5 - Chapter III Policy Decision

I checked his skills and he seems to be a cheat. With this skill, I think I can get out of this rock pile.

"Hey Sylphy. With this skill, I think I can get off the rocky mountain, but how long will it take me to get to the human place?

"Uh-huh. If nothing happens, it would take a normal person about a hundred days to walk there.　Yuta's level is low, so it might take longer."

"...... I may have misheard. Can you repeat that?"

Hundred days.

I guess I didn't mishear. I don't know what a hundred days means. How far away is that? In Japan, you could go from Hokkaido to Kyushu, couldn't you?　There's an ocean on the way. And I'm at too low a level, so it'll take even longer. Can I cry?

"Well, if it's that far away, we won't have enough food. Can we get something to eat along the way?"

"Food. ...... There is nothing to eat on land. If we take the long way around and walk along the sea, can we get food from the sea?"

"The sea!　If a boat passes by, can you give us a ride?"

"Impossible. There are no ships. There's nothing but minerals in the land of the dead. There's no food. No water. The only way to get there is the hard way, and the dead land is a long way. The sea is dangerous with strong demons, but no one would go out of their way to go that far.

What's that? I was in a good mood when I got the cheat. The environment is too hard.

"So, to get to a place where there are people, we have to go a hundred days longer, and then go further, getting food from the sea...?"

"...... it will be. If Yuta's magic power increases, I'll make a contract with him and take him there, but the land of the dead is a hard environment for demons, too, and there are many special demons that make it difficult.

Special demons, that sounds disgusting.

"Can't I make a contract with that sleeping little girl spirit?"

"A lower level spirit can fly a short distance, but it's hard to fly a person for a long time."

I feel like I've been transferred to a place that is so troublesome that I feel malicious. Traveling for more than a hundred days while living on a harvesting ...... is heartbreaking.

What is the land of the dead anyway?

"It's the barren land that makes up two-thirds of this continent. It's a barren land where even the spirits can't live because of the destruction wrought by human warfare so long ago. It's disgusting that humans still don't stop fighting even after all that time.

"Still fighting, are humans at war?"

"Yes, they are frequently at war with each other for smaller and smaller lands."

What's that? Even if you get there the hard way, there's still a chance you're at war. I'm getting more and more bad information.

What?　Is it safe for Sylphy and the young genie to be in the land of the dead?"

We are spirits of the wind. The wind will blow across the land of the dead. But even if we're all right, the earth won't come back to life.

The spirits of the wind are fine, but the other spirits cannot exist, so the land remains a land of death. Well, I don't want to go to a place where war is raging. Is living here an option, since we have the convenient ability to use pioneering tools?

"Sylphy. If I told you that I would use my pioneering tool skills to live in the land of the dead, would you help me?"

"Sounds interesting, but it's not an easy place to live.　And I can't directly help you unless you sign a contract."

"Just being able to talk to me would be enough. And you have to live in the land of the dead for at least a hundred days. Then it would be easier to build a base, and level up as we settle in to make a living. When we can make a contract, you'll take us to a place where there are people, right?"

"That's about right. Then here's my advice. Create a habitat for the spirits. Then I will bring them to you. The area around the genie's home will be prosperous and comfortable.

"Is that so?　Then it seems that people in this world are at least cultivating the land of the dead, right?

There has been a movement to develop the area. But the development itself is hard work, and even if you take the trouble to create an environment, if you can't communicate with the spirits, you don't know if they'll come. And even if you succeed, other countries will try to get them, so it's hard to defend ...... and as a result, there is almost no progress in settling the land."

It's a perfect vicious circle. I guess it's a circle that will never be successfully pioneered unless it's unified, right?

"Well, in my case, if I can set up the environment, Sylphy will bring the spirits to me, so if I work hard, I can make it work.

"Well, that's the way it's going to be."

"Okay, I've decided. Since I have such a useful ability, I will make a comfortable living space in the land of the dead. First, we'll go to the sea to conserve food.

We have quite a bit of food, but it is precious Japanese food. We have to take care of it. I managed to buy a large amount of miso and soy sauce ......, a liter bottle of soy sauce and a bag of instant miso soup, which helped, but 20 servings of miso soup in the morning and at night, and 9 servings of natto miso soup.... ...soon it will be gone. We should take good care of it.

But first we have to get off this rocky mountain. What are we gonna do?

Yes, it was. First we need to get off this rock pile.

"I'll just keep digging with my magic shovel. I'll store the rocks in my magic bag and we'll get by."

"All I can do is cheer you on, but good luck."

"Oh."

Cheering up a beautiful woman is so powerful, isn't it? He takes out his magic shovel and digs down from the edge of the cliff. When you insert the magic shovel into the ground, it is swallowed up. It really is like pudding.

The handle is weightless, so you don't feel the weight when you scoop up a rock. And even if you touch it with the shovel, if you think "stow" the shovel, it will stow the rock you dug up. It is very convenient.

Repeat digging and storing the rock. It is very easy to dig with little effort. However, for me, who am not athletic enough, it is quite tiring just to repeat the action of digging rocks with a shovel.

A young genie wakes up from her nap and cheers me on as she flies around me, saying, "Hang in there! It's kind of soothing.

......The spirit that was cheering me up got tired and flew away. I miss her.

I dig rocks steadily with occasional breaks. We have only two two-liter bottles of tea to drink. I shouldn't have bought so much alcohol. We drink it in small sips. We manage to reach the ground in about three hours. My arms and back are in bad shape.

"Good job."

"Good night."

"Ha-ha-ha. I'm pretty tired. I'm going to rest a bit and then head to the beach.

I guess I need to work on my body. It seems that as my level goes up, so does my strength, so it might be more efficient to level up first.

"The sun will be setting soon. Shouldn't we get ready to rest?"

Okay. The sun sets in other worlds, too. Sylphy's words remind me of the obvious. I thought I was being cool, but I guess I'm not thinking straight.

"What do I have to do to get ready for a rest?"

I've camped before, but I don't have any gear or anything.

"Yes. If we have food, we should first find a safe place to sleep. There are demons out there and we don't want them to attack us while we're sleeping, do we?"

"Right."

He tells me, wagging his finger from side to side. He seems to enjoy teaching people. I'd like a beautiful female teacher or ...... a suit and glasses, please. The young genie is also waving her fingers left and right, but I don't know how to react to her.

"Well, ...... I'll dig a cave in the rocky mountains."　

Whipping my tired body, I take out my magic shovel again and dig a hole in the rock pile. After about 20 minutes, he manages to create enough space to rest. After that, I take out the magic saw and cut a rock the same size as the entrance of the cave and store it in the magic bag. Hmmm. I need fire, but there are no trees or even grass. I'm afraid of the land of the dead.

"What about Sylphy and the little genie?　It's small, but I can manage to fit three people in there."

We can rest anywhere as long as we melt in the wind, so don't worry about us."

The spirit. I don't understand what you mean about melting in the wind. What if the wind isn't blowing?

"Oh, yeah. I have a lot of questions I want to ask you, so can you stay with me a little longer?"

"Okay."

"Okay!"

"Well, thank you for ......."

The young genie nodded her head in a big way as she thanked him,...... and Sylphy smiled wryly.

The first thing I want you to teach me is how to use life magic, you know?"

"Yes, I know what I'm talking about. If you have the magic, it's easy to learn.

Magic is so easy to use. That's exciting.

Please.

"All you have to do is put your finger on the place where you want to manifest it, and chant the incantation while visualizing it. The easiest is a seed fire, a ball of light. A spark is a small fire, and a photosphere is a shining ball of light.

Sylphy chants "seed fire" and a small light comes on at her fingertips. It's so simple. The spell is too literal.

But Sylphie is a wind spirit. But Sylphie is a wind spirit. She can use fire magic too.

"A great spirit. And anyone with magic can use life magic. Even spirits. But we don't get to use it very often. Well, try it.

"Ha-ha-ha, I see. Okay, I'll give it a try. Imagine ...... a seed fire."

As I cast the spell, a small fire was born a short distance away from my fingertips.

"Oh, fire. It's magic. I used magic. That's great. I'm awesome. I'm a wizard."

Suddenly I feel Sylphy's warm gaze on me and I become calm. I'm ashamed, I was too excited.

"Wow. Amazing."

Stop it. Young genie. Stop rolling around in the air imitating me. It's embarrassing. Somehow I managed to calm the young genie down and used the magic of the light ball and also learned some life magic which is a little difficult to imagine.

Especially the magic of cleaning is very helpful. It's hard to imagine, but it cleans my body and the clothes I'm wearing. Well, a bath feels better, so I will definitely make a bath when I can afford it.

"Thank you, that was very helpful."

"Don't worry about it, it was fun for me too. We're going to pull out now, so you should get some rest too. I'll show you the beach tomorrow."

You sure are tired. I think it's time for me to get some rest.

"Yeah. Thank you. See you tomorrow.

I leave Sylphy and the others, go into the cave, set up a rock cut out in front of the entrance from my magic bag, and lie down. I have a lot to think about, but as I lie down, I feel so sleepy that I can't do it anymore. Good night.