When I woke up from having my MP emptied, the surroundings were already dark. The ball rabbit seemed to have protected me and Nina while we were asleep yesterday. But, it did not dive into the ground. I searched the surroundings, stretching my ears so that I will be able hear even a pin drop.
The ball rabbit who saw me get up was relieved and leaked out a small breath with a “Pu-he”, it then dug a hole in the ground and went in. Somehow it sounded like a proud elated voice, but I was concerned as there was no longer any power in the voice.
Looks like it was desperately looking out for me and Nina while we slept. Ordinarily, I'm confident that I'll get up as soon as a dangerous monster came. But since my MP was empty I slept deep and soundly.
I felt ashamed, since a little while ago I thought of serving up the ball rabbit as food. Let's fetch something delicious this time. Because of my [[Dragon Scales]], I do not know how long we can stay together….
Since I slept enough, my eyes were clear. Let's get up and do what we can.
When I sat down, I heard Ninas painful groaning voice. She did not seem to get up.
After observing for a while, I thought that maybe it was the lack of water, so I rummage through the cactus wreckage. Most of them were eaten or dried up being exposed to the sunlight. But miraculously, there were some debris which was not exposed to the sunlight. In those places the watery cactus had remained.
I bring the cactus peel to the vicinity of Ninas face, squeeze it, and have the water drip into her mouth. Since it will be painful if a lot pours out at once, I pour it little by little. Ninas groan subsided, but it is doubtful whether she was able to drink it properly.
I thought that it may be difficult to lie on the sand, so I gathered the skin of the cactus and laid it under Nina. It will be a little sticky but it will be better than laying on sand….Maybe.
The morning came and the ball rabbit eventually crawled out of the ground. It shakes its head to get rid of the sand.
Even if the ball rabbit got up, Nina didn't. She is breathing, but her physical condition may not be so well. Because of malnutrition and sunlight, the physical decrease in strength will be intense. Even before this, she did not eat very well, and this dry air also cannot be good for her.
Right now Nina needs nourishment and water. Around here there are only the remnants of what the ball rabbit and I have eaten. The cactus skin is also almost dry, and there is nothing left around with enough water. If I had known this would be the case, I would have left a bit more.
First of all, let's try looking for something to eat before Nina gets up. Nina will be hungry and I feel bad that I don't have anything to feed her. This will be the best for me to gain trust. I also started having feelings of attachment towards that cactus eating ball rabbit. Is it because that fellow is particularly easy to get along with?
Shall I have the ball rabbit watch Nina while I search?
The ball rabbit as it is now can handle F and about E rank monsters. However it would be impossible if the opponent was of rank D or higher. If it's something like that, I'll turn my attention on returning as soon as possible and dealing with the approaching monster.
Then, it will be impossible to surrender and leave….Looking around, it is vacant so I could see far, but there is also a limit to my eyesight.
For now I'll leave the sleeping Nina to the ball rabbit, and I run in the desert.
Although I am a little worried leaving Nina with the ball rabbit…well even if it's a small insect monster, it should be able to drive it away. But as long as I'm within range to notice a bigger monsters approach, I'll be able to do something about it.
I wish there was something convenient to eat nearby. I wonder if a camel's hump is enough? It should contain fat and water.
Should I look for some water first? At this rate Nina will die from the lack of water. Although I could prolong her life at the ball rabbits rest, it wouldn't be a very good thing.
Also, seawater is out of the question due to the large amounts of salt. However, if I recall there is a way to make seawater drinkable. Its in the corner of my mind, a memory of my past life. First I boil the seawater, and collect the steam in a separate container as it cools. It is a form of distillation that works by extracting the ingredients using the difference in boiling points.
But that's not very realistic right now.
I could boil the water just fine, but cooling it would be a problem. I could try burying it and then covering it with fur, but drinking from such a hole would be bad for humans I believe. I don't think that the countries and towns of this world are very hygienic as compared to the Japanese. But unlike me and other monsters, the humans don't have that many antibodies. I can't let her drink water from a beast's fur.
Well, anyway, it's either a camel or a cactus.
They both can supply both food and water. But after running for a while I could not find a camel, and the cactus was also not showing up.
She may also be weak because she was rolling around in my mouth while we were trying to escape from the giant centipede. Even if I were to move her carefully on my back there will still be some shaking, and there is also the possibility of her dropping.
I thought it would be better to take her with me so that I don't go too far after she recovers a bit. That way I don't have to take what I gather back, or else I would have to leave it there and leaving it makes me uneasy.
Would it be better to take her with my wings? It will be a little difficult fighting monsters in that state, but I feel I could manage somehow if it was just cactus. But forcibly using my wings would consume a lot of strength. Also, moving about with my wings would expose my dragon scales…
I just feel uneasy leaving it to the ball rabbit. I am anxious taking my eyes off of that fellow. He will be able take care of insects, he's quick and good at concealing. But that guy, don't eat Nina, okay?
I run while looking to my back frequently. I could see that the ball rabbit is shrinking in the distance. It's good that I could still see them in the distance due to it being free of grass and trees, but wouldn't it be useless if I can't make it in time?
After looking towards the distance, it seems this area is the limit. The ball rabbit looked at me, he was using his ears to fling the sand towards my direction. I glanced back a few times irritated for some reason. Certainly if I think of Ninas condition I should find food and water quickly. I guess there's no helping it that I get this nagging feeling thinking about it.
Is it to utterly destroy or dash to pieces? Well either way keep protecting Nina, im begging you ball rabbit.
I use [[Roll]] and leave behind the ball rabbit and Nina in the distance. I'm concerned, but for now I should first find food and water. Its either cactus or camel.
Come on, cactus or camel. A cactus or camel. As long as the centipede doesn't come, seriously, I don't feel like going face to face with it anytime soon.
While rolling for a while, I saw a green lump. This desert plant should be a cactus. It's here, the cactus came. I'm glad I found it early. I have to quickly take it and head back.
While thinking of heading back quickly, I realize that it's not a large amount. Thinking about Nina and the ball rabbits needs…this much is not enough for the ball rabbit. Well, the ball rabbit will be fine. I'm eating as much as I usually do so there should be some room in me as well.
Considering he's the [[Dessert Idol]], I should go on a diet. Even if I eat and eat my body shape will not change.
I keep rolling towards the green lump. At first I thought that my perspective was going crazy. Because I'm rolling my senses dull a bit, so I thought that it was just an effect of it. But, after a bit I started to realize that since there was nothing to compare its size too, my perspective may have been a bit off.
After approaching to a certain extent, I found out that the cactus was actually about 4 meters. There was a huge cactus lying on the floor like a caterpillar. It was probably a little smaller than me. Even though I was a bit too far off to see properly, my guess should still be within 2 meters at most, and this is accounting for inflation.
Even if I can't bring back the whole thing while using [[Roll]], just a small part should be good. It would be better to bring both Nina and the ball rabbit here as there is quite the amount. There shouldn't be many like it.
I started to slow down as I got closer, the cactus mass then shock slowly and unnaturally, then it got up.