Volume 3, Chapter 5.1

Volume 3, Chapter 5.1

Translator: Larkin

Editor: Weasalopes

「Hey, Hiro. 」

「What? 」

「I’m just checking but are we really going to the desert to pick up some sand? 」

「Yup. Besides, it’s about time we make the potion bottle. 」

「Then, where the hell are we? 」

「We’re in an underground cellar beneath the desert. In other words some kinda’ ancient ruins or somethin’. 」

Why did this happen? Tatsuya repeated those words over and over as he continued to check his surroundings. Their original plan was to collect as much sand as they could and return to Darl. Even if they took a wrong turn he would never have imagined ending up in these ruins.

「Hey, Hiro. 」

「What? 」

「Why are we here? 」

「’Cause we used a drill to go underground?」

「No, I mean if we needed to collect sand why did we have to go underground to do so? 」

「’Cause a man’s adventurous spirit is invoked when he travels underground beneath a desert. 」

「Invoked huh? 」sighed Makoto. However it was too late now. She looked at the blocked drill equipped submersible vessel; its adventurous spirit waning. Usually this would be the moment when Makoto and Tatsuya would retort but since they had also wanted to ride the vehicle they weren’t ones to talk.

「Well, we came all this way so we might as well explore the ruins. 」

「Yeah, we might as well. 」

Haruna agreed to Hiroshi’s suggestion without hesitation. It had nothing to do with her crush on Hiroshi, Haruna had never been the kind of person to pull the brakes on these kinds of situations. Even so, at this moment she was practically vehemently emitting beams of light that seemed to be saying I like you, I like you at Hiroshi’s direction. Even if she stepped on the accelerator there was no way she’d pull the brakes now.

「Sensei, Haruna, there’s something interesting over there. 」

「Where? Where? Ah, I see. 」

「’Kay let’s go there first. 」

Tatsuya sighed as the group of students nonchalantly entered exploration mode. If they’d decided to go back all they needed to do was use a transportation stone or a long distance transfer. It would only take a moment, however if he forcibly used that and brought them all back whilst shattering their enthusiasm, things would not end well. Besides, there wouldn’t be any particular problems or drawbacks if they investigated these ruins. The only one would be the fact that they told Igreos that they would return before dark. That could be solved by simply having Primula inform him.

「……No, we can’t let you guys go off on your own. We’re coming too. 」

「Ah, um, is it okay? 」

「One-chan and I aren’t really prepared for this kind of thing. 」

His realization about the Norton sisters hit Tatsuya like cold water. He sighed once again and rummaged through their luggage looking for something suitable for them. The satchel was directly linked to the warehouse but even so he didn’t have any experience that enabled him to be prepared for this type of situation. It was the first time he felt so unprepared. The least he could do was check the luggage.

「Tch, how did things end up like this?」

At Makoto’s grumbling Tatsuya sighed in agreement while he fetched any necessary seeming items from their luggage and tried to figure out where things had gone wrong by reexamining the details that had led up to their current predicament.

It all started yesterday, after they had finished dinner.

「It’s gotten a bit cool, should we go outside for a bit? 」

「Outside? Can you be specific? 」

「In order to collect ingredients for the bottle I want to go all the way to the desert. 」

Everyone scrutinized Hiroshi’s proposal.

Apart from the fact that their ranks didn’t allow them entry into the desert there weren’t any other problems. There also weren’t any issues regarding their ranks because unlike the Sweltering Tower there weren’t any guards.

They weren’t able to receive a mission that would grant them special permission to enter the desert so they would have to enter at their own risk.

「I see. I guess it’s fine then. 」

「While you’re gathering the sand Tatsuya and I can spare the time to protect Primula and Judith. 」

Although the desert monsters were powerful as long as they didn’t venture too deep they wouldn’t be cornered. If Mio detected them beforehand they would not have to face a surprise attack. These circumstances would allow them to protect two non-combative sisters with ease.

「So, what area are we headed to? 」

「With the minivan we should be back by dark. We’ll take off at 7 and go up to here. 」

Hiroshi spoke while pointing at a map, his finger signaling the desert’s nearest highway. The distance from Darl was around 200 kilometers. With the minivan it wouldn’t even take 3 hours, rather if they really took off it would take less than 2 hours and they’d have plenty of time to spare.

「If we go there will we make it back before sunset? 」

Primula looked at the map and gave Hiroshi a look of suspicion. It was certainly possible to take the high-speed Golem Carriage, however coming and going would take around 2 hours. If one took into account the time allotted for eating, rest, and collecting returning before dark didn’t seem likely.

「Yeah, our transportation is much faster than a Golem Carriage. 」

「Really? 」

「Yup. Traveling from Darl to Wulls within 10 days is a piece of cake. 」

The highway’s distance between Darl and Wulls was roughly 6000 kilometers. If they went on average speed of 80 kilometers per hour for eight hours straight then they’d arrive in 9 days.

If they took the Golem carriage they’d average 29 kilometers per hour and arrive more than a month later.

Aside from the issue of land routes, within contemporary Japan there usually wasn’t any need for trips as long as 10 days. By simply mentioning how close Japan’s metropolitan cities are one could imagine the vastness between Farlane and Darl.

「Then is the minivan suited for the desert’s terrain? 」

「That’s already been taken care of. 」

「Then we’ll leave tomorrow morning?」

「Won’t it be a problem if we close the stand? 」

「Before we leave we can just ask another shop owner to let everyone know. 」

At Haruna’s suggestion of a potential problem, Tatsuya offered a countermeasure. They had recently gotten along well with the nearby shop owner so he’d gladly mediate any of the customers’ concerns. Their customers were also aware of the fact that they were actually adventurers so they’d probably be understanding about a sudden absence.

「Then let’s get ready for an early rising tomorrow. We’ll ask him to let everyone know at plaza square and from there we’ll go straight to the desert? 」

「Yup. So let’s make today an early night. 」

「Got it. 」

At his words, everyone set off to complete their preparations for tomorrow. Then the next day’s afternoon…

「We actually made it within 2 hours huh…」

「And it didn’t even feel like we were going that fast… 」

The troupe had arrived at their destination quicker than expected at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. The desert area didn’t have much traffic aside from the arbitrary person headed for farm fields or a carriage headed for the tower. Once they surpassed them they had been able to relentlessly increase their speed up to 100 kilometers per hour. Now, the reason as to why Judith had not been able to perceive their speed was because the vehicle was completely covered thus not allowing any wind into the interior. Then there was also the fact that the outside scenery didn’t change much so their speed had also not been visibly perceivable. The vehicle itself was also equipped with features that mitigated their speed of movement.

As expected it was only 10 in the morning and the desert’s temperature was rising rapidly. If they had arrived around 7 am the temperature wouldn’t be below freezing but still considerably cold. To put it simply the environment was harsh.

「’Kay so we’re collecting sand right?」

「Don’t rush. 」

While tidying up the car Hiroshi told the others not to hurry and took out another capsule. Tatsuya made a dubious face at the new capsule.

「What’s that? 」

「Since we came all this way to the desert I made this. 」

Hiroshi said while showing off a capsule that suddenly released a drill equipped submersive vessel. It was longer than a large bus but smaller than a standard submarine. The drill however was quite big. That sturdy and rustic excavation drill strangely sent Tatsuya and Makoto’s hearts aflutter. Mio was also already looking at the drill.

「This may be a thoughtless question but what is that for? 」

「It’s for going under the desert’s ocean of sand. 」

「The surface looks like leather, is it okay? You’ll have to excuse me because I don’t want to be buried alive. 」

「The surface is made from a patchwork of hardened Kerberos and Rock Worm skin. ‘Cause of the piling it’s resistant to hydraulic and underground pressure. Well, as long we only go 1 kilometer deep we ‘ought to be fine. 」

In order to confirm Hiroshi’s statement she softly striked the surface. The surface was stiff yet also peculiarly flexible. Based on this she decided that it would be able to withstand a bit of pressure.

「Even if the exterior looks fine it’s meaningless if the interior skeleton is fragile. How’s it built? 」

「When we were in Farlane I stocked up on a bunch of demon iron and mithril. I inserted that and some demon iron plates beneath the leather so the skeleton should be top notch. 」

「What a waste of resources…」

「It’s fine ‘aint it? Apart from repairing weapons there’s no other use for it don’t cha think? 」

That vehicle was overflowing with such an adventurous spirit that it even won Mio over leaving her unable to continue to reprimand Hiroshi for wasting precious resources. However, they were unaware of the fact their subversive vessel (perhaps it would be better to say underground submarine?) would later serve a different purpose. Not only were its materials ill-fitted for its purpose but one couldn’t also proclaim that it had been a waste.

「Well, at any rate I’ve already made it so how ‘bout we try going a lil’ deep underground? 」

「After testing it at a minimum depth. 」

「I’ve already tested it underwater so I’m sure it won’t come apart inside a shallow area. 」

「Don’t go deciding things on your own. 」

「This is what high level artisan players do ya know. 」

Since they had no acquaintances to compare him to, the Japanese people simply eyed him with suspicion. The Norton sisters on the other hand, didn’t understand them so they ignored their conversation and instead intently studied the submersive vessel.

「What I’m sayin’ is that there ain’t no problems. I want to drill a bit. How ‘bout it? 」

Hiroshi once again insisted. Rather than listening Makoto and Tatsuya were trying to force each other to decide. Haruna wasn’t interested in the vessel but it was improbable that she was going to disagree with something Hiroshi wanted to do. Besides, the safety of the vehicle was somewhat guaranteed.

As for Mio, she was becoming more and more eager. She wasn’t as willing as the older people in front of her but she certainly wanted to excavate into the desert with that vehicle brimming with adventurous spirit. Because she was a person who’s facial expressions rarely changed it was shocking to see her face shining as she waited in anticipation for Makoto and Tatsuya’s decision.

「…….Well, I guess it’s fine……」

「Yeah. To tell you the truth going underground sounds very appealing……」

「Alright, let’s go! 」

At his enthusiastic shout everyone rushed into the vessel.

Then…

「Forward! Let’s go maximum depth! 」

「Hold up! 」

While declaring something perilous Hiroshi turned the excavation joystick to its limit. It seemed that the control panel was similar to an aircraft’s one. Tatsuya’s attempt to stop him was futile because the cockpit and the passengers area was divided by a wall and he and the others were restrained by automatic seatbelts.

After 15 minutes the vessel crashed against a bedrock and bore into a hollow that had preserved some ancient ruins. Because of their extreme speed a number of sand sharks and mantas must have lost their lives.

「This must have been a restaurant or something. 」

「Looks like it. 」

They had found a building that unlike the other buildings had a strange structure and emitted a creepy vibe.

Haruna and Hiroshi approached the building and peered into its interior. In contrast to its exterior the inside was fairly normal complete with several sets of tables and chairs. On the edge of the tables lay a pamphlet that looked like a menu; it was just like any old restaurant.

If anything was off it was the fact that back in Farlane and Darl they had never seen any menus placed on the restaurant tables.

「These letters…I can’t read them. 」

「The kitchen doesn’t look like much. 」

「The furnishings are all magic types. To be specific they’re in a battery style. 」

Everyone voiced their analysis of the area.

One could say that the area’s craft which had served as the pillar of their civilization was clearly isolated from the civilization above ground.

「Well we can’t be sure whether they perished, abandoned this place, or maybe there’s a surprise ya know? 」