Chapter 161: Chapter 162: The Children And The Nymph Thieves (3)

“Sand! Naru is a sand fairy!”

“No, you aren’t.”

“Hehe! How did you know?”

A few hours of riding through the desert on camels.

As we were taking a break in a makeshift tent underneath the scorching sun, Naru looked around and shouted.

“So cool! There’s sand everywhere!”

As Naru said, there was nothing but sand around.If one imagined a desert full of golden sand spilling over the dunes, they would have a general idea of what kind of place I was in.

“Oh, holy shh…!”

Just then, Naru ran towards the dunes like she discovered something.

Then using her hands like forepaws she started to dig in the sand, and Hina and Cecily joined her in digging when they saw this.

Shhk— Shhk— Shshk— Shshhk— Shshhk— Shshhk— Shshhk— Shshhk— Shshk— Shshk— Shshk—Shshk— Shshk— Shhk— Shshk— Shshk—

“... Hey, how much are you guys planning to dig?”

Shk— Shshk— Shshk— Shshk— Shhk— Shk— Shshhk— Shshk—

The kids went crazy with the digging.It was as if they were possessed and their souls were taken over by a sand-digging excavator.

What was going on?

I felt like I would lose my mind from the searing sun and the sight before me.Just as I was slowly losing my grip on reality, Naru, Cecily, and Hina finally dug up something from the sand and held it up high.

“We found something weird!”“It’s awesome…!”“Fossil….”

Fossil.That it was.Like Hina and the others said, it was a weird but awesome-looking fossil.It was circular in shape, appearing like a snail or a clam and hard to the feel.Seeing it, Brigitte received the fossil and chuckled ‘huhu’.

“It’s an ammonite fossil. They say ten thousand years ago, there was an ocean here in this mystical desert. That’s why fossils of sea creatures can be found.”

This used to be an ocean?I couldn’t believe it with my feet in the sand.Ten thousand years….Even though that would be long enough for an ocean to become a desert.

Brigitte spoke.

“There was a kingdom called ‘Babylon’ in the middle of this desert. It was an ancient kingdom that had an inland sea surrounded by beautiful plains, and it became ruins in a single day. Because of the 「Disaster」.”

There seemed to have been another Disaster here in this desert land like Freesia and Uruk from a millennium before. Had the ancient kingdom of Babylon also attempted to summon Nocturne?As I wondered, Brigitte kindly explained with patience.

“They weren’t trying to summon Nocturne, I don't think so. But there certainly was some kind of incident which caused the ocean to dry up into a desert. And the place we’re headed is a pyramid built ten thousand years ago.”

It was as Brigitte said.nWe were on our way to the pyramid that erupted due to the recent incident in Freesia.A ten thousand year old ruin that suddenly appeared in the present.nTo be honest, I was also very interested.

What if there were amazing treasures?

There was a possibility of discovering ancient treasures of a pharaoh.Like the Millennium Puzzle, or the legendary card of Osiris, the Sky Dragon, etc.1

“I look forward to it.”

Swoosh—Just then, Brigitte tugged on Naru’s shoulder who had been playing with the sand.Then she leaned in close and whispered.

What was she trying to whisper?Soon, Naru let out a ‘fuhuhu’ as if tickled by the whispering.

“... Find the most valuable treasure!?”

“... You, why would you say that out loud?”

Brigitte scrunched her face at Naru.It seemed that Brigitte was commanding Naru to “find a valuable treasure.”

What kind of command was that?Salome, who had been gracefully brushing Hina’s silky, pink hair, burst into laughter like ‘bwahaha’.

“Do you think you can beat my Hina by saying that? The one to become the lawful wife by finding the most valuable treasure will be our team.”

I see.As someone who was rather quick-witted, I instantly grasped the situation.

Each mom seemed to be thinking of heading to the ancient pyramid and sending her child on a treasure hunt.And they decided that the mother of the child who found the most expensive treasure would be the lawful wife, probably?

“Hina…. will win this competition…. and get the leader position….”

Hina also seemed motivated.

From what I’ve observed recently, there was a ‘leader’ position amongst the three children, and it was generally Naru. I didn’t know how Naru was the leader, but that was how it was.Maybe because she had a loud voice?Usually the leader of the neighborhood kids were the loud ones.

“Mwehehe…. Then this Sifnoi will be a fair referee…! This Sifnoi promises to judge most fairly…!”

Sifnoi, who had been quiet for a bit, chuckled insidiously and showed enthusiasm. But that was only momentary, and Sifnoi slumped back on top of the camel like a melted marshmallow.

“When will the oasis appear…? Since this Sifnoi is a ditch water nymph… she loses strength in the desert where there is no water….”

I didn’t know that nymphs lost their strength in the desert. Like Sifnoi said, we were exhausted from travelling under the burning rays of the sun.

Thankfully, it wasn’t humid so it didn’t feel like it was steaming but it was still hot all the same.

Naru, Hina, and Cecily were energetic so they didn’t look tired but the adults like Brigitte, Salome, and Cariote seemed weary.

Cariote spoke.

“According to the map and compass, the oasis will appear soon. It should show in about an hour in this direction.”

It was indeed as Cariote said.After about an hour passed, a small oasis appeared.

n

The circumference of the oasis was about 10 meters.It could be seen as either big or small, and about 20 families formed a small village around the oasis.We thought to drop by and drink some water as well as rest a bit in a cool shade, but we hit an unexpected obstacle.

“Hiiik, a nymph…!”

The residents of the oasis seized in anger when they saw us. What was happening?As I wondered, a dark and wrinkled man wearing a white turban pointed a long staff towards us and spoke.

“Take that nymph and go far from here! We do not have a speck of shade to offer you!”

It was a place that was hostile towards nymphs.At this sight, Sifnoi growled.

“This is a most nymphobic village…! That this Sifnoi should be treated like this although she has done nothing wrong to them… It is most infuriating…!”

Her rage was understandable.At Sifnoi’s anger, the village people started to tremble and there was even those who teared up. Confused as to why this was, I asked the elderly man holding the staff.

“What is the matter?”

“This is an oasis village. We make our living by digging 「Sugar Rocks」 in this wide desert. However, nymphs suddenly came a few days ago… and stole all the sugar we had!”

It was an appalling story.The nymphs came suddenly and stole all the sugar.Salome clicked her tongue at this awful happening.

“It’s the Nymph Bandits. The Nymph Bandits must have passed through this village. Old man, do you remember how long ago that was?”

“It has been two days!”

Two days ago.As if they were still trapped in the shock and fear of that time, the people were still shaking in fright as they looked at Sifnoi.And they were also nervous towards the children like Naru, Hina, and Cecily.

“There are so many nymphs!”“They don’t have pointy ears so they might just be normal kids?”“I don’t actually know, either!”

It would be best to calm everyone first.I spoke to the people.

“I’m Judas, and the people here are my wives and daughters. Sifnoi here is… like a luggage person so please don’t mind her.”

Did my explanation get through?The people murmured the name to themselves, saying, “He’s Judas,” or “Judas.” Soon, the old man in the white turban holding the staff glared and spoke to me.

“Then this village has even less reason to accept you. Isn’t Judas a menacing man? He’s the wretch who stole the princess of Marduk.”

Damn, it wasn’t a good idea to reveal the name Judas.Except, they seemed to be mistaking me for the former Judas, Herod.

“The former Judas, Herod, is dead.”

“I do know that. Herod, that wretch, was truly a wicked one. The previous Sultan was so good to him. Yet that orphan scum betrayed his kindness and committed such an evil deed…”

It was unexpected information.The former Judas, Herod, was of Marduk Empire origin.The people of this village seemed especially hateful towards him for kidnapping the princess.

“I’m the daughter of Herodia.”

Just then, Salome stepped forward.When she did, the people who saw her nodded, saying things like, “Indeed, the same pink hair as Princess Herodia….” or “Her eyes and nose are the same.”

“Come in. We of the oasis village cannot mistreat her highness Herodia’s daughter. Since it was thanks to her good will that we are able to dig sugar and reside here!”

As expected, blood relations, friends, and school peers were like shortcuts that get you anywhere in the world.We were invited into the large tent of the village chief and were finally able to hear everything.

“Everyone in this village were once slaves. However, Princess Herodia granted us freedom and the opportunity to live in these oasis lands. She was a wonderful person.”

He was saying how Salome’s mother, Herodia, was a very kind person.Though I’ve never met her, her princess level must have been beyond A+, an S, seeing how kind-hearted she was.Brigitte also muttered in wonder.

“Then how did such a kind person have a daughter like… Ouch! You pinched my waist!”

“What are you saying?”

As Brigitte and Salome started to argue—The chief of this oasis village a.k.a. the staff grandpa, Jethro, chuckled as he saw Hina. Hina looked like Princess Herodia when she was younger, apparently.

“What an adorable child. I see. The princess’ daughter got married and had a child. Time truly passes quickly. Didn’t the「Disaster」 occur a while ago? We all saw the pillar of black light that pierced the sky.”

The black pillar was also seen from this far desert nation.Because it would be a long story, I just said, “Everything worked out well.”At that, Chief Jethro stroked his beard and nodded.

“I wouldn’t know even if it was explained. To regular folks like us, the attack of the Nymph Bandits is a far more serious incident than a catastrophe like the Disaster. As I’ve mentioned, the nymphs took all of our sugar.”

This oasis village was a village that dug something called a Sugar Rock and sold sugar that was highly pure. Sugar Rocks. Was that like rock salt?

“S-Such pure sugar…. Sifnoi, feels that all the sugar she has eaten until now has been false…! Hiiik…!”

After tasting the sugar from the Sugar Rock, Sifnoi shook like someone who did drugs. The other nymphs must have reacted the same.That was why they took all the sugar that was the livelihood of this oasis village. As that was a huge catastrophe for this small village, it was reasonable that they trembled in fear when they saw Sifnoi.

“Was there a child with ash-colored hair with the Nymph Bandits?”

“There was. She was an adorable one. Though she wasn’t a nymph, she looked quite like a fairy. It’s hard to forget a child who looks like that.”

“Where did they all go?”

Instead of answering, the chief looked to the far south.When I followed that gaze and looked to the sky in the south, a thin hand grabbed my wrist.

“Please be careful. There is a tale that has been passed down to the desert people. It is that a terrifying monster lives in the pyramid of the /genesisforsaken