FPS 251

The Kingdom of Kurtmerga has regained its composure after the rebellion caused by the Rafflesia. Meanwhile, I was still staying at the main residence of the Zephanel family in the oceanic city of Amar with Crown Prince Khan. It would take some time before the palace is completely rebuilt. Chancellor Zephanel also prepared an office at Amar’s escort fleet headquarters and kept in touch with the capital while educating Ashely.

My current job was to protect Prince Khan and Prince Ark, but so far there were no signs of assassins or spies coming. AN/GSR-9 (V) 1 (T-UGS) and spy cameras were installed in Zephanel’s mansion so that I could detect any suspicious movements immediately.

By introducing other new emergency response measures, I no longer had to shut myself up in the Zephanel mansion and had some free time. I used that free time to come to the shooting range again today. One by one, I investigated the one-story buildings that stand across the main street in the urban area.

The harvest was too much.

First of all, all the furniture in the house exists as something that can actually be used. When I opened the closet, I found a closet full of not only men’s items but also women’s items such as jackets, shirts, pants, ties, boots, etc. When I opened the storage furniture, I found small items, precious metals, daily necessities, and even a familiar aspirin in the medicine cabinet.

I was able to open all the books that fit on the bookshelves, but――I couldn’t read them.

It was the same as the wine from Continental, a top-class motorhouse. The numbers indicating the alcohol content were written with the familiar characters, but everything else, such as the place of origin were in mosaics and could not be read. The automatic translation function didn’t work either, and it seemed impossible to reconfirm the knowledge of the previous world as text. But I was able to see the encyclopedias and photo collections without any problems.

Up until this point, I had expected this due to the Continental equipment, but what piqued my interest the most was the home appliances.

When I turned on the TV, there was only static on the screen, but it was strange that it could be turned on. I should have noticed this much sooner since the Continental lights were on and the system kitchen was in motion. I then found out that the home appliances actually had a fuel gauge instead of a power source, and can operate without electricity until the fuel gauge runs out.

The fuel gauge can be replenished with CP. In other words, I can probably take it out to the outside world, and it will continue to function for as long as I can replenish the fuel gauge.

But well, there’s no point in bringing out a TV that doesn’t work――

“This is nostalgic…”

――The DVD that was on the TV rack is different. Even if I couldn’t read the title, I could tell what DVD it was by looking at the package. After confirming that the playback deck is connected to the TV with a cord, I inserted the DVD and pressed the play button――.

It was an old movie DVD. I was reminded of the vibrancy of the previous world that I had almost forgotten, but strangely, I’m not sad. Because I have already decided to live in the present world.

I pressed the stop button without finishing the movie and moved to the next area.

I gained a lot in the city area, but the search never ends. This shooting range can freely change the configuration of the facility by the operation of the player. The default configuration consists of an outdoor shooting range, an indoor shooting range, a training hut called the Kill House, and a field battlefield where you can practice driving a mobile vehicle.

However, the VMB’s stage is not limited to battlefields with motifs from past world wars. There were various stages such as world-shaking terrorism and hostage incidents, important facilities of hostile countries, space satellites set in the near future, and virtual areas centered on battles against extraterrestrial life forms. And this shooting range is also a training hut with the motif of those stages――it is possible to set up a training area that is too large to fit in the world.

For example, large shopping centers, high school buildings, giant chemical plants, skyscrapers, airfields + jumbo jets, missile launching bases, and so on, the list goes on and on.

Originally, this function would have AI bots —a simulated enemy controlled by the CPU, placed in a set practice area. Using simulated bullets to run through a predetermined course, a time attack, a kill zone in which endless AI bots continue to spawn, and a monitoring network of AI bots. It is a competition for scores and times according to several prepared rules, such as moving to the goal without being spotted.

I can still place the AI bots. It doesn’t consume anything, and there are no disadvantages in changing the configuration of the shooting range.

I tried changing the composition several times, and checked what can be taken out and what can’t. A large shopping mart had just been set up for that reason. By the way, I couldn’t take the jumbo jet out. I was able to fly it, but I guess since it’s an airplane, it can’t be stored in my inventory no matter how I tried.

The large shopping mart was a one-story building with a high ceiling, and was pretty wide. This was also the first place I checked when I started exploring the shooting range.

Various overseas brand shops are lined up in the tenant space, and there are all kinds of shops such as clothing and jewelry shops, watches, interior goods, household goods, stationery, hobbies, music, video, and sporting goods. In the food court, I could see signs that look like nostalgic burger shops and coffee shops, and sweets and donuts.

And what intrigued me the most was――

When the tenant space came into view, the inner pocket of the black clothes vibrated little by little. While enjoying the long-forgotten feeling for no reason, I put my hand in my pocket and took it out, pressed the green button, and put it to my ear.

“Hello――”

“Ah, Schwartz? It’s me――Ashley. Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, loud and clear.”

“Good, I’ll be home soon.”

“Okay, I’ll come pick you up.”

“Un, thanks. Also, predecessor asked you to bring ice cream and juice.”

“Roger that. I’ll bring some.”

“Appreciate it. I’ll be waiting.”

――The call was cut off, and I pressed the button again to finish.

Yes, I got a prepaid mobile phone displayed in the tenant space in front of me and was able to communicate with remote locations in real time. However, its shape was neither that of a screen touch type like the TSS nor a tablet-type smartphone, but a button-touch mobile phone, which was already obsolete in my original world.

There is a clear reason for choosing this type. There is no way its display can be read as it is, thus Ashley and others can’t use it. Of course, I can’t read either, but since I know “that”, I can operate it even if I can’t read the characters. The numbers on the button are readable and easy to understand. If you open a brand-new box, you’ll find your cell phone number listed, and if you enter the 14-digit number and press the call button, you’ll be connected.

When used, the fuel gauge would decrease slightly, but I was able to restore it, and the rate of decrease was such that I could talk continuously for dozens of hours before it ran out.

Even so, the number of units taken out is still small. Five have been handed over so far. One each for Prince Khan, Prince Ark, Ashley, Chancellor Zephanel, and Chancellor Bergman.

This way, I secured an emergency means of communication to the Princes, and it can also be used for direct communication between the Royal Capital and Amar.

By no means――I didn’t want to create a hotline where Ashley’s voice could be heard at any time, even if I was deep in the labyrinth, wherever I was in Kurtmerga Kingdom, at the shooting range or in my private room.

While storing the unopened prepaid mobile phone box in the inventory, I went to the food court and collected ice cream and juice, plus beer and sweets that Sharle-san would want in a box, and left the shooting range. Transferring back to the Zephanel mansion.