Half a day had passed again.
It was hard to tell whether it was day or night anymore, but the time had come when we had no choice but to camp here.
"Let's call it a night."
"…Are you seriously telling me to sleep on this dirt floor?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what are you suggesting?"
Leaving the grumbling Young Lady behind, I pulled a sleeping bag from the rift. It was one of the supplies I'd prepared ahead of time, along with multi-calorie bars.
"…Where do you keep pulling this stuff from? That's actually kinda amazing."
"None of your business."
"Sure, sure. So many secrets, Carl Marcus."
Grinning, she casually held out her hand to me.
"What."
"That thing. Hand it over."
"Why would I?"
"Uh, because it's obviously mine? You can just grab another one."
"There's only one."
Naturally, all the emergency supplies I had stored in the rift were for one person. I hadn't expected to end up in this situation, and prepping single-person emergency gear was already enough of a burden.
"So, you're saying you're gonna use that by yourself?"
Her brow furrowed.
"I never said that."
"Wait a second… you're not…"
She cautiously backed away, covering herself.
"…Are you trying to use this emergency situation to pull something shady? Just asking to be sure—you're not thinking what I'm thinking, right?"
["Exactly! What are you trying to do to our Commander?!"]
Even Esther, who had been quiet until now, joined in with a screech, making my head pound.
"Do whatever you want."
Ignoring them, I laid out the sleeping bag and crawled inside. I had made sure it was a large one, with enough room for two people, easily.
"…What are you doing? You're not seriously planning to sleep in there alone, are you?"
"Yeah."
"What about me?"
"Figure it out."
"…Figure it out? How?"
"That's what I meant—figure it out."
She stared at me, incredulous, but I turned my back to her. If she were in full condition, I probably would've been torn limb from limb for this, but right now, she was only marginally better off than a regular soldier. Her feeble protests were little more than silent cries.
"…You're really going to sleep like that? Seriously?"
I didn't answer. It was time to rest.
.
.
.
"Carl Marcus?"
.
.
.
"…Asleep?"
.
.
.
"How the hell am I supposed to sleep in a place like this…"
.
.
.
Snore.
*
Saying "morning came" might not be entirely accurate. We still had no way of knowing whether it was morning or night.
"…Cold. My back hurts."
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the Young Lady hunched in a corner, sniffling. Who would've thought someone like her could look so pitiful? If anyone from Ark had seen her like this, they probably would've tried to kill me on the spot.
"Sleep well?"
"…Do I look like I slept well to you?"
Dark circles hung under her eyes. Strange surroundings, no proper bed, and the chilly air pressing in from all sides must've kept her from getting any real sleep.
"That was your choice."
"Choice? CHOICE?! You had the option of giving me the sleeping bag!"
"As if. It's mine."
She fumed.
"Carl Marcus, once we get out of here… don't expect to die peacefully."
"I thought we were allies."
"Whatever!"
Esther let out a long sigh.
["…I've never seen anyone who doesn't back down from the Commander like this."]
"She's probably more used to fists than words," I said.
Social status also probably played a big part. But right now, she had neither. Her vaunted ether powers were almost completely drained, and her noble title meant nothing here.
["Hmm… now that you say it, that makes sense."]
Esther nodded like it all clicked now.
"Whose side are you on?"
["Didn't you call me a traitor before?"]
"That wasn't me."
["Huh, you're right."]
The Young Lady and Esther chatted away without a care. I didn't bother to join in.
"What makes you think you can act like this? Forget what happens after—if my recovery's delayed, that's bad for you too."
"If I'm alone, I can leave anytime."
I wasn't lying. I had Janus, and Janus had the ability to tunnel underground—an ability I'd absorbed from a mole-type subterranean creature from way back. While the power only worked for one person, I could escape on my own if it came to that.
If it really came down to the worst-case scenario, I could escape first and then figure out a way to rescue her later. The only reason I hadn't done that yet was because I was wary of the Sand Devourer. Even now, if I focused, I could feel faint tremors—just enough to know it was still around.
"…What does that mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
Her eyes narrowed. She seemed half-convinced, half-skeptical.
"Hmmm… well, if you say so, maybe it's true."
"It's not 'maybe.' It is true."
"Yeah, yeah."
Then she asked.
"Anyway, when do we eat?"
"Didn't we just eat not long ago?"
"I'm hungry."
"…"
I pulled out another multi-calorie bar from the rift. This one was vanilla flavored.
"Oh, don't you have the chocolate one from last time? That tasted better."
"Just eat."
"Wow, stingy with food too?"
"Give it back."
"Hey now, don't take it back after giving it!"
She practically inhaled the thing, clearly worried I might snatch it from her.
"Also, you'd better regain your strength as soon as you can."
"Like that's up to me."
"I'm not joking."
She didn't seem to notice, but the tremors I'd felt earlier weren't normal. They'd been faint, but they were growing stronger.
"…Why? What is it?"
"It passed."
The tremors had stopped. But now I was sure—the Sand Devourer wasn't far. We couldn't stay here forever.
"You should get some rest while you can."
"But I just ate."
"There's nothing else to do."
"True."
She lay down with a grumble. Watching her lie down right after eating made her look like a cow, but I didn't comment. The sooner she regained her strength, the better for both of us.
Once again, time slipped by.
*
"Ugh... Being stuck here like this makes my whole body ache. More than anything... the sleeping arrangements are terribly uncomfortable."
A gaze that seemed to openly blame me shot towards me.
Of course, it wasn't my concern.
"So, make it so we can get out of here quickly."
"That's not something I can do at will. A very selfish person named Carl Marcus, kept hogging the sleeping bag all to himself."
Despite having slept and rested to some extent, the Young Lady's ether showed no signs of recovering.
It wasn't particularly strange.
Given her inherently vast capacity, it was only natural that refilling it would take a correspondingly long time.
'Moreover, the impact of this environment must be significant.'
Currently, we are deep underground in the middle of the plains outside the Ark.
Not exactly favorable conditions for ether to replenish.
Strictly speaking, places like the Sacred Mountain Noah, where I reside, are the exceptions; typically, ether is scarce.
'Or perhaps it's simply due to the sleeping arrangements.'
However, this was something beyond my control.
There was only one sleeping bag, and I had no intention of sleeping directly on the ground because of the Young Lady.
More importantly, it was the Young Lady who made that choice, not me.
'Then... is it about time to take direct action?'
The tremors I've been feeling for a while now are unsettling, and with the Young Lady's ether recovery being slow, I couldn't help but consider taking action myself.
"Esther."
["Yes, yes."]
"Can you locate the Sand Devourer?"
["Hmm... They're quite large creatures, so finding them shouldn't be too difficult, but..."]
"Then find it."
["What's this? You're not planning to do something to the Commander after sending me away, are you?"]
"...Just find it."
The reason I asked Esther to locate the Sand Devourer was simple.
It was to escape this place without being detected by the Sand Devourer.
"Achoo!"
As I was contemplating how to get out of here, the Young Lady, who had been curled up in the corner, suddenly sprang up.
"...I can't take it anymore."
Sniffling, she crawled over to the sleeping bag I was lying in.
Then, very naturally, she burrowed into the sleeping bag.
Since the sleeping bag itself was quite large, there was ample space for two people.
Of course, this meant we were inevitably in close contact.
"It's warm..."
"..."
Given the situation, I understood it was unavoidable, but I hadn't expected the Young Lady to act so boldly.
It seemed her survival instincts had overridden any other considerations.
"Are you asleep?"
"Snore..."
"You're asleep."
I found it remarkable that she could sleep so soundly in this situation.
Then again, it probably indicated just how mentally and physically exhausted she was.
'Well... it doesn't matter.'
Considering the urgency of our current situation, this wasn't the time to be particular about such things.
In fact, having only one sleeping bag was part of the plan from the beginning.
'I just didn't expect her to act like this after holding out until now.'
Perhaps because we were sharing the sleeping bag, I could feel the Young Lady's breath at a very close distance.
It might have felt strange, but I didn't forget who she was.
The Young Lady.
And the Commander of the Shadow Order.
Although we were currently traveling together under the name of an alliance, ultimately, we were destined to part ways.
Therefore, the distance between us shouldn't be too far, nor too close.
Yes, that's the right approach.
And then...
Esther, having completed her reconnaissance, returned and screamed.
["Eek! W-what indecent act are you committing now!"]
"Be quiet."
I felt an urgent need to leave this place quickly.
* * *
"..."
Kalakin slowly opened his eyes.
He couldn't tell how long he had been unconscious, but judging by the surroundings, it hadn't been too long.
"Hurry! We don't know when the second attack will come!"
The shouts of the captains echoed.
The nearby landscape had changed so drastically that it was easy to see the extent of the destruction.
'This is...'
Two massive craters, as if meteorites had fallen.
Soldiers busily moving about.
Groans of pain coming from various places.
From this alone, it wasn't hard to deduce what had happened here.
"Are you awake?"
Kalakin turned to look at the person speaking beside him.
If he remembered correctly... Major Arden, was it?
It was quite unusual for someone of the major rank to participate in a team like this without any specific position, yet Major Arden had no special role in this supply team.
"What happened?"
"As you can see, we were severely hit by the Sand Devourers."
They had considered it an easy mission.
However, the Sand Devourers they encountered on the way back took much from the supply unit.
"But... why are we still here? If we don't depart soon, won't the wave come?"
"We should. But there's a reason we can't."
"A reason?"
Major Arden sighed.
"The Young Lady is missing."
And added.
"Carl Marcus as well."