The Angry Water Droplet and the Fleeing Soap Bubbles
Slash!!
Where am I right now…
Slash!!! Slash!!!
"What the hell kind of grass is as tall as a person?!"
I was in the middle of a forest.
……………………
A month had passed since we'd left the Armed Inn — long enough for the moon to cycle once through a full moon. I was on my way to the city Alberic had recommended.
Following the imperial highway all the way to Maberian City would take a year… twenty-four months, in other words.
There were no tunnels out here. The highway was laid to wind around the mountains, so you had to go the long way around. That was why it took a year.
When I'd asked if there were other cities, he'd said there were a few, but they were either little backwaters of three villages strung together, or so far out of the way that he couldn't recommend them.
So I'd asked what would happen if I cut straight across the mountains instead. Six months, he'd said. I'd pointed myself that way on the spot.
Slash!!! Slash!!!
But was this the Amazon or something? The grass was as tall as I was.
"Woof woof!!! Woof woof!!!"
"Hati… did you just eat a butterfly?"
"Krr… munch munch…"
Watching Hati chase a butterfly and then swallow it whole made me laugh.
If he hadn't eaten it, it would have looked like something out of a fairy tale. Instead, he just ate it.
"Let's see… this way should work."
When Alberic and I had parted at the Armed Inn, he'd given me a gift — a compass.
Golden Wind… take this small token…
Ah… my friend, this is…
Ahh… I already have another guide. May the Golden Wind never lose his way…
He'd said he had a spare and given it to me as a present.
It was a silver-inlaid compass — it had to be insanely expensive…
Having a good friend really paid off.
Maybe it came with being the capable man who had single-handedly rebuilt a crumbling viscount's house, but he knew every direction to the cities by heart.
When I told him I was going through the mountains, he pointed the way and said I just had to keep heading that direction.
Dead reckoning without even a map…
No wonder the next marquis had practically dragged me off with laser beams shooting out of his eyes.
"Ugh, this is exhausting…"
The mountain route to the city wasn't a stroll. We were moving at a light run the whole way.
That would cut the six months down even further.
The trade-off was that it was hard.
A month of nonstop climbing and moving, and I could feel this body wearing down.
Whoooosh~
A cold wind brushed across my face and passed on.
Come to think of it, just as Alberic had said, winter was almost here. You could see it coming.
The fallen leaves around us… the air getting colder…
"Haaah~"
I let out a big breath and watched the white cloud of it drift away…
Hmm… my body was tired, and my friends were looking a little worn out too.
What if I just put up a cabin near a mountain peak and waited out the winter, soaking in the scenery?
Huh…
Huh?! That actually sounded amazing. Let me picture it…
Me, warmly dressed at a mountain summit, sipping hot tea while I looked out over white clouds and a white world…
Ahhh~~~ Peak romance!
For now we'd keep moving, and once winter truly set in, I'd think about it properly.
"Cawww!!!"
"Hugin~ Find something?"
"Caw!!"
A place in the mountains where water had pooled deep… a lake, maybe.
"Hugin! Give us the direction! Hati! Follow Hugin!"
Some time later we reached a vast lake, but the weather that day was poor.
Tap! Tap! Tiny water droplets were landing on my head.
"Pong!!! Pong!!!"
Blanc, the water spirit, was flying around in pure delight — so it had to be raining.
I quickly cleared the area… smashed trees apart with my fists… set the big logs in place… stood them up… dug into the ground… gathered stones…
I put up a larger tent than usual this time.
We didn't have enough canvas for the roof, so I reinforced it with fallen leaves and moss from the lakeshore. The finished tent was big enough that even with me and my friends inside, there was room to spare.
Ssssshhhhh
The sound of rain pattering on the tent made it clear we were staying put for the day.
"Caw"
"Hugin?"
I'd been lying with Hati as my pillow when Hugin, wanting a comfortable spot of his own, stretched out adorably on my stomach.
The rain showed no sign of stopping and there was nothing else to do, so I figured I'd catch some sleep…
Leaving Blanc to happily flutter about in the rain, my friends and I drifted off.
…………………………
"Cawww!!!"
Once again, Hugin's booming cry dragged me out of sleep.
"Nnngh… morning, Hugin…"
"Caw!"
Whoa…. The sky was brighter than when I'd gone to sleep — night had passed and morning had come.
It was still raining outside, but lighter than before I'd fallen asleep.
Light enough to go out and move around, at least.
I woke up hungry…
Jerky didn't sound appealing. Maybe I'd try hunting.
"Hati! Hugin! Scout the area for game!"
The two of them headed out to find prey while I fashioned wooden javelins.
Hati or Hugin could have brought something down, but then the carcass would be a mess — I had to take the kill myself.
Killing up close would soak my new clothes in blood, which I hated. If I tried magic, even a basic spell, the animals would notice and bolt. So the best option was to use Hide and throw javelins.
"Cawww!"
The game Hugin found was… a rather large wild boar wandering alone. I killed it on the spot, drained the blood, and turned it into meat…. Should I take the hide too?
"Woof woof!!"
"Yeah, yeah, Hati. I'm coming."
I set aside a portion of the meat for myself and gave the rest to Hugin and Hati.
Those two were big eaters to begin with, and lately they'd been putting away more than three times as much.
There were still enough animals around to use as food, so I wasn't worried yet — but what about winter…
For now… time to roast some meat! Think after eating~
I built a campfire and set up for cooking.
I laid whole logs across stones so the damp ground couldn't touch them — the fire would never go out that way.
I cut the meat into easy pieces, skewered them on branches, stuck the branches in the ground, and waited…. Done!!
I roasted the meat, sprinkled on salt and pepper, and took a bite…
"Ahh… this is the good life…."
Wild-roasted meat, salty and savory, without a hint of gaminess…
A taste of truth that made eight gold coins feel like nothing.
The logs blazed like a proper campfire.
I stared into the flames for a while, then decided to tidy my bag and dumped everything out of it.
What a mess~ Toss this… and this…. Huh?!
While I was throwing out useless items one by one, I found a bone flute.
"Hmm… a flute…"
The bag was bigger than a duffel, and it must have been buried at the very bottom — I'd completely forgotten about it.
A flute… I stood up and gave it a try.
Pe-ri-ri-ri~
I'd worried it might have broken after sitting in the bag so long, but it was fine.
In that case!!
I went down to the lakeshore, cleared a patch of ground, and started playing this and that to check the tone.
With Music Mastery at A-rank, inspecting and playing the flute skillfully was no problem at all.
The pitch is a little low… so something quiet and wistful would suit it.
There was a song from the soundtrack of an anime with a white-haired character in red clothes who had animal ears on her head.
The song was called Legend of the Cat Temple.
I closed my eyes and played.
A quiet, lingering flute melody spread out over the lake…
I don't know how long it lasted. The performance ended with the sound of the wind.
I'd first played this piece on a recorder as an elementary schooler, and it was still one of the most beautiful songs I knew.
"Huu~"
"Bubble!"
How good was that…
I'd been living in such a single-minded pattern that I'd started to feel a little tired.
A person who stays wound too tight will snap.
Life needs room to breathe~
Now that I had some free time, picking up a hobby was a good idea…
My original hobby was gaming.
"Bubble!!" "Bubble bubble!!"
But there were no games here, and I wasn't settling in one place — so playing an instrument would be my hobby.
It would be nice if this world had a wider variety of instruments…
I let the happy dopamine from enjoying my hobby settle, and slowly closed my eyes….
"Bubble bubble…." "Bubble bubble! Bubble bubble!!" "Bubble"
Huh?
"Bubble bubble!" "Buuuubble!!"
What was that sound? My eyes snapped open and I looked around.
"Huh?!"
All around me floated creatures shaped like soap bubbles… there were a ton of them.
The soap bubbles were incredibly cute.
Spirits, like Blanc?
And the lake in front of me was glowing with a gentle light.
"Bubble bubble!!"
The soap bubbles seemed to be staring at the flute — drawn here by my playing.
Just then Blanc started circling me, shoving the soap bubbles away.
"Pong!!!"
"Bu… bubble bubble…."
"Hold on, Blanc."
"Pong?"
"Just let them stay. I think they want to hear more of my playing."
"Pong!"
Leaving Blanc, who seemed to accept that, behind me…
These were an audience that wanted an encore. Of course I was going to play for them.
The next piece was from the soundtrack of a movie about a girl whose parents turn into pigs and who suffers in the world of the gods —
Always With Me.
A beautiful flute melody rang out.
Hati, who had been rolling around after his meal.
Hugin, who had been scouting from the sky.
Blanc, who had been pushing the soap bubbles away.
All of them stopped what they were doing, came to my side, and listened to the flute.
As soon as that piece ended, I moved into the OST of a game based on a masterpiece fantasy novel.
Second Run.
It was a piece better suited to piano or a higher-pitched instrument, but thanks to Music Mastery, it played beautifully even on this flute.
When the performance ended, the soap bubbles around us went wild with delight.
That was when one of them, while Blanc was distracted by me, drifted up to my body, nuzzled against me, and…
"P… Pong…? Pong!!!"
"Blanc? What's wrong?"
"Pong!!!"
Blanc suddenly shot forward.
Pop!!!!
She shoved the soap bubble that had been clinging to me away and used an air-pop.
"Bubble!!!"
The soap bubble barely dodged and fled, with Blanc in hot pursuit.
Pop!!! Pop!!! Pop!!!
Blanc kept firing air-pops, completely furious.
Listening to her intent…
"Mine!! Mine!!! Miiiiiine!!!!!!!!"
So… Blanc would not forgive any other spirit for attaching itself to my body.
She didn't act that way with Hugin or Hati or other people — was it only spirits she couldn't stand?
Maybe the reason I hadn't met any other spirits until now was Blanc's fault.
I never imagined her jealousy ran this deep…
The soap bubble that had been desperately running for its life slipped into the softly glowing lake.
"Pong!? Pong!!!"
Having lost her quarry, Blanc looked thoroughly foul-tempered. The surrounding soap bubbles saw it and quietly drifted down toward me.
"Pfft..!"
Hah… if I could just keep watching scenes like this forever, how nice would that be.
But… right now I had an uninvited guest to greet.
I looked behind me and spoke.
"By the way… why don't you come out? You've been there since I started playing…"