Pioneering the Apocalyptic World - Chapter 67

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Chapter 02: Across the river, everything changes

Although it was a little hectic at the end, we were able to cross the big river safely.
I untied the rope-… I couldn’t untie it, so I cut it, then I knocked off the sand that was covering me, and started collecting the alligator materials.

“Can you eat that too?”

“I’ve never eaten, but I heard that is delicious.”

While answering Uru’s questions, I dismantle it quickly. Well, the main prize is the skin rather than meat.
Of course, it depends on the type, but reptile skin has higher defensive power than beast skin. Thanks to that, I can upgrade my current leather equipment a little.
In addition, thanks to my skill as a miko, it is not necessary to drain the blood, so it is very convenient.
A certain time, after collecting the pieces of meat exploded by Uru’s hands, I suddenly thought “Isn’t it possible to collect blood too?” And came up with this idea, tried it and it worked. Well, there’s even a certain creature’s blood in the recipe for a certain item, so that’s probably a normal thing.

“The sunlight is getting pretty hot, so let’s take a break and eat. I will be making the preparations, so can you two light a fire in the hearth?”

“Umu.”

“Understood.”

After washing my hands with water, I took out various ingredients from the item box and started the preparing.
I’ve heard that aged meat is more delicious, but… I’ll have to make a refrigerator-like item soon. It’s a must in summer. Oh, I wish I had a freezer too. I want to eat ice cream or shaved ice.
While thinking about such things, I moved my hands with accustomed movements, rubbing salt and pepper on the meat that had been cut into moderate sizes.
While letting them fry in the fat, I skewered some bread and grilled them too. After that, I have to put vegetables too. Uru and Regulus are the type that will only eat meat if I left them alone.

“Thanks for the wait. It’s crocodile steak and stir-fried vegetables.”

“”Thank you for the food!””

As usual, the two of them gorged themselves on deliciously, but for me, although this is also delicious, I still feel like sauce is missing.
I really want to find soy sauce and miso… Or maybe I can make them from beans… No, but I don’t have any knowledge of brewing… But I wonder if I can make the sauce if I do my best. I vaguely remember that it was made from vegetables and fruits… I did some cooking in my original world, but as expected, I didn’t make it from the seasonings.

“Rion seems to have a difficult face. Did the meal not suit her taste?”

“That’s a face that says ‘I could make more delicious things…’ To me, if she worry about it and solve it, I will be able to eat more delicious food, so It’s very helpful.”

Oops, I got caught. I wonder if I was making a such easily to understand face.

After the meal, I made the statue of the Creator God and the altar as my usual save point.
This time, in addition to the simple version, I will also create an automatic holy water spraying device.

“Mu, it’s not just the statue this time?”

“I want to leave it until I find a village on this side, or until I create a temporary base. Wouldn’t it be troublesome to cross the river again in case of emergency? ”

“I see.”

It’s not guaranteed that we’ll be attacked by alligators every time, but it’s a hassle to row the boat for two hours each time.
For now, let’s stock up about a month of holy water. Well even if it wasn’t attacked by monsters, it could be destroyed by a natural disaster, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Let’s create a return stone… Should I make one for Regulus as well?”

“Ou.”

All right, now we’re ready. Let’s move on… but before that, let’s go back once.

After spending the night at the base, for the time being we will walk north.
We passed through the riverbed where stones were scattered around, but couldn’t find anything that looked like a building in sight, only short grass and short trees growing sparsely.

“It feels lonely compared to where we’ve been.”

“That’s right.”

Even though the season is before summer, the colors of the plants are dull and it looks like autumn. It could maybe that is just how the vegetation around here is, but… I’m not familiar with nature, so I can’t tell.
I squat down and collected the grass under my feet, but although the endurance value has decreased, it doesn’t seem to been in a weakened as it was in Alness Village.
It’s simply a case that nourishment ??the blessings of the earth are not enough?

“Rion, what are you going to make by stacking stones?”

“It’s a landmark. There’s too little here.”

It’s like a post sign, I replied to Regulus.
Just in case, the compass will point to the creator god statue I made earlier, but there’s no guarantee that the direction pointed will change at any time, and it’s easy to see and understand that it’s a place we’ve passed already.
In the game, I roughly maintained the road, but I don’t think I have the leeway to do that here.
But even so… There’s really nothing here.

“I heard it was a grassland, but… It feels like a wasteland.”

“… And Rion is cutting down the few plants that moisten that wasteland.”

Uru looks at me with a stare, but I don’t even try to make a excuse and just turn my gaze away and do my usual escape.
Ahaha… That part is already a habit… It’s okay, I’ll plant the seedlings properly…!
In the end, we couldn’t find anything on this day (because of my gatherings, our pace was a little slow).

It’s time to set up camp before the sun goes down.
There’s nothing to cover it up and it’s completely visible, so I made a wall with stone blocks, set up a tent inside it, and sprinkled holy water around it. I also dug a hole outside as a simple trap.
I was thinking of digging the ground to create a space in the underground so that we wouldn’t be noticed from the outside, but because the claustrophobic feeling would cause unnecessary stress, I didn’t do it today.
Regulus looked at the stone wall anxiously and muttered.

“… Doesn’t it stand out too much? This thing.”

“In this situation, no matter what we do, we will stand out. More than that, no matter how much I turn this area into a sanctuary, it will only prevent monsters from entering, but arrows and magic will still be flying at us, so I think that prevent that is the priority.”

“Hmm, so that’s how works. So what are we are going to do with the night watch? In what order we will take turns?”

“No, I’ll leave it to this child.”

I took out a small doll about 30 centimeters from the item box??A security golem. It’s a tool that I made with my magic skill after I put my MP in the iron and changed it into magic iron.
It’s small, so it can’t do much, but it’s enough to detect intrusion into the sanctuary (including flying objects such as magic). One day, I want to make a bigger golem and use it as the base guard.

“Heh, So you made something like this. It looks convenient.”

“Because sleep is important.”

After putting MP into the golem’s magic stone and activating it, I noticed that Uru had been quiet since a while ago.

“Uru, are you okay?”

“Umu… It’s fine, but… Today I want to go to bed early…”

Since it’s about Uru, I don’t think It’s because she has less stamina than me, but… Hmm, I wonder if she is feels bad at night in this land too?
After vowing to try to start setting up camp a little earlier next time, we have dinner inside the stone wall, and go to bed in the men’s and women’s separated tents.
As usual, Uru clung to me while I was lying down.

“Feeling cold?”

“…… A little.”

I personally can’t really feel the difference, but I wonder if it’s just me being dull…
I asked through the tent if Regulus was okay and if he need a blanket, but he replied that he didn’t need one, so I guess that Uru is just sensitive.
Anyway, It would be worrying if she catch a cold, so let’s cover ourselves with more blankets. …… They make me feel a little too hot, but let’s have patience.
Uru seems to have fallen asleep while I patted her back lightly. The strength in the arms that are hugging me eased a little.

“Good night, Uru.”

I muttered softly so as not to wake her up, and eventually my consciousness faded.

A few magic stones were in the ground as traces of monsters in the surrounding area, but the morning dawned without any particular incidents. Phew.