The Fervent Sand Baths

by Nagaharu Hibihana

  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 som
ething 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.