C108: I’m the one who knows how tough it is to get rid of pests

“Mr. President, I’m afraid I’ll have to call it a day.”

“I’d like to leave early.”

“Me too. Me too.”

“Ha-ha-ha. You’re not getting away with this.”

As I, Makoto and Mr. Yamamoto were about to leave the door, the president, who had come around, interrupted us with a smile. By a coincidence that made me wonder if the spider extermination that I had talked about a few days ago was a prelude, I ended up working as a pest exterminator.

The site was in the bas.e.m.e.nt of an apartment building. Two years ago, there used to be an Italian restaurant in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the building, but it was closed down due to poor management and has been abandoned ever since.

A new owner is planning to open a restaurant here soon and asked us to clean it, so the president went to check it out the other day and today was the day. All we were told was that we would be cleaning the floor of the former restaurant, so we opened the door of the former restaurant with great enthusiasm and closed it immediately.

“…… is awful.”

“If I’d known, I would have skipped it.”

“You knew, and you didn’t tell me, did you?”

“No one asked me.”

The president answered my question without any ill will. The floor was dirtier than I had expected, and there was no air conditioning, so I had nothing to complain about, but this was too unexpected. When I saw the scene beyond the door, Makoto’s face turned pale and he was trembling from a little while ago. I feel sorry for him.

“I’ve been to a lot of sites, but none like this one.”

Even Mr. Yamamoto, the oldest of the group, looked a little pale. I guess that’s how shocked he was by the scene.

“You guys are still good, I’ve seen those things alive and wriggling. You’re lucky that I blocked the doorway and threw in some insecticide to wipe them out.”

Oh, so the president witnessed them alive. That’s certainly better than what I imagined.

“But it’s tough to see dead c.o.c.kroaches scattered all over the floor…….”

What we saw were dead c.o.c.kroaches that covered so much of the floor that we couldn’t even see it. If it had been just one c.o.c.kroach, we would have been a little surprised, but when you see a swarm of dozens or even hundreds of them, it’s natural to be scared.

“You’re going to get rid of the spiders next time. Think of it as a prelude to that, and it’ll be easy, easy, easy.”

No, spiders are still better. I was tempted to argue with him, but I held my ground. This is my job, so it’s not my place to complain. I have to forcefully convince myself that……is the way to go.

“All right, let’s get going. Collect the carca.s.ses with a broom and put them in a bag. If there are any survivors, I’m sorry, but I need you to get rid of them.”

Then he handed me the insecticide spray.

“I hope you don’t get a chance to use it,” he said, “but don’t forget to ventilate the area, because there may still be some insecticide left in it. Don’t be scared. Let’s get this over with.”

“Yes!”

The three of us reluctantly replied in a languid voice.

“Oh, you’re early. You need dinner, right?”

The first thing my mother asks me when I get home, I answer immediately.

“No…….I have no appet.i.te.”

I’m not daring enough to have an appet.i.te after seeing that. If I can’t stand it later, I’ll have something to eat but I want to take a bath first and foremost.

After that, there were dozens of survivors who withstood the insecticide…….Let’s not do that, I don’t even want to remember anymore. I quickly took off my work clothes and threw them into the empty was.h.i.+ng machine to start was.h.i.+ng. If I wash them with my family’s clothes, I’m sure to get complaints.

I went into the bathroom and washed myself carefully before soaking in the bathtub.

“Forget about today…….No, it was a learning experience.”

It’s not bad if I consider it a prelude to the capture point. It’s not a bad……idea. I’m not sure which is better, the spiders or the c.o.c.kroaches. I’m seriously worried. But I think this job has made me a little more tolerant of bugs. Besides, the impact is lessened because it’s through the screen.

“The villagers have to endure much more than me.”

I don’t have to tell you which is tougher, killing a giant spider or cleaning up today.

“Looks like Chem can’t do it, and neither can Murus and Sudhir at that rate.”

The next point of attack has already been announced and the villagers know what kind of monsters are living there.

Tomorrow, the members of the team were scheduled to partic.i.p.ate in the extermination. Chem was included in the list, but she was pus.h.i.+ng herself too hard, so she decided not to partic.i.p.ate tomorrow. Murus and Sudhir might be stubborn and announce their partic.i.p.ation, but if that happens, I’ll use the oracle to stop them. I don’t want to force them to partic.i.p.ate.

“Oh yeah, what about the Basilisk?”

I spoke to Destiny, who was floating in the bathtub. My family knows that he likes to take a bath, and they don’t even pay attention to me when I take a bath with him anymore.

I called out to him, but he didn’t even turn around, his big eyes scurrying and staring at the window. I turned my gaze to the window and saw a small fly. With uncanny speed, Destiny’s tongue extended from his mouth and stuck to the fly, then instantly reeled back into his mouth.

“……seems fine.”

I thought it was chameleons and frogs that had extended tongues, but I didn’t go into it. No one knows the biology of a basilisk. So, the basilisk in the village, Gochupicchu, seems to be okay. Also, I wonder if Niles will carry the statue of G.o.d again.

Even Gams and his friends aren’t always good with bugs. There’s a chance that they’re just as scared as I am. If that’s the case, it’s better to sweep them up with the statue of G.o.d. Thanks to the increase in the number of villagers, I have enough points without having to pay. I don’t remember having a problem with a lack of points lately because I’m getting quite a bit more every day. It’s totally possible to get by without paying, nowadays.

“In the beginning, I struggled and worked part-time to pay for points, but now I have a little extra money, since I don’t need to pay anymore.”

After all this time, I can’t help but wonder if this “Village of Destiny” has the purpose of rehabilitating people. Like me, Makoto’s life was changed by the game. The G.o.ds on the Lord G.o.d’s side dare to choose such people and guide them.

“If that’s the case, I should be more grateful.”

I have to make sure I don’t bring shame to the G.o.d of Fate who chose me.

After I got out of the bath, my hunger got the better of me and I managed to finish my dinner. Then I went back to my room and sat down in front of my computer as usual.

It was getting late and most of the villagers were asleep, but the elves and a few others were hard at work. They crushed the citrus fruits in a stone bowl and use a pestle to liquefy them, and then transfer the contents to small jars. About a dozen jars are already filled with liquid, but there still seem to be more than twice as many empty jars.

I had told them in advance that spiders might not like the smell of citrus, so they prepared this way. I had my doubts about whether the spiders of other worlds were the same as the spiders of Earth, but when Murus saw the oracle, she said, “I see. It’s true that spider monsters don’t appear in places where there are citrus trees.”

She mumbled to herself and was impressed, so I think she’s probably okay. The citrus juice can be thrown at them if the need arises, or applied to their bodies to prevent them from being attacked. There are many ways to use it so there is no harm in preparing more.

I skimmed through the village logs and found no problems, so I scaled down the map and focused on another thing that was bothering me: the entrance to Iryu Mujin Village. As usual, I could see the tunnel at the entrance, but the area behind it was still black.

Nothing has changed since then, which is conversely eerie, and I can only wonder what is going on in that darkness. I’ve been doing a lot of research on the rumors about Iryu Mujin Village, but I haven’t found anything new. No video streamers seemed to have penetrated the village since then, and there was no progress.

If they are experimenting with connecting the other world to j.a.pan, I need to take action soon or it will be a disaster. The G.o.d of Fate is well aware of this and is working behind the scenes in cooperation with her fellow followers, but they are not getting any results either.

“Originally, I wanted to take my time and make sure I could capture it, but I don’t know how long those people will be safe.”

The only reason they are safe is because they are used for experiments. Until then, I don’t think they will do anything strange, but there are problems with the experiments, so they need more than one experimental subject.

I was able to go back and forth between the different worlds safely with the help of G.o.d, but that was largely due to the existence of a proper “hole”. Perhaps there is a kind of “hole” in Iryu Mujin Village, but it’s not enough to connect to the other world.

“It’s okay if they can’t pa.s.s through, but if they’re forced and their body vanishes…….”

In a science fiction movie I once watched, there was a scene where a warp failed and the s.h.i.+p disappeared. I shudder just thinking about it. I push today’s images to the corner of my mind and ponder about tomorrow.

“I have to get through tomorrow first. I’m not capable enough to do two things at once, am I?”

Once I kill the big spiders, I won’t have to worry about the aftermath. Then I can focus my attention on the Iryu Mus.h.i.+n Village.