“I found one! Location: southeast of Sandra Kingdom — the Rabi Desert!”
I was leisurely having breakfast when the dining-room door burst open and Leen and Paula came charging in. A jackpot! grin plastered to her face.
“In the desert, in an old ancient ruin — apparently there’s a stone pillar with the same six magic-stone setup as the Nilya Ruins! Buried under the sand now, apparently!”
“Oh. Nice.”
I kept chewing my toast, holding out my glass for Lapis-san to top up with juice. Breakfast is the day’s fuel. Got to eat properly. No time to be hearing about troublesome things first thing in the morning.
“…lewd underwear.”
“Speak more. Rabi Desert?”
Tch — she remembered. Felt the temperature drop around the breakfast table — but reacting means losing. Got to play it casual.
“South of Mismid, beyond the Great Forest — the scorching country, Sandra Kingdom. The Rabi Desert is in its southeast.”
“After the sea, a desert… that pervert Doctor isn’t messing with me, is she…?”
Since she can peer into the future, she might be peering at right now too. I glared up at the ceiling without thinking.
Well — 5,000 years of geological change is real, so she wouldn’t deliberately target this kind of thing. …I want to believe that. Why can’t I? Because her face — that smirk — flashes in my head.
“So — going to the ruins?”
“Of course. We’ll find ancient relics. Hopefully it’s the Library.”
Leen was all in. Honestly, I’m not enthusiastic. I glanced sideways at Cesca, standing beside me.
“What is it?”
“Just — thinking I’m about to acquire another one of you.”
“Wine and women, hedoniSm.”
“Enough — don’t speak.”
My head hurts…
What to do. Not sure we need to acquire it that badly — that’s the honest take. But the promise to Leen, plus the Doctor’s message about Phrase destroying the ancient kingdom… that’s what’s nagging.
If it’s nothing, great. But if “Babylon’s power” turns out to be needed — regret won’t fix it then.
“All right, let’s go. Cesca, prep the Garden.”
“Yes, masteR.”
While Leen and Paula celebrated, everyone else got up with mild here we go expressions and headed off to prep.
Right — that empty Reflet house I transferred to the Garden is still sitting there. Was thinking it could be a getaway lodge, but it needs work. House itself isn’t damaged, and it’s spacious enough — usable.
Could fix it up during the trip.
The Garden lifted off from Belfast, headed straight south, past Mismid, toward Sandra.
The Garden’s speed is probably about the same as an airplane. Probably — I’ve never actually flown. Not from fear of heights — just never had the occasion.
“ETA approximately four hourS.”
Fast? Slow? Hard to say. Plenty of time. May as well sort the empty house.
I unlocked the relocated house in the corner of the Garden and went in. Condition’s not bad. Cleaning should be enough.
“All right — I’ll take the second floor.”
”…I’ll do the kitchen and dining room.”
“Sessha shall handle the first-floor living room primarily, indeed.”
“Then I’ll take the entryway and corridor. Touya-san, please handle repairs to broken parts, plus the plumbing and lighting upgrades.”
Everyone briskly divided up roles. Right — plumbing. I clapped a hand. No running water here. Wait — the Garden has water channels, doesn’t it? Otherwise the plants would’ve withered ages ago.
I went to the monolith controlling the Garden and asked Cesca. Apparently the Doctor’s water-generating artifact powers it.
She showed me to a small fountain — water welled up there, fed into the channels, ran through the Garden. The water was purified and returned to the fountain. …That’s a perpetual motion machine, isn’t…? No — stop thinking. Physics doesn’t apply against magic.
“Is the flow rate fixed?”
“No. Evaporation occurS, so when the volume drops, output increases to restore the targeT.”
So drawing from here won’t break anything.
“Drinkable?”
“No harm to the human bodY.”
Then let’s use it. Same trick as the Silver Moon onsen — short pipe set into the fountain. Return pipe set into the Garden’s downstream end where it gets purified.
I went to Linze cleaning the kitchen, hauled out the water-storage barrels, used [Modeling] for a sink. A mithril sink gleamed brilliantly. Faucet mounted above; pipe behind it [Gate]‘d to the fountain. Drain to the return pipe, naturally.
I turned the tap — water ran. Linze was startled at first, but quickly experimented with the faucet on and off.
While I was at it — toilet too. Western, flush-style. Couldn’t cut corners on this one. The drainpipe routed not here but to my own home’s toilet, naturally.
And then the bath — same setup. Shower included. Pretty good, no?
That leaves lighting. Enchanted with [Light] — when the user channels their own mana through it, it lights for several hours. [Light] isn’t a mana-heavy spell anyway.
Done, more or less? — wait, where are Leen and Paula?
Searched for the two (?), found them at the monolith — along with Kōhaku, Sango, Kokuyō, and Cesca. All staring at the monolith’s screen.
“What are you doing?”
“Spotted a complication. Possibly survivors. We’re still short of Sandra, but already in desert. No one passes through here normally.”
The screen showed the ground below. In the desert, a small group with a baggage-laden camel, draped in ragged sun-cloaks, trudged feebly. About ten people? Awfully little baggage for that.
“If they’re stranded, shouldn’t we help?”
“How? By revealing the existence of Babylon — to random strangers? What if they’re criminals or wanted men? Marching through here at all isn’t normal. That’s the complication.”
Right. Fair. Yumina’s magic eye can clock evil intent, but they might not all be saints. Then again — if just one’s a bad actor, abandoning him in the desert isn’t a great look either.
“Doesn’t matter. Let’s help. Even without bringing them aboard, I can [Gate] them to Mismid or Belfast.”
Just — how to approach them. Popping up in front of them will trigger panic.
“You might want to hurrY.”
“Eh?”
The monolith Cesca pointed at showed a massive creature erupting from the sand directly in front of the survivors.
What is that!? Insect!? Some kind of giant caterpillar — or earthworm. The entire front section was a mouth — sharp teeth densely lining the inside in a full 360 degrees.
“Sandcrawler. A desert beast that swallows prey along with the sand.”
Leen glared at the screen and murmured the creature’s name. On the screen, three of the survivors had hefted swords and axes and charged. Outmatched. No mage among them, and the fighters aren’t skilled. Only a matter of time.
“I’m going!”
I opened a [Gate] and burst out toward the ground.
I emerged above the Sandcrawler and rained Brünhild rounds down on it. Not regular rounds — explosive rounds, enchanted with [Explosion]. The Sandcrawler writhed, spraying disturbing bodily fluid.
I landed on the sand, focused mana in my right hand, chanted Linze’s spell:
“Water, come — pure-clean blade — Aqua Cutter.”
The released blade of pressurized water sheared off the Sandcrawler’s “neck” — or whatever it was. Uah — kind of gross, even doing it myself…
The cut surface sprayed white, green, sickening fluids; the thing slowly toppled into the sand. Even then, it kept undulating disturbingly for a while before going still.
Ugh… They say eels twitch for a while after the head’s removed, but this is graphically too much. Next time, full-roast it.
I holstered Brünhild and was wincing at the corpse when one of the survivors walked over. Long-sword in hand, face hidden under the cloak’s hood — but female, evidently.
”…You are?”
“Mochizuki Touya. Happened to spot you. Judged it dangerous, intervened.”
”…Gratitude. You saved us. I’m Rebecca. Adventurer.”
She pulled back her hood, sun on her face. Tanned skin, ash-colored hair cropped to the shoulders.
“You’re insane, man. Took out a beast like that in seconds.”
A man with a battle-axe came up next, pulling his hood back. Stubble, early twenties, tall and solidly built. Beside him, a younger boy — younger than me, I think — still gripping his sword, breath ragged.
Quick look — that weapon doesn’t suit him. He’s a small frame; the sword’s too big.
While I was thinking it, the boy tossed his sword aside, ran over, and dropped to his knees at my feet.
“Um — please! That magic just now — that was water-element, right!? Then — could you please make some water!?”
The sudden plea threw me for a second; I caught up. No water. Crossing a desert in that state is plain suicide.
“My apologies. If you would, please conjure water. I have no money now, but I will repay this debt. So please…”
Rebecca-san pressed when I didn’t answer right away, with a tight, anxious tone.
“No, no — that’s fine. Just — what to put it in. …Make something, I guess.”
“Eh?”
Pulled a fist-sized iron lump from [Storage] and used [Modeling] for a large basin. Conjured fist-sized chunks of ice with water magic, then poured water.
“Whoa—!”
The sound of water brought the rest of the group running. I shaped the remaining iron into simple cups for everyone and handed them out.
They reached desperately, gulping water down. Truly parched.
In the meantime I noticed something odd. Ten survivors total. Everyone except the boy and the axeman was female. And — Rebecca aside — the other seven women shared one thing. Heavy black collars around their necks. Are these…
I was staring at the collars when Rebecca-san caught my expression and spoke gravely.
“Yes. They’re slaves. We took them from a slaver.”
…Eh? Leen’s prediction landing perfectly? The people I just saved — bandits?