96 - early in life

"Well, that's not a very pleasant thing to say, is it?"

Thor scratches his chin and thinks about it.

If the map shown by Saralisa is true, it will certainly be difficult to get through this troublesome plain today at the current pace.

Then, of course, it would be difficult to find a place to set up camp.

In this strong wind, our tents will easily blow away if we do not have a wind shield.

Even if we managed to pitch our tent, it is not difficult to imagine what would happen if those rolling rock beetles attacked us under the cover of night.

Even the scent that keeps the monsters at bay will be useless in the face of this wind.

But if they continued on without rest, it was obvious that Yuril and Mu would not be able to keep up their strength.

Moreover, fatigue would affect the recovery of their magical power.

It would be hard enough for Yuril, who has more than enough magic power, but it would still be hard enough for Sola, even though her magic power has been increased.

However, this problem can be solved if Thor uses .

However, it is possible to continue walking for hours with this method, but it is too unnatural and there is no way to explain it away.

Thor does not want to be in a situation where he has to go to the trouble of publicizing .

In particular, Thor secretly suspected that this guide and his brother-in-law, Garudo, had an attitude as if they were trying to probe him.

That is why he tried to forcefully cover it up when his arm was cut off.

Their intentions were unknown, but he knew that carelessly revealing the cards in his hand could lead to trouble.

"I'm sorry, but I'd like to discuss something with you. Is that all right?"

Saralisa shakes her head silently at Thor's words and returns to her position at the end of the line.

Her appearance was the same as usual, and there was no sign of strange intent.

Thor called Sora and Yuril to him and briefly explained his guess.

"Well, Saralisa, I think you are a good person and I don't think it will be a problem even if she finds out a little bit..."

"I feel the same way. But if you are concerned about it, I think you are also right.

No, I may be thinking too much.

It may be a little too late to make up for it, since they should have been suspicious of you when you were using water sparingly in the first place.

"However, ......, I am afraid to say that I am dragging my feet, but I agree with the idea of turning back.

"Is there something you're concerned about?"

"Yes, I'm sure you have some idea of our abilities from your previous visits with us, Saralisa. And yet..."

"I see, you think there's something more than I thought of."

I hope this is just a groundless fear, but I think we should avoid taking any chances.

Thor gave a small shake of his head at the cautious words.

There is a tingle in his heart to go further, but this does not mean he wants to take more risks.

"What about Thora?"

"I'd like to go on, but I don't want to be a burden on you, Thor.

"I see. Well, I guess we'll cut this short then."

We are certainly confident that we can handle unexpected events.

However, if Thor is reckless, Uriel and the others, who are part of the cause, will be heartbroken.

This was also a situation that we wanted to avoid.

Deciding to retreat, Thor and the others turned their heels in the direction from which they had come.

The wind, which had been a formidable enemy this time, pushed at their backs, making it easier for them to walk.

Although it was a little troublesome to watch their backs.

In almost half the time that they had spent moving forward, Thor and the others were able to return to their starting point, the rocky hill.

It is now mid-afternoon and they decide to have a late lunch.

The smell of delicious soup made Moo, who had been sound asleep for a long time, open his eyes.

Good morning, To-chan. Breakfast?

It's already past noon. Besides, you've had your breakfast."

"Mmmm. Mmm!　I know this place, To-chan!

The child looked around the rocky hill where they had camped last night and shouted in surprise.

Sola, who had a mischievous look on her face, spoke to her in a teasing manner.　

"Hmmm, do you know why?"

"I see. ....... I thought it was yesterday, but it's still today.

"Well, no, I arrived here yesterday, but today is today."

"All of that was a dream. That was pretty fun!

"What kind of dream was it?"

"Well, the sun was so beautiful in the morning, and when I was walking around, I saw a rocket... And then ......"

"Yeah, yeah, and then what happened?"

"You grandma's ice was so beautiful!　Also, I think Sora-nee was kind of teasing Moo."

"Well, you're skipping over my activities!　And I'm not mean. I'm just being nice!"

"I thought you slept well, but you remember quite a bit."

After a late lunch, Thor and the others set foot on the Senbaegahara again.

With a tailwind this time, they proceeded to ice the uprooted rock beetles from one side to the other and collect the hard white stones.

However, there was no sign that anyone had passed by, and the carcasses of the rock beetles that we had killed yesterday were gone.

Before dusk, Thor and the others reach a safe zone surrounded by the central rock pinnacle and begin to prepare for the night camp.

The rocky outcrops that line the area keep out the rock beetles, and the wind rarely penetrates the area.

Interestingly, there was a visitor here.

They were not humans, however, but plants silently putting down roots in the ground.

They have thick green pillar-like stems and thick, strange leaves sticking out from here and there.

Because of its unusual appearance, with its entire body covered with tiny thorns, this plant was called a thousand thorn flower.

"Oh, this one looks familiar too, Tor-chan."

Moo quickly approached the spiky plant and happily touched its stem.

"Mmmm, it's prickly, isn't it? Stingy."

"Oh, I'll do it too!"

"Come on, let's go ahead and pitch the tent. You guys can help me."

Thor quickly sets up the tent, calling the two who have been playing around with the thousand thorn blossoms in a frenzy.

They hunt a few more rock beetles before nightfall, have dinner, and go to sleep.

The next morning, Thor wakes up to the sound of the two men making noise again.

"Oh, good morning, Tor-chan."

"Look, Thor. Look, it's beautiful."

Admiring how they always find interesting things, Thor looked ahead to where they were making noise.

There, he saw a white flower that had bloomed before he knew it.

Small, pretty petals were peeking out from here and there on the green stems.

Thor's cheeks relaxed at the sight that caught his attention, but he suddenly remembered something.

"Isn't this the one that Mr. Odle asked me to collect if I find it?

"Oh, maybe!"

During the recent visit to the medicine cabinet, Ulille's old friend, Aurindor, the medicine man, had asked us to collect various things.

The most important thing to collect was not the petals of the thousand thorn flower.

Thor hurried back to his tent and brought a bundle of fine coiled shells and handed them to the two men.

He quickly placed an uncorked shell under the white flower.

The morning dew that had risen on the white petals mixed with the nectar and began to drip down.

The flower is carefully collected by hand so as not to spill any of it.

As soon as the morning sun rises, the flowers wilt and close rapidly.

In a short time, we were able to collect about three small shells.

After breakfast, Thor and the others continued to hunt monsters in the area.

On the third day, they spent the entire day in this way.

The next morning, after collecting the morning dew from the thousand thorny flowers again, we folded up our tents and headed for the wagon stop.

On the way, we proceeded to hunt for rock beetles we saw, but left the hard white stones behind because the sled was already full.

Despite the considerable cargo, Thor and the others arrived at the wagon stop before noon, thanks to the tailwind.

The place was a little crowded for the first time in four days, as if there had just been a new visitor.

One of the people standing by the table in the center of the crate notices Thor and the others and opens his mouth.

"Oh, I see you're just now leaving. The unspectacular hero..."

"Tei!"

"Ow!　So why are you hitting me, girl?"