"Thank you everyone!" (Mile)
Returning to the royal capital of Kingdom of Tils, the Crimson Vow party was having dinner at the familiar Lenny-chan inn.
They appeared to be enjoying a somewhat extravagant meal.
"With this, we have been able to provide a new source of income to the orphanages in the royal capitals of this country and the surrounding countries... no, we have been able to form an information network." (Mile)
Reina and the other two didn't seem shaken by Mile's words.
The pretense of Mile's plan to shore up the orphanage was that it was for the purpose of "gathering information"... that didn't mean that it had no role at all, and it's not a lie... but everyone knew from the start that the real purpose was to support the orphanage.
Mile provided considerable support to the orphanage, which was struggling financially.
The orphanage's diet has improved dramatically, but what if Mile failed in her job (disappeared)?
They didn't know when that day would come.
Even if they were unbeatable against normal monsters, they could be caught off guard when facing humans, and there was also the possibility of an overwhelming difference in strength or a trap. Even ancient dragons, baby dragons, had been killed by humans in the past. Even with thousands of troops and numerous large crossbows (ballistas) prepared...
And there were also unidentified enemies (from other dimension)...
A precautionary measure taken by Mile in case of an emergency.
Her companions weren't the kind of people who didn't understand that.
"Well, it would be impossible to reach all the orphanages in every city, but if we can do something for just the orphanages in the royal capitals of each country, then maybe the orphanages in other cities will see this and think of something similar… I told the orphanage I started working with that if other orphanages come for advice, they should teach them the know-how of the fried food shop..." (Mile)
Orphanages were non-profit organizations. Therefore, other orphanages would surely join forces as comrades working hard for the children, rather than as rival companies.
That's what Mile believed.
"Now, all we have to do is continue working hard as a normal C-rank hunter, and aim for the A-rank which is Reina-san and Mavis-san's_ goal, right?" (Mile)
Mile seemed to have realized that there was little point in her traveling around the country.
Certainly, the chances of accidentally stumbling upon a dimensional rift that was only open for a short time were extremely low, and she now knew the Ancient Dragon's purpose. She also learned that there were no ruins of ancient civilizations left except Golem and Scavenger...
So, although she knew that small-scale reconnaissance missions from the other world were taking place, it was dormant for the time being, so she had determined that there was nothing she could do about the situation.
And then Reina and the other two...
(Although Mile says that, the probability that "they" will attack soon is quite high... no, it's almost certain...) (Reina)
(They are coming, right…?) (Pauline)
(We need to prepare for the attack...) (Mavis)
(They're definitely coming! Those guys, "Wonder Trio", are aiming for Mile!!) (All 3)
They seemed to be feeling a considerable sense of crisis...
Several months had passed since Crimson Vow completed its journey to revitalize the orphanage.
During that time, whenever they had a long vacation of more than five days, Mile would visit orphanages around the country to check on them, providing guidance and working to improve any problems, and by that point the orphanages were able to adequately feed the children without Mile's help.
When Mile was alone, she could use gravity magic to "fall horizontally" and moved around in a short amount of time, which allowed her to provide support to orphanages in various locations.
Other orphanages that Mile wasn't directly involved with also started operating fried food stores and other businesses that could make the most of their "Zero labor and zero rent" advantage—businesses that were labor-intensive and required high labor costs—and gradually began to make profits.
(Now, no matter what happens to me, the orphanages around here will be fine. With this, I can say that my reincarnation into this world was worthwhile. Even if I die and meet that "God-like (Overlord)" again, I can proudly report it... Now, all that's left is to live a life without regrets. A life for myself. And have fun in this world!!) (Mile's mind)
Mile was thinking about such things, but...
"A delivery for Mile-sama of Crimson Vow."
As usual, a regular delivery from the Hunter Guild arrived at Mile's room at the inn.
The person who delivered it was one of the kids who usually hang out at the guild looking to earn some pocket money.
For them, a delivery job within the royal capital for three small silver coins was a very lucrative job.
What was delivered was a regular report on the city's information that Mile had requested from orphanages around the country in exchange for helping them start their businesses.
The orphanage's share of this request for a report and the cost of shipping the report was Mile's entire share of the project.
"Umm, it’s from Kingdom of Marlene… If it’s just a regular guild delivery without hiring a low-ranking hunter or using a special express delivery, then it’s probably not a big deal…" (Mile)
Saying this, Mile opened the letter.
"Let's see, 'The number of new monsters has increased, and the army, Hunter Guild, and even the Mercenary Guild are working hard to exterminate them. The danger in the forest has increased and rookie hunters are hesitant, but it is not interfering with the lives of ordinary citizens.'" (Mile)
"'The meat of the new species has little fat and is not very sweet, but it is chewy and has excellent flavor. The tendon meat is nice, and the crunchy texture of the cartilage is quite good...' wait, the rest are food reviews of the new monster?! ...Or rather, new species are starting to appear on the market, so I wonder if it's okay...
Reports from other countries are similar..." (Mile)
"The other day, in the letter from the orphanage in Kingdom of Trist, there was an article about a new type of boiled orc stew, right?" (Pauline)
"It's not 'boiled'!" (Mile)
When Pauline interrupted, Mile got angry and yells at her.
The reports from orphanages around the country were important to Mile, so she was intolerant of any interference regarding them...
"However, if a major incident were to suddenly occur somewhere, that's one thing, but if the threat level is gradually increasing in various places, then there's nothing we can do, right? Well, even if a major incident were to occur, there's nothing we can do..." (Mavis)
As Mavis said, even though Crimson Vow was a famous party on the rise, it was nothing more than a party of four C-rank girls. If that was enough to do something, then a single ancient dragon could do it. Or even the royal army or feudal lord's army of some country.
Besides, Crimson Vow was just one party of four people. They could not handle multiple events occurring simultaneously in different places.
"We have no choice but to leave it to each country to deal with it, right? Well, like I said when Mile was talking about information networks and all that, it's pointless for us to be the first to get hold of the information, right?"
"...sadly, it is..."
Mile slumped her shoulders in disappointment after Reina added insult to injury following Mavis's remark.
And perhaps she found himself attached to this character, who seemed to have troubles somewhat similar to her own in her previous life...
[Mile-sama, we have an unannounced visitor. What will you do?] (Nano)
"Eh?" (Mile)
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Oh, no, it's nothing! Ehehe..." (Mile)
Mile accidentally blurted it out loud and quickly tried to cover it up.
(Wh-what? Why would Nano-chan be handling a visitor? That's Lenny-chan's job!) (Mile)
In her mind, Mile made a perfectly reasonable argument, but...
[Yes, if it was a normal visitor... like a human, demon, or beastman... that would be the case, but this visitor is a bit unusual, and has come to act as an intermediary...] (Nano)
(Ah, it seems a bit crazy… In that case, it would be better if I met alone, right?) (Mile)
[......] (Nano)
(What a silence!) (Mile)
[No, thinking about the future, maybe it might be better if the others joined as well...] (Nano)
(Whaaat?! It means, that is not a human, right? Moreover, it's neither a demon nor a beastman! Is it okay to let everyone meet someone like that? Mainly, about my secret...) (Mile)
[......] (Nano)
(So, I have to decide?... But, if Nano-chan goes out of their way to say it like that, it probably means that it's "recommended"...) (Mile's mind)
Mile thought for a few seconds, then...
(Please guide them into this room.) (Mile)
[As you wish!] (Nano)
"Everyone, we have visitors, I'll take them to this room." (Mile)
"When did you hear that? And who's coming?!" (Reina)
Reina asked the obvious question, but...
"Well, I have yet to see them..." (Mile)
"Don't let such a suspicious guy into a girls only room!!" (Reina)
Reina screamed in anger.
"Well, it's Mile after all, right?" (Mavis)
"Because she's Mile-chan..." (Pauline)
And then, Mavis and Pauline were operating normally.
"...I get it. Just call them now!" (Reina)
As Reina spoke, as if giving up, a small bird flew in through the open window.
And landed on the table.
"The visitor, is it a biiird?!!" (Reina)
Reina had been yelling for a while now. If she continued like this, Lenny-chan would come yelling. She said it's a nuisance to the other customers...
So, Mile hastily deployed a soundproof barrier.
And then, she looked closely at the little bird...
(...The protruding joint. Are these rivets? It has a metallic sheen and an angular design. There's no attempt to hide the fact that it's a robot... Or rather, it's like a small bird-shaped support robot, Chika...) (Mile)
"What? Is there something strange about this bird? It feels something like metal..." (Mavis)
As Mavis began to speak, the little bird turned its gaze upwards at a 45-degree angle and light emitted from both of its eyes.
And the light formed an image in the air, and the image was its head.
Yes, it was an image of a small bird, just like the real thing...
[Hello……] (Bird)
"Ahhhh, it spoke!" (Other 3)
"Are you Swanny[1]?! And if the image is the same as the real thing, there's no need to project it! Just let the real thing speak!" (Mile)
Mile was extremely angry for some reason...
Author's Note
What?!
"Noukin" has exceeded 400 million page views! (^^)/
It's 400 million, 400 million!
In total, the individual chapters have been read a total of 400 million times!!
Mile "It's amazing! Every single person in Japan is reading three chapters each!! (^^)/"
Reina "No way! There are 512 chapters, so I got 512 views by myself, and I've re-read them many times, so the number of readers is even less!"
Mavis "But isn't it amazing that people read it over and over again?"
Reina "Uh, yeah, that's certainly true..."
Pauline "That's a blessing..."
Mile "Next up is 500 million views! Everyone, let's do our best!"
"Ohhh!!" (x4)
Translator's Note
[1] スワニー (suwanii), I don't know what it means