Chapter 31: Vilge repairs?

  Naturally, or rather fervently they asked me to live in the vilge, but I couldn't agree.

  However, I couldn't just ignore them, so I stayed for a little while and made some improvements.

  Of the necessities of life, food, clothing and shelter, they had almost everything covered, and I was able to quickly get the clothes done using my crafting skills. I don't have the skills to teach others, so I have no choice but to repair or make new things. It would be nice if I could interact with people who are good at making clothes and building houses... I don't have time to learn them anyway. Let's think of it as a hobby after I save the world. I don't know when that will be, though.

  ?

  Regarding food, we were guided to the oasis by a man from the vilge. It was a ten minutes walk and closer than I thought. If it was so close, it would have been easier to build a vilge around the oasis, so I wondered why it was a little far away. But apparently it was for the sake of the few wild animals that existed. Well, unless the vilgers catch them when they arrive or let them go free to breed, they'll have trouble finding food in this desert.

  ?

  "Hmm...?"

  ?

  I scooped up some water from the oasis and checked the quality.

  It was slightly contaminated with miasma.

  It wasn't at a level that would immediately cause health damage, but it was something you shouldn't drink continuously.

  ?

  "Has anyone in that vilge experienced symptoms of contamination by miasma?"

  ?

  "Symptoms of contamination...?"

  ?

  "It's the kind where dark red spots appear on the body and you slowly lose your strength."

  ?

  "... For several years now, several people have been developing this condition each year, and while some have recovered, most have died."

  ?

  I asked the guide what the situation was, and that's the answer I got.

  As I groaned, I felt Fricka twitch behind me... Well, that might be hard to hear for her.

  Even if you are contaminated by miasma, it doesn't mean you will die. It will heal naturally if you are in a pce without miasma for a certain amount of time. However, in the case of this vilge, the water, which is something that is essential to ingest, is contaminated, so people inevitably ingest it regurly. In Alness vilge, people were forced to ingest it without knowing, and it also made them weak, which is probably why the death rate was so high.

  But it must have been a few years ago, just recently, at least retively speaking. The world may be finally drawing near to its end... But what is the miko of this nd doing? Is it too busy?

  ?

  "I'll purify it, but please tell the priest to check the water quality frequently and purify it before using it again if it is contaminated, and to use stronger holy water if someone is contaminated."

  ?

  "I-I understand."

  ?

  It's doubtful that an ordinary person who isn't a miko would be able to purify the miasma. But it's better than nothing.

  I'll pce holy stones around the oasis to make it a sanctuary, then throw purification items into the water to return it to normal. However, this will only be a temporary solution if the root cause is elsewhere. I'll come back in a while to check on it, and if it seems contaminated again I'll search for the root cause... I hope I can find it.

  ?

  "Now, we need to get the seeds pnted."

  ?

  The food situation in the vilge wasn't enough to call it a famine, but it wasn't that far either.

  It would be easy to just distribute food, but that wouldn't solve the problem at all. The idea was to increase production if possible.

  People can't think straight when they're hungry. If there was enough food and they had some spare time, they might put more effort into making things, and producing food would itself be part of making things, so it would be a two-for-one strategy.

  ?

  I repce the soil that looks very devoid of nutrients with ordinary soil that I have on hand. I also take out some leaf mold and mix it in.

  ... Unuu, this reminds me of the story of how they treat the dead in Alness Vilge. I continue repcing the soil and mixing it in with all my might to shake that thought off.

  If I cover too much area, I might use too much water and it might lead to a drought, so I stop at a suitable point.

  ?

  "The field is ready... Let's all start pnting the seeds."

  ?

  I called out to Uru and Fricka, who were looking around without much to do, and to the guide. It would be uncomfortable for him to be the only one doing nothing.

  ?

  "What kind of seed is this?"

  ?

  Uru asks, picking up the seeds carefully so as not to crush them.

  ?

  "The ones in Uru's hands are watermelons. I'm thinking of pnting some other things like corn and potatoes."

  ?

  "... Will they grow in the desert?"

  ?

  "Honestly, I won't know until I try it, but I think they'll grow because I granted them drought resistance effect."

  ?

  Fricka asked worriedly, and I gave a vague answer. Our base is on a normal pin, and although I've created seeds, I've never grown them in the desert, so I can't say for sure.

  My guide was dumbfounded by my answer.

  ?

  "Um, did you say that it 'granted' them drought resistance?"

  ?

  "Yes, that's right."

  ?

  An enchantment for seeds. One of the things I was able to do thanks to the knowledge I gained from the blessing of the earth god.

  Food made through cooking... Is often enchanted automatically. Other than that, I've enchanted weapons and armor, but this is the first time I've made them into seeds. It wasn't possible when I was pying the game.

  It was something I researched and created while traveling through the desert, thinking, "I wonder if it would be useful if I came across a vilge with a food shortage?" I never thought I'd use it so soon. There aren't that many seeds, but considering the size of the field it should be just right.

  ?

  But the blessing of the Earth God is really useful. If I were traveling I would definitely want the blessing of the Wind God, but isn't the protection of the Earth God the most versatile...?

  I hope the blessings of the other gods are good too... But first I need to find their seals.

  ?

  "... Is it okay to have such a precious thing?"

  ?

  "Well, it's my first time pnting it, so think of it as a bit of an experiment."

  ?

  As the guide gulped, I said lightly. It's true that this is also an experiment.

  Behind me, Uru was muttering something like, "Its Rion that we're talking about, won't this turn into something ridiculous again...?" but I ignored her. I did appreciate that she spoke in a low voice so the guide couldn't hear. I can't completely deny it and it hurts to hear, but it would only make people who don't know the situation uneasy if they heard it...

  ?

  I decided to pnt the seeds first as a demonstration, and then leave the rest to the other three.

  In the meantime, I didn't sck off, but instead worked on creating a device to automatically spray water on the fields, and a protective fence to stop them being vandalized. The problem is whether there will be anyone avaible to repair it if it breaks down due to aging or the weather... But let's put that aside for now and prepare an instruction manual... The system itself isn't that difficult, so I hope they do their best.

  ?

  And so, the vilge's food reform (experiment) took two days to complete.

  ?

  ?

  ?

  We decided to head to the next vilge... This time, we're going to Airo Vilge, where the miko is. It's a bit te to say this, but apparently this vilge doesn't have a name. Apparently there was no need for one as hardly any visitors.

  The vilge chief gave us directions, so we should be able to get there. Well, in a desert with no ndmarks, you can't say the chief's sense of direction is correct, so it can't be helped if it's a little off. If we spotted miasma along the way, we'd have to change course, so it would be even worse, right?

  The whole vilge saw us off, and we began walking, receiving cheers and voices of regret as we went along. By the way, we pnned to take out the Uru-sled once the vilgers were out of sight. Even Fricka seems to be embarrassed about it.

  ?

  Even so... I hadn't spoken a single word to Kiriku these past two days.

  Our eyes met several times, but he would quickly look away. I couldn't tell if he was avoiding me because he was scared of Uru, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

  I believe it's impossible to be liked or understand by everyone, so I guess I just have to accept it.

  ?

  "No, I think it's just that he can't back out."

  ?

  Fricka deduced that he couldn’t apologize now. It would have been one thing if he had said something abusive to me once, but after having gred at me so many times and being chased away by Uru, he was only now realizing how bad his actions were and couldn’t muster the courage to approach.

  ?

  "What made you think that?"

  ?

  "It seemed like he was even moved by the holy fmes that Leon unleashed."

  ?

  "... Moved..."

  ?

  I simply burned them...? Even if it was a holy attribute, is it really something to be moved about at a funeral...?

  Was it showing on my face? Fricka added, as if she could tell I was thinking.

  ?

  "You were cd in fmes that are so beautiful, you looked truly worthy of being called a messenger of God."

  ?

  "I don't know anything about beauty, but even I thought it was pretty fshy."

  ?

  "Eh..."

  ?

  Looks like I did something pretty embarrassing.

  I'll be more careful next time (I hope this is the st time)...