246: Gotta say, I’d rather put off the trouble for now.

Maina mutters beside me, riding my horse.

“Beautiful…”

Before us, a massive waterfall roars, spray flaring into the air.

The noise is deafening—but strangely, not unpleasant. If anything, it feels like the vibrations are healing my body.

Evah, riding the two-legged bird with Nobuna, scans the surroundings.

Since we entered the mountains, we’ve given up on dragging the supply wagon. Now we’re all riding two to a mount. That’s why Persia’s been in her element all along…

Evah steps down from the bird and scoops up some soil around the waterfall’s basin.

“Plants grow here, a little. Definitely rich in nutrients. This altitude’s thin on oxygen—so whatever’s growing here must be tough.”

This area was already one even Kyle’s father couldn’t approach on a wyvern.

Even more, it sat right in the middle of the exploration zone.

So, with a massive waterfall rich in nutrients right there, it’s only logical to think it’s tied to the alchemist’s hidden village we’re after.

The spray’s thick enough to drown in, but there’s flat ground—so we’re staying here for the night.

Persia’s Teyasaki, riding in the carriage… well, more like forced into it, Jabir the teacher collapsed onto the ground, utterly spent.

“Uuuuh… I just want to go back and punch my past self—had I thought riding with a beast rider was safest….”

He rose slowly, swaying like a ghost, then drifted into the lodging caravan.

Right, when we gave up on the wagon ride, the teacher was the first to volunteer to ride with Persia. If I’d known how useless he usually is, I’d’ve been a little more careful…

Opposite him, Jitarou’s full of energy.

“Uhhoo! This is awesome! Can’t see the top at all!”

He’s bouncing up and down, staring up at the waterfall. Yeah, no idea how high it is.

“Jitarou, Camille. You think there’s a hidden village around here?”

I call out to the two on the pony’s Super Jet.

““Behind the waterfall!””

Their voices overlap—just the first half.

“Right! Hidden treasure, secret caves—of course it’s behind the waterfall!”

I can’t help getting excited, too. The two nod at me, satisfied.

“Craft knows. The waterfall’s got romance.”

“Treasure from pirates? Classic.”

“…Though, pirates in the middle of nowhere? Doubt it.”

Three of us, buzzing with energy, watched calmly by those sharp, unblinking eyes.

Leifan.

“Jitarou’s one thing, but Craft—you’re still just a kid. Let’s get dinner ready.”

Marilyn.

“Boys being like that? So cute, don’t you think?”

Nobuna.

“Hmph. Yeah, still just kids.”

Chiyome.

“Nobuna-sama, you don’t have to push yourself. Just join us, okay?”

Persia.

“Maina-sama, please rest here!”

Maina.

“U… uuu…”

Ryuko.

“Maina-sama. I understand you want to join in. But you should rest. Let me brew some tea.”

Ririririly.

“Reaching my limit… Why’s everyone so energetic? Uuu… my plan to charm Craft-sama… ugh…!”

A few people seemed eager to join us, but I pretended not to notice. The three of us marched toward the waterfall with high spirits.

Dooooo—dooooo—dooooo—dooooo—

We got swept away.

No, I didn’t expect to get caught in the current just from my clothes brushing the waterfall, then flung straight into the deep heart of the pool.

The water pressure was insane—my lungs collapsed in an instant, the air crushed out of them.

No strength in my limbs. Spun around at the bottom of the basin, my vision blurring. The last thing I saw was Nobuna and Chiyome, both in swimsuits.

“Hachoo!”

Me and Jitarou. And Camille. We all sneezed violently.

All three of us wrapped in blankets, shivering by the fire.

Leifan and Chiyome, wrapped in swimsuits and blankets, huddled by the fire—no sign of chills like us, who’d swallowed water straight into our lungs.

Leifan, still flustered from cooking and not catching on, finally listened to my story and the others’ reactions, then let out a dry, exasperated sigh.

“So basically, you just ran toward the waterfall screaming ‘Waaah!’ and got sucked in by the current. Drowned right there. Nobuna and Chiyome saw it, pulled you out. …I mean, why were both of them even in swimwear?”

Nobuna tilted her head toward the puddle.

“Just came here to swim and train in the water.”

Chiyome shot us a look.

“Felt something weird was gonna happen, I swear.”

Yeah! Sorry for being such a kid!

Now that I think back, I was totally a brat—can’t even look myself in the eye.

There’s gotta be a passage behind the waterfall!—and yet here we are, trying to squeeze into a crack in the rocks with no foothold at all. We’re the ones being stupid.

Then Eva piled on.

“Scanned the area with every magic I could think of. No hidden passages. No hollows. Nothing. Since we’re looking for the alchemist’s village, it might be concealed by some special method….”

She added that last bit like she was following us the whole way!

Yeah. That face. The one that says “I’m 100% sure there’s nothing here.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible…

Eva went on, apologetic.

“Still, I think it’s probably above the waterfall.”

Leifan nodded.

“Yeah.”

Yeah! I knew that! If there’s nothing down here, it’s gotta be up top! Simple logic! Damn it!

Besides—there’s not even a shadow of the World Tree here!

Everyone’s quiet about it, but I bet they’re all imagining what’s down there, just from hearing about nourishing water veins. There’s gotta be the World Tree we’re all chasing.

But right now, it’s just convenient daydreaming—no more than that. Say it out loud, and you’re admitting you’re hoping. Think about what happens if there’s nothing there, and you can’t bring yourself to say it out loud. Probably everyone else feels the same.

So maybe we should actually be glad this place isn’t the end.

…But.

“How the hell are we gonna climb this height…?”

The upper reaches of the waterfall are hidden behind clouds. You can’t see how far it goes. Can’t even picture it.

“How high the hell is this mountain range supposed to be, damn it?”

Then Persia showed up.

“Just climb the cliff edge like we’ve been doing. Can’t scale straight up, so it’ll be a long detour—but that’s all we can do!”

I knew it was the safest bet. But I didn’t want to say it out loud! Once you say it, it’s set in stone!

Looking for an easier way up!

…….

No one said a thing. If anything, they were pushing me to fix it with alchemy.

Damn it, my imagination’s too weak to come up with anything useful.

I treated this spot like a final rest. Stayed here two nights, relaxed. In the meantime, I actually did a proper sweep with Jitarou and Camille. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then, back to the hellish climb.

Well, mostly I was just riding Persia’s horse under her command… Honestly, I can’t even tell if this is easy or hard anymore, but the journey itself was going smoothly.

Finally. At long last. After all that.

We made it to the top of the great waterfall.

There was a village there.

Pretty wide area, wouldn’t you say? Gotta hand it to whoever built a village up here at this altitude.

The only problem? That it *was* a village.

Meaning…

“Looks like a ruin.”

A ruin, too—one that’s been utterly flattened. You can still make out the remains of foundations here and there, enough to guess what kind of structures used to stand here.

A deep river ran straight through the center of the village, feeding the waterfall above.

Downstream, of course, it poured into the great fall. But judging by the volume of the waterfall, the river alone couldn’t explain it. Probably some underground system mixed in—maybe even magic at work.

Upstream, the river led into the back of the village, where sheer cliffs loomed. Naturally, the water fell here too, plunging into the river. The flow was normal, nothing crazy. Just… the spray’s a little bigger than usual. That’s bothering me a bit.

Feels like another cliff, but this time we can see the end. Not even two hundred meters.

Put it plainly—top layer of a twenty-tier cake. The tiniest base on top.

We’re all looking up at the upper part of the waterfall. Same thoughts.

“…It’s there.”

“Can’t see it, but it’s there.”

“Definitely there!”

“Sensing it. Something’s up there!”

“Can’t wait!”

“Finally seeing the end, huh?”

“Uh… first, we check this ruined spot… you listening?!”

“Again… a cliff…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you through safe this time!”

“Logically, it should be there.”

“If it’s not, I’ll laugh. But it’s gotta be.”

“Not funny at all.”

“Time to start dinner.”

……Same thought, all of us!

Yeah!

There’s the World Tree ahead!

Leifan spins around.

"Craft. Set up the overnight wagon here. And get the ingredients too."

"Ah, yes."

"Let’s rest easy today. Tomorrow we can explore this ruin, right?"

"I think so."

"Oh, Jitarou, Camille, and Chiyome—just do a safety check, okay?"

"Got it!"

"Leave it to us."

"Understood."

The party members go through their established routine, calm and matter-of-fact.

More than the sadness of the alchemist village being a ruin, or the joy—real or imagined—of finding the World Tree, they choose the everyday.

"Um, well, being with you, Craft, I’m always getting startled. I’ve gotten used to it. Once things get clearer, though, it’ll probably be different again."

"O-oh."

Huh?!

Is this my fault!?

Staring blankly, unable to accept it, a loud shout from the direction of the waterfall reached me.

"Figures! This is a hot spring! It was originally an open-air bath!"

"I smelled sulfur faintly, so I thought it might be something like that."

"It's hard to tell now, ruined as it is, but it's definitely safe to say it was a hot spring facility originally."

"Everyone should get in together!"

Listening to Nobuna and Chiyome’s cheerful chatter, I finally got it—those falls were a hot spring all along.

I managed to spot what looked like a mountain peak, but it was oddly smoky for its height.

Everyone’s doing their own thing, no surprise.

We’d reached what looked like a destination, and everyone was free to do whatever they wanted. There was a reason for that.

Two things we’d rather not face.

One was the fact that the village looked like ruins.

Well, whatever. That happens sometimes.

I wanted to meet a truly great alchemist, but that’s just life.

If we find the World Tree—the main goal—then the mission’s clear.

The problem’s the other one.

Upstream past the waterfall, from deep within the last foundation, barely audible… a beast’s roar.

Yeah. Distance-wise, that’s an insane volume.

And even though it’s just faint… you can still feel its unimaginable power.

So something’s there. Something bad.

Someone probably noticed. No, some people absolutely did!

Everyone! Don’t look away!

We’re gonna have to fight it, no matter what!

Jitarou speaking over his shoulder while setting up the tent.

“So we should wrap up rest and scouting before that happens, right?”

“Huh. I see.”

Meaning it wasn’t my doing that everyone stayed calm! I’m a real jerk!

“That’s not the point, is it?”

“Shut up!”

And so, we arrived at the alchemist’s village.

"Keep your eyes off the monsters—let’s start with a break."

"…Is that really okay?"