Chapter 96 - The Quickest Way
“Alright, I didn’t forget anything, did I?”
“Woof!”
I packed various tools into my backpack and slung it on. Hammers, various chisels, saws, pickaxes, and of course, a crowbar-like object.
My IRO session during club activities ended with dinner and resetting traps in the western forest, and at night, I decided to head back to investigate that abandoned house.
Shou-kun, aren’t you suddenly much more eager?
“Ah, partly because Bell-buchou egged me on, but I’m thinking of demolishing that place and building a house there once I’m done investigating it.”
There?!
“Yeah. If someone used to live there, it must be a comfortable place, so as long as I thoroughly investigate and find no problems.”
As we talked, we arrived at the ascending stairs. It’s fine because it’s a game, but if these were real stairs, it would have been a lot of work…
“Phew. This really is a good spot.”
Beyond the western cliff, I could see the sea, and the view was quite nice. I still saw something like a spring in the depths of the northwest, so I headed there first.
Following the gentle downward slope, it felt like we were reaching the lowest part of this basin.
It’s such a beautiful spring.
“It is. And bigger than I expected too. Despite all the rainwater flowing in, it’s not murky at all, so it must be flowing somewhere else.”
The back of the spring disappeared into the forest, so I’ll follow it to see what’s there when I have more time.
The immediate goal is to investigate the abandoned house. First, I’ll circle the outside.
Please be careful.
“Yeah. Lupi, bark if there are any enemies, okay?”
“Woof!”
Looking at the forest along the northern cliff on my left, I slowly approached the [Mountain Cabin].
Its size is probably about the same as the Cybernetics Club room, the real-world one. I think it’s just the right size if I were to live there with Lupi.
There was no suspicious presence so far, but the fact that the house was surrounded by overgrown weeds was a definite negative.
“Once the investigation is done, the first thing will be weeding.”
As I advanced, casually cutting weeds with a hand axe, I reached the stone-built first floor. I pulled a hammer from my backpack and lightly tapped the bricks.
Are you checking if it’s become brittle?
“Exactly. But it seems perfectly fine. There’s moss, but it’s clearly supporting the upper part, so maybe it’s better to leave it as is.”
Once the internal investigation is done, I’ll check them one by one and replace only the most precarious ones with ones made using [Stone Wall] magic.
I circled the first floor and came to the entrance stairs on the south side. They looked like stairs built by stacking blocks, possibly using [Stone Wall] magic, so they should be okay.
There’s no entrance on the first floor, huh?
“Right. But it’s too tall for just a house foundation, so there’s probably a staircase leading down inside.”
Like a large underfloor storage unit? I wouldn’t know what common buildings are like in this world since I started on an [Uninhabited Island].
“Alright, shall we go in then?”
“Woof.”
The front door seemed perfectly normal? A wooden door, opening to the right. No mechanism to twist and open, just a handle. There was a system to pass a crossbar through the handle and the adjacent pillar, but… no latch itself.
Shou-kun, it’ll be a problem if it’s dark, so…
“Oh, right.”
I asked the light spirit to prepare a light. The windows I saw from outside seemed to be storm shutters, tightly closed, so it should be pitch black inside.
“Okay.”
I gripped the handle firmly, and then—
“No, I should probably do this just in case.”
I knocked gently… no answer. I knocked harder, thump, thump, thump… still no answer.
I put my hand on the handle again and pulled…
“It’s locked from the inside…”
What should we do?
In cases like this, it’s pretty much only one option, but—
“Woof!”
“Right?!”
So, I decided to kick it down. Oh, and the carpentry tools I painstakingly made are dangerous, so I’ll put them down with my backpack.
Eh? Eh?
“One, two, three!”
CRASH!!
With a single front kick, it easily broke and fell inward. And with that, an incredible cloud of dust rose…
“Whoa! The dust is insane!”
Whine~
“Lupi! Let’s get out of here for a sec!”
Both of us hastily jumped back from the entrance. We waited for a while for the thick dust pouring out of the doorway to settle…
That was reckless…
“Well, I mean, come on?”
“Woof.”
We both nodded. If there was another way, sure, but taking a lockpicking-type skill just for this feels a bit much.
Wouldn’t it have been better to just pry open a window, considering the aftermath?
“Ah…”
I even brought a crowbar-like object, so was the punchline that I could’ve just used that? I instinctively looked at Lupi, who averted her gaze. So smart…
“Um, it’s settled down now, so I guess I’ll go inside.”
Be careful this time, okay?
“Got it…”
Peeking from outside, it really looked like a house no one had lived in for a long time. Alright, I need to be careful. First, I’ll send the light spirit’s light inside.
“Hmm, it’s pretty much an empty room…”
All I could see was the fallen door, the embedded latch, dust piled on the floor, a square table and chairs in the front-left, and what used to be a bed in the back-left. And in the back-right, as expected, a stone staircase leading down.
“Woof.”
Lupi gingerly stepped inside, and I followed. I checked to make sure the floorboards wouldn’t give way beneath my feet…
The floorboards creaked, but for now, they seemed okay. Still, I should probably replace them.
“Hmm, surprisingly, there’s nothing much. Is it just a [Mountain Cabin]?”
Shall we open the windows first?
“Roger.”
All the windows were wooden, with no glass. There were latches about an arm’s length long, so I removed those, and then pushed them outwards…
CRACK! CLANG, CLANG…
Both sides of the double-opening square window, hinges and all, came off and fell outside.
Shou-kun?
“Sorry. I didn’t think it would be this brittle…”
There was one window on the east wall and one on the west. After breaking the western one, I carefully opened the eastern one, and a pleasant breeze blew in, sweeping the dust out of the house.
“Hmm, just a table, chairs, and a bed… how did they cook?”
More importantly, the entrance door was locked from the inside, so how did the owner of this house…?
“…”
The patterns are either “sitting there, turned into a skeleton” or “floating as a spirit,” right?
Looking up, all I could see was the underside of the lean-to roof, the sloping part. It was damaged in places, so it really seemed like it would be better to replace it.
Which means…
“I guess I really have no choice but to go down the stairs.”
Please be careful, okay?
“Roger. Lupi, let’s go.”
“Woof.”
The possibility of this house’s owner having become a [Skeleton] is pretty high. But I haven’t acquired [Holy Magic], and I don’t have any weapons that seem effective against undead, like silver. For now, I guess all I can do is try if salt works…