CH 115

Chapter 115 – We Discovered a Swamp!

One hour after we departed from the White Sand Island, the ship continued to sail smoothly to the east.

When I looked back, the White Sand Beach had become a speck in the distance.

And when I turned my eyes to the port side, I saw that a vast sandy beach spread out.

I was standing near the mast and controlling the sails.

That being said, as Asuha was creating the wind, it was not difficult to maintain our course.

Melk used a telescope I had made to look at the beach as she muttered.

“There is no one there. All I see are boars and small animals.”

“And there is nothing strange in particular in the sea either.”

Iria agreed as she stared at the water.

“Well, they probably thought that it would be too dangerous here, as we have only traveled for an hour. They may have gone much further than this. After all, that kraken was very big.”

Though, surprisingly, the kraken corpse had fitted in my magic workshop. As it was placed in ice, I would be able to take it back with me to the village.

Berdos then asked me.

“The child we are searching for was wearing clothes, wasn’t it? Does that mean they can make clothes like you, Joshua?”

I turned to her, and then Ecleshai brought over the reed clothes that we had brought from the underground lake in White Sand Island.

“I think it’s a rare plant. At the very least, it does not grow near my homeland or Fendel village. But it’s quite tall, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find.”

Ecleshia stared at the shore.

She must have been listening, as Asuha spoke from up in the air.

“I can see a swamp near the beach up ahead. It seems like there is a lot of tall grass growing over there.”

“It’s possible that that is where they acquired the material for their clothes. We should disembark… For the sake of Mette and the others as well.”

I said, after noticing Mette, Celes and Ymir, who were lying limply on the deck.

Both of them muttered weakly in agreement. And so we changed course and moved towards the beach.

There were no monsters there, and we were able to disembark safely.

“Ah, over there. You can see it from here.”

Further inland, you could see the plants, which looked a little like wheat that was still green.

But unlike ordinary wheat, they were very tall. At least as tall as a person.

Their stems also looked thick, so they would probably be good for clothing materials when dried out.

The people from the underground lake had lost their home. And so they should be lacking in all kinds of resources now.

Food supplies were the most important.

The child had been hungry, so there was no doubt that they had little food.

That being said, this area was rich with fish and clams. It was hard to believe that they would live so close to the sea and not eat those. So perhaps they at least had enough to survive.

Another thing they would lack is clothing.

They must have left in a hurry. As there had been a lot of reed clothes left behind by the underground lake.

Considering this, it was likely that they would try and cut the plants here and make clothes.

The kraken would not travel so far inland, so they might decide to live there.

“Alright. Let’s search inside that area with the plants then. Mette, Celes, and Ymir… Wait here. Asuha, you watch from the sky. Everyone else will explore the area.”

Everyone nodded at my words.

And then we started walking from the beach towards the inland swamp area.

“I never would have thought that such a place…”

Iria muttered as she gazed at the vast swamp.

“With a swamp this big, it’s possible that we can get stuck.”

Perhaps there would be an area with quicksand.

Once you step in it, it would swallow you up.

Just to test it, I picked up a rock that was the size of my head, and I threw it.

The rock landed in the mud and then disappeared below the surface.

“It’s dangerous after all.”

Just then, Asuha said,

“Sir Joshua. I shall go ahead and search the place.”

“Asuha. Sorry to ask you to do this.”

“No, not at all. If anything, I am happy to be of service, Sir Joshua.”

She answered, and then she looked upwards to the sky and took off.

Melk saw this and muttered.

“Asuha. Not fair. Melk wants to be able to fly as well.”

“Indeed, it would be nice to be able to fly… In any case, it will surely be dangerous to walk ahead like this. I will use that then.”

“That?”

Melk tilted her head with a puzzled expression. And so I began to gather the plants that were around us.

And then I dried them speedily with heat and wind.

When the plant fibers were ready, I used them to create a giant carpet.

“There, it’s ready.”

I then spread out the carpet over the swamp.

Then I threw a boulder onto the carpet, but the carpet did not sink.

“Good, good. Now we can walk on top.”

And so I tried jumping onto the carpet.

“Woah, amazing.”

“I’ll make more to lay down. That way, we should be able to go deeper in. However…”

Berdos nodded.

“Mmm. I think that it will sink if I walk on them. I will stay here and watch the area.”

“Thank you, Berdos. Everyone else should maintain a distance from each other as they walk.”

And like this, we began our exploration of the swamp.