CH 123

Inside the Spring – i novels

()x12-15 minutes

We flew to a living forest guided by Sylphy to secure aquatic plants and small fish to release into the pond. We took a walk in the forest, gathering medicinal herbs and having lunch.

Normally, it should have felt special and tasted better, but since we were doing the same things as usual in the labyrinth forest, the lunch lacked freshness. From now on, I decided to plan properly and have a barbecue instead of doing things on a whim.

“Yuta-chan, it’s finally my turn, right!” Dyne said excitedly after we finished eating. Perhaps she was excited because they were near the spring.

“Yeah, I’ll count on you to assist with the gathering. I leave the method to you, but please ensure it’s not dangerous,” Yuta replied.

“Hehe, leave it to me! Hey, Yuta-chan, what would you like? Making the water avoid you or allowing you to breathe underwater?” Dyne asked.

Both options were amazing. Hmm, if the water could avoid us, gathering would be easier, but it would be a shame not to touch the water in this heat. I don’t even understand the logic of being able to breathe underwater. What needs to happen for someone to breathe underwater?

“Dyne, how do you make someone able to breathe underwater?” Yuta asked.

When I asked, she tilted her head and replied, “I cast magic.”

That makes sense. Why would anyone ask such a question? Her expression showed understanding. After all, it’s not about logic; it’s magic.

“Alright, then I’ll go with the underwater breathing option. I’ll explain to Sara and the others myself, so please tell me the details and effects,” Yuta said.

“While the magic is active, you’ll be able to breathe underwater. Let’s make the duration last for about a day,” Dyne explained simply.

“Understood, thank you, Dyne. Sara, Marco, Kika, come over here for a moment,” Yuta called out.

When Sara and the others came over in response to his voice, Yuta simply explained the underwater breathing. Sara calmly accepted the explanation, Marco wagged his tail excitedly, and Kika looked confused, her ears twitching. They all had different reactions.

For now, Yuta asked Dyne to cast the magic, but he was a little worried because he didn’t know what would change. He took out a large pot from his bag and filled it with water.

After taking a slow deep breath, he submerged his face in the water in the pot. Um, it’s really scary to breathe in this situation. Even if it’s magic, if I breathe now, the water will enter my lungs, right? Is it really safe? Unable to gather his courage, he lifted his face up as it was.

“Master, how was it? Could you do it? Can I try too?” Marco couldn’t wait and asked while wagging his tail. It was difficult to say that I couldn’t breathe because I was scared in this situation, especially considering the dignity of a master.

“Ah, let me try again, so wait a moment,” Yuta replied. For a moment, the temptation whispered to use Marco as a test subject, but he suppressed it with his willpower. Besides the fact that using a child as a test subject is inappropriate for a master, it’s just not right as a human being.

Yuta once again submerged his face in the pot, mustering his courage to inhale. The liquid entered his lungs smoothly, causing a slight discomfort, but he could breathe normally. After taking a few deep breaths underwater, even the initial discomfort faded away. Apart from feeling the sensation of water, it felt just like breathing air.

Lifting his face out of the water while still holding his breath, Yuta checked what would happen to the water in his lungs. As he exhaled, the water that had filled his lungs transformed into air. Magic was truly incredible.

“Master, how was it? Can I try too?” Marco asked eagerly. Compared to when he was always on high alert, Marco had become much more like an ordinary boy.

“You can breathe normally. It’s fine to try, but wait a moment while I change the water,” Yuta replied. It would be cruel to let Marco inhale the water that had circulated through his own lungs in the small pot. Yuta quickly disposed of the water, cleaned the pot, and refilled it with fresh water. Without hesitation, Marco plunged his face into the pot.

It’s a bit late to ask, but won’t water get into Marco’s animal ears? As Yuta observed for a while, Marco lifted his face, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Yuta.

“Master, it’s amazing! It doesn’t hurt at all! Even though I’m underwater, it doesn’t feel suffocating,” Marco exclaimed.

“I-Is that so? It’s good if there’s no discomfort. Now it should be safe even inside the spring. Should Sara and Kika try it too?” Yuta asked.

Both of them expressed their intent to try, so they took turns while Yuta changed the water. Sara smoothly started breathing, but Kika, overcome by fear, lifted her face without inhaling on the first attempt. Even after Marco and Sara assured her that it was okay, Kika made another attempt and succeeded in breathing without any problems.

“With this, there should be no issues with gathering inside the spring. First, we’ll carefully dig out the aquatic plants to ensure their roots don’t break and put them in this pot. I’ll rely on Dyne and the others for protection,” Yuta said.

“Understood,” Dyne replied.

“Bell?”

Bell flew over and asked about her role.

“Afterward, Bell and the others will catch small fish and aquatic creatures. Until then, please assist me,” Yuta explained.

“Yes sir!” “Kyukyukyuu!” “Yes, sir!” “Kukukuu!”

When we arrived at the water source, Bell and the others remembered their assigned tasks. Yuta calmly began preparing to enter the spring. Yuta and Marco were topless, while Sara and Kika wore cotton tops and bottoms, as they were still considered girls. Although I don’t think it would matter much since they’re children, apparently it does.

Although we could breathe underwater, we decided to undress completely. Yuta touched the water in the spring and was surprised by how much colder it was than he expected, considering the temperature difference between the surroundings and the water. Perhaps it was because the spring water was abundant. It would be dangerous to enter the water abruptly, so they gradually acclimated their bodies while soaking in the spring. Yuta wouldn’t mind if it were just him, but considering the risk of the children experiencing heart failure or something similar, caution was necessary.

“By the way, can Sara and the others swim?”

I hadn’t asked the crucial question. Did the children even have opportunities to swim in this world?

“I’ve never swum before.” “Me neither.” “No” Sara, Marco, and Kika replied.

As expected, they had never swum before.

“Well, since you can breathe underwater, it should be fine. I’ll teach you a simple way to swim. Just imitate me,” Yuta said.

He demonstrated the breaststroke in the spring. It didn’t need to be perfect form; as long as they could move, it would suffice. With their improved stamina from leveling up and the ability to breathe, it didn’t take long for them to swim around the spring effortlessly. As Yuta taught them how to swim, he realized something else. They could speak normally and have conversations underwater. Magic was truly incredible.

“We should start gathering soon,” Yuta announced.

They had spent more time playing in the spring than he had imagined. Sara’s group mentioned earlier that they couldn’t settle down without work in the forest, but in the spring, they were having too much fun and forgot about work, frolicking around.

The spring had high transparency, making them feel as if they were flying in the sky as long as they didn’t feel the sensation of water on their skin. Moreover, it was different from being carried by Sylphy’s flight; they could move freely at their own will, which made it even more enjoyable.

Yuta and the spirits frolicked around, riding the water currents that Rain had created, exploring the spring. It was quite fun, but they had gotten carried away inside the spring. Although Sylphy had tried to stop the spirits earlier, it seemed to have been in vain.

Yuta gathered Sara and the others and began the gathering process. He instructed Sara and Kika to collect aquatic plants with their roots intact and put them in the pot. Since fish and other delicate creatures were involved, it would be better to keep the plants in the pot as well.

For himself, Yuta decided to collect the mud and grass from the bottom of the spring. Although it would be convenient to have insects in it, he still couldn’t determine the basis for his judgment.

As he was about to use the magic shovel to scoop and store the bottom of the spring, he hesitated. It felt scary to store something while it was in contact with the water. Although he could store things in contact with his body, the surrounding area was filled with water… Would anything dangerous happen?

Could he only store the part of the shovel that wasn’t in contact with water? When on land, the air was in contact with it, but what about the air underwater? If he wanted to prioritize safety, he should come out of the water before storing it, but that would be troublesome.

Should he just do it? Since he needed to be conscious of what he was in contact with while storing, he should be fine as long as he only stored the mud on top of the shovel. If water started to be sucked in, he could just refuse it.

With a little nervousness, he stored the mud and aquatic plants on the shovel. The mud and plants disappeared, leaving only the aquatic creatures. He would have Bell and the others secure the aquatic creatures when they left. After scooping enough mud and aquatic plants a few times to ensure an ample supply, he and the spirits began collecting various types of aquatic plants.

When Bell and the others thoroughly explored the spring and found rare water plants, they would call Yuta over, and Rain would manipulate the water to deliver them to the designated spot.

Then, Yuta would carefully collect the plants that Bell and the others pointed to… It felt like a hospitality harvest, or maybe a served-on-a-platter harvest. It was a delicate balance. But as long as Bell and the others were happy, it was fine.

After they all emerged from the spring, they checked the pot and saw that there was a sufficient amount of aquatic plants gathered in four large pots. If they wanted to prioritize efficiency, Yuta could have easily used the magic shovel to scoop up the plants, but that would be too mundane. All that was left was to catch small fish, crayfish, frogs, and other aquatic animals from the spring and add them to the pots.

“But before that, we need to do something about the water on our bodies. When we used the pool at the spring house, we just let ourselves air-dry, but since we have the children with us, that won’t work.”

“Dyne, Rain, is there a way you can remove the water from our clothes and bodies?”

Yuta asked, and in an instant, Dyne swiftly removed the moisture. The clothes were completely dry, and their skin felt pleasantly moisturized. Dyne was quite skilled. Yuta thanked her and moved on to the next task.

“Rain, could you lead the way and catch the small creatures in this spring and put them into the pots?”

“Kyuuu!”

When Yuta made the request, Rain let out a loud cry and flew into the spring, followed by Bell and the others. Oh, water droplets popped up from the surface. Bell floated towards Yuta, carrying the water droplet gently in her hands.

“Yuta, here.”

Inside the small water droplet that Bell brought, there was a small fish. Ah, so Rain catches the aquatic creatures, and Bell and the others bring them here.

“That’s amazing. Let’s put it in the pot.”

“Yes!”

Bell dropped the water droplet into the pot, and the small fish inside started swimming freely. After Bell, Turu and Tamamo also flew towards Yuta, carrying water droplets.

Turu was relatively stable, but watching Tamamo carefully carry the water droplet with her front paws made Yuta a bit nervous. Rain caught more and more creatures, and Bell and the others continued to add them to the pot.

“Turu, it’s enough now. Call everyone over.”

“Got it.”

The four pots were filled with plenty of swimming creatures. This should be enough for now. Yuta praised Rain affectionately as he petted her.

“Great! Now we just need to hurry back. Sara, please return Fukuchan and the others as well.”

Yuta thanked Dyne and Dolly for their support from outside and sent them back to the spring house. Next, he returned the spirits who were peeking into the pots.

“Alright, Sylphy, I know it’s a lot to carry with the pots, but please do it as quickly as possible.”

“Okay, I’m on it.”

As soon as Sylphy spoke, Yuta, Sara, and the pots floated up, ready to depart for the spring house. Occasionally, Yuta planned to pump air into the pots as makeshift oxygen supply, but he wondered if everything would be fine.