Volume 7, Chapter 35 – Crossing the Desert

The day after speaking with Arbiel-san, we explained the situation to Hilar-san and told him that we would be taking those who wished to come along with us.

Hilar-san’s expression was quite strained, but given yesterday’s negotiations, he didn’t go so far as to oppose us.

However, he told us that “the Defiled cannot be allowed on the ship,” which forced us to cross the desert on foot.

“As expected, since there are children and elderly people, camels will be necessary.”

“You’re right. Could you arrange that for us?”

“Leave it to me.”

“And then… ah, a map, perhaps?”

“If we head north along the coast, we will reach Sharikla, so there is no need to force ourselves to obtain a map here. We have no problem with food since we bought supplies in Airoll, but we cannot rely solely on Fiene-sama’s Water Magic for water. It would be best to prepare some now.”

“That is true. In that case, Fiene-dono, please come along and put barrels filled with water into Storage.”

“I understand.”

And so, we steadily made preparations to take the Luma people with us.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Saint-sama. These are the ones who wish to accompany you and Sara-sama.”

There were around a hundred people, and most of them appeared to be women and children.

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“Does that mean not many of the men wished to come?”

“…Yes. For those with work here, immediate migration is difficult.”

“Does that include Arbiel-san?”

“Yes. I think I’ll remain here.”

“I see.”

As Arbiel-san said this, he looked a bit sad, but a strong will dwelt in his eyes.

Being the one responsible for everyone must come with a certain sense of duty, and no matter how harsh the conditions are, leaving the place you’ve lived in for so many years can’t be easy.

“Saint-sama. Please, I entrust everyone to you.”

“Yes. Now then, everyone. Let us depart.”

Thus, we left the town of Dalha with the Luma people.

Khalid-san and several soldiers who had been on the same ship as us accompanied us.

They were probably there as my escort.

I do feel bad for Khalid-san, who probably never expected we’d end up crossing the desert. But now that I know the truth, there’s no way I can just leave these people behind.

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Placing small children and those in frail health on the backs of the camels we had arranged yesterday, we continued to walk steadily, step by step, along the desert coastline.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Saint-sama!”

“Hello, Idris-kun.”

“Hello!”

During a break, Idris-kun greeted me cheerfully. Beside him stood his mother, who looked a little healthier than before.

“I am glad to see that Idris-kun’s mother is feeling a bit better as well.”

“Oh my! To have done so much for us! Thanks be to God!”

Idris-kun’s mother performed a Jumping Dogeza from a Boon. Perhaps because she had been unwell for so long, her movements lacked sharpness.

I’d give it a 5.

Wait, this is not the time for that!

I used my usual lines to get her to stand up.

Seeing that, the people around them started performing Jumping Dogezas from Boons one after another, completely out of sync.

Yeah, they’re all out of sync, so the score’s kind of… No, that’s not the point!

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While I was getting everyone to stand up, Shizuku-san called out to us.

“Hey, it’s ready!”

While I was distracted by the strange behavior, the delicious scent of grilled meat had begun to waft through the air.

“Wow, it smells great!”

Before I knew it, Idris-kun was already standing beside Shizuku-san, his eyes sparkling.

“Now, now. It’s dangerous if you get too close.”

As she spoke, Shizuku-san placed some grilled Big Boar meat onto a plate and handed it to Idris-kun.

“Eh? Can I eat this?”

“Of course. You may eat all of this.”

“Yay!”

He grabbed it with his hand and stuffed it into his mouth, his face lighting up with happiness.

Seeing that, the surrounding Luma people all started rushing toward Shizuku-san.

“Barrier.”

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To prevent an accident, I cast a wide Barrier to stop them in their tracks.

“Eh?”

“What? An invisible wall?”

“No way!”

Some looked disappointed, while others stared at the Barrier in shock, but I couldn’t let a crowd crush happen here.

“Everyone, calm down. There is plenty of meat, so please line up one by one.”

When Shizuku-san pointed to the mountain of meat piled beside her, they finally calmed down.

Incidentally, this meat was all Big Boar from Airoll.

They had all been hunted during that Monster Stampede, but there was simply too much of it. There were no buyers, and it was about to be thrown away.

We had bought it all in bulk at the normal price, had it butchered, and stored it in Storage.

At the time, I just felt bad that the hunters wouldn’t get paid after working so hard, and it seemed like such a waste to throw away perfectly good food. I never imagined it would end up helping us here.

You never know what will happen in life. Well, I am a Vampire, though.

After filling our stomachs, we once again slowly made our way north through the desert toward Sharikla.