Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

Chapter 390.1: Code's Prison

Now that Biker and his group are gone, there are plenty of spare rooms in the building. The space where they used to have their parties had been cleaned up before I knew it. I don’t think Jean-san or Olivia-san would have cleaned up the mess, so it is likely the city system cleaned it up.

In Code, it seems like all food, clothing, and housing are provided by the city system. There aren’t even prices listed for the food or drink. It is said that the tools of Advanced Physical Civilizations are highly convenient, but if the city system itself could be manifested, would it really change things this much? If all nations could recreate the city system of Code, all conflicts would surely disappear.

Well, the civilization that possessed such advanced technology disappeared long ago tho’.

“Un, un, perfect.” (Cry)

There are a lot of empty rooms in this building. Now that Biker――And his gang are gone, the building is nearly empty. I was told to do whatever I wanted with the room, so there should be no problem letting the lower-class people? I talked to live here as Royal Guards.

Negotiations with the lower class people went well overall. They were quite confused…… Or rather scared, but they decided to talk it over with their friends, so with some luck, I should be able to gather enough people to be Royal Guards. It seems that there are a lot of lower-class people living around here.

This time I am――Lucky. Thanks to all the Royal Guards I have gathered, all I have to do is wait for Kaiser and Saya to find me.

For the time being, I have a good guideline for Olivia-san’s request, so I will move on to my original goal.

My goal is to secure the Royal Family. Although I will basically leave it to Kaiser and Saya, it is not like I can do nothing at all. I am not busy until I meet up with them anyway.

I move to the top floor via the small transfer room, then walk down the long corridor until I arrive in front of Ohii-sama’s room. There is no one in front of the room. Even though it is supposed to be the Royalty’s room, the security is so thin that it would be unthinkable in the outside world. Maybe that is the result of the trust they have in the city’s system. After all, the rooms in this building have a transformation function. Even in seemingly empty places, you probably need to be cautious. Biker’s friends were also turned to ashes around here.

For now, I have no intention of breaking down the door. There is no way I can break it down. That is Kaiser and Saya’s job. I stand in front of the door and study the gray door closely.

When I was first guided here, Jean-san made the window transparent without any special manipulation. Just like the small room for moving, Advanced Physical Civilizations must have the technology to read thoughts. When I try to focus my thoughts on it, the square panel on the door easily becomes transparent.

…… Doesn’t this door offer any privacy?

It seems like Ohii-sama is in the middle of taking a nap. As I put my face close to the window, Ohii-sama, who has been sitting in a comfortable rocking armchair, jumps up and comes running towards me.

She looks at me as she sticks to the door, and blinks her eyes. Even though I suddenly invade her privacy, she doesn’t seem angry. She just looks a bit puzzled.

At any rate, I try to wave my hand and she waves back. But her expression remains puzzled. She probably has no idea what I am here for. I think I would have felt the same way if I were in her shoes.

The window is completely transparent. At first glance, it looks like there is nothing there, but when I slowly bring my fingertips closer I can feel something solid.

Somehow, it is a strange substance. It is much more transparent than glass, and yet harder. Just as Jean-san explained, the door which must have been attacked by my predecessors is smooth and not even scratched. It seems impossible to open it by force. I am not sure if it would be possible with someone as strong as Anthem…… But I don’t think Kaiser or Saya are stronger than Anthem, so it is probably not possible for them. Unlocking doors is Liz’s area of expertise. There is no keyhole, but would Liz be able to open it?

As I try to peek into the room, Ohii-sama blinks and steps back a little.

Upon observing the Ohii-sama’s room again, I realize the room is extremely simple. The size of the room itself may be slightly larger than the other rooms. But apart from the fact that the walls are made of glass so you can look outside, it is not that different from the other rooms.

There is no toilet or bathroom, but I guess they only appear when necessary, just like the other rooms. I am mostly an indoor person, but not having the freedom to go outside is the ultimate hikikomori1.

If the door cannot be opened, the only way in is from the outside. Glass is generally softer than walls. Everyone is breaking glass like they are *paripari* cracking a cookie. This place is about a hundred meters off the ground, but I am sure Kaiser can get in.

Apparently, Ohii-sama is the ideal target to secure. She is *niconico* smiling and doesn’t seem to be yelling at me, and very well-behaved. When I bow to her, she bows back. I cannot help but smile.

If I can just come up with a way to communicate, I think I might be able to somehow persuade her. For now, I think I will come here every day until I meet up with Kaiser.

Right, maybe a chocolate bar as a token of acquainting…… And then, just as I am thinking that, a voice calls out from behind me.

“Have you found the other Royal Guards?” (?)

“!? …… How did you know I was here?” (Cry)

Seriously, having someone suddenly call out to you from behind is just too bad for my heart. I didn’t notice anyone at all. I take a deep breath and turn around. It is Jean-san who calls out to me.

Jean-san frowns for a moment at the transparent window and at the face of Ohii-sama peeking through, but he doesn’t say anything and speaks in an exasperated voice.

“…… It seems you still have yet to outgrow common sense from the outside world. You can easily find out people’s locations by accessing the system. Since you cannot summon virtual terminals as a Class 3, it would be best to use the portable device.” (Jean)

The floor in front of Jean-san starts to move and a black board-like object appears. It looks similar to a smartphone, but it is about two sizes larger.

When I touch the surface of the object he handed over, the mysterious letters and symbols that have been displayed on the screen begin to float up.

I don’t know how it works, but it is amazing. I cannot read it tho’……

“I cannot read it though……” (Cry)

“Use it intuitively. You can try to give voice commands. The writing language of Advanced Physical Civilizations is difficult to understand and even we still cannot fully comprehend it.” (Jean)

Even though when I used it, the text was properly converted on the smartphone that the Imouto Kitsune gave me…… But why is it that I can give commands by voice but cannot convert the text on display. Oh weeell, I will try to find Kaiser and Saya with it later.

“So, did you find the other Royal Guards? We don’t have much time.” (Jean)

“Yeah, I am looking for them properly. I tried asking the people around here today. And although I didn’t get an immediate reply, they said they would think about it. It seems they have some friends, so it seems very promising.” (Cry)

I don’t know what they are capable of, but it is not like you need to do something. Olivia-san says that anyone would be fine, and they are surely more suitable to be Royal Guards than recruiting people from the prison. I give him a pumped-up thumbs up, but Jean-san’s expression is not good. He sighs deeply as if he has seen something terrible.

“By people around here, don’t tell me…… You are talking about lower-class people? If so, I am afraid that…… They are not citizens according to the system. Those without citizenship cannot become Royal Guards.” (Jean)

!? She said that anyone would be fine――No, come to think of it, she said anyone who is a 『Citizen』 would be fine.

“………… Wouldn’t it be better to just make them citizens?” (Cry)

As I continue to press him, Jean-san says with an annoyed look on his face.

“They don’t have a card! A card! There is a limit to how many cards can be issued, and only the King of Code and those he appointed as high-ranking nobles, which means Class 7 and above, can issue them. If they don’t have a card, they cannot become a citizen.” (Jean)

“……………… Uuumu……” (Cry)

It is unexpected. The people I approached didn’t say anything in particular, but maybe they didn’t know. That’s problematic.

However, there is new information. It seems that the request was made to the Explorer Association by a high-ranking noble or higher. It is unlikely that Royalty would have made the request, so the number of people making the request must be quite limited. I don’t know how many high-ranking nobles there are, tho’.

Although it is a failure, I got some useful information, so you can say that I broke even with that (No idea what that means).

“Are those who are incarcerated citizens?” (Cry)

“It is because the prison is also part of the city system…… So only citizens can use it. I am glad I came and checked on you………… Anyway, I will contact the prison. There is a finite number of criminals, after all. Please bring in those who seem as obedient as possible. Don’t forget that you, as the Leader, are responsible for supervising them.” (Jean)

“Ah, yes…………” (Cry)

It seems like I don’t have any other option. And what’s more, it comes with supervisory responsibility………… No, I suppose I do have some responsibility, but isn’t the whole thing just a bit too sloppy?

Even if I were to choose a Royal Guard among them, Franz-san, a loyal and orthodox nobleman, would be furious if he saw this.

“I will call a Spider. Is that okay? All I am asking you to do this time is to follow my orders to the letters. We are not looking for someone strong. Moreover, even for criminals, there are ranks. It is unlikely that you will be able to find any capable people as you are a Class 3――” (Jean)

Jean-san, if you are going to go that far, then why don’t you go look for them yourself since you have a higher rank than me………… Or maybe you are trying to push the task onto me because you don’t want to look for it yourself?

Completely ignoring my dejected state, Jean-san looks at me with a serious expression and says.

“Olivia and I are busy dealing with Biker’s fiasco. You also share some of the responsibility for their failure. If all goes well, we will convince our superiors to raise your rank as well. So do a good job.” (Jean)

Y-Yeah…………

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Thanks for reading! Pff Jean, Cry don’t need you to raise his rank. He is already above this Class system because Master~ wa kami!

1. Hikikomori: It means recluse/withdraw from society that stay in their room.