Chapter 151

Translator: Lizz

Proofreader: Xemul

The party left Kapha city, and their journey so far was a little better than expected, though they didnt manage to get far on the first day . All they did during the day was following the main road and exchanging greetings with the occasionally passing travelers .

Since they couldnt go farther than planned, they decided to set up a camp on the plain along the main road and called it a day .

Is it just me, or were going a little slow?

No, everyone feels the same, except for one person .

The reason is surely that .

Lapis said, as she was looking at two exhausted donkeys . Everyone could see that they were a bit overloaded and, Gula, the reason of this increased baggage load, showed a weak, apologetic smile:

Sorry . I eat a lot .

Its alright for us, but the donkeys are pitiful . Apologize to them .

Sorry guys . I just eat a lot .

Gula said and repeatedly bowed to the donkeys . Tizona just smiled wryly but Lapis, who knew Gulas true identity, watched the unbelievable scene with a perplexed expression . Lapis didnt know who called them Evil Gods for the first time, but she wondered how that person would feel seeing such a being bowing to a pair of donkeys .

Lapis expression became even more perplexed when Loren stacked up the huge amount of branches he had cut and picked from their surroundings into a pile .

Tizona, light these up .

Loren thought that as someone nicknamed Hellfire Sword, Tizona would be a master in using fire . But she protested with a merciless expression:

Wait a minute, Im not a tinderbox . Besides, theres green wood mixed in this, isnt there?

Cant you dry them?

Its not that I cant, but Well, you know my nickname, dont you? Should my ability be used for things like this?

Tizona asked with a rather pitiful expression . Surely this was a too lowly work to ask of a twice-named mercenary, wasnt it?

Loren calmly replied:

I dont care . If you dont want to do it, then buy firewood in the next town . Of course, this will be added to our expenses, and given that we will be camping a lot due to the round trip, you need to buy enough for future use . Alright?

Just let me do it .

Buying firewood would further increase the expenses, and so Tizona reluctantly changed her mind . She then lifted her hand over the tottering pile of wood gathered by Loren .

Can you dry the green wood?

Its alright if I just heat them up and do not burn them, right? In the worst case, I can force them to burn .

Isnt that magic?

Asked a priest of the God of Knowledge, who suddenly became curious about the process .

It didnt look like Tizona intended to hide anything, so she answered while scowling at the pile of wood:

Its my blessing . Another one aside from <<Roast>> .

Thats really convenient, isnt it? To be able to use magic to dry things

Im not sure, but its not supposed to be used like this . Rather, you should be more surprised about me having two blessings .

Now that you mention it

Aside from Tizona, Lapis hadnt met any other person with a blessing except for a certain adventurer named Klaus . He had a blessing called <<Boost>>, which allowed him to increase his own power and the power of those he touched . Klaus had never mentioned having another blessing, so Lapis wasnt sure if he was hiding it or if Boost was the only one he had . However, judging by the way Tizona spoke, it seemed that for one person to receive two blessings was extremely rare .

I have not only one, but two rare blessings . And now Im using one of them to dry your firewood

Youre using it for a peaceful purpose though?

Why does it sound like you are trying to give a noble purpose to my blessing here? Isnt it strange?!

What blessing is it, by the way?

Its called <<Heat>> . Im using it to dry firewood now, but this is what I used to burn our employers troops . And its where my nickname comes from .

Said Tizona and her left hand twitched by a small spark that immediately turned into the fire . As she clenched her hand into a fist, the fire started to grow and took a shape similar to a sword .

This is how <<Heat>> is originally used .

Tizona opened her left fist, and the sword disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared . There was no actual need to draw a sword, she simply wanted to show it to them .

Lapis exclaimed, truly impressed:

You really dont need a burner at all .

Youre the first one ever to have that kind of reaction after seeing <<Heat>> .

Tizona continued silently drying the firewood, but her shoulders now had slumped in disappointment .

After solving the issue with fire, Loren and Lapis managed to somehow prepare Gulas dinner . But when Tizona checked the amount of wood left, she became utterly surprised:

Wait, how could you use up almost all the firewood?

Tizona dried up quite a lot of firewood, but the amount left was barely enough for a bonfire . She was even unsure if it could keep fire going throughout the night .

To answer her astonishment, Loren wearily pointed at Gula:

We used more than half of it to cook Complain to the big eater over there .

Im not even half full .

Gula said sadly while rubbing her stomach . Tizona saw her devouring enormous amount of food, yet could not fire out where the hell did all go . Even more strange was that fact that her stomach didnt even look bloated .

I have a feel that well need to stock up once more before reaching our destination .

Lapis muttered in dismay while opening her map . The donkeys load was quite heavy, but it lightened up considerably after just one camping and the donkeys now looked somewhat happier . However, if this continued already after the second camping they would run out of food . It wouldnt be possible to reach their destination if they do not stock up at a village or a town along the main road .

Physical activities increase appetite, huh .

Loren, is this really okay?

Lapis pointed at Gula, who procured a toothpick from somewhere and was chewing on it . Loren was unable to give her an answer .

Saying it was not alright would mean throwing Gula out . What bothered him about doing so was not her being indispensable but the prospect of her actions afterwards . Rather than dumping a dangerous crate of combustibles without knowing where it would end up, it was better to spend some money and keep it within sight .

It cant be helped . We wont find any solutions even if we try to . Rather than that, lets decide the order to keep watch, then go to sleep .

Well, let Gula keep watch for the whole night then .

Wait a minute! I want to sleep too .

Gula spat out the toothpick and protested, to which Loren and Lapis looked back at her dumbfounded . Unsure if she said something strange again, she faltered a bit .

Lapis asked her, sounding rather confused:

Do you even need to sleep?

I do?! Im still a living being, you know?!

Havent you had enough sleep to rot your brains off? Not sleeping for a few days is still alright for you, isnt it?

You dont even intend to let me sleep even just once?

Please work as much as you eat .

Lapis said matter-of-factly, and Gulas expression turned sad .

Thinking that she couldnt let things progress like this, Tizona intervened:

Im not sure how serious you are, but shell die if she doesnt sleep for four days .

But she wont . At most, shell just have some hallucinations .

Why dont you just let it go? The one whose pocket hurts the most is me, isnt it?

Gula hung her head at the poison secretly hidden behind those words .

Seeing that Lapis had no objections, Tizona took out an hourglass from her luggage:

The sand will run out in exactly two hours . Since there are about eight hours left until morning, lets take turns and keep watch for two hours each .

Should we draw a lottery?

No, I proposed it, so Ill go first .

And so the order of keeping watch was decided like this: Tizona Gula Loren Lapis .

Hearing this, Gula energetically leapt at Loren as if her dejected expression earlier had been all a lie . Loren didnt have any time to dodge her advance and ended up having her clinging tightly to his arm . He tried to shake her off, but she held on firmly with both arms, making it impossible for him to push her away .

In that case, sleep with me, Loren .

Why should I?

Cause our sleeping bags are the normal type, while yours are high-quality . Itll surely feel different, right?

It was true, but that didnt mean he should comply with her wish . Gula embraced him in bed just recently, and the situation back then was really dangerous . If she did that within the tight confines of a sleeping bag, he would simply burst .

However, he didnt think that Gula would accept a refusal . Thinking that he was just human, Loren proposed a compromise:

You can use my sleeping bag then . The normal one is fine for me .

But thatll be meaningless . Two people will be warmer, right Loren? Right?

Gula rubbed her body against Loren . At this very moment, Lapis approached her from behind and covered her from head to toe with her sleeping bag . She even neatly tied Gula up with a rope while Loren watched on in astonishment . Like this Gula wouldnt be able to come out when her turn arrives . While Loren was wondering about such things, Lapis tossed a tightly-packed Gula into her tent and turned to look at him .

What?

You dont feel regret or anything, do you?

Thank you for saving me .

Hearing his thanks Lapis looked relieved . She then bade Loren and Tizona goodnight and crawled into her own tent .

Sorry, its quite a trouble but when its Gulas turn, can you take her out of the sleeping bag? I think she wont be able to get out on her own .

I-I understand

Well, Ill leave it to you then .

Loren waved lightly at a nodding Tizona and slipped into his tent . A day of walking had worn him out, though not as much as the matter of Gulas appetite, and sleep came soon after he crawled into his own sleeping bag .