Chapter 211: Let’s Roam in the Desert
The forest house is almost finished, I’ll tailor it later after I decide on the furniture. What should I do with the walls inside it? Should I use white plaster to make a textured finish or maybe coat it with diatomaceous earth instead to make cream-colored walls?
Ah, but the furniture I made using the trees I got won’t suit this idyllic house, huh. I’m going for a rustic vibe, or should I say I want to make fairy-tale-like furniture that suits this house.*
Yeah, let’s go for plaster with textured finish then. A retro lampshade for the lights, simple design for the first floor, and lots of cushions and a carpet for the second floor. Oh, let’s put the different mysterious stuff I randomly bought too.
Ah, I guess it’s not really a mystery and they do have a purpose, it’s just that I totally don’t have any plans to use them.
I’ll work on the walls for a few days and also hunt for carpets and rugs that’ll suit my taste while at it.
Alright then, today’s itinerary is Es’s ancient temple — the dungeon that is accessible only once a year to be precise.
There’s a well by the Es River that had been used to measure the water level in the olden days. It’s one of the entrances to the dungeon; however, the course of the river had changed since ancient times so the building had crumbled into ruins and been forgotten underneath the sand.
It’s a tough job finding that, you know! The ruins had almost become part of the sand, the river course had changed but the scenery all over the place looks the same no matter where you look. Thinking that it’s best if I find the location first, I already 【Teleport】 there several times, captured spirits and asked them for directions.
The spirits didn’t know, or even if they did, the directions they gave were unclear. Well, it couldn’t be helped since there are no landmarks after all.
Wham!
「So hot. 」
「Cheer up, Master! 」
X-Stick’s my buddy for today.
I thought X-Stick would be weak against the aridity, but it turned out he’s completely climate-proof. Oh well, he’s widely sought after by the desert kingdom and the country enclosed by ice.
And so, the only one feeling worn out was me. Actually I could still manage since I go home from time to time, but everytime I returned here I always lost my bearings so I ended up teleporting beside the river then making my way to the desert from there, rinse and repeat.
The entire place is a desert except around the Es River, you know! Plus, as soon as I cross a dune, I won’t be able to see Es river anymore. That’s why I decided to just push it and walk on steadily.
Bam!!
「Master, aren’t you cutting corners a bit too much? Well, it’s more fun for me so I don’t really mind! 」
「I’ll be totally exhausted if they move any more than this. 」
Monsters that looked like snakes and crocodiles frequently attacked us while we made our way through the sand, but I crushed them with X-Stick while they’re still in the sand without checking what they were.
Initially, I waited for them to appear before slaying them, but since their heads would always poke out first while we’re treading on the sand, waiting for them to approach then hitting their vitals in one go seemed more humane.
However, they would jump out of the sand and bite me if I waited a little too long, so the easiest method was to crush them before they could jump out.
X-Stick preferred piercing and poking things he couldn’t see over fighting monsters in a battle. His existence seemed suited for my goal, or should I say the purpose for which he was summoned so he’s quite happy, apparently.
Butler’s face suddenly flashed in my mind — I wonder why?
Oh, come to think of it, I heard the continuation of his story about the adventurer who sought to obtain the Bough and failed. Or should I say the other side of the story? Anyway — actually, the stick— I mean Bough was successfully obtained, but upon the youth’s return to the kingdom, the prince to whom the Bough was supposed to be offered had already been assassinated. That was quite a nasty end apparently.
And the moment the young adventurer learned about that, the Bough that had been successfully obtained vanished. That’s because one of the goals of the youth was for that particular prince to reign over the kingdom.
The kingdom wouldn’t let such information leak out, so it was decided that the official version of the story was that the adventurer didn’t get the Bough. Butler told me this after the recent Adelheid family feud ended.
When the young adventurer returned home, the third prince who became the newly appointed crown prince was speedily eliminated. The second prince, his half-brother from another mother, became the crown prince instead.
The young adventurer who got the Bough — I assumed he’s a guy but it turned out she’s a woman — was the lover of the prince that had been assassinated. Moreover, she’s Ash’s grandmother. It was also partly because of politics, but Ash’s Grandpa took great pains to coax her Grandma, apparently.
Aren’t the womenfolk in Ash’s kingdom a bit too manly? — was what I thought while listening to Butler’s story. As I recalled this story —
「Oh my, it really is a human. 」
I had been poking, piercing and crushing the monsters underneath the sand coming from in front of me or behind without missing my step, when somebody called out to me.
「Hi there. 」
「Yes, hello. 」
The only being who would talk to me in this place is a spirit. She has red floral patterns on her forehead and around her eyes, and her long, loose blond locks spilled from the cloth covering her head. Golden skin peeked through the thick layers of cloth she was wearing.
She’s huge, so maybe she’s the spirit of the desert? The spirits I asked for directions earlier are floating around her.
「Pardon me, I heard that there’s an ancient temple buried somewhere in these sands. Would you happen to know where it is located? 」
I said I ‘heard’, but I actually read about it.
「Oh, do you have a business there? There’s nothing there, you know? 」
「I have a hobby of exploring different places. My purpose is to see it with my own eyes. 」
I was the one asking for a favor so I was on my best behavior with an amicable smile plastered on my face.
「Yup yup, Master loves rummaging around! 」
「Hey, stop saying ‘rummaging’, don’t. 」
X-Stick’s comment ruined that image, though.
「… A tree spirit, in this place? Is it the Transition? Alright, follow me. 」
The spirit’s clothes fluttered as she elegantly turned.
Transition? What does that mean?
I didn’t have the slightest idea, but she seems to be taking me to the temple so I happily followed her.
Notes
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T/N: He’s probably thinking of Snow White’s log cabin, not the fancy castles in fairy tales.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.