༺ S1.5. A 400 Kilometers Escape Journey – 1 ༻
Decline was included in the meaning of devastation.
Where debris of collapsed buildings and miscellaneous items that seemed to indicate someone’s traces remained, monsters strutted on top of the earth that had buried this old civilization. And looking down from far above were the stars, hidden by a sandstorm.
It was an era where things that had once been brilliant were dying one by one. Though clinging onto what little remained with both hands and holding them tight to prevent it from being taken away, in the end, everything slipped through the fingers, fading to ashes and dust.
In an era where the sweetness of cherished hopes had long faded, leaving a bitter taste, and despair loomed close, too pressing to even lament… A young boy was crossing the desolate land.
The boy’s name was Espero, yet everyone called him Pero.In this age, someone moving meant one of three things. They either had to run away because of monsters in the vicinity, shifted unintentionally due to lingering inertia, or…… Very rarely, moved because they harbored hope.
The boy had a hope.
He had acquired a compass from an elderly black market dealer by chance. She claimed that this compass pointed to Paradise – a place where one didn’t have to worry about hunger and could lead a peaceful life for oneself, their next generation, and even the generation after that.
It might have been a cruel joke by an old woman facing her last days. Perhaps someone else had already claimed this Paradise. Nonetheless, the boy believed and held tightly to hope.
After all, one simply could not continue to live on without hope.
===============================================================
The boy walked across the vast plains.
Sometimes he was aided by others. In other times, he was chased by looters. Come now and then, he hid in sand pits to avoid monsters. It was a life filled with hardships, but it was not in vain. After all, the distance shown on the compass was steadily decreasing.
However, it seemed his journey had reached its end.
“Grrrrrrrr……Grrr.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
A Variant Wolf. A large wolf, walking poorly on two legs, was drooling.
The nasty thing about Variant Wolves was their exceptional tracking ability and speed. The boy’s chance of escape was virtually non-existent. It was as good as a death sentence.
He was a small boy, with no combat skills or artifacts, so he was more than lucky to have survived thus far. The boy himself knew this as well.
He also knew that luck did not last forever. If he was this lucky until now, there would be a time when he would be unlucky as well. After all, fortune and misfortune came in turns, like two sides of a coin.
As such, he did not feel regret nor did he feel wronged.
“……Looks like my luck has run out. Dad. Mom.”
The boy grumbled once, before making preparations for the next ‘lucky person’.
He removed the compass, which he had twisted into a necklace. If he continued to wear it like this, it would end up with him in the stomach of the Variant Wolf. It would be hard for someone to find and it might even get damaged.
So, he decided to take it off in advance and throw it as far as he could.
Hoping that some lucky survivor would find the compass and reach Paradise. Praying that someone else lived happily on behalf of all the lives lost.
With such a wish, he threw it.
The compass flew in a short parabola.
And then , it was caught by a scarred hand.
“……Uh?”
“Do you need help, Small Gentleman?”
A gentle voice was heard.
A beautiful woman with faded blond hair. She was characterized by the shawl around her neck and a deeply cut red dress, accentuating her cleavage. No part of her attire seemed fit for battle── but…
The fact that she was alive in such an outfit was proof of her strength.
The boy stared blankly for a moment── then nodded frantically.
“Please save me!”
“Hoohoo, it’s not a difficult task at all.”
“KEUAAAAAAAAGH-!!”
The Variant Wolf opened its mouth wide enough to easily swallow a child, its ferocious teeth closing like a guillotine. The woman in the dress stepped forward, avoiding the wolf’s attack, before…
Thump-!
Lightly slapping the wolf’s chin with the back of her hand. The wolf staggered and fell. Then, a pulsating purple heart ── its weakness ── was revealed on its chest.
“They all have a core somewhere in their body, right? And it seems to be exposed when they’re momentarily disabled.”
The woman plunged her hand into the wolf’s chest, gripping its heart. Pop! With an effortless burst of mana residue, the wolf died simply.
She looked down at the crouched boy and spoke.
“My name is Elaine. What’s yours, Small Gentleman?”
“Espero…… Please call me Pero!”
“Alright, Pero. I don’t know much about this place. I came from somewhere far away, you see…… I need information and you, as a gentleman, wouldn’t ignore a lady’s plight, would you?”
Wink.
Pero nodded as if enchanted.
Perhaps the boy’s luck was going to last just a little longer……
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Behind the shadow of a rock, the two sat by a campfire.
The boy, Pero, was thrilled at the scarlet warmth. After all, lighting a fire attracted Variants, making it difficult for a lone traveler. Thus, for him, this was the first sight of fire in months.
The sizzling wolf meat was truly exciting, causing his heart to pound. After surviving on beetles under rocks, properly cooked meat was an irresistible temptation for Pero.
“……Hoohoo.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Elaine laughed in amusement while watching Pero swallow saliva. Pero, feeling her gaze, became inexplicably shy. He didn’t know why, but……
He fumbled around, before offering Elaine a skewer of wolf meat. While doing so, he avoided his gaze by lowering it, then Pero hastily turned away after seeing her deep cleavage, then turned back, thinking it polite to look while talking, then……
Eventually, he ended up offering the skewer with his eyes tightly closed.
“Ahahahaha…..!”
Elaine burst out laughing. Pero became even shyer, drooping his head. It was a cycle of endless embarrassment. A tear formed in the corner of Pero’s eye.
Elaine continued with a soft voice.
“I’m sorry, Pero. I caught a disease where I can’t help but laugh when I see a handsome gentleman……”
Pero looked around for another handsome gentleman. Naturally, there was no one else around; only their shadows flickered in the light of the campfire.
“Is there someone else besides m…… Are you talking about me?”
“Yes, Small and Handsome Gentleman.”
“……I-I’m not, though.”
“You are, though?”
Just like the proverb, ‘Still waters run deep.’, Pero’s face, too, reddened as his head drooped even lower. Elaine looked quite satisfied at the sight of this.
And at the same time, she wished the Second or Third Prince also had this much cuteness. If only they did.
Instead of indulging in her dark desire to make the boy cry, Elaine shifted to a more productive topic. After all, there was much to learn.
After wandering for a day, Elaine realized this world was in ruins. All she saw were monsters and the few human remnants she saw were mere debris.
However, whether this danger was local or global was a mystery. The monsters she had encountered were easy to deal with, but there might be others that were not.
A more minor concern was whether the meaning of words and gestures were different here. Elaine pondered…… how best to extract information from this small boy, before deciding to bring out her trump card.
“Pero, can you…… just think that I have lost my memory?”
“Y-You lost your m-memory…….?!”
Amnesia cosplay.
It was a tactic often used by agents of the Imperial Defense Bureau when they needed to conceal their identity from civilians. As expected of a tried and true method, it seemed to work on the boy as well.
“Yes. I remember my name, but…… Almost nothing else comes to mind.”
“I’ll help you! So, um……., where should I start……”
Pero began to explain with a stammer. His words were unquestionably disorganized, but his eagerness to help no matter what was vividly noticeable.
Elaine mentally sorted the information, one by one.
1) Humanity is declining due to monsters called Variants.
2) Nations have long since collapsed; the largest groups are purely tribal in nature.
3) The few surviving humans mostly hide in forests or caves.
After hearing the brief summary, Elaine focused her attention on the boy, Pero.
“You’re the first person I’ve met after wandering for a day. Pero, is it always this…… deserted here?”
“Ah, yes. It’s a landscape frequented by Variants, after all. Hunters looking for food might venture here, but otherwise, vast plains like these are avoided.”
“Then what were you doing here, Pero? You don’t look like a hunter…..”
“I’m searching for Paradise.”
“Paradise?”
“Yes. It’s said to be a safe place with plenty of food. I was told I could find it if I just followed where the compass pointed!”
Elaine examined the compass he had been fiddling with. A red arrow pointed in a direction, with the remaining distance numerically displayed underneath.
It seemed like a well-crafted artifact. As it was far too sophisticated to be just a trick, the story of Paradise seemed fairly credible.
In a world where humanity’s survival and source of food were hard to maintain, a safe place with abundant food was a truly sweet tale. If that was the case, she had a question for him.
““If that really is true…… It is undoubtedly a precious item. But then, why did you try to…… throw it at that last moment?”
“Because if I got eaten by a Variant, it would be hard for others to find the compass.
“……What is the point of caring for others after their deaths? Even if you are that considerate. No one will know your kindness.”
In the end, if you don’t survive, it is all meaningless.
Despite this doubt, Pero answered with a smile.
“Some lucky person will obtain happiness! I’m sure he’ll be more than joyful enough on behalf of me as well!”
“……Then, may I barge into Pero’s happiness?”
“Of course! You saved me, after all. Besides, in Paradise, there’s enough food to last until the generation after the next, so even if two people live there, there will be plenty left!”
“It might not be enough, depending on the situation, you know?”
“⋯⋯?”
Elaine looked at the watch tattoo on her wrist and set a temporary goal. Whether this world was an illusion or reality, reaching Paradise to ensure safety seemed like a good option. It might also turn out to be a pleasant journey as well.
Besides, in case of any danger along the way…..
Having someone who could play the role of bait was necessary.
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Distance remaining to Paradise.
About 400 kilometers.
***
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