Now then—what exactly do these monsters here eat?
What do they drink?
At first, I assumed there must be food sources or water for the monsters.
But this is another world.
There are parts where I cannot apply common sense from my original world.
What if—hypothetically?
What if the monsters here... do not necessarily require meals or hydration?
Then my last hope would be cut off.
For example, what if the purpose of killing humans is not predation?
For example—amusement.
Killing for fun.
It could be entertainment.
"..."
I stop walking once.
After walking that much and finding nothing...
Should I go back to that area?
To that underground desert-like area with absolutely nothing?
The transfer point...
The direction the Minotaurs disappeared toward, not the bird heads.
Should I try going that way?
No—in my current state of starvation, encountering enemies would be dangerous.
I might not be able to activate my skill in time.
I have no strength.
No power comes.
My head feels completely empty.
"Ah, right..."
The leather pouch...
I need to pick it up.
I look at the leather pouch with vacant eyes.
The glowing magic item.
The unique item summoned at the same time as the E-class hero.
"Huh...?"
The gem on the pouch.
Its color is... slightly different?
The gem was supposed to be uniformly yellowish-green.
Like a pale emerald color, I think...
The lower part is a little purple now.
I rub my eyes.
Have my eyes finally gone bad too?
Or was it always like this?
I recall when the shitty goddess handed it to me.
The image that comes to mind is almost entirely yellowish-green.
At the very least, the lower part was not this clearly discolored.
But right now, the gem's color change is unmistakable to the naked eye.
The lower portion is definitely purple.
What is this?
This purple section.
Did the gem get poisoned?
...No way.
"...Ah."
The pouch's light is weakening.
Before starvation drains my ability to infuse mana...
I should put in a good amount of mana.
I infuse mana.
"Huh?"
The purple area expanded?
"..."
Could this be... like a gauge?
Does the purple section increase based on the amount of mana infused?
...
Anyway, thanks to the level-up benefits, I have an absurd amount of MP now.
Ridiculously so.
Stupidly so.
Right now, I desperately wanted some kind of "change."
Perhaps because I had looped through the same scenery too much earlier?
I want to see some kind of change.
That desire had been born inside me.
For skill uses, let's say...
Leaving about 100 uses' worth should be enough.
I try infusing more mana into the gem.
I want something to change.
Even this change in the gem's color feels precious right now...
A few minutes later, the gem's color completely turns purple.
The gauge fills purple.
The gem is shining strongly too.
It's beautiful...
Even without anything special happening, I feel a strange sense of satisfaction.
"Kh, kuku... f, haha..."
A dry laugh.
My throat is parched.
Of course my laugh comes out dry.
More like.
The fact that I can laugh in this situation is somehow funny in itself.
I stand up on exhausted legs.
Should I go check?
The direction the Minotaurs disappeared.
My feet can still move like this, after all.
"Let's go."
Until it runs out.
I will keep going until I run out.
If I give it my all and still fail, then so be it.
Besides, I can still "do something."
In fact, I did.
I changed the gem's color by infusing mana.
That means I still have the strength to change something.
I already knew—this place is dangerous.
Struggle until the very end.
Discarded hero—Mimori Touka.
Thrash.
Until you exhaust every last ounce of strength.
"Give up easily? Like hell I will."
Damn it.
Laughing, I start walking.
"Fu, fuhaha..."
Somehow, it's getting fun again.
Has starvation finally driven me completely insane?
Then, after advancing just a few meters—
"...Heavy!?"
Huh!?
What was that sensation...?
It felt subtly heavy all of a sudden?
Have my legs finally given out from supporting my body?
Or did a monster attack me?
I check my surroundings.
Nothing there.
Then...
What is this weight?
"Ah..."
The leather pouch...?
Hm?
The gem's color has changed again.
Gray?
Huh?
W-why did it turn gray!?
The pouch's glow is still there, but...
Wait.
Wait wait.
Something is inside.
Something is inside the leather pouch.
The short dagger's weight?
No, that's not it.
Right.
The melted short dagger is still lying beside that pile of corpses.
Then,
"What is it?"
What... is... inside...?
I cautiously turn the pouch upside down.
Thud,
Roll roll...
Rustle
"Ah—"
A familiar package.
So familiar it almost feels nostalgic.
"Give me a break..."
Yes, I did feel nostalgia.
But this is something that feels completely out of place in a fantasy world.
What came out of the leather pouch was,
"Have I finally started seeing hallucinations?"
A 500 ml plastic bottle of cola and a bag of beef jerky.
▽
At first, I did not even think "why?"
I had no mental leeway to think.
I should not have had any.
"Drink—"
Moisture...
Moisture,
Moisture moisture,
Moisture moisture moisture,
Moisture moisture moisture moisture.
I lunge at the plastic bottle.
Water droplets are beading on the surface.
It's cold.
Not a hallucination.
Real moisture.
I twist the cap.
"—!?"
No strength?
Because of hunger and thirst?
Are the stat corrections not working?
Or do corrections not apply to grip strength?
Or perhaps corrections lose effect when the person is this weakened?
Damn it—
"Aaaaaahhh!"
Pop!
I open it with sheer willpower.
Obviously.
My life depends on it.
I have to force it open no matter what.
I have no choice but to open it.
Sweet aroma.
Cola...
I attack it.
To the mouth.
"Am! Ng—gulp! Gulp! Gokyu! Gokyu...!"
I know.
Pouring liquid rapidly into an extremely parched throat is bad.
But impossible.
I cannot suppress instinct.
There is no way I can hold back!
"U—geho!? Goho! Keho!"
I choke.
A burp threatens to come up.
"Uu... u, uma..."
Tears well up.
So good.
Too good.
Has there ever been cola this delicious in my entire life?
The moisture envelops my completely parched throat.
Rich sweetness seeps into my core.
The fizzing carbonation stimulates my throat.
My whole body rejoices in absorbing sugar.
It soaks in.
Only now do I check how much is left.
About one-third remaining...
I close the cap.
My glinting eyes next lock onto,
Rip!
Beef jerky.
The kind you sometimes see at convenience stores.
Perhaps because the cola stimulated my stomach, my stomach is roaring in fury.
Hurry up and give it to me.
Feed me that meat.
"Ham, am! Gucha—kucha kucha! Gulp!"
Dirty chewing sounds.
Who cares.
It's just me and monsters here anyway.
Manners can go to hell.
"Hagu! Gucha gucha! Gatsu gatsu!"
The sensation of my back teeth sinking into moderately tough meat.
Feels good.
Strong saltiness.
A faint sweetness deep in the meat.
The salty jerky I tear off tries to pass down my throat.
Pop.
I open the cola cap again.
"Just a little—gulp... gokyu!"
The salty jerky bits dance with carbonation in my mouth.
The cola sweetness passes over my tongue.
Complete harmony.
Salt and sweet.
A combination I had never tried before.
But the best.
"Kucha kucha..."
Delicious.
Way too delicious.
What is this.
Cola and beef jerky—
"Gulp."
Is seriously this good?
"Fuuu..."
I wipe my mouth with my sleeve.
"..."
Three pieces of jerky left.
Should I save them?
I reach out with a trembling hand.
I hold back.
I endure.
Continuing in a state with zero food is too anxiety-inducing.
So I restrain myself.
I suppress the swelling desire.
"—All right."
Good job holding back, me...
The cola is less than half, but properly remaining.
Especially the thirst was dangerous.
Nice.
My rationality.
Casually, I pick up the jerky bag to check.
Printed on it: "In response to everyone's expectations, super super super extra large portion!"
I can never sleep with my feet toward the company that decided on such a massive increase.
Well, since this is another world, sleeping with feet toward anything does not really matter.
Anyway,
"Fuu."
I finally catch my breath.
Even so, I devoured it in a terribly undignified way.
It could not be helped.
Asking for proper manners in that situation would be unreasonable.
Even so—perhaps thanks to the sugar?
My brain feels like it is working again.
Strength is returning to my body too.
Perhaps the correction values lose effectiveness when fatigued or hungry...
I snap to attention.
I check my surroundings.
Bad.
The sudden appearance of food and drink temporarily broke my vigilance.
Good thing no monster attacked.
To cover my blind spot behind me, I sit with my back against the wall.
I place the plastic bottle beside me.
I check the leather pouch again.
The inside is empty.
I touch the gem on the surface with my thumb.
"This gem that turned gray..."
At first it was "yellowish-green."
When I infused mana, it became "purple."
Then after the cola and jerky appeared, it became "gray."
The appearance of cola and jerky.
It is clearly related to this pouch and gem.
In other words—infusing mana into this pouch makes "something" appear.
It gets transferred from somewhere.
Where exactly did those items come from?
Or are they replicas?
That is something I cannot know right now.
So I can set that question aside for the moment.
As for the condition—it seems a certain amount of mana accumulates in the gem?
Most importantly,
"Will this gem's color return to yellowish-green?"
There is the possibility it was a one-time thing.
For now, I try infusing mana.
The pouch begins to glow faintly.
But the gem's color does not change.
Still gray.
It would be nice if it becomes reusable over time.
Besides,
"The next thing might not necessarily be food or drink..."
I need to test the pouch more.
"..."
How ironic.
The "mercy" from the goddess in giving me this pouch.
The unique item of the cheapskate E-class hero.
Thanks to it, I survived.
"Well, even calling it 'mercy'... the goddess just returned what she took from me in the first place. My unique item to begin with... anyway—"
I stand up.
The plastic bottle and jerky bag.
I stuff both into the leather pouch.
"There we go. Or rather—"
I scratch my head.
"My monologues have definitely increased, huh..."
Well, it cannot be helped.
Staying completely silent in this cave would drive me insane.
I would like to be forgiven for at least talking to myself.
Though there is no one here to forgive me anyway.
All right.
For now, the problems of thirst and hunger are resolved.
I have a little water and food remaining.
Then I should get moving right away.
I look ahead into the cave.
"Upward."