'Mr. Lalabelle, there's one thing that's bothering me...'

What's going on?　Lord Taro.

It's an oasis spring. Is the water level dropping?

''It's definitely down......... Let's ask Miu Miu.



　It's been a week since we started our casual online shopping, and I thought today would be the same as usual, but then we had an unexpected accident.
　The water level of the oasis fountain had dropped so low that it was visible.

　In order to find out what the situation was, Lalabell-san went to call Mew.

''This ... this oasis is going to die soon.

Dying?

'Well, 'wither' is correct, but we've always said 'die' a lot.

　According to Mew, the oases of human life in the desert areas of the Great Desert sometimes dry up.

''There are many oases that have been gushing with water for thousands of years, such as the royal capitals and the big cities of other countries, but on the other hand, there are also oases that stop gushing and disappear into the desert after a few decades or hundreds of years. Sometimes, though, water gushes out of nowhere and creates an oasis.

I see.

　Is it a vanishing oasis or an oasis to be born?
　We don't know when that oasis will disappear and only God knows when it will disappear.

'Only God really knows how long that oasis will last. It must mean that this oasis has reached the end of its life.

'You give us such an oasis as a reward. That's very brotherly of you.

　Lalabell-san made a sarcastic remark to the king.
　You can't blame them for thinking you're a jerk and that he's capable of doing it because you're handing over the withering oasis to your own sister as a fiefdom in a few months.

''But you don't know when that oasis will wither away, do you?

　As for why the king gave this oasis down to Larabell-san as a territory, it was because it was surrounded by the Sandworm's Nest and the Sand Scorpion's massive habitat, so it was unexpected that the oasis would wither.

　I wouldn't be surprised if they thought I deliberately gave them the oasis that would wither quickly because of my usual words and actions.
　That's why they think that that king could do it.

Mew. What should I do in this case?

'We've stopped getting water, you see. Fortunately, we have Taro's 'online shopping' so we can live without water, but God knows if this oasis will ever have water again.

Well....

　Lalabelle pondered after Mew explained to her.

''Taro-dono, what do you think?''

'Yes. I guess it's up to you, Lalabelle.

Is it up to me?

''Yes. This is an oasis given by the king to exile Lalabelle-san and Miu-san to an island. Lalabelle-san is a nobleman of the descended Bard Kingdom, so as a nobleman, I don't think it's a good idea to leave here.

　Even if it was an unreasonable order, Lalabelle accepted it.
　If that's the case, even if the water dries up, you have a responsibility to maintain this oasis.
　As a nobleman of the Burt Kingdom.

''Responsibility........''

But, Mr. Taro. We've been exiled to an island here because of His Majesty. To be frank, we have no loyalty to the Kingdom of Bart, but...

　Since he was a child, he was ridiculed for his appearance, and even when he risked his life to defeat the sand beast, it didn't stop him from doing so, and the results he gained from defeating the sand beast were also exploited.
　In normal circumstances, it would be natural to not feel indebted to the Bart Kingdom.

''How about you, Larabell-san?''

I don't think I owe you anything.

'Then why don't we get out of here?　It was hard to say if the two of you have any unrequited love for the Kingdom of Bart, but if you don't, you should run away.

　Fortunately, there are two small sand drifters.
　Now we can look for a new oasis, or we can enjoy a trip through the desert for a while.
　This was also a good opportunity for us to get away from the jugular trees of the Burt Kingdom.

''That's right. If we head further east, west and south of this desert, the Kingdom of Baat will not be able to touch us. North, west, and east of the Central Sea is another country's territory, so they can't touch us any more.''

　Mew unfolded a map of the Great Desert as he said.

''The royal capital of the Baat Kingdom is located in the southern part of the Central Sea, but its dominant territory is only a point. It grants knighthoods to vassal oasis lords who deliver tribute, but that number is not all of the territory.

　In order to show off to other nations, the Kingdom of Baat has its own territory on the map.
　However, most of them are in the desert, and they don't keep track of all the oasis lords scattered in the far reaches of their territory.
　There must be many oasis lords that haven't been confirmed, and there are many places that have not been contacted and are practically independent small states, Mew explained.

''I see. Thanks to the vastness of the desert, they don't have a complete grasp on the territory.''

''Because just by going to check on them, you might get attacked by sand beasts and die. If you're a strong hunter, you'll be fine, but if you're like that, you'll have to deal with the sand beasts that invade King's Landing or you'll lose your country.

　Vast deserts, sand beasts that are numerous and strong.
　Thanks to this, I've heard that other countries aren't much in control of it either.
　There's no way that other countries can do what the Bart Kingdom can't, because there's no way that other countries can do what the Bart Kingdom can't do.

''So we're free to run away to the desert?''

We'll die, though, if we can't get water and food and sand beast protection.

　This means that those who cannot provide power, water, and food will never be able to move from the place of their birth for the rest of their lives.
　If the oasis withers, they will have to share their fate....
　So there are trading ships and shipping services that go to cities in other countries, but there is a risk of getting lost in them.

'Well, shall we run away then?'

Well, let's get out of here.

Aim!　It's a new place.

　We were to escape from this dying oasis, and we decided to start preparing for it as soon as possible.



'Do you fetch water?　Lord Taro.

It's a shame, isn't it? If you're prepared, you don't have to worry. The water from this spring is pure enough to drink.



　In escaping this oasis, we decided to first draw water from a spring whose water level had fallen.
　We decided to collect it because we would die in the desert without water, and it would only evaporate if we left it there.

'What about the container?'

I'm buying this.

　I bought a cheap polyethylene container that can hold 20 liters, so I bought it and drew water from the spring.
　When it's full, I'll put it away in the 'Interdimensional Warehouse' and that's it.

"Taro-dono, you can buy water, can't you?

It's for bathing.

　I want to bathe every day, and it would be expensive if I had to buy every bit of water for that purpose.
　It would be better to get water from a spring and use it.

And if you live in the desert, you should have plenty of water containers.

These containers are so light and sturdy, they don't leak at all.

Some jars don't leak, but they're heavy.

I can sell the containers if I have to.

　You can look at the situation along the way and earn gold by peddling in an oasis that isn't vassal to the Bart Kingdom.
　The divine coins you earn can be converted into Eidoluks, so you should be able to earn money in usury without having to defeat the sand beasts.

''Our lifeline is 'online shopping', so we'll need to be prepared for a situation where we can't defeat the sand beast.

Taro-san is right. We may not be able to defeat the sand beast due to our health condition.

'Since there's no one else to rely on, we'd better be well prepared. It's amazing how well Taro-dono thinks about these things for his age. I can respect that.

Oh no, it's just the years.

　It took us all day, but we were able to successfully retrieve the water from the spring.
　When I looked at the bottom of the spring, which was almost completely drained, I saw that the water had still stopped coming up.
　This oasis is really dead.



　It was the ship Lalabelle and Mew used to come here, and the smaller ship I used to escape from the sand drift ship that was being destroyed by the sandworms.
　When I looked at the two side by side, I saw that they were the same type of ship.

''I used it to escape from the large sand drift ship, but you two used this ship to get here from King's Landing?''

My brother told me. "You'll be fine. If you fail, no one will miss you.'

....

　He's still a terrible brother.
　What's it like to be in a country where a guy like that is the king?

Will they be riding in two separate ships?

That might get you off.

　Besides, it's not safe to go down into the desert to sleep.
　There are quicksand and bottomless swamps of sand in places where people haven't checked, and they can swallow people up.
　In other words, it's safer to live on a boat.　
　We must not forget that when attacked by sand beasts, it is difficult to maneuver on the sand.

''So maybe a catamaran?

Is it a catamaran?

Fortunately, these two ships are the same type of ship, so the magic power they carry should be the same. Right?

'Yes. It's the same one, so the output is the same.

Then we can put the two ships side by side and put a board over them to hold them in place.

　A catamaran should be able to take up a lot of living space.

"Taro-dono, I'm afraid that if you make the catamaran heavier, the ship's speed and range will be a problem...

''Lalabelle-sama, then I'll play with the balance of the magic power. It's easy to increase the power output so that the speed is the same as it was with one ship. As for the range, we have three enormous magic power holders, so we'll be fine.

　As for the magic power that runs the magic power, Mew-san assured me that there is no problem in replenishing it even if the output is slightly increased.
　From the beginning, both Lalabelle-san and Mew-san said that both of them have an order of magnitude more magic power than any other hunter.
　I heard that Larabelle-san can't shoot magic, though, because she's used to demonstrating her incredible physical abilities.
　I have magical power that surpasses these two, but I didn't actually understand what it was being used for.
　The magic power to maintain the "Interdimensional Warehouse" is not that much, and the same is true for "online shopping".

　In other words, I am in a situation where I have a lot of magic power, but I have no particular use for it.

''I'll replenish my magic power, so it's fine.''

That's good, but there's the matter of materials to make a catamaran.

　There are trees growing in the oasis, but they have to be worked into wood to be used.
　'How are you going to convert it into a catamaran,' asked Lady Larabell.

''I can buy wood and tools from 'online shopping', so...''

You sell everything, don't you?

　So I bought some wood, saws, tongues, nails and other tools and began the process of converting the two ships into a catamaran.
　The ship is simple in construction, so I removed the mast and sail and passed a long plank between the two ships to make a single catamaran.

'You're very handy, Taro,'

We used to do this sort of thing sometimes.

　I actually lived in an old house.　
　The house belonged to my parents who had passed away, and of course it was old and rickety, so I had to fix it up regularly by myself.
　I didn't have any particular hobbies, so this kind of work was what I used to do to pass the time on my days off.

''Mew, how is your magic power?''

'I'm done with the tuning and the power increase. It should be easier to move the ship if you put a new rudder right in the center of the aft section.

I'll take care of that, too.

Can I help you with that?

'I don't need to bother Mr. Lalabelle's hands.

I'll help you.

''Mr. Mew, you're very good at hammering nails.

''The same goes for magic power, but I can also make simple magic tools like cookers and heaters. I can do some of that. But still, good wood and easy to use carpentry tools.

　He must have been used to it.
　Mew dexterously sawed the wood and nailed it to the board and ship that he had passed between the two ships.

'I guess the mast is here. We'll have to put the sails back on, too.

'Mr. Tallow, I've put the two ships side by side and planked them up so we have more space, but we can't use the tents we've been using.

Then I'll buy a small tent.

　You can put away the tents you've been using in the Oasis in the 'Interdimensional Warehouse'.
　I'm sure I'll be using it someday.
　I also bought some other camping equipment and other things that I might use.

　The improvement of the ship was finished in three days, and after the other preparations were finished, it was time to leave soon.
　Lalabelle was looking at a tree that grew by the spring.

'What is the matter with you, Mr. Lalabelle?'

'No, we can get away with saying the water has dried up, but these trees have to be buried in the desert and die. I feel sorry for them.

　Lalabell-san was washed up on an island in this oasis under unreasonable orders from her brother, but I think it's amazing that she hasn't lost her kindness even in such an environment.
　I don't know if it's the right thing to do for royalty, but I had a good feeling about Lalabell-san as a human being.

''Well, would you like to take it?''

　The "Interdimensional Warehouse" can store plants, so if we put them away here and re-plant them in another oasis somewhere, they might take root if we do well.
　Since there is plenty of room to store them, I suggested taking the trees and plants from this oasis with us as well.

'Right. We could bury them somewhere and they might survive.

　After saying that, Larabell-san started pulling out the trees in the oasis.　
　I should say that it's impressive that he could pull out a huge tree that resembles a palm tree all by himself.
　I also pulled out and retrieved as many plants growing in this oasis as I could, pulling out all the roots.

''Come to think of it, Kana said the same thing.

　It was more than twenty years ago.
　When it was decided that a certain wooded area was going to be developed, Kana said she felt sorry for the trees growing there.
　Then me and her and I pulled out one small tree and buried it in the garden.
　That tree, I remembered, had grown properly after Kana's death.

'Kana, just like me?　Who is it?　Lord Taro.

'It was my fiancé who died long ago. He reminds me of Mr. Larabelle, who planted a tree because she said she felt sorry for the tree as it died.

Well you look like me.

'The statement, sir. She's like a different looker than Ms. Lalabelle.

　Kana was more of a pretty type, and her body type was close to the average of Japanese women.
　She would lose to Larabell-san, who is a gorgeous beauty, in terms of looks.......
　While I was thinking about this, we finished collecting the trees and plants from the oasis, and it was time to get going.

'If we run as fast as we can, the Sand Scorpion won't attack us. The problem is the Sandworm's nest. There will be a battle here.

We need to make sure we don't destroy the ship.

Sandworms should be an asset, as even I can take down a few of them.

So, let's get going.

Yes.

All aboard!

　When I switched on the magic power of the converted catamaran, the ship began to go smoothly.
　I was worried that the ship would fail to synchronize the power and break in half, but it seems that the modification went better than I expected.
　The ship was moving forward at the same speed as the single ship.

'Farewell, Oasis,'

　We set out into the desert sea in a converted catamaran in search of a new home.