193 - - 百九十一话 土管の迷路とボール游び

The park was unveiled to the children. The kids had a lot of fun, and Gina and I had some serious conversations while watching them. It's pretty cool, isn't it?

"Hey, guys, we're going to take a break. Come back here while I serve you a drink!

The children gather in a crowd when I call out loudly. Sarah and the others are normal. But there are two little girls and a boy, a dolphin, a fox cub, two barn owls, a coyote, and a puppy flying in all excited. Well, it's an amazing sight to see again.

"Yuta, Belle, apple juice!"

Belle, who flew in first, cheerfully raised her hand and asked for apple juice. I must serve it to her. Or rather, I'm going to answer everyone's request perfectly.

"Master, Tetsubou is so funny!

After chugging down a glass of grape juice, Marco says briskly like a sports boy. His tail is wagging, as if he really likes it.

"There are many other tricks, I'll teach you later.

"Master, what kind of trick?　Is it great?"

Haha, later. I'll teach you later, but right now you need to rest.

He pours another glass of juice and calms Marco, who is in high spirits. I'm curious to see if he bites more than his questions about the necromancer.

...... I'm not sure how much I can teach you about necromancers. Maybe some advice on how to fight demons. I guess next time we go to the labyrinth city, I'll let them conquer the labyrinth without me. I'm a little worried about Gina, but I'm sure she'll be able to handle it if she gets some real combat experience against the undead here.　

I lay back on the grass, listening to Belle and Sara's impressions of the playground equipment. It's not how I imagined my life in the other world, but I guess I'm happy like a father with a happy family.

****

"Well, let's play in this maze of clay pipes next. The entrance is here and the exit is on the other side. The maze is very complicated, so you have to think carefully. Also, it's against the rules to use magic to find the goal or to climb over the pipes. Understand?"

The children nodded with itching expressions. All right!　I'm going to start running at once.

"Be careful not to get hurt. Then you can go."

As expected, children rush to the entrance of the earthen pipe. Most of them are spirits, so there is no problem, but if all of them had been real, there would have been a traffic jam at the entrance. Gina didn't rush into the maze of clay pipes after everyone had entered.

We made a lot of branches, and the part where the tubes were set vertically, but not the part where they were set horizontally through the tubes, would have made us lose our sense of direction. Now, how long will it take them to come out?　I'll go to the exit and meet you.

"Hey, big guy, I came here a while ago."

But this way was a dead end. Sarah, do you know which way it went?

"It doesn't go this way. Let's go there.

Sarah and her friends are working together, but they seem to be struggling.

"Kyahaha, Belle, we're going this way!" "Queue, coo, coo, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way, this way..."

The belles seem to be flying around as they please. I don't hear Gina's voice, but I wonder what she's doing?

While listening to the voices, we waited leisurely, and after about fifteen minutes, Uri ...... "Pugyooooooo" came running out of the exit. That's a little unexpected. He came running right in front of me with the same momentum he had when he came out of the exit. It should be flying because it is floating in the air, but it looks like it is running because it is moving its short legs so hard.

"Uri is the best. That's great."

"Pgggggggggggghhhh!"

His head is bobbing up and down and his short tail is wagging. He seems to be very happy. He is so cute that I should mooch on him for the time being. I hold an excited Uri in my arms and fluff him up. I have an image that wild boar's fur is rough, but Uri's fur is smooth and fluffy. Is it because he is a spirit?

As I was waiting for Uri to come out, I was praising him, and then Tamamo came out with a "cooing" sound. Well, I wonder if the animal type is stronger in the maze, like a wild intuition.　Tamamo found me and charged at me, wagging its tail.

"Tamamo's number two. That's great."

I held Tamamo who had jumped on me with Uri and smothered him while praising him. In my arms, Tamamo and Uri are talking to each other, cooing and giggling.

I don't know what they are talking about, but I guess they are saying, "You're doing a good job," or "You're doing a good job, too. It is interesting to imagine.

"First! Flare comes out and is mildly shocked to find that he is the third one, and Sarah and the others are happy to reach the exit with the help of the three of them. Gina, who was exhausted from bending over so much, and others came out of the exit one after another.

"......Bell and Lane didn't come out, did they?"

Everyone else came out, but after waiting for a while, Belle and Rain did not come out.

"Are they hurt or lost?"

Gina says a little worriedly.

"Well, I don't think it's possible for a spirit to get hurt, but I wonder if it got lost."

It shouldn't be too difficult, but when I tried to check ...... inside, I heard voices like "Kyahaha, reien-mate-ee" and "kewl". ...... they must have been having so much fun chasing each other that they forgot to escape from the maze. I hadn't thought of that possibility.

"It's like they're having so much fun in there, they forgot to come out."

"Oh, I see."

Gina is a little relieved. Sarah and the others are calm, so I guess this is a difference in the length of their relationship. Let's summon Belle and Rain for now.

"What?" Cue?"

Belle and Rain look stunned when I summon them.

"Belle, Rain, you have to come out of the maze."

I forgot... - Cue.

Belle and Raine with a huff. I knew it, but I'd completely and utterly forgotten about it. Well, that's how much fun we had. Their surprised expressions are so cute that I can't help but nudge Belle and Rain with both hands.

"Well, let's play ball one last time..."

We moved to the mini soccer field and I tried to teach him the rules of soccer. For a moment, I wondered if Tamamo, Uri, and Shiba's front feet could be used as hands.　I thought about it, but since it is a forefoot, it should be fine.

And then I gave up on teaching the rules. Because they are flying, and there are animal forms too. Human-only rules don't fit. Throwing in the ball is too difficult for Tamamo and the other animal-types.

In the end, we decided to split the team into two and make it a rule that the player has to put the ball in the opponent's goal without using hands and magic. It's hard to tell since there is no goal net, but we can manage with just a frame.

............ is a ball game that is not really a soccer game. Everyone is in a dumpling, but they are chasing the ball. I thought that Gina and the others were at a disadvantage compared to the flying Bells, but it seems to be no problem since the ball falls to the ground due to the magic prohibition.

Gina, who is at a lower level, seems to be at a great disadvantage in terms of physical strength. This problem will be solved as her level rises. Gina is chasing the ball as fast as she can, and she will probably go down soon.

****

After lunch, Bell, Gina, and the others went on their own. I was a little happy to see that they all went back to the park to play. It's a good thing we built the park.

Well, I'll go check on Sylphy and the others. They've already tried distilling white wine. I'm a little worried about them running out of steam.

"Hmmm... It still has the aroma of grapes. It has a different atmosphere from the whiskey, but if this one will taste good too, I'm looking forward to seeing what's to come.

When he went inside, he was just tasting the distilled liquor. Nomos nodded his head and talked about the taste.

"My sister likes this one too. I'll ask Yuta to share some of it with you when it's distilled to a certain degree!"

Does Deane prefer rough liquor?　He also likes distilled wine.

"Deanne, if you drink too much, you'll have less when you're finished, so really limit it to a little."

Sylphy is paying attention to Deanne. When she warns Deanne, she often seems to give up, but when it comes to alcohol, she is very careful. And it's rare that she doesn't notice when I approach her.

His attention seems to be completely focused on drinking. Isn't it dangerous if a demon comes?　I am a little worried, but it seems that the demons are completely repelled even when Nomos is alone, and with five Great Spirits, I guess it is safe to let one's guard down a little. All of them except for the animals we brought with us in the first place, can they protect themselves against the demons that roam around the land of the dead?

"I know. Don't worry about Sylphy, Yuta is taking good care of the alcohol. You won't be able to get that much.

"Hmmm, maybe Yuta-san thinks we will drink endlessly if he doesn't stop us."

Indeed, Dolly is right, I'm wary of the terrible things that could happen if I serve as much booze as I like.

"Ha-ha-ha, you're right to be concerned. I'd have drinks served to me every day.

If says scary things with a hearty laugh. I'm fine with letting him drink every day because he makes me more money than that, but I'm afraid of what will happen if he drinks until he's a drunken wreck, so I limit myself.

I don't know if the genie will get drunk until he's sober, but drunkenness is scary. ....... Anyway, if this conversation continues and we start talking about negotiating for more drinks, I'm afraid I'll have to interrupt.

"Hey guys, how's the white wine distillation going?"

"Oh Yuta, you're here. The distillation is going well.

Sylphy answers without any change in expression. It's not like it's a bad thing to be asked. If you're really thinking about increasing your drinking, you might be a little upset ......, right?

Well, if Sylphy and the others are serious, there are plenty of ways to get me to drink. If they say they'll cancel the contract if I don't serve them alcohol, they've got a shot. The fact that they don't say such a thing shows the high quality of their people.

"I'm glad things are going well. We don't have much ale left, so we'll be distilling white wine for the time being. Try both and see which one you'd like to distill more next time.

If you have a preference, I would consider the proportion of barrels to stock.

"Hmmm, I can imagine what you mean, I've had whisky, but brandy?　I haven't had the finished product, so I can't make a judgment here. You should distill both at the same pace, at least until the initial aging is complete.

It is indeed impossible to imagine the finished product of a liquor that has just been distilled and has never been drunk before. I didn't buy any brandy, so there's nothing I can do about it.

"Okay, I'll stock up on an equal amount of ale and white wine for the time being.

"Yes, and since you've picked up the pace of distillation, I'd appreciate it if you'd increase the amount of liquor you bring in next time."

"Yeah, well, I'll try to buy more ......."

I've been getting what I think is a good amount of business from the liquor store owner. I haven't tried making my own sake because I don't think I'll ever get around to it, but should I start brewing in the land of the dead?

...... I have so much to do, I feel like I'm going to be flat broke. If it is designated as a sanctuary, I'll make arrangements to have the spirits make alcohol on their own. Brewing sake is something to be done by a professional.

I feel much better after deciding to leave it to them. For the time being, let's talk about not increasing the pace of distillation any further.