Chapter 255: Rescue

We made it back to the camp and found that there was another structure was built in front of the temporary shelter. Judging from its appearance, it should be a stationary water tank.

“We’re back. What’s that?”

“Ah, Hiro-sama. Welcome back as well, Elma-san.”

“Oh, welcome back guys. This thing’s a water purifier by the way.”

“A water purifier? This thing?”

Elma cocked her head as she eyed the new structure. The structure that Tina claimed to be a water purifier was made out of a diagonal drum and vertical drum that were stuck together with a ladder attached to the side. It looks like a water spout was placed on top of the ladder.

“Oh, a purifier huh. It’s the kind where you place a bunch of things inside that would serve as filters to separate potentially harmful matter from the water, right?”

I do remember seeing some of this stuff back on Earth. This thing was probably similar to those. I think there were many water purifier types that were a lot more high-tech in this dimension though. I didn’t expect I’d see one like this here…… Hey, wait a minute.

“Hey, can’t we purify water without using this thing through the molecular composition device? I mean, we can just break the water down and then reconstitute it with the harmful substances already separated, right?”

“See, Sis. I told you things was gonna be useless.”

“Man. Ya guys sure caught on early huh. Ahaha.”

After hearing my retort, Whisker gave Tina a side-eye. Yeah, that’s right. If you think about it, if you break down and reconstitute the water with the molecular composition device, you can clear out potentially harmful pathogens and parasites in one go even without distilling or boiling the water.

“What were you thinking when you made this thing anyway?”

“I was bored, okay.”

“Oh c’mon……”

“If it’s possible to make something, it’s the nature of an engineer to go ahead and make the thing, Boss.”

Please abandon such a wasteful habit.

And so, the unboiled water in the portable water tank Elma and I brought back with us was turned into potable water through the use of the molecular composition device. It now seemed so stupid that we were even thinking of boiling it or making an improvised distiller. Long live high-tech stuff!

“So now we don’t have to worry about food and water for the time being.”

“Nn, it’s so sour!”

“It’s sour, but I think I kind of like it.”

“Ara. This fruit does smell a bit grassy, but it’s plenty tasty.”

“Let’s roast some mushrooms next!”

“Are you listening, guys? Don’t you think you’re eating a little bit too much?”

Because we managed to secure water, I tried to hold a meeting to decide our next plans while we were having our meal, but it looks like everyone else was focused on eating. Tina and Whisker were gorging on millberries, Elma ate a kokiri, and Mimi went over to the bonfire I started to roast some mushrooms on wooden skewers.

“C’mon, Boss. It’s not like we have anythin’ else to do, right? Why don’t we just focus on raisin’ smoke signals and waitin’ fer help?”

“Yeah, I guess. That’s certainly the only thing we can do for now.”

I shrugged my shoulders in resignation as I sliced some mokoridake mushrooms with a knife made through the use of the molecular composition device. I thought the composite material made by the device couldn’t be used to make things like knives, but the one it produced was surprisingly sharp. Maybe it even actually produced a monomolecular blade for the knife? If that’s how it was, then the molecular composition device was truly an impressive piece of high-tech equipment.

I sliced the mushrooms vertically, stabbed the pieces with wooden skewers, roasted them over the bonfire, and then sprinkled some salt over them afterward. Delicious. Their taste and texture were similar to king oyster mushrooms. These things will definitely taste even more delicious with some butter and soy sauce. Well, even plain salted ones were tasty enough though.

“Ah, this taste just makes me crave for some alcohol.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s true.”

The alcoholic trio was at it again. There’s nothing like that here, so please just give up. Well, we might be able to distill some liquor by using some millberries and water, but we don’t have the appropriate equipment for that. Actually, there might really be millberry liquor available on this planet. Yeah, it’s possible.

“I wonder when exactly we’ll get rescued?”

“It feels like Mei should have run out of patience right about now and launch away with Krishna though–”

The moment those words left my mouth, a black shadow passed us by from above. When I looked up, I saw a familiar silhouette flying in the sky.

“””Ah.”””

All of us raised our voices simultaneously. The silhouette in the air was unmistakably Krishna. For security reasons, it’s almost impossible for others to fly it apart from Mei, so I was fairly certain it was Mei who was flying it right now.

Krishna passed our position by, but it appeared in the sky above us again after a short while. Man, if you looked at her at this angle, you’d really get a sense of how massive she is. Its total length alone was similar to or more than that of two Japanese railcars lined up together.

“Let’s raise our hands and wave at her.”

“Here we are! Mei-sa〜n!”

After I waved toward Krishna up in the air, Mimi followed suit. It was a feast for the eyes because her chest assets were bouncing due to her jumping up and down energetically. They were going boing boing man.

“The place is a little narrow for a landing though. ……Well, I suppose Krishna can handle it just fine.”

“Yeah.”

Krishna, which was hovering in the sky, eventually attempted a landing right next to the walled campsite we built. Since it headed to the ground without caring for the trees below, sounds of trees being crushed by its weight echoed out, but that was no problem for Krishna.

Eventually, the Krishna managed to land completely, followed by just a few seconds of silence. Yep, just a few seconds. The moment Krishna’s hatch opened, a black shadow immediately launched out. It literally flew out like a speeding bullet. And that shadow closed down and landed in front of me in an instant. Boom! Yeah, it wasn’t a light landing at all.

“Gueee.”

“Mei, Hiro’s getting suffocated.”

“Boy, that was an extremely fast hug. Anybody else apart from us would’ve missed it.”

“Ahaha…… She must have been really worried.”

The black shadow that landed in front of me was, of course, Mei. I was given a really powerful hug immediately. No matter how soft Mei’s breasts were, it would still be painful if I was hugged with such force.

“Please forgive me, Master. I lost my composure.”

“So even Mei-san can lose her composure huh.”

“I am also a being who feels emotions. Of course, I would also feel distressed at times like this.”

As she replied to Mimi, Mei was expressionlessly patting my body down, seemingly to check for abnormalities. Uh, I don’t think I had injuries you’d be able to detect just by patting me down–

“There are traces of wounds on your head. Did you get injured, Master?”

“Wow, you noticed huh. It seems I managed to hit my head on the ceiling of the train car when we crashed and–”

Before I could finish speaking, Mei princess carried me and headed to Krishna’s med-bay, where a medical pod was installed, with great speed. She then immediately shoved me inside the pod. I didn’t even have the time to react.

“I don’t really feel there’s anything wrong with me, okay?”

『You might not be able to feel anything wrong after receiving head injuries, but its possible aftereffects might manifest later. There is a need for a detailed check-up.』

As she said so, Mei jacked herself into the med-pod’s port as she stared unblinkingly at me. Um, isn’t this med-pod making sounds that it normally doesn’t make, Mei-san? Are you sure you aren’t overclocking it way past what its specs can handle? Is this really okay?

『Please rest inside the pod for a while, Master. I shall take care of everything else for you.』

“Alright.”

I decided to just obediently follow Mei’s instructions. My instincts were warning me not to go against Mei as she was right now. Yeah, somehow I feel that’s really dangerous.

I wanted to ask Mei about the circumstances after we crashed, like what that battle with what were presumably pirates was all about, and why Mei had to personally come to our rescue instead of the elves, but I guess it would be useless to inquire right now.

And so, I gradually felt sleepy. Mei might have had the pod administer a sedative or something. I only managed to get some light sleep last night, so an afternoon nap doesn’t sound too bad. I decided to close my eyes without resisting the drowsiness. There are lots of things to be concerned about, but I guess I’ll just sleep for now.