Chapter 82

I asked Sylph to fly me to the nearby rock mountain. I cut out a large rock for a dwelling and easily completed my room. It’s a bit of a shortcut, but since it’s just a temporary residence, it should be fine. Next, I need to build a fountain... or rather, I should check if Sara and the others are taking their naps properly first.

When I returned to the base and peeked into the bedroom, Sara, Marco, and Kikka were sleeping soundly on the straw beds. They seem to be fine. Maybe Bell did something to make the room breezy. The gentle wind should help with the heat. Feeling reassured, I stepped outside and saw a tornado in the distance.

"Hey, Sylph. Is that Bell and the others’ magic?"

It’s a place where a tornado could naturally occur, so it’s hard to tell.

"Yes, they’re supposed to be teaching magic to Fuko and Uri... but they’re all playing in the tornado. Maybe they got too excited?"

They’re playing, huh? Well, if there’s no danger, it should be fine... right? As I got closer to the tornado, I saw Bell and the others laughing and being carried around by the swirling wind.

"Fukko and Uri are playing with them too. Hmm, it’s good that they’ve become friends. Bell and the others noticed me staring and flew out of the tornado.

"Yuta, Bell, taught lots of magic," "Turu worked hard," "Kyuu," "Kuuu."

They clung to my head, arms, and chest, reporting enthusiastically. They want praise, I guess.

"You taught them well. Thank you."

I petted Bell and the others, who clung to me, asking for more praise... huh? Why are Fukko and Uri mixed in too? They want praise for working hard, I guess? Well, that’s fine. I might as well pet them as much as I can. It’s a reward for me too.

After they played to their heart’s content, I asked them about the magic they learned. They said they taught everything basic.

When I saw the power of the magic from Fukko and Uri, Sylph confirmed that it’s enough to handle zombies and skeletons. With this, there should be no problem with leveling up at night.

I told them to play until Sara and the others wake up, and waved goodbye to Bell and the others. Now, to build the fountain. I should also ask Dine for some input.

"Dine, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh, Yuta. What is it?"

"I’m going to build a fountain. Do you want one big stream of water or many small streams? By the way, no matter which one you choose, I won’t be able to add any mechanisms, so you’ll have to control the water."

I decided to give up on using the height difference or pressure from the start. No matter how convenient the tools are, I don’t have the perseverance to build a fountain through trial and error.

"I prefer many streams of water from different places. I’ll take care of controlling the water."

Dine patted her chest with her right hand. The girls must have learned this gesture from Bell. I was distracted by the jiggling, but I quickly looked away, afraid of Sylph’s reaction.

"Got it. Anything else?"

I shouldn’t have asked. A torrent of requests flooded my ears. I tried to listen seriously at first, but I gave up halfway through. Does Dine think I’m some kind of genius architect?

"Most of it seems impossible, but I’ll do my best."

I said that and quickly distanced myself from Dine. If I had stayed, she might have suggested building a castle for the fountain. The way she gestures is just like Bell, which reflects her mental age.

"Hey, Sylph. I can’t do most of what she asked. Do you think Dine will be satisfied?"

"That girl tends to go with the flow. Just tell her it’s a masterpiece and push it through. Thinking too much is a waste of time."

Hmm. It depends on Dine’s mood, I guess. Sylph’s troubled expression suggests she’s had her fair share of trouble with Dine’s mood swings. I’m a bit concerned that now it’s my turn to deal with them. What will happen if we make a contract?

She’s a perfect match in appearance. Eltina and Marie from the Adventurer’s Guild and the general store are also perfect matches in appearance, but... Eltina hates me like poison, and Marie is a miser or something...

I need a new encounter. I desperately need a new encounter. This is a problem before even thinking about a harem. I feel sad that the typical event of rescuing a princess from an attacked carriage hasn’t happened yet.

"Yuta, what’s wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing. I was just thinking about how to build the fountain."

Sylph is also a very cool beauty, and her appearance is perfect. She’s kind and has helped me a lot. But sometimes I see a hedonistic or something... well, if it’s fun, most things are fine, which is a bit scary.

"Yuta, are you thinking about something naughty?"

Sylph gave me a suspicious look. ...I shouldn’t think about unnecessary things. I need to focus on building the fountain. There are still plenty of beautiful women to meet in this different world. I need to focus on the fountain now.

"I’m not thinking about anything. I’ve decided on the basic plan, so I’ll start building. Oh, I don’t want anyone to see me building the fountain, so can you take me to the seaside base?"

"Sure, but you’re embarrassed?"

"Yeah. I’m not confident, and if I build it here, Dine will probably barge in."

"Ah, that’s for sure."

When I looked in the direction Sylph was looking... yeah, Dine was peeking. She’s definitely planning to interfere once it’s built.

"Sylph, please."

"Okay, let’s go."

Sylph wrapped me in a cocoon of wind and we flew to the seaside base. It takes a while to walk, but with Sylph, it only takes a few minutes. Flying is so convenient. I thought I heard Dine’s voice, but it was probably just my imagination.

We arrived at the seaside base immediately. I’ll build the fountain quickly. I also need to level up at night.

First, I need to extend the pipe from the well. I took out some rocks and a hand drill and created the same rock pipes as the ones buried in the well.

I’m a bit worried about water leaking from the connections between the rock pipes, but I’ll leave that to Dine. She’s a great spirit, so it should be fine.

In the first place, as a great spirit, she should be able to control water freely... I hope she didn’t force me to build a fountain by setting unnecessary conditions.

I have a feeling it might be true, so I’ll avoid asking. If it is, I’ll be disappointed. I’ll assume there’s some significant, unavoidable reason hidden. That’s more comforting.

Next, I need to carve out a large rock to fit perfectly over the lower pipe. I’ll carve out cylindrical rocks with a radius of 25 cm, 50 cm, and 100 cm, each 1 meter high. Three tiers, 3 meters high. It should be a pretty impressive fountain.

Since I’m carving from a single rock, there’s no worry about water leakage. Next, I need to create depressions for the water to collect at each level. A depth of 30 cm should be enough. Digging too deep might affect the strength.

Using a magic saw, chisel, and plane, I’ll create the depressions while leaving the rock where I want the water to come out, making the surface as smooth as possible. The plane is amazing, like peeling a thin layer of rock.

...This completes the basic shape. All I need to do now is drill holes where I want the water to come out.

The top tier should have a thick stream of water. I’ll drill a 3 cm diameter hole in the center, and on the tier below, I’ll drill 1 cm holes in a ring in the center of the depression, spaced evenly, to avoid weakening the structure.

However, with the height of 3 meters, the central hole was too deep for the hand drill, which made me quite anxious. In the end, I had Sylph lift the rock with wind and drilled from both the top and bottom to complete it.

I trust Sylph’s power, but drilling from under a large rock floating in the wind was a bit scary. I thought about tilting the fountain, but it felt like it might break, so I decided against it. Without doing any strength calculations, I shouldn’t take unnecessary risks.

"Sylph, this is the completed fountain. What do you think?"

"Hmm. It’s hard to say, but... it’s a bit plain, isn’t it?"

Hearing Sylph’s words, I examined the fountain I built again. ...It is plain. It’s a large rock, but it has no decorations or patterns.

This might be tough. Remembering how Dine enthusiastically gestured and described what kind of fountain she wanted, I can tell she’s expecting a lot.

"Dine won’t be satisfied... right?"

"That girl raised her expectations herself, so you should try to improve it a bit. Even if you try to talk your way out of it, it’ll be troublesome."

She’s raising her own expectations and setting her own high standards. If I can’t add decorations, at least I should carve some patterns.

"Hmm. Got it. I’ll add some more details."

...I need to add patterns to the fountain. I’ve never been praised for art since elementary school, so I feel a bit scared. My dexterity is high, but artistic sense doesn’t seem to be related, so what should I do?

I’ve learned that the more I try, the more I end up with something strange. I can’t forget the sadness when I was told my carefully drawn picture was just a mess.

I shouldn’t try anything too difficult. The limit is adding vertical lines at regular intervals to create shadows or digging out triangles to create a geometric pattern. Which one should I choose?

If I had artistic talent, I could carve dragons or spirits. Checking my status, there are no art-related skills, as expected. Well, I knew that. Okay! Vertical lines it is. Triangles are also risky for me.

Remembering my sad past, I chose the safe option. This is what it means to grow up, I guess. I savored a strange melancholy while carving vertical lines into the fountain.

I managed to carve straight lines without deviation and completed the fountain. Hmm, it seems better than doing nothing. This is my limit. I’ll show it to Dine. If she complains, I’ll pinch her cheeks. Thank you for reading.