66 Episode 65 Zunana and Wakame

It was time to go.

There were thirteen of us on board: me, Mercia, the captain (who Mercia had hired), three crew members, and seven employees who would be in charge of harvesting.

The number of people on board is small compared to the size of the ship, so we don't feel cramped.

How do you decide the course of a ship?　Is there a compass or something?

In the cockpit, there is a rudder and a large lever to adjust the thrust of the magic stone, but there is no compass.

I'm guiding you this time, but I wonder if you won't get lost otherwise.

"Rashinban?　What's that?

It's a device used to keep ships from getting lost during voyages, and it's supposed to show detailed directions.

It is said that there is a way to decide the direction to go by turning the compass with its base while saying, "I'll turn the compass," but it must be a special case.

However, this is probably a special case. It is dangerous to rotate something that is heavy, and there is a high possibility that the compass will not move in the desired direction.

In other words, it has no meaning as a compass.

I urge you not to use it.

What is the use of looking up the direction? 　Why don't you use an anchor?

Anchor?

Yes. 　It is a magic tool that shows you the direction of the other one when you use two of them in a set. 　The fuel consumption is so great that you can leave them alone for years, but they're slow to react and require some skill to use.

That's convenient. 　Couldn't it be used in combat?

No. 　It's too slow to react, so the battle will be over before you can wait for the anchor to point you in the right direction. 　At most, you can use it to carry things from the city when you enter the forest and return.

That's about it.

I thought something like a GPS would be useful, but I guess it doesn't work that way.

I wondered if there was another way to use it.

What happens to the other one when the other one breaks?

When both are present, the direction of the pair of anchors will be a lighter color, but when the other one is gone, the whole thing will be a darker color, so you can tell.

...... Oh.

Are there any magical tools that can be used to communicate with the island?

There is no such thing. 　If there were, the guild would have used it by now.

Can't we use ...... to communicate with the anchors?

Anchor communication?　How would that work?

We could hold them and smash them together when something goes wrong.

You can only tell them something's wrong, right?

We could line them up in a row and tell them in what order to break them.

...... I hadn't thought of that!　Why didn't you tell me about it earlier? It's expensive, but it's the kind of long-distance communication technology that the guilds and the big merchants would love to have!

I just thought of it. 　I mean, I only just found out about the anchor.

I mean, I only just found out about the anchor." "I'm sure someone could come up with something like that, but it seems that no one has.

I wonder if it's because magic is too convenient that the technology for making use of good materials, such as medicine, has not developed much.

"Well, if you want to use it, you can use it in our house, or you can teach it to the guild or something. 　I'll leave that to you.

Are you sure?

It's not as advanced as medicine, and it's not like we're using anything special.

While we were talking about this, we arrived at our destination.

The distance to the island was only a few hundred meters.

Wait for a moment. 　I have some work to do.

I forgot that we still had some work to do before we could set up the house.

I'm going to level out the area where we're harvesting the zunana grass so that it's easier to harvest.

If I'm harvesting the grass, I don't mind leaving it as it is, but from now on, my employees will have to mow the grass, sometimes using magic tools.

If you are going to use magic tools, it is even better to remove the unevenness of the ground.

The work itself is simple: just walk around the island while activating the upside-down landslide.

If you walk around with the intention of making the ground flat, it will happen.

It took us less than half an hour to flatten the entire island, leaving the pond behind.

Finally, I set up my house in the right place and the job was done.

All right, we're done, you can come now.

Return to the ship and tell the captain.

The island is flat. ...... What the hell is ......

What the hell is going on? - Nothing, just a little leveling. 　Steve can finish leveling an island like that in 20 minutes.

"Steve ......?　Well, I don't care. 　If you want to get to the island, you'll have to take a landing craft.

Copy that. 　I'll fly, you take the rest. 　If you can fly, that's fine.

People don't usually fly. ......

Apparently, there was no one else who could fly, so everyone got on the landing craft except for me, the captain, and two crew members.

It was the job of the lone crewman to take the controls.

"All right, go.

At the captain's command, the landing craft lifted off the water and flew smoothly toward the island a few meters above the surface.

I had planned to support the boat from below if anything happened, but it didn't. The boat arrived safely at the island and landed in front of the house.

It was pretty smooth.

I practiced a little during the test. 　I couldn't do it for too long because the fuel consumption was too sensitive, but I could at least get a feel for it.

"In such a short time?

Maybe landing craft are easier to handle than we thought.

Or maybe the crew you've hired is good at it.

All right, let's test the magic tools.

I took out the magic tools I had prepared for mowing the Zunana grass, and had the employees test them.

I heard that it was a kind of earth magic, but it seemed to be quite useful.

It seems to be reusable, so we can use the excess magic power of the employees.

We also have the right tools for transporting grass around the island.

We also found out that the pond on the island was full of edible plants.

The pond probably helped them to escape the violence of the land clearing.

It was a kind of wakame seaweed that grows in fresh water, and since it looked tasty, I collected it at random.

It would be a good source of food for my employees.

Half an hour later.

After leaving the food, anchor, and other necessities at home, we gathered at the ship again.

"So that's it then. 　Did you forget anything?

"I think so, sir.

All right, let's go. 　Good luck, boys.

Yes, sir.

Five of the employees will remain on the island to work on the harvest.

We need them to work hard for the stable supply of zunana grass.

We'll pay them well, and we're planning to increase the number of employees so that they can work in shifts.

All right, see you later. 　Let's go!

Roger that.

The landing craft we used to get here lifts off again.

The landing craft that we used to get here floats up again, and flies over to the ship without any trouble, and lands quietly.

Then the boat turned back the way it came and carried us to the city.

Incidentally, on the way, a stupid boat killer hit his head on a solid ship and floated away, so we collected him.

We still have enough to eat, so we'll sell them in the store.

It might be a good idea to catch a boat killer.

One week later.

The first liaison boat to the island (which we named First Zunana Island) sailed for First Zunana Island.

Apart from the crew, there were only three people on board: me, Mercia, and a new settler.

The ship arrived at the first Zunana without incident.

Our objectives were to transport additional people, collect the Zunana grass we had cut, and collect the wakame seaweed (which in this world is called "numeza", but in essence it is wakame).

The wakame was quite tasty.

We arrived at the island with the landing craft and took a look at the landscape, the zunana grass was as vigorous as ever.

The island, which had been almost devoid of grass due to land clearing, was now a verdant grassland.

It seems that the mowing team has been working hard, and about a quarter of the island has been cleared of grass, but around that area the grass has grown taller, and about half of the island seems to be untouched.

The ship has arrived!　Assemble!

The call goes out, and the mowing team returns around the ship with mithril scythes.

They were mowing an untouched area on the other side of the island.

All right, we're here. 　Looks like they only mowed about half the island, did anything slow them down?

With this many people, I expected it to take less than three days to hunt the entire island.

But you've left half of it untouched.

"No, we've already mowed it many times. ...... Over there.

One of the mowing team members pointed to a pile of weeds high in the air.

Then what happened to that area?

He points to a lush field of grass that looks completely untouched by human hands and asks.

...... No way.

You can mow all day and it will come back. 　You mow all day and it comes back.

I don't get it. ......

I'd like to see these guys in a fight with bamboo and badass fungus.

I'd like to see how these ecosystem-destroying bio-weapons are defeated by the medicinal plants.

"Well, it's a good thing we have so many resources. 　It's a little creepy, but keep up the good work.

"Okay!　I'll do my best!

"And these are the additional men. 　To be honest, we don't have enough Zunana grass at the moment, so we'll be adding more.

"Oh, more people? 　I'd like to see this island completely mowed down one day.

Well, maybe in a couple of days it will be back. 　I'll probably be back in a couple of days. If there's not enough Zunana grass to grow, I'll use another island. 　...... Is there anything else you need help with?

In the event that you've got a problem, you'll be able to contact your doctor.

I have prepared potions, but there may be other problems.

There is one. 　It's that pond. ......

"What about the pond? 　Is it dead?

No, the pond itself is fine, but the nemesas have been eaten by fish and their numbers have dwindled. ...... I wonder if the sudden change in environment has increased the number of fish. 　Anyway, our dinner table is in trouble.

What the hell?

It was surprisingly small, so I was eating it with care.

What a d*mned fish. We can't let it live.