Vending Machine - 163 - Crossing the Desert

Chapter 163: Crossing the Desert

Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/

Author: Hirukuma

Translated by Zzonkedd

Edited by Gumihou

Several hours had passed since we had left the village early that morning.

Now, we were silently moving forward, enduring the vicious sun rays glaring down from the sky.

Hyurumi and Kikoyu were both physically weaker than the rest of us, making it tough for them to walk on the sand so they were encouraged to ride on Botan. Thus far, this was fine for now.

The heat was hot, as expected. No, it was actually hotter than expected, because, despite Hyurumi’s specially-made cloaks, everyone appeared to be struggling.

Wait, not everyone.

“Right, let’s take a break, everyone~~!”

“Bufoo~!”

Ramis and Botan appeared to be in tip-top shape.

Thanks to my <Cooling> and <Air-conditioning> effects, the heat doesn’t bother Ramis at all. I think the garish, striped cloak helped too. At any rate, she was still pretty light on her feet even after everyone else had wilted.

Botan must be doing fine thanks to Kikoyu’s cool aura.

Ah, another reason for Ramis’ cheerfulness had to do with her new boots and gloves.

The gloves were from that the old man at the Dark Forest weapon shop. Since Ramis had already left Clearflow Lake, he gave them to Hyurumi, who later handed them over to Ramis after we reunited. Ramis was so delighted with them that she put them on immediately.

The design of the gloves was nearly identical to the ones before, but the reinforced parts, which had been made from iron, were replaced by some kind of mysterious material. The black-ish material apparently surpasses even steel when it comes to toughness. Not only that, there was another significant difference.

“Wow, I can change their weights!”

When Ramis tried them out, she found that the mysterious material was the same as the round objects that were used to measure her strength at the weapon shop. By using her consciousness (somehow?) she could freely change their weight thereby increasing the precision of her attack power. In short, the extra weight would help her control any sudden burst of excessive show of power that would lead to a waste of energy.

It was a great masterpiece and fits Ramis’ strengths and weaknesses well. However, now that she could control her weight as needed, [1] she would not need me around to play counterweight any more. My task would be reduced to merely defensive, which made me a little sad…

“Well, that was some impressive work, that fellow’s mouth may be foul, but at least their skills are solid,” said Hyurumi grudgingly.

Since she benefited from sticking with Kikoyu, she still looks quite refreshed.

Mishael’s armour appeared to work as advertised and protected him from the worst of the heat. However, it was still not quite enough since he looked a little lethargic and miserable.

Neither Hevoy nor Shui had said anything at all. I tried reviving them with drinks and ice-cream at regular intervals, but whatever energy they derived from the coldness dissipated all too soon. It was like looking at them going through a cycle of death and rebirth over and over again.

Kuroyata flew calmly in the sky, seemingly unfazed by the extreme heat. The only indication that it felt the heat was the occasional landings near Kikoyu to cool off before taking off enthusiastically again.

Shui, who had been stumbling along like a newly resurrected zombie suddenly shuffled closer and hugged me.

“Ahhh, it’s so refreshing… I wish you were my love just for this floor-su…” she cried.

“Then, be my best friend, please…”

“I… won’t hand Master over…”

Shui may have started it, but the other two quickly stumbled over to stick to me. Their words were so slurred that I could hardly understand what they were saying any more.

“You three can hold on to Hakkon while we walk, right, Hakkon?”

“Welcome”

I don’t mind if they stick themselves close to me. There’s no point making a fuss about being hugged by men or women at this point. Especially since their main goal was not really me, but my <Air-conditioning> ability.

In the end, I have Shui sticking to my right, Hevoy on the left, Mishael on my front and Ramis to my back. I was surrounded by people sticking to all four sides of me.

“Hakkon, the more I stick to you, the cooler you look… I don’t mind being held like this forever-su…”

“Upon closer inspection, a square figure is not fearsome, far from it…”

“Master, I will follow you for life… and if Master wishes it, I- I am willing…”

Willing… what?

Please don’t force yourself to say things you don’t mean, especially with your brain half-boiled by the heat. You should also know that I’m not the sort that would be swayed by empty flattery.

Also, please come back to reality. Your nonsensical remark is getting a little too scary.

Please have more sports drinks to replenish the electrolytes in your body.

I handed all three of them more sports drinks with the caps already loosened through <Telekinesis>. I figured they should conserve their energies as much as possible since they were already speaking nonsense like this.

“I have always liked this water. But it tastes especially delightful in the desert.”

“Indeed, the refreshing sensation appears to seep into one’s entire body…”

“Water that came out from Master’s body… is the best.”

Sports drinks are the best way to deal with dehydration, right? I think there are even drinks that were designed to prevent heatstrokes, so let’s hand those out later.

The three sets of hollow eyes regained a bit of life after their drinks. We continue our trip through the desert with them sticking to me. When the sun reached its zenith, however, the group decided that it had had enough and decided to take a proper break.

The party set up a specious tent and everyone piled inside.

The tent was one of Hyurumi’s masterpiece creations. Despite being made of thin and light fabric, it was supposed to excel at blocking heat.

It was about the size of ten tatami mats, providing enough space for everyone to fit comfortably.

I poured out a large amount of ice and placed it in bowls. These bowls were then placed at all four corners of the tent. Additionally, Kikoyu utilised her magic to manipulate the air and the temperature inside the tent dropped suddenly, creating a more comfortable space.

“Phew, it feels like heaven.”

“I’ve come back to life.”

“Truly amazing, Master Hakkon.”

I was relieved to see the dying three bounced back to life. Well, at least they looked a little better than before.

After distributing shaved ice to [1] everyone to help them cool down, Ramis and Shui immediately bite into theirs and grab their heads from the sudden brain freeze. Do eat your shaved ice slowly, ladies.

Still, [1] with the temperature now properly controlled and the shaved ice having cooled them from the inside, I started handing out food. Once everyone had properly calmed down, they started chatting over their meal.

“Still, the heat is really shockingly unbearable. I can’t believe my cloak barely helps at all,” Hyurumi grumbled.

“But I can tell that it’s effective though. I took it off for a moment once, thinking that I might feel better with fewer layers and nearly withered and died within seconds-su,” Shui declared generously.

So, Hyurumi’s invention does work, but the heat is just too scorchingly hot.

“Hm, I have to wonder, just how did Mister Tasite and the Raging Inferno party manage to cross the hot desert?” Ramis said wonderingly.

“That’s right, on our side, we have Kikoyu and Hakkon, so we have been making good progress. I can’t imagine crossing the desert without proper equipment. It’s possible that they have high-level magical tools with them,” said Hyurumi thoughtfully. She looked like she was thinking deeply with her arms crossed.

Now that I think about it, [1] just equipping one person with good quality tools is already quite costly. While I don’t exactly know the prices of magic tools in this world, I guess that it must cost a fortune to equip a party of 10 people.

While we were crossing the desert, we encountered a few lost hunters. All of whom nearly turned into preserved goods. If they happened to die in the desert, they would have turned into mummies within a day.

Thus far, we have not encountered anyone from the Raging Inferno party among the dead, so here’s to hoping that they are safe.

“Since they have established a base here, it is possible that they have taken necessary precautions,” said Hevoy.

That’s right, if you want to stay on this floor on a more permanent basis, it made sense to be prepared. This heat is no joke, being prepared could make the difference between life and death.

Not to mention, if they had died due to something as stupid as insufficient preparation, the trail would go cold. It is possible that Hevoy was indulging in some wishful thinking at this point.

As everyone fell silent, I turned my gaze around the room for a bit and noticed Kikoyu pulling out something that looked like a notebook from her coat pocket.

I casually glanced over the notebook and saw that it contained numbers written in this world’s script. From the way it was arranged, it looked like a calendar or something.

[2] “Wh-at th-at” I asked.

[2] “What?” Kikoyu looked towards me. “Mister Hakkon, you want to know what this is?”

[2] “Welcome”

She reached out to touch my side and I asked, ‘Is that a calendar? Are those numbers dates?’

“”Indeed, I was just checking the date. Today is the 11th.”

Numbers were one of the first things I learned in this world and I quickly noticed where it was on the little calendar. Hm? The date next to it has a red circle around it.

“”That day is… an anniversary.””

The smile on her face was a little complicated. So much so that I decided not to inquire further. Those who are too nosy about other people’s private matters would be disliked.

The conversation reached a dead end. At that point, everyone decided that it would be best to just take a nap in the cool tent to recover their strength. I got them to set me outside so that I could watch over them.

Kuroyata accompanied me and flew loops overhead now and then before perching on my head.

When I handed it a bottle of mineral water, it deftly unscrewed the cap with its three legs and gulped down the contents in one go.

It actually managed to drink everything without spilling a single drop, what an amazing bird.

I heard that the person who reincarnated as a ‘field’ in this world could communicate with Kuroyata and Botan. So, I did my best to project my thoughts at the bird, but it looked like my voice did not manage to reach it.

“Kuwa– kuwaa- kwaakku-”

Kuroyata was making those noises while staring into the distance with its three distinctive eyes. I think it was trying to communicate something to me.

So, I tried looking in the same direction and saw a dust cloud. The dust cloud was approaching us in a very unnatural way… something was coming. It was not a human, it was moving on four legs and… a lizard?

It was not a fantasy staple dragon, but a rather huge lizard with a purple tail. However, the rest of its body blended in perfectly with the sand. If it had not been rushing so fast, I would not have noticed it until it got a bit closer.

It looked like it was about 3 meters long from nose to tail tip. Due to the distance, it was difficult to get accurate estimates.

Should I wake everyone up for this–

“Kuwaaaka!”

Before I could decide what to do, Kuroyata had already flown towards the enemy at a low altitude. It suddenly opened its mouth wide and screamed

“Kuruuaaahhh–!!”

The scream was loud enough to reach me even at such a distance. Moreover, it looked like something invisible was charging towards the lizard, although the only thing I could see was a dust storm flying forward to meet the incoming dust cloud.

Ah, whatever that invisible attack was, it struck the lizard and sent it flying into the air. Had Kuroyata launched some sort of sonic wave attack?

However, it did not look like it was a one-hit-kill kind of attack. Even though the lizard was sent flying through the air, it was still trashing about in a rather lively manner.

Kuroyata accelerated even more. It tucked its wings in and transformed into something like a black bullet. It was even spinning like a drill.

It stabbed through the exposed belly of the lizard beak first and came out through its back so hard that it was bisected in two. The pieces of the lizard crashed to the ground, splattering blood all over the place.

That’s what you call an overwhelming victory, right? Mister Kuroyata?

Kuroyata flew back, the lower half of the lizard clutched in its claws.

It had a rather self-assured demeanour. If it was a human, I’m sure it would be wearing a rather smug and victorious expression on its face.

While it tore into the lizard’s body just next to me, I quietly offered him some mineral water.

At this rate, if monsters turn up singly, it would probably be fine to just leave it to Kuroyata.

Its abilities was so remarkable that even if it started shooting light beams out of its three eyes, I would not be surprised. Well, I’m sure that’s unlikely.

Three more monsters approached, but Kuroyata took care of them swiftly.

Botan was just as unusually strong, going beyond the ‘combat animal’ category. I had to wonder just how strong these two creatures were, exactly. Kuroyata is not only capable of flying but could also use long-distance attacks like that sound wave attack. As for Botan, he has incredible charging power and can run at great speeds.

I had once asked Kikoyu which of the two was stronger, and her answer was thus:

“Um, they do occasionally quarrelled, but had never gotten into a serious fight, so I’m not sure. If asked, Kuroyata and Botan would declare themselves to be the stronger ones.”

She said this with a wry smile, [1] and I could only imagine what had happened to elicit that kind of smile.

From what I had seen of their fighting, I got the impression that they could win against even mid-level hunters.

Kuroyata especially, since he could dominate most opponents with his long and short-distance attacks. Not to mention, being able to fly was a great advantage.

It would be close to impossible to avoid Botan once he had gotten a good running start unless you have beastly strength like Ramis. No, if Botan has built enough momentum, even Ramis may get blown away.

Botan has a straightforward, one-hit destructive charge while Kuroyata could deal with all kinds of opponents with his flying ability and sonic attacks. Their combined powers make for a well-balanced team.

The bird in question is preening itself gracefully on top of my head. It looked so composed and dignified that I could not help but be fascinated by it.

Intelligence fairly oozes from its every movement. Still, surely he can’t be smarter than the average human?

Just then, Kuroyata flapped its wings and dropped the plastic bottle I had given to him just now.

W-wait, the label had been peeled off and the cap removed… had he seen me sort the bottles out using <Telekinesis> and just mimicked something that I do out of old habits?

Surely that kind of intelligence is too high? Could it be possible that the soul inside Kuroyata came from a reincarnated person?

[Gumihou: Oho, that would certainly be interesting~]

[1] Add detail

[2] The original text was ‘Ko yo i’ because Hakkon can’t say ‘mi’ for ‘ko yo mi’ aka calendar. However, this crucial bit of information is non-transferable and went with ‘what that’ along with the following changes.

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