Vending Machine - 121 - As They Leave (Patreon)

After leaving the basement, even though we all knew it was already too late, we hurried towards the building where the teleporting circle was located.

The hunter guarding the entrance said that no one had come by, but we still asked him to let us know if any of the four people from Leader’s group appeared.

As a precaution, Hyurumi tinkered with the teleportation circle and disabled it, making it impossible for them to leave the floor this way.

Next, we headed towards the barricade at the front passage to ask if Leader and the rest came by.

“Yes, they passed this way just a little while ago. They told me they were going to investigate the dungeon a bit more, so I opened the barrier for them,”

Upon further questioning, the hunter said that there were five people including the Leader. The fifth person was wearing a deep hood that obscured their face. There was no doubt that the fifth person must be the King of the Netherworld’s Commander. When we checked the prison later, the Commander had disappeared.

After we informed the Director of the Beginner’s Floor, it was decided that a message should be sent to Director Bear and an emergency meeting was held.

The result of the meeting with Director Bear, who came to this level himself, was that Leader’s team would be treated as wanted criminals by the Hunter Association.

“It's somehow exhausting, isn't it?” Ramis muttered as she swung her legs while sitting on a piece of rubble, milk tea in hand.

After the meeting, we kept watch at the front of the barricade, on the slim chance that Leader may return.

“Unexpected things keep happening,” Hyurumi was leaning against my side with a sports drink in hand, which she chugged down in one gulp.

“They left the boy behind,”

“They probably think we won't harm him. He has done nothing wrong.”

“I just wanna talk to them a bit more, why would they leave before anything’s decided?”

“That family had been relying on themselves for everything on their own and recklessly charged towards their goal with a shocking fervour. Considering Vice-Leader’s condition, it looks like they are just not good at relying on others.”

“I still wish they could have talked to us a bit more.”

“Indeed... leaving his precious son behind must be some kind of message from that foolish leader of ours.”

The two members of the former Whimsical Fools’ party who had been left behind stare blankly at the sky with a melancholic expression.

“I never thought that Leader Keyroil’s party would betray us for the enemy like this. Looks like my thoughts were too shallow, sorry,”

“Clearflow Director, this is not something that could be predicted. The only ones that should apologise are those four,” said Beginner Floor Director.

The Beginner Floor Director kept patting Director’s Back, telling him not to apologise, that it was not his fault and ‘not to worry about it’.

That’s right, there was no reason for Director Bear to apologise. If Leader Keyroil had not been enticed by the ones from the other side, nothing like this would have happened.

Although we ought to be angry at the Leader and his party who had betrayed the people living in this dungeon, I still could not help but feel that none of this would have happened if the other side had not approached them.

“However, Master Hakkon, how did those people who had left the barricade move between floors?”

“A tri-ck”

It was the only way that I could imagine this thing happening.

Well, when it comes to explanation, everyone turned their eyes to Hyurumi, who seemed to have the most accurate and complete knowledge when it comes to these kinds of things.

“Hmm, well, there are a few possibilities. A magic tool that would enable them to freely move between floors provided by the King of the Netherworld. However, I think its function is probably limited to a few people, otherwise, what’s stopping them from sending hundreds of people to attack other floors.”

“So, a restricted transportation tool?”

“It certainly looks that way. If they could move large numbers around, it would not be strange to see monsters from other floors attacking Clearflow Lake or other floors. Speaking of which, even though we were attacked, we don’t see monsters from other floors at the level we’re at.”

That’s true, it would be more efficient to take over lower floors with powerful monsters from other floors. That they did not use this tactic meant that their transportation tool must have lots of restrictions.

“The other possibility is that they simply travelled out of this floor after defeating the Floor Master,” Hyurumi continued.

That’s right, once you defeated the Floor Master, a teleportation circle would appear that would allow you to move between floors. Given their abilities, they could probably defeat the Floor Master easily and travel that way.

“If we believed in Leader’s words, they should already be making their way to the Final Floor to capture that place. We have to catch up to them quickly, but we can’t spare the manpower in the current situation since the floors are still in such a confused state.”

Looks like Director Bear is under great pressure with so many conflicting incidents. We can’t ignore the situation happening on individual floors. But if we leave the Whimsical Fools party alone, the entire dungeon could collapse.

No, it would actually be better if it collapsed. If the King of the Netherworld takes complete control of the dungeon's power, even worse things would await us.

“That may be true, however, there is no need to worry about the dungeon being conquered for a while,” said Hevoy.

“What are you talking about, Hevoy?”

“The final floor of any dungeon has always been the most difficult. Many dungeons still exist to this day after years of people attempting to conquer them. Since no one had ever reached the final floor of this dungeon, we don’t even have any information on it. Therefore, even if Leader managed to get there, it won’t be that easy for his party to conquer it.”

I see. That makes sense. So, there’s no need to panic for the moment?

“Additionally, the Whimsical Fools lacked the power to properly conquer the floor. Perhaps someone from the King of the Netherworld would ally with them, but I don’t think they would be able to work well with unfamiliar people from the Demon King Army. Not to mention, if their plan was to outsmart the King of the Netherworld, they would need trustworthy allies,” said Hevoy.

“If that’s the case, it’s possible that they would want to recruit or entice former acquaintances,” Hyurumi replied. Suddenly, she clapped her hands as a sudden realisation came to her, “The other two former members of Whimsical Fools.”

“Those two are rather strange. They could be talked into lending their strength to Leader.”

“Ah, hmm, indeed, that’s entirely possible,” Shui said.

If the former members say so, it must be true. However, I'm curious to know what kind of people someone like Hevoy would describe as ‘strange’.

“In any case, we should first restore peace to each floor and try to contact the Whimsical Fools and draw them back to our side,” said Hyurumi.

“That may be so, however, since they have gone back to the dungeon, we have no idea what floor they are on now. I was in charge of tracking them down, but was locked away in prison.”

This guy was locked away in prison during an important event due to some kind of act of perversion.

“In any case, we can't do anything right now because we can't move freely between floors,” said the Director of the Beginner Floor.

Hyurumi and the old man were still struggling to get the teleportation array to work properly.

Is there really nothing we can do during this time?

“Then, how about returning to Clearflow Lake? You can spend the time as you like until it is time to act. If you participate in the reconstruction process, the association will guarantee a decent pay.”

It had been some time since we’d been back to Clearflow Lake Floor, but reconstruction work had just begun and there was no shortage of things to do.

It might be better to return to the Clearflow Lake Floor and carefully think about what we’re going to do in the future.

“Then, why don’t we all go back to the Clearflow Lake Floor?" suggested Ramis.

Prompted by a cheerful Ramis, everyone headed towards the teleportation array.

We have only been on this floor for a month, but too many things have happened.

Meeting the perv- Hevoy.

Defeating another Commander and removing a threat from the Beginner’s Floor.

Finally, the betrayal of Leader and his party.

I am well aware that this is an Other World and nothing like peaceful Japan. Even so, isn’t kind of life too burdensome for a simple vending machine?

My original goal was to work hard and earn money to enhance my own abilities. Somehow, I ended up getting involved in the mission of crushing the ambitions of a Demon King’s army.

If I had entered this world as a Legendary Hero, this would make better sense. However, I’m just a simple vending machine.

Regardless, I liked to think about such things now and then. Ramis and Hyurumi aside, I also like the customers and friends I made back at Clearflow Lake. If possible, I’d like to save them.

My body may be made of iron, but my heart remains human.

“A lot has happened, but let’s do our best together, Hakkon.”

I want to protect the smile of the girl who is currently carrying me on her back. This alone gave me something worth living for in this Other World.

I have no idea how far I could go as a vending machine, but I would do everything I can within my power to remain with her forever.

As I swayed on her back and renewed my determination, we arrived at the teleportation array building.

Thanks to Hyurumi's adjustments, the teleportation array could now transport more than ten people at once, so we all got on top of it.

By the way, The Big Eaters had already returned to the Clearflow Lake Floor.

“Right, activate–!”

Will I be able to return to that nostalgic floor? Clearflow Lake is like a hometown to me now, ever since I woke up by the lakeside.

Just the thought that I would be returning to that place brought me peace of mind. I think I could sell a lot more products there since I haven’t been around for a while. I could surprise the gatekeepers with the <Auto-vending Convenience Store>; provide Shirley with condoms, adult toys and erotic books if her night shift hasn't started yet. Suori would want her orange juice and I still haven’t given the money changers their silver coins. As expected, there is plenty for me to do there.

As usual, red light flashed from the teleportation circle under our feet… wait, red light? Isn’t this colour a bit unusual? Is it due to the adjustments made by Hyurumi?

“An interference?! Everyone, get out of the teleportation circle!”

Just as Hyurumi’s panicked voice interrupted my thoughts, we were swallowed by the red light and the usual floaty feeling enveloped my body…

Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~

When the light disappeared, I found myself in a rather plain room. Aside from the teleportation array under me, there was only a single magic tool on the wall lighting the ten-tatami mat room.

Aside from that, and a metal door, there was nothing of note here.

Moreover, there was no one here but me.

Have I been sent to a different floor alone?

Judging from Hyurumi's panicked shout, something must have gone wrong with the teleportation circle.

Is everyone okay? I have plenty of points so, I have nothing to worry about. I can’t move about freely, but I can afford to wait.

If others had been sent to an unfamiliar floor that was ruled by the King of the Netherworld, their lives would be in danger.

Mishael and Hevoy would probably survive no matter what, but Hyurumi and the Director of the Beginner’s Floor don’t have proper fighting skills.

I’m also worried about Ramis, even though she has incredible strength, I’m anxious about leaving her alone. She is probably panicking over me too.

Then again, I felt strangely calm even in this situation. I supposed that’s probably because I had been bombarded with strange situations ever since I came to this Other World. Like a vending machine, I can stand firmly.

There's no use brooding over it. On the other hand, if someone wishes to use the teleportation circle but I’m sitting smack in the middle of it, it would cause a problem. I vaguely recalled someone saying that teleportation circles don’t work if someone else was touching the other end.

The room was rather small, but I managed to move myself to the corner of the room using the usual combo of balloons and <Cardboard Vending Machine> transformation.

After making the necessary preparations, I floated to the wall closest to the door and landed gently. After transforming back to the normal vending machine form, I pondered on my next move.

Should I attempt to open the door and leave or should I wait here?

As I pondered these two choices, red light emitted from the magic circle. When the light finally disappeared…

[Gumihou: Ugh, this chapter is rather tricky to translate/edit…]