Installing the Young Tree (4)
The earth spirit, having received mana stone powder as payment, carried out every task flawlessly.
Hatching seeds was just the basics. Once I had her haul out the quarried stone, I asked her to build an exterior staircase wrapping around the living tree building, and she manipulated the stone to piece it together in no time.
She kept granting my requests even though all I'd paid her was that single supply of mana stone powder, with nothing additional. Apparently the going rate was quite generous.
What's more, the earth spirit seemed to wield far more power than I'd expected. Compared to the water spirits that handled dishwashing and laundry, building stone staircases was on an entirely different level of output.
It wasn't that earth spirits were stronger than water spirits. Rather, the mana stone was amplifying the potency of her mysteries. A spirit whose natural quality had been supplemented with mana stone gained vitality, grew stronger—and on top of that, seemed to divert part of the natural mana she received into boosting her output.
So for difficult requests, I just needed to offer more mana stone.
When I tried giving some to a water spirit as well, the spirit—who until now had only managed to spurt streams of water—produced an honest-to-goodness fountain.
The power boost was undeniable. Clothing that had been washing just fine was instantly reduced to shreds.
"Aaah! My clothes!"
Thermia, who had been experimenting with the village's mana stones and had taken the opportunity to try washing her own laundry, collapsed in despair.
"Are you all right?"
"I am not all right..."
You really shouldn't trust cutting-edge technology, after all.
At any rate, the spirits had apparently been in a lethargic state all this time from a deficiency of natural quality. They themselves seemed bewildered that a laundry request had ended with the clothes being torn to pieces.
If that was the case, Bang-ul-i and Pebble Girl needed their health managed too.
Could it be that the reason Pebble Girl loved sleeping all the time wasn't laziness, but simple exhaustion? A quiet hope began to stir in me.
I respected her personality, of course, but I couldn't help wishing she'd get along more actively with the beings around her.
—Bang-ul-i, try eating this.
I offered mana stone powder to the Water Drop Girl. The little girl shot me a look that plainly asked why on earth she should eat a mineral.
Yes, that's the normal reaction.
—It's strange, I know, but it'll actually be good for you.
The Water Drop Girl pondered the powder resting in her tiny hand. Then, with a bright, cheerful expression, she sprinkled it over the sleeping Pebble Girl.
Both hands pointed proudly at her little sister. She tilted her chin up, visibly pleased with herself—the very picture of a big sister proud of her own magnanimity in giving away the good stuff.
—Wow, sharing with your little sister. How admirable.
—But you didn't hand it over because you found it too gross to eat yourself, right?
It felt like a very reasonable suspicion.
Still, a mana stone was a mineral, no getting around that. Maybe the pebble, born from solidified mana, ought to try it first.
I prodded Pebble Girl on her wooden bed with gaseous mana, poke by poke. Keep poking in the name of waking up and eating—and eventually, eyes still closed, she moved one hand, scooped up the powder, and ate it.
Then she went right back to sleep.
—You're okay, right?
No answer, but presumably fine.
—Now it's your turn. Eat some, and you'll probably feel stronger.
I offered the powder again. The Water Drop Girl refused to eat it, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized the stuff.
So she had offloaded it on her sister because it looked unappetizing. You're not supposed to do that, you know.
—Look at the rabbit over there. He's eating it just fine, isn't he?
The rabbit, who had been munching away at a mana stone, looked up.
The Water Drop Girl had recently stopped playing Rabbit Knight with him. By her own explanation, such rabbit-knight games were childish behavior fit only for juvenile water spirits—she, having graduated beyond being a young spirit, had mature hobbies now, or so she claimed.
Thanks to that, the rabbit had been liberated from his role as a mount and roamed about freely.
Watching the rabbit gave the Water Drop Girl her confidence. She dumped the powder into her mouth. In her body of pure water, the particles fizzed and sank, then dissolved away to nothing.
Whoa.
—Feel any different?
The Water Drop Girl tilted her head.
Maybe a mere sprinkle of powder wasn't enough to feel anything? Even in her small body, she was a being of ten thousand mana condensed together. If it came to it, I could pour in more of my own mana as well.
The gap between ordinary water spirits and the Water Drop Girl was simply immense. Unlike them, a little mana stone apparently barely registered for her.
It was probably about the level of a nutritional supplement.
—If you want more, just say so. I'll put in a request to the village.
The Water Drop Girl nodded, then fed the remaining mana stone to the rabbit. The rabbit ate it up happily.
His head got a good pat-pat.
Mana stone needs were growing. Maybe it was time to develop a mana stone mine.
I had let the mine sit untouched all this while, mindful of the danger. A greedy resource existing in a powerless village was never a good thing—if wealthy outsiders swarmed in and shook the village to its foundations, reducing it to scorched earth would take only a moment.
Besides, this world ran on a caste system. If the lord decided to raze the village and develop the mine, we'd simply have to comply. And if another lord launched a territorial war to seize the mine, the consequences would be far worse still.
But the wealthy outsiders were something I felt equipped to handle now. The village had grown to nearly city scale. It could withstand most outside investment without being thrown off balance, and the village watch had grown substantial enough that it was unlikely to be taken by force.
Our lord seemed safe enough too. The current lord was the King himself, and Velesa and the Crown Prince—who were on our side—were settling in well at the palace. In that situation, surely the King wouldn't make some bizarre choice. Though I would need to have Teacher review the specific customs and precedents.
The mana stone mine was worth developing. The village's growth had turned what would have been reckless greed into legitimate acquisition.
Still, one thing nagged at me.
Just how thoroughly would mining wreck the forest landscape?
The iron mine was being run modestly, without excess ambition. Even so, I didn't much care for having a mine sitting right before my eyes—though with its reserves running thin, it was a mine that would disappear if we simply waited.
The mana stone mine would be on a vastly larger scale.
Compared to iron ore, its industrial footprint existed in another dimension entirely. Once major investments poured in and the mana stone mine flourished, it would bring profound changes to the forest.
Wasn't there some more nature-friendly method than conventional mining?
—You can set her down here.
The Water Drop Girl deposited the earth spirit at the designated spot.
It was the location of the stone boulders—the place the village had once drawn materials from for crafting gravestones. Now that the short-lifespan problem was solved and gravestones were no longer needed, it lay quiet and forgotten.
—Pebble, listen carefully.
Come to think of it, calling her "Pebble" got confusing next to Pebble Girl.
—Earth spirit, listen carefully. This is a stone quarry.
There were stone boulders out in plain view, and the quality was too poor to sell anywhere, so it was almost embarrassing to call it a quarry—but by definition, that's what it was.
—I want to try extracting the stone without artificial tools like pickaxes. Can you help? The mana stone from earlier counts as advance payment.
The earth spirit gave no response. It was only when the crouching Water Drop Girl peered down at her and smacked her with a splash-splash that she finally trembled into action.
—Great. Then carve the stone in front of you.
The Water Drop Girl pressed her against the boulder. Cracks spread across its surface, and a neat, rectangular block of stone separated cleanly away. Carried off as-is, it could become a gravestone.
Apparently finding it fun, the Water Drop Girl giggled and pressed the earth spirit against the rock like a magic tool. Each time, another neat block came free.
So it worked without tools at all.
I had worried that artificial acts might be hard for a spirit. But with her health restored by eating mana stone, she seemed to handle them quite well now.
Yet when it came down to it, I wasn't happy with the result.
Rectangularly quarried mineral blocks filled the landscape.
Terrible. Absolutely not.
Reducing the artificial process didn't mean the result wasn't artificial.
—Thank you. I've seen enough. You can head back.
Wasn't there a more natural approach? Nature and mining really did make for a terrible pairing.
Maybe I should proclaim a Holy Land here?
After all, I had exactly one remaining at Divinity Level 3.
This time I would settle on a concrete image before acting. Something like a mine where spirits and plants coexisted in harmony.
I poured a leisurely deliberation into the mana stone deposit. I intended to take my time and craft it to the highest quality.
I'd done it twice already—the third time would be entirely my call.
The disaster of Thermia's self-serving laundry attempt—ruined by an overpowered stream of water—drew attention from an unexpected quarter.
Village Chief Eldrin came to visit the scene himself. This was the man who delegated religious matters to Thermia whenever possible and focused on village administration, so the visit was a surprise.
"Let's have the water fire at full power."
At the village chief's request, a target board was prepared.
Thermia, with the water spirit resting on both her palms, spoke awkwardly.
"Fire...?"
The water spirit, equally awkward, shot out water. The stream traced a lazy arc and trickled out, smacking weakly against the target.
Village Chief Eldrin waved his hands.
"Not like that—put some killing force into it and go all out. Not an arc, but a hard, straight shot, like loosing an arrow."
"I understand what you mean."
Thermia whispered to the water spirit.
"Think you can do it?"
The water spirit trembled all over, looking doubtful.
—It's her first attempt, so let's feed her extra mana stone.
"Good idea. Could someone bring the mana stones?"
"Of course."
The self-proclaimed saint fetched the mana stones and ground them against an iron plate. A generous heap of powder was sprinkled over the water spirit. It felt like seasoning a dish before cooking.
"A massage should get her performing at her best."
"Let's try that too."
—While you're at it, how about a bath to ease her nerves?
"Young Tree, what an excellent suggestion."
The water spirit began receiving emperor-grade treatment. She enjoyed a solitary swim in a wide basin, was lifted out, and was treated to a massage in succession. A wooden mallet wrapped in soft cloth thumped-thumped-thumped against her body.
"Like this?"
"A little slower than that, please. Tap it, wait for the ripples to fade, then tap again—something like that."
"Ah, like this?"
"Splendid."
The water spirit melted into a blissful, wobbly puddle of contentment.
"Excellent! Let's try again!"
She stood before the target board and thrust out the water spirit on her palm with all her might.
"Fire!"
The water spirit fired. The wooden target board shattered to pieces on impact.
"Wow! You did it!"
Thermia hugged the water spirit and celebrated gleefully. If the Water Drop Girl saw this, it was the sort of scene that would have her crying jealousy over a stolen friend.
Applause rang out. The village chief, who had been waiting all this while during the water spirit's imperial treatment, approached with a look of deep satisfaction.
"So that works, does it. What is your race, may I ask?"
"Human."
The self-proclaimed saint answered, bewildered.
Village Chief Eldrin shook his head. Then he threw an arm around her shoulders like an old comrade-in-arms.
"Not from where I stand. You are an elf."
"Excuse me?"
"To think such a splendid elf would immigrate to our village—what a joyous day this is."
"Excuse me?"
Eldrin produced ear ornaments from his pocket. He attached one to each of the saint's ears, and a pair of elf ears was complete.
—Whoa, they're pointy. Even I'd take her for an elf.
"What? Young Tree?"
The self-proclaimed saint panicked.
"I really am a hum—"
Her shoulder was pressed down firmly. A cool, quiet voice murmured close beside her.
"You wouldn't dream of sharing military secrets with a living human outsider, would you?"
It was unfortunate, but true.
The self-proclaimed saint went pale. Her mind raced, and she hurriedly shouted:
"I am, in fact, an elf!"
The elf elementalist, having discovered her true identity, declared:
"All this time, I have lived disguised as a human for an easier life!"
Ohhh, so that's how it was.
The village chief looked thoroughly satisfied.
"An elf after all. Forget your painful past, and let us live well together, elf to elf."
No wonder the humans took such good care of spirit welfare.
They were elves all along.