Chapter 268 - Chapter 237: Preparation is Key
Wednesday
It was our usual club activity, but the club president Bell hadn't arrived yet. It was Wednesday, so teacher Yata was probably in a faculty meeting.
I could have logged into IRO earlier, but I'd decided today's stream would be a relaxed farming session, so there was no particular rush. Instead, I rewatched yesterday's stream from the club president.
"The wind elemental magic is amazing."
"It certainly is."
A gust of wind spell sent a stone golem flying, and the skeleton knight behind it was caught in the blast, breaking apart.
The finishing touch was:
"
A small plasma ball, about the size of a ping-pong ball, flew out and struck the skeleton knight's armor. With a crisp crack sound, it crumbled to pieces.
It seems IRO also had the expected combination where wind magic could use lightning.
"Come to think of it, haven't we found a way to contract with wind spirits yet?"
"Yes. It seems everyone has been trying various things, but..."
The situation didn't seem to have changed much from when I asked before, and apparently there was an air of resignation about it.
I tried asking at the place where Swie was, but apparently it didn't work there.
"Should I learn Applied Wind Magic myself..."
"Shou-kun, what about the fire element?"
"Huh? Fire? Well, I don't really have fire spirits either, but what would I use fire for besides lighting fires on the island?"
The fire-starting magic was convenient, but using it for attack magic was troublesome.
Especially since the island has many trees, a forest fire would be no joke.
"The book mentioned 'heat,' so perhaps it can be used to warm things up or cool them down."
"Oh!"
Warming things up was fine, but I really need cooling magic too.
I can get cold water from water spirits, but apparently they can't make ice. That makes me wonder if there are snow spirits or something?
It was the same with the warabi mochi—when trying to make cold dishes or desserts, cooling magic becomes essential...
"However, the water section also had 'ice' written in it, so it's unclear which one it is..."
"I see. To freeze water, a cooling magic that lowers temperature would make sense too."
"Yes."
Ugh, this is a difficult situation.
In the classification of earth, water, fire, and wind, it could belong to either category.
In that case, I wish it had been in Basic Magicology...
"Well, I'll leave it to the club president."
In Sunday's stream from the club president, she defeated several Living Armors on the 15th floor and something called a Barrow Wight.
She found a Grimoire (Applied Water Magic) during the fight and was celebrating wildly when the stream ended.
Incidentally, apparently Leona-sama reached character level 20 in the subsequent battle and received a reward for being the first in the world to reach the character level cap.
I wonder if there was a world announcement? I logged out before 10 PM, so I wouldn't have seen it.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Chivasu."
"Hello."
At past 4:30, the club president finally appeared.
Had she rushed over? It looked like she'd been running.
"Did something happen?"
"Huh? Oh, right, the preparations for the school trip."
It's a four-day, five-night trip starting next Monday, so they were apparently discussing what everyone should bring and how to divide things up.
"Well, it's pointless for everyone to bring the same things anyway."
Girls probably need hair dryers and such, but one person bringing them should be enough.
"Shou-kun, didn't your older sister go on a school trip before?"
"Ah, yes. That's right, but Onee-sama only brought a change of clothes or something."
Though to be fair, I was the one who prepared those clothes and underwear, asking "Is this okay?"...
＊＊＊
"Well then, I should gather some wood first."
"Ah, you mean for the goddess statue?"
"Yeah, that too, but after taking care of the fields during the stream, I was thinking of making a wheelbarrow."
The wheelbarrow I'd put on hold when Argenta-san said she was coming.
I might have enough wood in the storage, but it would be a shame if it was slightly insufficient, so I'll gather some in advance. Any leftovers won't go to waste.
"Aren't you going to appraise the items Swie-chan and the others collected for you?"
"Ah, yeah. I was planning to do that after the stream."
I wonder what would happen if I found something strange again...
Considering the possibility that I might acquire Holy Magic through the Jade Goddess statue, I should wait until after today's stream when I can calm down...
...
...
...
"Wah!"
"~~~!"
"Oh? Lupi, what's wrong?"
After I had managed to haul one log as a roundwood to the storage, Lupi and Swie arrived.
I had told them they could go play after eating, so what happened?
Since Swie seemed to be calling me to follow, I followed the two of them... toward the spring?
"Oh! It's grown so much!"
"It's amazing!"
The Greenberry tree, which had been a sapling smaller than my shoulder, had somehow grown into a mature tree over 2 meters tall, bearing many fruits.
And the fairies seemed to be carefully picking them one by one and collecting them.
"~~~♪"
The queen was looking proud, but since they were the ones who nurtured it, I should probably give them some kind of reward.
"We have sugar too. Maybe I should make some Greenberry jam."
"That would be wonderful!"
The fairies would probably like jam with warabi mochi too. With the remaining time, I might be able to make enough for one small bottle?
＊＊＊
"I'm home."
"Welcome back."
I logged out before 5:30 and returned, but was the club president still in IRO?
After that, I checked the growth of the Papu tree again, and it had grown considerably, but it felt like it could grow a bit more?
The Papu tree is usually visible, so ironically, it's hard to notice when it has grown.
"Shou-kun, you've done it again."
"Huh?"
"They found peppercorns, I hear."
"Oh!"
"That's wonderful!"
Now that I think about it, Natto and his friends were looking for them, but was it someone else who found them this time?
My expression must have given it away, because:
"Ah, was it Polly-san's boyfriend? I heard it was someone Natto-kun knows, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Ah, right. But those two aren't dating or anything."
"Oh, really?"
The club president had a "hmm" face... Normally, you'd assume those two are an item, wouldn't you?
Leaving that aside,
"By the way, I heard from Natto that he's planning to start a guild. Has the club president heard about this?"
"I heard it from Polly-san. Our guild was also considering forming an alliance, and we were thinking it was about time to tackle the Necropolis, so we're grateful."
Huh? Guild alliance and World Quest?
"Is it related to the World Quest?"
"Yes, there's a bit of a troublesome situation..."
As the club president explained with a wry smile, it really was a troublesome matter...