By Zephyria 
Ruben didn’t indulge in childishness for long.
The child, brazenly, sat at the same table with the group starting the very next day after his birthday. The rest of the group treated him without reservation, given his behavior of acting as if nothing had happened. I was the only one who found myself swallowing a dry cough whenever I looked at the others’ faces.
Although I watched him practice Breathing and regulating energy morning and evening, he didn’t spend the entire day training. The saying that one could strengthen their body with aura didn’t mean they would never fall ill.
Winter was now looming just around the corner.
In the Central Plains, it would be natural to train one’s body in hot places during summer and cold places during winter, but in Sierran, the story was a bit different. There wasn’t a single person who would tell precious children to swing their swords through icy rain.
Instead, during the day, we generally sat around, chatting about trivial personal matters, or learned how to play card games with the ones the mercenaries brought.
At first, we learned a game where you had to find and draw the valuable cards from each other’s hands, but for Martial artists with sharp Eye Force, it was as easy as eating. The game descended into chaos because everyone figured out the location of the cards they needed before a single turn was completed.
What we started next was a game where the person who most quickly combined the numbers on their cards to reach a specific number won. Everyone was quick to flip and draw cards, but since they often got confused adding numbers, the win rate was even among most players, except for a few clever ones.
Hugh Benson, who had been boasting about the feel of the cards as he shuffled them, opened his eyes slightly and looked outside.
“She’s out there again…”
“Should we call her in?”
“She’s not going far, so there’s no need to call her… Ha, honestly. It’s bothersome.”
“Is this also some kind of divine communication?”
Elvin, who had lost six rounds in a row, shook his head at my question. It was unclear whether he didn’t know either, or if he simply didn’t want to be bothered.
The one who had been contemplating with only their hand of cards responded with a casual whistle, fweeeek, fweee. Since he wasn’t giving a complete answer due to his intense concentration, Hugh Benson answered in his stead.
“He says she’ll say something if she needs to, now that she’s all grown up… Is that it?”
“Is what it?”
“The thing that they say withers away after three nights. Though it seems quite damp right now…”
“It’s too damp, that’s the problem. Is she really okay…”
Yes, the only one among us who consistently went out to get rained on was Nadish Haisan.
Nadish didn’t have even a decent warming Artifact. Even when offered one, he politely refused, so I left him be, but I felt worried every time he came back drenched in cold water.
He refused an umbrella, and even when offered to dry him off, he just shook his head. He wasn’t going far, just in and out of the inn’s door. Seeing him come back soaking wet like a strand of wet seaweed as evening approached, I couldn’t stand it and asked.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Huh? Ah… I’m fine. This much is… okay.”
“We’re colder just watching you. What do you do out there every day? Just staring blankly at the sky.”
“Is this also that Cleric’s thing? Honestly, it’s a bit scary to watch.”
Only after Ann and Marianne pressed him did he hesitantly show his fingertips.
“Huh? This…”
“Yes. Here it’s still Owen, but… it’s raining. Because the Oasis’s touch is reaching us.”
What was this now?
On the tips of about three out of ten fingers, dark marks were clearly visible. It was Contaminated Mana. If more time had passed, as the Sylph had said, would he have become beast-like, like those confined in the auction house’s secret rooms?
As I looked at his thick finger joints, Marianne lifted her head sharply.
“You can’t use Divine Power directly? You’re just receiving it through the rain into your body?”
“It’s because I’m lacking.”
” Eeeeeung…”
“…Ah.”
Hugh Benson let out a short sigh and asked.
“Does that work on others too?”
“No. Probably… it’s because I’m someone the God of Oasis directly cared for.”
“Well… if that’s the case, you should go out often. Why do you come in at night?”
“At night, I get a little cold too.”
A few people chuckled at the seemingly joking remark.
Our first destination was the Oasis. While no one had met God, it was a world where one could frequently meet those who served God. All the mercenaries knew that Nadish Haisan was a devotee of the God of Oasis and had joined them to return to the Oasis.
These mercenaries were from the Sierran Empire. Having grown up in a land where the Magic Tower held great authority, to them, the marks of Contaminated Mana were closer to a curable disease than a divine punishment. They merely observed them closely, in case they themselves contracted the same ailment later.
Some of them asked if they could get rained on if they caught the same disease. Nadish just smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Just then, Ruben tapped the center of the table with his index finger and put down his hand of cards.
“Ding dong, the bell has rung.”
“Ah. Isn’t this cheating? How can you do that while we’re having a serious conversation!”
“Haha.”
“Who told you to think about other things? Let’s quickly finish and decide who’s last.”
While I was lost in thought, Ruben had finished his hand and laid it down. Giselle, who hadn’t laid down a single card yet, whined, and Marianne defended her on behalf of the child. Ruben just smiled and pulled his chair closer to me.
Without much thought, I showed Ruben my hand, and Elvin, who was in front of me, glared at me resentfully. Marianne, giggling, quickly teased Ruben.
“Ah, no helping! What are you doing, senior! Stick to me!”
“Mika, this. This and this combined make seven.”
“…Hmm.”
“Leave them, they’re already one body.”
Hugh Benson, who had finished his cards long ago, took my side. I also chuckled, having narrowly avoided being last thanks to Ruben.
After a moment of thought, Nadish pulled up a chair and begged to join. He was as clumsy at card games as Elvin. Thanks to that, time passed by quite well.
Tuesday of the second week of November.
The rain, which had fallen for seven consecutive days, stopped. Seeing the clear sun early in the morning, the entire group packed their belongings right after breakfast. It was partly because none of them liked to postpone tasks, but also due to their kindness.
Now that it wasn’t raining, Nadish’s contaminated areas would gradually spread. It was usually Hugh Benson who set our course and hurried us along, as he knew well the effects of Contaminated Mana on the body. Seeing him rush, I figured the sooner, the better.
We set off on our journey again.
Perhaps it was because we had more time to rest, chat, and play together, or perhaps because we spent more time eating and lounging. Traveling with mercenaries felt much more comfortable. It seemed the mercenaries felt the same way, often engaging in silly pranks and getting along well with the children.
Amidst unobtrusive silence and cheerful commotion, we switched to different beasts.
The new beasts we acquired were called camels. Camels looked similar to horses but were larger, with blunt noses and a somewhat protruding face. The Kunlun Daoist had once spoken of a similar beast, but I had no interest in beasts and had never seen one, as I had no reason to travel to the Western Regions.
Perhaps because of that. The beast’s protruding lower lip and blunt face felt very unfamiliar and amusing.
The humps on their backs were as large and high as a human head, leaving no room around the saddle placed between them. Their hooves were large and wide, designed to tread well on sand, looking as if they had sandbags attached.
When I stroked their rough, shaggy fur as if brushing a horse’s mane, the camel looked down at Ikyun and then thrust its head forward to act spoiled. I scratched and soothed its chin, like one would a dog. I was satisfied, thinking it would be a better companion than I expected.
“The fur is thicker than I thought. I assumed the desert was always hot, but…”
“It’s winter now. It gets much, much colder on winter nights. This is what’s needed.”
“Of course, it won’t be as cold as the Widdrow Duchy. These things around their necks are temperature-regulating Artifacts. They’re simpler, being for animals.”
The mercenaries informed me as they loaded and secured the luggage, accessories, and Artifacts onto the camels.
Feeling awkward standing idly while they worked, I lent a hand. The mercenaries looked at me as if I were cute, smiling and praising me, then they looked at our group bursting into laughter, their eyes widening in confusion.
The mercenaries continued to treat me like the youngest, cherishing me. I just felt embarrassed and cleared my throat a few times. What good would it do to spread it around?
Since the story of my past life, Hugh, Marianne, Benjamin, and Ruben had all treated me like a being somewhere between a child and an adult.
However, they were children who had treated me with respect and kindness even before that. Hugh Benson began to ask for my opinion more often than before, but this was not something that was overtly noticeable.
I bore the mercenaries’ treatment of me as the youngest well. Each time, seeing the children laugh and enjoy themselves, I didn’t feel reluctant.
❖ ❖ ❖
If one were to sculpt a sea out of sand, this would be the sight.
The shifting sand dunes, swept by the whistling wind, lost their form and stretched out far to the east and west. We followed Nadish Haisan, who led the way, riding our camels in a line.
A day after crossing the Owen border, the landscape was filled with pale, fine quicksand in all directions.
The sand dunes, white by day and black by night, were so vast they sent a chill down one’s spine.
I had thought only the sky was this large and wide, but this land also had a sky.
A sky that rippled when the wind blew and stood grandly when it stopped.
It was dry when I inhaled, yet refreshing when I exhaled.
Whether the ticklish thoughts stirring within were the seeds of enlightenment or simply the impression of a magnificent landscape, it was unclear. Instead of looking ahead, I wandered as if entranced, my gaze shifting here and there.
During the day, the sun was so hot that heat haze rose from the sand, but the conical hat covering my head deflected the sunlight, making it bearable.
As the sun set, the mercenaries’ hands moved swiftly to build triangular tents with walls to block the sandstorms. Ten of us lay huddled together in the somewhat cramped tent.
Given the season and the particularly cool desert nights, sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder like this was natural.
Thanks to that, I lay holding Ruben in my arms for the first time in a long while.
What could I do if he couldn’t sleep because he was cold, other than push the child away? The two mercenaries standing guard outside the tent chatted softly, their voices muffled by the night wind.
Only a few more days left now.
What would I hear upon arriving at the Oasis? As I pondered this, Ruben, knowing I was awake, began to pat my back, soothing me like a child.
I looked at him, astonished, and he smiled bashfully again.
“Sleep well, Mika.”
“…Yes.”
…I was speechless and simply closed my eyes.
Yes, why worry in advance? Whatever it is, I’ll know when it happens.