27 - Chapter 25 Expansion of Base

I'm restless. Ever since Belle and Rain left for a trip, I've been feeling restless. I never thought I was such a worrier. It's a surprising discovery.

Hey, Dine. Are you going to be all right?

"You mean Belle and Rain?　If we just carry the seeds, we won't be too fatigued, and Sylphy is with us, so we'll be fine.

"I see. Of course. Thank you, Deanne."

"Hmm. You're welcome."

Deene's big sister's kind and watchful gaze is a little disturbing, but since I'm indebted to her, I'll let it slide here.

"Yea!　You're depressing me. Stop hanging around and do some work."

"Ah, sorry nomos. But I've finished watering and I can't find anything to do at the moment.

"You're going to get some plant seeds and eventually call the spirits of the forest to you. You should have a place to build a forest."

...... building a forest?　Me?　I remember when Tulu said we need the cooperation of the spirits of the forest. I see. So you want to build a forest? ...... I just wanted to improve our living environment, but I feel like I'm overreacting.

On the other hand, I wonder if we can't improve our living environment in the land of the dead without making a big deal about it. Why is the destination such a hell? It doesn't make sense.

"Are we going to build a forest? ....... Is this place too small by any chance?"

A space of one hundred meters square now has a large spring and a swimming pool. There is an extended field and a mobile home. I want to plant edible plants in the field, and it would be too cramped if I build a forest.

It's too small. It's good you found something to do. Go ahead and expand."

"I'm glad you have a forest, too. Good luck, Yuta!

It doesn't feel like the other world I thought I'd be living in. If I go to town, will it be the otherworldly life I thought it would be?　Well, that's okay. It'll keep me busy and distract me. I'll give it a shot.

First, let's build a space the same size as the base outside of the rock square. Since we're building a forest, we'll have to dig a hole and put rocks in it, just like we did with the field. ...... It's a big job.

First of all, we need more rocks. We need to go out and cut down the rock pile. It's not prudent to go out alone, even in the daytime. I want Tulu to come with me and I want Dine or Nomos to go with me instead of Sylphy.

...... Nomos. Deene has been good to me, and he's not a bad guy, but I'm afraid I don't know how the ...... natural part of him will work.

Nomos. I'm going out to get some rocks, will you come with me?"

"Moo. Yuta. Why are you asking Nomos-chan?　If you're not there, Sylphy, then it's your sister's turn, isn't it?"

The Great Spirit of Water, whom I had hoped to avoid if at all possible, became involved. And Nomos is a "chan" too. I'm shocked.

Hmm?　Tulu and I are going out for the first time, and it would be easier for Tulu to work with a nomos of the same lineage, wouldn't it?"

"Leave it to your sister and you'll be fine!　I'm the one who asked Sylphy to go, so I'm going."

I have no idea what's okay with him, but he doesn't seem to want to back down. I don't have a contract, so all I can get is advice. I'm very nervous about leaving that to the natives. ....... Well, I'm just going to go cut out some rocks, so I guess it's all good.

"Is Tulu going to be okay with Dineh?"

"...... is fine."

He has started to talk to me since we signed the contract, but he is as reticent as ever. But he seems motivated, so that's good.

Let's go. Deanne. Tulu. Nice to meet you."

We leave the base and head for the rocky hill. The inconvenient thing about this base is that there is no rocky hill nearby due to the influence of a marshy area long ago. This is a minor inconvenience, since we can just cut out the stones in bulk, but it makes us frustrated when we go to cut out the stones.

As we were walking towards the rocky hill, a death lizard appeared in front of us.

"Hey, Dene. Why don't you tell me?"

"What?"

What are you talking about?　Let's leave Deanne alone. He hastily enlarges his hammer and holds it ready. Fortunately, she doesn't rush at us suddenly, but comes closer to us, threatening us with her hammer. This way, he has enough time.

I want to see what magic Tulu can use. Can you defeat him?

When he saw Tulu, he nodded his head and put his hands out in front of him.

"Doso."

As Tulu muttered, the earth around the death lizard rose up and swallowed the death lizard in a flash.

"Oh, Tulu's magic is amazing. "Oh, Tulu's magic is great too. But Tulu... I'd appreciate it if you'd leave as many demon carcasses as possible for me to kill next time. I want to keep the magic stone. you can just kill them without worrying about the magic stone."

"...... Okay. I'll be fine next time."

Tulu is reviewing what I said, muttering to himself so he doesn't forget. She's a serious girl, isn't she?

"So, Deanne. Why didn't you tell me about the approaching demons?　I'm sorry I was so careless, but it would be great if you could give me a few words before we get too close."

"Sis, you don't know when a demon is approaching, do you?"

Deanne says with a cocked head. She's beautiful, so I'm a little wobbly, but I need to be sure now.

"Well, Deanne. Can't Deanne find us?"

"Hmm. If there's water, I can do it, but on the ground, I don't know, sister. Because she is a water spirit.

Well, that makes sense, but I don't want to agree.

"Then what are you following me for?"

"Because Sylphy told you to?"

No, this guy. He came along without any idea of what he can do. He just came with the idea that he has to do his best because Sylphie told him to.

"Oh, yeah. Okay, thanks."

I understood very well how Sylphy felt when he gave up preaching. Now, if we can't find the enemy, we have to watch our surroundings while we cut out the rocks. Our pace will slow down, but safety comes first. Let's keep our heads up! Suddenly I get a tug on my sleeve and look down to see Tulu.

"What's wrong?"

"I can get on top of the ground."

"Oh, Tulu can search. The only flying monsters in the land of the dead are ghosts and wraiths, so there's no problem during the daytime. Let me know if any demons come. Please, Tulu.

I was so happy that I patted their heads like I do to Belle and Rain. Tulu was a little scared for a moment, but he relaxed and let me stroke him. He didn't seem to mind being patted on the head.

"Okay."

After that, it took us half a day to cut out the six rock piles neatly, with me crushing the occasional demon with a hammer and Tulu using magic to defeat them. Do you think this will be enough?　Well, if it's not enough, we'll come back and cut it out again.

By the way, Tulu showed me some magic.

A mineral bullet that sends minerals in the earth flying with great force.

A spear of minerals shoots out from the ground and pierces the enemy.

Burial: The ground rises up and swallows the enemy.

It seems that the whole ground is the object of this magic. I asked if it is possible to separate the minerals and use them as materials, but I was told that it is not possible at this time. The mineral spear also disappears when the enemy is killed. ...... is a waste of time.

It is said that the extraction of materials will be possible only from the middle level spirits. However, I heard that even Tulu can locate the veins of ore, so it might be a good idea to go and collect them sooner or later. I can't process it now, so I'll put it off for later.

** **

Whew. I only took a nap last night, so I went right back to sleep at night and my life is back to normal. I was stuck leveling up in the middle of the night, and with the arrival of the earth spirits, it might have been a good time to get back into the swing of things.

I invited Nomos and Tulu to join us for breakfast, but they said they would not be joining us. Maybe the Great Spirit class is tired of eating grilled seafood.

Tulu was quiet, but smiled from time to time as he ate, which made me feel relieved. It would be more lively if Belle and Rain were here. I'm a little sad.

Since Rain is not here, we water the fields and start expanding the base. First, let's expand the south side. We should build a square space on the south side, the same size as the current base.

If we run out of space, we can add more squares in the same way, and eventually we will end up with a large square centering on the spring. Well, I hope we can reach the town before then. Well, the first thing we need to do is to build a wall to keep the demons out. I take Tulu and go outside.

Hey Tulu! Hey Tulu... I haven't thought about subsidence so far... but is there any way to do it with earth magic?

"We can harden the soil under the rocks."

A hardened area won't sink or ...... I have a feeling it will sink under it like dominoes, but ...... it's better to do it than not.

"Then, I'll leave a rock and you can fix the bottom. I'm not tired because I'm just placing the rocks, but Tulu is working his magic. If it gets too hard, just take it easy and rest."

"Okay."

Tulu nodded his head. I'm worried about you. He's a quiet boy, very serious. Yeah. He's the type to push himself. I'll check on him often.

We'll line up the rocks and make sure the space is the same size as the base. Tulu seems to be in good hands. Let's go next. This time he is going to build a forest, so we dig down 50 centimeters into the newly created space.

Even with our pioneering tools, this is going to take a long time. I dig the ground, and Tulu consolidates the ground after I've dug. Tulu helps me by leveling the ground well so that it is easy to place the rocks.

I get mentally tired first and take a break. Tulu does not seem to be tired at all. Even a lowly spirit is capable of great things. By nightfall, I manage to finish lining up the rocks in the space we have dug out, and finish drilling the hole.

The soil will be put in after consulting with Nomos, while keeping an eye on the condition of the field. He says that the soil of the dead land will be defeated if the microorganisms in the field do not grow and become accustomed to the soil. I'm still scared of the land of death.