458 - - Episode 456. Short Return to Paradise

After giving Gina and the others a detailed warning, Gina said something quite shocking to me and left as if to run away. I'll be careful, too, since she seems to be a little overprotective. I don't want to end up like her father.

In the labyrinth city, I was able to get some things done in a jiffy.

Toruk's inn was being renovated and the labyrinth core was happily absorbing the discarded materials.

We were also able to bring some food to the carpenter who is building the house. Marie and Sonia said they were busy to death with the rejuvenating weeds, but they had the eyes of office workers who can fight 24 hours a day, so I think they will be fine.

Lee and Darkmoon told us that ...... Marco and the others were doing their best, and then quickly left because it would be troublesome if they got into trouble.

A little different from the plan was Mel and Meral. I was just going to check in with them, but when I met them, Meral said she wanted to go to Paradise. She thought it would be okay if they stay in paradise for a few days and then leave right away.

I asked Mel if the workshop would be okay, and she replied that there would be no problem for a few days, which worried me in a different way.

Mel noticed my subtle glance and said in a hurry that the work is increasing little by little and they will be fine. ...... Well, it hasn't been that long since I signed the contract with Meral and it may take some time for the wholesale effect of the precious materials to show through. .

But Mel has a strong sense of responsibility, so I'll be sure to check in on him from time to time to make sure he's not overworking himself. At any rate, he seems to have no problem with his work, so I decided to take him to paradise.

****

"Ah!"

When we arrived at paradise, Sakura clung to my chest at breakneck speed. I should have felt uncomfortable at the sight of a baby flying at such a high speed, but I've developed a tolerance for such things with Belle and her friends, so I just felt relieved.

But when I see Sakura clinging to me happily, I feel sorry for making her miss me. I guess this is how fathers feel when they can't come home from work.

"Sakura, I'm home."

"Stroked."

When I greeted him upon his return, his demands were straightforward. It seems that he is still at the age where his demands come out in the open. Well, it can't be helped that he is a baby.

So, I patted Sakura as hard as I could. She wriggles and squirms, but she seems to be happy, so I guess it's all right.

Perhaps satisfied with her much petting, Sakura charges at Bell and the others. It's a lonely moment when they easily move away from us.

"Um, Master, is that a newly contracted spirit?"

As I watched Sakura playing with Belle and the others with indescribable feelings, Mel asked me a question. Come to think of it, Mel and Meral had never met before.

"No, her name is Sakura, but she's not a spirit, she's a consciousness of the spirit tree. I'll introduce her to you later.

I should have introduced them before I stormed into Bell and the others.

"A spirit tree consciousness?　Huh?　The spirit tree is blooming. I was so distracted by the development of the floating islands that I hadn't noticed."

Well, it would be interesting to see the rapid development of an almost empty island. Paradise has evolved a lot, and it is understandable that people are a little confused.

Yuta. A sanctuary is not supposed to be like this. Are you sure?　Aren't we going in the wrong direction?"

Meral, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, started to say something sensible. Meral seems to have a great understanding of common sense, perhaps because she has been under contract with Mel's family for generations. Deep relationships with people may have a positive effect on the spirits in terms of their mentality.

"The spirits are the ones who decide the direction, not me, so if there is a problem, I hope Meraru will take care of it. Especially on sake islands. ......"

If possible, please teach the spirits gathered on the island how to develop over time. I have only glimpsed Sake Island from the sky, but it is clearly more developed than when I inspected it before. The pace is too fast.

"That place is ...... expected among the spirits, so ......."

Meral's words trailed off. From the looks of things, there is a good chance that the sake island is more than a sanctuary for the spirits.

Besides, it seems that she knew about the island but not about the rest of the island, and it is obvious what is the focus of the network of the spirits. It's a lot to ask of Meral, isn't it?

"Well, I'll leave that island to the spirits. Well, since you can talk to Meral, why don't you just relax and have a chat?"

Yes, that's right. Mel and I have a lot to talk about. I think we should talk to Mel since we have so much to talk about.

Meral talks to Mel with a saved look on her face. Sakejima seems to be more untouchable than expected.

"Yuta, welcome back!"

"Yuta, welcome back."

"Hey, Yuta. Call me when you have your first drink."

After the conversation with Meral, the Great Spirits approached us. Deanne and Dolly said welcome home to me, but Nomos only raised his hand and If didn't even say goodbye, but I believe they welcomed me warmly.

"Hey, guys, I'm back. I didn't summon If this time because we were in the forest. I've stocked up on new drinks and will serve them tonight.

"I'm a great spirit of fire, so the fire can't spread. ...... Well, if you've got the booze, that's good, but call me next time you get violent."

I had heard from Dineh before that If was busy, but now If told me directly that he was not. As a contractor, I'd like to do something about it.

The only problem is that it's not every day that the Great Spirit gets a chance to run amok. At times like this, I regret a little that I befriended the core of the labyrinth. It was a place where we could run amok.

"......It's hard to do it right now because the labyrinth has made it hard for us to run amok, but if I get a chance, I'll summon ifs."

"Hmm, well, that's fine. Don't forget."

"Yeah."

If there's no violent situation, we can consider exploring a new labyrinth in the worst case scenario. I'm sure Sylphy will be able to tell us just the right labyrinth.

"Yuta, we are going to drink tonight, aren't we? I can't wait to see your souvenirs!"

As expected, Dine is ready to drink even though she just had a drink at the inn the other night.

"We're going to have a big feast tonight with some goodies, but what about Ruby and the others?"

I'm sure we'll have a whole roasted wild boar, but I'd like Ruby to cook up some of the ingredients from the Great Forest. Even my fake ajillo was that good. I can't wait to see what happens when an expert cooks it.

"Ruby and the kids will be at the cafeteria in paradise with all the little ones!"

Ah, it was lunch time and the little ones of the floating spirits and lower class spirits were looking forward to eating at the cafeteria, so it was impossible to pick them up. I'm glad you're working hard.

"Well, I wanted to ask you to cook some ingredients from the forest, but I guess that won't be possible today. No, let's have a banquet tonight like we did before, including the children who are visiting Paradise.

If we include the little ones in the banquet, Ruby and the kids can cook over here. We may be a little short on food since Gina and Sara are not here, but we will have a whole roasted wild boar, so it will be a good time.

****

"Moo."

"Ah ...... sakura, I'll buy you another souvenir, give me a break."

They were so excited to take a bite of the roasted wild boar at the banquet, and they had a lot of fun for the past three days, including Bell and his friends, but they seemed to get giggly when they had to leave.

It makes me happy to think that he misses me that much, but I feel so guilty because of where I'm headed.

I must be very intolerant of my own desires if I still can't give up going there.

"But I think that's what men are like."

"Ugh?""" Man?""" Cu?"" Am I like that?"" Coo?"" I don't know what that means!"" ......"

"...... Ha-ha-ha, it's nothing. I'm talking about here."

I was holding Sakura in my arms and surrounded by bells and whistles, but I couldn't help but let out a few words to justify my desires.

If I am caught thinking like this, I will not be able to see Belle and Gina's faces properly, so I have to take the utmost precaution.

"Well, I'd better get going. I'll be back in a little while, so don't miss me too much. I'll summon Belle and the others when we arrive at the kingdom of Rosofia, so please take care of Sakura until then.

"It's okay. "Don't worry, Belle.

Belle proudly undertook the project. She seems to really enjoy taking care of Sakura as a big sister, and I'm sure she'll be fine if Belle and the others take care of her.

Yuta, you don't have to worry about her since she's here too.

"Hmm. I'll help you and take care of the animals on Vita's behalf, so don't worry about Yuta-san and enjoy your holiday."

I feel like Belle and Dine are saying almost the same thing. The reason why it doesn't seem so strange to me may be because Belle and Dine's mental age is surprisingly close to each other.

I'll keep it in the back of my mind, because if I put it into words, Dine might get upset. Also, Dolly is reliable. I've checked on the animals myself, but I'll feel safer if Dolly follows up with them in Vita's absence.

I'd like to have Dolly control the sake island too, but I don't want to impose too much trouble on her.

Well, ...... we've taken care of the rest of the worries, now all we can do is have a lot of fun. I'm going to take off the limiter!　Oh, I had to send Mel and Meral to the labyrinth city.