Chapter 334 - All About the Goddess Statue
Friday
“The World Quest progressed yesterday, so what’s it like?”
“Hm? Oh, from the island you wouldn’t know, huh. Well, I guess it feels like we can now enter the big building in the middle of the Necropolis?”
Yeah, I know that. I won’t say it though.
“Did you go in?”
“Yeah, I went a little way in, but...”
Nat looked at Iincho.
“It just felt endless, you know?”
The structure had a straight path leading to the center, with branching paths extending to the left and right. Each passage had doors, and beyond them, rooms packed tightly together. Undead appeared in both the passages and the rooms, and Wraiths and Ghosts sometimes even phased through walls to appear.
“Ugh, sounds tough...”
“If you try to bypass rooms and go straight ahead, you get surrounded.”
“It seems like we have no choice but to progress steadily from the front.”
So today, they were apparently gathering twenty or thirty people to raid it. For now, they were prioritizing searching the rooms and mapping, rather than going deeper.
“Can’t you use the Goddess Statues in there?”
“You probably could, but there aren’t enough of them.”
Apparently, there’s a debate over whether they should move the Goddess Statues that are already ensuring safety in the city. No one wants to log out feeling safe, only to log back in and find the place crawling with Undead.
They’re considering recruiting collaborators to re-arrange the Goddess Statues, freeing up some to use for further advancement.
“Shou-kun, the north side...”
“Oh, that’s right, did you see any of the Dragonfolk on the north side?”
“Yeah, I heard they were doing some kind of investigation. By the way, are you involved in this after all?”
Ah, shoot. Was that opening a can of worms?
“Um, the Goddess Statue...”
“That’s right, I’m curious what happened to the Jade Goddess Statue I made during the live stream. Argenta-san told me it went well, though.”
“Ah, that. Did Iincho see it?”
“I saw it from a distance, but I couldn’t tell if it looked exactly like Izumo-san,” she said with a wry smile.
Apparently, the Dragonfolk were on guard, and wouldn’t let them pass, so she only caught a glimpse from afar.
“Even the ones the island fans made were like Jade Goddess Statues, but only vaguely similar. So maybe only Shou can make them look exactly alike?”
Nat said, teasing a little, but Iincho glared at him, and he looked away. Still the same old.
“Speaking of which, did you use the ‘Nameless Goddess Statue’?”
“Hm? No, I, well...”
“Lunch is almost over, you know?”
“Eh? We still have about 15 minutes...”
“It’s over, right?”
I’d better not ask any further...
*
“It’s a secret.”
Mion replied with a sweet smile. After that, she was talking to Iincho about something... it must have been about the Goddess Statue, right? I bet if Nat used it, it would turn out exactly like Iincho, but she’d get angry if I said that.
“Hello.”
“’Sup, boss.”
“Hello.”
Bell-bucho looked a bit tired, probably because she was up quite late yesterday? Seth also looked incredibly sleepy this morning.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, just a little sleep-deprived.”
She replied, taking an energy drink from the fridge. After popping it open and chugging it down, she put on her VR HMD without hesitation, clearly eager to go into IRO.
Before that, I should ask her about something that’s been on my mind regarding the World Quest.
“I heard that the last part of the World Quest seems difficult.”
“Are you talking about the Goddess Statue? Yuki-san and the others will handle the adjustments, so I think it’ll be fine. More importantly, there’s a rather creepy player, and we’re wondering what to do...”
“Eh?”
She said that there were players following behind Bell-bucho and her group, and it was unnerving. When they tried to make them go ahead, they ran away. There had been several similar reports, but no one knew who they were or where they came from.
“That’s creepy...”
“I really don’t want to cause trouble over something like that. If Leona-sama loses her temper, it’ll be no laughing matter...”
Bell-bucho said, looking off into the distance. What can I say? You have my sympathies...
“Do you think it will be finished by the weekend and holiday?”
“Hmm. If we make progress on Saturday and Sunday, it should be finished by Monday. I think the Operations team is probably planning a schedule like that.”
“If it drags on too much, it’ll get tangled up with final exams, won’t it?”
“Yes, we definitely want to avoid that.”
Mion and I nodded at Bell-bucho’s words. This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and the following Monday is a holiday. If it doesn’t wrap up neatly in that three-day weekend, we won’t be able to concentrate on studying for exams.
*
“Oh, there they are!”
“Ryu~!”
Greeting us with waves was Pan, the chief of the Urisks. He seemed to be managing the farm work again today.
“Somehow, Pan reminds me of Nat when he was little.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ll show you the album again sometime.”
“Yes!”
After school today, I planned to distribute tools to the Urisks, and replenish Glycine (soybeans) and Grapeful behind the church. The Fairies immediately flew off towards the Grapeful. Leda and Roy went to patrol around the church.
“Ryu-ryu.”
“Oh, what is it?”
Pan took my hand and pulled me towards the livestock shed. The Urisks also take care of the Yakokko and Ecryu, but...
““Kupee!””
“Chicks!”
“They’re cute~”
Two chicks. They looked quite aggressive, but after appraising them, they were called [Yahyakko], and both were female. If they grow steadily, we’ll get more eggs, which is great.
“Ryu.”
““Ryu~♪””
A child Pan called brought a woven vine basket, handing me one with over 10 eggs inside. Another brought a jar full of goat milk.
“Ah, thank you. By the way, Pan and the others, are you taking your share?”
“~~~?”
I asked through Sweee, and they nodded, so I guess it’s fine. Since they’re taking care of the fields and livestock, I want them to take what they’ve harvested.
“Shou-kun, the things you made.”
“Oh, that’s right. Here, use these among yourselves.”
I took out hammers, saws, and other tools, hoes and shovels for farming, leftover wooden boxes, pottery jars, and replicated small barrels.
“~~~♪”
“Ryu?!”
“Yeah, feel free to use them. If you need more, just tell me, and I’ll fix them if they break.”
“Ryu!”
“Eh? Ah, whoa!”
I think they were happy, but they suddenly ran off... Ah, did they go to report to everyone?
Oh, that’s right, will Pan and the others also be happy about the Jade Goddess wooden statue? I should replicate one before I forget...
“~~~¥”
“Ah, yes. Soy Milk Raisin Ice Cream, right...”