Chapter 14
Scrap Farming (1)
“Are you ready?”
“Ready for what? We’re just going, right?”
The next morning, Camilla sat in the driver’s seat of the minibus and asked me this as I climbed aboard.
When I answered curtly, she spoke in a tone that carried a hint of meaning.
“Well… is that really so?”
“Hey, aren’t you making people nervous? What do you mean by that?”
Surely, she doesn’t mean I’m going to have to handle all the loading and unloading by myself today, does she?
If that’s the case, I’m confident I’d be more scared than anyone else.
I stared at Camilla, demanding an explanation, but she only gestured for me to get on quickly.
“Ah, damn it.”
Yesterday, I’d been in a great mood after crafting an amazing magic item through alchemy.
But Camilla’s behavior this morning, immediately dampening my enthusiasm, made me grumble as I sat down on the small chair she handed me.
“You’ll see once we get there.”
With that, Camilla drove the minibus with practiced ease, taking us from the city center to the outskirts and toward the city gates leading out.
Unlike the city gate two weeks and one day ago, which had only been visited by the moon and sparkling starlight, the gate during the day was crowded with vehicles.
‘Didn’t Camilla say there aren’t many people allowed to leave the city?’
I barely had time to wonder. Seeing people armed with huge weapons capable of taking down monsters, riding vehicles modified like Camilla’s minibus, I quickly understood.
“So there are that many monster hunters…”
“Yeah. That means monsters are around the city.”
Camilla answered my muttered remark as if confirming the truth.
I shivered, recalling the time I had faced a desert hornet barehanded.
‘Damn it. I should have just made a weapon instead.’
Logically, it was the right choice to have made [The Alchemist’s Lament], but Camilla’s words made me regret yesterday’s decision.
I asked her, shivering with unease.
“W-We won’t have to fight monsters, right?”
“Almost never, I guess.”
“So there’s a chance we could?”
“There’s no such thing as absolute safety in this world.”
Camilla answered nonchalantly.
“Defense… is possible, right?”
Camilla opened the storage compartment next to the driver’s seat.
Inside were a shotgun she had when I first met her and a few small tools that looked like they were used for car maintenance.
‘Could I handle a monster with that?’
I racked my brain, but I couldn’t think of any way to pull a desert hornet out of the air with just that shotgun.
‘Damn it, I should have made a gun.’
Seeing my anxiety, Camilla spoke slowly.
“Usually, monsters don’t attack first. They only attack if a monster hunter provokes them, or if their territory is invaded. That’s it.”
“Then what about the desert hornet that attacked me?”
“That was an exception.”
So I was just unlucky and stepped in it, huh? A sigh of frustration escaped me.
“So, what do we do if we encounter one of those exceptions?”
Camilla pointed to the people being inspected ahead.
“As you can see, there are plenty of people to handle it first.”
“But couldn’t they just avoid monsters that aren’t worth it?”
“The materials you get from aggressive monsters are rarer and more valuable.”
Camilla looked at me with her green eyes and said firmly:
“So, don’t worry.”
Her steady gaze and trusting voice made my tense body relax.
“I’ll trust you.”
“Good.”
Finally, I let my body relax and leaned back against the small chair. Not long after, the minibus stopped at the checkpoint in front of the city gate.
“Stop.”
A guard waiting at the checkpoint issued a brief command and approached the driver’s side.
I glanced at his face. Luckily, it wasn’t the same guard who had caused a fuss with me before.
But I was slightly concerned when I remembered the young guard who had confronted Camilla before, and the hostile glances from some citizens.
Contrary to my worry:
“Hello! Camilla!”
The guard greeted her brightly, as if very fond of her.
“Yes. Hello.”
“Where are you headed?”
“Oh, we ran out of scrap, so we’re going to get some.”
“Already, even though you brought so much last time?”
“The outsider I brought this time is pretty capable.”
“Hahaha… is that so?”
The guard laughed awkwardly at her words, noted them on his tablet, and cautiously looked inside the minibus.
“So, does this mean the outsider is coming along this time…”
“Yes, along with the previous outsider I brought.”
“Understood. Take care.”
“Yes, you too.”
Surprisingly, the guard showed little suspicion toward me, the outsider, and treated Camilla very favorably.
I couldn’t understand the drastic difference from the previous guard, so I kept looking between Camilla and him. Camilla, however, simply drove without a word.
The minibus began moving toward the desert, where dangers unknown could be lurking, away from the safety of the city.
‘We have so little information.’
Why did Camilla take risks to save me, an outsider, even if it could cost her life?
Why did the city’s people have such polarized opinions about her?
There were so many questions I wanted answered.
‘I’ll have to find out.’
After farming scrap and miscellaneous items this time, I resolved to gather as much information as I could while roaming the city.
‘I thought we’d get chased by monsters or caught between territorial fights…’
But that worry proved unnecessary. Camilla drove the minibus at an almost boringly steady pace.
I turned my head to look out the window.
The sky was clear, the sun shining brightly, and the endless sea of sand stretched before me.
When I had been stranded here before, the view had been bleak and hopeless.
Now, comfortably seated in the minibus with cool air conditioning, the desert looked tedious and boring.
‘If only a monster appeared, it might be less boring…’
Slap!
I smacked myself on the cheek to shake away the thought.
‘No matter how bored I am, wishing for a monster to appear is insane.’
To distract myself, I began inspecting the minibus and discovered a tablet and a radio near the driver’s seat.
If I could use even one of these, it might save me from this boredom.
I asked Camilla eagerly:
“Uh, don’t you use the tablet or radio?”
“What?”
“Well, I’m not driving, so it’s a bit awkward to ask. But honestly, I’m bored.”
Camilla looked at me briefly, then faced forward and said:
“There’s nothing fun on that tablet. I’ve converted it into a navigation device.”
“Then the radio…”
“I haven’t used it in a while. It’s broken in some parts, and there’s little useful content.”
Despite her warning that it wasn’t interesting, I was too bored to care. The radio was by the door, so it wouldn’t interfere with driving, and I asked if I could try fixing it.
Without replying, Camilla nodded slightly, opened the compartment, tossed me the tools, and closed it immediately.
‘She’s cautious.’
It was a simple action she could have skipped, but by paying attention, I realized Camilla was subtly wary of me.
Even though I could have taken the tools myself, she deliberately threw them to me.
‘I thought we got closer over the past two weeks.’
Despite her kindness, her caution remained. I understood it mentally, but couldn’t hide my slight disappointment.
Suppressing it, I used my skills to check the radio’s condition.
[Radio]
A standard radio built into the vehicle.
Unused and poorly maintained, some wiring is damaged.
Disassembling it yields one antenna receiver and one speaker.
‘Shouldn’t take long to fix.’
Disassembly is supposed to be the reverse of assembly, right? After two weeks of painstakingly taking things apart, I could figure out how to repair it just by examining it.
‘I’d like some help, but I’ll try myself first.’
Despite a few hiccups due to my lack of formal training, I successfully repaired the radio.
“All done. Can I turn it on?”
“Yes. But lower the volume—it’s loud.”
With her permission, I turned the radio on at minimum volume.
Crackle.
Adjusting the buttons, I soon found a channel.
“…The leader descended into this world, touched the eyes of the blind, and finally, they could see with their own eyes…”
A religious broadcast.
“-The leader says using iron in the body is evil, a shackle preventing one from reaching heaven!”
“-I believe!”
“-Non-believers, open your ears and hear God’s voice! Abandon evil and devote yourself to Him!”
“-I believe!!!”
“-Our God protects us! We shall live forever!!!”
“-Waaaa!!!”
A fanatical voice urged followers to obey their sect. When the devotees responded, the speaker, unable to contain their excitement, spat out nearly curse-like statements far worse than any internet keyboard battle insults. I grimaced and quickly changed the channel.
Another channel soon came up, but it wasn’t normal either.
“…Want to dig through worm dung? Life is all about one shot! One shot!!! Parents trying to stop you? Then shoot! Either you starve or die by monster spawn. End that long, bland life with your own hands!”
“Ugh.”
The second broadcast was an even more morally corrupt raider program, targeting teenagers.
I almost turned off the radio, but stubbornness made me continue flipping channels.
“Ah, seriously.”
Yet, all I got were programs from fanatics and raiders, seemingly dominating the radio towers.
Then, finally:
“It’s 12 PM. You’re listening to ‘Lana’s Lunch.’”
Like a drop of rain in a drought, a normal radio program appeared.
Unlike the fanatic and raider broadcasts, Lana’s clear, soothing voice calmed my weary mind.
Even:
“-Listener 2395 sent: [A deathworm passed by my house this morning. At first, I was scared, but then I found its dung and screamed. Some crops were ruined, but it repaid me with a more valuable gift, so I’m very happy.]”
“-Wow, congrats, 2395!”
“-Last time, a listener gave me crops harvested from deathworm dung. They were delicious. If you harvest again, please send me some… hehe, too greedy?”
‘Lana’s Lunch’ served as an encyclopedia, giving me knowledge I lacked about this world.
“-Listener 0914 sent: [Our deathworms didn’t leave dung, they ate the ground, scattering a nearby group of sand rats. Tried hunting today, but… ㅠㅠ]”
“-Oh no. Sand rats are hard to find and even harder to hunt. Too bad.”
“-Bags made of sand rat leather are light and durable, so I wanted to save money to buy one.”
‘Sand rat leather… I’ve never seen it while working. I should look for it to gather information too.’
Listening to the radio, I decided to request leave later to investigate items and information I’d heard.
“Here we are. Get out.”
Camilla said bluntly.
I had been so absorbed in the radio that I didn’t notice we arrived. I turned to look outside.
“Oh.”
Before repairing the radio, the view outside had been a barren, deathly desert.
Now, a completely different landscape stretched before me.
