Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 46
46. Why Are You Evolving?
LV. 4 Lighthouse construction has been completed.
LV. 3 Spire construction has been completed.
By the time I returned from enjoying a hot spring bath with the spirits, all construction had finished.
The Lighthouse, unlike before when it was made of granite, now gleamed with steel plating. Its streamlined body was far more beautiful than the angular form it once held.
And needless to say, the brightness of its light had grown considerably stronger.
‘Let me see what’s become of the Spire.’
Externally, there wasn’t much visible change at first glance. But stepping inside, I found the Mana Stone running like an engine had grown substantially larger.
‘Back when it advanced to level 2, the only real change was the engine expanding too.’
Thanks to that, the Spirit Sensing had improved dramatically—I could now perceive the Exploration Team’s position far out in the Wasteland with remarkable clarity.
I wondered how much sharper it might be now that the Spire had reached level 3. I focused my mind on the team scattered deep in the Wasteland.
[…is goal! We’re going…!]
Suddenly, a familiar-sounding song drifted to my ears.
“Hmm?”
I looked around, but none of the spirits near me were singing.
On a hunch, I focused my mind back on the Exploration Team.
[…when we get back, I’m definitely confessing!]
[Confessing to who? About what?]
[Well, I’m just going to confess anyway!]
The playful voices drifting from afar, as if I were listening to a phone call, were unmistakably those of Sylphs.
‘So this is what they meant by the “Walkie-Talkie.”‘
On a whim, I opened my mouth while focusing my mind on the Exploration Team.
“Communications check?”
[Huh?]
[Wait?]
[That’s Jung Jin’s voice?]
Hearing the Sylphs’ bewildered responses, I knew my message had gotten through.
“It’s me. Is everyone moving well out there?”
[What? Did we just die?]
[Did we all die while fighting with the Wyvern a moment ago?]
[I kept telling you to stop setting off flags!]
Inside the Spirit Fortress or outside it, the Sylphs were always the same—and their easy-going stubbornness was always reassuring to me.
“It’s a newly added feature on the Spire.”
[Oh? Really?]
[Nice! Our exploration squad has successfully rescued the spirits and is returning to base, sir!]
“Good. Take your time coming back, and be careful.”
[Yes, sir!]
“And try not to set off so many flags.”
[Aye-aye! Got it! See you soon!]
It wasn’t a long conversation, but it lifted my spirits considerably.
Having only the Sylphs ranging across the world had weighed heavily on me, and now I felt as though I’d set down some of that burden. Though truthfully, all I’d done was speak a few words.
‘With this feature, I should be able to communicate smoothly with Undine and the others working at the Laundromat.’
I’d planned to go to the Laundromat every day for about a week, but after that, I’d only shuttle them there during commute hours and leave Undine and the Guardian Gnomes to run it alone.
A coin laundromat was supposed to operate unmanned after all.
‘With this, I’ve cleared all but one condition for the level 10 expansion.’
┼ LV. 10 Expansion Conditions (2/3)
└ 1. Sledding Course LV. 1 (1/1)
└ 2. Spire LV. 3 (1/1)
└ 3. Spirits (76/100)
Now it was just a matter of waiting for the spirit count to fill up.
I dragged my exhausted body back toward the main fortress. Having applied myself with such service spirit, the exhaustion that washed over me was overwhelming.
As I lay on the bed surrendering to the drowsy fatigue, something struck me as different from usual.
‘The spirits aren’t squabbling today?’
Those creatures who always bickered over sleeping at my side were unusually quiet. Lifting my head to look, I found the spirits had already settled into their respective spots and were ready for sleep.
As I examined this surprising peace, one unusual detail caught my eye: the spirits who’d spent the whole day with me in the fortress were now sleeping on my bed—draped across my abdomen and chest.
[Tee-hee!]
One Undine whose eyes met mine waved a small hand. It was the diligent Undine who’d done the most laundry today.
[Yaaawn…! Sweet dreams!]
Then, with a perfectly content expression and just a hint of triumph glinting across her face, she rested her head on my abdomen and fell asleep.
‘Hmm.’
I could sense something in their exchange, but I decided to let it go. Spirits had their own order, after all.
* * *
The next morning.
I woke from bed in a good mood.
[Snore-.]
[Wheeze-.]
[Drone-.]
I lay listening to the spirits’ collective snoring and gazed out the window at the pale light breaking over the horizon. As always, it was a refreshing morning untouched by fatigue.
‘There’s definitely something about spirits that lets them sleep so deeply.’
I suspected it was the Gnomes. Surely that phytoncide-like quality belonged to the earth spirits.
I closed my eyes and savored the pleasant drowsiness that comes right after waking. There was no danger of falling back asleep.
[It is time to rise.]
I had a butler nearly as useful as an alarm clock.
The white-haired Undine, no less.
Ever since she’d begun wearing a butler’s uniform recently, the white-haired Undine had become a proper, earnest butler—quite different from the previous Undines who were butlers only in name.
For a start, the fact that she was awake at this hour was a mark of competence.
As I sat up, the spirits sleeping atop me tumbled and rolled off the bed.
[Mmm….]
[Nngh….]
Seeking warmth, the spirits grasped at empty air, their hands fumbling. Once I nestled them together, they clung to one another and drifted back to sleep.
“Thanks for waking me up today too.”
[It is my pleasure.]
The white-haired Undine, whose manner of speech had turned butler-like as well, hurried out of the room with quick, efficient steps.
I changed into training clothes and came outside the fortress to warm up, and Jung Jin soon emerged with a yawn stretching across his face.
“Did the butler wake you?”
“Yeah. Butler Undine woke me.”
Butler Undine.
It’s a fitting name. I should call her that from now on too.
After a light morning run with Jung Jin, I returned to find Butler Undine had already roused all the other spirits and seated them at the breakfast table.
[This morning we have egg-soaked toast, crisped bacon, and broccoli.]
Butler Undine could even prepare breakfast. It seemed that after living so long, she had some experience with cooking.
“Thank you. I’ll eat well today too.”
[I shall inform the Chef as well.]
The Chef was the Salamander who had arrived recently. I picked up my chopsticks and took a bite of the egg toast that Salamander had cooked to perfection.
“Mmm.”
A sigh escaped unbidden at the taste.
Before it even reached my teeth, the crispy exterior shattered on my tongue, and with a single bite the pleasant crispness struck my brain with force.
What followed was the soft interior bread, warm and savory with egg flavor—without a trace of exaggeration, the finest egg toast of my life.
‘Fire spirits really are the ultimate chefs.’
How had I not realized this until now? Salamanders, being fire spirits, could be nothing but masters of cooking.
‘Any shop that uses a fire spirit will end up being a place where food gets grilled.’
While I was planning my next shop, the spirits were filling their bellies as well.
The Gnomes sliced their toast thin and ate it with various jams, blueberries, and cranberries on the side. The Undines selected from the various juices and milk stored in six beverage dispensers and drank their fill.
“Phew, that was delicious.”
Once the meal ended, Butler Undine stepped into action once more, forming several enormous hands of water and whisking away all the dishes at once.
It was indeed Water Control befitting an Intermediate Spirit.
[Wow.]
The Guardian watched the display with sparkling eyes.
Satisfied and full, I stepped outside the fortress with the spirits.
“All right, we’ve eaten breakfast—let’s get to work?”
[Let’s work!]
[Work hard today too!]
[Those who eat must also labor!]
The spirits each cheered and headed to their posts.
Jung Jin went into his room to finish editing videos, while I walked through the Spirit Fortress to oversee the spirits’ duties.
[Excellent!]
“Now that’s fine Mana Ore. You did a great job.”
I praised the Gnomes as I looked over the ore cart they’d brought out.
[Look at this!]
“Those Atergue Fruits are record-sized, aren’t they? Undine really does have a gift for growing herbs.”
[Tee-hee!]
I didn’t spare praise for the Atergue Fruits that Undine was cultivating.
Next, I made my way to the Water Source.
At the Water Source, Guardian was extracting Mana Water, but the method differed slightly from usual.
[Unngh…!]
Guardian stood upon the water, drawing up Spirit Power.
At the sight of him using Spirit Power instead of his built-in filter, I paused to watch Guardian’s work for a moment.
Splash-splash.
Several strands of Mana Water drawn from the Water Source collected in a nearby vessel.
The efficiency was only half what the usual method produced. Yet it seemed twice as taxing—Guardian wiped the sweat from his brow.
[Whew!]
Only then did he notice my presence and jump in surprise.
[Oh! You were watching?]
“You’ve changed your method.”
[Yes! I want to grow too!]
I quickly grasped what drove Guardian’s growth. Now that I thought about it, every time I saw Undine lately, she gazed at me with such yearning—children truly did grow by watching their elders.
[Your manner of speaking is wonderful!]
Undine had refined even her speech patterns to become the perfect butler. If Guardian changed his manner of speaking, I thought I might miss it a little, but I decided to encourage his growth.
“Work hard at it. Then you’ll surely bear fruit.”
[Okay!]
With affection, I patted Guardian’s head. He was twisting his body in delight when—
[Something terrible has happened!]
One of the Undines came rushing toward me.
The one I’d been thinking of calling the Gardener Undine.
[The Spirit Forest! The Spirit Forest…!]
Undine’s expression looked ready to break into tears at any moment.
Something terrible had clearly occurred.
* * *
The Spirit Forest bore a circular bald patch.
“What in the…”
Centered on the heart of the Spirit Forest, saplings had been uprooted and vanished in a perfect circle. The trees had grown considerably in the past few days, making this a spot you wouldn’t notice unless you paid careful attention to the innermost reaches.
“This is where I planted the Thousand Year Tree.”
At the center of the Spirit Forest, ten-odd trees—including the Thousand Year Tree sapling—had vanished from their place. In the barren space, only the leaves of a Mandrake jutted up abruptly.
In that instant, a conversation with the Golden Fortress flashed through my mind.
— The Mandrake possesses a nature of growing by consuming surrounding plants.
It was the moment I exhaled sharply and pressed my palm to my forehead.
The Mandrake is evolving.
……?
I rubbed my eyes and checked the notification window once more. But the text in the notification window remained unchanged.
‘Why are you evolving all of a sudden?’
But the notification window didn’t end there.
A Hidden Condition has been fulfilled.
A new Terrain Formation is being created within the Special Zone Territory.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—!
The Spirit Fortress began to shake.
“Why are you evolving?! You’re neither a spirit nor a building!”
Today, too, the Spirit Fortress was wonderfully dramatic.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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