Chapter 484

That evening. They gathered around the dining table together, listening to Leela explain their next destination.

"So, is our next destination located on the ocean floor?"

"Yes. Apparently there's a ruin enshrining a Holy Dragon near an underwater city where fish-folk and merfolk live."

"And that's where the World Force Reservoir we're after is located."

Tatsuro and Leah exchanged a glance and nodded. They'd need to start preparing for deep-sea conditions.

"Is the time period in the past or the future? Will you need my power?"

"I will. Ishtar. Our next destination is seventy-six years into the future."

"Seventy-six years in the future. Compared to before, that's fairly recent."

That's still a pretty long time by human standards, Tatsuro thought - but from the perspective of a True Dragon or a Clear Elf, it probably did feel recent. And perhaps one day Tatsuro and the others would develop that same sense of time.

"Well, if we're going to the ocean floor, I suppose it's time for the Monster Ship Nagato to make her appearance."

"Right. She can submerge, can't she?"

Using Nagato's Magic Barrier would keep water from flooding the interior, and if the barrier's range was extended enough, they might even be able to walk out on the deck. That said, it would also block airflow, so if they planned to remain submerged for an extended period, that problem would need to be solved first. In that sense, underwater preparations were absolutely essential.

"Alright, let's move on. How is Leah’s research going? Discovered anything new?"

"Discovered anything? That's putting it mildly, Brother! Problems I've been struggling with for ages - ones where I only knew the answer but couldn't figure out the process - are being resolved one after another like it's nothing! She really is a genius!"

"O-oh. Is that so. That's great, Leah."

"Yes!"

Leah’s sheer enthusiasm made Tatsuro lean back slightly, but she paid him no mind, beaming with delight.

"In that case, maybe Ai and I should take over the cooking. Leah-chan is busy, and we're mostly free during the day."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. What do you say? Would that help?"

"Well... to be honest, the food I make tastes better..."

"That's fair!"

"That's fair!"

Neither Tatsuro nor Ai were particularly skilled in the kitchen. They could manage grilling or boiling, but when it came to delicate culinary technique, they were a good few steps below Leah.

It wasn't that they were terrible cooks - Leah simply had too much raw talent for them to compare. Frankly, you could say with complete confidence that eating Leah’s home cooking would beat dining at any restaurant in the area.

That was precisely why both of them declared it so proudly - though a certain two people, namely Ishtar and Leela, slumped their shoulders at that response.

"...Why do these two say that with such pride?"

"I... don't know...?"

Their bewilderment was ignored, and the conversation moved on.

"Besides, cooking isn't something I dislike. If anything, I enjoy it - you could even call it a hobby. And... it makes me happy when Brother and Sister eat what I've made and say how delicious it is."

"Ugh... what a wonderful kid she is... Your big brother is genuinely moved!"

"Your big sister is moved too!"

"Mmph."

Ai tackled Leah and buried her head in her chest. Leah flailed her hands around, struggling against the pressure. She eventually managed to grab Ai by the shoulders and push her away.

"So please don't worry about the cooking. That said, when I really need to focus, I'll ask for help."

"Understood. Leave it to us. Is there anything else you'd like us to help with?"

"Oh, there is, actually!"

"What is it? Tell your big sis."

"I'd like to install the Magical Liquid generator in this castle, possibly as soon as tomorrow. Swapping out the Return Stone every time I run an experiment is a hassle, and if I run the piping through the castle once, I'll have unlimited access whenever I need it. So I'm asking for your help with that."

"Got it. But that raises the question of where to install it..."

Someone outside their circle might visit the castle someday. If that happened, the Magical Liquid generator was something they absolutely couldn't let outsiders see. It needed to be placed somewhere out of sight - somewhere that only those they trusted could access.

"The basement we use for Transfer Magic would work, wouldn't it?"

"Even if someone were invited into the castle, there's a real chance they'd never even know a basement existed."

"But it seems a waste to put a large Magical Tool in that room when we went to such trouble making it beautiful."

That was Ishtar's point. The room they used for Transfer Magic was richly decorated. The ceiling lights caught the crystal carvings etched into the walls just right, making the entire space sparkle and shimmer. Ishtar had been genuinely impressed the first time she entered it, so she was reluctant to place anything crude in that space.

Tatsuro and Leah felt the same way. They'd worked so hard to make it beautiful - they weren't about to ruin it now.

"In that case, let's just build another room next to the basement. - Actually, wait. Will that device even function underground?"

Radio waves, fresh air - Tatsuro had always had some vague impression that underground spaces made it harder for things to flow in. It seemed like a natural enough question to him, but Leah, Leela, and Ishtar all looked at him with puzzled expressions that said, why would it not?

Apparently, World Force existed whether underground or underwater and flowed properly into basements as well. Come to think of it, the device's original placement had been underground too, and they'd just been talking about how World Force Reservoirs form in underwater ruins - he should have realized sooner.

"If there's no issue, then that settles it. Let's go with that plan. Can we do it tomorrow?"

"Yes. The sooner, the better."

"Then we start work first thing tomorrow morning."

***

The following day. They woke a little earlier than usual, ate breakfast, and got straight to work on the basement expansion.

That said, with Dragon Crystal Creation, magic, and Smithing Skills at their disposal, it was over in no time at all. The whole job amounted to adding a door leading deeper from the basement used for Transfer Magic and carving out one large room beyond it.

Since its only purpose was to house the Magical Liquid generator - a massive Magical Tool - there was no need for decorative touches. A plain, open space would do just fine. The room would rarely be visited by anyone other than Leah when she came for maintenance.

"Around here?"

"A little further in - yes, right there, please."

"Sure thing."

Following Leah’s guidance, Tatsuro retrieved the Magical Liquid generator from his Infinite Item Field and finished setting it up. After that, they installed a fairly large reservoir tank, and Leah lowered the multiple self-priming pumps she'd prepared in advance into it.

Next, the intake pumps were connected to the openings where piping would run through the walls. Then came the renovation work of routing Magical Liquid pipes throughout the interior of Cardina Castle to reach every room. Tasks like fitting a socket-like connector in each room and slightly modifying everyday Magical Tools so they could be plugged into those sockets were handled in parallel - which added some work - but even so, with Tatsuro and the others on the job, it was all wrapped up by midday.

"Could we also run one line to the outside? It would make outdoor experiments much easier."

"Sure, go ahead."

Lastly, a pipe roughly thirty centimeters in diameter was run a short distance out from the castle's front entrance. A valve was fitted to prevent leakage, and the end was set up so a hose could be attached afterward.

When needed, all one had to do was connect a hose to the valve, turn the handle, and Magical Liquid would flow right into it.

A hatch was then built over the valve to conceal it, sealed with both a physical key and a magic key, so that no one outside their circle could use it.

"I'll start it up now. Nana, once the Magical Liquid begins filling the reservoir, please start the pump."

"Of course~!"

With the infrastructure work complete, they immediately got to work bringing the Magical Liquid generator online. Leah checked over the adjustments she'd made for this castle specifically, confirmed there were no issues, and pressed the activation button with a tap.

The magic circle on the left-hand pan of the scale-like device began to glow, and as World Force was absorbed, it tilted slightly downward, drawing it inside. About three minutes later, Magical Liquid came gushing vigorously from the drainage channel on the right side, pouring in torrents into the reservoir.

Once a sufficient amount had accumulated, just as instructed, Nana activated the intake pump. The Magical Liquid was drawn upward and sent flowing into the pipes connected to every corner of the castle.

"Progress is good. The purity and quality of the Magical Liquid are both impressive. The pump is running without any issues, and it's circulating through the castle properly. This is going to make experiments so much more efficient."

"Glad to hear it."

For Tatsuro and the others, this meant they'd never again have to worry about swapping out Return Stones when they ran dry. Things were only going to get more convenient from here on out.

Six days later, in the morning.

Thanks to her steady training with the Gauntlets of Flight, Ai had grown reasonably comfortable with flying. Because of that, she was out exploring the territory from the air alongside Tatsuro, who had spread Tsukuyomi's Slime Wings, combining the excursion with further flight practice.

"Found anything promising?"

"Not yet."

Ai still wasn't ready to use flight in combat, but she could move forward smoothly enough, and she was using Far Sight to scan for a suitable location that matched their purpose.

That purpose being -

"We can't exactly build a cemetery in the front yard, after all. I thought I'd at least find somewhere decent for them, but nothing's turning up."

"Yeah."

Lucian's father and mother. The burial site for Belkerp and Lucy Tarant.

They had stained their hands with grave wrongdoing, yet there was still room for sympathy. Tatsuro had brought the bodies along with the intention of at least burying them together, the two of them who had loved each other - but between one thing and another, it had been put off for a little while.

He'd resolved not to let it drag on any longer and started searching, but nothing that felt right presented itself - just dense, untouched wilderness in every direction.

Just as he was beginning to feel half resigned to giving up, something caught the corner of Ai's eye.

"Stop, Tatsuro."

"Oh - did you find something?"

"Yeah. Over here, over here."

Still flying with her shoulders slightly raised - a habit she hadn't quite shaken - Ai glided smoothly toward what had caught her attention. Tatsuro kept his Detection Magic spread wide around them just in case and followed a little behind.

As they moved closer, the spot came into view with his naked eye.

"Is that... a mountain of bones?"

"Looks like it."

There, on a hilltop at the edge of a forest and a cliff, stood a pile of monster bones stacked nearly ten meters high. Perched atop it was a small humanoid magical beast, roughly a meter tall.

"Looks like it noticed us."

The magical beast had apparently spotted them as well. It rose sharply to its feet and fixed them with a sharp glare.

"It's fairly strong. Probably Boss Class. The hill has a nice view of the sea too - it might not be a bad idea to build the grave there and task that one with guarding it."

"So you're going to Tame it?"

"Yeah. I'll go have a one-on-one with it."

"Be careful."

"I will"

The two shared a kiss in midair before parting, and Tatsuro alone shot toward the small humanoid magical beast.