kscans

Chapter 51 - Scenic Spot

The day after the victory celebration, when Hayato logged in, Diite came to visit early in the morning.

Esha arrived at the same time to tend the shop, and the three of them, including Hayato, gathered in the base's dining hall. After exchanging greetings, Hayato decided to ask Diite why she had come.

Diite usually came and went from the base, but she never arrived this early in the morning. He thought there must be some reason for it.

"You're early today. Is there something urgent?"

"What are you talking about? You're letting me into the clan, aren't you? The Clan War is over, so I came early to join right away. Is this what they call being restless? I couldn't sit still, so I came."

He was surprised she had come so early for that reason, but the look on her face clearly showed how much she was looking forward to joining the clan, so he knew she wasn't lying.

Hayato had intended to let her join from the beginning, but with Esha being wary, he had postponed her admission once. After she had interacted with the members to some extent, Hayato himself judged that there was no problem.

He had invited her once before the Clan War, but Diite had declined at that time. She must have come again now that the Clan War was over.

Hayato looked at Esha.

She had said that if Hayato could trust her, it would be fine to let her in, but what did she think now? She didn't seem as wary as when they first met, so he decided to confirm again.

"What do you think, Esha? Can you still not fully trust Diite-chan?"

"No, please prioritize your feelings, Master. As I said before, if you say you can trust her, I think it's fine to let her into the clan. I've been trying to remember more since then, but I can't recall anything in the end, so it might just be my imagination. Besides, Diite-sama's healing magic is essential for petting Maris-sama's Lancelot."

"Esha-kun, are you planning to approve of me for such a reason?"

It was hard to tell if she was joking or serious, but it seemed he had Esha's permission.

He had already checked with Ash and the others, and they had shown no particular reluctance. Then there was no problem.

"Um, Diite-chan. Then I'd like to ask you to join the clan. Please help us out in the remaining Clan Wars."

"Leave it to me. I shall provide all sorts of support. Ah, that's right. As I mentioned before, I think I asked you to make something for me in order to join my side. Do you remember?"

"That's right. So, will you join the clan after that?"

"No, joining the clan itself is fine now. But there are a few places I want to go. Could you come with me?"

"Um, where are we going? I only have Production Skills, so I can't go to places with monsters."

"We can have Ash-kun and the others escort us for that. It's not like I want to go alone with just you and me, Hayato-kun."

"In that case, I'll ask Ash and the others."

"It's settled then. I'll prepare for it today, so please be ready by tomorrow. We'll get busy with the Clan War as time passes."

With that, Diite left the base.

"She just said what she wanted to say and left."

"I think it's fine. She probably dislikes idle chatter. If you're going somewhere tomorrow, please bring back a souvenir. Food, of course."

"I don't even know where we're going, though. If there's anything, I'll bring it back... Well then, I'll contact Ash and the others. Esha, please take care of the shop."

Hayato and the others parted ways there and began their respective tasks.

At noon the next day, Hayato, Ash, Ren, Maris, and the Griffon Lancelot were waiting for Diite just outside the base.

She was supposed to be here soon, but Diite had yet to appear. With some time to kill, Maris and Ren were playing by brushing Lancelot.

Hayato was talking with Ash.

"Hayato, where are we planning to go today?"

"When I got the message last night, she said we're going to a place called 'Olga Domus Waterfall'."

"Ah, that place where water falls from the sky. It's known as a scenic spot."

"Water from the sky?"

"I don't know how it works, but it's a place where water falls like a waterfall from quite high up. The place where it lands has become a lake, and it's apparently a fishing spot. You don't think she wants to go fishing, do you?"

"I wonder? It's a possibility, but I didn't prepare any fishing gear."

As Ash and he were talking, Diite arrived.

"It seems I've kept you waiting. Well then, let's go at once."

"That's fine, but why are you equipped with a fishing rod?"

Diite's right hand was undeniably equipped with a fishing rod. And it wasn't just any fishing rod; it was a five-star rod made from a rare wood called Sacred Tree.

"Because we're going fishing, of course. Did you think I was going to defeat monsters with this?"

"If you were going fishing, I would have prepared various things if you'd told me."

A fishing rod could be made with the Woodworking Skill, and fish bait could be made with the Cooking Skill. If Hayato had known in advance, it was highly likely he would have made various preparations.

"...I was careless. It seems you didn't know it was a fishing spot, Hayato-kun. Well, I've brought several rods in case they break, so rest assured. Now then, let's all fish together. Let's go."

Diite started walking without confirming, so Hayato and the others decided to follow her.

The destination, Olga Domus Waterfall, was in the Spirit Country.

This country, inhabited by Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, and Fairies, had no name. It was just a collection of races that easily received the blessings of spirits, and it hadn't taken the form of a nation.

Since spirits were fickle beings, it was a harsh place for humans to live. All four seasons could visit in a single day. It would be rare for the weather to remain the same for a whole day. Also, spirits were said to be quite sensitive to hostility, so they were said to cause natural disasters if an invasion war was launched.

For that reason, no humans had invaded this place for the past hundred years or so, according to the lore.

Hayato and the others were walking through a vast forest in that Spirit Country, heading toward their destination.

(Come to think of it, the only race players can choose is human; you can't choose Elf or Dwarf. I saw online that there were a lot of requests for that before the Clan War, but there was no response from the developers. I wonder if it's too much of a hassle.)

In this game, you could only create one character per person, and you couldn't delete it. You had to play with the character you initially created forever.

(Well, you can't really 'create' them, you can only blur their appearance a little, and their stats are at the minimum of 25, with all skills at 0. It's less 'creating' and more just using a pre-made character.)

As Hayato was thinking such thoughts while walking, he heard a sound. If he were to put it into words, it would be a 'dodo dodo'. It was the sound of a large number of things moving.

It was a faint sound at first, but now it had become quite loud.

And ahead, he could see an open area. When he reached it, Hayato's breath caught in his throat.

From high up in the sky, a vast amount of water was falling into a lake like a giant waterfall. If you got caught in that, you wouldn't survive. It was that kind of view.

In front of him was a huge lake. They were probably more than five kilometers away from where the water was falling, yet it was so enormous that it was easy to see with the naked eye.

"This is Olga Domus Waterfall. A water column ten kilometers in diameter falls from high up in the sky... What do you think, Hayato-kun? It's a magnificent view, isn't it?"

"It is. I didn't think the waterfall would be this big. Where is all this water coming from, anyway?"

"There's a story that there's another landmass high in the sky from which the water falls, but no one has ever confirmed it. You might be able to go there someday, Hayato-kun."

It was a romantic story. Hayato thought so as he tilted his head up, trying to find the source of the water. Unfortunately, he couldn't see the origin, but this was truly a game world, and Hayato became excited.

"Well now, seeing the waterfall is nice, but the purpose of our visit today is fishing. I'd like you all to help."

Diite said this as she handed a fishing rod to each person.

"Our target is the Rainbow Eel. It's rare, so it'll take patience to catch one."

"That's fine, but what are you going to use that eel for?"

"I heard it's beautiful, so I just wanted to see one. Well, if we catch a lot, let's make some Kabayaki and eat it. You can make it easily, can't you, Hayato-kun?"

Hearing that, Ren and Maris suddenly grabbed their fishing rods and started fishing.

Hayato, thinking, 'Oh, well,' also began to fish.

Fishing was an action game unrelated to skills. When the float sinks, you just have to pull it up at the right time. Stats had no effect at all; the only things that mattered were the fishing gear, the bait, and some equipment. Some equipment could increase the probability of catching rare fish, but Hayato didn't have any.

(I should probably make some fishing equipment next time. If Diite-chan likes fishing, she might be happy.)

Hayato thought this as he gazed at the giant waterfall.