MTM 66

They hadn’t rested enough, but before the sun completely set, the group started walking south. Harto’s body felt heavy and weak, but he kept his human form and walked silently across the desert.

The temperature gradually lowered, and the red sunset spread wide across the sky. Warm wind brushed softly over the sand dunes, and the surface rippled like waves. The sight was so beautiful that Harto wished he had a camera to capture it in a picture.

This world had so many beautiful places. The mountain where the cabin had been, the weather and air that changed every day, the songs of the birds, and the wind all felt novel. At first, just being able to see it all with his own eyes had filled him with joy. But as time passed, even that feeling became familiar.

“…Zed!”

At that moment, Allen, who was walking ahead, called out while holding something in his hand.

“Will this work?”

Allen came closer, and in his hand was a small lizard whose color almost matched the sand. Its eyes were silver, and it was the kind of creature that would be nearly impossible to spot once it hid in the sand. But Allen had managed to caught it.

“Wait.”

Zed cupped the lizard with both hands and closed his eyes. After a short silence, he opened them and shook his head.

“…This won’t do.”

Zed put the lizard down. The freed creature slipped away quickly into the dunes.

“Ah, another failure…”

“I worked hard to catch it.” Allen muttered, then he looked at Zed.

“So what kind of ability are you using?”

“……”

“You really won’t tell me? Fine, fine!”

Allen clicked his tongue and shrugged. Then he suddenly leaned toward Harto.

“Harto, you know, right?”

“Huh? Ah, no? I don’t.”

Harto shook his head and quickly hid behind Zed. Seeing that, Allen gave up and walked ahead again.

“Zed, you didn’t see anything?”

Harto quietly asked so only Zed could hear. He already knew that Zed tried to read the desert’s paths by placing his hand on the heads of animals. There was no need to explain. In a place where even a compass was useless, that was the only method available.

“No, it was all just sand. It must’ve been a newborn, one that’s only been around this area.”

“I see…”

“But if there’s a newborn, that means its mother’s nearby.”

Telling him not to worry, Zed patted Harto’s head gently. That alone made Harto feel comforted, and he remained by his side like a baby being protected by its mother.

While following Allen, Leon stopped drinking his water and suddenly froze. He looked toward Zed, then tilted his head toward Harto.

“Harto… do you have any water left? I seem to have finished mine before I knew it. Hahaha!”

Leon licked his dry lips and shook his empty water pouch.

“Yes! I do…!”

Harto’s eyes sparkled as he answered.

“Really?”

“Yes, I’ll share some with you. Give me your pouch.”

“Oh, that’s all right! Harto, just one sip is enough.”

“No, I still have plenty!”

“Harto should save it. One sip is all I need.”

“But…”

They went back and forth for a moment, but Leon, seeing Zed’s silent gaze, ended up taking only one sip and handed the pouch back to Harto.

“Ah, that’s refreshing… Harto, don’t hold back. Drink too, or you’ll collapse.”

“…Okay.”

Leon forced a faint smile despite the heat and walked on again. Harto, still holding his full water pouch, felt downcast.

‘I wanted to fill Leon’s pouch with more water…’

Maybe he should just tell them he could create water. But what if they refused to drink it, saying it was strange or impure? If he had said it from the start, it might have been fine, but bringing it up suddenly might make them suspicious.

“Harto, come here. I’ll carry you.”

Zed turned and showed his back to Harto, who was lagging behind. He said it so naturally that Harto froze in embarrassment.

“Ah, no! I was just thinking! I can walk!”

Harto began marching in place on purpose, trying to look lively. But Zed narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced. Soon, his gaze dropped to Harto’s feet.

“I’ll check later.”

“…Huh?”

Harto made a confused expression, then realized what Zed meant. Zed was talking about the foot that had blistered and bled on their way to Belnok.

‘It doesn’t hurt at all anymore…’

The shoes Zed had bought for him this time had thick soles, and the leather was tough enough to protect his feet well. Harto remembered Zed’s words telling him to immediately say it if it hurt, and he felt sorry for making him worry for nothing.

‘I want to be helpful to everyone too…’

Harto didn’t want to be just someone they worried about and protected. He wanted to be someone who could support them. With that thought in mind, he started walking again.

…Swish.

Behind him, the small lizard Allen had caught crawled slowly over the sand. The moment its silver eyes glinted in the sunlight, a long stem emerged from the sand. It happened in an instant. It coiled around the lizard and disappeared back into the sand without leaving a single trace.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Not long after, the sun had set, leaving behind only a faint red glow. When darkness fell, the group sat in a circle on the sand, using a dried cactus as a landmark.

They finished a simple dinner of bread and fruit they had brought from the village, and Leon lifted his head and exclaimed in awe.

“Wow…”

His eyes widened, and his mouth gaped. The night sky was filled with countless stars, so many that it looked like they might spill down at any moment.

“It’s amazing. But don’t you notice anything strange?”

Allen, who had been down since the oasis incident, looked satisfied for the first time and asked. Harto and Leon turned their heads this way and that, studying the sky, but they didn’t see anything unusual.

Zed noticed first.

“The moon isn’t there.”

“Right.”

Allen wiggled his finger and said.

“It’s a phenomenon you can only see in this desert. The sky is studded with stars, but nights when the moon is visible are rare. That’s why finding your way here is so hard.”

Harto nodded as he remembered what Allen had said earlier that day.

They watched the sky in silence for a while. Without the moon, Harto felt as if they were floating in the middle of space.

“I’m starting to feel chilly. They say desert nights are like the first snow of winter… if I sleep like this, my face might freeze.”

Leon murmured as he curled up, and Allen laughed loudly.

“Ha ha ha! That only happens in summer. It’s winter now. If you’re cold, shove your whole face inside your sleeping bag. Just be glad it isn’t raining.”

“It rains in the desert?”

“Of course. How do you think oases form?”

Allen said, scolding Leon for his ignorance, but his tone soon softened into a sigh as he seemed to think of the vanished oasis. When he began mumbling to himself again about the oasis, Leon moved toward Harto, trying to avoid him.

“Harto, you said you can control fire, right? I’d like to warm some water to drink. If you have any left, could you share a little? I swear I don’t even know when I drank it all… maybe I really am part hippo…”

Leon lifted his empty water pouch and let his shoulders droop. Harto eagerly handed over his own pouch.

“I have water!”

“What, you still have some left?”

Allen, hearing it before Leon did, rushed over to Harto and took the pouch.

“Wow, it’s full! Don’t tell me you didn’t drink any at all?”

At his question, Harto awkwardly scratched his cheek.

“Yes… I just drank a little at a time, just in case.”

In truth, he had refilled it every time he drank.

“Can I have some too?”

“Yes.”

“Allen, don’t drink too much, I need some too!”

Leon shouted as Allen raised the pouch to his mouth and gulped down big mouthfuls. Watching the two of them bicker while sharing water, Harto felt warmth spread in his chest.