"Alright... pay attention, sa! First off, Bonbori-sama has three stomachs. Right now, we're in the first one. Alchemi is located in the third stomach, sa."
Olga scratched a rough diagram into the dirt with a stick. She was surprisingly good at technical sketching—must be in the blood.
"I see. So to get the 'Pure Gold,' we have to go all the way to the back," I noted.
"That's right, sa. And to move between the stomachs, we have to cross this sea."
I looked at the waves lapping against the shore. They didn't move quite like seawater. "I take it that's not water? Stomach acid, I presume?"
"Exactly, sa. Stay in there too long, and you'll be nothing but bones in a heartbeat. I've got a way across, but what about you lot? I won't stop you if you want to try swimming, sa!"
"And what is this 'way' you have, Olga?" Robin asked curiously.
"Heh, just watch... Come here, Elizabeth!!"
Olga let out a piercing whistle. A cloud of dust kicked up in the distance, and a large green lizard with a saddle came charging toward us. It was bipedal with long legs, looking very much like a small dinosaur.
"Meet my partner, Elizabeth, sa. She's a 'Water-Strider Lizard.' Her specialty is running right across the surface of the water."
"Impressive. Running on water is no small feat," I remarked.
"How does she manage it?" Robin asked.
"Simple, sa! This species has incredibly powerful legs. She sticks her left leg out before the right one sinks, then the right one before the left sinks! Over and over, sa!"
I noticed the membranes between the lizard's toes. Combined with that leg strength, it was essentially the same principle as my Moonwalk, just applied to the water's surface.
"Well... Uncle does something similar," Robin murmured. "It's not that strange to see an animal do it, I suppose." She was likely remembering the times I'd sprinted across the waves to board pirate ships back in the East Blue.
"Hah! A human running on water? Nice joke, sa," Olga laughed. "Anyway, since it's an acid sea, we can't just run non-stop without damage. We have to protect her feet and let her rest between sprints."
It wasn't a joke, but whatever.
"Alright then. Let's make a beeline for the third stomach."
Without warning, I scooped Olga up under one arm and Robin under the other.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Don't go touching a maiden so casually, sa!" Olga shrieked.
"Uncle... I have a feeling I know what's coming. Please drive safely, okay?" Robin said with a resigned sigh.
"Don't worry! Elizabeth, I'll keep your master safe! And you two—keep your mouths shut or you'll bite your tongues!"
I tensed my legs, channeling every ounce of my trained strength, and blasted off the ground. With a sound like a cannon firing, I kicked the empty air, propelling us upward with Moonwalk.
"Wha—?! What are you?! Are you one of those Ability users?!" Olga yelled, her eyes bugging out.
"Told you to watch your tongue, Olga! Just focus on the directions!"
Both of them were light enough that I didn't feel the weight. I sprinted through the air, leaping from the first stomach, bypassing the second, and heading straight for the third.
"There! That's the island where I was born! The place where Pure Gold sleeps... Alchemi!"
The third stomach was dimmer than the first. The light from the lure reached here as a soft, ethereal glow, giving the area the impression of a permanent, starry night. I touched down on the shores of Alchemi.
"The lab where the Pure Gold is hidden is deep inside the abandoned mines, sa," Olga directed.
We hiked toward the designated spot.
"It looks less like a mine and more like ancient ruins," Robin observed.
"Hmm... there's something written at the entrance," I said, pointing. "Robin, can you read this?"
Robin squinted at the script, cross-referencing it with her books. "Let's see... 'He who sets foot upon this land with a shining blade shall pay the price with his life. My name is Myskina Acier.' Myskina Acier... the scientist who created the Pure Gold. 'Shining blade'... is that a metaphor?"
"Pah! Just a message from my crappy old man, sa," Olga scoffed, turning her nose up.
"If it says 'pay with his life,' there are definitely traps ahead," I muttered. "We need to go in focused."
To be honest, I couldn't remember the specifics of the traps. I probably should have looked for Dr. Acier first and brought him along. Oh well, I'll find him on the way out.
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