18. Ranma hates the rain.
18. Ranma hates the rain.
Swaaaa.
It's raining.
Swaaaaaaa.
It's raining really hard.
Ranma hadn't come down from the bed installed inside the Hut again. He was showing his determination not to get splashed with cold water, but that had nothing to do with me right now.
Because I'm a smelly person.
"Are you not doing anything today?"
"......"
Right now, Ranma and Asagi were huddled in opposite corners of the Hut. I was blankly watching the pouring rain from the entrance of the Hut, and the Oak Trees that Ranma had chopped down earlier, along with the Oak Saplings planted in their place, had all grown into mature trees. But I didn't want to brave the rain to go chop them down. I only had this one set of clothes, and I didn't want them to get wet.
"Shall we take a shower in the rainwater?"
"Hmm?"
"Because I'm a smelly guy."
"...."
Asagi shut her mouth at my words. It seemed she knew she had made a slip of the tongue. Still, to say I smelled right in front of Ranma, who could hear everything... it was so cheeky that I couldn't forgive her.
"Ahem. That was a slip of the tongue. You don't smell."
"No. Normally, if a man doesn't wash for even a day, his body emits that distinct, musty smell of male hormones. Usually, I'd scrub my elbows and behind my ears thoroughly, but I couldn't wash here. I'm truly sorry. I've committed a mortal sin. I'm just a guy who goes around stinking up the place. Wouldn't I smell less if I at least washed in the rainwater? What do you think?"
"No! The smell I was talking about isn't... that."
"Yes? Is there another smell? What kind of smell? Is it bad breath? Or my armpits? I don't know where it is, but if you just tell me, I'll go out in the rain and scrub it off."
That's right. It was my fault for smelling; Asagi, who had barely held back her nausea while smelling me and eventually couldn't take it anymore, was not at fault. It just happened because I'm dirty. Why? Because I'm a dirty guy.
When I said that, Asagi's expression became tinged with annoyance. Ranma, who was huddled on the bed, scolded me.
"How can a man be so petty? Are you really that sulky just because she said you smelled?"
"Do you want to get soaked too?"
"No."
I made Ranma shut up immediately. Asagi couldn't even look me in the eye properly. Why? Because I'm a dirty guy who smells bad. There's no way a sexy, curvaceous beauty like Asagi would like a man who smells dirty.
"When will the rain stop?"
Unable to endure my pettiness, Asagi changed the subject. I was a little, just a tiny bit, sulky and didn't want to answer, but relying on superhuman patience and a mental fortitude firmer and stronger than diamond, I answered Asagi's question sincerely as if nothing were wrong.
"It'll stop when it's time to stop. What am I, a weather forecaster?"
"...."
"What a petty guy."
At my sincere answer, Asagi shut her mouth, and Ranma cursed at me from behind. That's right! I'm a smelly, petty, small-minded man! Ranma! Your attacks have absolutely no effect on me!
"If I jump into the rain right now, get soaked, and give you a hug, the rain will get all over you."
"Don't do that! I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
Ranma trembled at my declaration. I snorted, "Hmph!", and stared blankly at the hole we'd made for a door.
First, I need to build a new Monster Farm from now on. So, I need to collect 7 Iron Ingots to make water. To make that first, I need to decide what type of Monster Farm to build. If I had fallen into the blocky world of Minecraft itself, I could have just built it right away without worrying about things like this, but because of the annoying reality adjustment, I have no idea how to build it. Since there's no water, a Monster Farm that drops them from a 22m height to leave them in a near-death state, so you only need to hit them once to kill them, is impossible. That's the best one, though. What's possible right now is to build a Monster Farm designed so that even if monsters like Zombies, Skeletons, and Witches spawn, they can't attack us.
According to Minecraft mechanics, this Monster Farm can be designed by making it so only the monsters' legs are visible. But what I'm wondering is whether Zombies can crouch and attack us if I build it that way.
If they can, I'd have to destroy the Monster Farm as soon as I build it.
The technique of stacking blocks in a long line to create a path is called a Bridge. There are over 100 Bridge techniques and tricks created by users. Even if I couldn't do them all, I was capable of stacking blocks really usefully and quickly. If I were controlling my character with a mouse and keyboard, sure, but this is reality, and I have to perform it with my own body, which means I have to risk my life.
The stress of the design itself is beyond imagination right now.
So, whether it's a Monster Farm or any other kind of building, unlike when I played on a computer, it's better to execute it while properly drawing up a blueprint in my head from the start. If I risked my life to build something only for it to turn out to be a poorly made structure, I think I'd hate having to tear it down.
But there is an obstacle blocking this, and that is information. Leaving it to Asagi and Ranma to fight monsters using only their combat power doesn't sit well with me. Since it's not a situation where I'm risking my life, but rather others are, if time keeps passing like that, I don't know what kind of discord might arise between us. Most of the complaints will probably be directed at me. To survive here, Asagi and Ranma needed me, but I also needed Asagi and Ranma. I couldn't afford to lose their combat power.
In that case, I have an obligation to build a Monster Farm where no one has to hunt hard, and monsters just die and collapse on their own if you just swing your sword around.
I shouldn't give Asagi and Ranma a chance to shine so that no one will say anything even if I don't fight.
Or I could just fight myself.
I don't want that!
I'm a Minecraft veteran, not a combat veteran. I don't know how to swing a sword, and I don't even know how to throw a proper punch like a boxer. If you ask why I don't just learn from Asagi or Ranma here, there's just too much work to do to learn at a leisurely pace. If I can just figure out how to get water, I'll be incredibly free from then on, but until then, I have to work harder on laying the foundation than on fighting.
First, I felt like I really needed to wash. I couldn't just not wash after being told I was a smelly man by Asagi. The problem is the size of the Sky Block we're living on right now. It's so small that even if I wanted to wash in the falling rain, I can't take my clothes off because I'm afraid Asagi will see. But it's not like there's no way at all.
"I'm going to go wash."
"Hmm? Where?"
Asagi asked, startled by my words. I pointed silently to the outside where it was raining. Asagi opened her mouth with an absurd expression.
"You're going to get naked while we're watching?"
"I can just cover it up. If I build an eave and block the front with planks from the outside, you won't be able to see me, right?"
"Hmm... That's true."
Convinced by my words, Asagi nodded with a dubious expression. I felt triumphant inside. Anyway, I'm the only one who can stack planks. In Asagi or Ranma's case, they can affect already installed blocks or entities like monsters, and their influence is powerful, but I'm the only one who can build or utilize the system in this world.
That's why I'm doing all the manual labor.
Now that I think about it, it's super unfair, isn't it?
First, the urgent priority is to get rid of at least some of the smell coming from my body before the rain stops. Minecraft doesn't even have soap, so what do I do? If I don't at least scrub hard with my hands, a really musty smell might just start vibrating off me.
It's unlikely that acid rain falls in Minecraft. It was obvious that this world was a pristine area no matter where you looked. Because there's nothing here.
There's no way the rainwater falling here isn't clean!
I don't know exactly if it's really clean or not, and it might actually be acid rain and cause hair loss, but I decided it was better to wash my body and take the risk.
At the very least, I didn't need to live while being told I smelled by my companions.
"Then I'll go wash."
I quickly built an eave at the entrance. As the eave got longer, my position going outside naturally moved further away. After coming out of the house without getting too wet, I blocked the entrance of the house with planks. It was clear that no one would be able to see me if I washed in front of the house like that.
I stripped off my clothes, threw them onto a plank I'd installed under the eave, and dashed out into the pouring rain naked.
Cold raindrops swirled all over my body!
"I am the king of the world!"
I shouted that and scrubbed my body hard with my palms. I scrubbed my junior, and under my balls, carefully. This is definitely where the smell is coming from. When I finished scrubbing my armpits and between my toes thoroughly and went back under the eave, the sun was about to set, getting dark.
"Hmm, I've washed very cleanly."
"Now I won't smell, right?"