Chapter 608: Etoru’s Traveler’s Stone
The next Traveler’s Stone is the “Night Safety Stone.” Since Etoru lived by the sea on the Talia Peninsula during the Stone Age, I’m planning to search for it at the edge of Talia. At night.
It’s a populated area! There’s no guarantee I’ll find a spot that won’t attract attention, so the search is set for nighttime.
I spent the morning tending to the fields and orchard, playing a lot with Rishu. Lately, he seems to love playing fetch, grabbing the rope given to him by the Earth Folk and dropping it at my feet while looking up at me.
When I throw it with all my might, he dashes off to retrieve it and comes bounding back. With the momentum from his return, he charges right between my legs, still holding the rope.
I take the rope while giving him a good scratch and throw it far away again. This cycle continues. Rishu running back is just too cute.
For lunch, I made a spread of ohitashi, meat tofu, fried chicken, green salad, dried daikon, rice, and pork miso soup.
Since I wasn’t planning to meet anyone today, I went all out with the garlic in the fried chicken. The pork miso soup was packed with ingredients, including some nicely seared green onions about three centimeters long. I felt like the soup was making up for all the vegetable shortages as I munched away.
I got a bit hot and took off my jacket.
While cleaning up after lunch, I also prepared some rice balls for the night search. After a quick nap, I was all set!
And now, it’s nighttime. Taking advantage of my night vision, I stroll along the coastline. Since it’s an inland sea, the waters rarely get rough, so there are places where houses are clustered quite closely.
Apparently, once a year or every two years, a great storm caused by the Spirits occurs, but I’ve yet to encounter such a storm. They say the waves can get shockingly high and the seawater can be whipped up.
The Talia Peninsula mostly features steep cliffs, with few sandy beaches. There aren’t many gentle stone areas either. In fact, the terrain is mostly rocky, so is there really a place for the Traveler’s Stone to be buried?
“Is there a place around here where someone named Etoru lived? Or does anyone know Etoru?” I quickly ask the Spirits.
“I don’t know~”
“Who~?”
“Isn’t it more towards where Papona is?”
“Papon…a?”
“That sunken one?”
“Wasn’t that the name of the one that sank with Papona?”
“That way~”
“Over there~”
“Thanks!”
Who is Papona!? No, from the talk about sinking, it must be related to the sea, a lake, or a river… Since they were pointing towards the coastline, it’s probably the sea. I follow the direction they pointed, walking along the cliffside.
It’s a pathless route, but I might get lost. I ask the Spirits about Papona’s location along the way.
It’s another sunken city, but it’s fine; I won’t be reviving it this time. It’s someone else’s land! According to the local rules, the sea visible from the land belongs to that country.
And it’s far! The Spirits’ responses of “almost there” never seem to come. It seems more efficient to use [Teleportation] to move, and if the direction changes, I can start from the midpoint of where it was before.
So, I use [Teleportation]. Even so, it seems I still wasn’t close enough, and I’m directed north. In the end, Papona’s location was at the midpoint of the northern and southern halves of the Talia Peninsula. I started from the southern end, but it would take two or three days of walking or running to reach it!
Actually, it’s near where I collected volcanic ash before! Right, the reason towns sink into the sea is due to volcanic eruptions or landslides from earthquakes!
…Damn.
If I had the foresight of Retze, I wouldn’t have to make such a long-distance journey.
The Papona I was looking for turned out to be a bay. Unexpectedly, Papona is quite expansive. I can also see several lights from towns nearby. If it’s close to the town, it might be a bit troublesome? No, if I go through the water, I might not be noticed.
“Is Papona here?”
“I’m here~. Because this is me~.”
If I call out and get a response, it’s a trap where my magic power gets drained. If it’s going to be a contract, shouldn’t I at least confirm what kind of being it is face-to-face first?
Rising from the surface of the sea is a Spirit in the form of a girl. Her hair flows like kelp, and her lower half melts into the water.
“I heard there’s something related to Etoru sunk around here. Can you guide me?”
“Sure~.”
With that, Papona dove back into the sea, and I asked the Spirit for my usual air bubble before entering the water.
I can’t see her. Is she blending in with the sea or the bay? This is troublesome.
“This way~.”
White bubbles rise in the water. Following them, I move through the sea. The water appears bluish-white, and the seabed is covered in brownish algae, with no seaweed in sight. Occasionally, the brightness of shells catches my eye.
“Look, around here~.”
A large number of bubbles rise from the seabed, sediment is cleared away, revealing a stunning mosaic. And there, crumbled buildings and white marble statues.
“Wow.”
It’s quite fantastical… Wait, the algae-covered statues are a bit creepy, aren’t they?