Drill Dual-Wielding!
Two burly dwarves lifted it together, while a third turned the handle.
Gyu-gyurugwiiiiiin! The spinning drill bored its way into the ground.
Man, even if I do say so myself, it looked cool. Drill dual-wielding! I kind of wanted to try something like that. But if I did, I'd have to make the drill bits smaller.
Practicality mattered more than looking cool, after all.
"Well then, shall we get started on our side too?"
"Nya? What do you mean by our side?"
In response to Caro's question, I pointed upward with my index finger.
The top of the waterfall. That's probably where the actual cause of the reduced water flow was.
I'd already counted at least ten stairways I'd transmuted on the way up here. Just like before, I transmuted stone stairs leading up above the waterfall so we could climb safely.
The traces of a riverbed remained clearly visible above the falls. The water that still flowed through it was only a tiny trickle.
We followed it upstream, and after about ten minutes, we found the cause.
There was a cliff on the left. Part of it looked as though it had collapsed away, because that missing section was now lying below.
"So a landslide blocked the river."
"I can hear water flowing... it's going that way, nya."
Caro pointed to the right side of the river. Beyond that lay Rigal Territory, neighboring the frontier.
When we reached the accumulated earth and debris, I felt like I finally understood why floods were so common in Rigal Territory. Beyond the landslide was a river about five meters wide.
Most of its flow wasn't heading this way anymore. Instead, it flowed off to the right, into Rigal Territory.
"The slope tilts ever so slightly to the right."
"The original flow was blocked by the landslide. The overflowing water must have run down the slope on the right."
"And formed a new river, huh... no wonder the water's been decreasing over the past seven or eight years."
If we cleared away the debris, the water should start flowing into Zenas again as it used to.
That alone ought to improve the water shortage somewhat.
"What are you doing, nya? Hurry up and use that magic of yours to clear away all this dirt and rubble!"
"No. If I did that, the dwarves working below would get swept away."
"Ah... r-right, nya. Umm... hm? I can see another waterfall over there, nya."
Over there... ah, she was right.
The far right side dropped away into a cliff, and water was cascading down it.
That waterfall.
"This river joins with it farther upstream, doesn't it?"
"It certainly appears so."
We tried heading upstream. Sure enough, the rivers merged.
That river was more than three times wider than this one.
Which meant the amount of water flowing into Rigal Territory was much greater.
"Dermont-sama. I can see another waterfall over there as well. It seems that most of the water flowing through this mountain range ends up in Rigal Territory."
"So that's why they suffer so many floods. We'd better report this to Rigal's lord and discuss redirecting the river."
"It would benefit both territories. I doubt he would refuse."
No matter what we planned to do, we'd have to return to the village first.
"Let's regroup with Boss and the others. We'll camp here tonight and head back to the village tomorrow. The report from the royal capital should also be… huh? W-What's wrong? W-Why are you crying, Caro?"
Large tears were welling up in Caro's eyes.
And looking closer, Orman-san's eyes were moist too.
"It's amazing, nyaaa~"
"A-Amazing?"
"It is, nya. This much water... this much water flowing... it's incredible, nyaaa~"
Eh... she was crying because there was so much water?
Orman-san was nodding vigorously beside her too.
Ah, I see. To the people of the desert, this amount of water was practically a miracle… wait, Allen-san too!?
I'd already understood it intellectually, but seeing the three of them react like this really made me think about how precious water truly was.
No matter what, I had to negotiate with Rigal's lord.
---
"You're heading back tomorrow? Our work here's probably going to take another two or three days."
"Is that so? Well, we are waiting on news from the royal capital. Of course, there's no guarantee it'll arrive immediately."
That night, we discussed tomorrow's plans with Boss and the others.
The excavation beneath the waterfall was progressing smoothly, but they couldn't dig straight downward. If there was a hollow space below, it would be dangerous.
"You lot go back to the village without us. Even if we're not there, you've got Sir Robert and the young lady from the Cat-roux tribe. You'll be fine."
"Heh. Leave it to me, nya. I'll protect Der, nya."
"Hey! Stop patting my head!"
Being treated like a child by another child...
"Understood. Then at least let me make sure you can spend the next three days comfortably."
"Aye. Much appreciated."
"Comfortably? What are you going to do, nya?"
Dwarves preferred hard beds over soft cushioned ones.
But because of their body shape, sleeping on a perfectly flat surface apparently made their bodies ache.
So…
"Transmutaaaation..."
I placed both hands on the ground and transmuted beds for dwarves out of earth.
The rectangular bed had a depression in the center for their hips, while the raised portion near the head served as a pillow.
"W-What is that, nya?"
"A bed."
"Nyaaaah! H-How is hard dirt a bed!?"
"Ohhh, this is it. This is exactly it. That perfect little depression feels wonderful."
"Yeah, the beds the young master transmutes are seriously the best."
"Uwaaah... you're serious, nya."
Well, every race had its own ideal solution.
The next morning, we left the dwarves behind and started back toward Zenas Village.
Before dawn, Sir Robert and Orman-san went hunting and brought back enough meat for several days.
I'd also spent what little time I had gathering wild plants and mushrooms. The dwarves wouldn't have any trouble with food now. Just having water available resulted in so many blessings from nature.
Back then, that had seemed completely ordinary, and I'd never noticed.
"Well then, everyone, stay safe. Safety first."
"We know already."
We set off and arrived back at the village just before sunset the following day. Unlike the trip there, we hadn't needed to dismantle rotten stairways or transmute new ones, so we got back faster than expected.
And then…
"Dermont-sama. Your timing is excellent."
"Fitcher. Don't tell me there's news from the royal capital?"
When I asked, the man with the perpetually closed eyes pushed up his glasses and flashed a grin.
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