The next morning.
In this vast, desolate wasteland, Annie was leisurely wandering around with Laki, who was drenched in sweat and looked even more disheveled, dirty, and miserable than he had when they met yesterday. The two of them were searching for something.
Their goal, of course, was to find a tasty animal that Laki had eaten before and that was said to be incredibly delicious. It looked a lot like a lizard, a crocodile, or some kind of reptilian dragon.
According to Laki, its meat was tender and flavorful, and even the simplest cooking would make it mouthwatering.
He had eaten it once before, and the memory still lingered. If he hadn't been in such a rush when he went looking for Annie, he could have brought the dried meat he'd left behind at the inn and let her try it. Then she would have known he wasn't exaggerating.
Unfortunately, though they had been searching for a long time, they still hadn't found a single trace of one.
Laki didn't mind searching for as long as it took—even ten days, half a month, whatever. They would find one eventually. There was no doubt about that!
After all, it wasn't some rare or endangered animal.
But the problem was that it was already the morning of the second day. Only two more days and one night remained before the three-day deadline Claire had given them—and possibly even less. If they didn't hurry, he couldn't guarantee they'd reach that peak on Mount Xilei before some point tomorrow!
The longer they searched, the more anxious and impatient Laki became.
"..."
Wiping away his sweat, Laki ignored his hair, which had clumped together in greasy strands, and his skin, which was burning under the sun. He looked around and saw nothing but desert.