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Chapter 70 – Day 15 of Exploration
This is a bit sudden, but it’s the desert.
A few hours ago, early in the morning, I told everyone that we were going to the desert.
“Huh? What’s the matter all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t the desert far away?”
“Did you bump your head this morning?”
I persuaded Hel, Sylvia, and Jennifer.
I woke Chel and had her make us lunch. We started walking south in the early morning when there was a thick fog.
“Listen, we’re going to have to walk with magic in our feet. When the sun comes up, and it gets warm, the monsters will start moving around more actively. Let’s get to the desert before that happens.”
“That’s easy for you to say, but Hel doesn’t even know how to use magic yet. Besides, there are farmers and elven slave criminals outside the demonic land. Are you sure you want to leave them alone?”
“It’s fine.”
“Eh? Is it okay…?”
“I was aware of that, but what those people are doing outside the demonic land is none of our business, right? We can deal with it if something happens inside the demonic land. Besides, if they lived in the demonic land, our income would increase. It was pointless to worry about it in the first place.”
“Is that so?”
“Sure. If you look at the priorities of the demonic land, exploration is higher. I’m sorry. I made a fuss yesterday by calling for help.”
Hel apologized.
“That’s okay. Let’s practice the timing to concentrate the magic in our legs. Jennifer is good with magic, so Chel can teach her. Hel and Sylvia, hold my hands, and let’s practice the timing together.”
That’s how I taught them to focus the magic at the moment their feet hit the ground.
Once Hel and Sylvia got the hang of it, they should be able to do it after a few tries. The only thing left to work on was the amount of their magic power, so I practiced with them while I supplied them with magic power. Apparently, Hel would be able to do it without using her own magic.
“Why are you so good, Chel-san?”
“Well, because I don’t want to die, right? If you seriously want to keep up with Makyo, you’ll die quickly if you keep pretending to be someone else like Jennifer.”
“B-but I’m not pretending to be someone else.”
“Then take off the limiter. You’ll probably have to go over your limit a few times. Don’t worry, Makyo and I won’t use that much magic power when we get to the desert, so we’ll be able to carry you back.”
“I understand. I’ll show you my true power…”
Jennifer said, and then she flew up into the trees using the magic power in her legs.
“Wow! How do you control this thing?!”
“Just like Jennifer, I’ll adjust the magic power according to my weight and walking speed. Both Chel and I will adjust to the speed of the three of you.”
We practiced running from the front of the cave to the swamp for about half an hour and then prepared with our lunch boxes.
“Um, can I carry your luggage? No, it’s not that I want to do something under false pretenses, but, well, I can’t seem to bring out my real self unless there’s a little load… Is that okay?”
Jennifer asked, blushing.
“You can do it however you want. Does Jennifer have a talent for carrying things?”
“No, I think it’s just a quirk.”
Jennifer silently stuffed my things into her backpack. I’ll prepare an empty shoiko. It can be used to collect monster materials, and it’s also there for when you get tired.
“The road to becoming a noblewoman’s wife is a long one.”
“We’re rooting for you!”
Hel and Sylvia also handed over their belongings to Jennifer. Does Jennifer want to marry a noble?
“Hmph! I can do it!”
It seemed that Jennifer really gained strength when she put on the big backpack. After that, she didn’t talk much and concentrated on running.
We ran south for a while, passing the Rock Crocodile River and the ruins of Lamia. As we put magic into each step, the ground naturally wore away, and a path was formed.
Hel and Sylvia were in the lead, setting the pace, and if anything happened to Jennifer, Chel and I would support them from behind. It seemed that Hel and Sylvia were having trouble dodging plants and monsters.
“You can concentrate on running. It’s faster if you check the ground you’re going to step on next!”
I’m also using the magic I developed yesterday that interferes with the wind so the monsters won’t come near us because of the smell. They only touch the cam fruit and the bendgrass, which then try to bite them.
“Don’t worry if you get bitten by a plant; just pull it out by the roots. Chel will cast a healing spell while you’re running.”
Chel and I can dodge the plants’ attacks, but Hel and Sylvia will get caught in them.
“Makyo. Actually, Hel is…”
Chel called to me as we ran.
She probably was referring to Hel’s magic power.
“Are you saying that Hel’s limit is near?”
“Did you know?”
“I noticed when I channeled magic power into Hel’s body earlier. The flow is bad, so she can’t do much, right?”
“Yes. I think she’ll probably only last until the desert. Even if she pushes too hard, she’ll just suffer.”
Apparently, if you overdo it and your magic power becomes excessive, your blood vessels will turn black, and you will feel uncomfortable all the time. I’ve only heard about it, but it’s a disease that old mages get, and they sometimes hallucinate, so there are special isolation facilities.
“Don’t worry. If she runs out of magic and can’t move, I’ll carry her. Jennifer is pushing herself too hard. It’s all because Cher told her to go for it.”
Jennifer doesn’t show it, but she’s losing her footing. It looks like she’s about to fall over because she’s not looking at the ground beneath her feet.
“Jennifer is using mental magic on herself to dispel her fatigue.”
“Mental magic is forbidden in the demonic land. And what is she doing by casting it on herself?”
“She’s probably trying to enter the zone.”
“Zone? You mean hyperfocus?”
“That’s right.”
“Won’t her body collapse before her mind?”
“If she keeps doing it.”
“The area around Golden Bat Cave was safe, right? Let’s take a short break.”
I increased my speed and took the lead.
“Let’s take a break.”
We stopped in a field near Golden Bat’s Cave. The field, which was an open space in the dense forest, might have been the footprint of a giant monster.
“Please stop! If I let my guard down even for a moment, I’ll lose my concentration!”
Jennifer stopped Chel, who was about to cast a healing spell.
“Jennifer, don’t push yourself too hard. If you’re tired before we’re even halfway there, you won’t make it to the desert. If you get hurt, Chel will have to carry you.”
“Really? Are you serious? Jennifer, just shut up and let me use my healing and strengthening magic.”
“That’s why I’ll never get stronger…”
Jennifer grabbed Chel’s arm as she tried to cast a spell.
“Jennifer, you’ve been acting badly. You should give up.”
Hel, who had been watching the situation, said.
“But!”
“Look at Sylvia. She’s been training hard so she can keep up with Makyo and the others.”
Sylvia, who had been wiping the sweat from her face, was suddenly shaking and couldn’t stop sweating.
“No way… I wasn’t slacking off or anything… haahh.”
Jennifer didn’t seem to be convinced, but when she saw Sylvia, who looked fine, she couldn’t make any excuses. It wasn’t like either of them were slacking off. Sylvia was just looking at the demon land with a sense of urgency as she tried to get used to it.
“Sorry, Makyo, but Jennifer and I can’t go any further. The three of you should continue into the desert. Sorry to ruin your picnic.”
Hel apologized to me.
“No need to apologize; I expected it. After the break, I’ll carry Hel with me. Jennifer will be fine because Chel will strengthen her body with magic.”
“Continue the picnic~!”
Chel explained as she cast a spell on Jennifer.
“After the break, Sylvia, you should set the pace. I’ll try to keep up with the wind magic. I still haven’t quite got the hang of controlling the power, so I want to practice. Here.”
As I said that, I used magic to interfere with the wind, and a flock of Golden Bats were caught in a tornado-like wind and flew away.
“W-w-wait. But it might be too slow.”
“That’s okay. If it’s just us, we’ll probably pass through the danger zone before we even notice it.”
As Chel said, we tried a new spell yesterday but reached the desert without really understanding its effects. We were in a hurry on our way back, so we didn’t get to observe any danger zones, such as the Arachne breeding grounds.
“In that case, I’ll stay here and pick you up on the way back. Am I in your way?”
Hel probably doesn’t want to be a burden. But we need her to work.
“I’ll let Hel watch the demonic land on my back. Yesterday’s search wasn’t thorough enough. Today, we have more people, so there are more eyes to watch. Write down what you notice. Don’t try to slack off in the demon land.”
“…..! I understand. That’s why you had me on your back.”
“That’s what I mean. Tie your body to the vine so you don’t fall off.”
After a good rest, Hel tied herself and the shoiko together with vines.
“Makyo doesn’t let me be a burden at all.”
“The Lord is a rough puppeteer.”
While Hel and Chel talked behind my back, I forcibly carried Hel on my back.
“Mmm! I’m full of power! Hahahaha! I can repel any attack right now!”
Jennifer was completely carried away, but Sylvia slapped her on the back of the head and said, “D-d-don’t go too far forward,” so I think she’ll be okay.
“Let’s go! Sylvia, shout!”
“L-L-Let’s go!”
The lead, Sylvia, started running south, and we followed.
The grass was so thick that it was hard to see where we were going, so I quickly used magic to interfere with the wind and create a tailwind, and we pushed our way through the grass. Birds with half their faces for mouths were perched in the trees, and the fallen cam fruit attacked us. The ground was also full of traps and flat turtle monsters, so we had to be careful.
Since it was a demonic land, if we lost sight of each other, we would get lost in the wall of grass, so Chel guided Jennifer so that there was not too much distance between us.
“What the hell is that?!”
Hel makes a noise on my back. She’s surprised to see a hairy scorpion monster called a Forest Scorpion that’s bigger than a person. Chel and I both thought there would be about that many monsters in this demonic land, so this reaction is refreshing.
“This is amazing! What a sense of speed! My brain can’t keep up! Wait a minute, whoa!”
I jumped slightly, and she started to scream. Hel was so excited that she showed us a side of herself we had never seen before. Still, she seemed to be taking notes, muttering things like “the poppy fields where the tentacles attack,” “the lion-headed lizard (which is poisonous),” “the bear monsters that live in a beehive-like structure under the cliff,” and so on.
“Look! There! The cassowary really eats fire!”
“Of course it is! It’s a cassowary!”
“Wait a minute! Who’s breathing fire?”
“Isn’t that the fire-breathing lizard?”
“Is it a subspecies? Wait a minute…”
“Sylvia won’t wait for us. Let’s go ahead.”
“If there are monsters that can handle fire, there may be many poisonous monsters nearby! Be careful, Sylvia!”
Right after Hel said that, we saw a swamp with yellow water in front of us. It seems that we took a different route from the one we took yesterday.
Guaguaguaguaguagua…!
We could hear the frogs croaking incessantly. Sylvia stopped, and I also cut the magic that was interfering with the wind.
“What is that smell…!”
As soon as Hel opened her mouth, Chel covered it. She gestured for everyone to be quiet, and we moved slowly around the swamp. For a while, Chel led the way, and we rode in silence.
“The smell is gone now. This swamp is probably a breeding ground for the Yellow Frog monster. It’s a monster that has a poison that kills you just by touching it.”
“There is such a monster?”
“It had a lower voice than the Yellow Frog that I know, but you can’t forget the smell once you smell it. Was there one in the demon race country, too?”
Hel asked Chel.
“There are nobles who keep them for assassination. But the yellow frogs in the demon race country are in a different league, both in number and size. So if there’s a noble you don’t like, Makyo, just catch one and release it in that person’s territory.”
“How do you catch them?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“But it seems we’ve just been lucky so far. We haven’t encountered any of these monsters yet.”
“Yes.”
“Sylvia, I think we’re heading a little east due south. It’s hard to tell, but look at the position of the sun and the direction of the shadow and head due south.”
“Y-y-you’re right! I’m sorry!”
We slowly headed toward the desert, correcting our course.
Since it was already past noon, we would probably have to spend the night in the desert tonight. We continued on, collecting things like large butterbur leaves that would provide some protection from the wind, plump rabbits with horns on their foreheads, and drinking water.
After that, we saw a swarm of extremely large centipedes crawling through a ravine and a jewel beetle the size of a small dog flying by, but we didn’t stop and finally reached the desert near evening.
“It took quite a while.
“But I never thought it would be so different, just because of the speed and the route we took.”
The three were speechless and stunned when they suddenly found themselves in the desert.
Sand to the horizon.
The sky is blue, the desert is yellow.
It seemed as if the world had lost all other colors.
As the color of the sky gradually changed, the wind also stopped.
There were no swaying trees, so there was almost no sound.
We all watched the sunset over the sand dunes.
Chel and I set up a simple tent made of butterbur leaves and cooked a rabbit. The sound of the meat sizzling in the fat was really loud.
When it got dark, the stars began to twinkle in the sky.
We were all tired, so we ate our dinner without saying much.
As it got dark, the trees and plants in the forest came closer and closer. It was Sylvia who spoke first.
“I-i-it’s moving!”
“Ah, it seems that the forest is spreading out into the desert to collect the morning dew. We noticed that yesterday as well. I don’t think they would attack us without a reason.”
“This desert is Makyo-san’s territory as well, right?”
“It’s supposed to be. I heard that there’s a land of bird people at the southern end. I’ve never been there, though…”
“I never thought the real thing would be so different from what I’ve heard…it seems my ideas were too narrow.”
Jennifer said and then lay down in the desert. Maybe her neck was tired from looking up at the stars.
“I understand now.”
Hel said, looking up at the clear sky.
“What?”
“The reason why Makyo and Chel don’t get upset about anything. Whether it’s the Elven country, East Kenya, stupid human relationships, or an impossible past, when you look at the desert and the starry sky, it all becomes unimportant.”
“…I-i-it’s like I’ve become so small…”
Hel and Sylvia also lay down in the desert.
We decided that Chel and I would take turns watching the fire and let the three of them sleep.
The desert air was cold.
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