After a cackling water fight in the river, we finished our break and were walking to the source of the spring water.

　Right in front of us, Bartolo was walking around in a soaking wet outfit.

　His usual clothes were sticking tightly to his skin, revealing his skin-colored back.

　If this were a beautiful woman, it would be s*xy and eye-catching, but unfortunately, it's just an old man in front of me. I am not happy at all.

　Such a dirty old man lets out a sigh.

You don't know how to take it easy on the little guy, do you?

'Well said. You're in the habit of spraying water at me with your feet without being very mature.

　I don't think you can kick the water up to a seven year old by surprise.

　Irvine, Malt, Roomba, and I'm surrounded by adults who aren't very mature.

'That doesn't mean I'm going to use water magic,'

　Bartolo squeezes his clothes while mumbling about such things.

　However, I guess there's a section of me that thinks I wasn't being mature enough to not say anything more.

　For now, I let the past go by the water alone and ask, "How do I get from here to the spring?

'How far is it from here to the spring?'

Almost there. We'll be there in less than 15 minutes.

　Hmm, in that case, it's one more step. When you have clear information on how to get to your destination, you can do your best.

　Now, let's walk to the top of the river in front of us.

　Bartolo and I walk along the river in high anticipation.

　The river is flowing right beside us, and it's very cool because the sun doesn't sting us.

　We don't need to talk to each other to enjoy the sound of the cool water and the river.

　As I was walking along the river watching the water flowing, Bartolo stopped dead in his tracks.

'Have you arrived at the spring already?

No, I found some lice and a no-bill. I'm gonna get them.

　What?　Where is it?　Before he had time to ask such questions, Bartolo walked away from the riverfront to a place some distance away.

　I followed him, and on the ground there was a thick stem that grew in two halves, and a lilac that sometimes rose at the table.

'This one prefers damp places, you know. They often grow in the shade of a tree or something near the river.'

'Heh, I see. I've never seen them in the woods, but only in the mountains where they grow?

Yeah, just the mountains around here.

　This is another valuable piece of knowledge I've gained.

　Although we are familiar with this vegetable, we do not know where and how it grows.

"Take a pair of scissors and cut a little upper part from the root like this and it will grow back. Then it will grow back.

Okay.

　It looks like a leek, but apparently the part where it grows back is the same as a leek. Maybe it's the same species.

　You receive a pair of scissors from Bartolo while thinking about it.

I'm going to go get that nobile that's growing over there.

　At Bartolo's point, there was a long, slender leaf that looked like a chive.

　Being in a similar location to the birch, perhaps the no-bill also grows in a humid place.

　When Bartolo pulled away, I sat down and attached a pair of scissors to the base of the birch.

　With a chokin, I cut the thick stem easily.

　I thought it would be a little more fiddly because of the thick stem, but I heard it was surprisingly sharp.

　I chokin and repeat the chokin and psychic float, being careful not to cut the base of the stem.

　And Bartolo's got the back basket. It's a pain in the ass to move it over there.

'Oh, boy. That's about right.

　As I got the twentieth syllabi and was floating them in the psychic, Bartolo called out to me.

'Can I put it in the basket?'

No, let the louse and the nobile cool in the river for a bit. They'll be crisp and tighter.

　I see, it had those characteristics.

　I briefly wondered if I should just pick it up on the way home, but with this reasoning, it makes sense.

　Me and Bartolo headed back to the river again.

　While I quickly flush away the dirt and grime from the syrup and no-bills, Bartolo builds a stone breakwater where the water flows more slowly.

　It's finished just as we finish washing everything, so we put in the cleaned up lice and nobile.

　Wildflowers floating in the breakwater.

'We won't have to worry about getting washed away,'

All right, now we just need to get to the spring!

　After watching it for a while and making sure it wasn't going to wash away, we continued up the mountain along the river.



　◆



Here we are. This is the watering hole.

　We walked up the mountain along the river for a while. Bartolo and I finally arrived at the spring.

　In front of us is a circular water feature that looks like a lake, and a large amount of water is falling from the cliffs at the back.

　There is a large amount of moss growing in the area, which seems to claim that this is a natural area.

　I gasped in front of a place that could be called a sanctuary created by nature.

　I've lived in the village of Colliat for seven years now and I'm surprised that there are still places like this.

　I usually avoided climbing mountains because it was too much trouble, but I'm glad I came here.

　In fact, it was a bit of a hassle to climb up the mountain in its own way, but it's not bad at all if you can see this kind of scenery as well as the spring water.

'What do you think?　Isn't it beautiful?

　As I'm admiring this scene, Bartolo asks with a look of pride on his face.

'If the place is this beautiful, you should have told me sooner.

Ha, sorry. I just wanted to see the look on your face. Besides, if I told you there was a beautiful place to start with, you wouldn't be too impressed, would you?

　Bartolo says that with a grin.

　It's true that when I was told beforehand that there was a beautiful place, the bar was raised in anticipation and I might not have gotten as much of an impression as I did now.

　A little thanks to Bartolo for the surprise that impressed me.

'By the way, where's the water source?'

Below the cliffs and in the middle of the river.

The center of the river?

　I can imagine that the cliffs probably have a vein of water spouting directly below them, but is it also in the center of the river?

It's too far to see from here, but if you get a little closer, you can see the water gushing out of it, too.

　I know where it is by where Bartolo is pointing, but it doesn't seem to be springing up.

　I follow Bartolo, who is leading the way, and I approach it.

Oh, it's true. It's coming up.

　In the center of the circular shape, water was gushing and moving on the surface of the water, even as it moved the sand slightly.

　Heh, so it's coming from there too? There are two places: there and at the bottom of the cliff.

Then. Then let's have a drink.

Yes.

　There was a spring flowing from the cliff by Bartolo's side and I reached for it.

　The cold water pooled in my palm, and I dipped my mouth into it and drank.

'Phew!　Delicious!

Right?

　It's the best tasting thing I've ever tasted because of my thirst and all the hard work I've done to get up here.

　It's this sensation that goes down your throat, cold and pleasant. The water in the village's rivers and lakes is clean enough, but the spring water here is even better.

But the spring water here is even better.

　Bartolo also drank the water from his hand and let out a sigh.

　In no time at all, the water in my palm was gone, so I took another drink of water.

　Yes, it's delicious. You'll want to drink as many glasses as you can.

　But what a luxurious use of time it was.

　If you work so hard, you definitely can't take the time to relax like this.

　Even if it is possible in time, it is impossible to do it if you don't have enough time to spare, and even if you try, you will have torn out of the limited time.

　It probably took me about two and a half hours to get here from the mansion.

　It would be difficult for a working person in a previous life who had never been inconvenienced by water to put in this much effort.

　At best, it would be the mineral water sold at supermarkets and convenience stores.

'Boy, give me a keg. I'll fill it with water.

　As I was thinking about this, Bartolo said so, and I handed him the barrel I was floating in.

　Then Bartolo sets the barrel directly underneath where the water falls.

　You can hear the sound of water flowing into the barrel, which was empty.

'Alright, let's eat our lunch while the water fills up!

Let's do it!