Chapter 5

"It's hot..."

He walked straight through the heat haze floating over the wilderness.

In the end, he decided to walk along the cliff.

He kept a bit of distance from the cliff to avoid falling.

There were two reasons for moving along the cliff.

One was that he lacked the courage to venture into the middle of the wilderness.

The other was the simple hope that there might be a fishing village along the coast.

"But there's not even a single plane or boat in sight."

While I thought it wouldn't be strange to see fishing boats or tourist boats, it seemed the large tankers were probably beyond the horizon.

Apparently, my expectations were disappointed.

I don't really want to remember, but she said... what was it? The world I came to has a high 'materialization interference rate,' so it should have an environment similar to Earth, which means there should be boats and planes, but I can't see any.

By the way, I never expected to find a car.

The wilderness, while resembling a savanna, had low shrubs growing here and there, and large rocks scattered around.

Without a road, a car couldn't possibly drive here.

Even on the narrow coastline below the cliff, it wouldn't be strange to see a 4WD, but there was no sign of one.

"Damn... I might die like this."

His body was already drenched in sweat, and he had unbuttoned half of his dress shirt.

He had almost no tea left.

He had intended to conserve it, but he would have collapsed for sure if he hadn't drunk it.

Still, he couldn't just stop moving.

Staying in that spot would only lead to a dead end.

The sun, high in the sky, mercilessly scorched his brain.

His consciousness was becoming hazy.

How far had he walked? Maybe 30 kilometers? Or maybe he hadn't even moved a kilometer?

His throat was as dry as a desert.

He turned the water bottle upside down, but not a single drop came out.

He had already done this about 30 times.

Even though he knew it wouldn't produce water, he couldn't help but try.

The scenery tilted, and the horizon became vertical.

Yes, he had collapsed.

He had reached his limit.

Water... I need water...

He found himself lying on his back. The sun was so blinding that he had to close his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, it felt like they were being burned.

He raised his hand toward the sun with his eyes still closed.

It seems my life is ending here. Maybe I should have just died back then?

"Water... anyone... sell me some..."

Is this my last words...?

At that moment.

A message appeared in front of him: [10 liters of water = 1 yen].

"Huh?"

Those words slipped out of his dry mouth.

I thought I wouldn't be able to speak, but it was such a shocking event.

He opened his eyes, and the message disappeared.

"Huh?"

After blinking a few times, he slowly closed his eyes again, and the message [10 liters of water = 1 yen] reappeared.

He had some coins in his pocket. He took them out and held them up to the sky.

"Water... water..."

He pleaded with his last strength.

[No container available]

Container? Any container... oh, this water bottle... please...

[Excess water will be discarded. Is that okay?]

Anything is fine! Hurry! Water!

He held up his empty water bottle with his other hand. In that instant, the water bottle disappeared from his hand.

"Huh?"

What the hell?! Where's the water?! Where's the water?! The water bottle is gone too!

He was stunned for a moment.

"Haha..."

A hallucination... Yeah, that's it...

He slowly closed his eyes in despair and resignation.

A new hallucination appeared. This time, it was a list.

It was a strange list that disappeared when he opened his eyes and reappeared when he closed them.

Next to an icon shaped like a water bottle, it said [500ml water bottle (drinking water)].

The list had 10 lines, but the remaining 9 were empty.

But that didn't matter.

Unconsciously, he touched the water bottle icon with his finger.

Later, he realized it was a habit from using his smartphone, but it was the right move.

The icon disappeared, and a water bottle appeared in his hand.

It was a heavy water bottle.

He unscrewed the cap with trembling hands, and water splashed onto his face.

Most of it ran off, but the water that trickled into his mouth gave him the strength to continue.

"One more bottle!"

He held the coins in his right hand and the water bottle in his left, closed his eyes, and heard the mechanical voice asking [Excess water will be discarded. Is that okay?]. He shouted, "I don't care!" and the icon reappeared. He clicked it immediately, and water appeared in his hand.

This time, he gulped it down, making a gulping sound.

He repeated this process three times and finally felt better.

After calming down, he began to wonder what had just happened.

"What the hell is this?"

When he closed his eyes and focused, a screen similar to a smartphone or PC appeared in his mind.

What he could see now was "SHOP" and "Container," and there was a cash balance in the upper right corner.

274 yen?

No, I should have more than that, right?

He thought for a moment and remembered that the coins he had held when he got the water were gone.

He took out a 100-yen coin from the remaining coins, held it, and thought, "Put it in." When he opened his hand, the coin was gone, and the cash balance increased to 374 yen.

"I see, I don't understand the logic, but I get the system."

When he thought, "100 yen, come out," a familiar silver coin appeared in his palm. It was confusing but convenient.

Since he understood the system, he tried to "put away" the water bottle, and it disappeared from his hand. The "Container" section of the list showed [500ml water bottle].

He then thought, "I want to buy water," and heard the mechanical voice asking [Excess water will be discarded. Is that okay?]. He thought, "OK," and the list changed to [500ml water bottle (drinking water)].

He was starting to understand the rules.

When he mentally selected the "SHOP" section, it was selected without moving his fingers. Ah, it's thought-controlled. High-tech.

A list appeared.

[10 liters of water = 1 yen]

[Symbol = 100 yen]

[Toothbrush = 184 yen]

[Toothpaste = 161 yen]

[Razor = 984 yen]

[Boxer shorts = 797 yen]

[Running undershirt = 691 yen]

[Socks = 300 yen]

[Dress shirt = 1690 yen]

[Laptop = 52790 yen]

[Sharp pencil = 100 yen]

[Ballpoint pen = 100 yen]

[Pencil (1 dozen) = 333 yen]

[Utility knife = 315 yen]

[Notebook = 1300 yen]

[Eraser = 80 yen]

[5 liters of tea = 1 yen]

[500ml water bottle = 70 yen]

[Wristwatch = 19800 yen]

[Smartphone = 49800 yen]

[Power bank = 3750 yen]

[Weekly manga magazine (Attack) = 255 yen]

[Stomach medicine = 1899 yen]

[Stomachache medicine = 766 yen]

[Cold medicine = 1699 yen]

[Lighter = 100 yen]

[Glasses = 4900 yen]

[1-day contact lenses (1 week) = 1980 yen]

[Leather shoes = 3780 yen]

[Business suit = 39000 yen]

[Hard luggage = 19200 yen]

[Business cards (100) = 490 yen]

[Aluminum business card holder = 540 yen]

[Handkerchief = 100 yen]

[Long wallet (synthetic leather) = 2480 yen]

[Pocket tissue (comic cafe advertisement) = 5 yen]

[Strawberry candy = 8 yen]

[Lemon candy = 8 yen]

[Wooden bed = 78000 yen]

[Spring mattress = 24480 yen]

[Sheets = 1280 yen]

[Blanket = 4990 yen]

[Blanket cover = 2490 yen]

[Pillow = 1980 yen]

Wow.

This is amazing.

Basically, it seems the items in the list are things I had with me or touched when I was... no, when I was about to die.

What's with the 5 liters of tea...?

The pencils are in a dozen, and the business cards are in a set of 100.

Business cards are cheap...

Hey!

There's no cigarettes!

I demand a reset!

Hmm?

Wait, I didn't have water, right?

Why is water the only thing added?

Because I strongly wished for it?

Should I try it...?

"Rice ball, onigiri, kelp, mentaiko, and mayochicken. Onigiri, onigiri, onigiri..."

[Request approved. SHOP items have been added.]

Wow!

I immediately checked the SHOP list.

[Onigiri (kelp) = 120 yen]

[Onigiri (mentaiko) = 130 yen]

[Onigiri (mayochicken) = 110 yen]

They were added!

I decided to order all three types of onigiri and tea.

But wait, the tea is 5 liters, so I should add more water bottles to avoid waste.

I already have one, so I'll add 9 more... yeah.

The container shows 9 empty 500ml water bottles.

I drank the water bottle I was using and imagined putting it in the container. It disappeared from my hand and was added to the container list as [500ml water bottle (empty)].

When I bought the tea, the mechanical voice asked [Can I use all empty containers?]. I agreed, and the container list changed to [500ml water bottle (tea)].

I took one out and drank it. It was well-chilled tea.

Next, I bought an onigiri (kelp).

The container list showed [Onigiri (kelp)].

I noticed that the display method could be changed, showing only icons, only text, different sizes, and sorting functions.

When I took it out, it was wrapped in plastic, just like the ones in convenience stores.

Hmm, it tasted exactly like a convenience store onigiri.

Good, I've secured at least some food.

When I tried to order [Onigiri (mentaiko) = 130 yen] and [Onigiri (mayochicken) = 110 yen], the mechanical voice said [The container is full].

What?

The container showed 9 bottles of tea and one mentaiko onigiri, but no mayochicken.

It seems the container can only hold 10 items.

When I took out the mentaiko and chose mayochicken again, it fit in the container.

My cash balance was 23796 yen, so it seems I wasn't overcharged.

But considering the remaining Japanese yen, it won't last long.

I can't buy a bed... This is a useless list.

I sat on a convenient rock and alternately ate onigiri and drank tea.

The scorching sun made the sand dust dance, and the distant chirping of birds echoed.

The wind rustled the nearby low shrubs.

This isn't so bad.

I had worked tirelessly for years in a black company, bowing to clients, complaint handlers, suppliers, stores, colleagues, superiors, and the general affairs department, all for a low salary.

I slept only four hours a day.

That's the life I had been living.

Maybe that's why I felt strangely at ease.

"Alright, let's go."

He stepped forward into the monotonous scenery.