After breakfast, Aura, the sister of the Dragon People (Dragon People), took me to the bushes near the house, saying she had something she wanted me to see.

　There, quite a few dragon scales had been put together in one place.

　I've heard that Aura is a dragon that is still in the process of growing, so she moults several times like this, and late last night, it seems the time for her to moult came and she did it here.

　Speaking of dragon scales, they are a valuable commodity that is sold for a high price.

''I've never seen scales that have just molted before...''
　I was checking the condition by touching this and that, but Aura looking at me with an embarrassed face.
　When I asked her about it, she said she felt embarrassed as if she was being checked for old underwear, as humans call it... Oh, I see.
　
　Aura wanted to ask me for advice on how to dispose of these scales.
　Certainly, dragon scales are the first thing that won't burn or rot.
　

　With Aura's permission, I decided to use half of these scales as research material for me and Erdena, and the other half will be sold somewhere when Black comes next time.

　Erdena was checking out these scales, her eyes shining as much as mine.
　Immediately, she wanted to use them in the concoction and holed up in the lab.
　Since the lab was taken over, we had to study with the Owl People, Yome, in the living room on the first floor.
　Since Yome has no basic magical abilities, he can't use healing magic, but his knowledge of pharmacology is quite impressive for a self-taught person, and his plotting is good, so he absorbs what I say.
　Even as a former teacher, it's a pleasure to be able to teach students who are worth teaching.

　On this day, Unja, a cat person (Cat People), Aela, the younger sister of the Dragon People, and Korok, a little black bear person (Little Bear People), went out hunting with me.
　But in other words, Unja hunted while Ela and Korok played in the grassland.
　We returned home in the evening with a bag full of eight wild rabbits, four snakes and five long-eared birds.
　I heard that a collock in bear form was hunting the hares with great speed... maybe he was trying to play with them, I thought, and I was glad to have a valuable source of protein.

　It was about time to head to the village at the foot of Mount Gorun for the monthly delivery of medicine to the village, when Black's wagon fleet visited the village.
　I received the money for the medicine I delivered the other day, and it was much more than I was promised at first... I was surprised to find myself in front of an amount of gold coins that must have been ten times as much.
As I arrived there, things were getting pretty serious. There were even counterfeit drugs on the market, and people were suspicious and anxious.
　I gave your medicine to one of the patients and showed him the effects.
　Kuro smiled vigorously as he said that.
　Although it was a little complicated for me, I heard that the epidemic has been completely cured thanks to this medicine, so I'll consider it a good thing.
　
　I'm not sure if I'm happy with the high price of the drug, but I'm afraid I'm not cut out for this kind of business.

I've been told that a weapon is a weapon shop. It's impossible for you to imitate me and sell things for a high price, just as it's impossible for me to imitate you and make medicine.
　I nodded at Black's words, sure.

　Here, I ask Black if he can sell his aura scales somewhere.
''Ho!　The best of both worlds!　Okay, okay!　Just wait and see!
　Black thumped his chest and laughed, as usual.

　As usual, we stayed for four days while they checked the fields and did some additional work for us.

　It was just as well that the former inn is now open for use, so we can take Black and his party in without any problems.
　Black said, "I can stay and eat for free! How nice! He laughed at us.

　The day after Black and the others left, we also left for the village at the foot of Mount Gorun to deliver the medicine.
　This time, there were four of us, myself and Erdena Ela Korok.
　At first it was just me and Erdena Ela.
"I want to go to Korok too!
　And I was spoiled... well, it's true that Korok will miss me, who I miss the most, and Ela, who is the best friend of mine, when they are gone at once.
　On the way out, we were able to get the house on the tree at the relay point into a pretty serious state, thanks to Korok carrying a fairly large amount of building materials.
　The roof is now solid, and the walls and floors have been installed, so it's in good shape to keep the rain and wind out.
　As usual, we spent one night here before arriving in the village at the foot of Mount Gorun the next morning.
　We showed up at the union office to deliver this month's leftover medicines and receive our money.

　There, I heard rumors of an epidemic of diseases in the frontier city of Greencomb.
　It is said that the city was miraculously saved thanks to the medicine that was placed outside the gate.
　Some of them even claimed that the gods saved the city, even though they didn't identify themselves.
　'Ah!　That's Korok and his master!
　We giggled, holding back Korok's mouth in a hurry as he was about to say, "I'm sorry," he said.
　Anyway, I was glad to see that it had worked.
　I'm sure Erdena didn't say anything, but I could see that she was relieved. It's a city where my relatives live, you know.
　
　On this day, we finished our shopping in the city earlier than usual and left our bags and wagons at Yorme's church before we all made our way up to Mount Gorn.
　Joruri said there were some ruins in the middle of the mountain, so we decided to go up to see them.

　After a few hours of walking along a rather steep mountain path, we found the ruins.
　
　After a few hours of walking along the steep mountain path, the ruins appeared quietly between the trees.

　It looked like a huge gate made of stone, but its top had been shattered, and fragments of stone that seemed to be the remnants of the gate were peeking out of the dirt.
　
　I once read about it in a story about a brave man.
　The brave man destroyed five of the six gates leading to the demon world, leaving only one of them intact.
　He lived near one of the gates, and even now he watches for invaders from the demon world to come in.

　After all, it was hundreds of years old.
　I don't know if this gate is one of the destroyed gates or not, but the figure of the gate gave off a somewhat divine atmosphere.
　I decided to take home one of the stones that had fallen to the ground as a souvenir.
　
　We spent the night in the village and left for home the next morning.
　We spent the night at a stopover in a tree and returned home early the next morning.

　When we got home, we were greeted by
Boy!　We've been waiting for you~!
　And then Unja came in with a great force.

　She was expanding her field and suddenly hot water erupted out of nowhere.
　We went over there and found that a considerable amount of hot water was gushing out of the center of the field we were cultivating, some distance away from our usual fields.
　I wondered if they had hit a vein of underground water or something, but I couldn't understand why hot water was gushing out of such a shallow place in the first place.
　As I got closer, I found that the hot water was leaking out of a gap in what looked like an old pipe.
　
　My guess is that this hot water is leaking from something that was used when this village was still inhabited.
　After filling up the gap in the pipe to stop the hot water from flowing out, we analyzed the components of the hot water and found out that it was a so-called hot spring.
　Hot springs are a rare hot spring in volcanic areas, and are said to be effective in tending to nourishment, beautifying the skin and treating injuries.
　
　I followed the end of the tube in the earth with my investigative magic and found that it led just below the house.
　I hadn't noticed due to the pile of leaves that had been deposited here, but there was an open-air bath in this place that was in the process of being built.
　It was probably intended to be a trump card to attract visitors in the late days of the inn town.
　
　I managed to extend the pipe, which had been cut off and blocked in the middle of the bath, and cleaned the bathhouse.
　After removing some of the blockage, I poured hot water into the bathtub, which was designed to fill up the bathtub and automatically flow out toward the stream.
　I don't think there is any problem because we have already confirmed that there is no substance that may cause any abnormality to the river ecosystem.
　For a while, the process of polishing the bathtub, flushing it with hot water, stopping it, and polishing it again was repeated, while the roof and other parts of the bathtub were also made.

　It took about three days from the start of the work, and the open-air bath was successfully completed.
　The work itself was not so difficult because the stone arrangement of the bathtubs was well made.

　Although inside of the bath is divided into men's bath and women's bath, there are two types of baths.
　In the women's bathhouse, the voices of frolicking Koroks were echoing all over the place.
　I was the only man in the men's bathhouse, and it was all alone.　
　When I think about it, I realize now that I am the only man in this village. When I think so, I feel embarrassed somehow.

　Nevertheless, this hot water was quite good.
　I knew from my research that the ingredients are strong, but it just felt good.
"Huh....this is good hot water...
Absolutely. I never thought I'd find such a nice bath again.

　.........

　.........

　.........

　....Huh?

　That voice ... it sounded like a woman's voice ... and it came from right next to me ...

　I turned my head fearfully to the side and saw

　A glamorous woman was comfortably in the hot water.

　..............I don't recognize her.

　The woman giggled and chuckled in front of me, who froze at the incomprehensible situation.
What? You brought a strawberry yourself and you don't have that face, do you?
　I start laughing mischievously.

　I am confused, but then I hear a disturbing voice in my ears.
　The source of the call is the women's bathhouse.

　Wait a minute........I hear a woman's voice coming from the men's room.
　What did you say?　Who slipped away!
　Korok, I'm going in with my master!

　I thought to myself, "Oh no," but it was already too late, and the women in the women's bathhouse were rushing into the men's bathhouse.

"Yes, ladies!
　The woman was smiling and smiling and waving a fluttering hand at Unja and the others.
'There lascivious b*tc*!　I will not allow my Safate to be insolent!
　Erdena grabbed the woman with great force.

　...but...

　Erdena's hands were scuffling in the air.
What?
　Having lost her purpose, Erdena fell straight into the bathtub with a thud.

　If I'm not mistaken, Eldena slipped past the woman and fell into the bathtub.

　........Then.......is she a ghost or a thought body?

'What?　I'm not very good at this. You're right about the ideation.
　That woman laughing at that.

　In that woman's right hand, there was a stone that she had seen somewhere.

　.........Ah.
　A stone brought back from the ruins of Mount Gorun's Gate!

Great answer.
　The woman smiled happily and kissed the stone.

"It's the thought body of the guardian of the gate, the guardian of the gate in the past, the Fordente.......