A Long-Awaited Intense Campout
Zuuuung.
With a deep, rumbling hum, we tore across the plains.
Back when I was doing hero work, I used to ride my own custom mount all the time. It was a Ducati Panigale modified for hero duty. I’d zip around on it like some tokusatsu bike action scene, taking down villains left and right. Man, those memories hit different now. My body’s way smaller these days, so pulling off those old stunts would be a pain.
“Miss, how about over there?”
“Looks good. Let’s ride!”
Riding the superconducting bike taught me plenty. It really did move on pure will. That meant one wrong drowsy moment and you were headed straight to heaven. When we crossed areas without magnetic fields—like mountains, swamps, or lava zones—my own energy got drained to keep it running. No field meant no proper activation, so it substituted with whatever power I had. Convenient when it worked, annoying when it didn’t. Winz and I were fine, but ordinary people without mana couldn’t ride it at all.
Scratch that “no skill required” line!
Turns out there was a surprising amount to learn. Still, this thing was revolutionary. No fuel needed. Barely any noise. We reached a hill and picked a decent spot. When I looked up, night had already fallen.
Clear sky like this? Not bad at all.
The Milky Way stretched pure white overhead, dotted with colorful star clusters. It was so dreamlike I almost wanted to swim through it.
“Time to set up camp, hehe.”
“Yeah.”
We still had a ways to go before Madeline’s territory. The reason was simple. Like I’d said before, there was a heroine in Madeline’s domain who played a major role in the original story. We weren’t part of any hero party, and we had zero powerful backers. In times like these, lining up even one supporter was smart. We might not have political power, but we sure as hell had money. With that heroine on our side, the adventure was basically over. We’d get free passage anywhere.
I shifted the bike back into cloak form and confirmed a river nearby. Perfect. Climbing higher, I could see the full spread of mountains and fields. The height really hit me.
“I’m already missing the bed.”
“Right? It was so soft.”
“No, the best part is being with you, Miss. You’re like a doll—I could squeeze you all night!”
“You’re starting to scare me. Heuung.”
I sighed and shook my head. Winz laughed while prepping the meal. Watching her, I spoke up.
“I’ll handle the fire.”
“I’ll get the food ready! Oh, and I’ll lay out the blankets too.”
“What are you talking about? I’ll do it. Whoever’s free should handle it.”
Winz flinched at my words.
“Huuung, I love how domestic you are ♥”
I gathered branches and struck two dry stones together over a pile of dead leaves. The friction sparked, and soon a small flame danced to life. Winz returned with water and started trimming ingredients. We had some meat we’d bought earlier, but it wasn’t much.
Wanting meat on a camping trip is greedy, sure. Still, maybe I should’ve stocked more? Would the ring keep it from spoiling?
I should’ve run more tests. A few questions lingered.
Swish!
The nearby bushes rustled. Winz’s ears perked up.
“Miss!”
“What is it? Goblins?”
Running into goblins here wouldn’t be fun. Most forests and hills had goblin dens. These places were perfect for them to dig their burrows. Basically giant cockroaches.
Swish.
Something stepped out.
A wild rabbit.
Both Winz and I let out a breath.
Thud!
Something heavy splashed into the river nearby.
“Now what?!”
“Miss, you don’t think—?!”
We crept toward the river, pushing through the undergrowth. What we saw there was—
“Gora, gora! Goraaat!”
A water deer. One of them had been splashing around and bolted the moment it spotted us. Winz burst out laughing.
“Since when do water deer sound like that?”
“Right? Is that thing even a real water deer? Should we chase it down?”
“No need. Their meat has a strong gamey smell. And it’s not even good for stamina, hehe.”
“Fair enough. Maybe we’re just too picky? Why bring up stamina, though?”
Winz turned back to finish cooking. I really couldn’t let my guard down. I sat on the spread blanket. The long gap since our last campout had me on edge. But this was just camping. Anything could happen out here. If we died, there’d be no one to complain to.
Clang!
Winz dropped the stew ingredients into the pot, slammed the lid on, and declared confidently, “It’s been a while since we camped, so a little tension is fine! I’m feeling it too!”
I scratched my head while waiting for the food.
“The Rippleheim family… ever heard of them?”
Winz started to answer, then hesitated. Why?
“No, but I believe they’re mentioned in the history books.”
“So they’re some ancient noble house.”
It was strange. Why had they changed their family name? I’d never seen the Rippleheim name in the original story. If it had appeared, I would’ve noticed.
What kind of world is this turning into?
I sighed and stared at the campfire. Winz scooted over and pressed right up against me.
“If they disappeared long ago, there must have been a reason, right?”
“Hold on…”
I pulled out the terminal. I could just search it, right? Nothing. No Ether Web connection.
“Haa, guess we came pretty far.”
“Oh my, mine’s not working either. I thought we had a good ten kilometers of range.”
“Must’ve gone farther than that. The bike’s ridiculously fast, after all.”
“It really is speedy! Hmm, aren’t there a lot of cities near the East Sea?”
Most of the places that came to mind were coastal tourist spots. I had no idea where to even start looking.
“They’re mostly resorts. Not many places with real presence.”
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer. We’d just have to go there ourselves. By the way, how had Alonzo gotten tangled up with a family like that? And how had he planned to send that letter?
Man, if I had some truth serum, I could’ve fed it to him before killing him and gotten the real story.
Regret wouldn’t change anything.
“Dinner’s ready! Come eat!”
“Yeah, thanks, Winz!”
“Huuut… Eat slowly, my lord!”
“My lord? Where the hell did you even get that title…”
I shook my head and took a bite of stew. Not much meat, but it was still meat stew. Tasty. The broth had just the right depth and clung to the tongue. The occasional chunks of meat and vegetables were perfect together. Without hesitation, I dumped white rice straight into the bowl and mixed it all up.
“Now that I think about it, you eat like that a lot, Miss.”
“Why? Gross?”
“Not gross, just interesting. I’ve watched you for so long and never asked.”
I started to answer casually, then stopped. Huh. Had I really shown Winz this eating style that many times? Only a few times since we started camping, right?
“Ah, well. It’s just easier. You get to taste everything at once, you know?”
“Hehe, that’s true. Then me too? Hah!”
Winz poured stew over her rice just like I had. Watching her eat with that bright smile made all my worries melt away.
“Winz, this is seriously delicious.”
“Hehe, I wish I could serve you proper noble cuisine.”
“Who wants that while camping? This is perfect!”
For the first time in a while, we relaxed away from battle tension and talked openly over the meal. Sometimes these moments were nice too.
After finishing, I stood up.
“Feels like a waste to end it here.”
“We should’ve brought more bread. Hehe…”
“Well, we gave it all to the homeless. Anyway, there should be wild boar or lizards around here. Want to catch one and smoke it? Make some jerky or something.”
Winz nodded. She really was quick on the uptake.
“That sounds great!”
“Alright, wait here. I’ll bring back something impressive!”
“Husband, don’t be late!”
“We’re not married…”
Shaking my head, I headed into the nearby forest. The moonlight was bright enough tonight, so I didn’t need a torch or lantern. I glanced at my gloved hands.
Perfect chance to use Eileen.
I tapped my fists together and stepped forward. Carefully walking the forest path, I heard movement nearby.
Come to think of it, this place… was it the ruins from the original story?
Maybe it would be the same this time. Plenty of unknown developments had already popped up. I kept walking cautiously when three figures appeared straight ahead.
“What, three wild boars?”
Jackpot?
But the voices that came out weren’t what I expected.
“Do we look like wild boars to you? You crazy bitch! Goddamn!”
Three thugs with vaguely familiar faces stepped out. Where had I seen them before? Hard to tell—they all looked so generic.
“What the hell?”
The thugs clicked their tongues and laughed.
“Forgot us? Queen Wednesday!”
“This is revenge for our boss, you bitch.”
“Get ready, you fucking whore. We’re not gonna kill you quick!”
What the hell was going on? My eyes widened.
I pointed at them, trembling.
“Y-you guys… don’t tell me…?!”