Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Thousand-Ri Escape Journey -1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Desolation carries the meaning of decay.
The ruins of collapsed buildings, scattered debris that looks like someone's remnants, monsters prowling over soil burying ancient civilizations. And stars hidden by sandstorms.
An era where once-glorious things die off one by one. People gather what's left with both hands, clutching it tightly to keep from losing it, but in the end, it slips through their fingers.
Hopes chewed over until they've lost all sweetness taste bitter now, and lamenting the approaching despair is a luxury when mere survival demands everything. In such an age, a single boy was crossing the barren wasteland.
The boy's name was Esperro. Everyone called him Pero for short.
In this era, things that move fall into one of three categories: monsters, those propelled by lingering momentum without knowing why, or... very rarely, those harboring hope.
The boy had hope.
A compass he'd gotten by chance from an old fence woman. She said it pointed to paradise—a place free from hunger worries, where he, his children, and even his grandchildren could live in peace.
It might have been a cruel joke from a woman on her last legs. Someone else might have claimed paradise already. But the boy believed, and clung to that hope.
Because people can't live without hope.
The boy walked the wasteland.
Sometimes receiving aid from strangers, sometimes chased by raiders, sometimes hiding in sand pits to evade monsters. It was a grueling journey, but not a meaningless one. The distance marked on the compass was steadily decreasing, after all.
But it seemed his travels ended here.
"Grrr... grrrk."
"......"
A mutant wolf. A massive wolf lurching upright on two legs was drooling steadily.
The nasty thing about mutant wolves was their superior camouflage and speed. The boy's chances of escape were practically zero. It was as good as a death sentence.
A small boy with no combat skills or artifacts—surviving this long was already sheer luck. He knew that himself.
He also knew luck doesn't last forever. When luck comes, misfortune follows eventually. Like the two sides of a coin, fortune and calamity alternate.
So he felt no resentment.
"...Guess my luck's run out. Dad. Mom."
The boy didn't complain, just prepared for the next 'lucky one.'
He removed the compass, twisted into a necklace with chain. Wearing it now would mean it vanished into the mutant wolf's belly with him. No one would find it, and it might even break.
So he'd take it off and throw it as far as possible.
May some fortunate survivor find the compass and reach paradise. May that person live happily on behalf of all who'd died before.
With that wish, he threw it.
The compass traced a short arc through the air.
And was caught in a scarred hand.
"...Huh?"
"Need a hand, little gentleman?"
A soft voice reached him.
A beautiful woman with faded golden hair. A shawl around her neck and a red dress with a deep plunging neckline stood out. Her outfit didn't look combat-ready at all—but.
The mere fact she was alive and well in it proved her strength.
The boy stared blankly for a moment—then nodded frantically.
"Save me!"
"Hehe, that's no trouble at all."
"Graaaaaah—!!"
The mutant wolf opened its massive maw, big enough to swallow a child whole. Fierce fangs snapped shut like a guillotine. The woman in the dress sidestepped the attack with one step.
Thwack—!
She casually backhanded its jaw with her knuckles. The wolf staggered and collapsed. Then, a pulsing purple heart—its weak point—flashed in its chest.
"Everyone's got a core somewhere, right? Neutralize 'em for a sec, and it pops right out."
The woman in the dress plunged her hand into the mutant wolf's chest and clenched. Pfshh, mana remnants scattered. The wolf died effortlessly.
She looked down at the slumped boy and said,
"I'm Elaine. What's your name, little gentleman?"
"Esperro... Call me Pero!"
"Got it, Pero. I'm not familiar with this place. Came from very far away... Mind helping a lady out with some info?"
She winked.
Pero nodded as if entranced.
The boy's luck seemed set to hold a bit longer...
Behind a rock shadow, the two sat by a campfire.
Pero shivered in the crimson warmth. Starting a fire draws mutants, so solo travelers rarely risk it. For him, it had been months since he'd seen flame.
Sizzling wolf meat was thrilling too. To Pero, who'd subsisted on dung beetles under rocks, well-roasted meat was an irresistible temptation.
"...Hehe."
"......"
Elaine let out an odd chuckle at Pero gulping saliva. For some reason, her gaze made him oddly shy. He couldn't explain why...
Pero fumbled, grabbed a skewered wolf-meat stick, and offered it to Elaine. In the process, their eyes met—he looked away shyly, spotted her deep cleavage and whipped his head back, thought eye contact was polite and turned again...
Finally, he squeezed his eyes shut and thrust out the skewer in a bizarre pose.
"Ahaha...!"
Elaine burst out laughing. Pero ducked his head, even more embarrassed. Infinite shyness engine. Tears beaded at his eyes.
Elaine continued softly.
"Sorry, Pero. I have this condition where handsome gentlemen make me laugh..."
Pero looked around for this handsome gentleman. Naturally, no one was there. Just flickering shadows stretching long in the firelight.
"Not me, someone else... Me?"
"Yes, you. Small and handsome gentleman."
"...No, I'm not."
"You are."
Rice bends as it ripens, and Pero's face reddened like ripening grain as his head drooped. Elaine looked satisfied, belly full without eating.
If only the Second or Third Princes had this much charm.
Instead of indulging her dark urge to make the boy cry, Elaine shifted to a productive topic. Plenty to learn.
After a day adrift, Elaine knew this world was badly broken. Only monsters in sight, human traces just ruins.
But was this area especially dangerous, or the whole world? Monsters so far were easy, but tougher ones might lurk.
Smaller worry: language or gestures might differ. How to extract info from this little boy... Elaine pondered, then pulled out her trump card.
"Pero, mind pretending... I lost my memories?"
"Y-You lost your memories...?!"
Amnesia cosplay.
The Imperial Defense Bureau's secret weapon for agents hiding identity from locals. Proven effective, it worked on this boy too.
"Yeah. I remember my name... but nothing else."
"I'll help! So, um... where to start..."
The boy stammered through explanations. Rambling and disorganized, but his earnest desire to help shone through.
Elaine neatly summarized in her mind.
1) Humanity declining due to monsters called mutants.
2) Nations long extinct; largest groups are tribal at best.
3) Surviving humans mostly hide in forests or caves.
After the overview, Elaine focused on Pero.
"You're the first person I met wandering today. Pero, is this place usually... so deserted?"
"Ah, yes. Mutants roam here often. Only hunters venturing far for food come to wastes like this."
"Then what were you doing here? You don't look like a hunter..."
"I'm looking for paradise."
"Paradise?"
"Yeah. A safe place with tons of food. They say follow this compass to find it!"
Elaine examined the fidgeted compass. Red arrow pointed one way, distance in numbers below.
Well-crafted artifact. Too finely made for a casual prank, so paradise tale had credibility.
In a world threatening human survival, promises of safety and food were sweet. That raised a question.
"If it's real... it's precious. So why throw it at the end?"
"If eaten by a mutant, no one else could find it."
"...After you die, who cares what happens to others? No one would know or appreciate the kindness."
Ultimately, if you don't survive, it means nothing.
To that doubt, boy Pero smiled and replied.
"Some lucky someone will be happy for my share too!"
"...Then, mind if I join in on Pero's happiness?"
"Of course! You saved me. And paradise has food for generations after next—even two of us won't run out for ages!"
"Might fall short depending on circumstances?"
"...?"
Elaine glanced at her wristwatch tattoo, setting a provisional goal. Illusion or reality, reaching paradise for safety seemed solid. Promising companion too.
And for emergencies en route...
She needed bait anyway.
Distance to paradise.
About 400km.