The timer hit zero, yet the world map showed no change.

I had expected three hundred people to transfer all at once.

"It's not increasing? The second wave isn't showing blue dots?"

"No, there must be a time allocated for distributing points. If we assume it's being broadcast from Earth, then our side and the other side should be connected in real time."

Ah, that explains why I couldn't choose slowly when time ran out. So the second wave must be transferring people who quickly finished allocating their points. Maybe the first person to transfer even received a special reward from the gods.

"Ping pong pahn! Attention all world transmigrants! We will now be transferring 300 more transmigrants to your world! If you happen to be near someone being transferred, please kindly guide them as a senior!

" As I stared at the map, that familiar cheerful voice echoed through my mind.

Since it had said something similar last time, the deity probably wanted transmigrants to get along with one another. That must be why our locations appear on the map.

From Jeanne and my perspective, it's completely unnecessary help, but knowing our positions does mean we can avoid each other if needed.

Still, it's frustrating that we can't move the house or the labyrinth we're staying in.

As a commemoration of the second transfer, a special item can now be exchanged for points—just once per person! This item is the "Ring of Substitution," which can absorb one fatal blow on your behalf! It requires only an astonishingly low cost of 1 point! Please note: this item cannot be exchanged or transferred.

"Nice. Even if I get shot, I won't die if it's just one bullet. The point cost is cheap too."

Hearing the divine voice, Jeanne remarks.

"Are you going to exchange it?"

"Of course I am. It's essential."

Indeed, if it truly acts as a substitute for life, then it's literally a "life substitute." If it grants a second life, then 1 point is far too cheap.

"As a reward for surviving until the second wave of Transfers, we are granting one point to every first-wave Transfer participant! Be sure to exchange it for the substitute ring!"

That was all. The message from the divine ended there.

Checking the status screen, the point count was indeed increased by one.

Just one point—but still, one point.

Although it takes a month's worth of crystals to earn a point, they're easily spent on crystal exchanges or other things, making actual accumulation quite difficult.

Over time, as we live longer, we might gradually save up, but even so, an extra point will be helpful.

"Let's exchange it for the ring right away."

"Yeah."

"Wait, the ring!? Why the ring!? H-hey, what's going on here? Explain it to me like I'm actually supposed to understand!"

Refleia had been silent for a long time, but she truly couldn't hear either the status board or the voice of the god, so it was only natural she'd ask for an explanation.

"Sorry, but no one's transferred over yet. It looks like it'll take a little more time."

"That's fine, but... about that ring?"

"Lea. Wait a moment—I'll explain it later. ...Exchange."

Jeanne gently silenced Refleia and swiftly manipulated the status screen.

"Then I'll exchange mine too."

Removing the dark night gauntlet, she selected and tapped the substitute ring from the status board.

At the same instant that one point was consumed, a simple golden ring appeared on her right ring finger.

So that's why it can't be transferred or exchanged—it appears in place from the start, permanently fixed.

"Ta-da! Matching rings~!"

"H-hey, wait a sec"

Jeanne grabbed my arm and proudly showed the ring to Refia.

"Aaaahhh! What is that?! What IS that?! Cheating! Jumping the queue! I want one too!"

"Sorry, Reya. These rings are exclusive to transfer users."

"If it won’t come off, and if it doesn’t give good effects, it’s probably a cursed ring..."

"I want to buy a cursed ring for Hikaru too!"

"Calm down."

I finally managed to soothe the frantic Refia, explained the situation, and got her to understand.

Jeanne always enjoys teasing Refia like this, but Refia tends to take things seriously—so it’d be better if she’d stop.

Incidentally, I ended up being promised a ring purchase.

"The second wave is about to transfer in. The dots are increasing."

With Jeanne's words, I look back at the map.

Indeed, they're steadily growing. So far, no one has transferred to the Ringpil Continent—

"Hey, it's increased. This is getting pretty close, isn't it? A bit north—see the area circled in a circle?... What's this place called again?"

"This place... is the Abyss. From the guild's map, we've roughly studied the surrounding geography, but this is said to be a death wasteland—once you fall in, you can never escape. Raya should know about it, right?"

"Yeah, it's scary, isn't it? I've never actually seen it myself, but an older explorer told me someone once reached the edge. The drop is so deep it makes your eyes swim—falling down there would definitely be fatal. I've heard there are giant lizards or birds there, someplace even seasoned explorers couldn't survive. Oh, and I remember hearing somewhere that in some country, criminals are sent to the Abyss instead of being executed."

"Pity, but this transmigrant's dead. Even with random teleportation, he must've chosen that fate."

"I see..."

Of course, there's no way we could possibly help.

I still can't quite picture what the Abyss actually looks like, but maybe it's something like the Grand Canyon?

I nearly died during my random transfer too. I hope they manage to survive, but from what I've heard, the environment seems even harsher than mine was. ...It'll probably be tough to make it.

Maybe it'd be different if they could choose another random transfer, but I wonder what they'll do.

　

"Huh, there's another one. Southward. That's where I was transferred."

"A port town, right?"

"Yeah. It's a small town, so this one might even make it as far as Meltya."

Jeanne adds another dot to her notebook, marking the new transferee.

Those from the first wave are marked with ●, and the second wave with ☆, keeping them distinct.

"Come to think of it, was this dot person really here all along?"

The blue dot located northwest of us. I've been curious about it ever since just before the second wave began.

I think Alex and I will pass each other soon, but depending on our positions, he might be heading toward Meltya, in which case he'll arrive in just a few days.

"He's one of the first wave of transmigrants, but it doesn't matter who he is. The first wave should be slightly safer than the second, and he shouldn't have come all this way just to find us. He's probably after the labyrinth."

"I hope so."

As we spoke, the number of blue dots representing the second wave continued to grow.

Seven more dots appeared to the south, and six more showed up in Meltya as well.

Even the capital, Stranoha, saw twenty-three new dots. Clearly, many transmigrants are ending up in cities.

Of course, there are also those who ended up alone in places that seem utterly devoid of cities, like the Abyss.

But it seems most of them have safely relocated to a secure location. Probably this is due to the fact that hundreds of the first wave of transmigrants died within a short period. I barely survived myself—more by luck than anything else.

It's true that three hundred people from the first group died.

"They've transferred here in greater numbers than I imagined. Now it's just a matter of how many have made it this far, and how many will ultimately live in Meltya... judging by this rate, it'll probably be around twenty."

Jeanne says, her expression troubled.

Out of three hundred, only twenty have gathered in one town. Considering that the transfer affects the entire world, that's indeed a significant number.

"Maybe we actually had a choice in where we transferred after all?"

"Probably, we couldn't choose our destination by name. If we could, more people would gather in Gran Arismaris—it wouldn't make sense otherwise. It'd just be a random transfer to another town, just like last time."

Indeed, if selection were possible, most people would pick a major city.

Therefore, it's natural to conclude from the distribution of transfer participants that selection wasn't an option.

"By the way, what exactly is Gran Arismaris?"

"Huh? You don't know? The world's largest labyrinth city."

"Wait, Hikaru doesn't know?!?"

"Funny, this exchange. Refreia knows I'm a country bumpkin, doesn't she?"

Apparently, this was common knowledge among explorers.

If it's the world's largest labyrinth city, it must be bigger than Meltya.

I see, then there might be many transferees eager to go.

"It's a city built around the world's largest and oldest labyrinth, formed by the gathering of the great spirits of fire, water, earth, wind, and light. It's even farther than the Dark Capital of Miliestas, so naturally I've never been there myself, but it's a dream destination for explorers. Right, let's go someday!"

"Sometime, maybe. I can't really picture traveling such a long distance, though."

"If transferees become too bothersome, it might be worth considering. After all, there's also Clo's Shadow Storage, so the journey probably wouldn't be that dangerous."

"How far away is it? Roughly how far on a map?"

Jeanne points to a spot on the map in her notebook.

This world is different from Earth—definitely in the Southern Hemisphere, roughly at the center of the Roschil Continent. It would take at least two ship voyages, and walking would take several months.

"This is impossible to move around, right?"

"Don't say 'impossible' so easily. Nothing's truly unmanageable. Maybe we'll be able to buy a vehicle at some point."

"Even if we had a car, there's no gasoline..."

The roads aren't even paved, so a mountain bike would be more realistic.

Anyway, we can't exchange such things for points anyway, so it's pointless to mention.

Incidentally, horses are terribly fuel-inefficient, so they're neither practical nor ideal for travel. Since we've advanced in rank and have strong stamina, it's ultimately safest to just walk.

We waited for the blue dots to continue appearing, then counted to three hundred, and after that, we counted again.

"Six people just in Meltya already. Those who transferred to nearby towns are likely to come here too..."

"The labyrinth is perfect for us outsiders to quickly earn money. There's also the fact that joining a guild grants at least a basic social standing. Anyway, both me and Clo made it clear we didn't want to get involved with transferees, so sensible people won't push for contact... I think..."

Jeanne's voice gradually fades.

She's bold against monsters, but not so confident around humans.

Still, there's nothing we can do right now.

Six transferees have already arrived in Meltya. That's all we know.

"It's still the first day, so let's stay in the labyrinth until nightfall and head home after dark. Depending on the situation, we might even need to obtain a high-performance peripheral map. I don't really want to, but..."

"What exactly is a surrounding map?"

"It's a detailed map of a certain radius around the location you've taken it from... I think it was around how many kilometers? I only heard about it through a message, so that's all I know."

"If it's in kilometers, that doesn't sound too bad, but isn't the point cost high?"

"Five points. Probably, that's why it's so detailed. From what I heard in the message, very few people have actually obtained this high-performance surrounding map."

I didn't realize five points were such a high cost when I first heard about it during the transfer, but now it feels quite expensive.

Still, considering it could be used in an unfamiliar labyrinth, it might be a steal.

If we ever reach the unexplored levels of Meltya, we might have to consider using it.

If we acquire a high-performance peripheral map, we should be able to cover the entire Meltya region. Being able to always track where the transference agents are allows us to avoid encounters or prevent ambushes right outside our homes. We're already stretched thin, and looking at it from a long-term perspective, securing it early isn't a bad choice.

"I see... but five points is a lot."

I agree we should be cautious of the second wave of transference agents, but deciding how much resources to allocate is difficult.

Ultimately, the only way to absolutely avoid encounters would be to keep moving to locations without transference agents—but no one can live like that, not even criminals.

If this were... just me, I might have chosen that path.

But I can't drag Jeanne into this, especially not when she's set her heart on clearing the labyrinth. And I certainly can't break my promise to clear it together with her and run off alone.

　

"It's all up to chance now. We've got a Scroll of Great Healing, a Barrier Stone, and a protective ring. We shouldn't fall behind a newbie, should we? Though if we get caught in the crossfire of a heavy machine gun, there's nothing we can do—still, I'll believe that kind of fool won't show up."

"Don't say such scary things."

"Kuro. There are people in this world who are different from us. You might not understand, living as you have in Japan."

　

Jeanne may say that, but the likelihood of a dangerous individual being among the six who came to Meltya is quite low. More precisely, the chance of someone deliberately targeting us is also quite slim. Logically, it should be that way.

But even if the possibility is small, it's still true that we should prepare for it.

In the end, we spent the day hunting lightly on the third floor, then quietly returned to the mansion late at night.

Fortunately, there were no teleporters stationed at the mansion.

Probably just overthinking it. I'd like to believe that.