Chapter 201 - Transparent from the Back
"I guess I can't carry any more than this."
"That's a lot!"
Both my backpack and inventory were completely full.
I had STR, so it didn't feel particularly heavy, but the weight of the backpack affected my balance…
"Woof!"
"Oh, Lupi, thanks."
It felt like a while since I'd seen a Bicobit. Lupi was excellent at hunting exactly two of them.
However… I'll dismantle them later and carry them back by hand.
"Alright, let's go home."
"Woof-n."
Returning, making the Dried Papu Fruit to send, and writing the letter should take just about the right amount of time?
I closed the cave door and headed back through the Ancient Ruins, but…
"Should I make a cart or something?"
"Oh, you're right. We'll be transporting vegetables grown in the north, and it would be easier just moving back and forth on the flat path."
"I know, right?"
I'll make a cart when things settle down a bit.
Would wood be okay? If it's too heavy and breaks, I can always remake it with iron.
"Shou-kun, why don't we check the mining points?"
"Oh, the Mithril mining point might have respawned?"
"Yes!"
I still had leftover Mithril ingots, but whether I could mine more was important. It would allow me to use what I had without hesitation.
"Lupi, wait here for a moment."
"Woof-n."
I set down my backpack and the Bicobits, then descended the stairs. Alright, I'll get a light and illuminate the upper part, and…
"Hmm, it hasn't respawned."
"Does it take quite a long time?"
"Well, considering its rarity, I guess so. Can it sometimes be mined on the mainland too?"
"Yes."
Mithril won't be exported from this island, but it would be unfair if only I could consistently mine it…
"Well, I'll check again in about a week."
"Right."
I ran back and put my backpack on again.
I wanted to process all the Papu Fruit in here today.
"Shou-kun, shouldn't we decide on a schedule for what to do each day of the week soon?"
"Yeah, I guess so. That might be better…"
I feel like I'm doing things too haphazardly, just doing whatever comes to mind. Then new discoveries happen, and I have more to do, repeating the cycle.
It's fun that way, but I have a house now, and the island's exploration has progressed to some extent, so I feel like I could fix two or three days a week for set tasks.
"Farming chores in the north and near the house, and a circuit around the south for gathering and mining – I think we could set specific days for these two."
"A circuit around the south seems to have quite a lot, but would one day be enough?"
"How about doing whatever you feel like that day? Gathering, mining, or fishing in the sea or river?"
"I see."
Lupi will hunt Forebits and Bicobits for me. Greydeer and Ranziboa I'll deal with if I find them, or if they're caught in a trap.
The Sandy Beach depends on the tide, so I'll go if the timing is right.
Flower Trout can be caught by fishing, or I could make the basket traps sturdier so they don't get washed away even if the water level rises.
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll try to do something like that starting next week."
"Yes!"
……
…
While diligently turning Papu Fruit into 'Torotoro Dried Papu Fruit,' my Cooking skill leveled up to 8.
I'm happy about it, but having Woodcraft and Cooking as my top base skill levels… I wonder how that is.
"~~~♪"
"Sweee, there's plenty, but wait a moment. These are for gifting."
"~~~!?"
When I admonished her, she looked at me as if saying, "Why!?"
President Bell said it was popular even in the Kingdom, so it shouldn't be anything special, but if they say it's delicious, there's no reason not to send it.
Honestly, I also had the ulterior motive of getting some kind of return…
"And then, I have to write the letter."
"Do you want to hear about the World Quest?"
"Hmm… I'm not involved, and I don't like hearing spoilers."
"You're right."
Ordinary players were probably desperately trying to 'contact the Dragonkin' right now, so it would be weird for me to already have a connection…
"As for my requests, it's just permission to use the magic tool I found, and perhaps a map of the island or Ancient Ruins?"
"Why don't you write about the Transfer Magic Circle on the 1st floor and its paired counterpart?"
"That's right. It would be great if I could get the paired one."
It's too high a price for Torotoro Dried Papu Fruit.
I wonder if I can negotiate a year's worth of payments or something. Or offer to provide new sweets…
"Also, couldn't we ask for the Meter Standard Magic Tool? For the purpose of creating a map of this island and the Ancient Ruins."
"I'd be incredibly happy to have that. Is that how you get the Map skill?"
"Yes. All scouts acquire it, apparently."
Apparently, the higher the Map skill, the better the maps one can draw, and some people were even trying to create a world map.
Ino Tadataka, was it? It feels something like that…
"So, the priority is the Meter Standard Magic Tool, right? And the paired Transfer Magic Circle on the 1st floor can be 'if available.'"
"I think that's good. The paired one might not have been found yet anyway."
"Ah, you're right."
According to that record and Argenta-san's story, the epicenter of the rampage was likely a major disaster.
Buried under rubble, underground or something? No, but it doesn't seem like it exploded, so there's a possibility it's still intact.
"Well, I'll write it down as 'nice to have.'"
"Yes."
"And Sweee. Don't take the leftovers just because you can't eat it all. I said it was for gifting, didn't I?"
Staring at me with those watery eyes won't work.
Please act a bit more like a queen…
*
"I'm home."
"Welcome back."
It wasn't just Mion who greeted me in the Virtual Club Room, but also…
"Welcome back! Brother!"
"Sorry to keep you busy again."
Seth (Miki) and President Bell were there too.
It was the usual summons before logging out.
"Did something happen?"
"It's about the Ancient Ruins in Amiera Territory. NPC Dwarves appeared in the abandoned area just before the ruins…"
""Huh!?""
About a dozen of them appeared.
They didn't seem to be settling in the abandoned area without permission.
"The leader of that group, Grad-dono, gave a polite greeting and explanation. He said he heard there were Ancient Ruins where ore could be mined and wanted to use them."
"Huh. But that place is…"
"Of course, we told him about the conditions the Winged Folk gave us, and the subsequent negotiations, but he said they would take responsibility for it themselves."
What is this? It sounds like a really good deal…
"Is there a problem with that?"
"Don't you think it's related to the World Quest?"
"Ah, yeah, I guess so. Did you tell those Dwarves about the Dragonkin? The ones who are supposedly backing the Winged Folk…"
"Of course we did. But they don't seem to fear them at all."
The Dragons in this game seem to be 'wise and gentle, but scary when angered,' so maybe they think the Winged Folk are the ones who'll get angry?
No, could Argenta-san have secretly pulled some strings?
"The island isn't related to the World Quest, but if anything interesting happens, please let me know."
"Roger."
Yeah, I'll keep quiet.
I promised it would be a secret…