Second Bath – The Moon in the Bath Water

We completed our preparations and the day to leave Ceresopolis had finally come, but first let me touch on two things that took place before that.

The first had to do with one of the summoned heroes, Ritsu Nakahana. I remember it like it happened yesterday; one of the labor ravers from the village we’d passed had gone off to join her. She should have arrived before us, but seeing how we hadn’t heard a peep from her I’d assumed she set off again. Yet it seemed she was still here in Ceresopolis.

I figured she’d gotten into trouble for taking a labor raver along without permission, but apparently she became his official owner after having met with the wealthy landlord who employed him. I’d be impressed by her display of common sense if that’s where the story ended, but that was just the start of it.

The truth was that she was still living it up at the landlord’s mansion every day. On top of that, the battle ravers in the city had started flocking to her and formed a group called the “Ritsu Troops.”

When I learned of this, I stopped wondering just how kind and benevolent that landlord was and started wondering if something was up with Ritsu herself.

Take her gift, for example. She should have had a power similar to my Unlimited Bath, Haruno’s Unlimited Reflection, or Cosmos’ Unlimited Bullet. If her power was something that attracted people to her, then that would’ve explained it.

She didn’t seem concerned with me at all, but I figured I’d do well to keep an eye out for her as a person of interest. I was hardly one to talk, though, considering how I was trying to uncover the secret history that the Olympus Alliance had put a veil on.

Another thing was how Clena had asked that we go to the raver market right before setting off. I asked if she wanted a new raver, but that wasn’t the case. When we arrived at the raver market, she inquired about a certain procedure— one that would involve transferring the ownership rights to Roni over to me if anything were to happen to her. It sounded so much like a will that I had to ask her what she was thinking.

She replied to me that with the way things currently were, Roni’s ownership would be transferred to her family. That was just the way the system worked. As a contracted raver, she got paid in advance, so there’s no way she’d become free in that situation. For cases like Rulitora and I, where the employer had no relatives, the raver would typically be returned to the market.

The documents would immediately be sent to the raver market in Junopolis, where Clena got Roni. Between returning to the family she had abandoned and having me take her in, she’d rather have the latter. It was insurance.

I told her not to be so pessimistic, but considering how much she cared for her dear Roni, I couldn’t blame her. Of course, I told her I’d protect her before I’d let anything like that happen. I wouldn’t be able to call myself a leader, otherwise.

After finishing up the procedure, we went to pick up our preserved food and departed from Ceresopolis.

Ceresopolis’ main preserve was a bread akin to dry biscuits. They were baked at a lower temperature than you would normal bread, and were less likely to grow mold thanks to the high amount of moisture that evaporated from them.

In addition, they had given us pickled vegetables which were very similar to sauerkraut. And we also had dried noodles, spices, and an assortment of vegetables that could keep for a while. As long as we had Roni’s cooking skills, every meal was something to look forward to while on the road.

Naturally they were all wheat and vegetable-based products, coming from the country of agriculture. All local, all organic.

Dried meat, on the other hand, was on the expensive side compared to Jupiter. Unlike Jupiter, Ceres had very few battle ravers who could hunt monsters for meat. Sweep dog jerky was cheap, but we decided against ordering it because we were told it wasn’t very tasty, and had a pungent smell.

As for equipment, I wore my usual brigandine and metal armor combination. Clena wore her metal-reinforced hard leather armor.

We would arrive at the void after traveling east for two days. Once there we’d need to change into our hard leather armor that we got in Ceresopolis, but until then our defensively stronger metal armor would do the job.

Our carriage was a one-horse covered wagon. When I imagined a normal covered wagon, a white canopy came to mind, but this one was tan. Apparently the canopy had always been this color, so it wasn’t just because it was secondhand.

The horse had a chestnut coat with white markings on its legs. It had a sturdy physique and seemed strong.

The carriage itself was on the smaller end. We could store all of our luggage inside the Unlimited Bath, so there was no need for a large one. I bet the carriage merchant would’ve scratched his head at the thought of us going to the void in such a small carriage. In that sense, it made for good camouflage— were it not for the door we had packed to act as a bridge for crossing the fissure along the void, which made us seem anything but inconspicuous.

Rulitora would walk beside us with his glaive in hand, keeping watch of our surroundings. Roni was in charge of driving the carriage, while I was on lookout in front and Clena in the rear.

When we exited the gates of Ceres, we were greeted by a sprawling rural landscape. The sight was completely different from when we had first arrived. Ceresopolis was situated atop a small hill, so we could see all around us to the far off horizon.

The early summer fields were lush with green, almost as if it were one big prairie. A gentle breeze blew across the fields, creating waves among the sea of green. The sight had left me awestruck, thinking how I never would’ve seen anything like it had I not been summoned here from my daily life in Japan.

“What’s wrong, Sir Touya?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s get going.”

Roni noticed my expression and inquired me as she held the reins. I shook off my daze and laughed it off as I patted Roni on the head, then gave the order to depart.

As we traveled along the dirt road surrounded by fields, we saw many farmers tending the crops, their backs bent. We also spotted many boys and girls around our age, probably helping their parents. As tranquil a sight this was, they weren’t to be underestimated. The main reason Ceresopolis had few battle ravers was because these farmers were at least capable enough to handle the likes of sweep dogs.

As the story goes, even Akechi Mitsuhide, who defeated Oda Nobunaga at Honnouji, ruled for a mere 13 days before he was killed by a peasant who was hunting the runaway warriors. People who worked outside the walls of civilization like them had to have some measures of self-defense.

Even the village we passed had a youth organization patrolling the streets at night, who’d likely be exposed to the threat of monsters while working in the fields as well. And of course, they ate whatever monsters they managed to defeat.

Farmers were scary.

We kept traveling as I noted the brutal implications of this idyllic atmosphere, and after one day, no farmlands were left in sight.

All four of us took turns keeping watch that night. Rulitora said he’d be fine doing it all himself, but I insisted, saying I didn’t want to rely on him too much.

The next day, we continued traveling even farther east. We encountered a few monsters along the way, but they were nothing we couldn’t handle. In fact, we’d come across a lesser boar which was practically like hitting the jackpot.

Draining its blood out in the open would attract other monsters, so we decided to use the Unlimited Bath. We could even close the door on it, since it wasn’t alive anymore.

And then, that evening, we arrived at the border of the void.

“The hell is this...?” I couldn’t help but blurt out at what I saw before my eyes.

I mean, it kind of figured. But I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

When we first left the void, we had to cross a fissure across the earth. The fissure stretched from north to south, reaching all the way the ocean, but now it had become a rapidly gushing river. The void had entered the rainy season.

Which was fine, and a natural reaction from all the rain. The problem wasn’t the rain itself, though, but the fact it was practically storming on the other side, while our side of the fissure remained dry as a bone.

The sudden temperature change had taken me by surprise when we first exited the void, but this unnatural phenomenon made me even more aware of this artificial border.

“Clena, is there a spell that can do all this?”

“...You can’t do this with spirit magic, I know that much.” Clena paused before answering my question. It had left her dumbfounded as well.

“The fissure along the void becomes a river during the rainy season.”

Rulitora was the one who told us that. This boundary line was one of several fissures, and they all collected rain water that eventually flowed into the ocean.

There was no better source of information on the void than Rulitora, who had lived there. I’d heard that hunters avoided the place during the rainy season, but now I knew why. It was almost summer, but this area was chilly now.

Rulitora was also the one who told us to buy a door in order to cross the fissure. Having lived there for a long time, he’d become adept at dealing with the rainy season.

“We should probably camp out around here for tonight.”

“You’re right. We should cross after we’re better prepared.”

“Good idea.”

Clena and Rulitora agreed with Roni’s suggestion. Of course, I had no objections either.

We tied the horse to a stake so that it wouldn’t run away, then began setting up camp. Today’s dinner was grilled lesser boar meat. Normally cooking this meat would make it tough, but it was said that a true warrior would chew through it with delight. When I asked Rulitora about it, he said he got the gist of the saying, but felt that the meat wasn’t actually that tough. I guess sand lizardmen were used to worse.

“Here, lesser boar stew!”

To think that that tough meat could transform into something so delicious in Roni’s hands!

According to Roni, the amount of ingredients and spices she could carry had grown significantly thanks to the Unlimited Bath. Normally, travelers did well to shave off every last bit of excess cargo, making do with just basic salted, cooked meat. People who traveled long distances typically used pack horses, with carriages being one rank higher, and aristocrats would even employ their own transportation crew. One of the ways to determine social status in this world was how much luggage you could carry. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but I thought the “a true warrior would chew through it with delight” saying was just overcompensating.

In any case, Roni’s cooking was delicious. She’d cooked the lesser boat meat until it was tender, and the savory taste had melted into a stew that almost made it feel like demi-glace. I wasn’t averse to grilled meat, but I was sure grateful for this body-warming stew today.

Roni figured as much and decided to put some extra effort into today’s stew. She really was a good girl.

I took a break from eating to thank her, which kind of startled her at first, but she quickly returned a smile to me. The way she wagged her tail was pretty adorable.

Such a good girl. She was so nice, I said it twice.

We finished our peaceful dinner and put the leftover stew in a pot inside the Unlimited Bath. I was carrying the dishes inside to wash them, when I heard Clena let out a yelp from outside. I put the dishes down and looked outside to see what was going on, then noticed everything outside began shaking.

It was an earthquake. It wasn’t affecting the Unlimited Bath, but everything outside was shaking. Clena was caught off guard by the sudden tremor and had fallen on her butt.

Roni nervously looked outside from behind me. I grabbed Clena’s hand and pulled her into the safe confines of the Unlimited Bath. Rulitora had his feet firmly planted on the ground, withstanding the shaking, so he was probably fine.

The sleeping monsters might be startled by the earthquake and grow violent. Not to mention Rulitora was acting strange. He wasn’t just trying to withstand the shaking; he had his glaive in hand and was looking around restlessly.

Something’s coming. I deduced, ran toward the carriage as soon as the shaking started to subside, and grabbed my round shield and broadaxe. The door to the Unlimited Bath was still open, since Clena and Roni were still inside.

I apprehensively looked at Rulitora from inside of the carriage until the rumbling stopped. I then jumped down from the carriage, calling out his name as I walked toward him, until he responded, blinking far more than usual.

“Rulitora, is something wrong?”

“Be careful. The tremors just now... remind me of last time.”

“Last time? Do you mean—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Rulitora grabbed me up in his arm and leaped out of the way.

A moment later, there was an explosion where we had just been standing. No, something came bursting out of it.

A giant creature loomed over us. We were covered in its shadow as it blocked out the moon.

“A sandworm...!”

I wondered what it was, but as soon as I heard Rulitora’s muttering I understood. This gigantic being was the desert monster that attacked the Torano’o tribe, the sandworm.

I couldn’t believe how big it was. The hole it had left in the ground was several times Rulitora’s size.

Its body shone pale in the moonlight. Its shape resembled an earthworm. It had a small mouth on one end, but that was only relative to its overall size. It was still large enough to swallow someone whole.

“Hm?”

As Rulitora let me back on the ground, I noticed that the sandworm’s body was glistening. I squinted to figure out what it was, and saw beads of light falling to the ground.

Suddenly it hit me.

That was water.

Drops of water were falling from the sandworm’s body, bathed in the glow of the moonlight.

We stood there, silently facing each other. The heavy rainfall in the void was practically deafening.

I understood now. This thing was trying to escape the rain.

It had rained so much that it must have soaked into the ground, too. And this sandworm was trying to get away from that..

Perhaps another reason why hunters avoided this area during the rainy season was because they knew sandworms would appear.

“I’m assuming it’s not just going to go back because it’s lost...”

“The only time they ever show their heads is when they’re hungry.”

“I thought as much!”

The moment we started talking, the sandworm turned toward us and came swooping down. We dodged its attack by leaping off to the sides.

“Summon spirit!”

Not only was it hungry, we weren’t going to get out of a fight, either. I sent out ten light spirits to brighten the surrounding area. Then I took up a stance, axe in hand, facing the sandworm.

Thanks to the light spirits, I could now see my surroundings clearly. I had actually hoped the sudden brightness would scare it off, but unfortunately it just stayed there, writhing about. It probably had poor eyesight, living underground for the most part.

“Clena, the stake! Roni, the carriage!” I shouted as I ran toward the Unlimited Bath.

The sandworm reacted to my voice and lunged down at me. So it did answer to sound, at least.

I continued running, the sandworm’s body barely grazing me as it once again crashed into the ground.

It was huge. It was probably wider than I was tall. I felt like I was losing my grip on reality seeing this colossal monster plunging into the ground with that much raw power.

“Touya! Stop spacing out!”

Hearing Clena’s shout snapped me back into it, and I saw Roni leap out of the Unlimited Bath toward the carriage. The horse was frightened and trying to escape, but it was still tied to the stake in the ground.

Roni tossed a sheathed sword from inside the carriage to Clena, who caught it and sliced the rope tying the horse in place. The horse noticed there was nothing holding it back anymore and started galloping in a frenzy. Roni tried to keep her balance, keeping a grip on the reins as they ran off.

The horse neighed and the wheels of the carriage clattered loudly. I stood perplexed for a moment, but soon realized that the noise would lure the sandworm to them.

“Roni! Don’t stop!”

I forcefully swung my broadaxe into the ground.

“Spirit summon!”

And then poured every last ounce of MP into summoning spirits of the earth.

Countless giant black spears—or rather, cones—popped out from the tracks the carriage had left behind. The cones were compressed to be as tough as steel, all pointing in the same direction. Not up at the sky, however, but toward the ground.

A shrill cry resounded as the sandworm’s head burst out from right behind the carriage.

Bullseye.

I was right in surmising it was following the carriage from underground. I had channeled an enormous amount of MP into the creation of a long strike zone for the cones to attack the sandworm underground. It had required a lot of MP, but since I wasn’t able to pinpoint its exact location, this was my only option.

Thanks to that, several cones had pierced the sandworm’s body, keeping it pinned in place. It was writhing around in pain, but couldn’t move. In the meantime, the carriage was creating more and more distance between us.

Rulitora noticed that the sandworm emerged and sprinted past me, brandishing his glaive above his head.

“Yaaaargh! Huaaah!!”

And then with his built up momentum, he sliced through that body, which was wider than I was tall, as if it were butter.

It was an all-in-one attack. It sounded like two heavy things crashing into each other, with the sandworm’s body getting sliced about halfway through. If it were me on the receiving end of that attack, I’d be split in two, armor or no armor.

“I’ll finish it off!” Clena unsheathed a thin sword from an ornately decorated scabbard, set the tip on fire while chanting a spell, then dashed off. The flames from the fire enveloped the sword, forming a sheath around it.

“O fire serpent!” She waved it around, shaking off the flames, which then took the shape of a serpent.

It gave off a dazzlingly bright, hot light, even among the light spirits, and flew off toward the sandworm with a gaping jaw. It was aiming for the opposite side of the place Rulitora had sliced— the remaining tissue that kept it connected to the rest of its body. The serpent’s large mouth bit into it, burning the flesh as it tore it apart.

The sandworm’s body shook violently, then as the remaining flesh was burned through, its giant head fell to the ground, creating a large tremor.

“The final blow!” Without a moment’s delay, Rulitora darted forth, swinging his glaive down with the full weight of his body, and crushing the sandworm around its mouth.

I didn’t know if the thing had a brain. It was still squirming around, but couldn’t do anything now that it had lost its means of survival.

“Did we do it...? That was over pretty quick...”

“Its most terrifying trait is how it hides underground and catches its prey off guard.”

Rulitora had noticed the sandworm and managed to predict its attack. I had struck it underground to stop it from moving around, thus sealing off its main means of attack.

I breathed a sigh of relief at our victory. But just as I was about to relax, Clena’s scream pierced my eardrums.

“Touyaa! Behind youu!!”

I flipped around at the sound of her voice, spotting a sandworm in the distance drawing an arc in the night sky as it flew toward me.

A second sandworm.

We hadn’t even thought of that.

Both Clena and Rulitora were behind me after defeating the first sandworm. My broadaxe was still stuck in the ground after I’d used it to channel my MP into the earth. Though even if it wasn’t, I still couldn’t face such an enormous enemy with this tiny weapon. My round shield was pretty big, but not nearly enough to stand a chance.

I had no choice but to abandon the broadaxe and run. So I decided, and prepared to jump away.

“...O spear, go forth.”

Suddenly, a giant silver spear came flying down from the starry sky and pierced through the second sandworm. The spear propelled the sandworm into the ground and stopped its movements for just a second. But it soon pulled itself out and came flying toward me again.

It all happened in a flash, mere seconds, actually. But it had given me enough time to try a different strategy.

“Summon... spirit!” I grabbed the handle of the axe I was about to forsake and channeled my MP into the earth again.

This time, I didn’t summon cones. A giant enemy called for a giant axe.

Using the edge of the axe that was stuck in the ground as its core, I created a giant black blade by condensing the earth around it.

The blade was bigger than my entire body. It was an earthen blade, compressed using every last bit of my MP.

Of course, there was no way I could carry it. Even if the blessings had given me a little more physical power.

I embedded my arms and legs around the handle sticking out of the ground, then braced the blade against the sandworm.

The sandworm didn’t react to the giant axe that suddenly appeared before it and flew straight at me. Upon which the giant blade sliced the even larger body right in two.

“Urgh!”

I could feel the impact reverberating through the axe’s handle. I poured all my MP into the blade so it wouldn’t break.

Red blood came raining down from above as I kept enduring the attack, until the momentum eventually dwindled. I remained there in place for a while, keeping an eye on the sandworm, but it didn’t move again. We managed to defeat the second sandworm, too.

I let out a sigh in relief, and cut off my MP. The blade of the axe which was now bigger than me bulged out, then returned back to the earth it came from. The bulging soil opened up the sandworm’s body, and moonlight shone down on the place I was standing.

“...Uuugh.” I got out of there as soon as I could after getting a crash course on sandworm anatomy.

“It’s so damn long!” I had cut it lengthwise, so it took me a while to run all the way past its head.

We offered our prayers to the two sandworms, and after absorbing their blessings into ourselves, a girl descended from the sky sitting on what looked like a large plate.

She was a petite girl with cocoa-colored hair—it was Rium, who should have been traveling with Haruno right now.

“Rium?!”

“It’s been a while.”

I raised my voice in disbelief, but she remained calm and responded quietly. She was as aloof as ever.

As I watched her land from her disc onto the ground, I remembered. She always wore a large cloak, which must have been to shield her from the wind as she flew through the air. In any case, seeing as how she came from the sky, she must have been the one who shot that silver spear.

“Oh yeah, that spear.” I looked over at the sandworm, but couldn’t spot the spear anywhere on its body.

“That was a one-use item, so don’t worry about it.” Rium said, then showed me a thin silver spear in her hand. It was about the size of a pencil.

“I can make these bigger using magic, but I can’t return them to their original size. They just turn into powder after I stop using my magic.”

“Come to think of it, you did save Haruno back in Jupiteropolis...”

I’d heard the story, but she must have used this silver spear back then, too. And the plate she was flying on was called the “flying disc.”

Nevertheless, the mass of the small spear and the big spear were totally different. This was just a theory, but she might have made up for the remaining mass using MP. If that were the case, the original spear would turn into particles that spread out among the larger one, and then when you’d stop using magic they would disperse. I applied the concept of atoms and molecules, assuming the powder worked in a similar fashion, but I didn’t think I was too far off.

As I thought that, Clena came rushing over.

“Touya, do you know her?”

“She’s one of the party members of the other Hero of the Goddess I told you about.”

“Ohh, Haruno.” Clena stared fixedly at Rium.

Rium hid behind my back, maybe shy about meeting someone for the first time. Even though I was completely soaked in the blood of the sandworm.

“Rium!”

“...Long time no see, Rulitora.”

Rulitora followed soon after, and Rium seemed a bit relieved at another familiar face.

“Clena, can you call Roni back?”

“No problem. Wait just a second.” Clena said, then went to light her sword in the fire again, and launched a fireball off into the night sky. She waited a beat, then fired three more in succession.

“She should be back shortly.”

“Alright. Rulitora, should we leave this area after Roni comes back?”

“There’s a chance that others will appear scavenging for the sandworm corpses. We should leave as soon as possible.”

“Is there anything you can scavenge from these things?”

“Just their fangs, at most.”

I expected as much. Its large, worm-like body wasn’t covered in any hard scales, nor did its flesh seem edible.

Rulitora and I split up duties to retrieve anything still intact, when Roni came back in the carriage.

“Lady Clenaaa!”

Roni stopped the carriage and leaped from the driver’s seat onto Clena. She was protecting the horse and carriage, but having to escape by herself must have made her so worried.

Unlike Rulitora and I, who had been fighting at close range, Clena was a long-distance spell-caster and thus wasn’t covered in blood and still perfectly huggable.

And then there was Rium, who was clinging herself around my waist. I couldn’t tell at the moment, but her cloak was probably soaked in blood.

In any case, Clena and Roni hadn’t met Rium before. Since I was acquainted with both parties, I needed to be their mediator.

“Let me introduce you, Roni. This is Rium. She’s part of Haruno’s party, who I mentioned to you before, and she really helped me out of a pickle just now.”

Rium peeked out from behind my back and gave a slight nod.

“And these two are Clena and Roni. They’re the two party members I met in the Torano’o settlement that I mentioned in my letter to Haruno.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Rium.”

“Nice to meet you!”

“...Nice to meet you, too.”

Clena slouched herself slightly and reached a hand out to Rium, who looked between it and her face for a bit, then timidly reached her own hand out from behind me and shook it.

“Aww, how cute~!” Roni proclaimed as she watched. She was the youngest of the group and we regarded her as our little sister, so she must have been glad to meet Rium, who was even younger than her.

Rulitora called out to us, having collected all the fangs. I had accidentally left all the work to him as I busied myself introducing the girls to each other.

“Sir Touya, we should depart as soon as possible.”

“You’re right. I want to hear why Rium is here, but that can wait until later.”

We needed to leave before another sandworm appeared.

“Before that, the two of you need to wash that blood off. We might leave a scent trail.”

“Oh, good point.”

Following Clena’s orders, I started taking water out from the Unlimited Bath to wash off the blood.

“...Correction, the three of you.” Her gaze was directed at Rium, whose cheeks were as beet red as her cloak from clinging on to me.

We set off on the carriage again after rinsing off most of the blood, creating a distance between us and the corpses. They detected their prey through sound, so we made sure to keep alert and move as quietly as possible.

We moved south.

We headed in that direction to get as close to the spring as possible.

Our first destination, the Sage’s Spring, was a little further to the south from here. The remains of the gate, which we hypothesized were connected to the desert kingdom, were located to the southwest of that spring.

I gazed up at the night sky from the driver’s seat and saw a myriad of stars and a full moon. It was a seldom seen view back in my world. I knew the saying “million-dollar view,” but you couldn’t put a price on this.

As I held the reins, Clena peeked out from over my shoulder and inspected our surroundings. Her voluptuous breasts were brushing against my cheek, but unfortunately, the only thing I could feel was the smooth fabric of her surcoat and the hard leather armor underneath. The metal reinforcements on the armor felt particularly cold.

“Can we see the Sage’s Spring from outside the void?”

“I heard there’s a tall tree near it, but I imagine not in this rain.”

Considering it was nighttime, we’d likely have some trouble spotting said tree.

We came across a large boulder and decided to camp there for the night. The boulder was large enough that even if all five of us wrapped ourselves around it holding hands, we still wouldn’t be able to form a full circle. Even a sandworm shouldn’t be able to fit a rock this size in its mouth. And if one reared its ugly head, we’d just take refuge on top of the boulder.

We immediately parked the carriage next to the boulder and started setting up camp.

“All right, we’ll take a bath after dinner, then we’ll take turns keeping watch—”

“No, please rest inside for tonight.”

All four of us looked at Rulitora.

“...Why do you say that?”

“I can handle a surprise attack from a sandworm by myself. That monster is in a class of its own,” he said confidently.

We had taken turns keeping watching since leaving Ceresopolis, but from Rulitora’s perspective, Clena and Roni were still inexperienced, to say nothing of me. Rium was experienced enough in traveling to journey from Athenapolis to Jupiteropolis on her own, but I wasn’t planning on making her stay up late.

“...Well, I can’t argue with that.”

“I guess even my nose can’t detect a monster that attacks from underground.”

Clena and Roni agreed, so we decided to sleep inside the Unlimited Bath that night.

Meanwhile, Rium was still clinging on to my waist. Back in Jupiteropolis, she’d stuck to Haruno or Sera, but now that they weren’t around, I had to fill in for them.

Speaking of which, she was currently wearing my spare cloak. Hers had gotten dirty and was now inside the Unlimited Bath. Roni said she’d wash it later.

Tonight’s dinner was the usual vegetable soup. We’d have a round flatbread made by kneading flour and water, which we filled with salted and peppered beans and potatoes and cheese on top, making for a simple sandwich. Roni whipped up the soup and sandwiches like a pro, while Clena and I made the bread with Rium’s help.

We made the bread so it could be baked without fermentation, so it would be done in no time. It was similar to the Indian bread called chapati. You could even compare it to a puffy okonomiyaki.

I started a fire while kneading the dough. Clena had gone over to assist Roni after she finished kneading her share. Normally we’d have Rulitora help with physical jobs like this, but sand lizardmen weren’t exactly known for their dexterity, so we figured it best not to ask. He stayed away from cooking duties, instead tending to the horse after his bath.

Right, I’d better make his chapati twice as big.

I squatted down and cooked the chapati like pancakes on a frying pan, and then mumbled to myself,

“I should buy a griddle next time we stop in a city.”

“For a shield?”

Rium responded, squatting next to me with her eyes locked on the chapati.

“No, not that. I was thinking that it’d be nice to have a big griddle for cooking. Then we could cook several of these at once, right?”

A griddle with raised edges and a thin bottom like a frying pan that we could use for barbecues would be great.

She turned her gaze up slightly, and after giving it some thought, nodded as if her mind had connected the dots. She may have been imagining a huge griddle with stacks of chapati lining up to be baked.

“But it’d be heavy.”

“I can just leave it in the Unlimited Bath. Fortunately, things don’t rust in there.”

“...It can do that?”

“Yeah, though I only realized that after we started traveling.”

Come to think of it, this would be something Haruno and her party didn’t know yet.

I explained other features I had learned about the Unlimited Bath during the journey to Rium while grilling the chapati. She sat there, squatting next to me the entire time, often nodding in sincere interest.

After we finished cooking dinner, we all sat in a circle and ate. Rulitora and I both ate our sandwiches with our bare hands. I had made his twice as large as ours, but it still looked small in his hands.

Our meal was modest compared to the ones we had at the temple, but personally, I preferred these. It was like fast food, simple and informal.

Rulitora, who had gulped down his meal and was licking the cheese off his claws, asked Rium, who was still munching away.

“Oh yeah, Rium. What are Haruno and her party doing right now?”

“They’re staying at my master’s residence and working with the pilgrims to eliminate the monsters in the city.”

Rium paused from eating for a second and looked up to give him a reply.

“She’s probably trying to gain practical battle experience while also establishing her reputation as a hero,” Clena said. Rium bit down on her sandwich and nodded in response.

Haruno had chosen a way to gain battle experience that helped people at the same time. Unlike me, who was heading straight for the old base of the demon lord, her methods were logical and steady.

Rium finished eating her sandwich and inquired me.

“Why are you here, Touya? Do you still have business in the void?”

She was sharp. Considering how she had gone out to look for me and appeared right before we entered the void, she was probably already on to something.

“...Is it the desert kingdom?” Rium tilted her head.

Which one of them had noticed? My bet was on Haruno, the only one not accustomed to this world’s common sense.

I glanced at Clena, who sighed and gave me a nod.

“Though we’re on separate journeys, I’ll trust you since you’re Touya’s friend. If you’ve already found out that much from the little information we gave, then I can count on you.” Clena laughed while saying that, but Roni was fidgeting nervously. She had every right to be worried.

“Actually, you giving us little information was a big hint in itself,” Rium said nonchalantly.

“...I see.” Clena drooped her shoulders hearing such an unexpectedly simple reply.

I knew where she was coming from. The legend of the “desert kingdom” was treated as just a fairy tale here. Hardly anyone actually believed it.

There were people who chased after get-rich-quick schemes in this world. Those were the battle ravers. Large-scale battles weren’t especially frequent, so this was all they had to make money. Tired of the daily grind and wanting to find riches, they would scavenge their way around ancient ruins, abandoned mansions in the countryside, and subjugated thief hideouts.

And yet, even they ignored the desert kingdom. That was how much the legend lacked credibility.

However, practically all information on the void had been erased. Thus, if one were traveling to the void, that was the only likely destination.

Come to think of it, I had written in my letter that I had met Clena and Roni in the Torano’o settlement. If she had guessed from that that our next destination would be the void, it wasn’t unreasonable to presume we’d set our sights on the desert kingdom, since it was the only legend worth chasing down in the area.

“Well then, I’ll begin. The desert kingdom is where the demon lord and demon race were born. We’re making our way there to investigate it.”

“The demon lord...!” Rium’s eyes opened wide. Even she hadn’t predicted that. “I get why Touya is helping you out now. Haruno was right.”

“Haruno? What do you mean?”

“That’s what she said. Touya must be helping them for a very important reason, and they need the assistance.”

“An important reason...”

“She said you weren’t the type to abandon those in need.”

“......”

It was true that I couldn’t leave Clena and Roni to travel through the desert on their own, but I was both happy and embarrassed that she had seen through me. No, I was mostly just embarrassed.

“Heh, she believes in you so much, Sir Touya.♪” Roni cheerfully teased me, like she was the one being complimented.

Rulitora also nodded along, his arms folded.

Rium was acting proud of herself for some reason.

Clena, however, had her hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from bursting into laughter.

You’re acting like that knowing full well how embarrassed I am, aren’t you? Oh, I’ll make sure to join the fun next time Roni gives you a compliment.

Oh yeah, I should ask what Rium was doing here now that we’d settled down.

“So what are you doing here, Rium? Oh, and thanks for saving me earlier, by the way.”

“I came to deliver that.”

“That?”

“The box.”

“What box?”

I tilted my head in confusion, but for some reason all I got in response was Rium tilting her head, too. She wasn’t holding anything box-like, though.

“Oh, there was a box in your cloak. I put it aside in a corner.”

Roni gave us a helping hand. It was apparently left in the Unlimited Bath along with our dirty clothes.

I opened the door, looked inside, and sure enough, there I saw an unfamiliar box. I handed it over to Rium, who took a slab and an envelope out of it and handed them over to me. The slab was a clay tablet enclosed in an excessively ornate metal frame.

“Isn’t this one of the temple’s holy tools? The one that transmits messages?”

“It’s a simplified version of that. It can only communicate with the other one connected to it.”

She further explained how Haruno had caught on to me omitting information from my letter, and prepared a way for us to communicate without the temple’s involvement.

Good job, Haruno. Now we’d be able to communicate without a problem.

“...So, am I supposed to use this?”

The only problem was that I had yet to learn the spell to properly utilize it. Apparently it was a basic spell that I could find in my textbook, so I should start learning it as soon as possible starting tonight.

The envelope contained a letter from Haruno. She had drawn a heart in red ink on it, since she of course couldn’t find a heart-shaped sticker here.

Yup, this was a love letter. I immediately opened the letter and read it.

“...What’s wrong, Touya?”

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

For the sake of preserving her dignity, I wouldn’t get into the details of what was written in that letter. She conveyed her feelings loud and clear, but some of the contents were so bold I found it hard to believe it was really her. Though I was still truly happy about it.

She had ended the letter with “Once you’ve settled down, please contact me.”

Right, we’d be able to exchange love letters after I learned the spell. I’d have to practice hard so that I’d be able to send one back as soon as possible.

After dinner and a short break, the four of us retreated into the Unlimited Bath. Rulitora would be resting on top of the boulder with the fire still going.

“It’s windy out. I’ll move this fire up on top, too.”

Clena dipped the tip of her sword in the fire and drew a flame to it. She was probably using spirit magic. Roni nimbly climbed up the boulder with a branch in hand, then waved it around and caught the ball of fire that Clena had shot off from below.

“Rulitora, take an extra blanket.”

“Are you sure? We have Rium here now.”

“We already have a few spares. You’re keeping watch all by yourself, so don’t worry about it.”

“Then, thank you.”

I watched Rulitora effortlessly make his way up the boulder with the spare blanket. He really is a lizard, I thought.

As we entered the Unlimited Bath, Rium’s eyes began to sparkle. She had been wanting to try out the bath since we were in Jupiteropolis, so she finally saw her wish granted.

“Did it... get bigger?”

“It was a combination of me getting stronger and receiving the Earth Goddess’ blessing. Look, we have a new washing machine, and the tub got a makeover, too.”

“Ohhh...!”

Rium, filled with curiosity, scampered over to the washing machine and started prodding it with her staff. After she realized it wouldn’t bite her, she put her staff down and started groping at it all over.

Her reaction was in stark contrast with Clena and Roni’s. They had been more apprehensive of it at the time. In Rium’s case, her curious streak had taken the upper hand.

While she was prodding about, she hit the button that opened the washing machine door, which slammed open right into her nose. For a moment she saw stars in her eyes, then rushed right over and clung on to me. She was completely taken by surprise.

“It’s okay, Rium. Don’t be afraid of the washing machine.”

Roni came over with a crate for the laundry. She had a prim and proper expression, giving off the air of an older sister.

“Here, take off your clothes and put them in. I’ll show you how the washing machine works.”

“O-okay.”

Rium meekly took her clothes off. The leather cloak wasn’t meant to be washed, so I took it from her and put it on the hanger.

I glanced over at Roni and Rium tossing their clothes into the bin, while I also stripped down and put on a men’s yuamigi. Clena had also stripped down without me realizing and walked over to me in her yuamigi. Roni picked up all of our clothes and put the ones that were safe to wash inside the washing machine.

“Um, uumm...”

Still not used to it, she was trying to remember the next step, so I whispered “detergent” from beside her. Roni perked her ears up and cheerfully went to grab the detergent. There was a place to put the detergent in on the upper right side of the machine. Rium was watching Roni with keen eyes all the while. Learning about the unknown was a thrill for her.

Roni started up the wash cycle, her tail wagging. The machine started making noises and the drum filled with water. When the drum started to spin, Rium gasped out “Ohhh!” in astonishment. As I gazed upon these girls, peering into the washing machine like two kids in a candy store, I turned my attention toward Clena.

“Clena.”

“What’s wrong? Though... I might be able to guess.”

“Teach Rium how to wear a yuamigi. And tell Roni to wear one, too.”

My gaze fell upon their butts—one a healthy tan and the other small and pale.

The two noticed they were butt-naked. Roni looked a little embarrassed, but Rium was unaffected by my observances. She looked like a middle schooler, but in this world, she was already considered an adult.

“Um, now we’re even, I suppose.”

“I-I guess so.”

Roni fidgeted as she talked. She was probably referring to the incident back at the temple. I didn’t know if my naked body held the same value as Roni’s, but at least she seemed to forgive me for now. I was just relieved things didn’t become awkward between us like last time.

Now that we were all in our yuamigi, we headed for the bath.

“...It’s made from wood now.”

Those were Rium’s first words after she put on her yuamigi and entered the bathing room. The room itself was larger than before, but the first thing that stood out was how the bathtub had changed into a Japanese cedar wood tub.

“It became like this after I was blessed by the Earth Goddess.”

“What are you doing, goddess...?”

That’s what I wanted to know.

The higher-end bathtubs in this world were all made of stone. This was the case for the bathtub back in the temple in Ceresopolis, as well. The nobility would use tubs made of marble. If a person from this world were asked to picture a wooden tub, they’d probably just imagine a small bucket used by someone who couldn’t afford a bath.

“I was hesitant about it at first, too, but it has a nice smell.”

“Like sandalwood?”

“Personally, I like this more than sandalwood. It smells like you’re inside a forest.”

It was a description befitting of Roni, a lycaon with a keen sense of smell.

In this world, it was a matter of course for nobles to use sandalwood. Clena said she hadn’t used it much, but that was because Roni wasn’t very fond of the smell.

“But we only enter it after cleaning ourselves first,” Roni said, then grabbed Rium’s hand and led her to a stool near the wall. Roni wanted to play the older sister and wash Rium.

Rium hadn’t quite gotten comfortable with the new faces yet, but she forced herself to stay there and let Roni do as she pleased. Roni had gotten used to the bathroom by now, so I could leave it to her.

“Alright, then I’ll wash Clena’s back.”

“Don’t touch me anywhere weird, okay?”

“You mean your stomach?”

“...My stomach is fine.”

Apparently she was okay with that.

I had noticed something after we grew close and started taking baths together. Or rather, it was something I’d picked up on from hearing Clena talk about it here and there while soaking in the tub together.

She was pretty curvy overall, but she seemed to be particularly concerned about her waistline. She had told me this was due to being constantly compared to other nobles’ daughters who were raised like princesses. It wasn’t that bad, and at worst you’d call her a little plump. She hadn’t been told much outside of “Are you eating okay?” I didn’t know what played in the minds of aristocrats, but it was nothing I myself would mind.

Ever since Clena set her sights on the desert kingdom a few years ago, she started training with Roni, and grew more distant from the noble daughters she’d been friends with before. From those days, Clena thought of herself as fat and brawny. It was some sort of PTSD to her.

If you asked me, it was the most normal thing in the world that she’d gain muscle from all that training. In fact, retaining your womanly charms despite that was something to be commended for, not criticized. I’d continuously let Clena know that through my words and actions, and the result was her telling me that I could touch her stomach just now.

Clena sat on the stool beside Rium. The upgraded bathroom now had multiple faucets and shower heads, enough for all of us to sit down and wash ourselves like this.

We couldn’t properly clean ourselves with the yuamigi on, though, so Clena took hers off. Her pale, seemingly transparent white skin leaped into my vision.

I looked over to Rium, who had also taken off her yuamigi to wash herself. She was smooth and flat.

“...I always notice this, but you really are pale. Even more so than Rium,” I mumbled while lathering body soap on her back.

“It’s because Juno is a northern country. Though I’m considered pale even up there.”

She had hardly tanned since birth. I wondered if people from the north were all like that.

“At least your skin won’t peel from getting too sunburned.”

“I do get a little red. But that goes away after a few days.”

“Oh yeah, that’s true.”

“...Were you thinking of something just now?”

I was thinking about the burns I had healed. Those probably wouldn’t have gone away after a few days.

“...And what are you doing, Roni?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you mean? I’m just washing us~ Bubbles, bubbles~”

I looked over past Clena to see both Rium and Roni covered in pure white bubbles.

“Rium, did it get in your eyes?”

“...This is fun. Haruno won’t go this far.”

I was worried about her being covered head to toe in soapsuds, but she seemed fine.

“It’s amazing how much this stuff lathers.”

“My MP is pretty wonderful.”

Clena and I were both astounded.

“...Now what are you doing?”

“Well, I was wondering if I could get it to do that, too...”

Soon after, Clena and I were both covered in soapsuds. She wanted to join in on the fun.

It went without saying that all four of us ended up going from simply washing ourselves to fooling around, covered in lather. When Rium started to lose her footing I tried to grab on to her, but we were far too slippery for that to end well. I tried wrapping my left arm around and under her armpits. Clena and Roni were still enjoying themselves, but the suds were making them look wobbly, too. Just as it seemed they were about to stumble, I reached my right arm over to them.

“Hey, what’s the big idea...”

“N-now wait just a second, I got lucky but that was a coincidence!”

I wouldn’t call it a misunderstanding. I had trouble supporting them so I ended up touching them in a variety of places.

We washed the suds off and moved on to wash our hair. I was usually in charge of washing the girls’ hair. Apparently I was the best at that.

“Make sure you close your eyes, Rium.”

“...Nn.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. She seemed a little frightened about this new experience. Maybe it had scared her when I told her it’d hurt if it got in her eyes.

“Good luck, Rium!” Roni, who was sitting next to us, cheered her on, to which Rium nodded silently in response. They were so adorable together.

I glanced over to Clena, who also had a smile as she was watching the two girls, and our eyes met.

We were thinking the same thing. I felt bad for poor Rium, but Clena and I couldn’t help but share a laugh over it.

“Alright, we’re done.”

I had finished washing her hair and used the shower head to clear the suds. Rium shook her head like a wet puppy, splashing drops of water all around her.

“Did you ever wash your hair while you were with Haruno?”

“...Not with shampoo.” Rium said with a pout. She had apparently only washed her hair with warm water before. Perhaps she’d been scared of the shampoo.

“You did a good job.”

And yet she held out and used shampoo for the first time today. I pet her head in appreciation.

I washed Roni’s hair, then Clena’s after that, all the while Rium was clinging to my back, watching with a keen eye. Clena and Roni would usually take turns washing my hair after this, but it looked like Rium would be joining the fray, too.

After we washed our hair, it was finally time for us to enter the cedar wood tub. The tub had grown in size, and there was a lowered step around it that we could sit on. Though it was bigger, it still felt a little cramped with three people. And so Rium ended up sitting on my legs while we soaked in the tub. I had my arm wrapped around her torso, so we wouldn’t lose our balance.

“......” Rium was staring straight at Clena, who had also taken a seat on the step.

“What’s wrong, Rium?”

“W-what is it?” Clena was confused at the continued stare, while Roni kept looking between the two of them.

Rium’s gaze was entirely concentrated on Clena’s chest. She then moved her eyes down and said,

“Compared to Haruno you’re... smaller, bigger, bigger.”

What was she talking about? Well, I didn’t have to ask.

Based on Rium’s behavior it was a mere observation, not something said out of spite.

“...Uh-huh.” Clena squinted her eyes. Her voice was soft, but it resonated clearly in the bathroom.

“Touya... is that true?”

“Don’t ask me. I’ve only seen her with her clothes on.”

It was the truth. Though I also knew that Rium was right.

“As for the butt... Sera’s is bigger...”

That was also true—Sera’s was massive. She and Haruno wore matching armor, but she always had a skirt on that went down to her ankles.

But I knew. Just once, I had seen them in a pair of wet and transparent shorts. Though she didn’t dress like that due to a butt-complex, it was simply dress code for female clerics.

On that note, Rium, who was sitting on top of me, was “small, small, and small.” She honestly was petite and looked even younger than her age. Though because of her decision to pursue studying magic from a young age, she was still young in mind, which struck a perfect balance with her outward appearance.

Roni was “average, average, and average.” She had the most balanced physique.

Clena, who appeared to be sulking a little, let out a sigh and sat down next to me. She normally wouldn’t come this close to me.

“...Well, whatever. Touya says he likes my body anyway.” She said, then flipped her silver hair to the side and rested her head on my shoulder. I couldn’t see her face, but it didn’t seem like she was forcing herself.

Rather, I tried to look at her face, but instead saw her cleavage peeking out from beneath her yuamigi. Haruno was a special case, but Clena was plenty big herself.

“I love you too, Lady Clena!”

Roni sat herself across from us. When the tub was smaller it could only fit two of us at once, so this was the first time we were bathing in such close proximity. Clena lifted her head, moved toward Roni and grabbed her hand.

“Thank you, Roni.”

“Heheheh.” Roni giggled sheepishly after being complimented by Clena. This endearing sight made me grin as well.

“Hm?”

“......” I realized Rium was grabbing my hand as well. She wasn’t looking at me, but at Clena and Roni. Maybe she was jealous of them.

And so I wrapped my other free arm around her, and gave her a big hug. She shivered and stiffened up in surprise at first, but then relaxed and decided to trust me.

Our cheeks were at the same height, so Rium rubbed hers against mine. Rium happily squinted her eyes as I responded by rubbing back.

“Oh, no fair, Rium!” Roni noticed us immediately and latched on to me.

Clena watched us with the same gentle expression she’d had when she was watching Roni and Rium earlier.

This I could get used to. We continued leisurely soaking for a while after that.

We finished up a long bath session and changed into our pajamas, but we kept the flirty mood up until bedtime.

“Oh yeah, we gave an extra blanket to Rulitora, but do we have enough here? Though I guess even if we don’t, it’s not like we’ll catch a cold in here.”

“Don’t worry. We can store them in here, so we have plenty of extras.”

“...Ah, I see.”

I pulled an extra blanket out from our luggage, while Clena snuck a peek in admiration. Travelers in this world did everything they could to avoid excess luggage, so the very thought of having spares didn’t come easily. Thanks to my Unlimited Bath though, I didn’t have to worry about that. If it weren’t for that, I’d probably be thinking the same way Clena was right now.

“So yes, we do have enough for four people.” I said as I pulled out the extra blanket, but then felt a tug on my pajamas. I turned around to find Rium holding on to me a little.

“What’s wrong, Rium?”

“......”

But she didn’t say anything in response. I peered at her, wondering, and then she looked straight at me and began to speak.

“...I want to sleep together.”

I was caught off guard for a moment.

I looked up at Clena and found the same expression on her that I had. I then looked at Roni, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement. Finally, I looked back at Clena as we smiled at each other.

“...Well, there’s no reason for us to sleep separately just because we have enough blankets.”

“Alright, let’s all sleep together tonight.”

One blanket definitely wouldn’t be enough for all of us, but two could work if we huddled together, and another two for the floor.

Rium wasn’t expressive by any means. But her cheeks looked a bit red now, and she had the faintest of smiles. It made me happy just looking at her.

That night, Clena, Roni, Rium, and I slept all huddled up next to each other.

As I lay down, Rium spoke up from beside me.

“Touya.”

“What is it?”

I tried to look in her direction, but before I could do so, I felt something touch my cheek. They were Rium’s small lips.

“...A goodnight kiss.” She said, then turned her cheek over to me. I immediately returned a peck on it.

“Hm?” I felt a gaze in my direction, so I looked past Rium to see Roni, who was looking at me with expectant eyes. I deduced what she was waiting for and sat up, and she also got up with a beaming smile.

“A goodnight kiss for you too, Roni.”

“Yes, please!”

I leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, and she gave me three firm smooches on my cheek in return. Then she blushed while squealing in a high-pitched voice. It was so endearing.

“...And for you, the one who’s pretending to be asleep.”

Clena had turned over in the meantime and had her back to us. But her shoulders quivered in response to my words, so she was definitely only pretending to sleep. I didn’t want to leave any of my friends out. I wanted to give her a goodnight kiss, too. So I decided to tease her a little.

“If you don’t wake up, I’ll kiss you someplace else~”

Clena instantly sprung up, her face bright red.

“Wha, where in the world are you planning to—?!”

But I didn’t answer her question, and instead crawled toward her from underneath my blanket. She didn’t even move when I put my hands on her shoulders, and she squeezed her eyes shut with her face still beet red. I didn’t stop my approach, drew my face close, and gave her a passionate kiss.

“...Huh?”

On her forehead, not her cheek.

Clena let out a shriek. Where in the world was she thinking I’d kiss her?

“I said someplace else, not necessarily a weird one.”

“Wh-wh-wha...!”

Clena became even redder, until she was blushing all the way to her ears.

“!!!!!” She looked like steam could start spouting out of her head at any moment.

So I pushed her down and smothered her face with kisses.

The incessant downpour continued into the next day. It was less like a steady rainfall and more like a waterfall that had escaped the clouds.

At least it didn’t go on all day. There were distinct periods of time when no rain would fall. Though that didn’t necessarily mean clear skies—it was still cloudy and somber. It was about fifty-fifty overall.

When it was raining, we used stakes and a large tarp for a makeshift tent to rest ourselves. When it was cloudy, we focused on moving forward.

If it were just us, we could retreat inside the wagon, but we needed the cover to shield our horse from the wind and rain as well.

“Back in the settlement, we’d go hunting when it was cloudy.”

“This must be a tough season for sand lizardmen, since you’re so sensitive to humidity.”

“Maybe so, but our reservoirs rely on rainfall, so it affects us in more than one way.”

They disliked it, but couldn’t live without it. The Torano’o tribe and the rainy season had a complex relationship.

Fortunately, monsters were less active during this season. Sandworms were averse to the water too, but they hardly ever appeared within the void.

So whenever it was cloudy, we would continue traveling in our carriage, whether it was day or night. Rium had to sleep at night, but that wasn’t an issue in our carriage.

It was night at the moment, too. I was in the driver’s seat, but unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the moon or stars. There was hardly any greenery around us, only a wasteland of dirt and rocks. The darkness, too, made it a lonely sight. I summoned ten light spirits to illuminate our carriage and the surrounding area.

It had been three days since we entered the void. It had gotten much colder, but also soggier, since the last time we were here.

From where I sat, I could see Rulitora as he walked beside us, surveying our surroundings. During our travels, he kept himself mostly outside the carriage. He was faster on foot than on a horse, after all. Even though there was less monster activity now, we had only Rulitora to thank for being able to travel both day and night.

I glanced inside the carriage to see Rium using Roni as a lap pillow.

“You’re surprisingly alert at night, Roni.”

“Well, I’m used to it~”

Back when it was just Clena and Roni, they had a strict master-and-servant relationship, so Roni must have been on night guard duty more often.

Clena had found a bag among our cargo that made for a comfortable pillow and was taking a nap. We rotated driver and rear guard duties, and it was currently Clena’s turn to sleep.

“Sir Touya, rain is coming.” Rulitora informed me from outside the carriage, twitching his nose.

“Is there any place we can stop?”

“How about that boulder over there?”

Rulitora pointed in the direction of a long, rectangular rock. It seemed big enough for us to make a simple tent with.

“Alright, let’s go. We should set up the tent before it starts raining.”

“Understood. I’ll go on ahead.”

No sooner had he stretched his tail parallel to the ground, leaned forward, and dashed off with impressive momentum. And just like that, his figure had all but vanished into the distance.

“Roni, we’ll be picking up speed too, so hold tight.”

“Got it.”

Roni wrapped her arms around Rium, who was still sleeping on her lap, then made sure to support Clena’s weight with her own, and I sped up the carriage.

When we arrived at the boulder, I was speechless. We had to check whether or not it was big enough to set up camp, but that had nothing to do with my reaction.

“...Hey, do these things appear naturally?”

The boulder was a perfect rectangular prism. It definitely didn’t look like something you’d find in nature. It was slightly taller than Rulitora and long enough to fit both the horse and the carriage.

Clena had woken up and stepped out of the wagon, and ended up with the same expression as myself.

“Maybe it’s... some sort of chiseled rock?”

“Like for construction purposes, you mean?”

“Right now most buildings are made from concrete, but I heard that in the past, they would use chiseled rocks like this.”

She wasn’t referring to the modern reinforced concrete I was familiar with, but something similar to what they used in ancient Rome. After studying all she could about the desert kingdom, she must have picked up some stuff about ancient architecture, as well.

In other words, this rock might have been used to build some structure long ago. It looked like a normal rock at first glance, but this could serve as evidence that the desert kingdom once stood in the center of the void.

“Well, we won’t get anywhere by just looking at a rock. Let’s leave the speculations for later,” Clena said to me.

“Oh, you’re right.”

I remembered that we still needed to set up a tent before the rain arrived, so Rulitora and I took out a large tarp from the wagon. It was too big to keep inside the wagon, so we’d put it in the storage compartment underneath.

The tarp was made of monster fur and repelled water. It had four metal rings, one on each corner. Normally it was used as a divider for bathing and changing clothes on the road, but we were using it as a makeshift tent now.

“Okay, I’ll be right back. Summon spirit!”

I pressed my hand against the rock and summoned spirits of the earth. Several protrusions, compressed to be pure black, formed a vertical column up the rock. It was an impromptu ladder. I used it to climb the rock, and Rulitora handed me one corner of the tarp by hooking his glaive through a ring.

“Summon a few more spirits!”

I rested the ring on top of the boulder and shot a black stake through it. I made the tip of the stake wider than the ring so it would stay in place as long as I didn’t cut off my MP or run out of power.

I took another ring to the top and secured it in the same way, before returning to the surface. I stretched the opposite edge of the tarp out so that it formed a triangle with the rock and the ground, then rooted the remaining two rings to the ground. This was our makeshift tent that would be shielding us from the rain.

“It’s so convenient to be able to summon earth spirits.”

“A normal person wouldn’t be able to compress it as much as you do.” Clena replied in exasperation to my sincere words.

It felt like a waste to have these spells be so underutilized, but seeing how the amount of MP was the only thing deciding their effectiveness, I couldn’t say much more.

“Anyway, about how far are we from the Sage’s Spring now?”

“I believe it’s only a little farther to the east,” Roni replied.

The travelers of this world used the stars to guide their path. They didn’t have the North Star to guide them, but they could derive their general direction from the locations of various constellations.

Having the sky be so cloudy that it covered all the stars was particularly inconvenient. The last time we had seen a star was the day before yesterday.

Since the positions of the constellations changed between seasons, this field of knowledge had advanced to become its own science. Of course not everyone was an expert, and for a traveler it was enough to just be able to figure out which direction was north.

In addition to that, we now had Rium, who could fly up on her flying disc when it wasn’t raining to check the whereabouts of the spring in the distance.

“We can even check our direction through flight, so we don’t need to worry about getting lost,” Rulitora laughed.

To be honest, I was apprehensive about traveling without a GPS, let alone a compass or map, but it was nothing out of the ordinary in this world. I just wrote it off as a culture gap.

Still, Rium even had a telescope that looked like opera glasses which she could use to make out the direction of the Sage’s Spring, so it wasn’t likely that we’d stray off course.

“Hm, the rain started.”

“Wow, it’s pouring! I wish it’d just rain until morning and then stop for good after that.”

“Hahahah, that’d be great!”

And it wasn’t like it was a gentle drizzle, either, more like a loud and unrelenting torrent. We rushed underneath the tent as we talked.

“It’s pretty strong right now... looks like it won’t clear up for a while.”

“That works for us. Let’s use the opportunity to rest up.”

Traveling through the night put a greater toll on us, though we had no choice at the moment because of all the rain. Now that it was raining during the night for once, we should use the chance to get some rest.

“Let’s dig a trench around us so that the rainwater doesn’t seep in.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll help.”

Clena and Roni were bluffing their way through the exhaustion, but I could tell they were tired. The time had come for me to be a man and let them rest. I opened the door to the Unlimited Bath and entrusted the sleeping Rium to them, while Rulitora and I got cracking.

“Ah, you should make that a little deeper.”

“About this much?”

Geez, this journey had no intentions of letting up on me. But I felt a sense of accomplishment from all the effort we had put in together so far, a feeling I had never experienced in my old world.

The rain didn’t stop until just before noon the next day. Thanks to that, we were well rested and picked up the pace until we reached the Sage’s Spring.

The outer edges of the void weren’t so much a desert as they were a wasteland, but what we saw before our eyes was just like an oasis in the middle of the desert.

The spring was about the size of an elementary school pool. It was surprisingly big. Vegetation and colorful flowers in full bloom surrounded its edges, and right across from us stood two trees.

“...Isn’t it awfully clear around here?”

Astonishingly, the sky above it was bright and clear despite it being the rainy season.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence. Dark and gloomy clouds filled the sky all around it. There was a hole in the sky right above the spring, as if it were the eye of a typhoon.

“Is there a spell that can do this?”

“N-no, I mean, I’ve never heard of one that could...” Clena was at a loss for words, her eyes wide open in disbelief.

To me, this kind of weather was just as mysterious as the concept of magic, but for someone well versed in magic like her, the only thing that stood out as unusual was this particular phenomenon. Just another one of those culture gaps.

“The water is so clear...” Rium stepped out of the carriage and peered into the spring, impressed.

I stood next to her and looked into the water, which was clear enough that you could see all the way to the bottom. This would be a rare sight back in my world.

Clena, Roni, and Rulitora followed. The five of us stood before the spring.

“A normal traveler would be scooping this water up right around now.”

“But we have Sir Touya’s gift.”

“So who cares about spring water!”

Could you guys read the mood a little better?

That reminded me, I’d heard before that fish couldn’t actually live in water this clear. I wondered if that applied to this spring as well?

We were pretty set when it came to our water supply, so we had no reason to try our luck here.

“Oh yeah, there are a few other Sage’s Springs besides this one, right?”

“Yes. It’s part of the legend of the first sacred king, so I think they created a bunch of dupes to hide the location of the real one.”

According to legend, the first sacred king found the demon lord’s castle thanks to the guidance of a sage in a spring.

“So if we assume that the demon lord’s castle is in the desert kingdom, we can assume that this spring is the real one since it’s the closest?”

“That sounds about right.”

So we were currently standing on the site of the legend. Thinking about that kind of moved me.

“I wonder where the sage might be?”

“Uh, this story is 500 years old.”

You’d think he’d be long gone by now, but this fantasy world had me consider the fact that he might still be alive depending on his species. This was the only area where it hadn’t been raining, so it was perfectly reasonable to consider some power would still be at play here.

“Oh, a fish.”

“Huh, where?”

Rium pointed to an area below the taller tree, where a small fish was jumping out of the water.

The fish was so tiny, I was impressed that she even noticed it. And that there was still life, even in this spring in the middle of nowhere. It really took me by surprise.

The fish leaped in and out of the water as it made its way toward us. Looking more closely, I could see that it had pretty large fins despite its small body. I couldn’t tell what species it was, but its appearance reminded me of a fancy goldfish. The pseudo-goldfish made its way to us, popped its face out of the water, and...

“What’s the matter, young’ns? Ain’tcha gon’ drink the water?”

...started talking to us in human language.

Thanks to the Goddess of Light’s blessing I was able to understand this world’s speech, but judging by how flabbergasted the others looked, I guess he really was using actual words. Rulitora looked over our heads into the spring, amazed.

“I guess this really must be the Sage’s Spring, with something so strange living in it.”

“Hmm? That’d be me.”

“What?”

“The sage.”

“......”

“......”

“W-wait... This tiny fish is the sage?!”

“The very one.”

The pseudo-goldfish—er, sage, rather—snapped his head to the side. Was that his way of trying to look smug?

“Come now, I bet yer knackered from travelin’ through this wasteland. Take a sip from the spring, travelers!”

“Oh, no thank you, we have plenty of water,” Roni responded politely, even though she was talking to a fish.

After hearing that, the sage looked away and muttered. “Pft! If ye’d just drank the water I would’ve turned ye into my loyal puppets.”

Well that was dark.

“Guess that leaves me no choice!”

“...Summon spirit.”

I didn’t know what was going on, but I could feel that he wasn’t on our side. I quickly summoned earth spirits, raised the floor of the spring, and launched the fish-sage onto the shore.

“Hack... can’t breathe...”

The self-proclaimed sage was flopping about on the ground. Now then, what should we do?

“Let’s put him in a bucket for now. We don’t want him to escape.”

“Make it quick. I don’t want his death on my conscience.”

We figured putting him back into the spring would get us in even more trouble, so we took a bucket from the Unlimited Bath and captured the sage inside. If he tried anything again, we could just flip the bucket over.

“...This thing is the sage who guided the first sacred king?”

Unfortunately, the self-proclaimed sage was in no condition to answer Rium’s question.

But would he answer our questions just because we caught him? I had my doubts, but there would be no point to letting him die here, so I rushed to get a bucket from the Unlimited Bath.

“Why you bastards! What’dya put in this water?!”

I quickly filled the bucket with water, grabbed the goldfish sage with my fingers, and tossed him inside. The first thing out of the self-proclaimed sage’s mouth was that cry. How rude.

The self-proclaimed... no, pseudo-goldfish is fine. He was struggling and squirming around for some reason, but I couldn’t tell why. Naturally I couldn’t read a goldfish’s facial expressions, so I had no idea what he was thinking.

“Th-this water is loaded with MP, dagnabbit! How’m I gonna use my magic?! What did’ya do, ya scalawag?!”

“Huh? What are you going on about?”

So that flopping around earlier was just him trying to use a spell. Of course, our guards were still up from the first attempt, but I didn’t know his magic would be cut off like this. Because of my Unlimited Bath, no less.

“Maybe the water from your gift is different from natural water?”

“Gift?! Don’t go tellin’ me yer one o’ them summoned heroes?!”

The pseudo-goldfish responded immediately to Clena’s pondering.

“Oh, right, the first sacred king was also a summoned hero. So he would know.”

“I see, so ye were summoned here... figures...”

I hadn’t given him a direct answer, but it looked like the pseudo-goldfish had connected the dots. So all that talk about being the sage wasn’t a bluff.

I didn’t know if the pseudo-goldfish would answer my question, so I turned it to Clena.

“What’s different about the water from my gift?”

“Magic works by channeling your MP into your surroundings and interfering with the spirits around you.”

I nodded. That much was clear to me. To give you a simple example, cleric magic worked by finding a path to interfering with those spirits through a blessing from a goddess.

Clena’s spirit magic granted her paths beyond the ones a goddess blessing could give. For Rium’s crystal magic, she could substitute spirits with specialized crystals and cause interference through items with crystals attached to them. During our battle with the sandworms, she had used MP to cause interference and transform her pencil-sized spear into a larger spear. The crystals were an alternative to finding a path to the spirits, so the tools made for the temple were called holy tools. Rium seemed to have a few more of them on hand, but since we had been traveling through the raining void ever since that battle, I had yet to see any of them.

Either way, it appeared that the pseudo-goldfish couldn’t use any magic right now.

“But right now, this guy is in water created with Touya’s MP. Basically, your MP stops him from interfering with surrounding spirits.”

“So even if he tried to use magic... Touya’s MP water keeps him from doing so.” Rium, who was kneeling next to Roni, staring at the pseudo-goldfish in the bucket, continued explaining.

“I had no idea the water from my Unlimited Bath could be used that way...”

“Magic-sealing water, huh...” Rulitora mumbled.

That pretty much summed up what he had to say about interference blocking. It wasn’t all that convenient, though.

“It can’t block my crystal magic.” Rium showed me another one of her silver spears with a proud look on her face.

The way to conduct crystal magic was by holding the object in your hands, so it would still work even when surrounded by my water. Even if you called it magic-sealing water, it could only seal certain types of magic.

“Bah... Why’d you lot have to come here? It’s jes an empty wasteland. Ain’t no place to wander around all willy-nilly-like.”

The pseudo-goldfish became a little more cooperative after realizing his overwhelming disadvantage. Though I couldn’t say his attitude improved.

“First I wanna ask—are you the same sage who guided the hero 500 years ago?”

“You betcha! I tell ya I get no respect at all!”

Why should I show you respect?

“I have a question, too. What do you do to the people you brainwash after drinking your water?”

“Ain’t it obvious?! I take ’em outta the void! Wipe their memories clean!”

I sort of expected the first part of his explanation, but that second part bugged me.

“Which means there’s something hidden in the void.”

“And that might just be the demon lord’s castle, considering how this guy was the one who guided the hero.”

“It’s the only possibility, when you think about it.”

“So this is the desert kingdom.”

“Hadesopolis!”

Everyone prodded him at once.

You could tell he wasn’t expecting the name Hadesopolis to come up. The pseudo-goldfish couldn’t hide his surprise. Or, is it right to say he was surprised? It seemed that way from the atmosphere, but I’d never seen the face of a surprised goldfish before, so I couldn’t say for sure.

“Hah, hahahahahah! Right y’are, I brainwash and chase off anyone who comes near Hadesopolis.”

So that was it. Since he knew the name Hadesopolis, he must have been a former resident there, or at least had some connection to it.

“Why shouldn’t I go there? I was summoned here and told to defeat the demon lord as soon as he revived... Is he still asleep or something?”

“That shouldn’t be the case. It’s said that one of the demon lord’s surviving generals carried their corpse away.”

“What, really? Who was it?”

“Don’t ask me. But this is a famous story, you know?”

I did find out about it after all our research on the first sacred king, but it seemed this pseudo-goldfish wasn’t clued in. He probably had no means of getting that information.

“...What are you lot after? Treasures?”

“Well, that too, but like I said I was summoned here to defeat the demon lord, and since we’ve found evidence of history being tampered with, you can’t blame us for wanting to dig deeper.”

“Hmm...”

The pseudo-goldfish swam in circles in the bucket. It looked peaceful on the outside, but with this guy we knew something ugly was rearing inside.

“...Alright, if ye must know, I shall tell you what I know.”

“What’s the catch?”

“I do have one condition... Ye hafta take me along to Hadesopolis.”

“I see...”

I had no idea why he was here in the first place, but there was no place for him to go in that goldfish body. So his request to take him to Hadesopolis was perfectly reasonable.

“Sir Touya, what should we do?”

“Let’s see...”

Still, we had no reason to lower our guard just yet. He seemed like someone who’d take a mile after being given an inch. I replied to him, trying to uphold any and all assertiveness.

“Everything depends on the information you give us. We’ll get to the desert kingdom with or without you.”

“Whut the...! Hah... Hahahah! You jackanape! D’ya think ye can get to Hadesopolis just by wanderin’ around the desert?!”

“This guy seems awfully confident...”

Clena had a point. He seemed particularly sure that we’d never find the place at the rate we were going. There was a secret to be uncovered here. I could feel it.

And so I thought. What could we conclude from the information we knew so far?

“Not a single person has been able to find the desert kingdom in the 500 years since the demon lord’s defeat, right?”

“Yeah, though I don’t know how many have gone to search for it in the first place.”

“The mere fact that it exists is hidden, so treasure hunters usually don’t even bother.”

“Ah, but they do show up! The bloodsuckers!!” The pseudo-goldfish rattled on, agitated. Huh, so his fins stiffened when he got emotional.

“Even crystal mages have tried locating it from the sky, but they couldn’t find a trace of it.”

“...Maybe the desert kingdom really doesn’t exist.”

“Sir Touya?!”

I blurted that out after thinking about Rium’s comment. Roni practically screamed, unable to ignore me.

“No, I meant that maybe it doesn’t really exist in the desert.”

“What do you mean?” Clena asked me dubiously.

“You remember how the Torano’o elder said they destroyed the gate that ran underground?”

“Yeah, he said they destroyed it to block off the demons that kept emerging.”

“They destroyed that?!” The pseudo-goldfish screamed this time, but we ignored him and continued talking.

“So we’re heading there right now because we think it leads to the desert kingdom, but does it really?”

“I-it’s true that our ancestors never went to check what was inside...” Rulitora said, troubled. But he was a bit off the mark from what I was getting at.

“It’s called the desert kingdom, but is it really located in the desert?”

“We don’t know that until we’ve...”

“......”

Clena looked troubled now, too.

The pseudo-goldfish was silent for once. I wanted to see his reaction, but it was hopeless trying to discern the facial expressions of a goldfish.

“It’s said that the gate leads to an underground tunnel, but that tunnel doesn’t necessarily lead back up to the desert.”

Alright. I’d have to ask a trick question now.

“Clena, do you remember the library in the temple at Ceresopolis?”

“Huh? I do.”

There were two options, but I chose the one I thought more likely and continued to talk.

“There was something written in a book in there. About how the desert kingdom was already submerged deep underground.”

“What the devil?! How much d’you know, you fool?!”

“So it really is submerged.”

“...What?!”

He let the cat out of the bag. I looked at the pseudo-goldfish with a victorious smile. He peeked out of the water, flapping his lips in disbelief. He looked like he was waiting to be fed.

“You mean it’s an underground city...? Would that really exist?”

“No, I think it’s more likely that the city was above ground at first, and then sunk.”

It just seemed more plausible from a practical standpoint. The void hadn’t become like this naturally—something must have happened in its center.

Mountains in the north, a fissure running along the west, and an ocean to the south. We could only assume that there was no large obstacle that kept it from spreading in the east. We had surmised that the desert kingdom was at the center of it all, but it was hard to imagine that the kingdom had remained intact after what happened to the rest of the region.

“This is just my theory, but what if the battle between the first sacred king and the demon lord was the root of all this? That would explain the reservoirs around the Torano’o settlement.”

If those craters were the aftermath of a fight, then the rest of the region could have easily been wiped out if they’d used their full power. Assuming that were the case, I could understand why they wanted it covered up. The aftermath of the damage was too severe.

If you think about it that way, it’s no wonder you wouldn’t be able to find anything by looking down into the desert from the sky. And I could understand why nobody had seen a trace of it for all this time.

If I was right, then the next question to arise would be whether the underground tunnel lead to the desert kingdom, but that was something we would have to find out for ourselves.

“...It’s possible.”

Everyone else agreed with me and our gazes gathered at the pseudo-goldfish in the bucket. He popped his head out of the water, flapped his lips, then briefly dipped back in the water and drew a circle. He then reemerged and opened his mouth with a pensive look on his face— not to flap his lips, but to speak.

“...Lemme jes say yer not wrong.” He acknowledged it. A witness from the legend itself.

The pseudo-goldfish spoke to me with perhaps a resigned expression.

“Alright, alright. Take me with ya. I’ll guide ye to the nearest gate. If that one ain’t it, I’ll tell you the location of another one.”

The nearest gate must be referring to the one the Torano’o tribe destroyed. It was possible we couldn’t cross it any longer, but I was grateful for the information. I looked over to everyone else to discuss the matter.

“Will this be okay?”

“He’ll be fine away from the spring as long as we have the Unlimited Bath, right?”

“We have to be careful in case he tries pull a fast one on us again.”

Roni was worried about the pseudo-goldfish’s health, while Rulitora was still wary of another surprise attack. Both of them had valid points.

“He’ll be fine. I mean, it’s not like we’re hurting for water. But just in case, let’s not put him inside the Unlimited Bath.”

“As for the surprise attacks, we should be fine as long as Touya’s water can prevent him from using magic. But let’s make sure to change the water frequently.”

Clena was wondering how long my MP would remain in the water after taking it out from the Unlimited Bath. I had no answer to that, so her idea of changing the water was the best plan.

“Looks like everything’s settled.”

“Yup. He’s a valuable source of information, as an actual witness.”

“I’m sure he’d have difficulty making a move from there, but I’ll keep a close eye just in case.”

“We’re keeping him in the bucket, right?”

We all voiced our opinions after deciding we’d be keeping the pseudo-goldfish. I turned around to convey the information to him, but found Rium, who hadn’t participated in the conversation, squatting in front of the bucket.

“Can I feed him bread?”

“...Well, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Her mind was in a completely different place than ours.