Chapter 184

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 184: Everyone’s Strongest Sword (4)

11:14 AM.

A standalone house located in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.

In front of the rather ostentatious house that didn’t quite fit in with the coastal countryside neighborhood, Tomiko hesitated for a moment.

“…Is this really the place? They called us to a house instead of a municipal building.”

According to the note she held in her hand, this address was indeed correct.

It was designated as the emergency meeting place for the “Reset Level 3” situation.

“Hmm.”

After some hesitation, Tomiko approached the front door of the house and knocked.

Soon, two men in formal suits appeared from inside.

And then.

“Oh.”

They were briefly surprised.

“M… Miyagi! Miyagi’s Sword Emperor, you’ve come!”

They exclaimed loudly, bowing deeply as if they were yakuza.

“…Ah.”

For some reason, Tomiko felt like she had to act fierce, so she entered the building with her facial muscles tense.

Clang!

『Miyagi’s Sword Emperor』

The strongest of Miyagi, Tomiko Hayama 01.

Last night, she was just a polite member of a team with a score of 62 in the dungeon, but here on the mainland of Japan, she was treated as a “Sword Emperor.”

Unlike Korea, Japan had only two types of titles.

The supreme authority in large regional units like prefectures was called “Sword Emperor”.

And for the strongest in smaller regions like cities, they were called “Sword Master”.

[TL/N: My bad guys 😥 I made a mistake, tomiko is actually sword emperor not master, will be using sword emperor for her in the future.]

“What is this house?”

As they passed through the door, revealing a spacious yard with a rather large pond, Tomiko looked around while lightly touching the handle of her sword.

And then.

Creak.

A handsome man emerged from the annex on the other side to greet her.

“Ah…! I didn’t expect you to come. It’s an honor.”

The identity of this man, with a sword on each hip, was.

『Sakata’s Sword Master』

“I’m Tsuchiaka Fukuhito of Sakata City. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, you’re the one who sent the note.”

As Tomiko showed him the note in her hand, Fukuhito nodded again.

“Yes. It’s a very important matter.”

Then, still bowing his head, he gestured towards the annex.

“Please come inside. Everyone is waiting.”

“…Inside there?”

Tomiko frowned slightly.

She was a little suspicious, but she didn’t think this meeting itself could be a trap.

This morning, she had seen the warnings from the council.

“I should have visited you sooner… I’m sure you can’t help but be suspicious. It’s all my fault.”

Seeing Tomiko hesitate, Fukuhito untied his belt, which held his sword.

Click!

“…!”

As Tomiko watched in surprise, Fukuhito, now completely unarmed, uttered a strange line.

“Although Miyagi Prefecture is on the coast, there’s nothing beyond it but the open sea. But beyond our coast, there is Korea.”

“…Korea?”

Tomiko’s eyes widened at the unexpected word.

Why would Korea suddenly be mentioned here?

Korea was the country to which Jeong Yeongwoo, whom she had met last night, belonged.

So, this morning, she had thought it would be best to avoid any entanglements with them.

“….”

Despite her growing unease, Fukuhito continued speaking.

“I understand that there is no ‘dotted line’ along Miyagi Prefecture’s coast. That’s what Pavel, who passed on the note, said.”

“If there’s no dotted line, what…”

Seeing Tomiko’s puzzled reaction, Fukuhito nodded.

“See for yourself.”

With that, Fukuhito walked to the annex and opened the door.

Thud.

Inside, she saw several Sword Masters from Yamagata Prefecture seated in a formal manner.

Regardless of what she knew, a national issue had undoubtedly arisen.

“….”

Swallowing heavily, Tomiko moved towards the open door of the annex, and through the window that occupied one side of the annex, she could see the deep blue sea stretching out beyond.

This house was built to face the sea.

And naturally, from this annex designed to overlook the sea.

“…Huh?”

She could see a holographic dotted line drawn along the coastline.

“What is that?”

As Tomiko pointed to the dotted line, Fukuhito looked at the other Sword Masters in the annex and said.

“We believe that’s the ‘Connection Scheduled Line.’ And it’s probably the Level 3 situation announced this morning.”

“Connection? Are you saying the land will connect?”

Tomiko quickly understood.

That’s why this man had suddenly mentioned Korea.

“It means Korea and Japan will share a border. That’s the only country beyond ours.”

“That’s correct.”

“…”

It was an absurd claim, but having just seen the “dotted line” with her own eyes, she couldn’t deny it.

This also explained why there was no dotted line along Miyagi Prefecture’s coast.

Miyagi Prefecture faced the Pacific Ocean with no nearby landmass.

“This is insane. It’s truly a crazy development. Connecting land is considered a Level 3 reset?”

As Tomiko looked away from the coast and towards Fukuhito, she saw him and six other Sword Masters kneeling.

“In Yamagata Prefecture, we don’t have a Sword Emperor yet. Therefore, we request assistance from Miyagi’s Sword Emperor, Tomiko.”

“What kind of assistance do you need? You’re not planning for war with Korea, are you?”

“…!”

Tomiko’s words startled the six Sword Masters.

“War… No, at least we must prepare for conflict. Isn’t it necessary to prepare for at least that?”

“Other coastal regions are also preparing in their own ways.”

“There are rumors that Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, and Fukuoka have already entered a state of readiness.”

As the excited Sword Masters spoke, Tomiko grew frustrated.

“The southern regions are dominated by the yakuza, so of course they’d be thinking about war. But isn’t it ridiculous to start fighting even before the land connects?”

Of course, even as Tomiko spoke, she remembered the fights between Taiwanese and Chinese she had witnessed in the dungeon at night, so she wasn’t entirely confident.

What would happen if Japan and Korea’s lands really did connect?

“Either way, if we launch the first attack, it will truly become a war. Besides, we don’t even have a legitimate reason for it yet.”

As Tomiko sighed deeply while looking at the dotted line again, Fukuhito responded with disappointment.

“Then, does Sword Emperor intend to stand by and watch whether Koreans push in or not?”

“We won’t know until the land connects.”

“If we are subject to a preemptive attack, it will be too late to regret. Besides, we…”

If the lands truly connected, Yamagata Prefecture would immediately become the front line.

That’s why they were so restless.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

However, Tomiko did not side with the Sword Masters.

No, she couldn’t.

“Don’t fight with Korea.”

“…What do you mean?”

“There’s a monster there.”

Jeong Yeongwoo, the Strongest Sword of Korea, No. 07.

Wielding a sword that could cut through the sky, and using mutants as slaves.

Tomiko still felt as if she had dreamed seeing him fight.

But…

“…Ha.”

The Yamagata Sword Masters, who hadn’t seen the problem monster firsthand, couldn’t sympathize.

“Disappointing. To think someone like you held the title of Sword Emperor.”

“What?”

As Tomiko turned away, the six Sword Masters, who had been kneeling just a moment ago, suddenly stood up.

“If you won’t lend your strength, we’ll take it.”

Shing!

As if they had anticipated this situation as Plan B, the Sword Masters drew their swords.

In response, Miyagi’s Sword Emperor Tomiko also drew her sword with a bitter laugh.

Clang!

“You guys only have the courage to fight me after you get together in groups of about six, and you’re going to start a war.”

As Tomiko mocked them while holding her sword, Sakata’s Sword Master Fukuhito rebuked her.

“All-out attack!”

* * *

Meanwhile, across the sea, while Tomiko engaged in a 1 vs. 6 battle, Yeongwoo was lying down, eating bread.

“Mmm.”

“Hey, lying down while eating is bad for your health.”

“I can survive without eating. So, it doesn’t really matter.”

He was talking about the self-sustaining effect of his mutation.

Then, Jeonggu lowered the corners of his mouth in a frown.

“Then why bother with the bread?”

“I sometimes like to pretend to be human.”

In reality, it was Yeongwoo’s consideration to Jeonggu, who was having breakfast.

Moreover, even though he could survive without eating, his sense of taste hadn’t disappeared, so eating itself was enjoyable.

“For something that turned to stone, it’s quite tasty.”

“That’s one advantage.”

One of the few advantages of the reset world.

The petrified food didn’t rot.

Perhaps even after months or years, once the petrification was lifted, it would still be edible.

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

“How complete is that laser cannon?”

Jeonggu asked, recalling the commotion during the morning meeting.

Jeonggu recalled the commotion that occurred during the morning meeting.

The laser cannon in question was suddenly fired from inside the television.

It was just that, as soon as the power components were connected to the framework of the cannon, which was already completed, the laser was fired.

In other words, the essential parts of the laser cannon were mostly in place.

“It seems like it’s more than halfway completed. But with a bit more tweaking, it should be able to fire.”

Of course, there was no way to confirm the progress at the moment.

Due to the discontinuation of the public service after 10 a.m., they couldn’t use the television anymore.

“I can just ask when I fight with the mutants later to see how much progress has been made.”

Yeongwoo calmly said while taking another bite of his bread.

Jeonggu looked at Yeongwoo as if he couldn’t understand.

“How can you be so calm? Aren’t you worried at all today?”

“I’ve been through so much that maybe that’s why. Of course, it would be much safer if the weapon encyclopedia arrived early…”

Even without it, Yeongwoo thought they could overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

“By the way, do you know?”

“What?”

“My father also needs to bring a mutant.”

“Is that so?”

Jeonggu’s response showed he hadn’t even thought about it.

In response, Yeongwoo pointed north with the bread he was eating.

“There will be mutants appearing in Dobong-gu as well. Since I decided to wait in Gwangjin-gu, father should bring back whoever appears in Dobong-gu.”

“What if I die…?”

“You should be careful not to. I need to get tax deductions.”

Yeongwoo said this, then added an afterthought.

“I’ll lend you Negwig. Use it to come and go.”

Negwig, the iron horse.

An unspecified grade of vehicle that Dogo gave to Yeongwoo as a gift in return for the Audi.

Even if his father was incompetent, if he sent him off on Negwig, he should be able to return safely.

“Now then.”

After putting the last piece of bread into his mouth, Yeongwoo took out a small communicator from his pocket.

Swoosh.

“Shall we call the loan shark?”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]