Made Up My Mind (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets) (Continued)

In the desert.

"Rumble, rumble~ Crash!"

I looked at the fallen tree, then at my tail, which barely felt any pain. There was a scratch on its scales,

but it disappeared with a single wipe.

"Hiss~ What an amazing thing... Uh, tail."

This really was a lethal weapon~

It was much more useful than a hammer or anything like that.

I really did have incredibly mixed feelings.

I was becoming less and less like a human.

I walked over to the tree and raised my tail again, smashing it bit by bit from the base upward.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump!"

"Ow!"

My butt hurt. I instinctively clutched it and looked back. On the ground... a piece of wood was

stuck in the sand.

"MMP!"

I looked back at the tree, which I'd smashed almost halfway through, and rubbed my surprisingly springy butt.

Well, it really was springy.

Whatever. Why was I thinking about this?

I swept the splinters aside with my tail, then picked up some pieces of wood and broke off a few branches. Carrying them, I headed back

to the boulder, poured

on some diesel, and lit the wood. Then I set up a tripod, grabbed the stunned one I'd just knocked down, pierced it with a sharp branch,

and roasted it over the fire.

I had some salt in my backpack. I didn't have anything else, but at least I had that. I took it out and sprinkled it over the giant shrimp, then turned

it over as it roasted.

And so, fifteen minutes later, a fragrant roasted giant shrimp was ready.

I peeled off the shell. A shrimp this big had a very thick shell, and there was no way to bite through it. I could only peel it off and eat the

tender meat inside.