Ah~ So Sweet
Just as we shuddered at the appearance of the finally-giganticized evil secret society’s great leader, the next thing we heard was a roaring, waterfall-like sound… And carried on the wind was a faint whiff of sulfur…
"Huh, this is…?"
""……""
Suspicious, the three of us exchanged glances before slowly approaching the cliff to peer into the former dungeon’s remains.
""Whoaa~…!""
There, from a collapsed pit that had swallowed its surroundings, an enormous column of hot water was gushing upward.
"Wha… Could it be?! Did the mountain dungeon’s disappearance cause us to hit a hot spring buried beneath it!?"
"That’s gotta be it! Look how HUGE~ it is! It’s shooting up so high!!"
"The dungeon was in a valley, and it was crazy deep. If it went that far down, it’s no surprise it reached an underground hot spring vein."Hmm, I see. A hot spring, huh…
This area isn’t just known for Kusatsu—it’s full of famous hot springs. So if the ground was dug that deep, the chances of hitting one would be way higher than usual.
"But… this is insane. The steam’s crazy, and the sound’s echoing like mad…"
The column of water shot up at least 20 meters, scattering droplets everywhere and shrouding the area in steam like a smokescreen.
"But hey, hey! Isn’t this perfect for celebrating our dungeon clear?! Let’s all take a dip in this hot spring!"
"Aye, sounds good. We’ve already scouted and wiped out everything in these mountains, so might as well call this our clear reward, eh?"
"Yeah. Alright, let’s freshen up with a nice soak!"
""Yay~!""
…
And so, the mountain dungeon—which had been spewing out goblins en masse—vanished, leaving behind a newly sprung hot spring.
With my skills, making a bath was a cinch. I just glued nearby fallen trees and rocks together with slime, then reinforced them with rock salt—voilà, a custom-made salt-rock bath.
Sure, the hot spring’s minerals and water pressure meant it wouldn’t last long, but if it held up for two hours, that was plenty.
"Haaaah… Turning calamity into fortune. Dungeon gone, hot spring born. Heh…"
"Man, what a wild ride. Good work, everyone."
Yeah, yeah, we could’ve easily died this time too.
"We owe the pixies big time. Seriously, thanks, guys."
""Pipii~""
<figcaptionattachment__caption"">Yep, and now the pixies are here too. So after setting up the hot spring, it kinda turned into a paradise.
We went down to a spot where we could look up at the rising column and built a bath there, but filling it required the Pixie Queen’s help. I mean, the base of the column was all muddy from the newly sprung water and dirt.
So we called the Pixie Queen back and had her use strong winds to guide the falling water into the bath. And since we were at it, we summoned the pixies who helped in the dungeon to let them play in nature too.
So now, the scene’s like a pixie festival—pixies fluttering about, playing in the steam and water. A true fantasy paradise.
"Pipii, pipii~"
"Yeah, good work, good work. You all did great. Thanks."
The pixies played innocently.
But thanks to them, we wiped out those tough Great Ants. As a token of gratitude, I treated them to an all-you-can-drink buffet of ultra-giant aphid honeydew.
"Here, try this fake lemonade I made with my [Sugar] and [Acid]!"
""Pipiiii~!""
Seeing that, Serai-san—soaking in the water—created her own new fake lemonade using her skills, and the pixies flocked to her.
"Then lemme try too. Here, pixies~, this water’s sweet too~"
Hahaha, combining [Sugar] and [Nectar], huh?
Right now, it’s just sweet water, but eventually, it might gain healing effects like the aphids’ honeydew. Yeah, yeah, this skill’s got potential.
"Then here, open wide…"
<figcaptionattachment__caption"">"Ahh, my new lemonade goes first! Here, Kouzuki-san, say aah~…""Whoa, hey, both of you—"
As they both pushed their sweet waters toward me, I just opened my mouth wide and tilted my head back, letting two kinds of thick, sweet liquid pour in.
Mmm, this is… delicious!!