Published: August 15, 2025
Today, two chapters are updated simultaneously.
This story is the first chapter.
When I asked the returned Lord of the Territory to check,
“Wow!! To think it could become this clean.”
“It’s like we’ve gone back to the old days.”
Thanks to everyone’s hard work removing the sediment from the open-air hot spring, both the Lord of the Territory who remembers the old times and Pigoo-san seemed pleased.
“Thank you, Ryoma-kun.”
“Now I can face the predecessor with pride.”
“I’m glad you’re pleased.”
However, there was actually one place I was told not to clean, and it’s been bothering me.
“Are you sure the water intake should be left as it is?”
The hot spring outlet, which was diverted this far, is almost unchanged from when I arrived. Calcium carbonate crystals still cling there, and they’re causing poor water flow.
“Honestly, if I asked you to clean all the way up to there, it wouldn’t be finished in a day. The pipe that draws the water connects all the way to the source. Besides... I know I’m saying this after you all kindly cleaned the place, but I probably won’t be using this spot much. I just wanted to restore it as much as possible to its old state as my father's inheritance. Even as it is now, it’s good enough.
If I were to wish for more, it’d be nice if you could see the view from here, but the bamboo has grown this far...”
“We’ve neglected the bamboo thicket, after all.”
“So the bamboo thicket wasn’t always here?”
“That’s right. Long ago, my father brought bamboo from somewhere and planted it a bit further away. We used to eat freshly dug bamboo shoots. But it was neglected too much, and now it’s like this.”
“The view from here used to be great…”
Due to years of neglect, the bamboo thicket has spread down to the open-air hot spring, and the grown bamboo is blocking the view.
‘...’
“?”
From the entrance of the changing room, everyone at Shikum’s pier was sending us glances.
Is this a hint? Is it okay? If so,
“Then let’s just lightly cut back the bamboo thicket on the open-air hot spring side to open up the view and finish up.”
“Ah, no, I didn’t mean it like that. Is it really okay?”
“You mentioned a success reward of ten gold coins, but even without that, it’s within the scope of a service. The five people behind me seem motivated too.”
“B-but—”
“W-wait.”
When we looked their way, the five were obviously flustered.
Everyone, you don’t need to sneak around like that. The more flustered you get, the more—ah, the Lord of the Territory went over to talk to them. Now they’re stiff and shy... I guess we better get ready in the meantime.
From dimension home, I prepared a wire slime and a stick. Also, a sturdy rope for safety when descending.
Wait!?
“Ryoma-kun, that’s cruel all of a sudden~”
“We’re not used to nobles like you are…”
Just as the conversation ended, Mr. Kei and Mr. Kai linked arms.
“The Lord of the Territory seems nice, so as long as we act normally, it should be fine.”
“You’re braver than you look…”
“I was about to think it’s because we’re country bumpkins, but it’s not, right?”
How rude. I’m also uncomfortable around important people and was nervous when meeting nobles for the first time.
Well, leaving that aside, let’s talk about the work. Though, the method isn’t that complicated.
“First, the slime and I will roughly cut most of it. It’s efficient but a bit rough, so some parts will be left behind. The rest will be up to you all. Since this will be on a steep slope, please use this rope for safety.”
With that, everyone agreed. They have trust in the slime from previous work.
Everyone quickly started preparing, and I headed ahead to the edge of the open-air hot spring. I climbed over the middle of the fall-prevention fence and descended.
“Alright, please.”
“!”
The motivated wire slime stretched itself into a saw blade shape within the bamboo thicket.
The wire’s effective length is about 40 meters. This time I asked it to cut about 20 meters in front with two wires.