The Wonders of Nature

"Master, I’ve brought water, yes."

Oliga appeared, swaying slightly under the weight of the water jug.

The jug itself was DORECA-made, but the water inside came from nature—too heavy for Oliga to carry easily.

"Be careful."

"I’m fine—yip!"

She tripped over a pebble on the ground and fell, spilling water everywhere. It soaked into the cave floor, spreading in dark stains.

"There you go, clumsy as ever."

I pulled her up by the hand.

Her dress, once a bright green, was now splattered with mud.

"Are you hurt? Did you scrape your knee?"

"Nothing at all, I’m fine."

She said it bravely, but her knees—still pristine—were already raw, blood seeping through the fabric.

"Here, take this."

"Sorry…"

"Don’t worry about it. Go refill the jug. This time, take it slow."

"Yes!"

Oliga dashed off.

She’d barely stopped when she was back with a jug full of water again.

Of course, the little one, Oliga, was struggling, swaying like a sapling in the wind.

And then she nearly fell again.

“Tired, huh?”

I’d already anticipated it, so I moved first, catching the jug just before she toppled.

Oliga didn’t even notice—just a slight wobble, that’s all, and I caught her.

“Put that over there, into the magic circle.”

“Yes!”

She poured the water into the circle. The spring was complete.

A spring that bubbled up underground, lasting forever.

Water kept welling up, spilling over. The overflow followed a trench dug in advance, flowing steadily to the far corner of the room.

There was a hole at the end, and the spilled water collected there.

I went over and applied another magic circle from DORECA.

A glowing arrow shot out from the circle, pointing straight at the pocket of Oliga’s clothes.

“Put it in there.”

“Got it!”

What she was holding was a mineral called Zunka.

Something I’ve been using a lot lately.

When she placed it in, the magic circle shrank into a small black lump and fell to the bottom of the hole.

The water touching the black lump vanished without a sound, leaving no trace.

"Master... what exactly is this, I wonder?"

"A deletion device. Also known as an eraser. DORECA—a tool that only erases things from slave cards."

"Whoa! With this, trash is totally fine, right?"

"You can erase it, sure—but this thing has a fixed processing capacity per unit time. Too much, and it can’t keep up. See? The water’s still slowly piling up, isn’t it?"

"Oh... really, it is."

"Which is why—menu open."

She pulled out DORECA and pasted another magic circle.

With two, the water would stop accumulating.

The glowing arrow on the magic circle pointed not at Oliga, but somewhere else.

"Bring another Zunka."

"Yes!"

Oliga trudging forward, step by step.

Even children work just as hard as ever, slaves of the Eternal Servitude.

After watching her go, I—

I spoke to Rirya, who’d been clinging to my back since earlier.

She clung tight. Her upper body warm like a human’s, her lower half cool and scaly—odd, but familiar.

“Still not done?”

“Sorry, messenger-sama… still not done.”

“Hmph. Takes this long, does it?”

“My mother said it took ten days.”

“Ten days!? That’s amazing.”

I’m stunned.

Actually, this is the process of giving birth.

Rirya’s kind… they wrap around a male’s body, draw energy from where skin touches skin, and use it to make a child.

At first, I thought, “How the hell does that work with a snake’s lower half?” But now it seems… somehow, it works. I’m relieved.

The drain on my life force makes me feel sluggish—“Ah, so that’s what it’s like,” I realize, half-awake.

“From what I’ve heard, people with weak vitality can’t replenish it on their own. So they start by eating someone else to make up for it.”

“Eating!? Wait, wait, I didn’t hear that!”

“It’s fine! I’m sure the envoy will have enough! And… uh…”

“And…?”

Rirya’s face turned bright red. She twisted her fingers together, fidgeting.

“…I couldn’t possibly eat the envoy…”

“Is that so.”

I nod.

After saying it, she clings to me even tighter.

With her appearance, it’s like I’m being squeezed by a snake.

I think again.

Her form—well, it’s just like natural snake mating. I suppose.

Snakes, generally speaking, are animals that stay entwined for days on end once they’ve locked together. Some species even end up with the female eating the male after mating—like praying mantises.

That’s the same as her lower body, I thought. So that’s how it works.

“Ah… um… Ambassador-sama…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Um… well… eee…”

After fidgeting awkwardly, Rirya kissed my cheek.

Then she turned the color of boiled octopus, ducking behind my back.

“Rirya.”

“T-That way… it’s a little… faster…”

“Is that so?”

Hard to tell if she’s telling the truth or just making up excuses.

She’s so flustered it sounds like she’s trying to justify it.

But either way.

She seems to want it.

“Rirya.”

“…Yes?”

“Show your face.”

“But…”

“Just do it.”

“…Yes…”

I tilted my head and quickly kissed her, her face emerging like the sun from behind the heavenly rock.

“Ah—ahh, ahahahaha—”

“Ahahahah!”

She went into even greater panic, her eyes sparkling as she locked onto Oliga, who’d just returned.

She buried herself even deeper into my back.