“Still… the destination’s a lot farther than I expected,” I muttered absently.
“Hm?” Saria looked over, tilting her head.
It had been about three days since we’d left Terbelle, and the thought just slipped out. Judging by Saria’s nod, though, she was feeling the same way.
“Now that you say it, yeah! We’ve been walking forever!”
“Right? I knew I wasn’t imagining it…”
“But maybe it feels long because there’s no one around? Not even any monsters.”
“Ahh, good point…”
She was right. Ever since we ran into that Camel-Daruma thing, we hadn’t encountered a single monster.
In fact, there was nothing out here, not a single living creature, not even a blade of grass.
It didn’t really affect me, but watching the sweat pour off Al and Saria made it pretty clear how hot this place was. I mean, it’s not like I can’t feel the heat because of my equipment or anything, okay? I actually took it off only because Al said I looked too hot just standing there. But even without it, I didn’t feel hot at all. Honestly, at this point, I’ve pretty much given up on pretending I’m still human.
Even with the blazing sun directly overhead, I wasn’t sweating in the slightest.
If I keep thinking about it, it’ll start messing with my head, so let’s just put that aside for now.
Still, Saria was probably right; the trip felt so long because there was nothing around us. No distractions, only endless, empty heat.
That’s when Al, who had been listening in with an exasperated look, chimed in.
“You keep saying we’ve walked a lot, but in terms of distance covered per day? It’s not that impressive. It just feels longer because there’s nothing to break it up. Saria’s right.”
“Really? Huh… I guess the only time I remember going on a long trip was when we headed to Barbodel Magic Academy.”
“Sometimes I forget, given how ridiculous you are in combat, but Seiichi, you’ve never actually done long-term travel before, have you?”
“Wait… did you just call me ridiculous?!”
It’s true, though. When it comes to raw power, I’m completely off the charts, but when it comes to basic adventuring experience, I’m basically a newbie. The contrast is pretty wild when I stop and think about it.
As I stood there stunned by Al’s blunt commentary, she gave me a dry, half-lidded stare.
“Try reflecting on your own actions before acting shocked.”
“Isn’t this normal behavior?”
“It is not normal!”
This is absurd. I mean, if anyone here should count as your average, everyday guy, it’s gotta be me… right?
“Well, whether or not you count as normal doesn’t really matter at this point.”
“W-Wait, doesn’t matter…”
“Just remember one thing. When you go on an expedition like this, you’re supposed to camp out and sleep in the field. So, what have we been doing?”
“Uh… we teleport back to Terbelle with magic, sleep in a comfy inn bed, then start again from the same spot the next day?”
“Right. And you still think any of that is normal?”
What the hell… Somewhere along the line, I apparently stopped being a normal person. And I wasn’t even trying to…
Now that she mentioned it, she was totally right. I hadn’t made any preparations for sleeping outdoors. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that I might need to. Meanwhile, Al always kept a full camping kit stocked in her item box, ready for whenever we needed it.
This is the difference between someone who’s been an adventurer for years… and some clueless schmuck pretending to be one.
And I was never going to forget the look on Al’s face—blank, lifeless, spiritually transcendent—when I casually said, “Huh? Why not just teleport home and come back tomorrow?”
I mean… why wouldn’t you choose the more comfortable option? If there’s a bed, I’m gonna use it. That’s just common sense. Let’s all agree on that, okay?
Anyway, I was pretty sure Routier and the others who left ahead of us were actually camping out like proper adventurers. Zora probably didn’t know much about that stuff, since she grew up in a dungeon, and Lulune… well, she was a lost cause. But even if Routier had that sheltered noble girl vibe, she’d been traveling with members of the Demon Lord’s Army for a while. There’s no way they wouldn’t have taught her how to handle herself in the wild.
Besides, they’ve got Origa with them, the one who seems the most used to traveling alone. She probably had it covered.
“Still… doesn’t the ground around here feel kinda uneven to you?” I asked, frowning.
“Yeah, totally! One wrong step and I might trip,” Saria agreed, watching her footing carefully.
“Right? And even if we haven’t seen any living creatures, it’s starting to look like something’s been through here.”
At first, the land had been nothing but sun-scorched earth, dry and cracked beneath our feet. But now, the terrain had changed, riddled with holes as if something had burrowed into it. Just as Al had pointed out, we started noticing bones scattered here and there. Animal bones, by the look of it. Whatever had once lived here was long gone, but the traces remained.
We were still in the middle of that conversation, walking and scanning our surroundings, when something suddenly caught our eyes.
A massive shape loomed ahead, its form looking strangely… plantlike.
“Hm? What’s that?” I asked, squinting into the distance.
“No idea,” Al replied flatly. “Well, considering we haven’t seen a single plant this whole time, and now one huge, ridiculously obvious one shows up right in front of us… Yeah, no one would blame us for being a little suspicious,” she added, narrowing her eyes.
She had a point. Up until now, not a single blade of grass had grown in this wasteland. And yet, there it was, a giant plant towering in the distance. Anyone in their right mind would be on high alert.
As we got closer, the whole thing came into view. The “flower” at the top of the plant looked exactly like the muzzle of a cannon: big, round, and ominously hollow. It practically screamed that it was going to shoot something.
“Uh… I mean, I’m pretty sure we’re all thinking the same thing here, but… we should probably avoid that thing, right?”
“Obviously,” Al replied, her cheek twitching as she nodded.
I mean, come on. It’s obvious now… Those holes in the ground? That plant’s the culprit. Case closed.
I immediately turned on my heel, intent on putting some distance between us and that botanical death machine. But then, just as we were about to move, the giant plant turned, aiming its cannon-like flower directly at us.
“—! Get down!” Al shouted.
We dove, scattering in different directions just in time. A fraction of a second later, something tore through the air at terrifying speed, blasting straight into the spot we’d been standing.
When the dust settled, we looked back at the impact site, hearts pounding. Embedded in the ground, still smoking, was something about the size of a human head: a massive seed, by the look of it.
“W-Whoa, that scared the hell out of me.”
“Yeah… anyway, let’s just stay away from—”
But before I could even finish, the seed began to split open.
Right before our dumbfounded eyes, it grew. Rapidly.