mulling that over when the rabbit came bounding down from the second floor.
"Wof! What the heck is this thing called a communicator?!"
Ah, she already found out.
In the living room sat a box that had been brought up from the underground storage.
The canned goods were already in the kitchen, too.
Riv knew how to open the boxes and cans. There were buttons, and you just had to push them.
The boxes held processed meat and fish, and the cans contained vegetables.
But tonight's dinner was different.
"This is — how truly wonderful! I must say, I was never particularly fond of noodles. But this — this, I simply adore!"
Lupinus was in a state of bliss over the soy sauce cup noodles.
The sight of a cup noodle before an elf lady really does have an impact, huh.
"Uchi's all about this yakisoba one. It's good!"
"Mmm... curry flavor... supreme... the ultimate..."
"This noodle called soba is truly excellent."
"Um, um, um — the miso flavor is incredible! Munch!"
"Udon, huh? Nice. Goes well with sake."
"Seafood flavor. It's divine!"
Everyone was raving. Cup noodles really do deliver.
Still, the sight of all of us sitting around the table eating cup noodles was pretty surreal.
I happened to glance at the two spheres floating in the living room.
"Beep beep... Afterlife Vision guarantees... guarantees your health for tomorrow's life... guarantees your health for tomorrow's life... — We propose that you live a healthy lifestyle."
"Sodium concentration... sodium concentration... health damage..."
So annoying.
Also, are rabbits even supposed to eat cup noodles?
Eh, whatever. It's too late to worry about it now, and besides, she's a higher being.
And with that, we finished eating. Now, time for the strategy meeting.
But the meeting gets derailed right from the start.
—Talking is all well and good, but we really do need a map.
—But mapping this place would be a massive pain, you know.
—Aye, that it would.
A map, huh. Now that I think about it...
—Hey, Hayarn. Uniton has a mapping function, right?
—Indeed. But for that, Uniton would need to go around the entire city.
—About that, that pink sphere is synced with the city's network, so if we could download the full map data from it and connect that data to Uniton, I think we could have it do the mapping.
If that worked, we'd be able to project a full map of Starlight City.
Relying on that pink ball would be a pain, but—hmm? Huh? Everyone's gone quiet.
…………
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…………
……
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Then Hayarn furrowed his brow and spoke.
—What in the world are you talking about?
You're the one who should be getting this.
Riv turned to me and parted her pale pink lips.
"Hm... I see... So... what does that mean... exactly...?"
No, you understand too, don't you.
Lupinus cleared her throat.
"Um, Wof. What does this mean?"
"A-ah, Wof. So does that mean we can get a map?"
"Y-yes. You can get one."
As expected of Juicy. She's sharp at cutting to the point.
My past life memories had just burst out. She probably has no idea what any of that meant.
Well, the rabbit and Riv should be able to figure it out.
"I don't really get it, but that pink sphere — that thing can somehow work with the map?"
"Is that even possible?"
"Yes. Right. Afterlife Vision System ver. β."
When I asked the pink sphere floating diagonally above me, the center of the sphere flickered.
*Beep beep... beep... beep... syncing... personal network connection —— Starlight City... main system... administration... urban redesign base folder... confirming master map data... downloading —— complete. Afterlife Vision System ver. γ... connected to Uniton... beep beep...*
It responded instantly. As expected, this thing understands language.
Maybe because it synced with that. Its vocabulary seemed to have grown too.
Fantastic. It's become even more of a headache.
Uniton trembled, its two lenses glowing.
A three-dimensional map of Starlight City was projected onto the table.