Curiosity's Price
"Huff, huff...!"
I knew my body well enough. Not as well as its original owner, of course, but well enough.
Being shoved around by Minseo's strength and the like had given me a rough sense of how much power I actually had.
In the beginning it had been rather exciting. After so long I no longer had to watch anyone's mood; I was carrying a load that was almost a full share; and above all I was in the middle of trying hard enough to change how people saw me.
More than anything, the fact that it was a short distance for something called a dangerous adventure played a part. At most it was only a little longer than the lakeside walking path near home, so even if I broke a leg halfway I figured I would arrive within half a day.
"Ugh. What is with this grass."
We had only just left radio range, so we were only about halfway there.
What I had overlooked was that this was an alien planet, a place no one's feet had ever touched.
After crossing some reasonably solid flat ground, what came into view was terrain like a valley—not steep enough to call it that, but dangerous enough that a moment's carelessness could twist an ankle.
"Hoo, hoo-eup. Hoo-eu...!"
It was nothing like a summer valley outing. There, at least, people had found relatively safe routes after cracking bones and twisting joints somewhere. Here it was just rocks everywhere.
What irritated me most was that the path was not a simple downhill. Sometimes we went down, sometimes up; sometimes we got pulled along with help; sometimes we barely avoided being grabbed and falling.
So my legs were starting to stop listening. Only after lifting my foot to climb onto a rock about knee-high did I realize I had used my stamina right up to the limit.
"...Yaaap...!"
As I barely managed to climb up, a voice came.
"Hey, unnie? I don't mind you making those lewd sounds and making it hard to hold back, but shouldn't we rest a bit?"
"...W-when did I—"
"Want me to carry the bag for a bit?"
Jiwoo's voice came from behind, and in an instant the bag lost its weight, letting me catch my breath a little.
"Ah, no! I'm still fine!"
"Fine, my ass... Let's rest a bit first. How about it?"
"...We've come pretty far. 7.7 kilometers... Manager's at her limit, huh. Ah, can I take the bag for now?"
It was polite speech, yet somehow Jiwoo's tone felt exactly like a convenience-store clerk dealing with a little kid who had wandered in.
"Uh, th-that, it's hea-heavy, so be caref—"
It wasn't completely flat, so I worried about losing my balance and pulled my arm free, but Jiwoo casually lifted the bag with one hand and carefully set it on the ground.
Even if she was an office worker, she should have exercised a little, right? Yeoreum...
"Augh. So hard. Next time we set out, let's switch places. Jiwoo. Being at the very front is tough."
"Okay. And let's divide the bags reasonably."
Saying that, she opened the bag she had set down and began dividing the contents with brisk efficiency.
"...N-next time I'll go at the front..."
"Forget it. Unnie, just rest for now. You have to rest to keep going. Resting is fine, but we have to arrive before we sleep, okay?"
We had to reach outside the range before today passed. Since even radio did not work and the terrain was quite complex, we expected primitive techniques like signal fires would not work well either.
Only if we arrived within that time could they figure out on their side whether the system stayed silent even after leaving the range.
"Ah, I know. Hoo. Hah. J-just a little rest... And, the bag, I can, I can carry it."
With my breath up to my chin it was hard even to speak properly, so I plopped down on the flattest rock I could find.
"...From now on you have to speak up before acting. There probably won't be anything, but just in case."
"...Ah, sorry—"
"Heh-heh. Total luggage, our unnie."
Minseo took out something that looked like a water bottle, took a sip, and after saying that handed the bottle to me.
"Luggage..."
It made me feel oddly sad.
"Heh-heh! It's fine. We can carry you on our backs if we have to. Even if we ditch one tent, it's not like we can't."
Looking around, finally checking the ground and stomping it firmly with her feet a few times, only then did Minseo carefully sit her butt down. Without that series of actions it could be dangerous, I supposed.
"......"
It seemed better just to rest quickly. I could not help, so at least I should not become luggage.
We walked for a long time again. Subjectively it felt like several hours, but in reality it was barely an hour, and I was surprised by the world's deception as we repeated short rests.
"Two kilos... Can you keep walking? Unnie? At least considering running away with every last bit of strength until you die."
"Ugh, euk."
"No. That kind of thing won't happen, but we have to account for everything."
The two of them were now sweating quite a bit down their chins. Since they had never once wanted a rest break themselves, their stamina still seemed to have some left.
"...R-rest and then go..."
"Okay! Shall we rest a bit longer this time?"
Still walking, the thought that I could finally rest sent a thrill through me. I tried not to show it as much as possible, but "I feel like dying" had been my most frequent thought so far.
"Hmm... Let's go just to there. Flat, and a bit high."
"Ugh, hoo-eu."
After scanning the surroundings briefly, Minseo scanned them again and said that. The thought that I could rest made even that short distance feel like something I absolutely did not want to walk.
"..."
My gaze, which had been fixed on the ground without looking around, finally lifted enough to see the scenery.
The trees were a bit awkward somehow. That is—species I had never seen, yet looking like they might grow somewhere on Earth.
With trembling legs, only after having the bag supported from behind did I barely arrive at the spot, set the bag down, and flopped again.
This time there was no particular objection. Maybe because walking had confirmed it was not that dangerous. The thought rose as soon as I lay down, so I glanced around and started to sit up—but Minseo pressed my shoulder firmly and just said it was fine, rest.
Inside the bag I had stubbornly carried halfway, most of the load was gone. There were light clothes and simple foods, but even so it was hard because this—was not something I could endure.
Lying down, I could see the sky. Lying on ground with nothing, not even cement, looking at the sky felt strange.
"Hyaak. Hyat. Hat..."
The bursting breaths helped grab hold of my softening mind, so I raised my body again. Barely lifting only my upper body to look at the two, I saw Jiwoo fiddling with the PDA and Minseo taking another sip of water.
"Hoo-eu. Hah..."
"Stop making those lewd sounds. I'm seriously about to explode."
"L-lewd... It's not, not like that..."
"Liar."
After a bit of meaningless conversation my breathing finally calmed. Still sitting, I now looked down at the ground, but it was not particularly meaningful. Like elementary-school kids sitting and looking at the parade ground, I poked at the dirt a few times meaninglessly—
In the corner of my vision, something wriggling caught my eye. It did not seem threatening, so I turned my gaze, and something that looked like a tiny insect was crawling along determinedly, wriggling.
"..."
I was not the type to feel fear of insects or anything, but my body seemed to think differently; a momentary sinking sensation washed over me.
"......"
It was holding a scrap of something unexplainable and moving diligently, looking similar to an ant. A bit bigger than an ant, maybe, but not big enough to make out features.
For no reason I grabbed a small twig nearby and poked a spot in the little creature's path. Poke.
The insect, seeming startled, ran away, still holding what it had, fleeing to the opposite side.
Certainly, I could somewhat understand why they had come to pioneer this place. Even if it was for resources, better a place where you can breathe and live reasonably by Earth's common sense, right?
Strictly speaking, I was looking at an alien lifeform. Thinking that, a universal human curiosity rose to the surface—wanting to observe the fleeing thing a bit longer.
Poke again.
"Ow...!"
I tended to think little creatures had no self, so while playing with it for a moment the sudden prick at my fingertip made me unable to hold back and cry out. Because my tension had completely relaxed.
At the same time, the sound of something rushing over frantically—papapak.
"Eek...!"
Paat. The sound of my wrist being strongly grabbed, the sound of feet kicking the gravel field wildly, a sharp "kyak" sound all at once.
The one who grabbed my wrist was Minseo. The one running while kicking the gravel was Jiwoo. And the "kyak" of surprise was Minseo's voice as she fell from moving too urgently.
I was sure I heard the sound of blood draining from my face. Because it seemed I had caused another accident.
"Good thing you weren't hurt."
Minseo's single remark as she took off what looked like combat boots and massaged her own ankle made me shrink my body as much as possible.
"Sorry, I'm sorry. Th-that was—"
"Nah. Well. I would have found it interesting too. It's fine."
Anyone could tell she was hurt at a glance. For reference, the wound from the twig poke was really nothing, so just wrapping one band-aid with a bear drawn on it finished the treatment.
You might think Minseo overreacted, but this is alien territory.
If anything goes wrong it is a big deal, and the sight of someone who knows nothing, concentrating alone, screaming "kyak" and grabbing her own hand...
It would not be strange at all to judge she had been bitten by some unconfirmed poisonous insect.
"......"
Somehow tears seemed about to well up a little. Of course there was the feeling of apology, but also the patheticness of myself who could not even do one person's share.
Even though I clearly heard to be careful, tension relaxed or not, I was fiddling with something I knew nothing about.
Because of my fault I ended up worrying the two who were already taking risks. While going on about universal human curiosity or whatever.
"Ahahat...! Look at that face. So cute."
Minseo grinned, but even so her expression twisted briefly from the pain.
"...Hmm. What to do. Two kilometers... Want to try walking for now?"
"Yeah. It's not seriously hurt. If I rest a bit it should be fine? Can you take out the compression bandage?"
"Going back is a bit..."
"Just ditch what we can ditch. Whatever."
Minseo muttering while looking at her ankle, and Jiwoo rummaging in the bag beside her.
"D-does it hurt a lot...?"
Even in this situation with nothing to do, I carefully asked. It is not that I do not know it hurts, but I felt I should say something like this.
"It's really fine. Not severe. Don't even need a splint."
"But still... I'm so, so-sorry. Because of me..."
"Heung. It's fine... Ah, no."
For a very brief moment Minseo closed her eyes as if pondering, then opened her mouth again.
"Kyaaaak...! It hurts so much...! This is all because of Manager!"
"Hi, hik...!"
"It hurts! Aaaak! Someone save me!! 911!!!"
"U-um..."
It was obvious overacting. Even while joking, without loud volume, just acting out the screaming showed the meticulousness.
"If someone just shows me their boobs it'll heal completely like it was washed away!!! Aaaak!!!"
Of course, the following words... were so absurd that for a moment I failed to manage my expression.
"..."
We arrived. Minseo looked completely fine as if washed clean. Of course she limped a little, but it looked more like behavior to avoid further damage to the injured area rather than from pain.
"Let's pitch the tent! Heh-heh! For some reason I feel full of energy!"
That, well, could not be helped.
I knew it was a joke, but she kept yelling that she could not move a single step like this, so what choice did I have.
It was fortunate I was wearing a bra. They counted up to the bra as chest.