Chapter 25 - Reaction to the Barrier
The day after I spent the night in the van by Lake Lenore.
After finishing breakfast, I checked the surrounding map using the GPS.
"What are you doing?"
Haku, who had climbed into the passenger seat, leaned over to look at the screen.
"Just checking the route I’ll be driving today."
"Oh?"
This world didn’t have proper roads, and most places I drove the camper van through were unfamiliar territory. I hated scrambling to figure things out at the last minute, so I always made sure to use the GPS to get a detailed grasp of distances, road widths, and other details beforehand.
"What’s the closest town from here?"
"A town called Elnit."
According to Lugh, it was about a two-week journey from Lulusena Village.
Based on the GPS, the straight-line distance from Lake Lenore to Elnit was roughly 150 kilometers.
In Japan, that would be about a two-and-a-half-hour drive on a highway or three to four hours on regular roads. But in this world, where the terrain was unpaved, smooth progress wasn’t guaranteed.
In fact, heading to Elnit required detouring around a vast forest.
Unlike the straight path I could take from Lulusena Village to Lake Lenore, this route wouldn’t be as straightforward.
I figured it would be best to assume the trip would take at least half a day.
"Once we’re done with cleanup, we’ll set off."
"Got it."
I returned the stones I’d used as a windbreak to their original positions. The small amount of ash and leftover firewood was packed into a heat-resistant bag.
Using a sturdy branch, I mixed soil with the ashes until they blended in completely, then leveled the ground.
Once I confirmed the ground had cooled, the cleanup was done.
When cleaning up a campfire, it’s essential to "leave the site as close as possible to how it was before you arrived."
It’s important to think about the next people who might use the spot and to respect the nature that had been so accommodating. Thoroughly finishing the cleanup is just part of being responsible.
With the campfire taken care of, I retracted the side awning.
I folded up the outdoor table, chair, and dog cot, then stowed them away in the external storage compartment. With that, the cleanup was complete.
"Well done."
As I climbed into the driver’s seat, Haku, who hadn’t lifted a finger during cleanup, casually offered a half-hearted word of thanks.
"...You’ve got it good, don’t you?"
"If I tried to help, you’d just get angry, wouldn’t you?"
"That’s because your idea of cleaning up is sloppy."
Once, I let Haku help with cleanup, and it was a disaster.
He tried to toss the folding table into the storage without actually folding it, and he stuffed things in carelessly without considering how to maximize space.
Well, cleanup was part of the fun for me anyway, so I didn’t really mind doing it myself.
"All right, let’s head to Elnit!"
I started the engine, pressed the accelerator, and set the camper van in motion.
●
Three and a half hours had passed since we left Lake Lenore.
Initially, I’d estimated that we’d cover about two-thirds of the distance in this time. However, when I checked the map on the GPS, we had only covered slightly more than half.
The reason was the rough terrain we’d encountered.
The bumpy ground made the van bounce significantly when I picked up speed, and there was a real risk of tipping over.
As a result, I had to prioritize safety and drive slowly.
Honestly, I’d have loved to go a bit faster and enjoy the ride, but safety came first.
Meanwhile, Haku, sitting in the passenger seat, had quickly succumbed to the slow pace and fallen into a deep sleep.
I would’ve welcomed some conversation to pass the time, but there was no chance of that with him snoozing away in the passenger seat. Well, he was a monster—what could I do?
As I drove the camper van for another thirty minutes, hoping the bumpy road would end soon, the path finally began to level out. At the same time, a massive forest appeared ahead.
Tall trees stood densely packed, forming what looked like a wall of greenery.
According to the GPS, this area was labeled as the Eastern Great Forest of Elnit.
"...Yeah, there’s no way I’m driving straight through that."
If I activated vehicle strengthening, I could technically force my way through, but it would consume a lot of CP. Better to take the long way around.
I maneuvered the camper van to skirt the edge of the massive forest.
To my right stretched the thick, shadowy expanse of trees, while to my left lay a vast, open plain.
A small stream flowed through the plain, likely fed by the forest.
It looked like a great spot to take a break and enjoy the scenery.
"Let’s take a little break."
I turned the wheel and steered off the rough path, heading toward the plains.
Keeping some distance from the Eastern Great Forest, I decided to park the camper van near the gently flowing stream on the flat plain.
"Hmm? Have we finally reached the town?"
As soon as I stopped the van, Haku, sitting in the passenger seat, raised his head with a long yawn. Ever the carefree familiar.
"No, not yet. I thought we could take a break and have lunch here."
"Oh, food! I’m starving, Tohru!"
"How can you be starving when all you’ve done is sleep?"
"I just am."
Haku declared this with an air of unnecessary pride.
Maybe it was because his original form was so large that his calorie consumption was through the roof.
Still, I didn’t see why he had to be so smug about it.
I turned off the engine, got out of the driver’s seat, and stretched my arms upward.
Even though I’d been sitting in a camper van’s seat, three and a half hours of driving had left my body stiff.
To get my blood flowing again, I decided to take a short walk around the area.
The view was breathtaking. A green carpet of grass stretched out before me, with a meandering stream flowing gently through the center. The water was crystal clear, sparkling under the sunlight.
There were no large fish like in Lake Lenore, but I could make out small shadows darting in the water.
When the wind blew, the entire grassland swayed like ocean waves.
"Ah, what a beautiful scene."
I wish there were more places like this back in Japan.
Especially in urban areas. Overcrowded cities could definitely use more natural spaces like this.
"Tohru, I’m going to get some exercise. You stay here and prepare the food, and don’t wander too far from the camper van."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
As I headed back toward the camper van, Haku darted off into the grassland.
Maybe he had sensed the presence of a monster.
I didn’t mind. If he wanted to actively hunt monsters, it was a win-win—good for both safety and earning CP.
"Now then, let’s get lunch ready."
Since this was just a short break rather than a proper camp, I kept the setup to a minimum—just a table and a chair. Pulling out too much gear would make cleanup a hassle and delay our departure.
I still had some Lenore trout left in the Item Box.
The box kept things from spoiling, but since it was fresh fish, I preferred to use it sooner rather than later. The ones left were all large, too big for skewers.
"I’m tired of skewers. Let’s do foil-baked trout this time."
Lately, Haku and I had been eating mostly meat and fish, which meant our vegetable intake was seriously lacking.
Time to balance the scales and get some proper nutrition.
Since I was making foil-baked trout, I decided to cook in the camper van’s kitchen.
I took out the pre-cleaned Lenore trout and filleted it into three pieces with a knife.
After sprinkling it with cooking sake, I let it marinate in the fridge for five minutes.
While the fish rested, I thinly sliced some onions along the grain and broke enoki mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.
By the time I finished chopping the green onions, five minutes had passed. I retrieved the trout from the fridge and patted it dry with kitchen paper.
I spread the sliced onions and enoki mushrooms in the center of an aluminum foil sheet, placed the trout fillet on top, and added the remaining onions, enoki mushrooms, and a pat of salted butter before wrapping it all up.
"All that’s left is to add water to a frying pan and cook it, but knowing Haku, one serving isn’t going to cut it."
I prepped extra ingredients, anticipating his appetite.
By wrapping everything in foil beforehand, not only would the food cook quickly, but it would also save time during future meals.
With that in mind, I purchased more ingredients from the Shop and began an assembly line of prepping and wrapping.
[A human is attempting to breach the barrier.]
"Hm?"
As I was engrossed in wrapping the ingredients in foil, a message suddenly popped up.
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