Chapter 82

After finishing the very memorable meal assistance, we also ate breakfast and re-established today’s schedule.

“It’s best to hear from George-san for the time being.”

“After that, I think it’d be easier to understand when you talk to that book.”

Probably. I can talk to that book, but it can hide some information on purpose…in other words, I wonder if it’s looking forward to being exposed.

Then, it’s better to have as much information as possible to uncover it.

“Then Maito, we’ll go quickly and ask George-san…you’re the best at taking care of the people in the English Lab, so.”

After all, some people didn’t finish eating a bowl of porridge. With their stomachs weakened, they have no choice but to rest each time and build up their strength.

When it comes to that, I have to make it every time so that they can eat warm food. That means I have to stay here all the time.

“Then, have Tokoyo and Minamo with you. If I [Share] with those children, I’ll have a live broadcast.”

As soon as I said that, Tokoyo stuck to Katori. Yup. You really like Katori. …but seriously, why?

“Then I’ll take this one.”

With Katori’s consent, he put Tokoyo in his pocket. Tokoyo looked satisfied. That’s good.

“Then, we’ll talk to George-san. Maito, if you have something you want to hear, say it through the [Communication] bracelet.”

“Then Suzumoto and I will go to the other side of the waterfall. George-san is definitely more interesting, though.”

“Don’t say that, anyway, Maito, remember what George-san said later, okay?”

You guys, do you think I’m a video recorder?

…apart from that, Hariu and Suzumoto will go explore the floating island in the center of the lake that should have the courtyard (it’s really more correct to call it floating in the air, not water).

Then Hagasaki-kun and President will go cross-examine George-san, so that’s good.

Yeah, just that, I’m a little worried when it’s just these two. Well, I don’t have to worry about the two people who can fly in the sky since they’re the top two at evasion.

“…hey, for George-san’s side, do I need to go?”

“No.”

“No, right?”

“I don’t have to go either.”

“Nope.”

“No, no.”

“Then I wonder if Kadomi-kun and Kariya will be staying.”

Yup. With Hagasaki-kun and President, who are unrivaled in this regard, and Katori, with producer cum cameraman Tokoyo, and driver cum organizer Toriumi, I have to say that they’re rock solid.

To George-san, who will be cross-examined by this rock-solid team, Amen.

“I think it’d be nice if Kadomi helped with the physical side of things and Kariya will stay here as a recovery person. How about it?”

“I’m fine with that.”

“Oh, then I’m in too.”

Hmm. That means Suzumoto/Hariu will be the floating island tour group. Me/Kadomi/Kariya is the nursing group, while Hagasaki-kun/President/Katori/Toriumi would cross-examine George-san. We’ll be going our separate ways from here.

“For the time being, everyone should come back at noon. It also serves as the reporting time.”

Then we disbanded.

…

“Wait. Where are you going?”

As if it’s natural, Minamo was trying to get on Hariu’s shoulders.

[Eh? No good?] showed on her face, but please think carefully. As an assassin cum ninja, if you get on his shoulder, you’ll be shaken off!

…when I said so, she switched to Suzumoto’s shoulder.

No, that’s not what I meant! You’ll fly away! Please give up and come back!

I told her that, but after a while, I lost since she fit comfortably in the pouch attached to Hariu’s belt.

[How about this!] was on her face. U-uhm…

“Hn? Do you want to go with me? I don’t mind though? Minamo-chan right? Nice to meet you.”

O-ou…thankfully, master has a big heart, right Minamo?

Minamo went out of the pouch, then bowed to him. Seems like Minamo’s giving her greetings.

“Is it really okay? Wouldn’t she get in the way?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s the place to put MP recovery medicine.”

…that’s not okay!

“No, the volume has been reduced since mint extract was made so there’s some free space.”

Oh, so that’s how it is. But isn’t it difficult to pull it out with Minamo over there?

“When I need it, Minamo-chan will pull it out for me, right?”

When Hariu told Minamo that, she looked happy and had a face like [Yup~].

Yeah, yeah…that’s okay, but why Hariu?

Then this meant that this group also has a live camera, so in a sense, they’re insured, right?

After seeing them off, I decided to start making potage soup.

Porridge is good, but I want them to eat something different than porridge for two consecutive meals, right?

Potage doesn’t have to be chewed, so it’s good for digestion, and they can eat various vegetables with it. Above all, it’s warm.

For those who have been hungry for a long time, I think it’d be nice to have something warm.

“…Maito, can I help you?”

“Ah, then can you help me with the potatoes?”

Currently, we are steaming and straining potatoes and carrots.

Yeah, it’s easier to make potage with a mixer, but it doesn’t work since there’s no electricity.

And so, once the ingredients are steamed and strained (the tool for straining was made by Toriumi), divide it with the soup stock and it’s done.

However, this work looked a bit painful for the maid dolls. They’re being swayed by the wooden spatula.

Well, since the tools are my size, it’s larger than maid dolls.

However, if they used doll-sized tools, they had to repeat the process many times. And in that time, the potatoes would get cold, then it’d be difficult to strain…

“Do I just have to crush this?”

“Yup. Like this, just press it with the wooden spatula.”

I’m saved because once I taught him how to do it, Kadomi is a quick learner, and can control his strength so he got the hang of it after a while. Surprisingly, the straining portion requires hard work.

“Maito-san, the people over there have recovered.”

Kariya’s recovery magic [Holy Light] is relatively versatile and cannot only heal injuries but also relieve fatigue and recover physical strength. That’s why I had the people in the English Lab receive it.

“Then I’m going to see the live broadcast so I’ll leave the carrots to Kariya.”

“Understood.”

Kariya quickly got used to pureeing the carrots. Yeah, that’s good.

Now then, I’ll go watch George-san’s cross-examination live from Tokoyo.

“…you’re right, I’m not someone from this world. I thought you’d notice it sooner, you know?”

Ah, it just started with George-san’s confession.

“How long ago did you get involved in the summoning?”

“Let’s see, probably…15 years now.”

…at this point, the temple’s trustworthiness has been cut by more than half.

“Then, as expected, even if we erase the cause, that doesn’t mean all the summoned people will return to the original world, right?”

“Why do you know about that…when I came here, I thought I’d be happier if I didn’t know that.”

Ah, by the way, I talked about the temple at the pawnshop when we just bought the RomiJuli couple Miura-kun and Misaki-san at an auction. I think at that time, George-san got tired of the RomiJuli couple and left.

“In the first place, it was all over when I learned about the existence of the temple. Some of my friends and all the classrooms have returned to the original world already.”

“…if the temple did something, all the classrooms will disappear?”

“Looks like it. I don’t know the details either, but one day, our classroom at the beach of Deichemoore suddenly disappeared. Rumors came later that the temple performed a ritual around that day, and that’s it.”

Uwa. Uwa…then that, that…that’s dangerous.

Things were more serious than we thought. So far, there are only two ways we can all return to the original world.

One is when everyone participates in the temple ritual.

However, I don’t think the temple will allow this. As a temple, they’d want to keep an otherworlder with a lot of magical power in this world for a long time.

The second method was to collect all the classrooms, then all the students, and then go home together, which is the method we’re aiming for.

There are limits to both the first and the second.

The time limits are the same for both. Meaning, the time limit is when the temple decided to perform the ritual.

However, in the second case, we can set the limit as long as we block the temple’s ritual.

“I worked hard to settle in this world before I ever tried to return to the original world. Maybe that’s also why.”

Yes, there are people like George-san who can’t survive unless they give priority to surviving in this world, so we need time to find all of them.

Besides, we also need time to revive the dead people like those from the Chorus Club.

In both cases, we might not have enough time if the temple decided to do the ritual. Then it’ll be over and we can’t return anymore.

“Do you know when the temple will perform the ritual?”

“No, those guys always report it after the fact. You won’t know beforehand.”

Moreover, we don’t know the time limit. …do we really have no way other than to go to the temple?

“Come to think of it, what does the temple do? What’s the purpose of the temple for the people in this world?”

“It’s simply a religious facility in this world. I don’t really understand either…maybe this world has a monotheistic religion with only the Goddess as the object of worship.”

Monotheism, huh? I’m saved by polytheism in various ways.

“It was the Goddess who created this world and it seems like the temple began when the people who heard the Goddess’ voice gathered. Even now, the temple still listens to the voice of the Goddess and teaches it to the world.”

“What’s the most recent one?”

“You should know about it. [This world is on the verge of destruction, summon a hero to avoid it, and cooperate with the hero as much as possible.] That’s what I heard.”

O-oou. It’s a post-facto report. This isn’t a notice, it’s a report.

“So what’s the cause of the destruction?”

“Who knows…look here, I’m an indoor type of person.”

Nu, yeah. George-san, thanks to you being an indoor type, you became very familiar with this world’s situation and folklore and was very helpful…though you don’t really know about the parts related to its foundation.

However, it’s very helpful to know about the time limit.

“Do you know how many heroes there are?”

“No. It’s been rumored that a new hero has been introduced recently, but I don’t know the specific number.”

Is one of them called Fukuyama-kun?

“Do you know what happened to the heroes?”

“No, I really don’t. You might know if you go to the temple, though…”

That means we don’t know the time limit, huh. Yeah… I want to collaborate with those heroes somehow.

Then about the first limit…we have to find some way to control the timing of the temple’s ritual.

…ah, heroes, right…Fukuyama-kun’s also one…

…yeah, uhm, he should be one, probably.

I have to cut the broadcast here to go prepare lunch and help the people in the English Lab.

When I returned to my senses, Kadomi and Kariya just finished.

Spread the potato and carrot puree with the low-fat chicken soup stock flavored with vegetables, and adjust the thickness to complete the potage soup.

When I brought this for the 5 people, some were already awake, so I helped them drink the soup.

Even though they slept, ate, got recovery magic, and slept again, they were still recovering. Seems like some people found it easier to get up and were able to eat by themselves.

I want you to get well and eat a lot of delicious food.

“We’re back.”

A little later, George-san’s cross-examination team is back.

“Welcome back, Masters~. It has become dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Ahh, did you hear that? Yeah. It’s about time we contact the temple. But before that, I wonder if you should ask some things to [Alive Grimoire].”

Yeah. I’d like to hear if it knew the hero’s movements. If not that, then the true identity of the cause…or the optimal solution to our problem.

“Huh, by the way, Suzumoto and Hariu haven’t returned yet?”

…huh, now that you mention it.