It didn't take us long to reach the hunting ground, as the place we were aiming for was literally neighboring the camp. We didn't linger for too long, though, since we weren't aiming to level up but rather to gain "meat" for the foxes to eat.
The ones we hunted were animal-like monsters like Minotaurs and Sleep Sheep. We avoided taking monsters similar to dogs since it may seem like cannibalism if we did. Technically, it wouldn't be like that, but it was to maintain our clear conscience for giving them food to eat.
After taking about a dozen large-sized monster corpses into my World Storage, we returned to the camp. It was still quiet, with only two members of the squad remaining, part of the technical team, busying themselves with tapping endlessly on their respective laptops.
Seeing them focusing deeply, we quietly headed for the portal gun and activated it.
*FWOOOOM!*
Still, during activation, the irritating noise released by the gun caught the attention of those nearby. "Sir Giza...? Lieutenant Alice!"
Before they could raise a commotion, Marionne stepped forward and raised her finger, motioning for them to stay silent. The two were visibly troubled after that, since Major Serena had already said that they would enter the other world tomorrow.
"Well, she didn't say we couldn't use the portal before then, anyway."
It's sophistry, but going to the other world early isn't really breaking any orders. We should at least only get scolded a little, just like earlier.
As soon as the portal stabilized, I undid the trigger's lock, letting it slowly power down. While the portal was still up, all of us entered the other side, quickly checking the surroundings for anything out of place.
A few moments later, the portal closed up behind us, locking us in the other world until the military opened the portal once more.
"Now then, where are they?"
Lily, seemingly excited still, started to look around. The foxes weren't anywhere nearby, however. "They probably came back to their nest, I guess?"
"Should we head there?" Mina asked with vigilance.
After all, just a little before, I encountered an army of bee-like insects there. They did retreat, but that would mean they would be back again, with a stronger group in tow, for sure. She must be wondering if going to the fox's nest would be a safe thing to do.
"I guess I can't deny the possibility of encountering the bees again. Still, we would need the help of those foxes if we were to continue our exploration of this planet."
Having level 40+ and 50+ bodyguards is reassuring, after all.
Mina seemed like she still had something to say, but she decided to hold her tongue. Being too fussy would just be counterproductive, after all.
"Then, let's go!" Lily exclaimed. "Ruin, bring out that thing we dismantled earlier!"
"Alright, alright. Wait a sec..."
I opened the World Storage once more, taking out something that the girls made me bring forcefully. It came in two large parts; one part has a single wheel on the side and a brace on the other, while the other one is a motorcycle.
Yes, what they asked me to bring was actually a military-grade tricycle! It was so f*cking heavy that I almost gave up. Inserting it into my storage was hellish, but taking it out was so simple that it was anticlimactic.
As soon as all the parts were extracted, the five of them started to assemble the parts together with accustomed movements. "Have you girls done this before?" I couldn't help but ask, seeing them move expertly.
Only Marionne raised her hand with a victorious smile. "I have experience with assembling it since it's part of Military training!"
"Military vehicles are made to be easy to assemble or disassemble. As long as we follow the guidebook, assembly is easy," Toki added without stopping her hands.
Well, the tricycle only had two parts that needed to be connected. After fitting the two sides, tightening the nuts, and making sure it was steady, the vehicle was already complete.
"Still..." My words trailed off as I stared at their painstakingly built vehicle. "There's six of us, and this one looks like it could only fit three, including the driver."
"Ah, there's no police here, so nobody's gonna pick on us for overloading!" Hailey chuckled excitedly. "But before that, is there anyone here who has experience driving a bike?"
They have already finished assembling it and all. If there's nobody among us able to drive, then that means their efforts are wasted. Still, three hands were raised. I, for one, Mina, and Marionne.
"Oh, Mina! You can drive a bike?" Toki exclaimed, surprised.
Even I was surprised since Mina doesn't look the type to drive a motorcycle. For Marionne, I guess she learned it as it was part of the Military Training she's talking about earlier.
"I do. I have a scooter at home, an electric one."
"Oh, that's a bit different," I commented. "This bike is a manual, gasoline engine. Unlike a scooter, this one has a gearshift and clutch."
"Is that so? I thought all bikes were the same..." Mina said, her drive deflated.
At that moment, Marionne jumped and grabbed my arm again, a joyful smile adorning her face. "Then Ruin should drive! I'll take dibs on the backseat!"
"""...!"""
The girls' eyes suddenly sharpened, studying the trike's structure and thinking hard. After a few seconds, Toki nodded her head, as if having finally reached a conclusion.
"We can have Mahiro drive; Lily will sit in front of him, while another one will sit on his back. Then, the three of us would share seats on the sidecar. Let's do this fairly; a lucky draw!"
Lily and I were excluded for some reason. The two of us walked to the side, watching the rest of them pull sticks from a random stack of twelve. The one with the longest would have the first choice, while the one with the shortest stick would pick the last.
The atmosphere around them was so serious, as if they were having a life-or-death battle. At the same time, everyone drew a stick from the container. Their eyes sharpened, comparing the length of their sticks with each other.
"Yes! I win!" Hailey celebrated. "Then, I'll take the backseat!"
Hailey was rejoicing, but the other three looked crestfallen. Lily was looking at them too, smiling wryly, like seeing a bunch of hopeless kids. "Come on, I thought we were in a hurry?" she called to the others.
With her urging, all of us approached the trike and boarded it. I sat in the driver's seat, with Hailey sitting right behind me. For the sidecar, the seat could only fit two of them side by side, so the third one, Toki, sat on their laps instead. Finally, Lily climbed up over the gas tank, leaning her back against my chest.
I could feel her warmth being passed to me while Hailey was hugging me by the waist, pressing against me tightly. Seeing that everyone was sitting down properly, I started the motorcycle. It's been a while since I drove a motorcycle, but I guess my body still remembers it.
Soon after, the vehicle was running across the desert-like field. The loud noise of the gasoline engine, mixed with the buffering winds, made it almost impossible for us to hear each other's words while riding.
The distance it took us roughly fifteen minutes to cover through running before was over in under five minutes, despite the rough terrain. When we approached the mountain of bones, we all disembarked the tricycle and decided to travel the rest of the path on foot.
We hadn't walked far yet before the big daddy fox (assumed) peeked from behind one of the big piles of bones. Wait, how did he hide behind a pile that was smaller than his own body? Was it some sort of skill?
Fortunately, it still remembered us and didn't act hostile. Instead, it approached us and lowered its head, as if allowing us to pet his head. Lily didn't hesitate and took the chance, trying to pet the giant head... but she couldn't reach it. Even I would need to raise my arms to reach the fox's head and pat it, after all.
"Excuse me," I whispered as I lifted Lily by the waist, letting her reach the fluffy head of the fox.
"Woooah!" Excited noises escaped Lily's lips as she enjoyed the fluffy sensation. A few moments later, the fox raised its head before turning around and walking back to their nest.
After a few steps, it stopped and glanced at us, as if urging us to follow after it. I quickly lowered Lily, whose face was still red from excitement, and followed after the daddy fox.
The nest was close enough that it took us about a couple of minutes of chasing after the fox to reach it. As soon as we did, the little foxes approached me, wagging their fluffy tails in anticipation.
"Alright, alright. I guess you all are still hungry."
I opened my storage once more, dragging out the carcasses of the monsters we hunted. Of course, we didn't bother chopping it up; we served it as is. The foxes rejoiced, gobbling the meat presented to them like rabid dogs.
I took out more as I watched the three kits gobble up an entire minotaur. It looked almost surreal how they managed to eat something bigger than themselves.
Since there was a lot of meat prepared for them, the parents didn't hold back and started to eat too. All of us smiled and were satisfied after seeing the foxes eat the meat we hunted. The sense of accomplishment we gained was something else!