That’s Harsh
The White Dragon flew over to me and said,
“Trasanpe? How rare to find them in a place like this.”
Apparently, Trasanpe are creatures that dwell at the bottom of clear lakes, requiring sunlight and pure water to survive.
“Could it be that these Trasanpe are what’s turning the clear water into the kind the Vaash prefer?”
“Highly likely. With this many Trasanpe around, I’d like to bring some back—but since they’re living creatures, we can’t store them in a magic bag with time-stopping functions. What to do…”
“What if it’s a magic bag without time-stopping? It might work. Why don’t we try putting one in and see?”
“You brought one without time-stop?”
“All the knights have them. They use them to store materials that don’t require time-stopping, which they then put into the main time-stop magic bags.”
So they’re being efficient with storage to carry back as much material as possible.
I took out the three large stockpots we’d used for purification, filled them with the water from the rock basin along with some Trasanpe, and tried putting them into a magic bag without time-stop—it worked. Looks like we can take them home.
Since they’ll need sunlight during breaks, I asked Mayer to remind me not to forget to take them out.
I decided to carry them separately and not place them in time-stop storage.
We looked around to see if there was anything else of note but found nothing, so we climbed back down using the ladder.
Once everyone was down, Captain Kyle restored the tree branches to their original state.
When I told the Vaash about the Trasanpe and that we had secured some, they said they didn’t know about them.
All that remained was to verify the effects of the hot spring.
Before heading to the hot spring, I and the healing magicians treated the Vaash once more.
Just as Atre said, even with monster encounters, we reached the forest’s hot spring in a day and a half.
We used earth magic to make a shallow area for the Vaash to easily enter, then let them soak in the spring to test its effects.
Since Atre and the others would also be bathing, we decided to camp here for the night.
The next morning, when I came out of the tent, all the Vaash were in the hot spring.
They’d been soaking in it since yesterday—was that really okay?
When I approached one and asked how they felt, they said they were in the best condition they’d been since falling ill.
So they accepted our proposal—but wanted only minimal interaction with humans. They suggested fencing off the pasture with a fort so people wouldn’t intrude.
“But you’ll still need someone to milk and take care of you, right?”
“That’s what they mean by minimum,” Atre explained.
The Vaash said they’d go with us without returning to their old pasture.
When I asked if that was okay, they said that once a Vaash falls ill, they’re seen as dispensable—whether they’re there or not makes no difference.
The laws of nature are really harsh.
Even Ripka and Bianca likely wouldn’t have survived if they’d stayed with their parents…
I want to create a pasture, clean water source, and hot spring that’ll make the Vaash glad they decided to move.
We returned safely to the World Tree.
When we thanked the Tonitrus herd that had accompanied us, they headed off, saying they’d return to their territory.
We met with Alraune and I mentioned that our next visit to the World Tree would be two months from now, and that it’d be our last this year.
Since we also resolved the dragon’s curse, I added, “That should be the last time, right?”
“Nope,” she said firmly, hands on her hips. “Wounded monsters come here from the Great Forest, drawn by the magical water.”
“But couldn’t the hot spring in the forest heal them instead?”
“The ones that come here are those that hide away in the forest. The hot springs are dominated by stronger beasts, so the weak ones can’t go. And don’t forget, the World Tree gave you fruit. It helped this time too,” she said with a firm tone.
“If you like it that much, then go thank Captain Kyle. Apparently, you’re not fond of my magic water, since he’s still the one infusing mana into the Skeleton Flower magic stones by himself.”
“Fine. I’ll bring something to thank him next time.”
“No need for gifts. Just express your thanks. I’ve already received more than enough compensation.”
If we don’t rein in Alraune, she might bring us more trouble again.
When she gave us that wing powder, Captain Kyle had a really hard time, and so did we—especially my parents.
The next day, as we were heading toward the mid-mountain fort, Bianca’s family suddenly took off running, so we followed.
We found a lone adventurer fighting a Frozen Spider.
Well—more like barely holding it off with defensive magic.
Looking around, I didn’t see any companions.
Captain Kyle and the others joined in and defeated the Frozen Spider.
The adventurer was covered in wounds, exhausted, but clearly relieved.
“Thank you for saving me. I never thought I’d run into anyone out here. I was already about to give up.”
He seemed to be a healing magician—so why was he alone?
What do you think about this chapter?
