17 - CHAPTER XV -- MINUTE INCONVENIENCE OF THE SPIRIT

The stone is being quarried from the rock pile. We ate a lot of seafood last night, and this morning we are full of the fish and shellfish we have stored away.

I'm sure I'll get tired of seafood eventually, but I feel completely different compared to the time when I was eating nothing but bread.

As we have gained in level and strength, the big rocky mountains are disappearing in a flash. We have succeeded in securing an extra large rock for our mobile home, and when this rock pile disappears, it will be the third rock pile that has disappeared.

"Hmmm. This is all we need to collect. We should go back to the well area and build a dwelling.

"I think we'll have enough, but three piles of rocks is a bit much, don't you think?"

Sylphy spoke to me with a wry smile. It was true that I was getting a little carried away, but I guess that's OK, because there is no such thing as too much trouble.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find some use for them. Well, I'm sure we'll find some use for it. If we have too much, we can use it to expand the space.

He calls back Belle and Rain, who are playing in the distance, and sets off for the well.

**

It took us less than two hours to reach the well. It seems that the increase in our level of skill is having a positive effect on our speed of movement. I put away the big rocks that blocked the well for the time being.

Sylphy. You are at the bottom of this well, aren't you, Dine?"

Yes. It is possible that they have moved to another place by following the water vein, but I think they are probably down there.

Water spirits can travel through water veins. Is it useful ......?　I don't see the point, since I can fly.

"Thank you. I should let them know you're back, right?"

"Just leave a message. Just ask Belle and Lane to get in touch with me."

Oh, that's the way to do it. I thought it would be a bit of a hassle going up and down the stairs, but it's a lot easier.

"Belle. Rain. Come here for a minute.

"Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Cue."

A happy little girl and a dolphin. It's a fantasy.

"I came back to Dene at the bottom of the well. Can you tell her I'm doing some work tomorrow?　If they're not there, you can just come straight back."

"Ninmu?"

"...... yeah ...... duty."

"Yessir."

"Cue."

I watch them happily jump into the well. Gghh. The high tension at sea is ....... I trust you'll forget about it eventually.

"Sylphy. Will you stop looking at me like I'm looking at a poor person?"

I don't have that look. It's Yuta's paranoia.

Is that so?　Do you care too much?

"What are you going to do now?"

"Uh, first we need to clear some space. I've prepared two hundred two-meter hexahedrons. All we have to do now is to arrange them.

If you put 50 pieces on each side, you will have a square space. That should be enough.

"Two meters will keep out the wandering zombies and skeletons. But the death lizards could get in, right?

"Well, let's just build it and see how it goes. If not, I'll think about it then.

The rocks are two meters wide, so it should be safe to stack them on top.

That might be a good idea.

"Okay, let's arrange them so that the well is in the center."

Decide on a starting point and place the rocks.

"It's so big this way. Does it have to be this thick?"

It is true that just one of them is placed, but it feels strangely powerful.

"Well, I've never even been involved in architecture before, so I'm just going to go with sturdiness.

If the ground caves in under the weight, it's easy enough to store and deal with.

"Surely it's better to be too sturdy than too fragile."

"That's what I mean. I'll just smooth out the bad bumps and leave it there."

Ding. Dong. The rocks are placed at a good pace, the raised areas are scraped off quickly with a shovel, and the dented areas are filled in with dirt and hardened with a hammer.

"I'm home!"

"Cue."

Oh, no. Bell and Lane are back.

Thank you both. Did you see Deanne?

"Yes, I'm here. "I met you. I got a compliment.

"Cue cue. Cuey."

They both look like they've done it. Thank them. And pat them both down.

"Thank you. I don't have anything else to do right now, so you two go play. Don't go too far."

"Yes, sir."

"Cuey."

I watch them fly away. Rain's reply feels like a subtle progression. A genie, indeed. Let's resume.

**

Yeah. We got it all the way around with no gaps. There were a few gaps, but I was able to adjust them with the extra rocks. It should be fine in terms of preventing demons from getting in.

"If it's this big, it's big enough."

It is called the land of death, where there is nothing but reddish brown and dry ground. But it's strange how attached you become to a place when you surround it and recognize it as your territory.

"Yes, it is. I think it's a pretty big place. It's an amazing ability to be able to do all this in such a short time."

"Yes. I think it's an extraordinary performance for a tool. Well, if it could fly, we might not have had so much trouble.

We swooped in and arrived at the town. It's so easy.

"If you sign up with me, you'll be able to fly, and I'm sure you'll be better off with your current abilities."

Surely, no matter how hard we try, it will be difficult to get the tools for pioneering tools.

"That's true. Good. I'm motivated. Next, I'm going to build a mobile base."

We take out the largest rock we have reserved for the mobile base and build a two-room house like the one we built for our temporary base. This time we build an enclosure and make some windows in the kitchen.

No windows in the bedrooms because we don't want ghosts and such to enter the house. A rock for a table and a rock for a bench are placed. The kitchen is complete with a stove.

In the bedroom, a large rock is placed in the center of the room and the interior is cut out so that sand can be placed inside. The sand from the beach is purified and poured into the rock. Now you can put wooden pillows and you are done.

You will get dirty with sand when you sleep, and the wooden pillow is hard, but it is much better than sleeping on the rock. Dirt can be dealt with by purification. Oh, and now that we have water, we can build a bath when the spring is finished. Purification makes you clean, but it doesn't make you tired. But still .......

"Hmmm..."

"What's troubling you?"

"Um, I know it's a silly thing to say, but doesn't this bed look like a coffin?"

It's just a box with the interior of a rectangular rock cut out of it and filled with sand. ...... It kind of reminds me of a coffin.

"It certainly looks like a coffin, but is it really that troubling?"

"It looks like a bad omen, doesn't it?"

In Japan, I never cared about good luck, but it's a world where ghosts are common. It seems to be common for people's luck to go down for some trivial reason.

"Well, why don't you shave off the corners and make them round?"

"......Oh, that would change the atmosphere. I'll give it a try."

Take Sylphy's advice and shave off the corners to give it an overall rounded appearance. ...... It looks like a capsule. But this is somewhat better.

"Okay, now we have a mobile home. That's all for today, let's have dinner.

"What are you having for dinner tonight?"

It's hard to just grill seafood three times in a row. Boiled fish makes me want rice. Even though the temperature will be a little cooler at night, one-pot dishes are hard. I don't have enough ingredients for fry, and I don't think I can make tsumigami without ...... ginger and green onion.

I don't think I can make it without ginger and green onion. Will eating seaweed help?　I'm not sure. I should have at least bought vegetable juice. If I don't raise my level quickly before my body is destroyed by lack of nutrition, I'll be in trouble.

"I guess it's ...... steamed fish today."

"It's a subtle change, but is ...... okay?"

"I've come up with a lot of fish dishes, but I don't have enough vegetables and seasonings. Japanese cuisine can be extravagant if you add seafood to it. ......"

I want rice. I want seasonings. I want herbs. I want vegetables. Most of all, I want meat.

Hey, is it possible to have Belle go shopping for me?

"You can't, because you can't materialize. Spirits can only materialize in special places. They can use their magic power to grab things, but it's not exactly the same as touching them. It would be almost impossible to shop in such a situation.

I thought I could hold things since you brought me the fish, but I was wrong. It's a subtle complication.

"How about you go get them for me?"

"It's possible."

My dreams expanded.

"Oh, it would make such a difference if we could just get the plants."　

"But it would take Bell a long time and be hard for him to fly over a long distance while maintaining the magic power to hold things. Even with Rain's assistance, the load will still be on her after all.

Sylphy sighs and speaks apologetically. I remember I asked him if he could carry me to the town if I made a contract with Belle, and he said he couldn't. No wonder...they are much heavier than plants.

"You said that the spirits we contracted with would come to us as soon as we summon them, even if they are far away from us. If I use that power, I can come back immediately, can't I?

"Unfortunately, only spirits can move.

"Oh, I feel like I'm being tied up like a wild goose."

It seems to work, but something is missing in a subtle way. God, if he exists, is pretty mean. The only way this could possibly work is to put a tremendous burden on the little girl and the dolphins. I feel so guilty.

"If you were as powerful as I am, you wouldn't have any problems."

"If I can make a deal with Sylphy, he'll take me to town, right?"

"Hmmm... I guess you're right. I never thought about it before, but I guess it doesn't work that way.

It is quite rare to be able to communicate so well with spirits. I'm sure there are a lot of things I didn't know.

"Well, relying on Belle and Rain is a real last resort, and I'll do the best I can on my own.

First of all, don't be selfish, eat your food and raise your level of skill. Let's do our best to get out of this seafood-only life.