Ch.5Sleeping with the Enemy (1)

Location assessment, complete.

Subject assessment also complete.

The Valkyrie and I had to worry about starving to death before we could even discuss ideologies or avenging comrades.

No, not starving. Dying of thirst would come first. People can survive three weeks without food, but only three days without water.

That is, if you have no skills or knowledge whatsoever.

“We need to replenish fluids first.”

The Valkyrie seemed to share my thoughts about needing water. I’d better see what this woman does.

I walked alongside the Valkyrie in the direction she pointed. We had agreed to always stay together unless absolutely necessary, since monsters might roam even during daylight.

There was no decent water source in the forest or on the opposite side. There were a few puddles, but they were all muddy.

We’d only managed to lose precious moisture by walking around. The Valkyrie was visibly exhausted. She exhaled a dry breath and spoke.

“Alright, I’ll ask just this once. Make some water for me.”

“What?”

I stared at her with a look that said “what are you talking about?” The Valkyrie weakly made a drinking gesture with her hand.

So, right now.

“You want me to make water?”

The Valkyrie nodded. She probably didn’t understand my words either, but seemed to be guessing from my tone, expression, and gestures.

“Thirsty.”

“You’re thirsty?”

Nod, nod.

“Water.”

“You want water?”

Nod, nod.

We were somehow having a conversation despite not understanding each other’s language.

And that made it even more irritating.

“I’ve heard some mages can even make bread from air. Shouldn’t water be easy for you?”

“I can’t understand what you just said.”

I’m guessing she’s asking why I can’t make water if I’m a mage.

That’s annoying.

Still, her request was reasonable. My throat was cracking like a chair in a rural orphanage after not having a drop of water since yesterday.

“This way.”

I carefully descended the slope of the plateau. The incline was quite steep, but if you found the right footholds, you could make it down without injury.

After landing completely, I looked up at the Valkyrie. She was diligently following behind me, keeping her center of gravity low and moving slowly along the surface—wait, why is she wobbling?

The Valkyrie lost her balance and fell. She slid down the slope like she was on a sled.

“Ugh…!”

The Valkyrie tried to stand up immediately. Then, thump! She landed hard on her backside a second time.

“Urrrgh.”

She’s really something else.

Having dropped her spear, the Valkyrie groaned, clutching her lower back with one hand and her side with the other. Her grimacing face was full of shame and anxiety.

Then our eyes met.

“W-what are you looking at? Enjoying the show?”

So those eyes can fill with tears too. I thought anger was the only emotion she had.

“Don’t say anything. Not a word.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I sighed and extended the metal club I was holding.

“Here, grab this and get up.”

“…”

“My arm’s getting tired, hurry up.”

Tsk. The Valkyrie clicked her tongue and got up by herself. Embarrassed, I shrugged and slung the club over my shoulder.

Despite that minor incident, we finally reached the shore.

I scooped up some seawater with my hand.

The sunlit water was cool yet soft. It was clear and transparent without any impurities. Just by looking, you couldn’t tell it apart from drinking water.

“You’re really thirsty. How about this for now?”

“Do you want to die?”

The Valkyrie raised her spear with a sour expression, so I quickly dropped the water. Geez. Can’t even take a joke? It’s so hard to lighten the mood.

“Why did you come this way? Do you know how to purify seawater?”

“Just wait.”

This place was a pebble beach.

A volcanic area with caves—practically a playground for magic stone scholars.

I picked up a few suitable raw stones and infused them with magical power.

[“Weave.”]

Purifying stone.

Also known as zeolite. This magic stone has saved countless lives in many countries thanks to its usefulness in purifying water.

And now it was time to save the Valkyrie’s life and mine.

[“Hollow out.”]

Using general-purpose magic, I created a puddle of suitable size nearby and let some seawater flow into it.

[“Return to your purest form.”]

As I continued the incantation and threw in the purifying stone, a whirlpool began to form in the puddle, centered where the ripples had formed.

The purifying stone, a type of porous sedimentary rock, selectively attracts and captures certain ions—usually sodium. This is how salt gets filtered out.

But how are other impurities removed?

That’s where the honeycomb structure plays a major role. When the empty layers inside the magic stone are stimulated by mana, they create gaps that connect to the outside, and tiny particles are sucked in through these gaps, resulting in purification.

That’s why purifying stones should generally be discarded after one use. They become lumps of salt and impurities.

Actually, races capable of internal purification, like elves, consider these stones a delicacy and use them instead of sea salt… But those weirdos who eat unrefined salt claiming it’s full of minerals are a different story altogether. Yes, indeed.

After throwing in the rest of the stones, I retrieved them from the puddle once the vortex had stopped.

“That should do it. Want to try?”

“…”

What’s with that blank expression?

I’m dying of thirst too. The only reason I didn’t rush like the Valkyrie was because I knew I could get water this way.

That’s why I’m giving the more desperate person the chance to drink first.

“Weren’t you the one asking for water?”

“You drink first.”

The Valkyrie waved her hand dismissively.

As expected of Holy Spirit Kingdom people. They never easily trust water purified by magic, do they?

“If you don’t want to drink, you can just dry up and die.”

I gave her a smirk and brought my lips to the puddle.

“Ahh.”

The clean taste made me feel like both my stomach and mind were being purified. I’m not exaggerating. Anyone who takes a drink after sweating profusely and going a day without water would agree with me.

I took a few more sips and then gestured to the Valkyrie.

“Just drink it already. Stop being so suspicious.”

Only then did the hesitant Valkyrie crouch down on the opposite side.

“…!”

One moment she was hissing like an angry cat, and the next—after just one sip—the Valkyrie began inhaling water like she was about to dive into the puddle. Her drinking speed wasn’t human; it was bestial.

“Don’t drink too much at once. You might get water intoxication… Hey! Your hair just fell in…! Ah.”

The Valkyrie wiped her mouth and raised her head. Water dripped down between her wet strands of hair.

“Are you slow or something?”

“Haah, now I can live.”

“You’re not doing this on purpose to mess with me, are you?”

“I hate to admit it, but this isn’t bad.”

The Valkyrie stood up. Her face looked much fresher than before.

After drinking water, hunger set in. My stomach had started working again. The Valkyrie seemed to be in the same situation. A gurgling sound flowed from her like a music box.

“Ahem.”

The Valkyrie glanced at me and cleared her throat. I spoke up.

“Food.”

“You want something to eat?”

Nod, nod.

“I solved the water problem, so you should handle the food, right?”

If you receive something, you should give something in return. That’s common sense for any modern person with basic decency.

And mages, with their engineering mindset, particularly loved the saying about giving an inch and taking a mile.

Even though water is more important, food is usually harder to obtain.

“Being by the sea makes me crave fish.”

The Valkyrie wouldn’t understand exactly what I was saying. It seemed I’d have to find my own food after all.

But then, the Valkyrie picked up her wooden spear and headed toward the sea.

“Catching fish is my specialty. Just wait.”

She seemed to be trying to catch fish.

But could she really catch even one? Her tool was crude, and fish aren’t exactly slow, are they?

She could.

The Valkyrie plunged her wooden spear into the sea, using it like a harpoon.

SPLASH!

A momentary explosion sounded. It was like a sea mine going off.

Beyond the settled water spray, I could see the Valkyrie. A blue fish was skewered on the tip of her spear, still flopping around.

She shook her spear with an expressionless face.

“That’s one.”

“Insane.”

Is that really human speed?

Cold sweat ran down my back. If I hadn’t proposed a truce in time, it would have been me skewered on that spear tip instead of a fish.

The Valkyrie continued to catch fish with her lightning-fast reflexes.

“…Using divine enhancement for something like that.”

At that speed, she could catch more than enough for both of us. She seemed to be repaying me for providing water. I certainly appreciated it.

While the Valkyrie was hunting, I wasn’t just sitting around. I made a square pyramid-shaped basket using rocks and reeds.

The Valkyrie dumped the fish into the basket one after another and said:

“Let’s go back, mage.”

We returned after breaking off branches to use as firewood. We cleared the ashes from the previous campfire and added new fuel. Finally, we skewered the fish on sticks and placed them over the fire.

“…Ugh.”

The Valkyrie moved away from the fire.

She did the same thing yesterday. What is she, some kind of wild animal?

I started cooking in earnest. All I had to do was turn the skewers occasionally to prevent the fish from burning.

Meanwhile, the Valkyrie sharpened her dulled spear while waiting for the food to cook. I had lent her my knife. I was worried she might stab me, but fortunately, she showed no signs of doing so.

As the fish turned golden brown, the Valkyrie pointed at the skewers.

“You come and take it.”

“Just hand me the fish and go away. I’ll eat here.”

“No.”

If she wants to stay away from me, why doesn’t she just take the food herself? Why does she have to order me around?

While I was thinking this, the Valkyrie glared at me.

“Ah, yes.”

I didn’t like any of this, but it was just a minor act of rebellion.

I was already hungry. I couldn’t be rude to someone who had provided food. Besides, this was practically a feast.

Thinking it childish to have a battle of wills with someone I couldn’t communicate with, I obediently handed over the skewers.

Afterward, we focused on devouring our portions.

“This reminds me of when I was young. My mother used to make grilled fish so often.”

“When I was in school, my professors would buy us grilled fish all the time.”

“I miss my mom.”

“I miss my professors.”

Chirp, chirp.

Listening to the insects while eating freshly caught fish in the great outdoors made it feel like camping.

This feeling isn’t bad. It was one of the things I’d always wanted to do with my wife and children someday.

Of course, in this situation, that’s a distant dream, or perhaps something that will never happen…

“Ah, right.”

The Valkyrie, who had been chewing diligently, looked up.

“What are we going to do about sleeping tonight? Those monsters will attack again.”

I used the remaining branches to draw on the ground to communicate my thoughts. I asked who would take the first watch, and when she planned to sleep.

Most issues were resolved through this discussion.

We decided not to move our camp. This spot had a perfect view of the sea.

We could clearly see where the monsters were coming from. Being at the gateway between the coast and the forest made it efficient to obtain both water and food.

Above all, we needed to watch for any passing ships or planes.

We live in an advanced civilization. If we wait, we might spot a ship in the distance. I hold onto that sliver of hope.

Well, that aside.

For now, the most important issue remained.

Our sleeping arrangements.

I gathered my courage and made a bold proposal to the Valkyrie.

“Should we share the bed?”