By Zephyria 
I was inwardly surprised. I was also happy about it.
However, the feeling of embarrassment was a bit greater than the joy. I couldn’t hold the child’s hand as usual and only averted my gaze to the side. Ahem, I let out a stifled cough. It was embarrassing that Ruben had called me aside to comfort me. It was newly embarrassing that I was acting my age and only showing clumsy behavior in front of Ruben.
I hadn’t particularly bothered myself with it until now, but I felt I needed to show a more mature side. However, I had no idea how to do that, and it left me feeling lost. I should have paid more attention to what that Jegal Amugae fellow said. I kept putting it off, saying it wasn’t my business, and now look at me.
While I was half-distracted, worrying about the hand I was holding, the group finished their necessary conversation.
Hugh Benson, sitting with a haughty posture, beckoned Nadish to sit with a mere flick of his fingertips. He carefully examined the man from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes for a long time.
What could he possibly discern by looking like that? Even though Hugh Benson knew a lot about the people of the desert thanks to Elvin, the clothes the man was wearing were all prepared by Tedros. I figured it would be difficult to discover anything special.
Nadish Haisan, tense under his gaze, adjusted his posture, and only then did Hugh Benson speak.
“A follower of the third god.”
“Yes.”
“Since when have you served him?”
Nadish hesitated, unable to answer immediately. Tsk, Hugh Benson made a displeased sound, and Nadish stammered with a troubled expression.
“…Well, time seems to be forgotten in the embrace of the Oasis.”
“Hah… Right, then. How old are you?”
“…”
“You don’t know that either?”
Is there anyone who doesn’t know their own age?
As I thought about it, Elvin Brooks shrugged and joined the conversation.
“Un-Kolpian?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“What is that?”
“It refers to a child taken in by the Oasis immediately after birth.”
“Didn’t the third god not accept offerings?”
“It’s because they say a child who is about to die will live if left near the Oasis.”
Did he really abandon the child, and did the god truly take him in and raise him?
The man appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties. Was his perpetual awkwardness due to growing up with something other than humans? I became even more curious about what kind of person this god might be.
After that, Nadish was still unable to answer well when asked about himself or the god. He had concepts, but many things he couldn’t express in words. He knew when a year passed but couldn’t count his age, and he didn’t know why the third god had summoned him.
He said he was merely told to bring me, so he came to fetch me.
Just as I was starting to worry about Hugh Benson’s thinning hair, the question that finally elicited a proper answer was this:
“…Right. When you go to the Oasis, is there anything special you need to bring?”
“Yes. Nothing in particular… Ah. There is.”
“What is it?”
“It would be best to wear clothes that can get wet beforehand.”
“Clothes that can get wet?”
Nadish nodded with a very serious expression.
“Yes. The third god, more than anything else, loves to play in the water, so once you enter his domain, you’ll be drenched multiple times a day. I’m used to it, so it’s fine for me, but I’ve seen many humans who were caught off guard because they didn’t pack away things that shouldn’t get wet.”
“…Hoo.”
“He also sometimes pulls people into the Oasis… In most cases, he helps them breathe, so it’s best to be mentally prepared not to be too surprised.”
“Are you worried they might faint from shock?” Marianne asked casually. Nadish shook his head seriously.
“No, because he finds it amusing when humans are greatly surprised… which can lead to more trouble.”
…What exactly are we planning to meet?
Even so, the man who kept saying “humans, humans” seemed strange. It was as if he were implying he wasn’t human himself. Would one become like that if they grew up with non-humans from birth?
After asking a few more things, I sent Nadish away, telling him to inform the servants if he needed anything.
The next half-day was spent with the Ranunculuses. The task was to let them get acquainted with our faces so that the Ranunculuses sent to the Duke Widrow Family later could follow us again, and to make them friendly by feeding each of the children’s mana to their fill.
We indulged the Ranunculuses, who wanted us to scratch their bellies and necks as they lay on their backs. We also played with the Ranunculuses we would be taking with us, and thanks to that, we grew very fond of the newly friendly creatures.
One of the Ranunculuses, who had taken on the colorful hues of our group’s mana, volunteered to go to Widrow, and we agreed.
Ruben stepped forward to convey our message. The gist was that they couldn’t just sit around and waste time at the Duke Widrow Family’s estate, so they would go on a pilgrimage. He assured us that they would send occasional updates, so we shouldn’t worry.
❖ ❖ ❖
Thursday of the second week of October, in the very early morning.
We decided to leave Tedros, who could only show off his talents in the city, in Bardiol.
Instead, several familiar yet unfamiliar faces joined us. We had heard in advance that the group would be expanded because the desert paths were very rough, but we were inwardly surprised that these particular individuals would be tagging along.
A man with white-blond hair slicked back grinned and bowed his head.
“It’s been a while. We hurried over because the Count said he needed some people.”
“I hadn’t heard that the White Lion Mercenary Group traveled in the desert.”
“Do monsters pick and choose where they roam? We have to pick and catch them.”
Besides Leon, the faces of a few others were familiar. Yes, it seemed they had carefully selected five of the mercenaries from the Dunmel Canyon who appeared to be the most skilled. The one with the axe was the leader, and four others—a tall one, a short one, a thin one, and a stout one—joined him.
Tedros handed me a paper with their brief personal details and resumes. Two women and three men. All five Sword Masters were born and raised in Sierran.
“There are too many monster byproducts in the Widdrow Duchy currently, so they don’t have the capacity to handle them, and the prices have dropped significantly. That’s why we found Sierran mercenaries in Bardiol and hired them right away.”
“Hmm.”
“The Shatun Desert is too harsh to travel with a group of fewer than ten people.”
I understood the unspoken part of Tedros’s words through his gaze. While it might be fine near the Widdrow Duchy, we didn’t know how long we’d be away from it, and it wouldn’t be fitting for Hugh Benson to continue doing our menial tasks. I knew he had helped us a lot, making things easier for us. It felt good to associate with mercenaries in the past. It was right for effort to be rewarded. If help could be bought with money, that seemed like the better option.
Mercenaries from Owen were difficult to trust completely, so they couldn’t be relied upon for critical tasks. However, the White Lion Mercenary Group was different. They were mercenaries from the Sierran Empire with a history of trading with the Magic Tower, and we had helped them just last time, making them good companions to have by our side.
They lived under the sky and slept under the wind, so we would likely learn and hear a lot by associating with them. More importantly, among our group, only Elvin was familiar with desert terrain, but he was very quiet and didn’t know how to deal with people. Mercenaries who could take care of our food and lodging were essential. For this reason, Hugh Benson didn’t seem to mind the mercenaries this time.
“Your names… Should I call you as written here?”
“Yes. Please call us comfortably. Hey, you, oi! You can call us that.”
“Oh, honestly…”
The mercenary leader grinned, revealing his teeth. His mouth was so wide that his numerous teeth and uvula were visible at once. While nodding at his broad, smiling face, I returned my gaze to the paper. We would be traveling together for a long time, so it was right to know them. I quickly compared their faces and resumes, memorizing them.
I remembered Leon, the mercenary leader, as I had spoken with him a few times. The tall one and the very thin one were women, both carrying longswords at their waists. The short one and the stout one were men; the short one wore a dagger belt visibly, and the stout one had a weapon resembling a morning star strapped to his back. Their names were Giselle, Ann, Peter, and John, in order. Despite their different appearances, all five had equally tanned skin, showing they spent a lot of time in the sun.
Hugh Benson meticulously asked about their skills and specialties, memorizing them from their resumes. I also listened in appropriately, contemplating how to evade and how to strike if I had to fight alongside them.
We decided to get to know each other slowly and, before the morning sun had even risen, each mounted a horse. Since we were heading to the desert, we couldn’t take a carriage, so we packed lightly. We were told that before crossing the Owen border, we would switch to other beasts that could walk in the desert.
That was a relief. While I was accustomed to walking barefoot, not all the children were. It was better to avoid hardship if possible.
Unlike me, who felt a persistent unease, thinking it was all my fault, the children laughed and chattered away.
Everyone in our group was wearing clothes similar to what I had worn when we first entered Owen, made by Felix. They were all wrapped tightly in colored or sand-colored cloth and wore conical hats, so no skin was exposed except for their faces and hands. It looked rather like a band of bandits, which I found amusing, but I said nothing. I worried that brighter clothes might be more conspicuous, but Tedros carefully examined their attire and explained that this was how one blended in the desert.
From Marianne, who was the smallest, to Benjamin, who had broad shoulders and was the largest, they all wore the same clothes. Ruben, with the cloth covering his hair down to just below his eyes to conceal his features, looked like a cotton doll, which was quite cute.
As soon as we left the mansion, a Spirit perched on top of my head. It whined that it had waited a long time and held onto my hair like reins, which was annoying, but Ruben seemed amused watching it, so I let it be.
Including us six, five mercenaries, and Nadish Haisan, we were a large group of twelve.
We spurred our horses forward in unison. Leading the way was Leon, the mercenary captain. I thought Nadish Haisan should be the one guiding us, but since we were going like this until we left Owen’s land, I just nodded. Humans would know human paths better, I supposed.
First, we had to go to the Oasis and find out what this god knew and why he was looking for me. My mind was filled with such thoughts. Far ahead, a Ranunculus clinging to Hugh Benson’s back sang a song of the desert in a high-pitched voice. Contrary to my worries, it was an exhilarating departure.