Chapter 117.1: Catch Those Chimeras
◆The Destroyer, Kuroki
Sanukira desert, which covered almost the entire area of the Gypseal region, had a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees during the day. For that reason, the citizens of Gypseal slept during the day when the temperature was high and started their activities in the evening.
A while after we came out from the rampart of the Putaha kingdom, we were welcomed by the scenery of the endless sea of sand. The crimson-red evening sun was shining over the yellow sea, and the wind, mixed in with speckles of sand, blew lightly on my face.
It was a scenery that never existed in Nargol. I felt rather emotional upon seeing it.
After this, we were going to go to the place where chimeras appeared frequently.
The way to move into this place was the problem.
Back on Earth, the most famous way to cross the desert was by using camels as they were the only animal who could move comfortably over a long distance in the desert.
And yet, for some reason, I couldn’t find any camels after arriving in Gypseal.
Well, I had no idea whether camels existed in this world though. Even if they did exist, I doubt they’d be used as the main transportation method for trade in Gypseal. Gypseal had the Nyar River basin flowing in its entire area, so the main transportation method was through riverboats.
For the citizens of Gypseal, the desert wasn’t a place to walk in. Even traveling merchants had never opted to cross the desert, they only moved from city-state to city-state through the river
Totona and I were currently riding a massive tank. This massive tank was pulled by golem horses made from orichalcum, and was lent to us by the king of Putaha Kingdom. The dwarf king readily lent this enchanted tank when Kepler asked him.
Maybe because it was something made for nobles, it was huge in size, which made it more comfortable for Totona and me to ride it together.
The enchanted wheels made of orichalcum ran on the desert without a hitch.
Nevertheless, since we borrowed this, we couldn’t drive it too far away from the city. We promised the king to only use it until we arrived at the location where chimeras came out frequently. And once we caught the chimeras, we would go straight to Arnak.
It was good for us that there was no problem in leaving the enchanted tank behind since it had an auto-return function.
「Totona. Wait a second.」
「Is something the matter, Ku— I mean, Medjed?」
Totona almost called me out by my real name before she corrected it in a hurry. Well, my current appearance was that of Medjed, covered in white cloth from head to toe. My identity might be discovered if she doesn’t get used to my alias immediately.
「Totona, why do you think those chimeras often appear around the oasis? I mean, they don’t need that much water right?」
They had fire resistance since they could breathe fire from their mouth, thus having no problem with moving during the day. And chimeras with fire resistance rarely needed water.
「Medjed, it’s true that chimeras don’t need water. But, their prey need water. That’s why they gathered around the nearby oasis.」
「I see…」
I nodded upon hearing Totona’s explanation.
「Rather than that, Medjed. Why do you keep moving your hips restlessly since a while ago?」
Asked Totona as she controlled the tank.
Controlling the enchanted horse was pretty easy. Even Totona, who was riding a tank for the first time, had no problem in controlling it.
「Well, it’s not a big deal, Totona. The string of my loincloth seems to be loosening, it feels like it’s about to drop anytime soon.」
Since I wasn’t offered any underwear, I had coiled a loincloth beneath the white cloth that I wore.
To hide my smell from the Gypseal citizens who were sensitive to smell, I had to let go of the clothes I had brought from Nargol, take a bath, and use anise perfume on my body. Anise was a first-class item that was used to erase odors when making mummies.
Surely, it did erase my odor.
But, the problem was the cloth I was wearing. Just in case, I had twined a white cloth around my waist to become a loincloth for when I have to turn around. But then, the string that held the loincloth got loosened. It was my mistake for not choosing my attire properly. Thus, I was racking my brain to find a solution.
When I pressed it with my hand to prevent a slip, the motion of the tank worsened.
「Can’t be helped I guess, should I just take it off…」
After muttering so in a low voice, I unfastened the loincloth that was wrapped around my waist.
With this, I wore nothing but this white cloth that covered my entire body. I felt like a flasher wandering around in the middle of the night, but also felt an absolute sense of liberation.
Why did I feel that way I wonder?
I mean, it wasn’t just my lower body, it felt like my heart was liberated too.
Was this what they called mental growth?
Felt like I was just unmasking all the trouble in my heart.
「Fufufufufu.」
I felt really moved and ended up chuckling for no reason.
「Is something the matter, Medjed?」
Totona was looking in my direction, maybe she realized my mental growth.
「N-NO! IT’S NOTHING, TOTONA!!」
「Is that so?」
After trying to gloss over it with a forced laugh, Totona faced the front again.
“Totona-cha~n. I’m actually buck nake~d under this piece of clo~th.” Was what I thought as I enjoyed the breeze on my waist.
….
………
…………
THE HE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CK!! WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I THINKING ABOU~~~~~~~~~~~~T!! NO MATTER HOW MUCH I THINK ABOUT IT, I’M JUST A PERVE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~RT!!
I unintentionally screamed inside. I was actually so close to unleashing myself. Surely, there was this sense of absolute liberation, but I would be treated as a pervert once it was known that I was buck-naked under this piece of cloth. I would be hated by women for doing something like this.
I’ve been getting along with Totona and didn’t want her to hate me, I enjoyed our conversations after all. And if I act thoughtlessly…
「Eh?」
This wasn’t the time to fool around like this.
I felt something unusual in front of us.
「TOTONA!! SOMEONE’S COMING AT US FROM THE FRONT!!」
Totona nodded when I told her so, it seems she sensed the other party too.
「It might be the chimeras.」
Totona raised the gear of the tank. There was still quite some distance between us. But, I could already see the figure of our assailant at this distance.
The ones being attacked were four women and a man with a goat head, and the ones who were attacking them were even smaller. There were dozens of them.
I had no idea who the assailants were since they wore sand-coloured cloaks.
「Are those sand demons? So they’re not chimeras. What should we do, Kuro— I mean, Medjed?」
Totona asked after confirming the identity of the assailant with farsight magic.
I heard about sand demons before. Sand demons were descendants of the goblin who migrated to the desert a really long time ago, so they were part of the goblin race. In addition, they were just like the ghoul race, non-believers.
Sand demons made a living by plundering the citizens of Gypseal. Naturally, the dogfolk who protected the public order in Gypseal had tried to exterminate the sand demons, but the sand demons were too tenacious and multiplied way too fast.
The sand demons were riding on giant sand rats to attack the travelers. On the other hand, their target was walking on foot.
Upon a closer look the man had fallen to the other side. He was the unlucky one who received the surprise attack. The ones who would somehow survive despite being on foot will probably be the women.
It was easy to guess the sand demons’ intentions.
They’re no different from goblins in this regard.
「WE SAVE THEM OF COURSE!! IT’S BETTER TO SAVE THE GYPSEAL CITIZENS AFTER ALL!!」
It was a show of goodwill to the gods of Gypseal. That’s why we should save them.
「I understand. Let’s do as you say, Ku— I mean, Medjed.」
Totona nodded.
「I’M GOING FIRST, TOTONA!!」
I jumped from the tank as I said so to Totona. I jumped with my all toward the assault scene.
「WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!」
I landed right in front of the sand demons.
「WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!! A MONSTER?!!」
The man with the goat head fell on his rear the moment he saw my figure. The women by his side were equally surprised. And the baby embraced by another woman started to cry.
“I’m not a monster” Was what I wanted to tell them, but I guess it could wait for later.
「WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!! A MONSTER?!!」
The sand demons said the same thing as their target.
Do I really look like a monster in this form?