Chapter 159: True Heat
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
“Sho hotss….”
“I’m dying… I’m burning up…”
When we first arrived at Sorching Sand Floor through the teleportation circle, Ramis said something about wanting to experience just how hot it was, so I did not set up the <barrier> immediately.
The <Cooling>/<Insulation> functions affected people within my area of control, so I turned those off too before my party marched forward and threw open the door. The above were the first words I heard from my companions.
The heat was so strong that it made the air shimmer, making it look like the scenery in front of us was wavering in the air. I couldn’t feel the heat, so I was not affected. However, since I was braced against Ramis’ back, I could feel the slickness of the sweat through her clothes.
Shui’s conviction of ‘being strong against heat’ was rapidly melting out with her sweat as the heat beat down our party.
“This heat’s too unnatural…”
The usually cheerful and energetic Ramis looked like she was practically wilting.
At this rate, if I didn’t do anything, she would probably melt away and evaporate into the air. Let’s quickly restore the <Cooling>/<Warming> functions before they take on more damage.
“Oh, it’s suddenly much cooler. Thank you so much, Hakkon!”
Looks like activating the general temperature control was enough, that way I don’t have to worry about having enough points to maintain a <Barrier> indefinitely.
That said, I should take this opportunity to replenish my points through the <Solar Power> function. Even if I don’t need to spend the points later, there’s no reason to waste the brilliant sunlight. There, I set up the solar panel on my head.
“Ramis you cheater! You’re sticking to Hakkon because he’s cold, right?!”
Shui suddenly stuck herself to me. She must really enjoyed the coldness of my body as she wriggled and rubbed her cheek against me, clearly enjoying the chill. “Hauuuu~~ it’s nice and cold here~~”
Since it looked like we might not be able to pry her sticky self from my body, Ramis just started walking forward with Shui clinging to me.
“This is my first time on Scorching Sand. It’s really hot,” said Ramis.
She must have really been affected by the heat, this was the first time I had heard her accent in a long time.
“Oh, that’s right. I’ll wear that cloak that Hakkon got for me!”
Although there was no need for Ramis to do anything to protect herself against the heat with me, she was nice enough to go out of her way to wear the cloak I had gotten for her.
The vertical stripes were kind of flashy, but I think they really suit Ramis.
“Well? What do you think?”
“Cu-te”
“Ehehe, thanks~”
Ramis blushed at my honest compliment. It’s really great to see someone react well to a sincere compliment. Still, this was not the time to relax and let one’s guard down.
The structures on this floor were mostly made out of bricks and stones. The larger structures looked like they were made from hewn stones while the smaller ones from bricks.
I think I learned somewhere that super hot and dry conditions like this are best for brick-making. Clay could be moulded into desired shapes and left to dry in the sun. Egypt, for example, is a great place for making bricks.
“These structures are pretty interesting, aren’t they? Look they are mostly all reddish brown,” said Ramis curiously.
“It looks like they stacked up blocks made with dried soil,” said Shui.
“Welcome”
The blocks are actually called bricks.
It was kind of perplexing to think about how different the climates of the floor of the same dungeon were. However, I can only accept the overly simplified and all-encompassing explanation of this being an ‘Other World’ to explain things.
Since it was so hot, I thought that not many people would be out and about. The common sense thing would be to hole up somewhere nice and cool. However, there were quite a few people wondering about the place.
Because of the heat, most people wore turbans, hoods or wide-brimmed hats.
Men were either in thin shirts or completely shirtless. Shorts were everywhere and the preferred footwear was sandals.
Women were a little more modestly dressed. However, even with their thin clothes, I had to wonder whether they were too hot. Aren’t they hot? Surely they’re hot under that layer of clothes? [1] I had expected exposed shoulders and belly buttons at least but was disappointed to find that the ladies were mostly conservatively dressed. Were they worried about the sun’s rays?
“Um, so, I think we had better go to the Hunter Association first.”
“Right, let’s. We should gather information there. We also have to deliver that letter from Director Bear.”
That’s right, we have been entrusted with a letter from Director Bear. It was a good way to introduce ourselves to the Director of Scorching Sands.
We have already been given details regarding the location of the Hunter’s Association. So, our little party headed over right away. Even so, the stares from the people around us were kind of prickly.
I guess we stand out. An obviously feminine and girlish Ramis carrying a heavy-looking iron box with a sticky Shui clinging to the side of said box. It would be a shock if we did not attract any attention.
We managed to somehow endure the looks and made it to the Hunter’s Association office. The building was made of stone and though it was not quite as magnificent looking as Clearflow Lake’s Hunter Association office, it was sturdily constructed and looked strong.
After going through a set of double doors, we came to the lobby and approached the counter.
“Welcome to the Hunter Association…” the employee, who had greeted us automatically with a professional smile froze, looks like they had caught sight of me was not entirely sure how to react.
“We’re from Clearflow Lake. We have a letter from the Director of Clearflow Lake. May we see the Director of Scorching Sands?”
Ramis’s professional tone seemed to shake the employee out of their stupor, enough to stammer, “Uh, ah, yes. Please wait for a moment.”
Even as the staff member made their way towards the stairs, they could not seem to look away from me. When they walked around me and saw Shui sticking to my back, they even rubbed their eyes and stared for a moment before hurrying away.
Aside from the employee, there were hunters loitering about in the lobby. All of them were staring intently at us.
I have read several novels where this kind of thing happened. Rookie hunters would get the stare when they happened upon higher-ranking hunters. Still, it looked like these guys were just curious and observing us out of curiosity more than anything.
In fact, I’d say they were probably watching us from a distance, and would only interfere if we turned out to be dangerous people.
“Oi, go say hello. Both are pretty cute, yeah?”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. One is carrying an iron box and the other is sticking to it. Both are weird.”
“Well, I guess…”
I could faintly hear the vaguely humorous banter, but it felt like their level of vigilance was higher than their joking tone would imply.
Since this was their first time encountering a vending machine, I guess no one was brave enough to be the first to approach us?
“Aaaahh! It’s Master Hakkon!”
Someone finally cracked the tension in the air. That same person was rushing towards us. There was only one person who would address me as ‘master’ in this world. Even in this swelteringly hot world, he did not take off his full-bodied, black armour. There was a large, dragon-shaped sword strapped to their back.
It’s been a while, Mishael.
“Please accept my apologies for the long absence. I’m sorry for causing you any worry.”
“W-Welcome”
I absolutely cannot say that it never occurred to me to worry about him at all. Moreover, with all the things that had been happening within the dungeon, I may have even forgotten about him for a bit…
Hey, this means that for the first time in forever, I have managed to reunite with everyone who had been scattered by that first teleportation circle? Well, I’m relieved to know that everyone’s fine.
“I was sent to this place alone with no way to return and was troubled about what to do when a swarm of monsters attacked the village. Naturally, I fought in defence of the village and things finally calmed down a little. I was in the middle of thinking about returning to Clearflow Lake.”
Wow, he managed to say all that in just a single breath. There was really no need for you to explain yourself like this, but I guess Mishael really wanted me to know that he was sincerely doing his best so that we could meet up again.
“Well, I’m really glad you’re safe Mishael. The rest of us are at Clearflow Lake, so there’s no need to worry about them,” said Shui.
“I’m glad to see that you’re safe,” said Ramis.
“I am glad that both of you have made it safely, and that the others are safe as well,” said Mishael.
Shui was not at all shy about talking to Mishael even while [1] she was all sweaty and plastered against my side.
I was happy to see Mishael, of course. However, I can’t help but wonder how they did on their own since they had trouble communicating with people. I was not at all worried about his combat skills, but more about how he managed to talk to people.
I do hope he managed to improve his communication skills a bit.
While I was worrying about this, he quietly sidled to my side and leaned his face close against my body.
“I’m glad master is here, Master. I could not relax at all and my stomach… my stomach is…”
He clutched his belly pitifully, the terrible wrinkle on his forehead ruining his good looks.
I guess mental ailments cannot be solved quickly. Please look after yourself, you have worked hard.
“The Director wishes to meet you. This way, please.”
It was the employee who had gone up the stairs before. We followed them to the second floor towards the Director’s office.
I wanted to ask Mishael to come with us since he ought to be more familiar with this floor than the rest of us. Even before I could formulate the question, he was already following us. Looks like he was unwilling to separate from me, which worked out perfectly actually.
After going through a double door painted a vivid red, reminiscent of a strong sun, we stepped into the Director’s office.
It was surprisingly plain and ordinary, with a single splendid desk dominating the room. Seated on the other side of the desk was the Director of Scorching Sand, he looked the same as I had remembered him during our last meeting.
His bronze skin looked really suited to the Hawaiian shirt adorned with flame patterns. His brown hair spiked up menacingly, like flames and I had to wonder whether it was natural. Do hair products exist in this world?
“Good of you to come! It’s been a while, welcome!”
He had a booming voice suited to his loud shirt. The room was pretty small so his voice resonated very well in here.
“Oh, Mishael is here too! You’ve been a great help to us!”
“No, no, it was no trouble…”
The Director was also sweating and red in the face, clearly also bothered by the supposedly unusual heat, just like the rest of us. I was even more impressed by Mishael who was able to maintain his ‘handsome man’ looks while wearing what must be a shockingly hot outfit.
[1] Hot as in sweltering, not the other one.Hold on, since he was not even sweating, could it be that his armour has some kind of heat-blocking function?
I had thought that this room may be cooler than outside, but as soon as I was moved away, Shui followed after me and stuck against my side again. Looks like it was equally hot indoors.
“We have a letter from Director Bear.”
The Scorching Sand Director quickly accepted the letter from Ramis, broke open the seal and read through it quickly.
“I see, looks like you guys had quite a tough time, eh? Also, it says that Hakkon here could provide us with water?”
“Ye-es”
Although my reply was too short to be considered polite when speaking to someone like a Director, I’m sure he would not mind.
“That would be a great help! The oasis water had been running low for a bit. This is especially troublesome with all those hoards of monsters and not a single drop of rain. I’ll definitely pay for it, so bill me!”
I could provide both mineral or ice water, whatever kind of water they needed.
“So, there’s something I would like to ask for your assistance to investigate. Would that be alright?” Shui spoke up a little timidly. She sounded a little out of character, but I guess that’s understandable.
“Oh? Well, there’s no need to hold back. Just say the word!”
“There should be a priest called Hevoy on this floor. He dresses in white and I want to look for him.”
“Is that all? Consider it done. I shall inform my people, so rest assured.”
Since we could borrow the Director of Scorching Sand’s connections, looks like we could probably find out Hevoy’s whereabouts more quickly.
I don’t think I would be much help since I have the job of providing water, so it was great to have his assistance.
“Sorry to rush you, but first, I must ask for a beverage service. You can start whenever you like. It would be great if you could set yourself up in front of the Hunter Association!”
Oh? So you want to have a drink stall in front of the Association?
That’s a good location. I could also gather information while selling drinks.
[Gumihou: Okay, that escalated quickly.]
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