Chapter 17

"Mura, shall we take a break soon?"

"No, I'm still okay..."

It had been an hour since they left the village, and the sky was gradually brightening. When Kiyoshi turned around at the sound from behind, Rozuru was calling out to Mura, who was walking between him and Turner. Mura, who had been walking energetically and chatting occasionally when they first set out, had become quieter as time passed and was now walking briskly with sweat on her forehead.

Though she said she was fine, her expression clearly showed signs of fatigue.

"Everyone, let's take a short break here."

Just as Kiyoshi was about to suggest a break to Barretta, she, having also noticed Mura's condition, stopped walking and called out to everyone.

"Thank you, that would be a great help."

"I'm sorry..."

Breathing heavily and looking dejected, Mura apologized. Barretta squatted down to meet her gaze and said,

"It's okay, you need to rest when you're tired."

"Yeah, yeah, my legs are sore too. Mura seems to have more stamina than I do."

Kiyoshi stretched after putting down the backpack he was carrying at the base of a tree by the road and smiled at Mura, who was still feeling down. The other villagers also gathered under the trees and started to unload their bags.

"Hahaha, Kazura, you should work on your stamina a bit more."

"Ugh, I'll try... Barretta, can I borrow your bag?"

The villagers laughed at the sight, and Kiyoshi smiled at Mura again, took the burlap bag from Barretta, and pulled out a bottle of Lipovit.

"Mura, I have some medicine for you. Come over here."

"Okay."

In response to Kiyoshi's call, Mura trotted over, and he handed her the opened Lipovit. The label on the Lipovit bottle stated that it should not be taken by those under 15, but a small sip or two should be fine for a 6-year-old.

"Take just one sip. Don't drink too much."

"Okay, I understand."

Mura nodded and took one sip of the Lipovit, then returned the bottle to Kiyoshi with a proper thank you, as it still had some left inside. Kiyoshi patted Mura's head and said,

"You're welcome."

He then put the Lipovit back in the bag and took out a can of Sakuma Drops (not the one with the firefly illustration).

"This lid is always so hard... Okay, it's open. Mura, hold out your hand."

After opening the stubborn lid, Kiyoshi asked Mura to hold out her hand and shook the can once. An orange drop rolled into Mura's palm with a unique sound.

"Oh, it's orange. I'm glad it's not mint. Mura, put it in your mouth. Don't bite it, it's hard."

"Okay."

Mura did as Kiyoshi said and put the orange drop in her mouth. The moment she did, her eyes widened in surprise at the new sensation of the orange flavor, and she jumped up and down with a big smile.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah! It's really good!"

"Great, I'll give this to you. Share it with the others too."

"Okay!"

Mura took the can of drops from Kiyoshi and ran to the villagers who were sitting and resting, distributing the drops. The villagers who received the drops enjoyed them, saying things like,

"This is sweet and delicious."

"Really? Mine is quite minty."

Kiyoshi sat down and looked back at the road they had walked. The road stretched straight toward the village, with only trees planted as markers along the way. Beyond the road, there were large rocks and thin trees here and there, but otherwise, it was a dry, barren wilderness with mountains visible in the distance. The road ahead looked exactly the same.

"Kazura, here's some water."

Just as Kiyoshi was worrying about blisters forming on his feet from the long walk, Barretta brought him a leather bag of water. The bag was sealed with a wooden cork and was quite large.

"Thank you. By the way, are we walking until nightfall?"

"No, we'll set up camp before it gets dark. However, there's a rest hut built by Mr. Nelson ahead, so if we reach there, today's journey will be over."

Hearing the word "rest hut," Kiyoshi exclaimed, "Oh!" He had thought they would be camping out, but Nelson had thoughtfully built a rest hut as an intermediate point between Gricia Village and Isteria. This kind of consideration likely earned the respect of the villagers for the residents of Gricia Village.

"So, Mura, you need to keep walking, even though it's tough. Of course, Kazura too."

Barretta smiled and Kiyoshi replied,

"I'll do my best..."

He then stroked his feet, which were wearing unfamiliar grass sandals.

About 10 hours later, the sun, which had been fiercely asserting itself overhead, began to set. Just as Kiyoshi was worrying that it was time to set up camp, a wooden hut came into view. Beyond the hut, a forest spread out, and the road continued into it.

"Kazura, we can see the rest hut!"

"Really... Thank goodness..."

Due to the unfamiliar footwear and the long walk, Kiyoshi had a blister on the sole of his left foot, which was wrapped in a bandage to reduce the impact. However, he couldn't say he was in pain in front of 6-year-old Mura, who was walking silently, so he smiled and said, "I'm fine," gritting his teeth and walking on. They had taken 5-minute breaks every hour and a 30-minute lunch break, but Kiyoshi was the only one with a blister. Mura, though slightly tired from the long walk, seemed to have retained some energy from taking sips of Lipovit and was still able to chat while walking, as she did when they first left the village. Kiyoshi had also taken a bottle of Lipovit, but it didn't provide the miraculous recovery that the people of this world seemed to experience; it was no different from when he took it in Japan.

When they reached the hut, Kiyoshi and the others opened the door to check for safety. Two villagers were assigned to stand guard outside the hut, while the rest went inside. The hut was a simple one-room structure about 10 tatami mats in size, with sliding windows on all four sides and a hearth in the center. Since there were no firewood or other combustibles inside, they took out a few logs they had brought and Kiyoshi used a lighter to ignite some twigs as kindling in the hearth.

"Ouch... Looks like the blister burst."

After lighting the fire, Kiyoshi sat in front of the hearth, removed the bandage, and checked his foot. The blister on the sole of his left foot had burst, and the bandage was stained red with blood.

"Kazura, are you okay?"

While Kiyoshi was disinfecting the burst blister with hydrogen peroxide, Barretta, who had put down her belongings, came over with a worried look.

"I'm fine. I can walk if I re-bandage it."

"Are you sure... But please don't overdo it. I'll carry the firewood tomorrow."

"No, really, I'm fine. I'll take care of the firewood."

Kiyoshi and Barretta's conversation was watched with curious expressions by Rozuru and the others, but Kiyoshi, who was focused on the exchange, didn't notice. After that, they took turns eating dinner (canned mixed rice and other foods brought by Kiyoshi) and went to sleep, with the guards taking turns.

That night, deep into the night,

"Kazura, Kazura."

Woken by a small voice and a gentle shake, Kiyoshi opened his eyes to see Turner sitting next to his head, peering at him.

"Turner, good morning."

"Good morning. Is it really okay? Asking you to take a guard shift..."

Turner looked apologetic. Before going to sleep, they had discussed the guard shifts, and when Kiyoshi volunteered, everyone had said,

"Kazura, that's out of the question!"

But Kiyoshi felt uncomfortable sleeping while the others took turns on guard duty, so he insisted on taking a shift. The shifts were apparently determined by the movement of the stars in the sky.

"No, no, let me do this. I don't want to be treated specially."

"Okay... Thank you."

Turner handed Kiyoshi a short spear with a look of gratitude. Kiyoshi, remembering that he needed to take the spear for the guard duty, took it and felt its weight. It was heavy, but Kiyoshi could still wield it if needed.

"I'll go now. Turner, get some rest."

"Yes, my husband is on guard outside, so if anything happens, please let him know."

Kiyoshi put on the mantle he had used as a blanket, took the spear in one hand, and left the hut.

When Kiyoshi stepped outside, Rozuru was standing against the corner of the hut, a short spear and a quiver by her side, and a short bow and an arrow in her hand.

"Good morning, Kazura. How is your foot?"

"Good morning. I've applied medicine and re-bandaged it, so I'm fine."

Kiyoshi showed Rozuru his bandaged foot and leaned against the wall opposite her. By standing at opposite ends of the hut, they could keep watch on both the road to Gricia Village and the road to Isteria.

As they chatted while on guard duty, Rozuru suddenly stopped talking and stared at the dark forest in front of them. Kiyoshi, following her gaze, saw only the dark forest.

"Meeting an Almar here... Kazura, may I hunt it?"

Kiyoshi, not understanding what she meant but assuming it was an animal, replied,

"Sure."

As soon as Kiyoshi answered, Rozuru released the arrow, which disappeared into the dark forest. A moment later, the sound of an animal's death