Chapter 31

Yuta returned home after three days of collecting small fish and seaweed, processing them through cleaning and drying, and grinding them into powder. He was a bit worried about how the field was doing. As he entered the wall, Bell and Rain were charging towards the field.

"Are they coming out yet?"

"Kyu"

Bell and Rain seemed very concerned about how the seeds they had planted were doing. Since I was also curious, I decided to head to the field with Sylph and Tulu.

"Yuta-kun, welcome back."

"Thanks, Dine. Did anything unusual happen?"

"Just a ghost flying by, nothing else."

A ghost, huh. It's a bit of a hassle when they fly by occasionally, but there's no way to prevent it. Since I can take care of them quickly, it's fine.

"They're not coming out yet."

"Kyu"

Bell flew into my chest, clearly disappointed that the sprouts hadn't come up yet. I patted her head to comfort her.

"Nomos said the sprouts should come up by tomorrow. If you wait until tomorrow, you might even see them come up."

"Ooh"

Her spirits seemed to be lifted. She jumped on Rain, and the two of them charged at Tulu. It's nice to see them playing like that. Tulu doesn't play on her own, so Bell and Rain's enthusiasm seems to be working well.

"Back already? Did you manage to make the fertilizer?"

"Yeah, should I bring it out here?"

"No, put it in the forest area. Tulu will take care of it."

"Huh? It's quite a large area, is that okay?"

"Even though she looks young, she's a spirit. This is nothing for her."

That's the problem, though. Bell is practically a little girl.

"Tulu, Nomos says it's okay. Is that alright?"

Tulu nodded while being hugged by Bell and Rain. It looks like a child and a dolphin playing together.

"Alright, let's go."

Seeing Tulu nod, Nomos quickly moved. He's really eager to get started. I haven't even checked the field yet.

"Yuta, put all the fertilizer and soil here. We need to put away that wall for now."

I put away the wall that connected to the forest area and brought out the fertilizer and soil. There were five large piles of each.

"Alright, Tulu. Bring the soil from the field, but don't include the area where the seeds are planted."

Tulu nodded and extended her hands towards the field. The soil from the field started moving towards us, undulating. It's like a fantasy scene. I could see the field soil, fertilizer, and the soil from the dead land lined up in front of me.

"Alright, you can't handle it all at once yet. Mix it in manageable portions and pour it into this area."

Tulu nodded and extended her hands towards the soil piles. The field soil, fertilizer, and dead land soil started moving and mixing together. Bell and Rain were thrilled.

It's impressive. The mixed soil flowed into the forest area. I was impressed by how she avoided the spring in the center.

After repeating this several times, the forest area was filled with soil. The excess soil moved back to the field.

"Hmm, that's pretty good."

Nomos praised Tulu. This pair feels like a master and apprentice. Sylph and Dine tend to leave Bell and Rain alone, so maybe their personalities differ based on their attributes.

"Tulu, that was amazing. Thank you."

"Amazing!"

"Kyu"

When we praised her, Tulu's face turned a little red, and she whispered, "Thank you." She looked like she could be kidnapped by someone who likes young boys.

"Is it okay to put away the excess soil?"

There was some leftover soil from making the fertilizer and the spring. Nomos said it was fine to put it away. I put away the soil and restored the wall.

"Yuta-kun, Tulu-chan did a great job."

"Yeah, she did a good job. Rain, can you do the same scale of work as Tulu?"

"Probably not. Water and earth are different, but she has similar powers. But now that the soil is in the forest area, let's make the spring."

Sure, why not. Water spirits seem to be enthusiastic about expanding their territory. The forest isn't even complete yet, so it won't be a perfect spot for a nap. But she seems really excited, so let's get it done.

"Alright. Tulu, are you tired? If you're okay, can you help a bit more?"

"I'm fine."

"Thanks. I'll dig the water channels, and you can harden the ground after."

After confirming Tulu's nod, I took out a shovel and started digging the water channels. I could ask Tulu to do it, but I want to do what I can myself. Otherwise, it feels a bit sad.

After digging the channels, I inserted the U-shaped rocks I had made extra when building the pool. It was done in no time. Hmm, spirits are amazing, but the development tools are also quite powerful. My services shouldn't become obsolete.

After putting away the rock that was blocking the water, the water flowed into the forest spring. The forest spring doesn't have any trees yet, but when I looked down, Tulu was asking for something.

"…Water the new soil, please."

"New soil… Ah, you mean the soil we put in the forest area."

"Yes."

"Got it. Hey, Rain!"

Bell was already riding Rain and testing the new water channels, so I called her over loudly. Rain came with Bell on her back.

"What?"

"Kyu"

"I need your help, Rain. Can you water the soil in the forest area until Tulu says it's enough?"

"Kyu kyu"

"She says she can do it."

"Please."

Bell and Rain headed towards the forest spring. Rain let out a "kyu" and water balls rose and fell like rain. It was a smaller version of what Dine did. The range of the water was limited, and she kept launching water balls at Tulu's direction.

Dine had appeared next to Rain and was cheering her on, not instructing. That's so Dine.

"Sylph, do you not instruct Bell?"

"Spirits don't really take on apprentices like humans. They help if you're in trouble, and you can ask if you don't understand, but they don't actively teach."

"Interesting. They're quite strict, then."

"Well, we don't know when they'll develop a sense of self, and they come in various forms—human, animal, insect, plant—so it's hard to have a cohesive group."

That's true. Dine and Rain are both water spirits, but they're so diverse that it's hard to have a cohesive group. I understand.

"By the way, are all the great spirits human-like? Sylph and Dine are human-like, and Nomos is technically human-like too."

"I don't know why you put 'technically' for Nomos, but no, not all great spirits are human-like. I just happen to know more human-like ones."

"I see. Speaking of which, I barely know anything about this world. I only asked Dine a little bit. I was too busy surviving to learn much."

You know, I was so close to death. I didn't have the time. I didn't even confirm the existence of elves, dark elves, beastmen, or succubi in this world. Especially succubi, I need to check them out.

"Right, I should tell you more. If you have time at night, I can tell you more."

"Thanks."

Now that I'm further from death, I want to enjoy this world. Oh, there are a lot of wars, but there are peaceful towns too. Not everything is violent. There must be places full of entertainment.

***

That night, when I asked Sylph about the world, she said we should talk about leveling up first.

"Don't look so disappointed. Once we decide on a leveling strategy, we can talk about the town. There's no point in going to town if we just level up normally. If we keep this up, we'll keep getting delayed."

That's true. I want to go to town, eat delicious food, sleep in a soft bed, and visit a slightly naughty place.

"Right. I'll work hard. I remember we're supposed to attack nests, right?"

"Yes, but they're not real nests. They're large cracks or underground spaces created by past wars where undead gather, avoiding sunlight."

"Hmm, so they're not dungeons."

"Do you have dungeons in your world? Even though there are no monsters?"

"No, not exactly. They exist in stories and imagination in my world. If they exist in my world, they must exist in this world too. Are there dungeons in the dead land?"

I'm getting excited.

"Of course not. Dungeons lure people with treasure and expensive magical items and consume their desires and lives. There's no one in the dead land to be lured."

That's a bit too realistic and sad. The dead land is even avoided by dungeons. If consuming lives is their purpose, it makes sense.

"Back to the nests, the weak undead wander around outside, while the strong ones dominate the comfortable underground spaces. It's a bit of a strange way to put it, but they've survived the competition."

True, "survived the competition" doesn't really fit with undead.

"Defeating strong enemies will level you up."

"Yes, it's simple. The larger the nest, the stronger the undead. We should start with smaller nests. I think Bell and the others will be fine, but you wouldn't want to go straight to a large nest and face strong undead, right?"

"True. It's better to take it step by step."

"Nests can be entered during the day, so let's start tomorrow."

"By the way, if we go to the largest nest in the dead land, called the Fool's Rift, we can level up quickly without taking it step by step."

"……I'd rather take it step by step."

I was a bit tempted, but I don't want to see a swarm of undead if I can avoid it.

Thank you for reading.