CH 125

Exploring the Base – i novels

()x11-14 minutes

Ugh, it seems like I drank a bit too much. I have a headache… Somehow, I felt like drinking yesterday.

“Yuta, good morning!” “Kyuuu.” “Good morning.” “Kukuu.”

The usual warm greetings from Bell and the others pierce my head today. But that doesn’t matter. It’s my duty to return their greetings with a smile, even if I pretend not to notice my headache.

“Good morning, Bell, Rain, Turu, Tamamo.”

I return their greetings, pretending not to notice the headache, and pat each of them on the head.

“Yuta, are you okay?” “Kyuu?” “Strange.” “Kuu?”

I thought I was doing pretty well, but it seems like Bell and the others can tell that something is different today. I feel a mix of guilt for making them worry and happiness for being cared for by them.

“It’s just that I drank a little too much, so I’ll be fine. I’ll be energetic again in the afternoon.”

As Sara and the others wake up and express their concerns, I set the dishes on the table and start breakfast. By the way, Silphy and Dolly warned me not to drink too much, and Nomos scolded me for being pathetic with such little alcohol. It’s unfair considering those three can drink many times more than I can.

Dyne suggested that if I have a hangover, drinking alcohol again will cure it, citing some theory of a drinker from somewhere. I decided to ignore that advice.

“Oh, Silphy, I’m counting on you. If anything dangerous happens, please help them.”

“Yes, I understand. Well then, I’ll be off.”

“Yeah, Sara, Marco, Kika do your best too. Silphy will be there to help you if anything goes wrong, but don’t rely on her too much.”

“Yes, we’ll do our best.” “Got it.” “…………”

Silphy’s cocoon of wind envelops Sara and the others as they fly away. They’ve become capable of handling most things on their own, so all they need now is to gain experience by delving into the nest. But they seemed extremely worried about it.

When I informed Sara and Marco, they had expressions like “Seriously?” and Kika just stared at me silently. I hope they don’t hate me. I explained that I didn’t mind accompanying them even with a hangover, and I hope they trust me.

I told them not to enter the nest where there are Generals and above, so it’s not much different from before. If the reason is that I’m not there, maybe I was able to be a support for them in some way.

“So, what will you do, Yuta?”

“Well, for now, I’ll sleep until I feel better. Bell and the others can play however they want. Oh, Dyne, please keep an eye on the pond.”

Ideally, I would like to check it myself, but my headache is severe, and my body feels heavy. I’ll recover and check it later. I watch Bell and the others off as they go to play and drag my heavy body back to the bedroom. I’ll drink plenty of water before lying down to sleep. I hope I wake up feeling refreshed.

—————-

I wake up and check my condition. There’s still a slight headache, and I feel a bit sluggish, but thanks to drinking plenty of water, I’ve mostly recovered.

Stepping out of the bedroom, I look up at the sky and see Bell and the others playing tag. I wave my hand and call out, and Bell notices and jumps over to me.

“Yuta, are you feeling better?”

Bell looks up at me from within my arms and asks.

“Yeah, I’m feeling better now. Sorry for making you worry.”

Rain and the others also come closer, so I let them know that I’ve recovered and we play together happily. I need to be in good spirits to enjoy playing with Bell and the others, so from now on, I’ll be more careful with the amount of alcohol I drink.

Since Bell and the others have gathered, we proceed to have lunch. Huh? I feel like I’m forgetting something… Oh no, I haven’t given Sara and the others their lunch. Oops, my bad. I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t think about it.

Summoning Silphy wouldn’t be ideal, so I’ll ask for forgiveness this time and make sure to pack bento boxes from tomorrow onwards. After finishing lunch with a sense of remorse, I first go to check on the pond.

“Hmm, at first glance, everything seems fine. What do you think, Dyne, Dolly?”

“There don’t seem to be any issues for now. The water quality is stable, so it should be okay.”

“Yes, I agree. I can’t say for certain about the organisms, but the plants are growing well, and if nothing happens, I think it’ll be fine.”

So, it’s going smoothly, right? But speaking of organisms… Oh, right, I wanted to form a contract with a spirit of life that can heal. I completely forgot because I never get injured.

However, organisms… Living creatures are also necessary for the balance of nature, and when Silphy returns, I’ll ask her to introduce a spirit of life.

Hmm? Speaking of a spirit of life, I need a lot of living creatures for that, right? Is it impossible with just the aquatic organisms and insects I captured yesterday? Well, I’ll ask Silphy about it later.

“Thank you. Can I leave the management of the pond to both of you?”

Since I’m the one who caught them, it would make sense for me to take care of it, but since I don’t know anything, it’s best to rely on Dyne and Dolly. They both nod, so I’ll leave it all to them.

Now, since I’ve been away from the base for over ten days, I should take my time to explore it. I didn’t have time to look around when I returned in a hurry.

First, let’s explore this forest along the waterway. It’s the forest that Nomos mixed the soil for and Dolly rapidly grew. Various types of seeds were planted, so there are different kinds of trees growing.

It may be a small forest, but being in the land of death, it’s amazing, right? It doesn’t seem like there are any visible signs of strain from careful observation, but I wonder how it really is.

“Dolly, you mentioned that putting too much strain on the trees during rapid growth can be problematic. Are the trees in this forest okay?”

“Oh, yes, they’re fine. We received nutrient-rich soil, thanks to Nomos, and the spirit tree has been maintaining the surrounding soil in good condition. I’ve been taking care of it as well, and everything is going smoothly. However, it will take a little more time for the trees to bear fruit.”

Dolly answers with a smile. Maybe it’s because she’s a forest spirit, but Dolly seems unusually cheerful while being in the forest. Come to think of it, the spirit tree was said to have a positive impact on the surroundings. Even though it hasn’t been a month since the spirit tree sprouted, it’s already starting to show positive effects. The spirit tree is amazing.

“It may be a lot of work, but I’ll leave the forest’s management to you.”

I’ve been asking for help with the pond, the forest, and the fields. I keep relying on others despite saying that I won’t, but is it okay like this?”

“Hehe, Yuta-san, I am the Great Spirit of the Forest, after all. This kind of thing is no trouble at all. If you’re concerned about what you told Silphy, as long as you refrain from using spirits recklessly for battles or making money, it’s fine. As for matters related to attributes, feel free to rely on me.”

She easily reads my inner thoughts. I hope she won’t say she read my mind or anything like that. When I look at Dolly, she just smiles politely, and her expression is completely unreadable. Oh well, it sent a shiver down my spine. Age-related matters are untouchable, it seems.

“That’s right. You can rely on your Onee-chan more and more.”

Dyne also comes and hugs me from behind, reassuring me that it’s okay to rely on her. It’s helpful to be able to casually ask for help regarding attributes. But if I rely too much, I might end up with nothing to do, which is a dilemma.

“Ah, but as Yuta-chan mentioned before, it’s a really good thing to let Bell-chan and the others gain experience. Before relying on us, it might be a good idea to consult with Bell-chan and the others.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Everyone, please help.”

I say to Bell and the others, who are floating around. They all raise their hands and say, “Leave it to us!” They’re so adorable. It seems like it would be good to consult with these kids first, and if it doesn’t work out, I can consult with Silphy and the other Great Spirits. Now, where should I go next?

“Yuta-chan, what should we do with this vacant lot? Since the soil has been improved, should we turn it into a field?”

A field, huh… Even if everyone says they eat a lot, if I turn the empty land into a field, we won’t be able to consume everything. There’s a way to make money by selling crops, but it’s difficult and not very profitable… It’s definitely more profitable to subdue monsters.

“Let’s hold off on the field since it’ll produce more crops than we can consume.”

If Silphy says we don’t have enough animals to recruit a spirit of life, it might be a good idea to plant grass and create a pasture. Alternatively, we could expand the forest and capture wild animals to release. Which option is better?

“Hey, Dolly, if we were to increase the size of the forest, how much can we expand it?”

“It’s easy to turn the entire area we’re currently developing into a forest.”

Dolly casually replies with a smile. Turning everything into a forest might cause some difficulties. However, since there are 22 unused blocks, it seems like a good idea to turn some of them into a forest.

Personally, I’d love to plant cherry trees on every block, but don’t they require grafting? Besides, it’s hot here all year round, so they might not bloom well.

“I don’t think we should turn everything into a forest, but I’d like to expand it a bit more. So, please think about which block would be suitable to turn into a forest next.”

“Understood. I’m looking forward to it.”

Dolly seems delighted about the forest expanding. Well, it’s only natural since she’s the Great Spirit of the Forest. Walking through blocks filled with nothing but soil, I arrive at the Spirit Tree block.

“It’s still such a large tree, but it somehow feels incredibly calming to look at.”

When I see the Spirit Tree, I find myself staring at it absentmindedly. It appears to be shining brightly under the strong sunlight, as if it’s emitting a sacred aura. The sight of Bell and the others playing around the Spirit Tree never gets boring.

“Well, I’m glad you like it.”

“Yeah, at first, I was worried about whether such an amazing tree would be okay, but now I really love it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Should I grow another one?”

“N-No, I’ll pass on that.”

Dolly smiles mischievously, so it must be a joke. But knowing her, if I were to agree, she might actually grow another tree, so I need to firmly deny it.

“Oh, what a pity.”

“Ahaha, th-that’s right. Um, I’d like to cover the area around the Spirit Tree with grass, is there any problem with that?”

Suddenly, the thought occurred to me. A big tree with a different type of grass covering the ground—it reminds me of those mysterious scenes in commercials.

“Grass? There’s no problem with that.”

“Great. I’ll leave the cultivation to Tamamo, but I don’t have the seeds, so can I ask Dolly for them?”

“Yes, should I get them right away?”

“No, we’ll do it tomorrow when everyone is here. At that time, let’s increase the forest by one block. It’s sudden, but think about the location as well.”

“Understood. Hehe, what kind of forest should it be?”

It’s difficult to decide what kind of forest it should be.

“Well, for the most part, I’ll leave it to you, Dolly, but eventually, I’d like it to be a forest with abundant food where we can release small animals.”

Releasing squirrels or chipmunks would create a nice atmosphere in the forest. Eventually, we’ll need to release small carnivorous animals too, but that’s something to look forward to as well.

“I understand. I’ll think about it carefully.”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”

It was just a spontaneous idea, but some good ideas came up. It seems like lying down on the grass under the shade of the spirit tree would feel really pleasant.