82 - the end of the first day

"Tor-chan, there they are!"

Thor turned around with a somewhat tired look on his face as Moe pointed energetically to one on top of his shoulder.

Sora, who is nearing the end of her magic, stares back at him with a downcast look.

Yuril looked as beautiful as ever in the wind and sand, but the sweat on his forehead made his bangs stick to his head.

"Can you do it?"

"Yeah, well, I'm still okay."

"Shall I do it?"

"So ....... Phew. ...... we should probably collect the meat soon."

Nodding to each other, the three men unloaded their belongings and began to fight.

"Fog, block it up--"

Just as the chanting is about to end, Thor, carrying a drawn sword, slips across the sand.

Just as he steps onto the seemingly empty ground, a huge white body bounces off the sand to reveal itself directly below.

--

With a snap, the lizard's neck bends back, leaving it unprotected, and the iron blades strike it with a series of slashes.

Immediately, Thor retreats, kicking dexterously at the soft sand.

A moment later, a blast of icy white air blows over the sand.

Inhaling the cold, freezing air, the rock lizard turns and disappears into the sand.

Thor glances diagonally back at the sand, which has completely disappeared.

Yuril shakes his head silently and lifts his staff in a swish.

--

This time, without a word of prayer, he silently activates the spell, and the sand around him freezes in an instant.

Boldly, Thor stepped into the ice.

At the sound of footsteps breaking the ice, the rock lizard, which had been lurking somewhere in the sand, strikes again, this time with a surprise attack.

A white head emerges from the layer of sand and pierces through the thin layer of ice.

Thor reacts to the sound and moves one move faster.

He dodges the monster's head, and his iron sword slams into the long, extended neck as if absorbed.

A spray of red blood is repelled by a purple electric current just before it touches Thor's body.

The rock lizard once again dives into the sand, its white body twisting and turning as it emits a deafening cry.

The third assault, however, is noticeably slower.

It seems that the frozen air that it has inhaled has finally taken effect.

Thor's sword catches the movement with enough time to cut deeper into the wound on the neck.

Again the monster roars and runs away.

In the end, after the fifth repetition, he manages to cut off its head.

"Hahahaha....... Okay, let's take it apart and carry it away."

"Are you tired, To-chan?　All right, Moe, let's heal you up!"

The child reached out his small hand and began to rub Thor's shoulders and back as hard as he could as he bent down to begin the dismantling process.

Eventually he got tired of it and began to rub his cheek against Thor's. The little boy's hands were so close to Thor's that they seemed to be rubbing against each other.

Thor thrust his dismantling knife into the lizard carcass, the edge of his lips lifting slightly at the comfortable weight on his back.

"Let's start with the neck. Look, the skin here is easy to peel off."　

"Peri-peri, peri-peri, peri-peri. Mmm-hmm."

True to Moo's word, the skin on the neck peels off cleanly as I cut a slit and pull.

It seems that this fine, flexible, stretchable part is the only part of the skin that is suitable for processing.

The other skins are too hard and tough to wear, and there are better skins to use as a covering.

"Well then, let's turn it over. Sola, take that one."

"Yes, let me wait!"

Moe's in!

Sola, who responded somewhat cheerfully, took charge of the right front leg, Thor took charge of the right rear leg, and Mu took charge of the tail, and they flipped over in unison.

The skin on the belly is a little thinner than that on the back, so the blade can still pass through easily.

The sun is already slowly disappearing to the west.

We were supposed to be about an hour behind schedule, but we were already about 30 minutes behind schedule.

We gave up on the torso, which was troublesome to gut, and started cutting off the base of the tail.

"To-chan! He's got a weird leg!"

"Oh. That's pretty interesting."

The feet of the rock lizard had large membranes between the toes and were covered with fine, elastic folds that served as suction cups, perhaps to enable the lizard to dive quickly into the sand.

Even the tail was large enough, but we also cut off one of the hind legs.

With the parts of the lizard tied with a rope and hanging from his body, Thor looked ahead, checking on his companions.

A few dozen steps ahead.

Beyond the dust created by the wind, which has become slightly calmer, a large, flat ledge can be seen floating.

This was the final destination for the day.　

"Okay, we're almost there. "Okay, we're almost there..." said Mr. Mu, "Please make one last check. We're going to have to go around again from here."

"Rairai!"

The beginning went well, but the wilderness is not so easy.

The fifth one was easily taken care of by Sora's and Thor's sharp sword.　

The problem was that only about 30 minutes had passed at that point.

The problem was that at that point, about thirty minutes had passed.

At the same time, Thor was forced to use a sword with normal sharpness considering the number of times he had left to use .

Yuril joined in the fight, but with little moisture in the air, he could not hope for the same effect as at the time of the river of bloodshed.

The sand that had accumulated was already ankle-deep.

In the end, the battle slowly dragged on, and by the time we had killed the twelfth fish, an hour had passed and we were exhausted.

From the middle of the fight, we had to cut off only the tips of their tails without even taking off their necks.

Considering the time and effort required to hunt and carry the prey in relation to the purchase price, this is understandable.

Bowed to their knees by the sheer number of rock lizards lurking under the sand, Thor and the others have no choice but to avoid them as they head toward their destination.

Finally, they reach a safe zone.

"Wow, this is great, isn't it, Thor?"

"It's still in good shape. Here you go, Mr. Yuril.

"Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Sitting in the middle of the wilderness was a huge circular rock.

It was about the height of Mu, flattened at the top, and about 30 paces in diameter.

"So this is where we are staying today."

"......Yes, it's called Oomaru-iwa. It has an official name, too. ......"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, the first person who found it named it the Round Table of the Champions. ......"

One red-headed acquaintance comes to mind who might give such a naming, but Thor passes it by and continues his conversation with the guide.

"I see, so no one else is using it. Can't rock lizards attack us in this rocky area?"

"Yes, because the limbs are not made to climb rocks. ....... What?"

Saralisa choked up at the sight of a girl and a child washing their faces with water from a leather bag to remove sand from their faces.

The silver-haired beauty next to her is also pouring water and wiping sweat from her face without a care in the world.

Thor, however, showed no sign of concern and spoke to the guide who rolled his eyes.

"Then you're safe. Thank you for helping me today. Thanks for the guide.

No, no, you're welcome. Well, I have an early start tomorrow. ......"

With that, Saralisa quickly began to unpack her belongings in the center of the huge rock.

The total time we spent talking today was less than five minutes.

Thor shook his head lightly and followed her without saying a word.

Come to think of it, Thora is the exception to the rule, as youngsters are generally not interested in old men.

In the center of the rock, there is a metal bracket that our ancestors had hammered into the rock, so that a tent can be erected by stretching a rope.

Next to it is a loose depression with blackened and charred marks.

Cooking and other activities seemed to be carried out here.

"I'll pitch the tent, and you and Yuril can have dinner.

"Yes, I'll make it in a hurry.

Then Moo will have to do the eating.

"Come on, Moo, come here. Let's make something delicious together.

"Hmm, I guess I have no choice.

As soon as the sun went down, the gale seemed to have died down.

Thor turns on the magic stone lamp, sweeps away the sand quickly, and spreads the armored boar's fur on a blanket.

This should alleviate the coldness of the rocks considerably.

Once the poles are connected and assembled, a cloth curtain is placed over them, and the ropes are securely tied to the metal fittings.

This time, the entire surface is covered to prevent sand from getting in.

The tent at Saralisa was constructed in the same way, but a little lower.

When Thor had finished pitching the second tent, the smell was so good that he turned around and cleared his throat.

The meal was just about ready.

Warm steam was rising from the pot on the heating board.

"Would you like to eat with us?"

The woman, who was going to settle for bread and a little water, nodded her head with a puzzled look on her face.

The dinner menu consisted of hard bread, cheese, and rock lizard meatball soup.

The sound of thumping with a knife kept echoing throughout the meal, as if the hard meat was being made into dumplings.

The flavor of the meat gradually spread in each bite.

It is surprisingly light, and the red pepper paste goes well with it.

Next, Thor put his mouth on the soup and stopped moving.

His eyes wide open, he savors the taste in his mouth with all his heart.

It seems that the true essence of the rock lizard was its role as the broth of this soup.

The meal was over in no time at all, as we drank it all up, forgetting how tired we were.

"Ah-chan, ah-chan!"

After cleaning up, the group yawns and gets ready for bed.

Opening his mouth wide, Moe checks to see if he has left any toothpaste residue.

Thor receives a toothbrush and carefully scrubs the backs of his teeth.

Just as they are about to enter their respective tents, a girl suddenly shouts out.

"Hey, look. There are stars everywhere, Thor. I think one of them might fall."

When I looked up, I saw that Sola was right: the sky was full of stars above me.

Each star seemed to twinkle clearly due to the fact that there was nothing to block the view of the stars.

The girl turned her head in a joyful manner with her face turned upward.

"I've heard that it's because there is a lot of wind here and the clouds don't come close to us.

"Is that so? It's not every day you get to see a night sky like this.

"Yes, you still have to travel ......."

Thor and Ulille nodded quietly to each other and gave each other a small smile.

It had been quite a hard day, but it seemed to have come to an end without incident.

"I hear it gets cold at night in the wilderness. Please stay warm."

"I'll take care of it, Grandma You!　Moo will warm To-chan up.

Yes, you can count on me. Good night.

"Good night."

The next morning, the guide was speechless at the sight of the group washing their faces and making breakfast with water they had so generously used.

He assured them in his heart that they would have to turn back today.

However, this prediction was easily betrayed.