Earth's Water is That World's Treasure - 3
"They're all down. No survivors."
"Good..."
Lisa Martinez heaved a rough breath. The raiders had ambushed them. And they'd failed.
"I thought we were goners this time, turned into nothing but chunks of meat... but somehow we pulled through."
"Losing would've been the weird part."
Water was life. To the people scraping by in this world, those words carried more weight than mere letters on a page.
People lived in a state of chronic dehydration. Muscles trembled, headaches throbbed, fatigue set in. It was so commonplace that far more folks considered it the normal state than not.
And those people had drunk their fill. Gulped it down without holding back.
They even had the Trading Post as a solid shelter. The raiders tracking them had no clue about any of that—they got blinded by the meat and charged in recklessly.
The Rangers wiped them out without losing a single soul.
"But at this rate, the mission—"
"The mission. Right, the mission..."
Lisa bit her lip. Their orders were to establish a base in the area and make contact with the locals to build alliances.
But their numbers had dwindled. Most of the supplies meant for negotiating with the locals were lost.
Still, they couldn't give up.
"We press on with the mission."
"How do you plan to negotiate with the locals—"
"With water."
They still had unopened bottles left.
"With this? Sure, water's precious, but... it's not nearly enough."
No matter how valuable water was, it couldn't be completely absent. People wouldn't survive otherwise. A couple liters or so. Precious, yes—but the absolute quantity fell short.
Anyone would gratefully accept it, but it wasn't nearly enough to convince settlers to trust and follow the Rangers.
"This is pure water. And it's sealed."
"Hmm..."
"If we can keep trading with that man... it's as good as securing a water source. We use this as bait."
This world's population capacity hinged not on food, space, or power—but on water. Conversely, with enough water, the other necessities could be scraped together somehow. People flocked to water, not fancy homes or abundant grub.
"Understood!"
Lisa bit her lip again. And she harbored gratitude toward that man from the video. The one who'd handed over a staggering ten liters without hesitation for a worthless ring.
Please...
She prayed his blessing would continue.
"Alright, gatherers, head this way! Monsters are all cleared, but don't touch anything weird and keep safety first!"
I'd entered the gate. The mana density was thick. Definitely not a place for ordinary folks.
"From there to here—gather the green grass. No sneaking extras into your pockets; you could get caught later, so watch it."
"Got it!"
I'd landed a new job in a flash. Not long after submitting my resignation, I was out of that company.
My role hadn't been crucial. No reason to hand a newbie with short tenure something vital that needed handover from the start.
It stung as a salaryman, but jumping straight into the new gig was a plus.
After safety training, I dove right into the gate.
My job: harvesting herbs inside.
"Let's get to it!"
At the team leader's call, me and the gatherers rushed the underbrush.
Resources in gates—even lowly grass or stones—held immense value. But only a select few Awakeners could enter, so while not Hunter-level pay, gatherers and miners like us could still rake in big bucks.
Someday, I could sell stuff like this.
Not right away, of course. Needed guild connections for dungeon harvesting permits. And I had no way to prove my worth to a guild yet.
But...
If I kept selling water like now, built up trade history, connected with the fantasy world for rare materials... then flipping Earth's gate resources for profit wasn't impossible.
Eh, the pay now's no slouch either.
Way more than at the company. Factor in no daily grind as day labor, and way lighter workload—this was solid.
"...Huh?"
Pushing through the brush, I spotted a red ribbon.
Feels like... mana?
Gates sometimes dropped finished artifacts, but those were usually in treasure chests from boss kills.
This was man-made. Probably dropped by a Hunter who'd cleared the gate before us gatherers arrived.
...Pocket it for now.
Figure I could return it to the owner later. I snagged the ribbon.
"Where do I report a lost item?"
I approached the gruff-looking staffer.
"Whatcha lose? Probably can't find it. Gate'd have to reopen... unless it's super valuable, best forget it."
"Not mine—I found something Hunters might've dropped—"
The staffer scowled.
"Eh, just keep it."
"Huh?"
Hunters' status was sky-high. Even us plain-Jane Awakener laborers made bank. Naturally, monster-slaying Hunters dwarfed us in salary and prestige.
"Does that even make sense?"
"Hunters are, y'know... picky. If they missed it, they'd have called already."
"...Maybe they didn't notice."
"Then tough luck."
The staffer flashed a weary smile.
"Gets messy sometimes... Hunters ditch stuff in gates on purpose now and then."
"Ah."
"Bringing back junk like that drags us into drama. Headache."
"Whoa..."
I sighed deeply.
Fine, whatever. Not like it's murder evidence—just a ribbon. What harm could handing it over do...
"If you really wanna return it, call out to the owner yourself."
"Huh?"
"Hunters'll be out soon. Ask around—if no takers, keep it."
I nodded limply.
Just take it? Appraise it first?
Tempting, but I didn't wanna pocket this red ribbon outright.
"Haa..."
Hunters started emerging one by one. Swallowing embarrassment, I yelled.
"Anyone lose a red ribbon?!"
Hunters eyed me curiously.
"What's his deal?"
"Dunno, found something maybe?"
No scorn, no praise—just passing by like whatever.
I shouted a few more times, but none approached.
They really ditch it?
I'd done my part. No idea its value, but pocketing it now wouldn't draw flak.
As I turned to leave, someone called.
"Um, excuse me..."
A young-looking Hunter approached cautiously.
"Yes? Looking for a ribbon?"
"Well..."
I showed her the red ribbon in my hand.
"Yours, Hunter?"
She looked younger than me, but a Hunter was a Hunter. No need to grovel and risk issues.
"Y-yeah... that's mine..."
"Found it gathering. Here."
"Th-thanks..."
The girl took the ribbon.
Guess it's precious to her.
Something swirled in her eyes—emotions churning. I didn't pry, just backed away slowly.
Time to head home for real.
"W-wait!"
The girl called urgently.
"Y-yes?"
"Hang on. I-I'm grateful... coffee? If that's okay?"
She grabbed me with a half-sobbing voice.
Arrogant—that word was the only way Shin Yuha could describe her own disgrace.
'No problem. I can handle it solo, easy.'
Academy student Shin Yuha had joined a field exercise for monster subjugation.
Most Hunters there were E- or D-rank. As top prodigy, she figured lowbie gate trash was no sweat alone.
—What, what? Why's my magic—!
Her prized flame magic got blocked laughably easy at the worst moment.
—Why! Mana freeze.
Gate's erratic mana flow crippled mage Hunters. Common glitch, not dire—just pause mana output, regroup for seconds, resume.
But she was too panicked to think straight.
Yuha forced her mana, got no response. It backlashed wildly—then she bolted.
Pathetic, turning tail from low-level mobs.
—Isn't Shin Yuha handling this solo?
—Guess not. Still just a student.
No real danger. Other Hunters swooped in. She survived, no casualties.
Her field score would tank hard, but she'd live.
—I...
But it crushed her pride into the dirt.
—Maybe I never had what it takes to be a Hunter...
Her lofty ego plummeted painfully.
—Lost the ribbon.
A gift from her famous Hunter mom. Flame spell booster—an artifact no average Hunter ever touched.
Mom's will made manifest: proof Yuha deserved to inherit it.
So Yuha accepted losing it nonchalantly.
—Never mine to have from the start.
Of course it'd vanish. No search. Assumed gone forever.
Unfit for an arrogant, deficient Hunter—or not even that.
Yuha wept endlessly. Her dream shattered; she wasn't worthy to chase it.
Then she met him.
—Anyone lose a red ribbon?!
Expression blank, he waved the unclaimed ribbon.
As if telling her: you still deserve it.