Barrett and Steve were chatting, each holding a cup of coffee, sipping as they talked. Barrett's spatial ring held a large stash of distilled water, and the water tanks on the three-masted warship Emerald Sandboat also stored several tons of pure water.
In the desert, the most precious thing was the source of life—water—and right now, they weren't short on it.
This was the fifth day of their journey through the Eight Greed Kings desert. So far, everything had been perfectly calm, and the three-masted warship was steadily sailing deeper into the sands.
Cheeko hopped over to EeDechi's side, rubbing back and forth against her pant leg. It looked up at her with pleading eyes, wearing an expression like it wanted to meow but held back.
"What's wrong? You want some crystals?" EeDechi asked, scooping up the kitty.
Cheeko shook its head and let out a couple of soft, sweet meows. EeDechi figured it wanted to write something, so she pulled out her parchment, inkwell, and quill, spreading them out in front of Cheeko.
Cheeko grabbed the quill in its mouth and wrote: {I think I have the runs.}
The runs? EeDechi was a bit surprised. Cheeko wasn't a cat in the usual sense—it could devour any substance, didn't need to eat or poop—so how could it have diarrhea?
Cheeko kept writing: {This has never happened before. Ever since we left Moonstone Hollow, I've noticed that sometimes, when I eat too much, I feel like I need to let out water, and my butt's always damp.}
EeDechi set Cheeko down in front of Barrett and the captain, and the three of them discussed what might be going on.
Barrett turned Cheeko's butt toward himself and took a look. Sure enough, the slightly puckered hole above Cheeko's two little balls was damp, with droplets of water clinging to the balls.
Forced to stick its butt up, Cheeko's tail swished back and forth uneasily, looking all embarrassed.
"This..." Barrett was stumped too. He'd killed plenty of magical beasts and monsters, and he was damn good at plunging a knife into a beast's neck, but treating one for sickness? That was way outside his wheelhouse.
Barrett aimed right at Cheeko's cat butt, steeled himself, and took a deep sniff. To his surprise, the water coming out of Cheeko's butt was completely clean, with no smell at all.
Barrett shared his discovery with EeDechi and the captain, but the captain didn't have any ideas either.
First Mate Bill Hades sauntered over and plopped down with a thud. This first mate was a rough-and-tumble sort, sporting a bushy beard and always carrying a curved blade at his waist.
"You guys teasing the cat?" Bill reached out his broad, calloused palm and gave Cheeko's head a hearty rub.
Barrett filled Bill in on Cheeko's situation.
Bill propped his chin in thought, then flipped Cheeko around, dipped his index finger onto Cheeko's hole, and... stuck the finger in his mouth, savoring it carefully.
"Taste good?" Barrett asked hesitantly.
Cheeko's hole caught off guard by the assault, it arched its back in tension, nearly hissing with fury.
"No flavor." Bill shrugged. "Just like water—real clean water."
"It only started after Moonstone Hollow," EeDechi said.
"Moonstone Hollow, now that's a fine spot. Our merchant caravan's been there too—their sand onion roasted lamb is out of this world." Bill smacked his lips, unclear if he was reminiscing about the lamb's flavor or the taste of the water from Cheeko's butt.
To calm Cheeko down, EeDechi pulled a glistening blue crystal from her spatial ring and fed it to the Cheeko. Cheeko gobbled it down in a couple of bites, blissfully narrowing its eyes.
"So it looks like after Cheeko eats something, it poops out pure, spotless water," Barrett summed up.
Steve chimed in eagerly: "Hey, this reminds me of Moonstone Hollow's secret. At the bottom of the moonstone pond, there's an ancient crystal packed with otherworldly power—a relic from the Eight Greed Kings era that can transmute sand into water.
"Back then, our caravan tried to buy the crystal, but the villagers turned us down flat. They said it was a priceless heirloom from their ancestors—no one could take it away, and no one would dare try."
EeDechi and Barrett exchanged a glance, and Cheeko gave a sudden shudder. They all knew it crystal clear: back in Moonstone Hollow, when Cheeko spotted the crystal at the bottom of the pond, it got too greedy and dove right in, chomping off a big bite.
EeDechi cradled the kitty Cheeko in her arms and headed back to her cabin room with Barrett.
"No doubt about it, Cheeko's been infused with the moonstone pond crystal's otherworldly power, and now it's got the ability to turn sand and stone into pure water," Barrett said seriously.
Cheeko shrank back, letting out a pitiful "meow meow" whine, helplessly accepting its fate.
"Being too greedy isn't good, you know." EeDechi gently pulled Cheeko into her embrace.
...
Night had fallen deep, and the three-masted warship Emerald Sandboat was still sailing through the sea of sand.
With nothing better to do, Barrett wandered around. The captain's quarters door was ajar, so he casually stepped inside, curious to check out the magic ship's controls.
First Mate Bill Hades was sprawled over the console, snoring away. The others were either on watch outside or already tucked in for the night.
The nautical chart was tacked up on the wall of the captain's quarters. Of course, it couldn't really be called a nautical chart anymore—sand chart would be more fitting.
According to Captain Steve, this map was drawn by explorers from the City Alliance, with clear and precise routes leading straight to the Eight Greed Kings desert's exit, the Vast Stellar Gate. The Golden Aquarius merchant caravan was navigating the desert based on this very map.
Barrett pulled out his own map of the Eight Greed Kings desert, wanting to see how the travel routes differed.
Barrett's desert map came from the Slane Theocracy. The Slane Theocracy bordered the Eight Greed Kings desert, and their Six Scriptures troops had once ventured into its deepest reaches, searching for the Eight Greed Kings' treasures and unraveling magical secrets.
When EeDechi and her party left the Slane Theocracy, Divine Commandant Alphonse of the Clearwater Scripture gifted them the map they had surveyed to EeDechi.
Comparing the two maps, a deep confusion surged in Barrett's heart. He discovered that the Golden Aquarius merchant caravan's map surprisingly had travel routes that were nearly identical to the one in his hand leading deep into the Eight Greed Kings desert.
...
Meanwhile, at the edge of the desert, Moonstone Hollow.
The once peaceful and serene little village had not a moment of quiet left. The banners of the Sorcerer Kingdom fluttered high in the night breeze, and the villagers huddled in their homes, trembling with fear.
Squad after squad of death knights, skeleton legions, and demon armies stood assembled and ready in Moonstone Hollow, their swords and spears rising like a forest, a deathly silent killing aura spreading endlessly through the hollow.
The only place where laughter and cheerful voices still rang out was Moonstone Hollow's vital water source—the moonstone pond.
Ainz Ooal Gown, Albedo, Shalltear, Sebas, Mare, Aura, Demiurge—the demonic gods of the Sorcerer Kingdom had almost all mobilized, and were now soaking in the moonstone pond.
Several parchment maps unfurled and drifted in the air above the pond under the "levitation" spell.
With his lower body submerged in the pond, Ainz wore a solemn expression as he declared loudly to everyone:
"According to the intelligence we've collected, EeDechi is using the map gifted by the Slane Theocracy to travel through the Eight Greed Kings desert. And now, we've got a copy of the Slane Theocracy's surveyed map.
"We can say we've got a handle on EeDechi's travel route. Though this map has plenty of side paths leading to different ruin sites, we've got the edge in numbers.
"The level 100 guardians will each take different routes. Stay in touch with each other, and the moment you spot EeDechi, summon the others right away!"
"I don't care what EeDechi's scheming—in the Eight Greed Kings desert, we've got to take her down!"