192 - - Episode 190, The Sacred Hearts, Playground Equipment, and Children

Nomos helped me to make a playground equipment without ropes for the time being. We'll see about the rope equipment next time.

"So, what happened to your talk with the king of spirits?

After dinner, we gather with the Great Spirits and listen to what Nomos has to say. He wanted to ask about the distillation of wine first, but I was sure he would get distracted if I explained.

"Well, he is happy that the land is greening up and that the land of the dead is now somewhat self-sufficient. So, in addition to continuing to cultivate the land, he also made a condition."

Conditions were set...conditions for designation as a sanctuary?　That's a pretty important story. You weren't building playground equipment or asking how to distill wine. ....... Wasn't it Nomos who suggested making it a sanctuary?

But when I bring a new drink, I feel a sense of emptiness when the conditions suddenly come up.

"What's that look in your eyes? Aren't you happy?"

"No, well, it's nice and easy to understand that conditions will appear, but what about the conditions that appear as soon as you bring the alcohol?　I'm kind of worried."

"Don't be silly. The spirit kings will not be lured into selecting a sanctuary by a bottle of wine. I brought the wine when I was going to offer the terms. By chance.

...... Is that really the case?　I doubt it intensely, but he said there were a few people who liked to drink, so should I believe Nomos in case I'm wrong?

"......So, what are the terms?"

"Well, as Yuta said, we want a place where spirits can freely use. We can increase the land we are currently cultivating by about five times. There is no need for supernatural things because they will be made by the spirits after the area is designated as a sanctuary. Living soil and waterways will be enough. And make a contract with the spirit of life to bring more animals to the sanctuary. I want at least a hundred animals. And you see that fire pit? You have to make the same thing with the other basic attributes: wind, water, earth, light, and darkness.

We will continue to pioneer and expand the land as we have done so far, so there will be no problem. We can get the animals if we can get them, right?　First, let's catch as many animals as we can contract with the spirit of life, and after settling down, let's aim to catch over a hundred animals. The problem is that we have to make the same thing as the fire pedestal. What's the point?

"Aside from the light and dark pedestals, the other attributes have real ones. Why do you need a pedestal in the first place?"　

"Well, you said that the base of the attribute would be the core of the sanctuary, supporting the ball that all the kings of spirits had made to form the boundary. Well, in short, you are asking us to create a place that will serve as the core of the sanctuary.

You want me to build such an important place?

Yuta originally pioneered this area. In the case of the previous sanctuaries, the spirit kings supported them with balls made by their own attributes, but if Yuta pioneered this place, it would be better for him to make it.

In short, do what you can do yourself. Well, to make the pedestal, I need a magic wand. ...... At the current rate I'm going, I should be able to get a few magic wands if I dive into the labyrinth. But will we be able to get all kinds so well?　I'm afraid I'm going to cry tears of joy.

Can I buy a magic wand?　If they say you have to get it yourself, it depends on your luck."

"There should be no problem to buy it. But you must have at least a minimum level of quality. Now we need a wand of the class used for the fire pedestal.

A magic wand sounds expensive. And I don't know if we need the wand class we got after the 50th layer in the labyrinth. ...... I'll ask Marie anyway. If it can be solved with money, it's simple and helpful in a way.

While I was thinking about what I should do, Nomos asked me how to distill wine, just when I was done talking. I told him what I remembered and the great spirits left for the distillery. I think I have my priorities wrong. ...... I'm going to be busy tomorrow, so I'm going to bed.

****

I know what the requirements are to designate a sanctuary, but for now, let me introduce you to the park today. I think you'll probably enjoy it, but I'm nervous about your evaluation. Gina and the others don't know anything about it, since Sylphy helped us out yesterday.

The Great Spirits have been holed up in the distillery since last night to distill the wine, so I don't expect any follow-up from them. The success of the surprise depends entirely on me.

So, no more training today.

After breakfast is over, I talk to everyone in a relaxed atmosphere.

"Master, what's the reason?"

Gina asks me a question with a puzzled look on her face. The reason is that I want to give her a surprise, but it won't be a surprise if I tell her honestly.

"Well, Gina has been working hard since she came here, so she should take it easy once in a while.

In fact, every day there was some kind of event. We've been out there yesterday and the day before to destroy the zombie hive, so I guess it's time to take a break.

"I see. ......"

You don't seem to have taken in much of what's going on.

"Well, let's work together today anyway."

"Uh, yeah, okay."

"Well, I have a place to show you, so let's all go together."

At my words, the crowd begins to move. I'm glad that I was talking to Gina and that no questions came from Bell, Sarah, and the others.

"I made something interesting in here. I'm going to move the rocks out of the way."

He moves to the border of the park, attracting everyone's attention, and removes the blocked rock with a gesture of pretension. ............What's that?　I don't hear any cheers, do you?　He pulls back his smug face and looks at everyone. Bell and the others have been peeking from above, so I'm not surprised, but Gina and the others have never seen them before, have they?

"...... Master, there are a lot of strange things here, what is this place for?"

Sarah asked me a question that seemed a little troubling. ......You're right, it's the first time I've seen it. There's no way she could have known it was a playground equipment just by showing it to me. Haha, I thought the surprise would be successful if I hide it and show it suddenly. What can I say, if there is a hole, I want to get in it.

"Yeah, you know, it's just a plaything. Let's just take a look around together."

Come on, play!　I'm not sure I should say, "Let's go have some fun after I explain it to them.

"Is that big thing a plaything?" Play?""" You want to play?"

"Yes, it's going to be fun, you can count on it."

I answer Sarah and the others' questions while placating Bell and the others, who charge in when they hear the word "play. Since we can't go on talking at this point, we actually go around the park using the playground equipment.

Log jumpers, balance stands, cloud ladders, seesaws, climbing bars, iron bars, jungle gyms, and a maze of clay pipes, I explain to them as we play together.

The children's faces light up every time they play on the new equipment. It's a look that you can feel they're getting a lot out of it. We played with all of the equipment except the maze of clay pipes and the mini soccer field. The maze of clay pipes and the mini soccer field are going to take a while, so let's put them off and let them play freely on the playground equipment.

"Well, you can play on any equipment you like.

At my words, the kids scatter like a big wow + Gina. Bell and the others are also taking the trouble to use their magic to touch and play with the playground equipment. The little girl on the seesaw and the dolphin ...... Belle are comfortable, but Rain is a little twitchy. But she's very cute." She looks like she's having a lot of fun, moving up and down, "cackling" and "squeaking" and "banging" and "bouncing". She can fly and enjoy seesawing.

Tamamo and Flair stand majestically at the top of the jungle gym. They look cute, but it is somewhat disturbing that Tulu is waggling his hands behind their backs. Tulu never wavers. He wants to mooch off the gallant Tamamo.

Sara and Kikka are playing on a cloud ladder. They seem to have no problem with it because of their physical strength and power. Sarah is taking one step at a time and Kikka is grabbing the bars one by one and enjoying her progress.

Marco has mastered the one-footed spin that I taught him and is spinning around with one foot on the bars. Marco is tripping lightly and keeps spinning around with a laugh.

I wonder if he's okay, but he's playing as hard as he can like a kid, so I guess that's a good thing. He's usually doing his best to protect Kikka like a big brother. Maybe next time I'll teach him how to fly an airplane.　I'm going to get distances that were unthinkable when I was in elementary school.

I remember hearing something about airplane flying being banned in elementary school. ...... Well, it's a different world and Marco's body is getting stronger as he levels up, so it's okay, right?

Fuchu and his friends are either chasing each other in the jungle gym, or climbing bars are not popular at the moment. When I was a kid, I used to like it because it gave me a sense of accomplishment.

And Gina is taking to the equipment more than I thought she would. She's jumping around on the log jumps, running through the balance beam with dexterity, and smiling happily. She is a high school or college student in terms of age, but she is having a blast.

She is a beautiful girl with great style on the outside, but she is more like Marco on the inside. There is a part of me that thinks it's a waste of time, and there is another part of me that thinks it's a good thing. It's hard to know which is the right answer.

We sit on the grass and take a short rest. I am a little, or rather, quite happy to see children running around the park as they please, and playing on their favorite playground equipment. I am glad that I came up with the idea of building a park. From now on, the kids will play here when they have time.

"Master!　Playground equipment is so funny!　But I'm a little tired."

Gina sits next to me, out of breath. She's got a big smile on her face, and I'm sure she had a good time. But I guess she's tired because she's still at a very low level.

"You must be thirsty after all that running, what would you like to drink?

"Um, well, cold tea, please."

I hand Gina a cup of tea, and ask her what she wants to talk about.　

"Yes, tea. But I'm glad you like it. If it's your day off, you're free to play here or do whatever you like.

"I like playing here because it's fun. But I don't know what I'd like to do or what I'd like to ...... do since I never had a day off from the cafeteria."

The blackness of the other world is also bad. There doesn't seem to be any labor laws, so I guess they work as much as they can. If it weren't for the cheat, I might be living like that. ...... No, you would have died without escaping the land of the dead in the first place. Seriously, thank god for the cheat.

"It's your day off, do what you want to do. If you don't have anything to do, you can just stay in your room and do nothing."

"You're going to zonk out?"

Why would Gina do that?　You're giving me a look. Is this the generation gap, or is it that they don't understand the value of time spent in a daze?

"Some people think that doing nothing is a luxury, don't you think so Gina?"

"Yes, I feel like it's a waste of time."

I see, Gina is an active type of person. I'm more the type of person who likes to stay indoors when I have free time, so it's hard for me to understand how you feel.

"I see, Izumi's house is still developing and there are not many things there. I'll think of something for Gina to enjoy. Then we can try to find some fun things to do during our holidays in the labyrinth city. I know you'll be helping out in the cafeteria, but I think it would be fun to look around your old city."

If you haven't been on holiday, you probably don't know the labyrinthine city that well. There must be something new to discover.

"Looking around the labyrinth city, that sounds like fun too."

Gina smiles happily, imagining something. I guess I haven't been out much after all. I'll try to build an indoor playground for Gina as soon as possible. I guess we'll start with the high road of reversi and playing cards, right?

But playing cards is surprisingly difficult, I think. With wood, you can tell what you have by the grain, and the paper I bought in the labyrinth city is about a millimeter thick but soft. There is no plastic or cardboard.

Oh, ...... I just thought of a terrible waste. Assault dragon's fangs are tough, and if you cut it thin with a magic survival knife, it can be used as a playing card. ...... Is it OK to use dragon material for such a thing?

It would be a waste if they don't at least make mahjong tiles. I heard that there were mahjong tiles made of ivory, and mahjong tiles are artistic ...... I have no artistic sense. But I want a mahjong tile. I don't have enough members at the moment, but I hope to be able to enjoy it eventually.

"Hey Gina, I know it's a little late for this, but are you feeling lonely or regretful?"

You've spent a few days in the land of the dead, and you may not be happy about it. I mean, I'd be dissatisfied if I was forced to fight zombies.

"Well, it's hard to fight the undead, but it doesn't matter because everyone will help you. Other than that, I don't really feel it. I've flown to the land of the dead, there are springs and fountains, forests and fields, and finally a spirit tree, and I have a partner named Sheba ...... and it's like I'm dreaming every day. Yesterday there was nothing there, but now there's a place to play."

Gina giggles. I guess I'm still in a floating state of mind and don't have a sense of reality. In my case, I came to the other world and was threatened by nature before I had time to be floating around. I was forced to understand that I would die if I tried to escape reality, which is very different.

"I see, the environment has changed and it will take time to settle down. But if you have any doubts, take it easy and talk to me. If you can't, you can become an apprentice only in the labyrinth city.

I would prefer to have a direct apprentice like you have now, but I think you can also have an apprentice like Mel who is limited to the labyrinth city. The worst thing that could happen is that he gets tired of it and says he's quitting his job as a necromancer.

He has a good personality, gets along well with Sara and her friends, has a talent as a spiritist, and is willing to follow us to the land of the dead. I don't want to lose such a valuable apprentice.

"Thank you, Master. But I'm sure you'll be fine. My brother used to tell me I had guts. I'll train hard and become a great spiritist, you can count on me!"

You have guts, but, well, it's better to have guts than not to have guts. You might work too hard, so you need to be careful, but you will be a great spiritist.

"Yeah, I'm counting on you. I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Oh!"

It was a good chance to have a good talk with Gina. From the looks of things, I'm sure we'll be fine as long as nothing serious happens. Oh, Sarah and the others who are running around need a drink and a rest, I'm afraid of heat stroke.

Let's serve drinks to Bell and the others, take a short break, and then play mini-soccer or ball games with the maze of clay pipes. This should be fun for them.