205

It was absurd to fear something whose existence was not even certain.

At this stage, it was only a possibility.

It was something to be wary of, but with so little information, there was no need to spend time thinking about it.

Therefore, the only thing I had to do right now was “tattle to the elves.”

A reincarnator who might possess dangerous technology called “taboo,” capable of destroying the world, or something similar to it.

I had no intention of willingly getting involved with something like that.

In fact, I did not even want to get close.

So the best option was to dump the whole matter on the elves, who could more or less be called specialists.

Leaving things to others was the best.

I had no plans to enter Seizeria’s territory, so that matter was now over.

It was information that had hindered my exploration of the blank zone, but there was no doubt that it had been useful.

In that case, I wanted to guarantee a journey that matched its value, but… due to my circumstances, that would depend on luck.

Listening to Boobs Lady talk made me feel like she had rather poor luck, which was a little frightening.

“If we’re going to move, the sooner the better. Check whether you forgot anything underground.”

In any case, nothing would begin unless we moved, so I urged her to depart.

Our first goal was to head straight south and find the remains of a town.

Sals or Dauslouk were the candidates, but since they hadn’t been that large in scale, the problem was how much of their forms remained.

In the worst case, we would have to bet on the cities around the Imperial Capital still remaining and travel along the outer edge of the desert.

After going south, the route would turn west-southwest, but this seemed likely to test my sense of distance quite a bit.

Before that, I took care of something I had forgotten.

“Also, I’ll leave this with y… you. If possible, I’d like you to appraise these as well.”

The way I called her in my head almost slipped out, but I handed Boobs Lady the short wand that was part of the spoils.

“Ah, I knew you’d bring it if it was you.”

Boobs Lady held the wand she had received and traced it with her fingers.

It was a wooden wand about thirty centimeters long.

I heard later that long ones were called staves, while short ones were called wands.

Apparently, the former often emphasized power, while the latter often emphasized speed and precision.

Since this was a trade, she would teach me whatever she knew about magic.

Incidentally, the amulet I had given her was broken and no longer usable.

Apparently, it had broken because its purpose had been forcibly altered, so I had also added an appraisal request in case she was familiar with how tools were used.

As for the gemstones, by applying special measures to them, it became possible to temporarily obtain various effects, or to use the gemstones themselves as catalysts for advanced magic. Their uses were broad, so she apparently could not tell the exact details at a glance.

Most of the items obtained this time were meant to be used for powerful magic, and since some gemstones had been adjusted to support that, Boobs Lady declared that if they had been used, the damage would not have been small.

“The attributes are water and fire, so… expansion? Swelling? It’s too forceful, but was the goal a violent discharge? This isn’t all of them, right? Then the missing part should have wind.”

Boobs Lady muttered to herself while looking at the gemstone in her hand.

Once her thoughts came together, the conclusion she gave was “large-scale freezing.”

“They should have known from the prior information that fire wasn’t effective, so I’d say it was a reasonable choice. Or rather, too ordinary. They probably had other hidden cards too.”

Boobs Lady spoke proudly, but who exactly was it that leaked that information?

As I spoke that through my gaze, I pushed my face close, and Boobs Lady looked away.

Then one person called out to her.

“――. ―――”

Rena, who was probably finished preparing, was most likely urging Boobs Lady to hurry.

She hurriedly gathered her belongings, but since she had no backpack-like item, she cut down a curtain from underground and used it in place of a bag.

The problem was its contents… bottles of alcohol were naturally stuffed inside.

Boobs Lady said, “I need goods to sell,” but there was no doubt that she had included her own drinking portion too.

I sighed in exasperation, spread out an old map from inside my backpack, and traced the planned route with my finger to confirm it.

I wanted to replenish our water supply too. In that case, we would make a detour to a river once… like this?

While roughly assembling the plan in my head, I turned my face sideways and gazed at Boobs Lady’s wonderful cleavage as she peered at the spread-out map, then lightly tapped key points with my finger.

Also, I did not forget to appeal that I had only adjusted the position of my head so it would not cast a shadow, and that I had no ulterior motive.

“Water replenishment and… the places where Old Imperial towns used to be, huh?”

When I nodded, Boobs Lady, who had guessed my objective, also nodded.

Rena, who had gathered the usable things from underground, seemed to have finished preparing as well. We looked at each other and set out.

Rather than having two people without even shoes walk, it was overwhelmingly faster for me to carry them and run, so the two of them sat on my shoulders.

I would deliberately shake various things.

Incidentally, I left the wand with Boobs Lady because I was counting on her magic.

When I ran through the forest using both my arms and legs, the left side shook violently from the vibration, while the right side remained quiet.

Unable to balance herself properly, she ended up grabbing my face, and breasts and tiny breasts were pressed against me from both sides.

That was the moment Tiny Chest Girl was born.

“Can’t you, somehow, do something about this!?”

Boobs Lady’s breasts shook, bounced, and pressed against me.

While savoring the sensation of them pressing violently from the back of my head to my cheek with soft squishes, I turned back and adjusted the position they hit while saying, “Adjustments are currently underway.”

I should be allowed to have at least this much benefit.

Unexpectedly, Tiny Chest Girl was already adapting, and was gradually only placing her hand against my head.

Even so, she was saying something to me, but unfortunately, I did not understand. On top of that, whether it had not reached Boobs Lady on the opposite side or she simply had no leeway, there was no translation.

The question, “Could her athletic ability actually be better?” came to mind, but the answer was that I was deliberately running in a way that made the left side shake.

The forest was a bad road, so it could not be helped.

While somehow having Boobs Lady translate Tiny Chest Girl’s impression that “a terrible carriage is about like this,” I ran south and farther south, leaning slightly eastward.

And then we arrived at a river.

Boobs Lady muttered that she had gotten motion sickness for the first time in a while, but I would appreciate it if she did not treat people like vehicles.

As expected, I could not move at full speed while carrying the two of them, so despite the time it took, we had not covered much distance.

It was just about to become evening, but remembering that not much time had passed since they had been rescued, I decided to camp here.

When I informed them that they should rest properly tonight and prepare for tomorrow, Boobs Lady, looking unexpectedly surprised, thanked me and said, “That helps.”

“I’ll handle setting up camp. If you have anything to do by the water, take care of it.”

I indirectly guided them toward taking off their clothes by implying, “If you want to bathe, now is the time.”

However, this season and this time of day apparently were not suited for that, so they used the time to rest.

My expectation missed, but I had a second secret plan properly prepared.

First, I diligently made a hearth.

Tiny Chest Girl, who had comparatively more stamina left, also went into the forest and gathered deadwood.

Boobs Lady alone was lying on a large rock, covering her face with her arm as she recovered from motion sickness.

Apparently, I had gotten carried away and shaken her too much.

I poured the small remaining amount of water from the plastic tank into a pot and set it on the hearth.

I gathered nearby branches and dead leaves, took a fire-starting magic item from the backpack I had placed on the ground, and stuck the stick I had pinched between my fingers into the hearth.

“A fire-starting stick…? Weren’t you breathing fire?”

A question flew over from Boobs Lady as she watched me use the tool.

“That was magic. If a professional mistakes it, that means it is useful as a trick.”

“Ah, come to think of it, you were using magic.”

When I asked for her impression, she evaluated it by saying, “It would be difficult to distinguish at a glance in that instant.”

It seemed like it was not a bad method after all.

Also, the name “fire-starting stick,” which I had been indebted to for a long time, was apparently a nickname. Its official name seemed to include someone’s name, and it was a convenient tool used not only by hunters but also in ordinary households.

“It was invented before I was born, so I don’t remember the official name.”

When the fire would not catch easily, Boobs Lady lightly waved her wand, and the inside of the hearth ignited.

Looking at the small amount of deadwood beginning to crackle and burn, I glanced around, thinking it was insufficient to boil water.

Then, conveniently, Tiny Chest Girl had returned.

For the time being, she had gathered enough to maintain the fire for a while, so I would first boil water with this.

Turning it into drinkable water by boiling it could wait until after they fell asleep, so first I would have the two of them use it.

I handed Boobs Lady, who was dressed in a way that looked cold, a handmade apron, and I secured fish at the river.

I moved rocks to make a simple fish pen, then threw fish into it one after another.

Then I found small crabs and shrimp.

I thought, “This is where that comes in,” and caught those too, intending to throw them into the fish pen, but they looked likely to be eaten by the fish I had put in first, so I brought them back with me.

In front of the hearth, Boobs Lady was transferring the boiled water into a washbasin.

Wondering if such a thing had also been underground, I left the questionable purpose unspoken. Since I could predict what she intended to do, I took two towels from my backpack and handed them over.

While glancing sideways at Tiny Chest Girl receiving them, I poured water from the plastic tank into the pot and returned it to the hearth.

As I boiled the water, I took out tools, quickly formed a cooking area, and began preparing the crustaceans.

While catching sight of Boobs Lady’s naked upper body at the edge of my vision, I was carefully removing the veins from the small shrimp when Tiny Chest Girl looked at me and froze with her mouth open.

Then, because the hand wiping her back had stopped, Boobs Lady also looked in the same direction, wondering if something had happened.

As if only now noticing, I moved my face and our gazes met, but my hands were still removing shrimp veins.

Ignoring Boobs Lady, who was looking at me with an exasperated face, I threw the prepared crustaceans into the pot.

After that, I only had to leave it until the stock came out, so I prepared a campfire to grill the fish.

Since the two of them were wiping their bodies with hot water, it was also necessary for warmth, so the timing was just right.

While watching the two of them switch places after wiping themselves down, I took cups and spoons out of my backpack and looked for a nearly flat rock that could serve as a table. I could not find one, but I was able to stack stones at random and make something like chairs.

As expected, I could not use the case containing the spirit sword, so this was probably the limit outdoors.

I brought river fish from the fish pen I had made, removed their innards with practiced movements, carefully sprinkled them with salt, and skewered them.

After that, I stuck them into the ground in front of the campfire, and the preparations were complete.

Finally, I tasted the soup in the pot and adjusted it with salt—and dinner was finished.

But before that, I had to wash my hands, so I happily scrubbed them in the river water and returned. There, the two of them were waiting for the fish to finish grilling.

I lightly raised my hand as if to say, “Did I keep you waiting?” and passed beside the two of them. Then I sat down, poured the soup into cups, and handed it to them.

After that, as I bit into the grilled fish and enjoyed the soup from the pot, Tiny Chest Girl let out an impressed “Ooh.”

Then Boobs Lady said, “Just what are you aiming to become?” and gave me a strange look.

If it was good, she could simply say so honestly. That was what I thought, but this person probably had all sorts of circumstances of her own, so I grabbed the knot of the towel on her back with my tail and dragged it down for her.