Chapter 23

Water (1)

Had I underestimated the wilderness, or had I simply been too optimistic?

The moment I saw the ticks crawling between the teeth of the comb, I realized something.

When it came to hygiene, the wilderness was far more dangerous than I had imagined.

To properly maintain cleanliness, I needed to secure a large amount of water somehow.

'Does water have some kind of personal grudge against me?'

In any case, washing Wonmo clean came first.

I should probably take a bath while I was at it.

It was fortunate that I had been wearing clothes. Otherwise, I would almost certainly have been bitten by ticks too.

First, I wanted to thank PraiseTheSun and ask for advice.

Wild Grylls: Holy crap... What are all these ticks? Things could've gone seriously wrong if I'd ignored them.

PraiseTheSun: At least you noticed now. Washing him with hot water should do the trick.

Wild Grylls: I'm in an environment where getting water is difficult.

PraiseTheSun: Then apply insect repellent to your body. A hot bath would still be the best solution, though.

According to PraiseTheSun, an owlbear's hide was too thick for ticks to cause it much harm.

The real problem was me, since my skin was comparatively thin and I was constantly beside him.

I took off my clothes, shook them out thoroughly, and applied insect repellent all over my body.

Fortunately, I didn't find any ticks on myself.

'I need to start wearing long pants.'

The uniform PrincessChaenggu had given me only had long sleeves.

For the time being, I would have to rely on insect repellent.

'No wonder people in survival documentaries always cover their entire bodies.'

Thanks to this, I finally understood the importance of proper clothing.

Long sleeves and long pants were essential.

After carefully applying the repellent without missing a single spot, I looked at Wonmo.

He was still sleeping soundly, completely unaware of what had happened.

'Right. It's not your fault.'

I changed my clothes and thought things over.

Water had become even more urgent than before.

Unfortunately, the golden poison frogs had firmly occupied the creek, making things difficult.

Still, the creek was the closest water source, so abandoning it would be a waste.

'Should I dig a water channel instead? It's not that far away.'

It wasn't a bad option.

The only downside was the physical labor involved.

As I had mentioned before, the creek wasn't very far from the cave, so perhaps it wouldn't be that difficult.

However, I had no idea how to dig a proper channel, so I would need advice.

***

Title: Dwarf, Help Me

Wild Grylls

I'm thinking of digging a water channel. Give me some advice.

Passing Dwarf: For free?

Wild Grylls: Want one of the frogs? They're expensive.

Passing Dwarf: I was joking. LOL.

More than anything else, I was concerned that the water might become contaminated.

There was a limit to how much joking one person should do.

Suddenly, I became curious about his age.

Considering how knowledgeable he was, he probably wasn't young.

Yet he behaved like someone who had never fully grown up.

Passing Dwarf: Are you planning to live there permanently?

Wild Grylls: Not really, but getting water is too difficult. Those frogs are making it a nightmare.

Passing Dwarf: If you're not settling there permanently, don't dig a channel. The workload is insane.

Wild Grylls: Is it really that bad?

Passing Dwarf: Yeah. And if you can't prevent erosion, you'll end up with nothing but filthy water. Better not to do it.

Erosion was that phenomenon, wasn't it?

The process where rock was gradually worn away by various factors.

There was no need to explain what would happen to soil, which was far softer than rock.

Wild Grylls: Then is there no other way?

Passing Dwarf: Roughly how far away is the creek?

Wild Grylls: About ten to twelve minutes on foot?

Passing Dwarf: At that distance, it'd be better to carry the water yourself.

Wild Grylls: So I can get eaten by a snake on the way? LOL.

Passing Dwarf: Hey. Wait, wait, wait.

He's suddenly desperate. LOL.

He can't even drink water freely. LOL.

Nothing is ever easy for him. LOL.

It wasn't as though I hadn't considered carrying the water myself.

But I had no idea what dangers I might encounter along the way, and drawing the water itself would be difficult.

The moment I put my hand into the creek, golden poison frogs would come swarming out.

As though I could casually collect water under those conditions.

I had hands and a functioning brain too.

But this was the wilderness.

A single mistake could cost me my life, so I had no choice but to prioritize safety as much as possible.

Passing Dwarf: There is one method, but you'll have to build something. You okay with that?

Wild Grylls: Yeah. That's fine.

Passing Dwarf: First, where is the creek relative to you? Uphill or downhill?

Wild Grylls: I have to go uphill to reach it.

Passing Dwarf: Oh. Then this should be easy. It might be expensive, though. Is that okay?

Wild Grylls: Could it possibly cost more than my life?

Passing Dwarf: Good. I'll make a post soon.

Starlight Princess.

A familiar named user who had gone silent for some time.

I had been worried that something might have happened to her, so seeing the message immediately put me at ease.

[Wild Grylls: Starlight Princess? Is that really you?]

[Starlight Princess: Hello, Mr. Grylls! Yes! It's really me!]

Passing Dwarf had said he would post an explanation, so I only needed to wait patiently.

At the same time, I felt uneasy.

If the method was complicated enough to require an entire post, it must involve a fair amount of work.

Would I really be able to secure a stable water supply?

Water always seemed to become an obstacle for me.

[Starlight Princess has requested a trade. Would you like to accept?]

"Huh?"

I had been absentmindedly browsing the Gallery when the notification appeared.

My eyes widened as I stared at the message.

Even through the text, I could feel her cheerful energy.

Once a Gallery nickname was chosen, it could never be changed.

That meant the person requesting the trade truly was Starlight Princess.

With a broad smile, I sent her a reply.

[Wild Grylls: Have you fully recovered?]

[Starlight Princess: Yes! Thanks to the gift you gave me, I made a complete recovery! Thank you so much!]

I was relieved to hear she had recovered.

I had been deeply worried that something had happened to her.

There would be no need to worry about that anymore.

Her incurable illness had been cured.

[Wild Grylls: That's wonderful. Congratulations.]

[Starlight Princess: It's all thanks to you, Mr. Grylls. I couldn't post anything because I was undergoing medical examinations...]

I could roughly understand what had happened.

After finally obtaining the health she had longed for so desperately, she must have wanted to undergo a thorough examination.

The fact that she had returned after only a day meant she was almost certainly fully cured.

[Starlight Princess: Yes. Honestly, I feel like running around right now. Unfortunately, my parents won't allow it.]

[Wild Grylls: They're worried about you, so don't push yourself too hard.]

[Starlight Princess: I think this every time we speak, but you truly are a kind person, Mr. Grylls. People like you are rare in the Gallery.]

I tilted my head when she called me kind.

People seemed to say that about me surprisingly often.

Considering the Gallery's culture, perhaps it was true.

'I'm not really sure.'

Maybe it simply meant that this world was so terrible that basic decency stood out.

Given the era, human rights were probably treated like something to be chewed up and spat out.

Combine that with the Gallery's uniquely unhealthy culture, and there was no need for further explanation.

[Starlight Princess has registered an item for trade.]

[Starlight Princess: This is the elixir I mentioned before. I kept only enough for emergencies and sent you the rest, so there should be plenty.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you so much. You're not feeling any discomfort, are you?]

[Wild Grylls: Helping someone else ultimately means helping yourself. And you're kind too, aren't you? You could've simply ignored your promise, yet you still repaid me like this.]

[Starlight Princess: Those are wise words. Do you still wish to leave the Forest of Four Seasons?]

[Wild Grylls: Yes. I want to leave immediately.]

[Starlight Princess: I may not be able to do much, but I'll help you find a way out. I might not look it, but I'm rather intelligent.]

[Wild Grylls: Or you could just come here instead?]

[Starlight Princess: Ah. That's a little... haha.]

[Wild Grylls: LOL.]

The words had slipped out automatically.

It definitely wasn't because I was a hopelessly doting owner.

Wonmo really was that cute.

Of course, I had only been joking.

Who would tell someone who had been at death's door just yesterday to come to a place where they would almost certainly die?

I had heard that no one who entered the Forest of Four Seasons had ever escaped.

That was why it was easier to treat Starlight Princess's promise as comfort rather than something she genuinely intended to accomplish.

[Starlight Princess: Oh! That reminds me, I saw the owlbear photos.]

[Wild Grylls: Cute, isn't he?]

[Starlight Princess: Yes. But the name is a little... questionable. Wonmo? What kind of name is Wonmo?]

[Wild Grylls: Did you have another name in mind, Lady Starlight?]

[Starlight Princess: Since it means a healthy child...]

Starlight Princess paused for a moment before revealing the name she had thought of.

[Starlight Princess: Gym Newbie. How does Gym Newbie sound?]

[Wild Grylls: Oh...]

It sounded like the kind of name that would eventually evolve into Gym Maniac.

How could every single named user have such terrible naming sense?

The more I thought about it, the more Fluffy seemed like the best name by far.

[Wild Grylls: I think I'll have to keep calling him Wonmo for now. They held a vote without even telling me.]

[Starlight Princess: Can't you just ignore it?]

[Wild Grylls: The Heavenly Demon chose the name, so it's hard to dismiss it so casually.]

She was one of the named users who had helped me, and the Heavenly Demon herself had personally chosen it.

I couldn't simply ignore that.

If she became disappointed and distanced herself from me, I would be the one losing out.

Starlight Princess seemed to understand that as well. Though she complained, she ultimately accepted it.

[Starlight Princess: That's a shame. So what are you going to do now?]

[Wild Grylls: I'll probably work on drawing water from the creek. The dwarf said he'd upload a post explaining how soon.]

[Starlight Princess: I see. If you ever need help, please tell me. I'll be waiting.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you.]

[Starlight Princess: Good luck!]

Our conversation ended there.

I felt both warmth and bitterness at the same time.

I was happy that Starlight Princess had fully recovered, but nothing had changed for me.

Unless I escaped this hellish place, living an ordinary life was out of the question.

'I can escape... right?'

It was a thought that crossed my mind every day.

Could I really leave the Forest of Four Seasons?

If dangerous plants and animals were the only problem, perhaps I could somehow fight my way out.

But the forest's greatest danger was that space itself changed constantly.

Getting lost was dangerous enough, yet even the terrain shifted unpredictably.

The thought alone was overwhelming.

'As for the elixirs... Whoa. She gave me seven?'

Starlight Princess had sent me seven elixirs in total.

Judging by their different colors, they seemed to be of different grades.

I had heard that paler colors indicated lower quality, so sorting them was easy enough.

'Wonmo might break them. I should hide these.'

I stored the elixirs inside the box Passing Dwarf had previously given me.

Just in case Wonmo went rummaging through it, I pushed the box into the farthest corner of the cave.

'Come to think of it, did the dwarf upload his post?'

Next, I checked whether Passing Dwarf had posted his explanation.

After refreshing the Gallery a few times, his post finally appeared.

***

Title: Grylls, Read This

Passing Dwarf

(A rough drawing showing how to draw water from a stream.)

(A photo of a natural-rubber hose.)

(A photo of a valve.)

Set it up like the drawing above.

Suck on the end of each hose until the water starts flowing.

Oh, and don't lie down while sucking on it. Stay upright. The pressure difference will make the water gush out.

Attach a valve to the final hose so you can open and close it.

Understand?

Wild Grylls: I get the general idea, but what's that mesh for? Filtering impurities?

Passing Dwarf: Yeah. You're surprisingly quick.

Wild Grylls: Of course. I understand things instantly. LOL.

Passing Dwarf: Now I suddenly don't want to give it to you.

Wild Grylls: I am a complete idiot.

That attitude changed fast. LOL.

Watching these two interact never stops being funny.

You two get along well. LOL.

Passing Dwarf: Anyway, connect the hoses properly and maintain the correct slope. Then it won't be difficult.

Wild Grylls: You said it would be expensive. Is the hose the costly part?

Passing Dwarf: Yeah. It's made of rubber, so it's ridiculously expensive.

Rubber is expensive?

The question crossed my mind, but the answer soon became obvious.

Judging from what I had read in the Gallery, factories had only recently begun operating in this world.

Apparently, there were also locomotives powered by mana, though they weren't commonly used.

'They said people usually just use warp gates, right?'

It was fitting for a fantasy world.

Sports such as football and baseball were widely developed, yet science seemed slightly behind.

Still, it made sense if magic filled the role of science.

Warp gates were expensive, so I had heard that commoners used locomotives instead.

'The uniform PrincessChaenggu gave me must be incredibly expensive too.'

Considering what it was made of, that was only natural.

After listening to Passing Dwarf's various explanations, I asked the question that mattered most.

But then another problem arose.

The Gallery's trading rules.

Once a user completed a trade, they couldn't trade again for twenty-four hours.

Passing Dwarf had traded with someone after noon yesterday, which meant he couldn't directly trade with me yet.

Passing Dwarf: I can list it as an instant-purchase item at the auction house, but I'll put it up for 1,100 gold. Is that okay?

Wild Grylls: Just list it.

Passing Dwarf: LOL.

Wild Grylls: Then how much is it actually worth?

Passing Dwarf: If I'm giving you a discount, around 500 gold total. That's including the processed rubber and the valve.

Five hundred gold was definitely expensive.

Still, I had money left from what Allfather had paid me.

It made my blood run cold, but there was no helping it.

Water was urgently needed.

This was no time to worry about money.

I might compare prices for a barricade or fence, but not for water.

I immediately opened the auction house and checked the item Passing Dwarf had listed.

[Title: Grylls Is an Idiot]

[Price: 1,100 Gold]

"This bastard."

I'd remember this.

I let out a hollow laugh and bought it.

Someone else could theoretically snatch it first, but the price was so absurdly high that nobody would.

Even if someone did, I could simply buy another one from the dwarf.

"Now that everything's ready..."

It was time to go get water.

As a precaution, I equipped both my sword and shield.

I slung the tightly rolled hose over my shoulder.

All that remained was the work itself.

'As soon as I get the water, I'll wash Wonmo first.'

I looked at Wonmo, who was sleeping peacefully.

What if he woke up while I was gone?

Would he come outside looking for me?

That would be extremely dangerous.

'I need to finish as quickly as possible.'

It was time to put my practical skills to the test.