Chapter 116

Ch . 116 Huge Cactus

When I woke up from having my MP emptied, the surroundings were already dark . The ball rabbit seemed to have protected me and Nina while we were asleep yesterday . But, it did not dive into the ground . I searched the surroundings, stretching my ears so that I will be able hear even a pin drop .

The ball rabbit who saw me get up was relieved and leaked out a small breath with a “Pu-he”, it then dug a hole in the ground and went in . Somehow it sounded like a proud elated voice, but I was concerned as there was no longer any power in the voice .

Looks like it was desperately looking out for me and Nina while we slept . Ordinarily, I’m confident that I’ll get up as soon as a dangerous monster came . But since my MP was empty I slept deep and soundly .

I felt ashamed, since a little while ago I thought of serving up the ball rabbit as food . Let’s fetch something delicious this time . Because of my [[Dragon Scales]], I do not know how long we can stay together… .

Since I slept enough, my eyes were clear . Let’s get up and do what we can .

When I sat down, I heard Ninas painful groaning voice . She did not seem to get up .

After observing for a while, I thought that maybe it was the lack of water, so I rummage through the cactus wreckage . Most of them were eaten or dried up being exposed to the sunlight . But miraculously, there were some debris which was not exposed to the sunlight . In those places the watery cactus had remained .

I bring the cactus peel to the vicinity of Ninas face, squeeze it, and have the water drip into her mouth . Since it will be painful if a lot pours out at once, I pour it little by little . Ninas groan subsided, but it is doubtful whether she was able to drink it properly .

I thought that it may be difficult to lie on the sand, so I gathered the skin of the cactus and laid it under Nina . It will be a little sticky but it will be better than laying on sand… . Maybe .

The morning came and the ball rabbit eventually crawled out of the ground . It shakes its head to get rid of the sand .

Even if the ball rabbit got up, Nina didn’t . She is breathing, but her physical condition may not be so well . Because of malnutrition and sunlight, the physical decrease in strength will be intense . Even before this, she did not eat very well, and this dry air also cannot be good for her .

Right now Nina needs nourishment and water . Around here there are only the remnants of what the ball rabbit and I have eaten . The cactus skin is also almost dry, and there is nothing left around with enough water . If I had known this would be the case, I would have left a bit more .

First of all, let’s try looking for something to eat before Nina gets up . Nina will be hungry and I feel bad that I don’t have anything to feed her . This will be the best for me to gain trust . I also started having feelings of attachment towards that cactus eating ball rabbit . Is it because that fellow is particularly easy to get along with?

Shall I have the ball rabbit watch Nina while I search?

The ball rabbit as it is now can handle F and about E rank monsters . However it would be impossible if the opponent was of rank D or higher . If it’s something like that, I’ll turn my attention on returning as soon as possible and dealing with the approaching monster .

Then, it will be impossible to surrender and leave… . Looking around, it is vacant so I could see far, but there is also a limit to my eyesight .

For now I’ll leave the sleeping Nina to the ball rabbit, and I run in the desert .

Although I am a little worried leaving Nina with the ball rabbit…well even if it’s a small insect monster, it should be able to drive it away . But as long as I’m within range to notice a bigger monsters approach, I’ll be able to do something about it .

I wish there was something convenient to eat nearby . I wonder if a camel’s hump is enough? It should contain fat and water .

Should I look for some water first? At this rate Nina will die from the lack of water . Although I could prolong her life at the ball rabbits rest, it wouldn’t be a very good thing .

Also, seawater is out of the question due to the large amounts of salt . However, if I recall there is a way to make seawater drinkable . Its in the corner of my mind, a memory of my past life . First I boil the seawater, and collect the steam in a separate container as it cools . It is a form of distillation that works by extracting the ingredients using the difference in boiling points .

But that’s not very realistic right now .

I could boil the water just fine, but cooling it would be a problem . I could try burying it and then covering it with fur, but drinking from such a hole would be bad for humans I believe . I don’t think that the countries and towns of this world are very hygienic as compared to the Japanese . But unlike me and other monsters, the humans don’t have that many antibodies . I can’t let her drink water from a beast’s fur .

Well, anyway, it’s either a camel or a cactus .

They both can supply both food and water . But after running for a while I could not find a camel, and the cactus was also not showing up .

She may also be weak because she was rolling around in my mouth while we were trying to escape from the giant centipede . Even if I were to move her carefully on my back there will still be some shaking, and there is also the possibility of her dropping .

I thought it would be better to take her with me so that I don’t go too far after she recovers a bit . That way I don’t have to take what I gather back, or else I would have to leave it there and leaving it makes me uneasy .

Would it be better to take her with my wings? It will be a little difficult fighting monsters in that state, but I feel I could manage somehow if it was just cactus . But forcibly using my wings would consume a lot of strength . Also, moving about with my wings would expose my dragon scales…

I just feel uneasy leaving it to the ball rabbit . I am anxious taking my eyes off of that fellow . He will be able take care of insects, he’s quick and good at concealing . But that guy, don’t eat Nina, okay?

I run while looking to my back frequently . I could see that the ball rabbit is shrinking in the distance . It’s good that I could still see them in the distance due to it being free of grass and trees, but wouldn’t it be useless if I can’t make it in time?

After looking towards the distance, it seems this area is the limit . The ball rabbit looked at me, he was using his ears to fling the sand towards my direction . I glanced back a few times irritated for some reason . Certainly if I think of Ninas condition I should find food and water quickly . I guess there’s no helping it that I get this nagging feeling thinking about it .

Is it to utterly destroy or dash to pieces? Well either way keep protecting Nina, im begging you ball rabbit .

I use [[Roll]] and leave behind the ball rabbit and Nina in the distance . I’m concerned, but for now I should first find food and water . Its either cactus or camel .

Come on, cactus or camel . A cactus or camel . As long as the centipede doesn’t come, seriously, I don’t feel like going face to face with it anytime soon .

While rolling for a while, I saw a green lump . This desert plant should be a cactus . It’s here, the cactus came . I’m glad I found it early . I have to quickly take it and head back .

While thinking of heading back quickly, I realize that it’s not a large amount . Thinking about Nina and the ball rabbits needs…this much is not enough for the ball rabbit . Well, the ball rabbit will be fine . I’m eating as much as I usually do so there should be some room in me as well .

Considering he’s the [[Dessert Idol]], I should go on a diet . Even if I eat and eat my body shape will not change .

I keep rolling towards the green lump . At first I thought that my perspective was going crazy . Because I’m rolling my senses dull a bit, so I thought that it was just an effect of it . But, after a bit I started to realize that since there was nothing to compare its size too, my perspective may have been a bit off .

After approaching to a certain extent, I found out that the cactus was actually about 4 meters . There was a huge cactus lying on the floor like a caterpillar . It was probably a little smaller than me . Even though I was a bit too far off to see properly, my guess should still be within 2 meters at most, and this is accounting for inflation .

Even if I can’t bring back the whole thing while using [[Roll]], just a small part should be good . It would be better to bring both Nina and the ball rabbit here as there is quite the amount . There shouldn’t be many like it .

I started to slow down as I got closer, the cactus mass then shock slowly and unnaturally, then it got up .