Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: No Shipwreck for the Protagonist (2)
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Dawn woke from a deep sleep.
It felt like he’d dreamed something, but he couldn’t remember what.
Like all happiness that couldn’t be reclaimed, the dream left only faint tears behind.
As he wiped them away, a familiar voice called out to him.
“You’re awake?”
Standing on the hazy border between dream and reality, Dawn finally lifted his head. Seti sat right beside him, gazing down with the blazing sun at her back.
“How’s your body feeling? You looked like you were having a good dream.”
Seti teased, tapping his forehead lightly. Dawn stared at her blankly, then recalled his last memory before falling asleep.
The unidentified mana that had burst from the stabilized dimensional gate.
His companions had faced it without a moment’s hesitation, stepping into True Strike.
There hadn’t been time to save himself, but the Saintess and the others…
“…What happened to everyone? Is everyone safe?”
“Yeah, thanks to you, Dawn. Only…”
Seti trailed off, turning her head away. Dawn followed her gaze and momentarily lost his words.
The first thing that caught his eye was an endless horizon.
The landscape stretching beyond it was so barren it felt desolate. Not a tree or blade of grass in sight.
Nothing but rocks, gravel, and parched sand.
‘A rocky desert?’
A sight he’d only seen in books or on TV. Dawn rubbed his eyes and pinched his cheek. It hurt.
Not a dream? Then…
“…We crossed the dimensional gate.”
It was the right answer. As Dawn turned to her with a face seeking explanation, Seti gave a wry smile.
“…It was the only way to save you.”
With those words, she began explaining what had led them through the gate.
From the moment the iron shackle gripped his hand to leaping in together.
Dawn’s expression didn’t ease the whole time he listened.
Especially when she mentioned trying to stab her own throat, he grabbed her hand tightly and pleaded.
“…Don’t ever do that again.”
She couldn’t promise for sure, but Seti agreed anyway. Then she added a final detail about their surroundings.
They’d ended up in a desert after passing through, and she had no idea where they were.
Hearing that, Dawn’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Any signs of people or animals around?”
“Yeah, I scouted the area while you were sleeping… Nothing at all.”
“Any valleys or mountains?”
“Nope. Just rocks and sand in every direction—east, west, south, north. Oh, but there is something to use as a landmark. That huge rock formation over there, and…”
Seti began sketching a rough map in the dirt with her finger.
Dawn stared at it for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. A reflexive smile crossed his face. He had a good idea where they were.
“…Southern Demon Realm.”
“Huh?”
“The rocky deserts beyond dimensional gates are only the Barri Desert and the Southern Demon Realm. But… you can see the Dwarf Mountains to the east from the Barri Desert.”
“…”
“You said nothing’s visible here… so it has to be the Southern Demon Realm.”
With that, Dawn brushed himself off and stood. He offered his hand to help Seti up, then gazed toward the horizon.
“Let’s get moving for now. If this really is the Southern Demon Realm… we need to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall.”
“…”
“Food and water… we’ll hold out with mana as much as we can. If we’re lucky, we might run into nomads or slave traders…”
As he continued, Seti interrupted with a slightly surprised look.
“W-Wait, Dawn. Hold on a sec.”
“What?”
“…How do you know all this so well?”
Dawn shrugged.
“I saw it in a documentary.”
“…A documentary?”
“That’s my one hobby.”
Seti realized anew, watching his faint smile, how little she really knew about him.
His favorite food, his clothing preferences, his hobbies…
Fortunately, they had plenty of time before getting back to Earth, and no interlopers to interrupt.
‘Is this maybe a chance to get closer through the crisis?’
As that cheeky thought crossed her mind, Dawn used the shadows to orient himself and started walking.
Seti hurriedly grabbed her hammer and pistol, following behind. Her heart swelled at the thought of private talk with Dawn, but…
Crossing the desert was far less romantic than she’d imagined.
Walking under the scorching sun without a drop to drink made even opening her mouth for conversation a chore.
They were superhumans, sure, but they’d exhausted themselves in the sewers first.
Even reinforcing their bodies with mana hit limits quickly.
By the time the sun dipped toward afternoon, Seti’s breath reeked of acetone.
Dizzy spells and trembling legs came as bonuses.
She hadn’t passed out only because Dawn carried her hammer for her and let her rest intermittently.
“Just hang in there a bit longer. We’ll drink soon.”
Every time her steps faltered, Dawn encouraged her. Seti nodded, a small stone in her mouth.
She’d heard sucking on a stone gathered saliva to ease thirst, and it actually worked better than expected.
At least the documentary knowledge was proving useful in the wild.
“…Found it.”
Soon after, Dawn truly located water.
Or rather, a spot where water should be.
“Wait here and rest. I’ll find it quick.”
They’d arrived at a place with sparse green plants.
Dawn explained that plants meant water nearby.
But no oasis or pond in sight.
Seti pictured question marks in her head but waited without doubting him.
Dawn poked around the plants, checking the sand below, and once he found a clump of damp soil, he started digging furiously.
“…Need help?”
Seti asked, but Dawn shook his head.
“You’re worn out—rest. I’ve got this alone.”
As if to prove it, he scooped out dirt barehanded. Even using mana outright.
After digging about a meter, wet soil like mud bubbled up.
“Huh?”
From there, it was smooth sailing. Dawn dug a bit more, and water trickled out.
“Seriously…?”
He’d found water in the desert using documentary info?
As Seti blinked in shock, Dawn chuckled and explained.
“This is probably a well nomads or merchants dug before. Buried in sand, that’s all.”
“…Deserts have wells?”
“Even deserts get rain, and water flows down… so low ground naturally has groundwater.”
Looking around now, the whole area was hilly. Seti gazed at Dawn, half amazed, half impressed.
Soon he drank, then stepped aside for her. Seti climbed into the hole he’d dug and scooped up water.
Desert groundwater was sweet. Sweeter than any she’d tasted in life.
But once the thirst eased, worry overtook joy.
March another stretch with this as their last water?
If only they had a waterskin, even a plastic bottle…
Seti rummaged her pockets for anything useful. Of course, nothing.
They’d been dragged to the sewers and jumped the gate with no prep time…
‘…Huh?’
Then she found something odd in her outer jacket pocket.
A square plastic wrapper bulging with a round something.
The instant she saw it, Seti froze. Anyone would recognize Earth’s most famous contraceptive.
‘…Why is this in my pocket?’
Panicking, she suddenly recalled just before being forcibly summoned to the sewers.
Her sisters chattering about progress with Dawn, nephews or whatever… Definitely them.
Neti or Siri.
‘Those crazy bitches…’
Seti gritted her teeth to rip it open. But the moment she gripped it with both hands.
“Seti, what’re you doing? Still drinking…?”
Her eyes met Dawn’s as he peered from the well.
“…”
Awkward stares. Tense silence.
Seti’s face flushed crimson.
She tried to stammer an excuse, but Dawn beat her to it.
“…You know condoms can hold one to four liters depending on size?”
“…”
“Perfect timing—we need a waterskin. Lucky, right?”
His tone brimmed with consideration, trying not to embarrass her.
Seti couldn’t hold out and bowed her head.
Meeting his eyes felt like her head might explode.
***
Luckily, they never had to use their creative waterskin themselves.
Dawn spotted rising smoke gauging sunset and found desert nomads.
The nomads grabbed weapons to chase off the approaching pair. Natural reaction.
A boy-girl duo in school uniforms smack in the desert heart?
Perfect recipe for mistaking them for Demon Realm monsters.
But once Dawn offered the creative waterskin, the nomads flipped, welcoming them as guests.
Anyone who brings water is a guest, no matter who.
Dawn said it was desert nomad tradition… Seti, clueless, just nodded along.
Anyway, Demon Realm nomad life wasn’t much different from Earth’s.
Loose, full-body coverings for insulation; tents of cloth and hide over sturdy wooden frames; raising livestock.
The one difference: they weren’t human, but orcs.
…Yeah, orcs.
All burly, green-skinned, flat-nosed, with tusks jutting out—classic异種族.
***
“…I-I’ve never seen a real orc before.”
Inside the guest tent the orcs led them to, Seti blurted it out.
Dawn, massaging his calves on the tent floor, tilted his head.
“Really? That’s surprising.”
“…What, you have?”
“Yeah, saw one in Incheon once.”
“Incheon? How? Orcs crossing dimensional gates is illegal.”
Fair question, but Dawn’s answer was simple.
“Black market.”
“Oh…”
Incheon black market made sense. Seti nodded, then mimicked Dawn, rubbing her legs.
Her calves, abused all day, twitched with pain and surging fatigue.
Good thing superhumans regenerated; a normal person would need days off for that soreness.
“…How long to escape this Demon Realm?”
After rubbing a while, Seti asked curiously.
“At this pace, four to five days? That’s optimistic—probably a full week.”
“…A whole week?”
“Not exact. Just a rough guess.”
Dawn smiled as if not to worry, but given his feats today, a week seemed spot-on.
A week in this desert. Seti pressed her throbbing temples.
“Grueling march.”
At least Dawn was with her… As that thought hit, Dawn said slyly.
“We’ll see, but… might be a way to cut time.”
“…A way? What way?”
“Well, these orcs here are actually…”
Just as he started explaining.
A thick orc voice boomed from outside the tent.
“Guests!! The chieftain!! Invites you!! To dinner!!!”
Voice so loud the tent shook.
Seti’s fine brows furrowed at the interrupted chat, but Dawn stood calmly.
“…Gonna accept?”
“No choice. Guests refusing host’s dinner invite breaks etiquette. Gotta follow their smoke signal.”
More tradition crap? Realizing no options, Seti rose after him.
“They won’t serve weird food, right?”
“Doubt it. Orcs’ diet isn’t that different from humans’.”
“Really? So staple food’s what? Bread? Porridge? Dairy?”
Nomads, so dairy? Seti pictured cheese, but Dawn’s reply blew past her imagination.
“Spam.”
“…Joke? Or different Spam?”
“Nope, the Spam we know. That’s their real staple.”
* * *