Volume 4 - CH 37

Chapter 4-37 : Looking For An Exit Ⅰ

「Ugh… Somehow I feel like the surrounding temperature is rising… Do you guys feel it too?」(Nord)

After walking down the passageway for about half a day, Nord started to suffer from the air that kept getting hotter as they walked.

They didn’t realize it but it seemed that they had descended to a position lower than the point where they started walking. That was probably why the temperature was rising.

Iris and Kate didn’t really feel the difference because they were wearing high-quality Heat Proof Coats. They felt bad for Nord.

「Nord-san, are you thirsty? I’ll make some water for you.」(Kate)

「Yeah, please…」(Nord)

While wiping the sweat on his forehead, Nord handed his water bag which was almost empty to Kate.

Kate then produced some water with the Spring Water Bottle and poured it into Nord’s water bag.

「Thank you, Kate-kun. How’s your magical power?」(Nord)

「I think I still have plenty. This artifact didn’t consume much of my magical power.」(Kate)

This was the fourth time Kate had refilled Nord’s water bag.

Normally, a person can only produce about fifteen to twenty liters of water per day with a Spring Water Bottle and considering that Kate also had to supply her Heat Proof Coat with magical power, the amount of magical power she had used so far was considerably large. However, she didn’t feel the fatigue caused by the decrease in magical power. Not yet.

「That’s good news. My muscles would scream if I didn’t drink enough water.」(Nord)

「「……….」」(Kate&Iris)

Iris and Kate wanted to say, “Your entire body would scream. Not just your muscles.” but then they thought that Nord’s statement wasn’t necessarily wrong. After all, they thought that ninety percent of Nord’s body was muscles, even his brain.

「I… see. We should thank Store Owner-san for this amazing bottle when we get home.」(Kate)

「You’re right.」(Nord)

Unlike the path leading from the entrance to the river of lava where the Salamander spawned, the path on which they were walking meandered quite a bit.

There were large rocks and walls they had to climb over, paths with low ceilings they had to pass through by crawling down on the ground, and narrow passageways they had to travel over by walking sideways while holding their bags over their heads.

Not only did they start to feel pain in their legs but they also started to feel pain in their entire bodies.

「I’m tired… Kate, can I borrow the Spring Water Bottle?」(Iris)

「You don’t have much magical power, right? Want me to make water for you?」(Kate)

「Don’t worry. I’ll do it myself.」(Iris)

「Alright then.」(Kate)

Kate took the bottle artifact from her bag and handed it to Iris. Iris then immediately produced water and drank directly from it.

「Pwahh~! I can’t believe cold water can be this delicious!」(Iris)

「It’s not cold water though.」(Kate)

Iris had been drinking the water she stored in her water bag. It got a bit warm because the surrounding air was hot.

That’s why she felt like drinking cold water from the Spring Water Bottle even though the temperature of the water produced was normal.

「But, man… Walking down this tunnel is harder than I expected.」(Iris)

「Compared to the passageway leading to the Salamander, this one is a lot narrower. There are also many obstacles along the way.」(Kate)

「That passageway is big enough for a Salamander to walk through after all.」(Iris)

「Ah, that’s right! Since this path is too narrow for a Salamander, then we don’t have to worry about getting chased by it or any other large monsters.」(Kate)

「You’re right, but I can’t say that we’re lucky considering how hard it is to walk down this path.」(Iris)

In a sense, they were safe from the Salamander and other monsters of the same size, but the path was still difficult for them to walk through. Moreover, they didn’t even know if it led to an exit or not.

「Nord-san, you still able to keep going?」(Kate)

「Honestly, I’m not sure… We got chased by a Salamander, got trapped in this cave, and walked through a path with a lot of obstacles for hours… It’s been a rough day.」(Nord)

「You’re right…」(Kate)

「Yeah…」(Iris)

Listening to what Nord said, Iris and Kate looked at each other and sighed.

Although many unfortunate events occurred, it had not even been a day since they were chased by the Salamander.

If the Salamander hadn’t gone on a rampage and caused the cave to collapse, they would have been on their way home by now.

「Nord-san, do you know what time it is? I think we should sleep now…」(Iris)

「Aa… I forgot that I brought a clock. Hold on a sec.」(Nord)

Nord put his bag on the ground, rummaged through it, and took out a small pocket watch.

「Hmm, it’s already dark outside, but it’s a little too soon to sleep. Are we still going to sleep now?」(Nord)

「Yeah, we need to get some rest, especially you. You’re not wearing high-quality Heat Proof Coats like us, so you must be feeling like you’re gonna pass out by now. Am I right?」(Iris)

「Ahahah… Looks like I can’t hide it. Alright, but we need to eat before sleeping.」(Nord)

「Let’s eat all the food we brought from home first. We can save the portable rations for later.」(Kate)

「It’s as hot as inside an oven here, so food won’t go bad easily, but I agree with you.」(Iris)

「I hope this won’t be our last supper.」(Nord)

「「……..」」(Iris&Kate)

「I’m just joking.」(Nord)

Iris and Kate couldn’t help but stare at Nord who made such a humorless joke with blank eyes.

After finishing their dinner, they set up their Floating Tents and went to sleep.