Chapter 39: The signpost displayed by muscle
A Naporitan with steam rising from it was placed in front of me.
After thanking Mariko-san, I immediately started winding it around the fork and took a bite.
Yup, I can’t get enough of this simple flavor full of ketchup.
Those people that have the image of a Naporitan when a coffee shop is mentioned probably know what I’m talking about.
「Well then, Wacchi. You did say that you wanted to make a Guild Home soon, right?」 (Shuuhei)
「I do remember saying that. However, isn’t that world ginormous?」 (Wataru)
If we went around the place like Miyu wanted to, it would be pretty hard.
We haven’t secured a means of transport after all.
「Yup. That’s why I thought that it would be nice to narrow down the places after gathering information about them.」 (Shuuhei)
「I see. So, you mean that BBS?」 (Wataru)
「You are right. Walkthrough sites are good, but only information that has a high degree of accuracy is put on them. It can’t win against the speed of the BBS.」 (Shuuhei)
「On the other hand, you need to verify on your own if the information on the BBS is true or not」 (Wataru)
「Isn’t that the fun part? That brief entertainment of avoiding fake information.」 (Shuuhei)
「It’s not like I don’t understand that kind of thing. I don’t hate fumbling around for information.」 (Wataru)
Shuuhei muttered “So good” while biting his pizza toast.
I continued eating my Naporitan and when I was done, I took a sip of coffee.
Fuu…just with this one cup, I could work properly for the remaining time.
Shuuhei took out his smartphone and I searched for mine too.
「So, which thread do you think will have good information? You got an idea already, right?」 (Wataru)
「I recommend this “Thread about places suitable for a stroll in the TB world”. You’ll see once you read it.」 (Shuuhei)
【Here and there】Thread number 4 about places suitable for a stroll in the TB world【Aimlessly】
This is a thread for reporting information about things you’ve found in the world of the VRMMORPG 「TrailBlazer」.
Regarding the place you witnessed it, the credibility will increase if you provide things like a screenshot and the coordinates and place within the game.
“I couldn’t memorize it, I didn’t have the time to do it!” For these kind of people, it’s fine if you mention the nearest facility or landmark.
Currently the main topic is about which way to head to with 「Heathrow town」 as the place of origin.
The next thread will be made once we reach >>>950 comments.
847：Nameless Shinto priest ID：GztnDhA
I saw a UFO!
In the south side!
848：Nameless mage ID：9FHrFjH
Sure sure
849：Nameless martial artist ID：cfrSJaP
Good for you
850：Nameless archer ID：ND4pLLa
I found a gigantic bull in the west side of Heathrow and there was a lake close to it!
【Image】
I got scared and thought about ignoring it, but then a barrier…
Ah, the place was Latera lake shore.
851：Nameless knight ID：3WU4KEe
Isn’t that the area boss?
A wall that can’t be seen.
Since this is about taking a stroll, it’s regrettable, but that place is not suitable!
852：Nameless mage ID：mP6wJTm
You can’t really go through it, but taking a detour would also prove to be difficult.
After all, even if you took a detour around the area boss at a level you can’t beat it, further along the way it would be infested with high leveled small fry.
853：Nameless heavy warrior ID：TZP5anV
Life is hard…
You can’t really take a stroll if you are weak…
854：Nameless light warrior ID：zsbGFTM
So you don’t become stronger to fight but to take a stroll, huh?
Our aim is already puzzling.
855：Nameless Shinto priest ID：GztnDhA
UFO…(´・ω・`)
856：Nameless knight ID：75ae3Du
Hey, the attention seeker over there, you are annoying lol.
If you want us to believe you, show us a screenshot!
857：Nameless archer ID：dXjwVRS
You’ll reply if I attach an image, right!?
【Image】
@855 probably means this
856：Nameless heavy warrior ID：ZU3GBbf
I took a look, but isn’t this just a jellyfish!?
Though it’s true that it’s flying in the sky!
857：Nameless Shinto priest ID：GztnDhA
(・ω<) Tehee☆ (sticking out his tongue)
858：Nameless mage ID：x97hcBE
So annoying lol.
However, even monsters like this exist, huh?
I wonder if the south side is warm?…Is the sea close to it?
However, since this one appeared in the sky I guess it’s unrelated?
859：Nameless heavy warrior ID：D2kKJRU
A little to the north of Heathrow, the capital.
【Image】
North of that place.
【Image】
South.
【Image】
East.
【Image】
South.
【Image】
860：Nameless archer ID：WytY3BJ
!? What the hell is this!?
861：Nameless light warrior ID：zsbGFTM
What’s with this guy…he’s amazing…
862：Nameless Shinto priest ID：CNKWZY5
@859
What absurd clearing speed LMAO.
Until what point have you been able to advance? LOL.
863：Nameless Shinto priest ID：UdBzs5S
Seems like you took them from quite the high place, how did you do it?
Since we can’t see your feet, I can’t really tell.
864：Nameless martial artist ID：cfrSJaP
Did you climb a tree?
865：Nameless archer ID：WytY3BJ
No matter how I look at it, that last image shows a desert…
There wouldn’t be a tree close by to climb.
866：Nameless mage ID：x97hcBE
Isn’t that why that jellyfish was flying?
I get the feeling this is a screenshot that was taken in the air.
867：Nameless archer ID：Y7FEM6W
Well, leaving aside how @859 took these screenshots, if these are the real thing, the topography sure is well defined.
The north side is a mountain area.
There are various islands scattered throughout the south side.
The east side is full of forests.
The west side is a desert area.
The center…I guess we can set it as the starting point?
We are talking with Heathrow as the starting point after all and the town is close to it.
868：Nameless mage ID：TPNKWtd
I guess that’s fine.
By the way, the NPCs from Altrowa and Heathrow said that we are currently in the Grado Empire’s Thala territory.
869：Nameless knight ID：SaximAw
So we were currently within an empire.
I had no idea.
870：Nameless mage ID：TPNKWtd
You should know that much at least LOL.
If you asked the people in your current region, they’d tell you.
Though if you ask about other regions, they won’t tell you for some reason.
871：Nameless heavy warrior ID：wkGxrWE
It’s probably to limit the amount of information you can get.
The developers probably want the players to explore the areas they don’t know anything about.
872：Nameless martial artist ID：cfrSJaP
So, in the end we don’t know how much this empire’s territory expands to.
I get the feeling that these areas where the topography changes considerably are part of another country though.
873：Nameless heavy warrior ID：eDLVWDj
We can probably say that it’s like that because of the premise of the game.
Since we didn’t have much time, I only looked through the most recent comments in the thread.
Then I fixed my gaze on Shuuhei again.
Judging from his expression, I guess he wanted to show me those screenshots made by the heavy warrior in the comment number 859.
「Are these screenshots even trustworthy? If they are the real thing, they are very valuable information though.」 (Wataru)
「You’d usually think that. However, Wacchi. How about you take a look at the third screenshot again?」 (Shuuhei)
「?」 (Wataru)
When I opened the image as I was told, a scenery of an island and the sea taken from a high place was…Hmm!?
When I looked at it properly, I could see a thick arm in the corner of the image.
It looked like a naked arm, but since the scenery was the focal point of the image, it only looked like an arm and there was no gear being shown.
With just this much…
「I do see an arm, but what does this have to do with anything? I don’t really see anything special that would…」
「I can see it. The appearance and state of these muscles, there’s no doubt about it…this is Aniki!」 (Shuuhei)
「…What?」 (Wataru)
For several seconds, my thought process stopped.
I can’t comprehend what Shuuhei is saying.
Being able to tell each person by the appearance of his muscles? This guy…
「That’s gross.」 (Wataru)
「!!? Don’t call me gross! Look, unlike you, I did handshake with Aniki, remember!? I was able to take a close look at that time-」 (Shuuhei)
「Fuun.」 (Wataru)
「Stop looking at me with those cold eyes! I’ll say this right now, I don’t swing that way, OK!? I was just charmed by how pure and cool of a man he was! Wacchi, don’t you also like people like the warring states commanders and the patriots of the end of Edo era!?」 (Shuuhei)
「Toyotomi Hidenaga and Hijikata Toshizo are the masters of my mind. Don’t make fun of them.」 (Wataru)
「I’m not! I wanted to say that it was in the same sense as those!」 (Shuuhei)
「I get it, I get it」 (Wataru)
Don’t make such a ruckus, you’ll surprise Master and his wife.
If we think that the one that took these screenshots was that mercenary Albert…
「He didn’t seem like the type that would lie. Even though we only talked to him for a short time.」 (Wataru)
「Right? That’s why, I think this information is trustworthy to a certain point.」 (Shuuhei)
「Right…however. If it’s that person, if you told me that he went to those places and made a big jump and took these screenshots, I would believe you…」 (Wataru)
「Buh!? Stop that, Wacchi! There’s no way that…」 (Shuuhei)
Our conversation took a break and we started to imagine Aniki.
An Aniki wearing lightweight equipment showing his muscles.
Suddenly, he lowered his body, with great vigor his muscles contracted and with a groan he built up his strength.
Then, he released all the strength he had built up in one go!
The ground was gouged out and the atmosphere trembled.
Like a catapult, Aniki was ejected from the ground, that heavy-like body soared through the sky further and further…
「L-Let’s stop here! Let’s not think more about it!」 (Wataru)
「Y-You are right! Anyway, since it seems like this information comes from Aniki it does have its weight!」 (Shuuhei)
I was overthinking things and my head was about to go crazy.
Well, I mean…since Rise is finishing her exams tomorrow, it should be fine if we discussed this information when the four of us gathered.
Just when the conversation reached a stopping point, the doorbell made a *karan karan* sound.
Oh, customers.
I ended my break and stood up to greet the customers.
「Welco-…What are you doing, you two…?」 (Wataru)
Just when I was thinking about who it could be, Miyu and Rise entered the shop while glaring at each other.
They came together to the shop in good terms…well, I guess there’s no way that happened…
「W-Well, I’m going back right now, Wacchi! See you tomorrow!」 (Shuuhei)
「Ah, hey!」 (Wataru)
That guy, he ran away.
He did leave the money to pay for the food and drinks on top of the table, but what should I think of him as a friend?
Ah…how should I deal with this?
From the looks of it, Rise is taking a break from studying and Miyu simply came here to eat some cake?
「I came to see nii-san who is doing his best at work. Then I saw someone I didn’t want to meet here…」 (Rise)
「Wataru, I came to get some cake and see you in the meantime! However, after seeing an unpleasant shorty, I have lost my appetite though!」 (Miyu)
Their timings had been too good…wait, it should be too bad.
Anyway, since I didn’t have any choice, I made them sit at the counter with an empty seat between them.
Other customers have come in, so I want them to be as quiet as possible.
「Hey, Wataru-chan. In the end, which one is your favorite? Those two are lovely today too. How about you tell auntie secretly?」 (Mariko)
「Hah…」 (Wataru)
As expected, Mariko-san tried to poke fun at me.
One of them is my younger sister, I get the feeling I did explain this at some point though.
Is it because we don’t look alike? I guess she forgot about it soon enough…in that case, I give up.
Master looked at me with a bitter smile and he murmured a 「So young」 which remained in my ears.
