Volume 5 Chapter 3-2 Flying Whale
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I hate things getting messy. If I told the whole truth honestly, it’d probably get *super* messy. But hey, as long as Ms. Nina’s alive, even messy feels kinda happy, you know?
Should I have talked to Miss Floria about Uno and the others while I was in the capital? Ms. Nina’s cool with my thing with Miss Floria, and she’s the kind of teacher who could’ve wrapped it all up neatly.
Come to think of it, Miss Floria’s the ideal lover, right? Beautiful, smart, understanding, *and* skilled. She lets her younger partner lean on her, but she’ll also scold them when they’re wrong. I feel like I’ve been lucky with the people I’ve met since coming to this world.
Wait, wait──dwelling on the past before an adventure feels like a death flag. I know it’s just superstition, but this is life-or-death stuff, so I wanna cut risks wherever I can.
You never know what’ll happen in an unexplored area. Even if Radar Scan’s high-tech, letting your guard down can leave you vulnerable.
I’m getting used to riding Ms. Claire──shifting my weight without thinking. Problem is, it lets my mind wander too much.
Doesn’t help that Radar Scan’s picking up *0* quail. Looks like that whale wiped them out completely.
* * *
Hours into the journey, we’ve been hugging the edge of Wolf Forest while heading south.
Those wolves are sharp. We’re outside their territory, but they’ve still got scouts keeping a close eye on us.
I’ve gotten to know Mr. Uruu, the rabbit-killer, but to them, we’re just outsiders to watch carefully. If they accepted us as allies *that* easily, I’d worry about the wolves’ future.
Still, I’d like to stay on friendly terms with the wolves. I’m planning to thank Mr. Uruu eventually. Thought about bringing quail meat as a gift, but apparently, giving meat to wolves is a bad idea.
Turns out, offering meat to wolves can come off as insulting their hunting skills. Proud creatures like them wouldn’t touch meat from a human anyway.
There’s even a fairy tale, tragic or comedic, about a young man who earned the trust of a wolf and gave it some boar meat or something, only to be mistaken for a proposal and taken into the forest as a groom, never to be heard from again.
My usual gift of quail meat didn’t work. I’m in trouble. I can’t think of any other gift that would make a wolf happy, other than meat.
Damn, I’ve been lost in thought again. I just can’t seem to focus. Maybe I’ve grown a bit too complacent after getting stronger through training with Uno. My level is still 4, so I must be careful. It’s dangerous to let my guard down.
* * *
After a quick lunch I had been looking forward to, I continue on. The cold, cheese-less pizza was decent, but of course, it couldn’t compare to it being hot. Plus, I was incredibly thirsty. Maybe there was a bit too much salt.
The boundary between the meadow and the wolf forest gradually became unclear, and the terrain shifted to rolling hills sparsely dotted with trees. I climbed up and down small hills, which weren’t even big enough to be called mountains. Since I was pulling a heavy cart, my pace slowed considerably even on gentle slopes. Without brakes on the cart, going downhill was even harder. If I were walking, I might have cried out in frustration.
Should I develop brakes for the cart? Well, as far as just transporting the goods (luckily), I’ve got a secret trick up my sleeve for that. I’ll think about it when I have more time.
After crossing yet another gentle hill, I saw something shining ahead.
”Is that it? It looks like a tilted spire.”
I see. Ms. Claire must think it’s a tower. To me, it looks like the torn-off wing of a passenger plane stuck in the ground. But in any case, that’s definitely the puppeteer’s dungeon.
As I got closer and looked more closely, I could see that the massive silver wing didn’t have flaps or engines. It definitely doesn’t look like an airplane wing.
But clearly, it’s not a building. Even if it’s not an airplane, it’s certainly part of some kind of vehicle. It’s made entirely of seamless metal, giving off the vibe of an alien spacecraft with super-advanced technology.
But actually, getting rid of metal seams isn’t that hard a technique. If you carefully grind down the weld marks and polish them with abrasive, it’ll shine so brightly that an amateur wouldn’t notice. My bicycle enthusiast uncle used to do that mirror finish.
Plus, this world has dwarves, you know. It’s too simplistic to just blame any amazing ruins on aliens. Well, now that I think about it, dwarves are technically aliens too.
The people in this world have no idea they’re aliens, so I tend to forget that too.
”I’ve heard rumors, but this really is an odd tower, isn’t it?”
Ms. Nina thinks it looks like a tower too, huh? Well, I guess it’s a tower now. Even if it used to be a vehicle, it’ll probably never move again.
Considering it’s been leaning like that without falling for years, it must be firmly stuck deep underground. Or maybe a giant spaceship is buried, and only the tilted antenna is sticking out of the ground?
”There’s a cave over there.”
Ms. Joa, who had left the cart and made a quick lap around the tower, seems to have found something.
It’s half-hidden by branches, but there’s definitely an entrance about the height of the second floor. It’s a perfectly round hole. Could it be an inspection hatch for a spaceship?
They’ve built a staircase up to the hole using logs. Though it looks old and decaying, it should still be usable for a few more years.
There’s even a sign that says ‘Puppeteer Dungeon Entrance.’ I can read a word or 2 like that. It was probably put up by an adventurer who tried the dungeon before.
I climb the stairs and peek into the round hatch. It’s smaller than a manhole cover in Japan, just big enough for an adult to barely squeeze through. I’m not claustrophobic, but the idea of going in there sends a chill down my spine. The centaurs definitely won’t fit, but I’m planning to dive in with just me and Ms. Nina from the start.
* * *
We’re running a bit behind, so it’s almost sunset. We’ll start the dungeon challenge tomorrow. I need to set up camp while it’s still light. I hope that whale doesn’t show up tonight. Well, if it targets us, we wouldn’t be safe even inside the fortress, so worrying is pointless.
I’ll ask Ms. Claire and the others to set up the tents. I’m on firewood gathering and water duty. Ms. Nina can rest lying down.
There are enough large trees scattered around, so there’s no shortage of fallen twigs to collect.
At the tower’s base, there’s a small spring about the size of a washbasin. I scooped out all the pooled water and dumped it, then waited for the fresh water to slowly seep back in. The quality’s pretty good—it’ll take time, but we’ll be able to brew some tasty tea.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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