Chapter 94

After taking a break, Thor and the others continued walking through the wilderness filled with jagged rocks for the rest of the afternoon.

As dusk deepened, they finally emerged from the Thousand Blades Plain.

The rocks had been obstacles, but they also served as windbreaks.

Suddenly, the wind that had been calm picked up and blew fiercely.

Squinting, Thor confirmed the large rock formation a little distance away and called out to his companions behind him.

"Only a little further, can you make it?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Sure thing!"

"Unyamunya... there's nothing here... Thor-kun."

Muu, who had worked hard to find the rock beetles, was curled up on the sled, having fallen asleep.

It seemed that not taking a nap during the day was too much for a child.

Turning his gaze to Salissa at the rear, she nodded without a word.

Thor took the lead, walking in front of everyone to shield them from the wind.

The large rock's shadow seemed to be a popular spot for camping, as there were still traces of previous use on the ground.

Thor quickly spread out their belongings and skillfully set up the tent in the same spot.

This wilderness, due to the lack of clouds, is heated evenly by the sun during the day.

However, the extremely dry air and the constant wind do not make the perceived temperature as high.

The problem is at night.

The heat accumulated during the day escapes quickly without moisture to retain it.

As a result, it gets unbearably cold as soon as the sun sets.

Before the sun completely set, Thor finished setting up the tent with double layers of boar leather and sighed in relief.

It had been over a month since they left the Goblin Forest, and he had become quite adept at tent living.

"Muu-kun, dinner is ready."

"Uu, I'm sleepy. But I'm hungry..."

"Here, can you drink some soup? Ahh."

The half-asleep child was fed the spicy and sour mushroom soup that Sora had brought from the city.

The stimulating taste seemed to wake Muu up a bit, and he opened his mouth wide while keeping his eyes closed.

"Sora-nee, can I have some meat too?"

"Alright, alright. Here you go."

Muu, who was given a thin slice of smoked rock lizard meat, chewed it slowly and smiled faintly.

Moved by the adorable expression, Sora couldn't help but nuzzle Muu's cheek.

As they pressed their soft cheeks together, the child let out a small voice.

"Onee...chan, I... like you."

"Sure, I like you too."

Muu, who had fallen asleep, was gently carried into the tent.

Since he was still holding onto the sleeve of Sora's robe, she slept with him that night.

The other tent was used by Yuril and Salissa.

With the warm child in the middle, Thor and the others slept soundly until morning.

The next morning, Thor woke up to the sound of voices outside and quietly got up.

Peeking out of the empty tent, the surroundings were still dim.

While fastening his sword belt, Thor headed in the direction of the voices.

At the edge of the rock formation, it was Muu and Sora, who seemed to have woken up early, standing close together and looking towards the direction where the light was coming in, with a joyful expression.

"What are you looking at?"

"Ah, good morning, Thor-kun."

"Thor-kun, look! It's beautiful!"

Thor stood behind the two and peered over the rock formation.

It was the moment the sun began to rise from the exact east.

The dazzling golden sunlight dyed the bluish land a pale red.

At the same time, the cloudless sky quickly returned to its usual light blue.

Thor involuntarily held his breath at the scene, which seemed to be reborn anew in that instant.

His breath, which had turned white, quietly melted away in front of the warm sunrise.

Perhaps it was just a few dozen seconds.

The moment of dawn that he had been captivated by was over before he realized it.

The surroundings had returned to the usual desolate view.

No, it was even more so.

Beyond the rock beetle habitat, the wilderness stretched out, truly empty.

As far as the eye could see, the flat wilderness continued endlessly.

There were no protrusions that could serve as windbreaks.

Thor, who let out a small sigh, shrugged his shoulders at the excitedly playing girl and child.

After finishing breakfast, the group set out into the harsh, dry wilderness.

The wind grew stronger, and they felt considerable resistance even after taking a few steps.

Thor, carrying the luggage, pulled the sled and led the way, acting as a windbreak.

To conserve Muu's energy, they decided to have him ride from the start.

Behind him, Sora and Yuril followed, leaning on their staffs, and Salissa brought up the rear.

Everyone, except for the child who was singing a strange tune, walked silently, putting one foot in front of the other.

After walking for about an hour, there was no change in the scenery.

Even after another hour, it was the same.

Just as they were getting a bit bored with the unchanging view, a sharp voice suddenly rang out from behind.

"---I hear something approaching."

It was Yuril's voice.

Thor, who quickly focused his eyes, saw something in the corner of his vision.

It was a round, ball-like shape in the distance.

Thor, who had moved slightly to point it out, asked, "Can you tell what it is?"

"Huh? Ah, Muu-kun, you're sleeping! Thor-kun."

"It's a round object rolling towards us... I've heard that in the wilderness, clumps of dried grass can form like that."

Thor was about to nod at Yuril's words, but then he realized that there were no grasses to begin with.

He untied the sled's rope, drew his sword, and quickly got into a defensive stance.

By the time he did, the spherical object had rapidly closed the distance.

Thor's eyes clearly caught the identity of the object, which was now just a dozen steps away.

It was a white rock, about the height of a child, rolling towards them with great momentum.