What, Failure to Transition!? Volume 5 Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Chapter 4 – Strange Happenings in the Forest

When the group left the Adventurers’ Guild and [returned] to “Frontier’s Home” inn, the receptionist told Alana that the room they were staying in would be changed.


However, the problem of renting a single room for a group of four to keep up appearances was more or less within their expectations, so they weren’t surprised.


The new room they were given was still on the same floor as the previous one. In other words, the quality of the room hadn’t changed.


After confirming the room number, they went to check it out.


“Oooh, it’s quite spacious. I mean, the bed alone is huge!”


The size of the room and the bed were about the same as in the bedroom of “Grand Court 2503”, but the difference surprised them, as the bed they had rented until this morning was only suitable for a single person.


Karin, Misato, and Alana plopped down on the large bed and immediately huddled together.


A little later, Yoichi arrived.


(The room is big, especially the bed. But for them to be sleeping like this, they must have been exhausted waiting for me).


Yoichi said this to himself because when he saw the three women on the bed, they were lying in their underwear, without armor, robes, or sheets.


“Mmh… Mister Yoichii…?”


“I’m back. Did I wake you?”


“I’m sorry… I fell asleep while I was waiting…”


Alana, sensing Yoichi’s entrance, rubbed her eyes sleepily and woke up.


Karin and Misato were still sleeping peacefully, perhaps unaware of his arrival.


“It’s okay, no need to get up. But it does feel strange, doesn’t it? After all, the room just got bigger.”


“Yaawn… mmm… I see what you mean.”


After stretching herself with a gentle yawn, Alana looks at Yoichi and smiles slightly.


“At this grade, there are only rooms for personal use or parties. If you go up one level, there are rooms for three or four people, but…”


Since this was an ‘alibi’ room, so to speak, and they rarely slept in it anyway, Alana thought there was no need to raise the grade of the room and waste money.


“By the way, how many people can sleep in this room?”


“I think the maximum is six.”


As far as Yoichi could see, the king-size equivalent bed could easily fit four adult humans, and with an extra bed or sleeping bag in the open space, two more people could easily be accommodated.


In other words, if you were just using it as a place to sleep, the space was more than adequate.


“So what exactly did Grandpa tell you?”


“Ugh…”


Yoichi stumbled over his words as he remembered his exchange with Celestin, and Alana, seeing this, tilted her head slightly.


“Ah, um, he said he’d give me lessons.”


“Oooh! That’s wonderful! If people heard that, they’d be very jealous.”


“Jealous?”


Alana nodded her head repeatedly, as if impressed, while Yoichi tilted his head this time.


“Yes. Grandfather is known as a living legend in this city… or rather, in this world. Even now, many people come to him for a meeting or an apprenticeship, but he rarely accepts them.”


“Is that so…?”


Yoichi’s face half turned into a grimace when he heard this.


Yoichi, who uses [Appraisal+] as a tactical computer and a variety of deadly weapons, is basically a one-man army.


Misato, who can convert her inexhaustible magical power and modern Japanese scientific knowledge into magic, is probably as strong as any of the great magicians in this world, even though she is still in her infancy.


Karin has also acquired [Bowmanship] skills through her archery experience in their world and is already capable enough to fight against criminal organizations in that world.


Last but not least, Alana, also known as the Princess Knight, is already one of the strongest warriors in the Frontier.


Celestin, a man with a strength that even these four people can’t match, who pioneered this frontier with the first lord, may well be a man worthy of being called a living legend if he can defeat us without any possibility of us winning, or at least that’s what Yoichi thinks.


“Do you think you can beat the guild master one day?”


“Fufufu… are you saying that I can’t beat my grandfather now?”


“No, well… about that…”


“Ahahha. You’re right about that, so it’s okay. Well, to be honest, it is to the extent that the day when I can fight Grandpa one-on-one and win may never come. He is that strong.”


“Eh?”


“I’m not saying that to be self-deprecating, you know. I used to admire Grandfather and thought I would surpass him one day, but when I established my own fighting style as an adventurer, I realized there was a difference in strength, or path, between him and me, and that path made it impossible for me to defeat him.”


Stringing words together, the princess knight spoke in a tone as if she was stating facts she knew all along.


“For example?”


“Let’s see. Simply put, my grandfather specializes in one-on-one battles or battles with a small number of people. As long as the enemy is small in number, even if it is a high-ranking dragon, he will not be defeated.”


But aren’t you a melee fighter, Alana? Don’t you have a similar way?”


“I’m more of a many against many kind of brawler.”


“Wow, really? So you specialize in rampaging against an army?”


“In a nutshell, yes.”


“I’d like to see that somehow.”


“Haha… Then again, opportunities like that don’t come along very often, or rather, it would be better if they didn’t, so don’t get your hopes up too high.”


At that moment, Misato, who had been asleep, started to move carefully.


“So, what now? Should we rest here for a while?”


“Nah, if we are going to rest, it would be better to stay in Mister Yoichi’s room. Karin, Misato, wake up.”


“Nnn… suu… suu…”


“Nnn… fuaahh… ah, m-morning. Also, w-welcome back…”


Alana tapped the two sleepy heads on the shoulder and called their names in turn. This woke Misato, but Karin only reacted for a moment before quickly returning to her calm breathing.


“I wonder if she’s tired from work or something.”


Yoichi gently patted Karin’s head as she sighed in her sleep with a peaceful expression on her face.


“Well, there’s no need to force her to wake up, is there?”


Alana dazedly said when she saw what was happening.


Taking Misato and Arana, who had already woken up, and Karin, who didn’t wake until the end, Yoichi activated [Return+] and returned to Grand Court 2503.


〇●〇●


“Sorry. I’m going to make a few phone calls for a bit.”


After a bath and a meal, three of the four TOKOROTEN members were relaxing in the living room, but suddenly Yoichi remembered something, excused himself, and went into the bedroom with his smartphone.


(Let’s see, the phone number is… this? There’s a time difference, so just to make sure I’m in the right place at the right time… Yeah, today looks good).


While checking the necessary information on [Appraisal+], Yoichi dials a specific number from his smartphone.


[Yes?]


“Ah, hello. It’s me.”


[May I know who this is?]


“Oh, please. You already have my number, don’t you?”


[…sigh]


The other party, who had been silent for a while in response to Yoichi’s question, exhaled as if giving up.


[My goodness, how did you get this number?]


“Well, that’s not important right now. I need your help.”


[…for a moment, I get the feeling that it will be silly to talk to you about common sense. So? What do you need? Let’s get straight to the point.]


“Ahahaha, sorry about that, Charlotte.”


[Muu… stop saying my name so lightly…]


“Then, Charley.”


[I’m going to hang up.]


In contrast to Yoichi’s teasing voice, Charlotte, a former intelligence officer and current casino employee, was a bit more serious in her tone.


“Um, sorry. I went too far. Anyway, I need a car.”


[What kind?]


“The kind that can drive across rocky deserts.”


[How big?]


“Since we’re in the wilderness and not on the road, does it really matter if it’s bigger or smaller?”


[I can get you a military surplus if you don’t mind the lower mileage].


When Yoichi heard “military surplus,” he was reminded of the large military vehicles he often sees in war movies.   


“Sorry, I don’t have the confidence to drive a military vehicle. Just a normal off-road vehicle will do”.


[In that case, I can prepare something for civilian use.]


“Thank you. Oh, and by the way, plenty of fuel too”.


Refueling can be done with the [Infinite Storage+] function, but since he thought it would be inconvenient to buy large amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel in Japan, Yoichi decided to have them prepared for him as well.


[Understood].


(…rather generous, aren’t we?)


[It’s a small price to pay for what we owe you.]


At present, Charlotte has been given a magical communication tool that allows her to understand the language of others across language barriers, and she makes full use of it.


“I see… if that’s the case, can I ask for the fuel to be refilled regularly?”


[I see no problem.]


“Oooh, that helps. How soon can you have it ready?”


[Let’s see… As for the thing itself, it can be prepared soon, but to complete the formalities… it will take a little time].


“Oh, we won’t be driving on public roads, and we’ll make sure nobody sees it, so we don’t need number plates or anything like that.”


[In that case, if you want, you can get it at the usual place in an hour.]


“That fast! Well, we’re not really in a hurry. Although I honestly thought it would take two or three days.”


[It will take about that long to prepare the documents, but since you said you weren’t in a hurry, we can also prepare the paperwork for it if you want. So what are you going to choose?]


“Nah, just the car is fine—no need to prepare the papers. Let’s see… how about… I pick it up tomorrow morning? As long as I get it in about eight hours, that’s fine with me. I mean, that’s still way too early for me.”


[Got it. I’ll also add a separate container to put it in].


“Eh? Ah, okay. Thanks again.”


Although he had ended the call calmly, Yoichi was still shaken by the sheer grandeur of this country, even though he had asked for it himself.


〇●〇●


“Wait, isn’t this way too big?”


The next day, Yoichi, who had smuggled himself in using [Return+], went to the warehouse district on the outskirts of the casino city and opened the door to a newly added container in a special section provided by Charlotte.


What caught Yoichi’s eye was a large SUV, almost as wide as the container – 2352mm on the inside.


“Well, it certainly looks reliable, but can I drive it?”


Thinking that he could at least figure out how to drive it with [Appraisal+], Yoichi put the massive SUV into his [Infinite Storage+].


“There are some barrels too. Probably diesel?”


There were five barrels at the back of the container, and when Yoichi [appraised] them, he found that they contained fuel oil for diesel engines.


Each one contained 55 gallons (≈208 liters), meaning that he now had a total of over 1,000 liters of fuel from these alone.


“Ah, but considering this guy’s fuel efficiency, maybe we only have a little room to spare.”


Slightly dismayed, Yoichi put the barrels into [Infinite Storage+] and confirmed that they could be refueled using the skill’s maintenance function.


After returning to Japan, Yoichi and four others immediately [returned] to the other world.


Then, after leaving Meilgrad, far away from the streets of the city, and making sure that there were no people around, he took the U.S. SUV that he had acquired from [Infinite Storage+].


“Huge!”


Karin, who took a look at the car that appeared on the scene, commented with a shocked expression.


“Unbelievable… I’ve seen it in films and stuff, but never the real thing.”


Misato was no stranger to this car, being a fan of foreign dramas and films, but having seen it in person, she was also overwhelmed by its sheer size.


“Is this… the otomovil? It’s much bigger than the one I saw the other day, but… mmm, isn’t it magnificent?”


Alana seemed to like the new car.


After the women’s tripartite reaction had calmed down somewhat, Yoichi picked them up and sat in the driver’s seat.


“Alright, let’s get this thing rolling!”


While confirming the operation method with [Appraisal+], Yoichi started the SUV.


At first, he had some difficulty because the steering wheel was on the left side, compared to Japan where the wheel is on the right, but he soon got used to it, and although there was some shaking, he was able to move it faster than he expected.


〇●〇●


After acquiring the vehicle, TOKOROTEN, led by Yoichi, had been going to the Jana Forest almost every day.


“Let’s go a little further into the forest today, shall we?”


Since they used [Appraisal+] to find out the location of the monsters, they were able to hunt them quite efficiently, and thanks to this, Karin and Misato, who had come a little late, had also promoted their ranks to D-rank along with Yoichi.


“Straight ahead, three dark wolves, three orcs, and five kobolds.”


“What…?”


Yoichi’s search results made Alana raise her eyebrows.


“Is it bad?”


“Huh. Just to be sure, are they acting together? No signs of fighting or anything?”


“Let me check….Nope. And it looks like they’ve noticed us and are heading our way now.”


“Hmmm… Goblins may follow Orcs, but usually, there is no such thing as wolf-like monsters getting into the mix as they form their own pack.”


“So, are you saying that something strange is going on?”


Recently, there have been rumors in the Meilgrad Adventurers’ Guild that something strange is happening in the forest.


The number of monsters has decreased significantly, and many people have reported that when they finally encounter a monster, it turns out to be a high-level monster that should not be in the area or that is in a pack in an unlikely combination.


As a result, many low-ranked adventurers have suffered many casualties, and there is no end to the number of those who are unable to go out and subjugate day after day.


“For now, let’s just get this over with.”


“Kaay~”


“Y-yes!”


“Umu.”


Karin, Misato, and Alana nodded at Yoichi’s words, which seemed to have changed into a “party leader” manner of speaking.


○●○●


“Hayaaaah!”


Alana, the vanguard of the group, rushed towards the pack with her unique two axe-on-one end, spear-on-the-other-end battleaxes in hand.


“Karin and Misato, make sure you take out the easy targets. I’ll go around and take out the small fry that will be approaching the other end and keep them at bay.”


“Roger that~”


“U-understood!”


Almost as soon as Alana rushed out, Yoichi and Misato split off to the left and right, and Karin nocked an arrow on the spot.


――fshooo…!


Karin’s arrow pierced the eyebrow of an orc in the center back, signaling the start of the battle. Misato fired a lightning spear spell at the pack, and Yoichi fired his submachine gun wildly from the opposite side.


Charlotte had made it easier for him to get ammunition, but he still knew that he had his limits. So he used the relatively easy-to-obtain .38 caliber ammunition to provide covering fire.


BARARARARARA! shots rang out, and when the 30-round magazine was empty, he switched to a pistol loaded with .44 magnum rounds.


The first volley almost wiped out the Kobolds at the front.


But the two remaining orcs in the rear took only minor damage, thanks in part to the fact that the kobolds used them as meat shields, with the occasional stray bullet only slightly scratching their hard skin.


The dark wolves in the vanguard also took a few machine gun rounds but were only grazed due to their hard fur.


“Okay. With that, the aggro is on me now.”


While the hostility gathered towards Yoichi due to the initial barrage of shots, another one of Misato’s “Lightning Spear” zoomed in on one of the dark wolves.


However, the dark wolf sensed it just before it struck and was able to dodge the trajectory of the spell quickly.


Vuoovuuuuu…


Like the sound of an electric arc, Misato’s “Lightning Spear” traveled in the direction of the wolf, but as it was already out of the way, it pierced the crotch of the orc standing behind it instead.

Alana rushed in and swung her battleaxe down on the head of the orc, who was crouching in agony, clutching his groin.


Having struck the orc with this blow, she quickly swung down her other battleaxe in another direction.


From that direction sprang the Dark Wolf, who had just landed on the ground after dodging the Lightning Spear spell. As if Alana had anticipated the attack, the wolf was decapitated without a second thought.


Immediately after, another dark wolf pounced on Alana, who had just finished this series of attacks.


“Gyaungh!!!!”


But before the monster could reach her, it flinched in mid-air and was knocked to the ground.


It was hit by a bullet fired by Yoichi.


The .44 caliber magnum bullet didn’t penetrate the Dark Wolf’s fur, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t do some damage.


Hit in the side and temple, the Dark Wolf was unable to get up from the painful impact of the bullet.


It was finally finished off by Alana.


As for the third and final Dark Wolf, it had already been shot through the skull by Karin and died.


“Bwfah! Bbfaaa…!!”


――Whoosh!


The last remaining orc got frightened and tried to flee but was decapitated by the “Wind Blade” released by Misato.


“We can easily defeat them, but it might be hard even for a normal C-rank party.”


Alana stands dazed as she collects the carcasses of the monsters she has defeated.


A party’s rank is based on the lowest rank of its members and is then increased according to the party’s overall achievements.


Based on the lowest rank of the members, TOKOROTEN would be ranked D. However, their party rank was recently bumped up to C, thanks to Alana’s past achievements, in addition to the quests they have completed in the past few days.


Nevertheless, it was clear that Alana had the ability to become an A or higher, and the other three could certainly become Cs if they could only take the rank advancement exam.


If that happened, there was a high possibility that they could become a B-ranked party depending on their performance, and they were, in fact, capable of doing just that.


That was why they could easily defeat this pack of monsters, whereas an average C-rank party would have had a hard time, depending on the number of members and the quality of their strategy.


“Hey, Alana. So what are these rumors about strange things happening in the forest? And is it only in the last few days that the forest has started to show these anomalies?”


Karin asks Alana.


“Hmm, how do I start… to begin with, the strange happenings in the forest are true, but the known reports about them were already a month old, and the number of cases was small, so people just tend to ignore them.”


Having answered the question in this way, Alana looks at Yoichi.


“Well, one of them actually has nothing to do with the forest… because that was when I first met Mister Yoichi…”


Alana’s face blushes a little as she recalls the unforgettable encounter.


“At that time, an expedition was sent to investigate those anomalies in the forest, and I was part of the group.”


“Ah, yes… that time was…”


Yoichi felt his crotch tighten as he remembered the sight of Alana, betrayed by her companions, deprived of her bodily freedom, stripped of her clothes, and laced with an aphrodisiac.


Karin and Misato tilted their heads at the strange behavior of the two.


“So it’s been a month already…? Wait. It’s been a month…”


Although he felt that he had already spent many months with Alana, Yoichi could not help but be surprised that so little time had passed.


That’s how densely packed the events around them are.


“Hm. Actually, it has been about a month and a half since the anomalies were first reported. But the situation seems to be getting worse by the day. Even my father and grandpa have had headaches because of it.”


Because of the increase in these strange occurrences, with stronger monsters or dangerous monster packs appearing everywhere, the weaker, lower-ranked adventurers could not go out to make a decent living.


As a result, the guild tavern and the town have seen an increase in violent incidents, most of which are perpetrated by these low-ranked adventurers.


According to protocol, adventurers who commit crimes are apprehended by the guards and taken to a detention center for a simple background check.


They would then be turned over to the guild and punished according to the guild’s rules.


If it’s just a minor incident, they’re often given a stern warning and released on the spot. Still, these problems kept William, the lord of the territory, and Celestin, the guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild, very busy.


(Ah, some of those piles of documents must be related to those problems….)


Yoichi meditated as he remembered the piles of papers on the tables of both of them, indicating their plight.


“I wish I could somehow find the cause and relieve father and grandfather… but as you can see, there’s not much I can do as a simple adventurer.”


“Mm. I’ve only been an adventurer for a short time, so I’m not sure I can help much.”


“Me too… I’m not… strong enough…”


Karin, Misato, and Alana dropped their shoulders together.


(Hmmm, I can do this, can’t I?)


When the family of the one you love, especially the one who took care of you, is in need, isn’t it natural to help them?


Even Yoichi himself is indebted to William and Celestin.


(Besides, if I can get them to owe me a favor, maybe they’ll be a little more… friendly towards me next time?)


With such a calculating mindset, Yoichi used [Appraisal+] to investigate the anomalies in the forest.


He expanded the search area and recorded only the monsters’ responses for the time being.


(Hmm, it seems that the further away from the city, the fewer there are… hmm? What’s this?)


As the search area expanded deeper into the forest, the number of red light spots indicating the presence of monsters gradually decreased. Eventually, something like a completely empty area appeared.


However, as the area expanded from there, red dots began to appear again, little by little.


As they moved deeper into the forest, they increased in number and density, eventually turning a portion of the map in Yoichi’s mind a bright red.


Even after turning off the display of the glowing dots that indicated their location, he could still see the countless monsters crisscrossing the forest trees as he looked down from above.


(Hey, hey, hey… how many of them are there?)


For the time being, Yoichi narrowed down his search to this dense group of monsters and counted them.


After letting [Appraisal+] do the counting, the answer came quickly.


(One, ten, one hundred… seriously…?)


“Mr. Yoichi, what’s wrong?”


“You look a bit pale.”


“Are you all right…?”


The women called to the stunned Yoichi as they saw his gaze drift off into the void. They all showed concern for him.


“Ah, how can I put this…”


Slightly stuttering, Yoichi pointed in the direction of the group of monsters.


“Up ahead… about 200 kilometers, there are a lot of monsters.”


“Hohou. We haven’t explored that deep yet, so we have no idea what’s beyond. What have you seen, Mister Yoichi? Is there a monster settlement there?”


In response to Alana’s question, Yoichi shook his head once as if to compose himself.


“Uh, no, it’s not a settlement or anything like that. It’s much bigger.”


“Fumu. How many are there? A hundred? If so, we need to mobilize several high-ranking parties――”


“Much… bigger…”


“Fumu. If the number exceeds a thousand, it would be better to form a subjugation team of a hundred or more――”


“It’s over a hundred thousand.”


“Hm?”


“The estimated number of monsters. More than a hundred thousand are estimated to be crowding over there.”


“What did you say!?”


Alana, who had not understood the meaning of Yoichi’s words for a moment, expressed her surprise after a few moments of silence.


“That’s… a great number…”


Karin said in dismay, but her words trembled slightly due to her fright.


Misato did not raise her voice, but her face turned pale at the mention of more than 100,000 monsters beyond the horizon.


“Then I’ll ask again, Mister Yoichi. Are those monsters staying put?”


“Er, let me check again… No. It looks like they’re on the move.”


“Any idea where they’re going? I hope they’re heading deeper into the forest.”


“Let me search the route they’ve traveled so far…”


“…”


“……”


“………so, where are they going?”


“They’re heading for the city.”


Alana’s face turned blue at the answer, her mouth trembling as she looked horrified.


“It’s a monster stampede!”


Then, a terrified princess knight’s cry echoed through the forest of Jana.


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