Searching for Treasure (3)

While Shin and Shino were making an array around the oasis, Maha worked on their camp. The tents of the group of five were still here, but even though she wouldn't use them, it wasn't a problem. They had lost their memories, but it wouldn't be hard for them to realize that something was wrong when they suddenly woke up with ropes tying them together. Compared to that shock, a missing tent or two was nothing to be worried about.

Instead of the cheap tents that were there, Maha took out the custom-made tents that she brought for this trip from her storage ring. The tent was as big as a room in a standard inn, and had many useful features like temperature adjustment, concealment and sound isolation. She only had two since they weren't things she could get on short notice, but she didn't have a problem no matter what pairing was decided.

After checking both tents, Maha searched for any dangerous creatures in the area, checked if there were any useful herbs, and tested the pond's water. Since her job was clearly easier, she had no problem finding the leeway to survey Shin and Shino as well. She was likely the only one who had made the connection, but she believed that the prince whose name she found out was Shui, was also the new B-rank assassin of the underground guild, Faceless. Her suspicions were basically confirmed when he asked for help in escaping from the city, but Shino's appearance made her certain.

"It really is amazing."

Although she knew that they were in disguise, it was a different level of perfection from hers. She used herbs and materials to create make up, and used other tricks along with artifacts and spells to make her disguises, so simple dispel or revealing techniques were ineffective, but his technique seemed to literally change the body, though she didn't know how. Regardless, even if the body had changed, based on how they interacted, Shino's knowledge of arrays and most importantly, Dull Harmony, Maha knew that she was Emily.

She wondered if she should bring up her discovery to Shui, but he wasn't stupid enough to underestimate her, and she saw no need to expose her hand, so she just kept it in mind.

When the array around the oasis was finished, from the outside, it faded like a mirage, undetectable even to the small critters that crawled through the sand. This was the effect of a tier 4 concealment array so it didn't require a connection to any specific law, but Shui modified it to be more suitable for the desert. Emily was still a tier 3 array master, but she could assist him in drawing the outer portion of the array and gain experience while doing so. No one had a problem with the result, so they moved on to making dinner and deciding who would sleep in which tent. Since Emily was obviously reluctant to sleep in the same enclosed space as Maha, and he couldn't blame her for her vigilance, Shui was prepared to sleep outside or with Maha, but once she heard that, Emily allowed him to stay with her.

He had no intention of doing anything to her despite the amused looks he got from Maha and Alia, but he wondered if she was really okay with this arrangement. Emily herself thought it was strange, but she didn't feel much romantic interest in Shui despite how well he treated her and how perfectly he fit her idea of a prince on a white horse. Additionally, she trusted that he also didn't see her in that light so though it was embarrassing to be seen as clinging to her brother, she could bear it in this case.

Once they entered their respective tents, Emily closed her eyes and began to reflect on what she learnt from drawing the concealment array, while Shui chose to use his perception to scan the surroundings. After ensuring that there were no predators lurking near the oasis, he stretched his senses further. Recently, he rarely used his spiritual sense because his perception was better suited to covert detection.

As he covered more and more of the land with his perception, he became more conscious of the heat that it contained. Despite not being in contact with the hot sand, he could feel his body temperature rising. Even so, this was nothing compared to the time he immersed himself in a dormant volcano, so he pushed through the discomfort.

When dawn came the next day, and the sun announced its presence with a stinging glare that pierced their tents. Emily woke up from meditation as this glare brushed her skin. She had lots of experience camping, but it would take some time to get used to this heat.

She tried to leave the tent, but then she noticed that Shui was still meditating. At first, she wasn't going to bother him, but as she looked at him, she sensed that something profound had wrapped around his body. It was hard to explain, but she had a feeling that this was a kind of opportunity for her. However, before she could gain anything, she heard him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh?! Oh, no, nothing."

Emily then hurried out of the tent. Shui was confused by her actions, but he didn't spend much time thinking about it.

"I couldn't find anything."

After he ensured that there was no danger in the vicinity, Shui tried to find a clue based on the map he had, but his search didn't bring any results.

"Well, it should be obvious. This is someone who reached the level of King, after all."

Amplifying the flames of his determination, Shui exited the tent and encountered a sweet scent.

"Good morning. I made porridge, would you like some?"

"...You can cook?"

The moment before he finished his question, Shui knew that he had slipped up. Luckily, Maha only rolled her eyes at him.

"What? Is it that surprising?"

"Oh, no, but I just figured you would leave stuff like this to that group that I saw you with."

Shui recalled the group of men that served her. They had intimidating looks, but he could tell that they were truly loyal to her.

"I see. Well, it's true that they're better than me at housework, but it's not as if I don't know how to take care of myself. After all, you never know when you could be left on your own."

Shui processed her words in his mind, and then joined Maha and Emily around an out-of-place wooden table. They each took one bowl of porridge, but rather than to satiate their hunger, they ate it for its other benefits. As this porridge had been made with the right ingredients, they could feel their bodies gaining resistance to the stifling heat and felt refreshed. The taste wasn't anything special, but it was good enough to earn praise from all of them.

Once breakfast was done, they began sorting out their schedule for the day.

"For the next few days, I think we should concentrate on fortifying this place while trying to narrow down on locations where the inheritance could be."

Neither Emily nor Maha disagreed with that suggestion so they moved on to determining roles.

"Shino, can I trust you to continue the fortification?"

"Of course."

Emily was eager to continue drawing arrays so she began as soon as she was bestowed the honour.

"You two have a really good relationship. It's almost as if you're actually siblings."

"But we are actually siblings."

"Hmm, I guess so."