40. Why Does It Seem Like I'm the Only One Who Became Trash?
40. Why Does It Seem Like I'm the Only One Who Became Trash?
I entered the dungeon.
We hunted monsters and advanced until we reached the place where the boss was.
A suffocating standoff. Ultimately, we seized victory.
And after that, what followed was....
"Alright, I'll dig the ground, so you all go gather these mushrooms."
"".....???""
What's the point if you don't do the grinding, the legwork, the farming?
I took the request form out from my chest and handed it over to Minerva.
"If you look, it shows what kind of mushroom it is and what it looks like, right? The two of you can handle it, can't you?"
"Well... it is possible, however....."
They seemed oddly reluctant.
I stood up from my spot, holding my pickaxe (ver. Cronus's Scythe).
Sometimes, a single action leaves a deeper impression than ten words.
'Let's see....'
I slowly scanned my surroundings.
A search using [Present Sight]. Soon, I struck the pickaxe toward a mineral that caught my eye.
Clang! Clang! Claaang!
"Hup....ya!"
A chunk of mineral obtained by swinging the pickaxe.
I picked up the fist-sized piece and checked it with [Present Sight].
Name: Copper Ore
-Copper content is low.
"That's one."
I opened my bag and put the copper ore inside.
Now there were about 2 or maybe 4 left.
'Usually they come in sets of 3 or 5.'
I took out the request form again to confirm the quantity, then turned my head and spoke to the two of them.
"What are you doing? Not working."
""....!!""
Only then did the two snap back to their senses.
I took a small pouch out of my bag and handed it to Minerva.
"Put the gathered mushrooms in here. Ah, the herbs too."
"...You're thorough. Did you come having calculated all of this?"
"It's not exactly calculation."
I'd run similar quests so many times that where to take what was now ingrained in my body.
Minerva quietly admired this, then soon took Yuno to explore the inside of the cave.
"Then shall I finish up?"
A total of 18 pieces of copper ore to gather.
It seemed I had accidentally brought the 3-piece, 5-piece, and 10-piece quests simultaneously.
Thanks to that, the work unintentionally increased, but what could I do? I had to think of it as all my own karma and just do it.
"At least it's fortunate I have these 'eyes'."
My right wrist ached every time I brought the pickaxe down, but it wasn't to an unbearable degree.
...
..
.
"It's sunset....."
"It's already evening."
When we finished all sorts of tasks and came out of the cave, the sun had already begun to set.
'It's a little slower than I thought.'
If things had gone according to my plan, we should have been coming down the mountain around this time, but the discrepancy between doing it in a game and doing it with my actual body had tripped me up.
Anyway, it was something that wouldn't be a problem if I woke up a bit earlier.
"Then shall we settle down here for now?"
I set my backpack down and asked the two for their opinions.
Actually, the moment I put down the backpack, I was going to sleep here no matter what they said.
"I think it's a good idea."
"I'll do as Chrono tells me."
It seemed both were in agreement.
I slowly looked around to check if the conditions were suitable for sleeping.
'First, I don't have to worry too much about surprise attacks.'
Since this was a slime habitat, the slimes themselves would have their own unique territory.
Most ordinary animals probably wouldn't invade the territory to come charging in.
On top of that, being a cave, the risk of ambush was much lower.
However, as expected of a place where slimes lived,
"The floor being a bit damp is a flaw, but... it can't be helped."
"Will it be a bit cold at night...?"
The two murmured.
As they said, since it was a perfect habitat for slimes, it wasn't a very suitable place for people to sleep.
So, what could be done?
"I brought a tarp, so let's spread it out and sleep."
"Huh? You brought that?"
"Just in case."
"....I felt it during Survival too, but Chrono's preparedness is beyond imagination."
"Cough, hm hm hm."
It wasn't exactly preparedness.
Anyone who's been through the military ends up packing stuff like this.
Yeah.
'If you've just been through the military.....'
...The way it forces you to know, even if you don't want to, even if you don't want to learn...
...was seriously fucked up.
"Still, it's good that I put it to use like this, right?"
I spread out the tarp and set up a tent on top of it.
I'd brought a pop-up tent sized for 2-3 people, but from the outside, it looked like it would be a tight fit for two.
Squeezing in there together with me would be a bit hard.
'Still, is it enough for the two of them to sleep?'
It looked suitable enough for taking night watch duty roughly.
The slightly bumpy floor was a flaw──Ah, wait?
"Hey, can you transform into a mattress?"
[....???]
The scythe vibrated, bzzzt.
As if asking if that made any sense.
Transforming into a frying pan was already at the edge of understanding, but did turning into a mattress make any sense?
No, man, think about it.
"Unexpectedly, quite a lot of people die in bed, don't they?"
[....!!!]
What was the definition of a weapon?
It's an object that can harm and kill people.
And since countless people kept their beds close when they died, in a sense, couldn't a bed be considered a weapon too?
[──,...───!]
"Oh, ohh!"
Conflict after conflict.
Agony after agony.
"It worked.....!"
Cronus's Scythe transformed its body into a 'mattress.'
However, likely limited by its size, it couldn't lay a thick floor, but at least it looked like it was at a level where one could sleep comfortably.
"Chrono is... quite the all-rounder in many ways."
"...Don't look at me with those eyes?"
The gaze of Minerva, who had been watching this situation from behind, had rotted a little.
Maybe I should say she was freaked out because being an all-rounder went too far.
Since it wasn't time to sleep yet, I put away Cronus's Scythe and came out of the tent.
"You made a fire?"
"While Chrono was setting up the tent, I built it together with Minerva!"
A campfire burning warmly.
I definitely didn't think I'd taken out a lighter, so Yuno probably started the fire with holy magic.
"Then shall we eat now? We skipped lunch and kept moving, so we should eat soon."
"Ah, I'll cook!"
Yuno raised her hand boldly.
However, if there was some unfortunate news for that Yuno,
"I brought combat rations...."
"....Minerva."
"I, I didn't lie! During Survival, we really all cooked and ate together!"
She must have built up a deep romantic notion after hearing Minerva's story.
It was unfortunate for Yuno's romantic notion, but back then it was Survival so we had no choice; now, in a situation where we're just going back and forth for 1 night and 2 days, combat rations were more convenient in many ways than cooking.
No worry about doing dishes right away, and the cooking method was done with just one pour of water.
I took a combat ration and a plastic bottle out of my backpack.
"How to eat combat rations... Yuno, you don't know, right? I'll show you, so watch and follow along."
"So this is a combat ration...."
Yuno opened the combat ration as I had shown her.
She took out the heating pack inside, poured water in to make it react, and put the food that needed heating, bag and all, inside to warm it up.
"This... is chocolate? There's a biscuit too!"
"That's not a biscuit, it's wheat bread. Just throw it away and only eat the chocolate next to it. Wheat bread is really... hopeless, that stuff."
"Huh? It tastes good?"
"....Seriously?"
A mukbang of desserts that came as snacks while the food heated.
Frankly, except for things like chocolate, there wasn't much worth eating, but it seemed this damn wheat bread suited Yuno's palate.
'Maybe it's actually good?'
Thinking about it, it was possible.
Maybe the stale rations I always ate in the military were like that because they were 1-2 months from expiring, and the freshly made civilian market rations were a bit differ──
"Ugh... bleurgh....!"
──different my ass, wheat bread was just wheat bread.
If a French person ate this bread, wouldn't they have thrown tomato sauce at it, calling it an insult to bread?
Ah, was that Italians? Anyway, this was an insult to bread.
"If you can't eat it, give it to me!"
"....Sure. You eat a lot."
"Huh? Mmm...."
It's good though....
Yuno munched and devoured the wheat bread heartily.
I was staring blankly at her, so dumbfounded, when Minerva approached Yuno and said,
"If you look to the side, there's apple jam, so please enjoy it together with that."
"Oh, really?"
Rummaging through the side dishes, Yuno eventually found the apple jam.
Soon, she spread the apple jam on the wheat bread and put it in her mouth...
"It's delicious....!"
"...Crazy."
I absolutely couldn't watch this.
How should I put it, it felt like watching someone eat Hawaiian pizza and say it's delicious, in real time.
A feeling of my brain being contaminated.
I shook my head and took out the fully heated ration, pouring it into the enclosed paper box.
"This... is practically pig slop."
Still, seeing that the smell itself was somewhat decent, it felt like there was merit in buying the civilian version after all.
I picked up my spoon and scooped some of the shapeless gruel into my mouth.
"Mmm.... it's military ration."
A slightly tastier military ration.
It was exactly at that level.
At least it was a blessing in misfortune that I didn't feel a plastic-like texture.
"Ah, this is delicious too!"
"......Urgh."
Meanwhile, Yuno was saying even this was delicious.
Watching her, my heart was about to feel heavy; was I the weird one here?
"Chrono, thank you for the good sleeping place and the good food."
"Huh? Ah, it's fine. Don't mention it."
As I was staring blankly at Yuno's mukbang, Minerva suddenly offered me words of gratitude from beside me.
Following behind her, Yuno also expressed her thanks toward me.
"Thanks to Chrono, I think I'll spend tonight comfortably. Thank you, Chrono!"
"...It's really nothing."
Suddenly being showered in praise made my shoulders feel ridiculously light.
I let out a dry cough to shake off the awkward feeling and finished shoveling the combat ration into my mouth.
'Ugh... it's salty.'
It was damn salty.
That unique saltiness was what made a field ration a field ration.
"I'm full...."
"Thank you for the meal."
"...Hm."
Before I knew it, both had finished eating and began to warm their drowsy bodies under the firelight.
Right, sorry about this when the mood is good, but
"Now... we should stand night watch, right?"
""...............""
"For the record, I'm a gender equality, no, sexual equality advocate?"
Any bitch who runs away saying she doesn't want to, you better know your head will crack open.
I looked at the two with a bit of sincerity.
"Then I will take the second watch."
"No. Honestly, I haven't done anything, so I should at least do this in your place!"
".......Um."
Unexpectedly, neither of them had any qualms about standing night watch.
...Why did it feel like I was the only one who became trash? Was it just my imagination?