Hideout in Another World: I Tried Building a Secret Base in the Middle of Nowhere

Chapter 4: Crocodile

The next day, I woke up to find Pink nibbling on the wing meat. It was munching away single-mindedly, but it didn’t seem to be actually eating any of it… When it noticed me waking up, it looked a bit awkward and gently let go.

“Good morning, Pink…”

After hesitating for a while as if trying to play it off, Pink quietly slipped back into the bag. Quite the free spirit, huh…

I moved to a spot a little away from the rock bed. Should I try starting a fire for now? I wonder if I can actually ignite it… The air is dry, so I roughly made some wood shavings and tried rubbing the wooden stick against them. I thought it would work, but it’s not catching on easily. With my palm and face turning red, I rotated the stick, and some smoke started to rise. Smoke was coming out, and it looked like it was about to catch fire, but there was still no flame.

“Ugh…!”

Despite putting in some effort, the rotation speed of the stick was gradually slowing down. My hand was starting to hurt. As I was considering trying a different method, Pink, who had been watching from the side, approached without me noticing. It glanced at me and then opened its mouth towards the firewood.

Suddenly, a thin, sparkling white thread-like substance shot straight out of Pink’s mouth, and the next moment, fire erupted from the firewood.

“No way! What was that… Pink… Did you have that kind of trick up your sleeve all along?… You were just finding me amusing, weren’t you…”

In the end, without needing to explore other methods, thanks to Pink’s mysterious skill, igniting the fire was easily successful. Pink’s nose seems to be slightly swollen now. It even looks like it’s puffing out its chest and looking upwards. Whether it seems like it’s showing off to me is probably just my own issue, or maybe…

“Well, it’s really impressive though. Thanks a lot.”

But seriously, what on earth is this thing? That thin, spider silk-like substance is also a mystery. Did it emit some kind of flammable mucus?

“Come to think of it… When we first met, it opened its mouth and looked this way, too…”

If I had responded incorrectly back then, I might have been burned alive. When I saw Pink’s face with its mouth half-open, I thought it looked a bit silly, but it seems like the one who was silly was me.

“It was actually quite dangerous, huh…”

I wonder if there are others like Pink who can do similar things. Hmm, who knows. Let’s grill the meat.

I add more firewood and build a stone oven. As I add wood to the fire, I cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. After a while, I hold my hand over the flat stone on top, and it’s so hot it feels like it might burn.

I place a bite-sized piece of wing meat on the stone. Immediately, a large amount of fat melts out, and the scent of delicious meat fills the air.

“This… is perfect!… Irresistible.”

Pink is also staring at the meat intently. Since the meat was originally whitish, I’m not sure if it’s cooked properly, but oh well.

“Let’s try it.”

I try eating it with homemade chopsticks carved from a wooden stick.

“Mmm, I see! I see now… This is the taste.”

It’s offal. And quite high-quality at that. It feels a bit bland since there’s no salt, but it’s tasty enough. What delicious fat. Oh… I want some lemon and salt. I’m craving rice…

Pink looks like it’s hitting the meat and me alternately with its hand.

“Alright, alright… Here, have some. Be careful, it’s hot.”

I separate some small pieces of meat for Pink. It immediately takes a bite. Seems like it’s okay with the heat. Let’s keep grilling.

After eating about 30% of the hippo’s wings, I’m starting to feel heartburn. I ate way too greedily, like a kid. Come to think of it, I didn’t check for toxicity at all… This is bad. Despite the inviting smell, all caution flew out of the window.

Pink seems to be enjoying it too, eating quite a bit for its size. Now it’s lying on its back… It seems to have forgotten its wild instincts. I don’t feel like moving for a while. Nap time.

When I woke up, it was the next day. I must have overslept. My body feels stiff as a board. I guess I was really tired. But thanks to that, I feel like my strength has recovered quite a bit. I somehow feel unusually energetic… Maybe it’s because of that meat. By the way, the remaining meat was cut into pieces of a certain size and placed in a hollow in the rock. This place is surprisingly cool, even during the day. Depending on the location, the sun doesn’t shine all day, so it seems to retain the cold of the night. The crevices within this rock wall are generally cool and comfortable even during the day. Now, should I go explore today? I put on my jacket and grab my bag.

“Hey, Pink! I’m heading out!”

I tried calling out, but Pink was nowhere to be found. Maybe it’s out somewhere. Well, it’s smart, so I’ll probably run into it eventually. While I’m still full of energy, I should just go ahead and get going.

Even though my vitality is overflowing, the muscle pain is still severe as ever. Every step forward makes my muscles ache like crazy. Let’s immerse ourselves in some thoughts to distract from it.

Today, I want to get some vegetables. After fruits and meat, it’s about time to find some fiber or carbohydrates. However, it’s quite difficult to judge if the vegetables are edible. There seem to be quite a few plants around here that are edible, but there are also leaves that could kill you if you eat them. Since there are no hospitals or pharmacies around, I don’t want to take too many risks. What should I do…? For now, let’s look for plants similar to the vegetables I’ve used before. I’ve always liked cooking and even had a home garden in the yard, so I know a bit about vegetable varieties. It would be great to find some sweet potatoes or something. While walking and pondering various things, I came across a place densely packed with plants that I couldn’t pass through. It was a tall plant with segmented joints, about three meters tall. It feels oppressive because there are so many of them. If it’s bamboo, it can be quite useful. I try cutting it with the knife I have. …Huh? Isn’t this sugarcane? I put my teeth against the cut surface. “Mmm, delicious.” Oh… this is definitely sugarcane. Isn’t this fantastic? This could even be used as a commercial crop. Well, there’s a possibility that there are no other humans besides me… If there were intelligent creatures like Pink creating a society, they might even engage in trade. Let’s take some back for now. In that case, I need a pot. The bag filled with sugarcane is heavy, and I also want to stop by the lake and return to the spot with the rock bed.

So, I arrived at the lake. Fortunately, it seems there are no large creatures around now. I’ll draw some water… and might as well wash my face too. “Ahh… feels refreshing.” Although I just washed my face with water, I’m actually far from clean. Still, the sensation of water on my skin after such a long time is exhilarating. I feel refreshed all over in an instant.

――――That’s why I let my guard down. Soon, a crocodile-like creature over 20 meters long was silently approaching me from just ahead.

“Ah…”

The crocodile-like creature is staring at me. There’s no basis for it, but I can tell it’s looking at me like prey. Instinctively, fear wells up within me. Since coming here, I thought I was always prepared for the possibility of dying tomorrow, but I was absolutely not ready. The despair of being preyed upon, of being eaten alive, was something I couldn’t bear. I involuntarily wet myself with no resistance. My brain is numb with fear, not functioning properly.

“Ah…”

Even so, there must be something I can do… If I dive into the water, there might be a chance… What am I thinking, facing off against a crocodile? I should be trying to escape to land as much as possible. Yet, my legs won’t move an inch.

“Ugh… uwaahhhhh!”

By forcing out a scream, I finally manage to get my legs to move. I intend to run with all my might, but my legs aren’t moving as I want them to. Still, I awkwardly push forward with my feet.

After managing to run a few steps, with a violent rumbling, something grabs me from behind and throws me away. After a moment of nauseating floating sensation, I’m violently slammed onto the ground and roll over the ground.

“Ouch…”

I don’t know what happened. I desperately search for the crocodile-like creature that I lost sight of. It’s already emerged from the lake, with its mouth wide open, vibrating its throat.

“It… roared…?”

It seems that just by roaring, a creature of over 20 meters in size could do this to me. I was easily thrown away by the shock. And what I thought was a crocodile-like creature, when it emerged from the water, was walking on two legs. It’s practically a dinosaur… It closes its mouth again and walks towards me calmly. Come to think of it, I’ve seen this kind of dinosaur in a movie… When it appeared in the movie, the main characters screamed but cleverly escaped. But when faced with it in reality, my legs won’t move, and I can’t even scream properly.

“Ah… is this the end?”

The crocodile-like creature opens its mouth and approaches. What impressive teeth… Will this teeth tear my flesh apart and crush my bones? I see… I’m going to die.

As I stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the mucous membrane of the dinosaur-like creature’s throat, suddenly an old memory popped into my mind. It was a memory of when my child was just born. Exhausted from childcare, I walked around the narrow hallway of the house, holding my crying son so as not to wake my wife, who was sleeping soundly and snoring. I remember feeling a strange sensation as I looked at my son’s face, as if my life were being imbued with a different meaning. Yet, I still can’t recall that face.

Why did I remember something like that? Regret, perhaps? Or is this what they call a flashback?

Well, in any case, I’ve somehow made up my mind. Here I go!

At that moment, Pink popped its head out from my chest pocket.
“…You were there the whole time?”
After giving me a glance, Pink slowly opened its mouth toward the crocodile-like creature…

The next moment, a thin beam of light shot out from Pink’s partially open mouth toward the crocodile-like creature. At first, I think it was a thin, unstable red light, but in an instant, it turned into a powerful bluish-white light. I could feel an unusual surge of energy along with the heat. Instinctively, I felt fear towards the mysterious light that seemed almost divine. The light was sucked straight into the crocodile’s mouth, and it seemed to pierce right through. Then, as Pink shook its head from side to side, the crocodile-like creature shifted up and down, then exploded. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. My whole body was hit by hot wind, sand, and small stones, and some parts of the crocodile-like creature hit me painfully. My ears were ringing. And amidst the smell of burning, there was a peculiar sweet smell in the air.
“Pin… Pink… I thought the same thing when you were gathering firewood… but you should have come out earlier!”
Give me back my resolve. You could have done something much earlier…
And stop making that “just a lizard” face.

But it was incredibly destructive. Come to think of it, isn’t this creature the most dangerous one around here…?
“Ah… thank goodness…”
Feeling relieved, my heart is pounding now as if remembering it just now.
It felt like my head and body were numb for a while, but with each deep breath, I gradually began to grasp the situation in front of me.

By the way, Pink withdrew into my pocket after emitting that laser-like beam and has been sleeping ever since. It must be exhausting. Watching its condition right after the shot, it seemed quite exhausted. At least it doesn’t seem like it could be used casually multiple times. There must be some sort of cost involved. It’d be nice if it could be sustained with just meals… but who knows.

Also, although I remained cautious throughout the work, I didn’t sense any other creatures nearby, even when working near the lake. Did they run away scared by Pink’s laser? If so, they seem to have some semblance of a typical biological nature, even though they appear crazy. Still, since that laser incident, there has been a lingering sweet smell around this area. It’s gradually fading, but what is this smell?

Well, in any case, I’m exhausted for today. Living on the edge every day is tough.