33. Why won't this pull?
33. Why won't this pull?
I quickly looted the items from the Monster Farm and came outside. Ranma was waiting for me with an apple in his hand, wearing a dissatisfied expression. I know why he's making that face.
"How am I supposed to survive on just one apple?"
"Sorry. I was in such a rush earlier. I'll give you more later; the Monster Farm is done for today. You can rest."
"Don't we need to eat Iron Ingots?"
Ranma tilted his head as if he'd heard an unexpected answer. Iron Ingots were definitely the top priority, but since it was obvious there would be another dirty fight tonight, it was better to preserve Ranma's stamina until then. Once night fell, monsters would spawn in the Monster Farm we'd built to catch spiders. This time, since we had a bow, we'd be able to catch plenty of spiders even while monsters were spawning.
"I'm going to stay up all night catching spiders this time."
"Spiders? To make a bed?"
"Yeah. Yours and mine."
"Wow!"
Ranma laughed as if he were genuinely excited. He was on the verge of cheering. He should be old enough to know better, but his excitement was practically at the level of a little kid. Anyone watching would think someone was buying him a robot.
"You that happy?"
"Of course! Sleeping has been so uncomfortable!"
For someone who says that, he slept incredibly well.
Out of all our companions, Ranma is the one who goes to sleep the earliest and wakes up the latest. This guy sleeps the moment his head touches the ground. At first, I even wondered if he had narcolepsy, but that was him sleeping "uncomfortably"? I'm curious what it'll be like in a bed.
"To do that, we need a bow."
"A bow?"
"Yeah. A bow."
I nodded. Even though Asagi took one, I couldn't let go of my attachment to the bow. For someone like me who isn't good at fighting, the bow is the weapon that allows me to at least pull my own weight.
If I can just pull the string and hit the target, I can do my part.
Besides, the trap-style Monster Farm I built—come to think of it, there was no need to lure only zombies. It would be safe even if a swarm of skeletons came. Building it in a stepped fashion, slightly higher than the platform we live on, seemed like it would be highly effective. If skeletons rushed us, they would crouch and hide toward the stairs, and it was obvious they would end up chasing us and falling into the trap. The height difference of the stairs would protect us from getting hit by arrows. Well, it would protect me, at least.
Spiders don't fall into traps. Since they're monsters that climb walls, obviously. Then what? If we just lure everything, all the monsters including Creepers will fall into the trap, and only the spiders will rush at us.
Then it's possible to just catch the spiders and get spider webs, and since the rest of the monsters will be stuck in the trap, we can just finish them off slowly after dealing with the spiders. Creepers might explode, but since I've already designed the trap to break their legs, Ranma and Asagi should be able to control the situation with hit-and-run tactics so the Creepers don't explode.
The biggest problem, as always, is the Enderman. Ah, there's also the Witch. We'll catch the Witch with a bow, and for the Enderman, I have no choice but to trust Asagi. According to Asagi, she thinks she can handle up to three of them.
It's a situation where I have to trust Asagi and proceed.
The sun is still high in the sky. That means there's a long time left until nightfall. Since entering the Monster Farm now would just waste energy and potentially make tonight dangerous, I allowed Ranma to take a nap.
"Get some sleep now. We have to stay up all night tonight."
"From now? Hmm... I don't know if I'll be able to sleep..."
Ranma furrowed his brow at my words. Since Ranma was the one who slept the most last night, it was natural that he wasn't very sleepy right now. I wasn't planning on forcing him to sleep anyway. Conserving stamina is what's important for now. Asagi was still logging. Since I'd told Ranma, I felt like I should tell Asagi to rest too.
"Just lie down anywhere and rest. Inside the hut is fine, and the shade of the Oak Tree is fine too. The floor is the same whether it's inside the hut or here anyway."
"Shall I?"
Ranma said that, then walked over to the base of an Oak Tree that hadn't been chopped down yet and flopped down. The way he lay down was incredibly heroic. I walked over to where Ranma was lying to scold him to be a bit more careful, but my jaw dropped.
".....Phoo...."
Ranma was asleep.
It was a speed that left me speechless.
This is amazing. It makes me suspicious if he has some kind of illness. It was such a fast speed that I started to reasonably doubt if he didn't just faint instead of lying down! Maybe Ranma has narcolepsy. Isn't he in danger right now? As I was seriously agonizing over this while looking at Ranma, Asagi, who had just finished chopping down one Oak Tree, approached. Then she stopped a bit further away than usual. It was the aftereffects of witnessing my surging junior earlier.
"Why are you looking at Ranma with such a worried face?"
"I don't know if he fainted or is sleeping."
"What?"
Asagi looked at my answer with an expression that said she found it absurd. I told her what had just happened to Ranma. After hearing my words, Asagi answered nonchalantly, as if it weren't even a surprising thing.
"What's strange about that? If you're someone who practices martial arts, you're capable of body control that allows you to fall into a deep sleep the moment you need to."
"......."
No, don't lie to me saying I don't know anything, seriously.
When you say it so confidently, it sounds like it's true.
Is it true?
"Is it for real?"
"Of course I'm joking. He falls asleep at an impossible speed. Ranma seems like a fascinating kid."
Asagi said that with a smirk. I was genuinely offended.
"No, really, Asagi-ssi, if you say it like that, I don't know anything, so I believe you. Don't play pranks like that."
"Are you sulking? You're allowed to sulk."
"Huh...."
I was left speechless by Asagi's words. Where do I stand in Asagi's heart right now? No matter how I look at it, it was clear I was worth less than that fox curled up and sleeping under the Oak Tree over there.
"Anyway, it looks like you won't be going into the Monster Farm anymore?"
"Yes? Ah. Yes. We have to stay up all night."
I nodded at Asagi's question. It seems like it would be good for Asagi to take a rest until the sun goes down, too.
"Asagi-ssi, stop logging and rest too. It seems like tonight will be the hardest for you."
"Why will it be the hardest for me?"
"Because if an Enderman appears, you have to catch it."
"That's not very difficult. The hardest part here is you, isn't it?"
"...Yes?"
Was I stunned by Asagi's sudden compliment? Is this the Asagi I knew? My heart is swelling.
Asagi's chest is naturally grand, though.
"I know well that you are suffering a lot. You are doing all the construction. It would be better if you had a bit more aesthetic sense, but don't worry, I'm not such an unreasonable person to wish for that and feel disappointed."
"......."
It's just that I don't have materials right now, so I built it like that; just wait until I collect a lot of materials.
I'm someone who has done a fair bit of architecture, too. I'll build a wonderful house that will make Asagi's jaw drop. And we'll live happily ever after there.
Just thinking about it is nice.
Three kids would be good, right?
While I was having useless delusions, Asagi stopped logging and walked toward the hut holding the Wooden Axe. It seemed like Asagi was going to rest, too. Now it's my time to rest. Since I haven't slept properly in a bed since coming here, I can actually fall asleep immediately if I lie down. Up until now, it was a matter of survival, so I just kept moving despite being tired.
Minecraft isn't actually that thrilling of a game once a certain foundation is established. From the moment the food problem is solved and a base is created, from the moment you don't have to worry about monsters, it's a game where it doesn't matter if you proceed leisurely. Our current situation is like that. From now on, if we just slowly catch monsters in the Monster Farm and get Iron Ingots, it'll be smooth sailing from then on.
If I just made up my mind to live here forever, it was possible to live sufficiently with this equipment.
But I can't do that.
Because there's no computer and no phone here.
I will definitely return to my world.
I haven't even seen the ending of Taimanin Asagi 3 yet.
I went into the hut next to the one Asagi went into, the one where Ranma and I usually sleep. I built it narrow, so sleeping with Ranma was hell, but since Ranma is sleeping outside, I think I'll be able to sleep like a baby until night. Once tonight passes, I can make beds again. If that happens, I'll have to expand the hut's floor space a little more. That's because I have to install the beds inside the hut. It's not that it's impossible to install them now, but if I install the beds inside the current hut, there really won't be room for anything else but the beds. Since it would be more convenient to use the Crafting Table even while it's raining if I put it inside the hut, expanding the hut is also a task that must be done.
But for now, sleeping is important. If I stay up all night fighting, it's obvious that I'll be the first to get exhausted and drop. Because I'm a normal person.
At the very least, to not be a burden to others, I'm the one who needs to recover stamina the best here.