Volume 2 - CH 9

"We-are-here! And I'm home!"

"It's a pretty bleak place ......, though there's more to see than the desert we were in earlier."

"The dust and sand reflected off the rock walls...... is an environment I don't want to stay in too long...... the sand sticks to my hair. I want to take a bath. ......I can't stand the sight of my master with my hair in such a shaggy state. ......I'm worried about sweating and sunburn. When I get sunburned, I get red and burned."

Lilia, sluggish from the heat and exhaustion, shakes her blonde hair from side to side as it peeks out of the hood that covers most of her face.

"Lilia is a simple girl with a lot of girl power. As for you, Hazuki-chan..........is okay with it because this is her hometown. My hair is already crunching with sand too. I'll take a bath and change my clothes when I get there. I don't know why I have sand all over my pants."

After crossing the long, long desert, the three of us reached the Neustein Valley and saw the towering, sheer rocky mountains.

Because it was a canyon area in the middle of the desert, most of the scenery was light brown, like café au lait.

Mars had been reminded of the Grand Canyon from a distance.

At Hazuki's suggestion, the three of them dressed in clothing that did not expose much skin, including their faces.

They all wore cloaks over their heads, with long sleeves inside. Hazuki said that it was easier to live in such thick clothing. Mars had gained this knowledge in the modern age, so he obeyed.

The desert area was vast, and the three of them traveled a path that made it hard to believe that Hazuki had come alone.

It's a blessing in disguise that even outside of the dungeon, the [Treasure House of Dreams] is effective, and there is no need to worry about places to rest or supplies.

――That's a lot of sand to walk on all the time. ......

Mars observes Hazuki in her socks, which cover about half of her thighs.

He couldn't help but notice that there was a little extra flesh riding on the socks.

Compared to her immature upper body, her lower body was overly assertive of the fact that Hazuki was a woman.

The sand flew in the dry wind.

It looks like an Egyptian town in a former world, Mars thought. The presence of a large tomb and the arid area made a connection.

There was little greenery, and the sunlight reflected off the sand, making it hot and painful to the eyes.

The whole environment seemed to be devoid of water.

There were two rocky mountains in front of him. The space between them was passable, and Hazuki was pointing to it, jumping up and down.

There were no guards on the rocks, but it was a natural gate.

Just by dropping a rock from the top, which was left in a precariously balanced position, it would make a great weapon.

"Well, it's still a bit far from where people live! We've only got about a day to go. But if we've made it this far, we're as good as done! It's been so long!――It's too hot! It's a little too hot! I don't want any of this nostalgia!"

Perhaps it's because she hasn't been back to her hometown in a long time, but Hazuki is suddenly in high spirits.

As she fanned her skirt in the heat, He caught a glimpse of the contents.

The contents were pretty and pink. However, the back of the panties were so skimpy that almost everything was visible, and the crack of her buttocks was almost exposed.

These were not borrowed from Lilia, but belonged to Hazuki.

These days, he often buys clothes custom-made for her, just like Lilia.

But compared to the emphasis on sexiness ――even Lilia herself ――Hazuki's stuff is mainly cute.

The reason is that she is a beautiful girl who seems mature in appearance, if not in substance.

But even so, there are a certain number of flashy ones, and the one she is wearing now is just that.

Mars was excited to see that the seemingly plain and innocent Hazuki was wearing flashy underwear.

Although Hazuki is frightened when not in front of Mars and Lilia, she is often careless when it comes to skirts, and there are many occasions when she exposes her underwear in various parts of her daily life.

On the way here, her skirt and robe were pulled down by the backpack she carried on her back, often exposing her transparent buttocks.

Mars is looking down his nose and not paying attention. He says, "Good, you can do better than that".

"Hey, pervert, your underwear is showing. If it was just Master and I in a private space, how many times have I warned you that you must never show it outside? Do you want to be spanked again? We are Master's slaves only, so be aware of that. Only Master, the owner, is allowed to see our bodies, and our behavior is directly related to Master's evaluation of us. The master will be laughed at for his lack of discipline, you know?"

"T-That's right. ...... I'm trying to be careful, but sometimes, sometimes, I let my guard down."

Hazuki stresses that it is 'sometimes', but when the three of us are together, He can still see a lot of skins.

When he is lying on the bed reading a book, when he tries to touch Lilia's breasts and gets thrown off the bed, or when he crouches down to clean, Hazuki doesn't do much to hide herself.

The exposure itself was high, but Lilia was so ironclad in all the right places that Mars often couldn't help but look at Hazuki. But he also looked at Lilia. Because Lilia was already too sexual in general.

"Well, don't be so mad. ...... I'm kind of happy about it, okay? Everyday panchira (showing a panties) gets me excited. ――And then, I know there's a village up ahead, but is it safe to just keep going? I don't think there's anyone who's in charge of dropping the rocks up there, is there?"

"Ma-maybe. ...... No, I'm sure it'll be fine!"

Mars thinks it's not very convincing when Hazuki says it with her eyebrows furrowed.

There are a lot of unconfident 'maybe's, which is a little scary when your life is in danger.

"Geez……After all, isn't Master indulging me and that pervert too much? You said you'd try to make us feel a little more like a slave.……The other day, you bought enough clothes at a top-notch store for the aristocracy to buy a house for the common people. ...... No, I'm very happy, but it seems a bit excessive."

"Hmm, I think it's the most effective use of the money. ...... After buying all the necessary supplies, we still have a lot of money. Besides, our job is to make you happy by eating good food and wearing pretty clothes. It's soothing to see your faces."

Most of the weapons and other items acquired during the dungeon crawling have been sold for cash, so Mars and his group have a lot of money to spare.

If there was no limit to their lifespan, they would want to start living in hiding right away.

"Even though you have as much money as a millionaire, money is finite, you know?"

"I understand. But the location of the [Treasure House of Dreams] is also limited. Lilia's too. I want to take a lot of food and supplies with me, so I might as well use up all my money to free up some space. There's no point in bringing a pile of treasure to the dungeon. And there are no stores or anything."

――If I die, there's nothing to be done. You can't save up and die. ......

Lilia looked uncomfortable, but she couldn't think of an effective counterargument, so she kept quiet and stared at Mars.

There was a difference between Mars and Lilia in the way they thought about money.

Recently, Lilia has been involved in money management. She is a strong person compared to the face she usually shows to the girls.

Because of her longevity, Lilia has a habit of thinking about things over a long span of time.

Even if the savings are sufficient for a human's sense of value, Lilia, an elf who lives almost ten times as long as a human, feels it is only a tenth.

"Come on, come on! Stop flirting and let's move on!"

"W-we're not flirting!"

Blushing like a boiled octopus, Lilia was furious with Hazuki.

When a third party pointed out her fondness for Mars, she felt extremely embarrassed, as if she were a common town girl.

"Ah! By the way, there's a small dungeon ahead! It's a bit of a detour, but it hasn't been that long since we found it, so it might not have been conquered yet."

"Hmm. I'm not really interested. There's not much merit to it, so let's just skip that one."

There's no reason to take the risk. It's not likely that you'll be able to get your hands on the [Forbidden Magic Books] even if you enter a small dungeon.

It's also a good idea to have some money to spare, and it would be a shame to lose the food and other supplies that you've been buying in various towns for the sake of the capturing.

Even if we had the money, we couldn't get a lot of supplies at once. The merchants don't sell them, and Mars doesn't buy them all, because it would cause trouble for other adventurers and the general public.

"But it's a town with a big oasis, you know?"

"What does an oasis have to do with anything?"

"There are a lot of people there, so there might be people who will join us! Also, the food is delicious!"

Hazuki said with a sipping gesture.

It's a place that Hazuki has visited many times since she was a child, even though it's relatively close by ――it would still take more than a full day to walk there.

The word "companion" appeals to Mars, but rather than a companion, he wants a slave who will not betray him.

He doesn't say it because it's not humane, but he prefers to have a lot of slave companions in the extreme.

He think it would be difficult to conquer the Seven Great Dungeons with just the three of them.

And the existence of a dependable predecessor. In a way, they are more trustworthy than the friends He hire for money.

Since they are also planning to conquer the dungeons, they can cooperate in no small way.

Ideally, however, the cooperation should be in a way that only Mars and his friends benefit from it.

"Master. I think we should stop by as well. We are fatally lacking in information, and even if we get information in that pervert hometown, anything inconvenient could be hidden. That pervert is also away for a while, so she won't be able to scrutinize the new information. If that's the case, I thought it would be a good idea to ask from the unrelated adventurers."

"I'd like to try something like a local specialty, I guess I will. It's not like we're rushing through the trip day by day."

"The most popular one is the meat wrapped in meat and then wrapped in more meat! It's a great dish where the meat is cooked slightly differently and tastes a little different, and they're making out with each other!"

"What the heck, that sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

The three of them head to the town of Oasis.

They don't know yet that they will meet someone new there.