Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included. 038

Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included.

ACT 2: UNION
038: ‘Relief’ in the Isekai

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“So, shall we go? We’ve spent enough time resting.”

We’d had a great time eating grilled fowl and bread, as well as the remaining Dindle fruit for dessert. After that, we’d sat around chatting about different things as we let our food digest. We still had lots of time if we wanted to reach Rafan by sunset, so there was really no hurry.

“Agreed. Oh, before that…”

Yuki stood up, moved over to Haruka, and whispered something into her ear. Haruka nodded, then started to speak.

“Tohya, we’ll need to borrow your hoe. Nao, spread Enemy Awareness as far out as you can.”

“Huh? What are you saying, Haruka!?”

Yuki seemed shocked, staring at Haruka with a look of betrayal on her face. But we already knew what was going on.

“Oh, you don’t need a hoe since you have Earth Magic? But using a hoe will be much eas-” Haruka continued.

“That’s not the point! Now you’ve made it so obvious for everyone!!”

Yuki’s face had turned red, but Haruka just nodded in understanding as she placed her hands on Yuki’s shoulders.

“Yuki, this is a life and death situation, so not letting the guys know or trying to sneak off quietly can be dangerous. I mean, you’ll be at your most vulnerable at such a time, right?”

“But…”

“I know how you feel. Really. I’ve been there before. You’ll get used to it in no time.”

I remembered how Haruka had been extremely shy and hesitant in the beginning as well, but encountering a boar once while doing her business had changed her perspective. Now, she always let us know whenever she needed to take a bathroom break.

I guess it couldn’t be helped. Girls just needed more time since they couldn’t go while standing like us.

Also, women were usually most vulnerable when using the bathroom during disasters or in refugee camps. In the previous world, they could be attacked by people. In this world, we could add animals and even demons to the list of threats.

“Just dig a hole with the hoe, turn away from us, and stay aware of your surroundings. If you see anything, just run back to safety, even if you have no time to pull up your pants.”

“W-What!!?”

“It’s OK, I can always use Purification to help you clean up later. Dying with your pants down, or surviving with your pants down, it’s your choice.”

“Uuuuhh…”

Yuki glared at Haruka, looking like she was about to burst into tears… I felt sorry for her, but Haruka was speaking the truth. Embarrassment was much better than death. That said, it must still be tough for girls to be caught in such a situation. I mean, for guys, we’d probably just tease the poor dude and forget about the whole thing quickly.

“Anyway, if you die, maybe the animal who attacked you would tear off your clothes, so you’ll be fully naked anyway.”

“T-This isn’t funny at all!”

“Also, if you’re too focused on scanning your surroundings, you’ll take much longer to finish up. Thankfully, Nao can help you out with his Enemy Awareness.”

Yuki turned her tearful glare towards me.

“Erm, my Enemy Awareness can only sense auras and hostility, so don’t worry about me sensing anything else,” I hurriedly assured her.

“Can you cover your ears, then?”

Haruka shook her head at Yuki’s request.

“No, he can’t. Listening is an important part of Enemy Awareness. Come on, stop being silly and just go! Or are you planning to hold it in and soil your pants should we get into another battle?”

That’s really harsh, Haruka. Do give poor Yuki some time to get used to the whole idea… But at the end of the day, I knew she was just concerned about Yuki’s well-being.

“Oh, if Nao senses an enemy, Tohya will head over to help out, OK? When that happens, just pull up your pants and run back to us.”

The whole thing was just getting worse by the minute. Yuki glared at Tohya, who only grimaced and looked away, avoiding her gaze. He didn’t have a choice in this, either, since he was our main fighter and protector. In an emergency, he might even have to stand in front of Yuki and shield her from the enemy. I wished Yuki would stop glaring at all of us.

“Uuuuuh! I hate you, Harukaaaa!”

Yuki yelled, grabbing the hoe from Tohya and dashing off into the bushes. Well, all this is just a part of being human. When Nature called, we all needed to answer. If only there was some special Skill to counter that, like a ‘Toilet Breaks Unnecessary’ Skill.

“Erm… Is there really no other way, Haruka?”

“Oh, do you have to go too, Natsuki?”

“No, I’m fine, thankfully… But it may happen in the future.”

“Well, just think of it as a natural bodily function. I mean, Nao and Tohya aren’t perverts who get excited thinking about girls taking bathroom breaks, right?”

“O-Of course not!!”

Tohya and I yelled in unison. I wished Haruka would stop dragging us into these delicate discussions. I mean, it was true that some men had such a fetish and would be turned on by these things, but it was just beyond me.

“That’s not what I’m worried about… It’s just the feeling of embarrassment, you know, from the sounds… And the smell,” Natsuki murmured.

“Well, we did have those machines that played music to mask the sounds back in Japan. Maybe you can just sing while you’re at it?”

It was a stupid suggestion. I mean, it just served to let everyone who heard you know what you were doing, since your voice would probably strain each time you pushed.

“Well, the best scenario is to just go in the city before we head out? It’s much better than holding it in. Anyway, it’s still important that we all get used to it. If we get a mission that requires us to camp out overnight, we won’t have much choice.”

“How do the people of this world handle it?”

“Well, most people don’t really form parties with both genders, so it doesn’t matter much. But even those in mixed parties don’t really mind it. People who are too embarrassed just won’t become adventurers.”

“Isn’t there some sort of magical item to help with it? I mean, this world is full of those, right?”

“Like a magic toilet? Maybe in a house, but something that is portable? You mean like a device to mask the sounds?”

“That alone doesn’t sound too useful… I’m more worried about the risk of having to go in the woods… Do you think there’s a kind of magical wall to erect around yourself to repel demons?”

“That’ll be really useful in other situations too, but I think it’s impossible. Besides, even if such an item exists, it’ll be much too expensive for most people to buy.”

That did sound like a very useful device. If only it existed.

“You guys are awfully quiet,” Haruka suddenly turned and addressed Tohya and I.

“Huh? Were we supposed to join in the discussion?” Tohya asked.

Yeah. It was just so hard for us to share any opinions on the matter, even if it did sound like an interesting idea to think about.

“Hmm, I guess we gotta figure out what the problems are here? First, the issue of not wanting to let others know when we need to take a bathroom break. There’s nothing we can do to solve that, right?” I ventured.

“Nope. It’s too risky to quietly disappear from the group without telling anyone where you’re going,” Haruka agreed.

“Then, the problem of sounds and smells. If possible, we can try to erect some type of barrier, so the person will have time to clean themselves up even in times of emergency?”

“Maybe not a barrier, but a partition will be great. We’ve been working in the forest all this while, so putting up partitions isn’t a problem, but that’ll be different if we’re out in a field. It’ll be inconvenient for you guys too.”

“Yep. I’m not too keen on letting everyone see me naked,” Tohya said.

“What’s this about now?”

It was Yuki, having returned from her bathroom break. She looked much calmer and happier, swinging the hoe as she walked.

“We’re just discussing future bathroom breaks.”

“Well, we should have done this before I had to go! So, anything to share?”

“We’re talking about how to mask the sounds and smells, the need for partitions, and the possibility of erecting some protective barrier if possible,” Haruka explained.

“If only we can do that… By the way, don’t you know Alchemy, Haruka? Can’t you make some useful magical item?”

“There’s nothin- Wait a minute! That’s right, I have the Alchemist’s Encyclopedia now.”

Haruka grabbed her backpack and took out the thick book, flipping it open.

“Let’s see… Oh, here’s an item that creates a soundproof barrier, used to have secret discussions. And then, maybe we can use an item meant for directing airflow to clear away bad smells? There’s lots of items that create barriers here, but the cost goes up the tougher we want the barriers to be.”

“But the items do exist?”

“Well, we can try to experiment to see if we can use them in alternative ways, but creating a physical barrier does seem difficult.”

A physical barrier could be used in different ways, such as securing campsites and guarding houses, but even an item that creates a small barrier was probably too expensive for the average adventurer to afford.

“How about blindfolds? Partitions could take up too much space.”

I doubted there were any portable or foldable tents in this world, seeing how technologies such as synthetic carbon fiber probably didn’t exist. That meant that any partition would have to be made of wood or metal and fabric, which would be difficult to transport without a horse-drawn carriage.

“Yeah, and we’ll need at least three partitions to fully enclose ourselves… I guess something like a fog generator won’t work either. How about an item that creates mirages, or one that makes an opaque barrier?”

“That’ll be three different items then, to mask sound, smell, and sight. Do we really need to invest so much just for bathroom breaks?” Tohya grumbled.

“Of course we must, Tohya! It’s really important for our quality of life!!” Yuki argued.

“Which is important since it affects our physical performance,” Natsuki added.

“Agreed. It’s not healthy for us to leave this problem unsolved,” Haruka concluded.

“W-Well, I guess. Alright, do whatever you need.”

Tohya had no choice but to back down. Scratching his head sheepishly, he shuffled away from the girls as they continued their discussion, coming to sit down next to me.

“Hey, does this whole thing bother you?” He whispered.

“Of course. I’d like to do my business in private too.”

“Humph, I guess it’s important if we really have to do a big one.”

“Not only that. Imagine you’re taking a break and drinking tea. Would you wanna hear the sound of me relieving myself nearby?”

“Nope. Definitely not.”

“Exactly. And I can’t wander too far from the group, ’cause that’s too risky.”

“Thankfully I’ve not had to go big outside yet… But I guess it’s important for them.”

The girls seemed to have reached some agreement as they nodded among themselves. I caught the end of their conversation.

“So we’ll need Haruka to up the level of her Alchemy Skill, and enough money to buy all the materials needed to make the items,” Yuki said.

“Yes. Money is very important,” Natsuki added.

“It’s expensive to buy magical items, so we’ll have to make our own. Hey, you guys OK with that?”

Tohya and I nodded at Haruka’s question.

“Of course!”

“Yeah, as long as it doesn’t get too expensive. We’ll need to earn money anyway, and it’ll be good if you can level up your Alchemy Skill at the same time, Haruka.”

Maybe she’d learn how to make potions too, once she leveled up. In fact, that might be more important than it seemed, since potions could help us stay healthy in this world.

“OK. Let’s head back to the city, then!”

With Yuki’s happy call, we finally wrapped up our super long break and stood up to leave.

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