83 - a wilderness garden

"..................What, advance?"

"Well, we've only been at it for half a day."

"But, um, is that ...... okay?"

"Yeah?　Isn't it your role to judge that?"

"Yes, that's right. ......"

Tolle's reasonable reply made Saralisa cringe.

She had assumed that the reason she had used the water she had brought with her with such fervor was because she had decided yesterday to turn around and stay on this route.

In this dry wilderness, it is said that the distance you can travel depends on the amount of water you can carry.

They can manage to eat their way through the meat of the monsters, but it is almost impossible to get food on the way because of the almost non-existent water sources.

Each person needs at least one leather bag per day.

Four people on a three-day trip would need at least twelve bags.

However, only Thor and Sora are carrying their luggage on their backs.

Leaving aside for the moment the impossible situation of the two of them being empty-handed, it is hard to imagine that they are carrying such a large amount of baggage, considering the size of their backpacks (excluding the tent).

"Well, let me just check the food and water you have on hand: ......"

"Yeah, take a good look."

The inspection process was quick.

Bread, dried fruits, and cheese were enough for two days.

And there were only five leather bags, but somehow they were all tightly filled.

Saralisa backs away in surprise and crashes down on the pile of sand at her feet.

Immediately, a childish scream came from behind her.

"Aaah!　Moo's, Moo's mountain!"

"What?

Apparently, a child of the Purple-Eyed Tribe was playing in the sand on the floor.

His violet eyes widened as he stared in horror at the pile of sand that Saralisa had destroyed.

"I'm sorry!

Saralisa rushes to her feet and gathers up the white sand in a hurry to put it back together.

Then an ill-timed gust of wind blew through.

A gust of wind blows all the sand into scattered pieces.

"Uh-uh. Mu's mountain has gone to waste!

"Oh, um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ......"

"Woo!"

"Look, don't get so mad. Why don't you make another one?"

"You don't get it, To-chan!　It's more fun to destroy a mountain than to build one!

"You like to break things, don't you? ......"

Moo is picked up by Thor and rubs his face against his breastplate, shaking his head in disapproval.

Saralisa bowed her head repeatedly to the sulking child, and in the end, they departed without discussing the water.

The storm has subsided considerably, perhaps because we have already entered the central part of the wilderness.

Moreover, perhaps due to the fact that we have completely switched to a method of moving forward without killing rock lizards, the group's pace has quickened compared to yesterday.

However, it does not mean that they can avoid all the monsters.

"............ is dangerous to the left and right."

Thor nodded in reply to the declaration of his guide, who had been listening attentively after lightly strumming his lyre.

The earlier clawing was a "negative sound.　

It is a method of confirming the safe zone by applying her performance skills as a player to distinguish the echoes of sound caused by the density of the sand.

As Thor and his group proceeded deeper into the site, a new obstacle appeared: a type of quicksand called sand puddle.

This highly fluid collection of sand swallowed the foot that stepped into it to the bottom in an instant.

However, since it is only waist-deep, it is not immediately life-threatening.

However, it takes a lot of effort and time to pull them out of the sand, and there is a pattern of causing secondary victims.

It was an opponent that should be avoided as much as possible.

However, it is almost impossible to tell the difference at first sight, so Saralisa offered to help us.

It seems that this is an apology for breaking up the morning's sand hill.

"Mamimumememo, mamimumemo!"

Thanks to this, Moo, who had been completely put in a good mood by the unfamiliar instrumental music, was happily wagging his finger and humming a strange tune.

"Moo-chan, you sing so well!

"Do you know, Sora-neechan?　I heard a rumor that Moe is a genius. Riccar said so.

"Yes, Moo is amazing. Then can you tell To-chan where the rock lizard is?

I'll take care of it!　There and there they are!"

Moe pointing to the front and left. One of them seems to be unavoidable.

I quickly dispose of it with the sword I had saved and a sword with improved sharpness, cut off only the tip of its tail, and move on.

Thor and the others continued walking like this, and in the morning they had covered a considerable distance.

After having lunch at a small rocky spot not big enough to pitch a tent, a new change appeared in front of the group as they continued walking in the afternoon.

"Look, Tor. There's something over there!

"What is it? It's bluish."

"Huh ...... huh ......, looks like some kind of flower or grass to me. ...... maybe it is the ...... blue crown grass that you asked about in the pre-training course."

"It looks like that, if you ask me."

Suddenly standing tall on the sand was an eye-catching small blue flower.

The long stamens from the blue petals formed a row of crown-like protuberances.

"I think it's the ingredient of a medicine to restore blood stasis," he said. I'll keep it."

It is said that the restorative is several times more potent than the blood-preventive ointment, stopping the bleeding and speeding up the healing process of even the most serious wounds.

Because of this, a single flower of blue crown weed is worth a silver coin.

"Hmmm. But, Tor-chan, there's a lizard there!"

"Oops. Well then, I guess I'll have to pick them after I beat them."

A large white lizard jumps out from under the sand in front of Thor as he approaches.

This was supposed to be a harmonious turn of events, but then something unexpected happens.

To Thor's surprise, a blue flower grows out of the monster's head.

Thor is a bit taken aback by the silly appearance, but his body moves naturally, and the head, which has been brilliantly slashed, is as usual, and then falls to the ground.

"Wow, it's growing out of your head, Thor!"

"I thought it was strange in a place like this, but it seems to be a parasitic plant."

"I see, so it grows by feeding on rock lizards. And they attract dumb adventurers."

After retrieving the blue flower and the tip of its tail, Thor and his friends continued on their way, taking down several more flowery monsters.

Finally, in the middle of the afternoon, they reached their next destination.

Unlike the previous one, this time the rock was angular and long.

Although it was taller, it was only a few steps deeper and much narrower than the Oomaru-iwa.

"What is the name of this place?"

"The Fool's Podium: ....... No, it's a big long rock: ......"

Apparently, this place had a funny name, too.

As before, there are metal fittings driven into the rock, so we quickly finish putting up the tent.

After a short rest, we left the tent and some of our luggage behind.

The next stop was a reconnaissance.

After about 30 minutes of similar activities, the number of rock lizards and sand puddles gradually increased.

Soon, as Thor and the others were following an invisible path between large puddles of sand, a sight emerged ahead of them.

It was a view of the blue crown grass growing in clusters all over the area.

The blue petals were swaying in the gentle breeze as if they were filling the entire field of vision.

It would have been too beautiful and fantastic a view if it had not been in a maze.

"Wow, that's great. ......"　

"It's beautiful, To-chan."

"Yeah, it's amazing. I didn't know there was such a view."

"............It's a wonderful view."

The group was impressed, but that was the end of their exploration.

As one would expect, there was not enough time to deal with that many rock lizards.

As Thor turned on his heel to go back, he noticed a strange behavior of a woman standing at the end of the trail.

Staring at a group of blue-crowned grass, Saralisa's eyes had a strange glint in them.

It was a strong, dark light, as if mixed with multiple emotions.