Septent Resort is out of the way. Like, a lot.

Whenever I went to Rebeat, I would find settlements scattered on the way there. A few houses, some inhabited and others abandonned, small towns, and bigger ones. They weren't everywhere, but nevertheless, they were a feature of the land. Meanwhile, I haven't been able to locate any kind of human presence yet.

Which brings me to my current predicament. I am, without a doubt, utterly lost.

I followed the directions to the best of my capacities, which... Isn't much, but still there, and yet I find myself not in front or the resort as expected, but standing on a cliff, really high above the water levels. And of course, as I said earlier, there's nobody but me around. No houses, no city, no nothing.

At least Linda didn't give her rat friend an exact timing as of when I was supposed to meet him. I hope.

It took me half an hour to understand that I needed to find a way to go down the cliff, because the Resort was conveniently down there. Of course, it would have been faster if I wasn't afraid of falling like a moron as soon as I came closer to the edges.

It then took me another half hour to actually go down and enter the Resort, and oh boy was the difference between Septent and Rebeat obvious.

Rebeat Resort was dominated by monsters, true, but only on a small, concentrated area. It was actually easy to destroy the monsters as they appeared, so Rebeat's invasion was manageable.

But Septent Resort was another can of worms. Filled to the brim with monsters, everywhere, and no place left for humans. It was a Resort only in name. And maybe history.

In several areas, the ground was missing. When there was something solid that one could walk in, it was rusted, decayed. The whole place looked like it was dying. Which, now that I think about it, it was.

Railings were useless, as they couldn't even handle their own weight. And, unlike with Rebeat Resort, the water beneath was green, and quite disgusting.

Yeah, all in all I had a better time at Rebeat than I think I'll have here, in Septent.

At least, the monsters aren't that much harder to kill here than there.

It took me another hour to find Linda's friend, and it was because when she told me it was a rat, I expected a human looking like a rat. Maybe even a bit like Linda, someone just wearing a rat costume. But no, she was talking literally.

Well, not really literally. As far as rats goes, this one looks kinda cute and not disgusting and pathetic. And his color scheme is more edgy than rat-y.

Anyway, another reason as for why it took me an hour was that this dumbass decided to sleep in the middle of the Resort. By the time I finally found him, he was waking up and groggy, and I was frustrated and kinda tired.

"You're the guy Linda sent, chu?" he asked me, still rubbing his eyes.

"Obviously, otherwise I'd probably be trying to kick you in the water."

He rolled his eyes, and gave me his hand. "Name's Warechu. Third best mouse mascot in the world, and official SOWP mascot, chu."

I looked at him sideway, but still shook his hand. "Soap... You're a goddamn soap mascot?"

"No, you idiot! The Society Of World Protection, chu! The one you're supposed to help right now! That dumbass told you nothing?"

"Nah, not really. She told me the less I knew, the less I'd be in danger if there were problems."

Warechu looked at me with deadpan eyes, and despite me, I smiled a bit.

We've been searching everywhere for the last thirty minutes, and little by little, we managed to strike a conversation that could keep going.

"So what's this mascot like exactly?"

Also, I'm fishing for informations because I'm still in the dark about almost everything. It helps that Warechu wants to impress me. Maybe.

"They're supposed to be a floating CD, chu. From what the bosses told us, they're really easy to break, the hard part is finding them."

Seeing as Linda and I were searching for several weeks at Rebeat, I can kinda understand that part.

Also, we've been searching uninterrumped for way too long. For a reason I do not really understand, the monsters seems reluctant to attack us. I mean, when I wasn't with Warechu they were already wary of me, but that didn't really stop them from assaulting me. Not for long, at least.

But now, we've barely seen a single battle. I wonder if it's because Warechu looks like a monster (is a monster?) or because he's just strong enough to scare them.

The day passed by slowly, and obviously we didn't manage to find the mascot, so I bid my farewell to Warechu and left to go back to Lastation.

Warechu is a good guy, sure, but I still miss Linda. I don't know, it was just easier to be myself with her than it is with Warechu. Must be because she kinda saved my life. Once or twice. Or ten times, I dunno.

Speaking of things I miss, well...

No, I can't think of that now. As long as I am trapped in this job, I'll have to just ignore it.

...

They are probably heartbroken. I know I am.

The Guild wasn't as noisy as it could be. Now that I think about it, it never has been that quiet, no matter the time of day I came back from Rebeat. But then, it was still day, and now it's way darker than usual.

What I mean, is that I'm awful at time management, awful at navigation, and the sun is down and I'm dead tired.

Of course, almost everything is closed because, you know, night time, so the only edible thing I managed to buy were cold sandwiches at a convenience store. They do the trick, but they don't taste like... Well, they have no taste is what I'm getting at

Of course, after that I went back to Midcompany, to rest for the night. And despite the several robots everywhere, supposed to defend me in case I needed it, I definitely felt like someone was watching me.

I hope I don't die like a moron in my sleep.

Good news is, I didn't die like a moron in my sleep. Bad news is, I just didn't manage to sleep. At all.

So it was a tired, grumpy me that came into the Guild to take yet another job that asked me to stab things at Septent. Well, until I realised that, for once, the Guild was empty.

Unless you count the clerks. And myself, I guess. Then that makes two persons at the Guild.

I was definitely intrigued, but then I didn't have time to waste, if I wanted to get to the Resort before noon.

As I left the Guild, I noticed the silver-haired boy from yesterday walking in the Guild, and start talking with the clerk. Hopefully he didn't see me.

The first thing I heard from my coworker today was a wonderful "You're late, chu!", followed by an angry pout. Like, an actual pout.

It's weird, seeing a big mouse pout at me.

"I happen to live quite far from here, and I'd rather sleep a full 7 hours before coming to work", I snarled, before asking him "Where did you spend the night by the way?"

Warechu shrugged. "For obvious reasons, monsters hesitate before attacking me. I just spent the night here, chu."

I nodded. "Gotcha. Monsters wouldn't attack each others, that makes sense."

"What?" Warechu stopped, and turned to look at me. "No, chu, they're obviously afraid of my immense powers!"

We stared at each other for what felt like a minute, and neither of us told anything. But one of us needed to break the silence, and luckily it wasn't me this time. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

I held back a snort. "Because you're probably the less intimidating monster I've seen on this side of the world, aside from maybe that odd Dogoo here and there."

"Shows what you know! I'm real strong and intimidating, chu! I just didn't show you, is all!"

Seeing that this discussion went nowhere (and because I still didn't believe him, because he's not convincing at all, even angry), I decided to switch to another topic. "Anyway, seen anything interesting, lately?"

Warechu perked up. "Yes, there was this real strong demon that decided to feast on me while I was sleeping, so I decided to give him a taste of his own medicine by beating him up, chu! Unfortunately, I didn't defeat him fast enough, and I suffered great injuries, until an angel came and healed me up on the spot I was left dying. She was every bit as beautiful as expected from my savior..."

He was left into his own daydreams. Also, I don't believe this "demon" story at all. He probably just fell in the water like a moron, and that "angel" just cleaned him up.

"Her name's Compa-chan, chu! I fled before I could ask her to join our quest of destroying the mascot, but I definitely will once I see her again! And..."

Come to think of it, he did have a bandage applied to his torso. Maybe he did get beat up, but I really don't think a demon did it.

"... the CPUs and rise as..."

He's still at it. Maybe I should stop him. I'm not listening as is, and we have a job to do.

"Hey, not to interrupt your... Fantasy, but we should get a move on."

Warechu stopped, and paled. "Please don't tell me I said something dumb, chu."

"Dunno, I stopped listening after I got her name."

"Well, that's good," Warechu sighed, relieved.

Septent Resort, once again, was devoid of anything friendly. I always laughed at those people saying they couldn't live isolated from everyone, because clearly it's no problems, but after close to a month of limited contact to anything human, I'm already starting to feel slightly depressed, so I think I finally understand what they meant.

So, once again, Warechu and I explored Septent Resort, killing what few monsters dared to attack us. It really made the Guild Quest harder to accomplish, but it also allowed me to breathe inbetween our fights, so it was not all to bad.

After several minutes of silence, I decided to try my luck with something. Clearly, Warechu and Linda's group was not working with their governments, so maybe they had access to ressources that were forbidden- you never know when you may need things like a one-shot weapon for humans during a raid against ASIC. Well, I don't want a gun, but there is something that'd make my life easier...

"Hey, so, uh..." I began,weakly.

Warechu looked at me. "What do you want, chu?"

"Yeah, so, do you have the means to, I don't know... Get forbidden weaponry?"

Warechu narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, forbidden? What kind of weapons would you need, and why, chu?"

"Okay, so back up a bit. Did Linda tell you about how ASIC infiltrated the government and stuff?"

"She might. What of it?"

I fidgeted a bit. To late to go back. "So, I may or may not need something to deactivate automatic doors and defenses and stuff, because there may be a possibility of me wanting to infiltrate the Basilicom. Hypothetically."

"Oh, you mean like EMP grenades, chu!" Warechu sighed with relief. "I throught you wanted something more dangerous, to be honest. Sure, we could build you some, but you would need to bring us some things, chu."

"What is it you need?"

"I think Linda mentionned you lived in Midcompany, chu? You just need to bring us some illegal memories and maybe a magic stone, chu. We have an excess of everything else that you'd need."

I smiled. Finally, something going right with this planning! "Sure, I can get you this come tomorrow. When do you think you can give me the grenades?"

Warechu paused, and thought a bit. "Give us three days, it's not that hard to make."

After this discussion, we continued our search, but I couldn't help but be happy. I finally managed to advance the plot! Well, kinda- but I was almost ready to storm the Basilicom.

"So, what did you get?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing? I told you he was dangerous, and yet you did not try to find anything about him?"

"This is not what happened. When I say we found nothing, I meant there was nothing to be found."

"You needed to search for everything, not just past criminal acts."

"Yes. There was nothing, nothing."

"Nothing as in... He does not exist?"

"If he does, his existence is kept a secret from Planeptune's Oracle herself."

"..."

"So, what is our next course of actions?"

"Why are you so willing to help an enemy? I believe he stated several times he wanted to destroy us, what if he attack our factories with those?"

"I promise you, he won't. I asked him what he intended to do with them, and Linda convinced him the Basilicom was infiltrated by us, so that's his target."

"I swear to you, rat, if he uses those to attack one of our factories, I am going to hurt you so bad you will wish to die."

Once again, I was at the entrance to Septent Resort, this time with more than just my lance and what few healing pods I had left. I didn't realise until now how much working everyday like that made me stronger, but I'm pretty sure if I tried to carry all of that at the beginning of my journey, I'd be dead tired before even arriving there.

Entering the resort, I realised that there were even fewer monsters than yesterday. Which is strange, because we're not killing that many monsters; there shouldn't be a shortage of those.

As I followed the usual path to our meeting point, I noticed several more things that were different from normal. Some of the railings were burnt or torn apart, which, now that I think of it, probably meant that another group of adventurers came by to do a Quest here. Which also meant that Warechu's probably hiding- as a monster, it's better that he stays away from battle happy guild members.

Suddenly, I noticed a slight movement to my left, in the water. As I approached, I realised it was Warechu, trying to hide from... Something.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Surprisingly, these words made him jump, but when he turned back to look at me, I could see he was holding in his tears. I helped him get out of the water, before he started unloading on me.

"I was exploring the Resort a bit, waiting for you to finally arrive, chu. Then, in a corner of the Resort we didn't yet explore, I found my sweet angel Compa-chan, with some more broads surrounding her. I tried to ask her to destroy the mascot together, chu... but she refused, and then they started beating me up."

After this, he started crying, about "compa-chan hating him" and the likes. I waited a bit, and once he calmed down a little, we left Septent Resort to go back to Midcompany, so he could rest a bit.

"So, how's it going?"

Warechu sighed. "They're telling me that after my fuck-up, I need to go to Lowee. They want me to join up with Linda, to infiltrate the ASIC branch there together, chu."

"Yeah, that may be useful to have inside intel," I nodded. "Before leaving, you managed to get me my EMP grenades?"

"They're right there," he smirked. "Three grenades, waiting for you to blow up inside the Basilicom. Once you've done whatever you want to do, where will you go, chu? I doubt staying in Lastation is a good idea."

I took the grenades, and hid them in a little bag I bought for the occasion. "I need to see how Lowee and Planeptune are doing, so I think I'll go there. Maybe Lowee, I'd like to go skiing and stuff."

"If you do that, maybe we'll cross each others, chu. If that happen, we don't know each others, okay?"

I smiled sadly. "Sure. Stay safe."

As I watched the disappearing form of Warechu, I looked outside. The Sun was rising, and I wanted to get this done with. I took what little I managed to gather over my stay in Lastation- my spare clothes, my weapon, and the blanket I stole from Linda- before leaving towards the city.

It was time.

"By orders from the Oracle herself, please come out of this dungeon willingly! If you don't, we're authorised to use force!"

"Sir, he's not coming."

"He will, trust me. Weak fools like them-"

"No, it's not that. Our scouts came back, sir. They say he's not here. He took his things and left. Their estimations are that we missed him by less than ten minutes."

"..."

"Sir?"

"Call the Basilicom."

Author's footnote :

So, uh, school work happened. And then it was Friday night a week and a half after chapter 5, and I just thought "yeah, no not gonna finish and post that now, let's go with monday". And then I had an assignment, and another, and an oral presentation... And when that was done, I found out I forgot about another assignment. So yeah pretty bad weeks.

I tried my best to do something coherent and decent, even with the time between each sessions, but uh... Yeah. Hope you enjoyed nevertheless!

Review Time ~

Ace-of-Weeb : Let's just say Linda maxed out her agility, and leave it at that. Also, Anonydeath was unexpected, I was just looking at the enemies wiki when suddenly he appeared on my sights. I figured we never heard what he's doing in the Hyperdimension, so why not give him his own shop near his beloved Noire?

flitterflux : Best boi Brave won't appear for a while, sadly. For this chapter, have a Warechu instead!

Guest : Nope, I'm not planning to add other Isekais. Some OCs to flesh out ASIC a bit, maybe, but that's all. And the reason and means behind his Isekai may be spoilers, so I'll keep them hidden for now. Just know he didn't die back home, so there's that. Also, it may not play a part now, but his final goal is to get back home, yes.