Chapter 88

Immediately, I returned to the Lake of Cool Rain to check if it had worked.

The water level had barely changed. However, it seemed that the water veins had connected properly, and the lake bottom was gradually becoming moist.

"Hey, how's it going?"

I called out to the Water Snake coiled at the bottom of the lake. When we first met, it seemed listless and sluggish, but now it quickly raised its head. Its forked tongue flicked back and forth.

"The water has returned."

"Yep. When it's full, let's fight, okay?"

Upon hearing this, the Water Snake lowered its head back to the lake bottom, seemingly feeling the water seeping into its body. Its body, which had been submerged in the shallow water, moved happily.

If the water returns, it seems we can fight the strong Water Snake.

"How long will it take to fill up?"

"Perhaps about a week, at this rate."

"The lake is large, so it will take that long to return to its original water level."

"I see..."

It will take longer than I thought. Once something is broken, it's not easy to fix. But if it can return in a week, that's a good sign.

"Then, I'll go to the village in the meantime."

"The village at the foot of the mountain?"

"Yep. To return the money."

So, we moved to the village at the foot of the mountain. The village looked like a typical farming village. There were several waterwheels, and they must have grown many crops using the abundant water from the Lake of Cool Rain.

Now, the water channels were dry, and the waterwheels had stopped. Many fields had only a few crops planted.

The villagers' faces were uniformly gloomy. Water is indeed essential for a farming village.

Samuel, Muto, and I entered the village, and a woman immediately greeted us.

"Are you travelers?"

"Yes, we are."

"Oh... I'm surprised you came all the way to this rural area. ...Did you come to see the famous large waterwheel?"

The woman pointed to a spot in the village. There was a very large waterwheel, the largest among several.

"Large waterwheel?"

"Oh, you didn't come to see the large waterwheel? When travelers come to this village, they always come to see the large waterwheel..."

"Indeed, it's a very large waterwheel. It's used to irrigate the fields, right?"

Samuel nodded in agreement with the woman's explanation. It seemed that the large waterwheel was a tourist attraction in the village.

"The sight of the large waterwheel moving was very popular. The powerful waterwheel and the beautiful water. Even the creaking sound of the wooden parts was praised..."

"I want to see it!"

Excited by the wonderful tour guide, I exclaimed. However, the woman looked apologetic and frowned.

"...I'm sorry. It has stopped now."

"Oh... because there's no water?"

"Yes... it may never move again..."

Muto sighed, and the woman looked sad, bowing her head.

"It was so... beautiful..."

The woman quickly wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. Thinking about what would happen to the village made her feel sad. I gently held her hand.

"It's okay."

The woman looked up at my words. I nodded to encourage her.

"Everything will be back to normal."

That's right. Everything will be resolved! However, the water level in the lake hasn't returned yet, so the village's water channels are still dry. The woman probably didn't understand what I meant.

But she squeezed my hand tightly.

"...Yes... thank you. I feel a bit better."

"Yep. Wait for it."

It seems it will take about a week for the lake to fill up. Just then, an old man passed by. That's—

"Storage pond, the person who was there."

—The person who had the leather bag with money at the storage pond.

"Ah, do you know the village chief?"

"Village chief."

I nodded in agreement with the woman's words. The old man was the village chief, the most important person in the village. He must have brought the money on behalf of the village. His very sad expression was probably due to not getting the land deed and losing the money, leading to the worst possible situation.

I released the woman's hand and approached the village chief, holding out what I had.

"Here."

"Ah, are you a traveler? Do you have something for me...?"

"Yep. You dropped this."

What I held out was the leather bag with money. As soon as he recognized it, the village chief's eyes widened in shock.

"T-This!? This is what we just brought...! W-Why do you have this!? What does this mean!?"

Ignoring his shock, I handed over the leather bag. I also handed over the leather-bound document I had under my Hermit's Robe.

"You dropped this."

At that moment, the village chief's eyes widened even more.

"T-This!? T-The land deed...!?"

"Yep. You dropped it."

Ignoring his shock, I handed over the leather-bound document. Good. Mission accomplished!

I tried to move away from the village chief, but it didn't go as planned—

"W-Wait... No, please wait...! This is very important to our village. R-Really, did you find it dropped...!?"

I was surrounded, and the person in front of me was kneeling. His words had changed to polite language, and his enthusiasm was intense.

I took a step back, and Samuel supported me from behind.

I had planned to say, "If it was dropped, that's how it is," but it didn't go as planned.

"Did you save us...? Please, please, tell us what happened...!"

The village chief called out to the villagers who had been watching the situation.

"Everyone! These people have recovered the land deed and the money to buy it back...! Come here!"

"Wh-What!?"

Oh... something big has happened... Before I knew it, many villagers were kneeling behind the village chief, looking up at me.

This is strange... When I returned the IOU to my parents by saying it was "dropped," it worked fine... I didn't expect it to become such a big deal...

"S-Samuel..."

I instinctively tugged on the hem of Samuel's skirt, feeling vulnerable. I need to talk...

"Kuuguh..."

My action seemed to trigger something in Samuel, and her eyes rolled back for a moment. Oh...

However, she seemed to realize it wasn't the right time and regained her composure, though her body was still trembling slightly.

"Everyone, please listen calmly. I don't know everything about the village's situation, but I understand the plight of a farming village that has lost its water source."

Samuel comforted the villagers with a dignified voice. As a beautiful elf, she drew everyone's attention, and her speech was quite impressive. ...Her body was still trembling slightly.

"The one who was causing you trouble is gone, and the land deed and money have been returned. And... the Lake of Cool Rain will eventually return to its original water level, and life here will return to normal."

"O-Oh...!!"

"Right now, water seems to be flowing into the water channels."

The villagers looked at the water channels, and indeed, a small amount of water was flowing through the previously dry channels.

"It's true...!"

"The water... the water is returning...!"

"That's great, that's great...!!"

The villagers were excited, shouting and hugging each other.

Samuel waited for a moment, watching the villagers share their joy.

When the excitement had calmed down a bit, she spoke again with a dignified voice.

"Who? Why? How? Of course, you have these questions. But, they are trivial matters."

Samuel paused, and the villagers swallowed hard, captivated by her presence.

She looked down at the villagers and spoke firmly.

"—This is a miracle."

"O-Oh...!!"

"This young body embodies the miracle."

"O-Oh..."

Samuel took my hand as if handling something precious. The villagers' attention focused on me—

"All you need to do is be grateful. —For the miracle that has descended upon us."

"O-Oh...!!!"

The villagers' cheers spread like thunder.

But... what does this mean? Shouldn't I hide my power?

I quickly sent a mental message to Samuel.

'S-Samuel, Samuel... what's going on?'

'Leni-sama, I thought it was impossible to hide your power this time.'

'Yeah.'

That's true. The "dropped" plan didn't work at all.

'So, I decided it would be better to elevate Leni-sama's power to the level of faith.'

'Faith...'

That means worship or reverence, right?

'Humans tend to think of using or incorporating things they consider to be the same as themselves. But a miracle belongs to no one.'

'I see...'

I understand, but I don't fully grasp it.

However, it's good that the villagers are absorbed in the atmosphere and not thinking about "who did it and how."

I can't explain that I used magic, an item box, and equipment.

"Come on! Worship the miracle! Bathe in it!"

"...Bathe in it?"

Faced with Samuel's incitement and the enthusiastic villagers, I closed my eyes gently.