Chapter 52: Stroll At Night In The Desert'STown

「H-Hey, are we still doing this?」 (Hind)

「Of course we are! We said we would switch after doing one lap, right!?

「Since it has turned out like this, I should thank Claris for giving us this excuse.」 (Yumir)

「I mean, if it was just riding it together, if you told me, I wouldn't have minded if...」 (Hind)

「Don't lie! You would have postponed it indefinitely!

「Like a father that fails to set a date when he tells you that he'll take you to the amusement park!」 (Yumir)

「Don't struggle! Like I would do something like that. What are you, a kid!?」 (Hind)

If I had to say what I'm doing right now, I'm currently taking a stroll while Yumir is riding the camel in front of me.

What they demanded from me while being very angry was to 「Do the same thing I did with Claris-san」.

Yumir went first since she won in rock-paper-scissors and we gave a lap around the town while she was being noisy.

After that, I took a lap around town with Riizu.

From beginning to end, Riizu didn't say a word and just absentmindedly looked at the beautiful moon in the desert.

Compared to the tempestuous Yumir, it was a quiet and calm stroll.

After that ended, I let Riizu off the camel and we meet with Selene-san in the town's entrance.

Since we had some free time, I might explore the town.

Even Riizu who just got off the camel, went into town after leaving some words behind and opening her map.

「Good work out there, Hind-kun.」 (Selene)

「Ah, yes. The desert at night has its charm so I didn't mind the stroll itself.

「Selene-san, you are not planning on going into town? You don't have any particular issues with talking to clerks in shops, right?」 (Hind)

「That's the case but...the truth is...」 (Selene)

Selene-san was squirming while hesitating to say something.

Before long, as if to ascertain her thoughts, she said this while doing some strange movements.

「H-Here!」 (Selene)

While I was still riding on top of the camel, Selene-san closed her eyes and extended her arms towards me.

Would it be easier to understand if I said it was the 「Carry me! pose」 a small child would make?

If I had to guess...it's probably her saying "I want to get a ride too!".

However, receiving such a surprise attack made me freeze for a while.

Because of the cuteness created by having an older girl do something like that.

「...On second thought, forget it...」 (Selene)

「...Ah, wait a moment! Eh...w-want to get on...?」 (Hind)

Taking my silence as a refusal, she lowered her arms while being disheartened.

In return, I held my hand out to her in a panic and Selene-san timidly grasped my hand.

Selene-san who was riding in front of me was red up to her ears and didn't utter a single word.

Unlike the previous times with Yumir and Riizu, I was actually feeling nervous...but I was pretty calm now that I have seen her being far more nervous than me.

「I would have never thought that Selene-san wanted to do the same thing as those two.」 (Hind)

「...I might have admired things like riding together with someone?」 (Selene)

「That might have been the case, but if we are talking about this sort of thing, it's usually done by riding on a horse with a prince.

「Leaving aside the fact that we are riding a camel, isn't it somewhat lacking when I'm the one riding behind?」 (Hind)

「This might be weird coming from someone with a lack of confidence like me, but isn't Hind-kun's self-esteem really low?」 (Selene)

「No. The people that say they are cool when they are with those three, would only be narcissists.」 (Hind)

After Selene-san muttered..."that's true," she took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders.

Having the time to look around the surroundings, she let out a "the desert is lovely at night".

「...However, even if a prince riding a horse appeared next to us, I believe I wouldn't hesitate to choose to ride on the camel with Hind-kun.」 (Selene)

「Eh?」 (Hind)

「-Y-Yumir-chan and Riizu-chan would most likely say the same thing!? It wouldn't be just me!」 (Selene)

Receiving such a bold confession, my heart started to race.

I'm glad that she can't see my face right now...

Hearing Selene-san trying to hide her bashfulness, I was glad that I had her ride the camel with me.

「Though those two have always been like that.」 (Hind)

「...They like you, right? I heard that you are not related by blood to Riizu-chan...don't you have any intention to respond to her feelings?」 (Selene)

「Even if she liked me, it's a bit complicated because we've been together for so long.

「Even if I took into account the part of me that likes her as someone of the opposite sex, I can't properly judge it because I'm too close to her.」 (Hind)

I have realized that they like me.

However, Yumir is a friend and I get the feeling the part of me loving Riizu as a family member is bigger.

Most likely, the three of us share this feeling.

「There might be a day when our relationship changes, but I believe no one wishes for that right now.

「Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that's what's happening.

「That why, I'm thinking that there's no need for me to do anything in a hurry right now.」 (Hind)

「Now that you mention it, even though their approach is intense, they are not requesting an answer...I see, it was like that.

「That's so nice...」 (Selene)

「Is that so? To the general public, I believe they would say that it's a distorted relationship though-」 (Hind)

「I didn't mean that.

「I think it's something like telepathy? I believe it's as Hind-kun says.

「Since you trust each other so much, you can take your time moving forward...from the point of view of a timid person like me, it's quite the enviable relationship.

「Yup, I'm jealous...」 (Selene)

「...」 (Hind)

After those last words, Selene-san shut her mouth.

From her helpless shaking back, I could feel fatigue and loneliness.

In order to make it easier for her to lean on me, I straightened my back and took the reins as if I was lightly embracing her.

Selene-san was a bit surprised at the start, but she eventually relaxed her body...

For a while, she slept like an infant without any ill will.

Until she woke up, I slowly took a second lap around town.

「Oh, they sure are drinking the water vigorously. As expected of camels.」 (Hind)

「Was it...80 litres each time?」 (Riizu)

「That seems to be the case. If it was a person, they would die.」 (Hind)

「Yumir-san, are you going to drink too? 80 litres.」 (Riizu)

「Hey, don't joke around!」 (Yumir)

「It's just a joke. It's just that, this water is really tasty even for us humans.」 (Riizu)

Ah, it's true. There's few impurities.

I had this image of the water here being a bit more muddy though, is it because it's a game?

The water from the oasis wasn't free, but a litre was worth 5G so it wasn't that expensive.

That was because of the abundant water in this oasis, if it was somewhere else within the desert it would probably be way more expensive. Water is valuable in the desert.

It might be because my camel had worked the hardest, it was the one drinking the most water.

It sure worked hard today. I want it to drink plenty of water and rest well.

「Right right, Hind-dono. I found the Desert's Owl Pavillion.」 (Tobi)

「Thanks. That helps a lot.」 (Hind)

「Once I took a look around, there were many tents used as a residence.

「Isn't that dangerous?」 (Tobi)

With the remaining time, Tobi had mapped the town.

Just by going to a place or entering a store one time will register itself on the map, if you are in a party, even if only one member goes to those places the rest of the party benefits from it the same.

If I opened the map, I should be able to get a window with a panoramic view of the town.

Selene-san answered Tobi's question while drawing some water with a bucket.

「Tobi-kun. Weren't the tents placed in the sandy parts far from the oasis?」 (Selene)

「It's as you say, they encircle the town from the exterior.」 (Tobi)

「In those places, it's more efficient to set tents.

「When the ground is deep, you have no choice but to dig quite deep and put in a bearing pile which is quite a lot of work.

「From the looks of it, there are also quite a few houses built-」 (Selene)

「So from a technological point, the construction of the houses can't keep up with the development of the town? I see...」 (Tobi)

After taking a short nap on top of the camel, Selene-san thanked me as she got down with a refreshed expression.

There seems to be a lot going on, but I only want for us to be able to enjoy playing together.

And I believe that's the right thing.

After the camels were done drinking water, we moved towards the inn where Claris-san was waiting for us.