We all lined up and headed out. Ansem, who had been in the open air for a long time because he couldn't find a house to enter (he's used to it, by the way), joined us, and we headed toward the planned hot spring drilling site, with Citri leading the way.

Tino looked at me with a somewhat unsettled expression.
This time, Tino was not the only member of the Ghosts of Sorrows, but he had been with the party many times before. We all know each other.

'And, by the way, ...... Masutaka, ...... how do you dig a hot spring?'

'What are you talking about? Tino. Of course you dig it with a shovel.'

'......What? 'Yes, but, Brother Luke. Then there's a chance that the hot spring won't come out--and how many meters do we have to dig ......?'

In response to Tino's plausible question, Luke declared strongly, without the slightest hesitation.

'Of course, dig until you get it. That's training! Everything in the forest is connected to the way of the sword. So digging a hole is also the way of the sword! That's right, Cry!

'...... Yes, yes, yes.'

You're really getting stronger no matter what you do. I don't get it.
I can't stop it from growing because I can't even take away the sword.
It seems that Luke Sykor is half treated as a pawn these days, but he still seems to be enjoying himself.

Lucia, who had calmed down after venting her frustration at Cry-kun's stuffed animal, coughed once and said, 'But I'm not going on vacation.

'But I'm relieved that our vacation destination is not the ocean, but a hot spring.

'Hmm? Why?

The ocean. ...... The ocean is nice. I was in the mood for hot springs this time, but I also love swimming in the sea.
I don't swim, but just laying in the sun in the sea breeze relieves a lot of my daily stress.

Okay, let's go to the beach next time.

Lucia frowned, pressed her forehead and sighed deeply.

You can't go wrong with ...... the ocean. It's better if it's a hot spring resort.

'...... Lucia, sister. Dragons have appeared here too.'

'I would have preferred the sea. Yes, Cry, I'm looking for a swordsman with eight hands next! Please!

There's danger everywhere in this world. It seems the safest thing to do is to go to the sweet shops in the Imperial City.
And now I've been asked to do something. I said something random as usual.

'Why don't you take on four swordsmen at once?

'......? What do you mean?

'You'd have a total of eight hands.

What's a swordsman with eight hands? That's already a demon.
Luke was silent for a while and thought about it, then he punched his hand.

'.................. You're a genius! I'll do that next time. Actually, I was worried about what to do next after the eight, I can do as many as I want with this!

'Yeah, yeah, yeah.'

I've been looking forward to seeing how far Luke can go lately, even though Liz, who was sitting on Ansem's shoulder, is giving me a dumbfounded look.

With Citrie's guidance, we arrived at the edge of the city, in a vacant lot about a hundred meters in all directions. There were no buildings, nothing.
All that was there was the earth, unevenly covered with grass and stones. Citri clasped his hands together in the usual manner and said smilingly.

'This time, I received the land as part of the payment for the golem! I didn't have a hideout in Surus, so it was just perfect.

'A hideout? ...... What are you going to do with all this open land? ......'

Lucia looked at the land as if she was at a loss.
It's on the edge of town, and the location is inconvenient. In the first place, our home town is the Imperial Capital. It will cost a lot of money to build a house.

But now we have the whole party (but not Eliza). It seems like anything is possible.
I snapped my fingers.

'Okay, Lucia! Hot springs! Let me out!

'Huh?

'Lucia, don't forget the waterfall!

'............'

Lucia is a very good wizard. Citri is mostly versatile, but her magic can do most things without any complicated preparation.
Most of the time, if you ask her to do something, she says she can't do it, but if you give her some time, she can do it before you know it.

When I look at her with expectant eyes, Lucia gives me a pouty look.

'Yes, and I'd also like you to take out an inn with me. It's big enough for Anthem to fit in.

''Yes, I also want the torrent and the maelstrom! I don't care if they're at the end.

'I want a sauna! It's hot! It's good for heat training too, right?'

'Lucia, look, it's okay. I've prepared potions for you.'

'I want that ...... Murata plushie.'

'............ What do you people think a magus is?

I'm sure Lucia can do it. The next time I write a grimoire, I'll focus on everyday magic in that area. I'm sure you'll complain.

And then Ansem, who had been silent until then, spoke up for the first time in a long time.
A low voice echoed from within the Helm of Treasure.

'I'm sorry. I don't have a problem with staying out in the open, and I don't have a problem with not taking a bath. I'm used to it.'

Anthem Smart is a taciturn man, unlike her sisters Lise and Citri. He is the oldest of our childhood friends and has always been a dependable man.
If I hadn't been made the leader, he would probably have been the leader. He is the most personable person at the party, he is popular in the Imperial Capital, and the church where he is registered has been rebuilt to accommodate him.



But Anthem had a tendency to second-guess herself. Add him to Lise and you might be right.
The reason he's become such a big man is to protect us all. Even if he says it's okay, it's not okay with us.

Luke shrugged his shoulders as if to say he had no choice, and tapped his pegs harder and harder to indicate.

'Hey, hey, Anthem. Look at this land. It's only four meters, so there's plenty of room! It's only four meters, there's plenty of room! Think about it, it's about a hundred meters, so it can hold, let's see, ......, twenty-five people.

I'm not sure what you're talking about, but Luke is right. I say something appropriate and follow suit.

'That's right, don't worry, if we don't have enough space, we can ask Lucia to warp the space with magic. Easy, easy.'

'Hey! I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've seen it before. ...... I'm sure you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've seen it before. ...... I'm sure you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've seen it before. It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your money.

'Brother Ansem, I'll do what I can too!

'............ I'm sorry.'

Ansem bowed his head, wrapped in a large helm.

'I have annoyed him far more times than Ansem has annoyed me. I wonder if it's as much as digging up a hot spring.

Come on, dig it up, dig it up! It's time to put your unnecessarily high physical abilities to good use! It's a lot easier than fighting a demon.

With a nimble movement, Ryss jumped down from Ansem's shoulders, and Luke rolled up his arms.

'Leader, you can't just dig up hot springs, you know. You have to pump it up somehow. ......'

'Ah, if it's ............, can't we use that? You know, that magic you showed me a long time ago, the magic of making fountains.

A spell to make water spurt out of the ground. I wanted to know how far magic could go, so I requested this spell to Lucia.
Incidentally, I remember that she complained about it a lot at the time. You haven't grown up: .......

I'm not sure if you're remembering, but Lucia looks uncomfortable.

'............ That magic, after that, I used it to blow up the castle.'

'............ with a good adjustment of the output? 'Don't worry, I can handle it. ...... I've been able to handle it so far.

'It's not that I've been getting by, I've been getting by. Huh. ......'

'For now, let's leave the large-scale construction to Lucia-chan, and we'll decide on the details. At worst, it should last a few days. We'll leave the rest to the contractors and have them fix it slowly.

As usual, Cicely did a good job of organizing. Lucia and the others had been away for a long time, so this scene seemed like it had been a long time.

I usually just sit around because there's nothing I can do, but today I feel like working.
I ran across the Citri land at a run and stopped in the middle.

'Okay, Lucia. Let's dig around here for now!

'Another random .......'

'Don't worry, Lucia. I've heard that no matter where you dig around here, you'll usually find a hot spring. Besides, if we don't succeed, we can always try again until we do, right?

Lucia came over to me with a disgusted look on her face as Citri told her off. She's rebellious.

Then she took a deep breath, opened her eyes and whispered a spell.

Her long black hair floats in the air even though there is no wind. I can't see it because I lack the ability to sense magic, but Lucia is probably emitting a huge amount of magic power from her body right now, forming a spell.

The place I indicated made a creaking sound, and a large black hole about a meter wide opened up. Magic is truly a wonder, no matter how many times I see it.
I watched with bated breath as the hot water came out. But no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of hot water spurting out.

'............? What? Where's the hot spring?

'............We dug about two thousand meters, but ...... we didn't find any water source. It looks like we struck out after all.

What do you mean, 'I knew it'? Doesn't it come out no matter where you dig? ...... I'm disappointed.
Well, you can show me another place, but I'm still unlucky. Citri is smiling in annoyance.

Just as I was about to turn my gaze away from the hole to look for a new location, a dark hand suddenly came out of the hole and grabbed the ground.
I felt my heart almost stop. But just then, Lucia kicked the hand away without hesitation.

The clawed, human-like hand came off the ground and disappeared into the hole without a sound.

............ What? Now .......

'Oh my God! I'm going to close it. I'll close it, okay? Okay?

'Wait a minute, Lucia! Are you a subterranean man? You're a subterranean man! I'll go!

'Wait, Lucia! That's a waste of time! I want to see inside! Come on, T, let's go!

Liz and Luke threw out their shovels and rushed to the side of the hole.

I can't wait to get into the hot springs with everyone.