13

With the cleanup done, I quickly left the school.

The stench was unbearable, and I wanted to wash off the blood that had gotten all over me.

A school should have at least a water tank, but I had no intention of using something the goblins likely drank from daily.

I knew I couldn’t be too picky, but at least let me search for alternatives.

What I found was… an old garbage bin that had filled with rainwater.

Yeah—no. Full of insects.

In the end, I ended up using water from the sewers. But since no wastewater had flowed through them for years and only rainwater had been running in, it surprisingly didn’t smell too bad and was cleaner than most surface water I’d found.

Cracks in the collapsed road had allowed ventilation, too.

Nature really was amazing.

Still, I preferred civilization—so with my body freshly cleaned, I went back to collect my belongings and resume exploring.

The lingering goblin stench in places still bothered me, but I kept checking houses and shops one by one until the sun was directly overhead.

To lighten my load, I ate all the remaining hardtack and chewed on some jerky.

For a human, it would be bite-sized, but for me it was barely satisfying.

I’d already drunk half the water stored in a liquor bottle, so I resumed the search.

While gathering still-legible books and newspaper remnants, I found a mountaineering backpack.

It was big enough for me to pass my arm through. I couldn’t wear it normally, but with straps or rope, it would easily work, and it had the capacity and durability I needed.

It also had attachments for carrying various mountaineering tools, so with some modifications, it would become even more useful.

Excited, I searched for more tools and potentially valuable information.

By the time I was done, the mountaineering pack had a belt rig that let me carry it, my wrapped magic sword strapped to one side, and a well-preserved shovel on the other.

“Gah-haah!”

I couldn’t help but roar in satisfaction.

With the extra capacity, I secured more clean bottles, some usable cloth and sheets, and cookware like pots and pans.

Information? That could wait.

Convinced there was more to find, I scoured the shops with single-minded determination.

That’s when I found a shopping mall.

The open atrium meant I could actually go inside—how thoughtful!

I was overjoyed.

Nothing on display in the storefronts was usable anymore.

The real prize would be in the back rooms—unopened stock.

Couldn’t fit through the storeroom door? Easy—just break it.

And so, riding the high of my discovery, I looted my way through the mall until sunset.

Then I looked at the massive pile of loot I’d gathered and thought, “There’s no way I can carry all this.” Definitely a lesson to be learned.

Still, I now had to pick only what I truly needed from the mountain of stuff I could barely even remember collecting.

I started sorting through it, but with every “I want this” and “I want that,” I got nowhere.

I thought being rational would help, but it was surprisingly hard to decide.

At least the pots were necessary—they’d be useful for boiling water and cooking.

Knives could go; I had the magic sword, so the machete and kitchen knives I’d taken were unnecessary.

(Hmm, maybe a multi-purpose kitchen knife… no, it’s awkward to handle at this size. Best cut it from the list.)

I sometimes had to swallow my pride and put things back, but the sorting continued.

Before I knew it, night had fallen.

In the end, I kept some clean cloth, an unopened blue tarp, two pots, and five bottles.

I also chose a sledgehammer and a barbecue iron plate.

I’d wanted a metal grill, but sadly none were intact.

The unopened blue tarp was strapped to my modified backpack, the iron plate could hang from it, and I’d just carry the sledgehammer in my right hand.

The backpack still had over half its capacity left, which I’d save for food.

(In that case, I’ll need something to hold the food… oh, here we go.)

I added a large cooler box and slung it over my left shoulder.

Now it was complete.

(…What is this getup?)

It went beyond suspicious—I looked absurd.

Seeing my reflection in a mall mirror brought me back to reality.

It was the same feeling as the “ultimate model kit” I’d built as a kid—everything slapped together.

But ugly or not, it wasn’t wasteful. The gear was all chosen for practicality… well, except maybe the sledgehammer.

Honestly, I was probably stronger bare-handed.

Still, it looked cool, so why not bring it?

Besides, I could swing it one-handed and crush goblins without getting my hands dirty—not useless at all.

It was too late to explore efficiently now, so I decided to sleep here for the night.

I’d already picked a spot—a furniture store I’d found while looting.

The ceilings were high enough that I could enter if I ducked.

I dropped my pack, gathered beds and mattresses into a sleeping spot big enough for me, and barricaded the entrance with broken furniture.

I lay down on my makeshift bed and quietly closed my eyes.

Good morning from the shopping mall.

It was already dawn, meaning I must have actually slept.

Since night hadn’t fallen that long before, I’d slept for quite a while.

This led to a troubling thought.

(Could it be that in this body, I just don’t feel tiredness, hunger, or thirst?)

If so, I’d need strict self-management—a real hassle.

I’d considered the possibility before, but if it were true, I wouldn’t know my “proper intake” at all, making it even more annoying.

For now, I decided to slightly increase my food and water intake and took stock of my supplies.

Jerky: probably about 300 g left.

Water: none.

Hunting now took priority over exploration.

Even if I boiled sewer water, I’d prefer not to drink it.

(Maybe I should use the info I gathered yesterday to head for the river.)

I didn’t think I was short on time.

The magazines and newspapers I’d gathered weren’t going anywhere, so there was no need to rush.

Resupply came first.

I left behind some bulky items and ran east.

Testing my modified pack, I gradually increased my speed, reaching the river without incident.

If the return trip went as smoothly, it would be fine.

I bathed in the river, drank its water, and caught some fish.

The ones I didn’t eat immediately went into the cooler.

I lit a fire, grilled some fish, and boiled water in a pot.

Since the river water was safe to drink, I bottled most of it, but I still prepared one boiled bottle just in case.

I ate the grilled fish with some salty jerky, then stretched and moved my body.

Compared to before, my movements were definitely smoother, and I could use my tail freely again.

Its thickness and range of motion still made it hard to grab things, but I’d gotten better at slamming it down.

One day, I wanted to be able to grab and throw things with it.

After the slightly late breakfast and water refill, I returned to my mall base.

Running through the forest was getting easier—at about 60% of my top speed, I could move without trouble.

Thanks to that, I made it back by early afternoon.

(For a body this big, that speed’s cheating…)

On top of that, I’d run for over three hours without rest and barely felt winded. My stamina was becoming inhuman.

But today’s work would be mental.

I began reading through the magazines and newspapers for information from the time.

I didn’t find much of what I wanted, but I learned a few things.

First: the war. As expected, the situation had been deteriorating badly.

In particular, the western front had collapsed after a failed operation—probably the destruction of a forward base.

If we assume the news was censored, the reality might have been even worse. Clearly, the elves had been a formidable foe.

There were brief mentions of evacuations from inland cities, so it was possible several had fallen.

In contrast, the north and east were at a stalemate, while the south was reportedly holding the advantage.

I doubted that last part, so I mentally downgraded it a step or two.

Second: not especially important, but as expected, there was nothing on the “Genetically Enhanced Soldiers.”

I didn’t even find “introduction of new weapons,” so I had to assume my existence had been covered up until the war’s end.

And the most important point: the dates.

Nothing past May of Imperial Year 1667.

I even went out to search again, but nothing I found had a later date.

(It’s as if…)

Then I finally found the latest article—May 25th, 1667—its headline: “Decision Made to Deploy the Final Weapon.”

As a born-and-bred Imperial, the sense of dread was immediate.

I muttered aloud, though to no one, “My homeland… did you actually blow yourselves up?”

Gazing at the sky, growling quietly, I kept searching until sundown, but nothing past that date turned up.

I doubted I’d find more here.

(If I want confirmation, it has to be in another city—or better yet, the capital.)

I added one more goal to my plans.

As long as I had something to do, I could probably keep going without losing my mind.