episode_0057

“For now… the treatment is finished.”

The old man received treatment first.

Regia meticulously bandaged the injured arm.

Perhaps thanks to the pain having subsided considerably, the old man wore a gentle smile on his lips.

His aged lips conveyed thanks.

“Thank you for your help in so many ways. I don’t know how I can repay this kindness…”

“Kindness…? It was nothing much.”

“Your skill is better than the village doctors’. You have excellent dexterity.”

“Th-thank you.”

The girl averted her eyes, as if shy.

I, who had been lingering nearby, subtly added a few words.

“That was impressive, Regia.”

“Huh?”

“Your handling of injuries is skillful, and you have various medicines prepared, so I’d say it felt quite professional.”

“It’s troublesome if even you, Young Master-nim, say such things…”

“I was just stating the facts.”

Indeed, the treatment was flawless.

Perhaps due to the experience accumulated during her travels alone across the continent, she seemed to handle minor injuries with ease.

At the humble girl’s reaction, I shrugged my shoulders.

“As expected, Regia is weak to compliments.”

“Ugh.”

Before she knew it, a blush bloomed on her pale cheeks.

Regia was particularly lacking in resistance to compliments, so she often blushed even at such minor praises.

Judging by her reaction, it seemed genuinely burdensome for her.

“…It’s nothing really to boast about.”

Was it due to her low self-esteem after all?

The protagonist, who had been mumbling for a moment, soon turned her head with an awkward smile.

Her expression was somewhat bitter.

“They’re all rather useless things, you know.”

Transparent, blinking green eyes.

For a moment, darkness flickered across their surface. It seemed she was recalling unpleasant memories.

Before I could offer any reaction, the girl changed the subject.

“A-anyway… Elder-nim?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you happen to know where this place is, Elder-nim?”

“I thought something was strange earlier… You mean you don’t even know where this place is?”

“Well, actually…”

Regia briefly explained the situation.

The old man, realizing our predicament, was startled for a moment, then groaned and mumbled.

“A teleportation accident… You really have terrible luck.”

“So, when we came to our senses, we were right here.”

“Goodness gracious.”

I quietly listened to their conversation.

It was so as not to unnecessarily interrupt the flow.

The old man gazed at us with a pitiable look.

He offered to return the help we had given him, sharing the information he knew one by one.

Of course, it wasn’t very helpful.

‘This isn’t the world we knew.’

This was another dimension.

It was the setting of the book, [How to Cross the Desert], which had swallowed us.

Whether we had actually entered the book.

Or simply moved to a dimension that served as the book’s motif, we couldn’t know.

But at least the fact that this wasn’t the world we knew was clear.

Therefore, the information the old man gave was useless.

“Th-that’s a country name I’ve never heard of before…?”

This kind of reaction came back.

Regia’s face was flustered.

There was no way she would know cities, countries, or continents from a novel she hadn’t even read.

Confused by the continuous emergence of unfamiliar place names, she soon concluded that this place was on the outskirts of a continent, far removed from the Empire.

It was a reasonably rational guess.

Because this scenario was more plausible than the assumption of having entered a book.

I nodded at Regia’s suggestion, then spoke as if searching for a solution.

“First, it seems we should prioritize getting out of the desert.”

“I-if we reach a nearby city… we’ll be able to contact other people, or a-ask for help.”

“Exactly.”

As we were having that conversation, the old man, who had somehow gotten up, subtly interjected.

As if he could offer help.

“As it happens, I’m crossing the desert right now.”

“A-are you perhaps going to the city…?”

“If you go straight this way, there’s a city. I’m heading there, and if you two don’t mind, how about we travel together?”

“Oh, oh… that’s welcome news to hear.”

“If you help us, th-thank you very much…!”

We readily accepted the offer.

I subtly curved up the corners of my lips.

The old man was a key figure and the linchpin of this field.

To successfully complete the episode, we had to safely cross the monster-infested desert.

Before taking a step.

“B-but… Elder-nim, why are you trying to cross the desert?”

Regia softly posed the question.

The old man, without an ounce of hesitation, replied with a gentle smile.

“Because someone is waiting.”

His blue eyes shone with utmost clarity.

***

In the original work, there were approximately 60 hidden episodes.

Most of these were a type of Easter egg, a system that provided minor items just for finding them.

However, some of the others were different.

Fields of considerable difficulty unfolded.

Users had to play by meticulously analyzing the stages and assembling strategies.

There was only one chance per episode.

Unless the game was restarted from the beginning, re-entering was impossible.

Naturally, no reward was given upon failure.

In short, it was content for hardcore players.

Among such hidden episodes, there was one that was most representative…

[EP???: How to Cross the Desert]

-The Gate Opening in the Sky, The Boy Who Stays Up with the Stars-

It was How to Cross the Desert.

This stage proceeded simply. The condition was met merely by safely escorting the designated NPC to the destination.

Of course, that didn’t mean the difficulty was ordinary at all.

It was infamous among users.

[Category: Free Board]

[Title: How to Cross the Desert is truly]

Is it difficult every time?

I don’t know how many times I’ve had to retry because of this.

[The patterns are especially nasty though]

-> No, damn it, how many scorpions pop out?

-> Even if you gathered all the scorpions in the Sahara, there’d be fewer than that.

[You have to memorize all the patterns, yeah]

-> It’s much faster to clear it by referring to the strategy guide guy’s video.

-> Damn it, another strategy guide. I must begin my worship.

-> Panic is really damn cool.

-> Whoa, whoa, not panic.

[I really couldn’t hold out during the final wave]

-> I kept failing there too…

Repeated monster attacks.

Players had to endure repeated waves while simultaneously moving towards their destination.

A true march through hell.

Regrettably.

The same was true now that the game had become reality.

The path to our destination was incredibly arduous.

Swarms of scorpions poured out.

We steadily swept through our surroundings, moving forward.

Perhaps because it was still the beginning, we hadn’t encountered any major difficulties yet.

“Hup…!”

I swung my sword with a single gasp.

A jet-black line cut through the air.

The sword strike cut through a fleeting moment.

Immediately after.

*Slice-!*

The head of the scorpion charging towards us split in half.

*Thump*, the creature lost its balance and fell.

I caught my breath, leaving the splattering blood at my feet behind.

“Phew…”

This was already the fifth battle.

My stamina was gradually reaching its limit.

As expected, without using my [Liar] ability, the overall efficiency feels like it drops significantly.

The fortunate thing was.

‘Perhaps because it’s the early waves… everyone’s keeping up well.’

It seemed to still be the stage where we could endure easily.

Although Regia clearly looked tired, she still tried to confront the scorpions somehow.

It seemed like a will to not be helplessly defeated.

Of course, in the end, she merely bought time before I finished them off…

“You can fall back now, Regia.”

“…Thank you.”

Whenever that happened, Regia would make a complex expression.

As if feeling a strange sense of deprivation.

The girl bit her lip firmly.

It seemed she was frustrated by the fact that she couldn’t be of much help.

“……”

I silently turned my head.

Where my gaze fell, the old man stood, treading on the corpses of scorpions.

A crossbow was held in his hand.

“Ahem, ahem… It seems the surrounding cleanup is mostly done now.”

Mumbling old lips.

Surprisingly, the old man displayed top-notch marksmanship.

He would snipe from a distance, or create openings for attacks by coordinating in close quarters.

He was a pretty decent ranged attacker.

“You still seem to be in good health, Elder-nim.”

“Of course. Otherwise, how could I have set foot in such a desert?”

“That’s true too.”

The sky was already dyed red.

The day was ending.

On day 1 of the episode, a maximum of five monster waves occurred.

Counting up to the immediately preceding battle, we no longer had to worry about any more incidents today.

We prepared for camping.

“We need to fill our stomachs… but all that’s scattered around are scorpions.”

The old man sighed briefly.

He cut off the tail part from a scorpion’s corpse and offered us a piece.

It was raw meat, dripping with blood.

“It’s the most edible part of a scorpion. It tastes a bit like rotten chicken… but you’ll get used to it if you keep eating it.”

The old man opened his mouth as if to demonstrate first.

However, that attempt was quickly stopped.

Thanks to Regia’s desperate dissuasion.

“W-why are you trying to eat that raw…?!”

“There’s no other way, is there?”

“I-I’ll cook it for you! I know a w-way to start a fire even without m-magic!”

“Hmm? If that’s the case…”

The girl finally succeeded in dissuading him.

She took out some crude tools from her bag and then skillfully began to make a fire.

Immediately after, Regia prepared the scorpion tails, thoroughly cooked.

Thanks to her, the disaster of having to eat raw meat was avoided.

“Perhaps because it’s cooked… it’s at least edible.”

“It certainly isn’t terrible. Perhaps because it’s warm, the strange texture unique to it also seems to be mitigated.”

“Th-that’s a relief…”

The girl let out a sigh of relief.

The hand that had been watching our expressions once again handled the fire with practiced skill.

I watched that scene for a moment.

When our eyes met, an awkward smile returned.

“Hehe… These are things I learned when I was traveling the continent alone.”

“Thanks to you, we avoided a terrible meal.”

“I should be of help somehow, even if it’s just this.”

Regia’s complexion was not good.

Perhaps it was particularly dark.

It might have been because of her perpetually helpless abilities, or her cowardly self.

The girl mumbled at a barely audible volume.

“…Because I couldn’t be of any help today either.”

It was a vaguely uttered sentence, but it seemed she had definitely said that.

A voice that sounded like it could shatter at any moment.

“It’s about time to sleep.”

“……”

“You said we needed to decide the n-night watch order, so sh-should we go to the Elder-nim first?”

Regia shook herself and stood up.

And then, as if nothing had happened, she smiled brightly.

A smile pressed down like a mask.

I watched it for a long time.

***

The red sunset eventually fell beyond the horizon.

Darkness remained in the wake of the vanished sun, followed by sacred starlight softly illuminating the sky.

A serene landscape, steeped in tranquility.

Night had also arrived in the desert.

It was a time to close our eyelids for a moment, to live through the fierce tomorrow.

“……”

We decided to each take a turn on night watch.

The order was fairly decided by rock-paper-scissors.

I took the first turn, Regia the second, and finally the old man took the third.

While the other two slept.

I quietly kept my post.

“It’s chilly.”

I rubbed my cold hands.

Before me, a softly lit magic lamp rolled around.

Although it was a humble light compared to the darkness that had fallen upon this desert, the stars twinkling together in the sky meant that visibility was not dark.

I absently felt only the cool air.

As I was lost in thought, I heard a presence beside me.

*Rustle-.*

The sound of footsteps on sand.

Turning my head slightly, I saw the pink-haired girl standing there.

It was Regia, looking somewhat timid.

“Regia.”

“Young Master-nim…?”

“It’s quite late at night… Seeing you awake, it seems you can’t sleep.”

“…Yes.”

I offered a faint smile.

And then, I lightly patted the spot next to me with my hand, speaking.

*Pat pat-.*

“Why don’t you sit here for a bit?”

“……”

Her green eyes blinked weakly.

I gently smiled and extended my hand towards the hesitant girl.