"The river is finally finished!"
One day, Ren and the others were called out by a certain group.
They exited the men-only area via the single path, passed the forest, and went past the lake to the long river. It was a significant detour, though the distance was short as the crow flies. Ren felt a strong urge to consult with Iris's parents about drawing a tributary closer to the houses.
At any rate, it was the river.
The group that called them out was the eccentric people they had met at the end of the previous year—the group planning to see the first sunrise of the new year in this world.
Their request was exactly as they had stated.
They had finished a river of sufficient length and invited everyone to come and see it.
Iris drew the original design concept, and from there, the group members were given full control. Each member individually designed sections, resulting in a river that had a pleasant randomness, with each person's individuality moderately expressed.
Along the way, water channels had been drawn from the river to create rice paddies.
There were also small huts built for people who wanted to fish, making the river feel much livelier than before.
"Such a place existed."
"Haha. Oh, right, Shion-chan, this is your first time here."
"Yes. I have been into the forest many times, but I have never come this far."
"The distance is quite significant... Traveling here is an effort."
The group's ultimate goal was to see the first sunrise from the top of a mountain.
Since viewing the horizon from a high place requires a distance of several kilometers, they decided to create a long river.
Moreover, this long river was merely a step in their plan.
"At this rate, building the mountain will have to wait until next year."
"Yeah. Well, it's fine. We can have a drinking party at the end of the river this year."
"The plan that hadn't progressed for years has finally moved forward. That's enough."
The river was already starting to be used for daily life, just like the rice paddies mentioned earlier.
Water flowing from the river into the lake ensured a constant supply of fresh water, and although they were freshwater fish, they could also catch fish.
A hut for paper-making was also scheduled to be built soon.
"Hey Ren, a river is perfect for playing in the water, isn't it?"
"It is. As long as you don't fall, your clothes won't get soaked."
"Oh, that's a great idea. Since you're here, feel free to play as much as you like."
They were partly here to scout the location for building the mountain, but that only took a short time to observe the end of the river. Since it was dull to just look and leave, the participating members were either playing, starting to drink, or playing shogi in a corner.
Did they carry a shogi board all the way here...? I was about to ask, but of course, they put it in Storage. What a convenient ability.
"Alright, Shion. Let's step into the water for a bit."
"Yes!"
I took off my shoes and tights and put my feet in the water. Since it was a cool season, the water was quite cold, but it felt good in its own way. I was grateful for a body that didn't easily catch a cold.
Walking in the water, splashing around, was quite fun.
Shion was also playing, lightly hopping around. Mei, getting playful, started chasing her, and it began to resemble a game of tag.
"You two! If you get too carried away, you'll fall—ah, too late."
Mei slipped and dove face-first into the river.
The surprised Shion was thoroughly drenched by the splash. She quickly got out of the river and began shaking her body vigorously to dry off the water. It was quite a practiced motion.
While I wanted to just watch her, thinking she was cute, I approached her.
"Shion. Should I dry you off?"
"May I ask you to?"
"Of course."
I used the Wind magic to create wind and the Fire magic to create fire simultaneously, producing hot air. A pseudo-hair dryer.
When the wind, adjusted to a suitable warmth, was directed at her, Shion cheered, "It feels wonderful!"
"It's fun, like a picnic."
"We brought lunch boxes, so let's eat later."
As for Mei, who was the cause of the drenching, Furi scolded her for being indifferent to her wet clothes and was making her change.
Iris was holding a sketchbook and pencil, conceptualizing the design for the mountain.
"I believe it is a good thing that there is so much nature."
As I continued to output warm air and casually observed everyone, Shion murmured in an equally casual tone.
"My father's hometown also had a lot of greenery, but not as much as this world. That was nature that had been deliberately preserved and managed by human hands over many years."
"And this is nature that humans have deliberately created here. I guess there's always been a longing for nature."
"Humans cannot live without the bounty of nature."
In Japan, there was a rural living boom.
Most people probably had the sentiment that "a place with more nature is better, as long as daily life isn't inconvenient," but some people genuinely moved and began a serious rural life.
In Ren's case, while it wasn't by choice, things were working out even without appliances.
"I wonder if magic is a big reason why."
"I think so. It is a power that is much less likely to sacrifice nature than science."
"Shion, have you become quite Yōko-like? Or Immortal-like?"
"Ren-san, you're also naturally mastering your magic."
The two laughed lightly, an agreement shared without a word.
As they were doing that, Furi and Mei came over.
"Ren. Can you dry Mei-chan's clothes too?"
"Ah. In that case, I will dry her."
Shion, who was being dried by Ren, also used fire and wind magic.
While it was hard to dry her own body, Shion was already adept at using multiple magic spells.
"Master. May I pick up some stones around here to take home?"
"Ah. A little should be fine... right?"
"It should gradually return to normal unless you drastically change the topography. Picking up a few stones as a souvenir is perfectly fine."
"In Mei-sama's case, it's not a souvenir but picking up food."
The lunch boxes eaten by the river were, of course, very delicious.
"If you'd like, you should join our New Year's Eve party."
"Ah. I'll come if I feel like it."
I gave the group leader a non-committal answer for the time being.
I was sure it would be fun, but it was simply too far to walk repeatedly. Since I could fly while holding just one person plus Shion, I thought I would travel that way next time.
-----------------
Dungeon conquest was going perfectly.
From the 22nd floor onward, Ren and the others crushed the Lizardmen using the alarm strategy.
New enemies constantly joining the fray—Soldiers with larger curved swords and shields, Lancers with spears and long range, Grapplers with quick movements and gauntlets, and Mages who could move—made little difference to a strategy of "blowing everything away before we even meet them."
After blowing away the enemy party, which included the 25th-floor boss, a Lizard Shaman who used recovery, enhancement buffs, and weakening debuffs,
"Oh, it seems our Storage has increased."
"As expected, it was Storage this time."
Iris's and Mei's Storage, which had been about a quarter of Ren's, were doubled—meaning they were now about half of Ren's size.
When they reported to the Sage, his reaction was, "Just as I thought."
"It would be helpful if it were a little more extravagant, but I suppose things never work out that smoothly."
"I guess it's better than nothing to get a bonus. Increasing the amount we can carry is helpful."
For Iris and the others, the amount of arrows they can carry and the amount of materials they can bring back are especially important.
Since she gained access to Storage, Iris could use the technique of "nocking and firing an arrow from Storage with no time delay," allowing her to fire more rapidly than ever, which increased her arrow consumption. Although they were recovering reusable arrows, the supply was still dwindling, so this was a quiet power-up.
"But I feel like we've been using a lot of wood lately."
"You're right... Are Iris's parents okay?"
Slightly concerned, they went to talk to Iris's parents, including about the river tributary.
"It's true that the demand for lumber has been rising lately. We're starting to run low."
"There was still quite a bit of wood in the forest, though..."
"Trees don't grow quickly. If we don't expand the forest with the future in mind, we'll quickly deplete it. ...Though, we have a small trick we can use in this world."
With Iris's father being a lumberjack and her mother an Elf, the growth of trees and plants was accelerated. They didn't have to wait ten or twenty years as on Earth, but the trees didn't pop up instantly either.
The exception was when an area was designated as a terrain using a Fragment of the World.
"It's time to expand the forest. It's perfect. Let's create a forest along the river tributary."
"Is that okay, Father? The shape will be quite distorted."
"It's fine. We'll turn the surrounding area into forest later anyway; this is just temporary. Besides, wouldn't it be convenient for you to have the forest next to the shrine?"
"It certainly would. I feel like it would boost its spiritual power."
The problem was the possibility of animals approaching the houses if the forest connected.
"We were planning to enclose the town with a wall once the forest grew larger. But the positioning of the shrine, the forest, and the wall would be awkward."
"You're right. If the shrine were outside the wall, it would be difficult to manage. It would be good if we could place some kind of guardian there..."
"Even I don't have a skill like that..."
Ren looked at Shion, who was playing with Iris's younger sisters.
"Shion. Can you create a Shikigami (familiar spirit) with your Yōko skills?"
"I don't have such a skill... I think only a class like an Onmyōji (yin-yang diviner) would be able to summon Shikigami."
Shion, who answered apologetically, paused for a moment and then exclaimed, "Ah."
"It's not a guardian, but I might be able to prevent intrusion into the shrine."
"Really?"
"Yes. There is a skill called 'Sanctuary.'"
It seemed to be a skill that prevented monsters and other entities from approaching a designated area.
Since it targets an area and not a person, it was difficult to use during dungeon exploration (and it wasn't compatible with the "strike before they get close" strategy used on the 20th floor), so she hadn't planned to acquire it. However, it was perfect for protecting the shrine.
Furthermore, a shrine where a fox deity resided and became a "Sanctuary" would be a genuine power spot.
Iris's mother smiled gently.
"It seems the problem is solved."
"Yes. It looks like we can connect the forest directly without building a wall around the shrine area. We should also build a water source near the shrine."
As a precaution, they consulted with the other residents, who suggested testing whether it actually repelled animals first. So, they caught some suitable animals, had Shion create a "Sanctuary," and lured the animals towards it.
"It seems some animals can enter, and some can't...?"
"The animals that can enter all seem docile. Perhaps it only repels those that are harmful."
Since even among the same species, aggressive individuals couldn't enter, they concluded this was likely the correct interpretation. This meant there was probably no problem.
Skills were indeed valuable.
Incidentally, the aggressive animals didn't attack Ren and the others without reason.
"I think they can sense the difference in power," said Iris.
Even those who didn't delve into the dungeon had leveled up after several months of living there. They could likely defeat certain beasts if they defended themselves seriously. Animals seemed to sense such things instinctively.
However, there seemed to be exceptions to this rule.
"Why is it that I'm the only one being constantly attacked?"
"Maybe they see Mei as a doll or something?"
Mei, who was being persistently kicked by an angry chicken, simply accepted it without kicking back, saying, "This is unreasonable."
It was possible that her gentle nature was being exploited.
"By the way, Shion-chan, what about your experience points?"
"Um... they've increased. I'm not sure if it's every time I use the skill, or every time a beast is repelled by the Sanctuary."
"That's convenient, I think. It also sounds like it has divine favor."
Construction of the shrine was taking slightly longer as the carpenter uncle was also inexperienced with building a shrine, but it was expected to be completed soon.
It would be finished well before the New Year's holidays, so at this rate, they might actually get visitors for the first shrine visit of the year (Hatsumōde).
"Wait. If people come for Hatsumōde, who's going to deal with them?"
"That would be us, wouldn't it? Ren, want to try dressing up as a shrine maiden this time?"
"That's somewhat tempting, but I definitely wouldn't suit it."
A shrine maiden with bat wings would be far too suspicious.
Incidentally, since Ren could enter the Sanctuary, she was likely categorized as a 'Good Succubus.' What exactly a 'Good Succubus' is, however, is not something one should ponder too deeply.
============
🚀 Want Early Access & Bonus Content?
"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my P4tr3on!
✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel
✨ No waiting for daily updates
✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)
Only $5.99 for the full experience!
🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!
Free readers - don't worry, I'll still be posting daily updates here. But Pa4r3on members get the VIP treatment!
Your support helps me create more wild stories like this. See you on the dark side! 😈"