In the garden of the Log House, I sat comfortably in a camp chair, with Akahane curled up on top of me.
“Pee~♪ Pee pee~♪”
“Oh… it’s so warm…”
Akahane was as warm as a hot water bottle or a hand warmer. Just having her there made me feel cozy from the core of my body.
“On cold days, I just want to hold you tight forever.”
I embraced Akahane’s soft feathers. Ah… what a wonderfully fluffy texture.
And it was incredibly warm. It was strange, though; it didn’t feel too hot at all.
It seemed that Akahane had learned the Fire Control Technique, allowing her to manipulate heat without burning me, just warming me up.
“Meow!” “Mew!”
As I was warming myself with Akahane on my stomach, Feruta and Feruco approached. They climbed onto my belly and snuggled up to Akahane.
“Meow…” “Mew…”
The Puppy Fenrirs looked as if they were soaking in a hot spring, their eyes half-closed in bliss. It seemed they were also enjoying the warmth.
“Looks like the little ones have become quite the buddies.”
Akahane playfully poked Feruta’s ear. Feruta flapped his ears in response, engaging in a cute little exchange. Yes, they were definitely friends!
“…”
“Ferumi. There you are.”
The quiet Ferumi had nestled closely against my legs.
“Do you want to warm up too? Come here.”
“…”
Ferumi didn’t climb onto my belly. With three Fenrirs already there, it might have been too much weight.
To avoid burdening me, Ferumi chose to stay quietly at my feet. Aww, what a considerate little one.
But it wasn’t right to leave her out. I wondered if there was a way for everyone to enjoy this warmth together…
Just then, a gentle breeze blew, sending a swirl of fallen leaves past me.
“Fallen leaves… yes. That’s it. Familiars, gather around!”
Soon, a group of Vegetable Familiars appeared from who knows where.
“Did you call for us, Lady Mika?”
“Felmaa… weren’t you supposed to be in the bath?”
While I was taking care of the Puppy Fenrirs, the adults had gone to bathe. Upon closer inspection, water was dripping from Felmaa’s (in Fenrir form) fur.
“When Lady Mika calls, I will come flying, even if I’m in the middle of a fire or a hot spring!”
So she had flown here straight from the bath.
“Vegetable Familiars, go gather some fallen leaves.”
After a short while, a mound of leaves was piled up.
“Akahane, burn the leaves. Keep the flames low.”
“Pew!”
Akahane blew a small spark toward the leaves, which ignited beautifully. Perfect!
“‘Haaah…’”
We all gathered around the campfire. The sensation of warmth creeping in from the inside, like being in a hot spring, was nice, but being warmed from the outside was just as good.
And staring into the fire was soothing. The flames danced beautifully, constantly changing shape, never boring to watch.
“If only it didn’t leave a smell… but…”
Something felt off…
“It’s warm, isn’t it, Lady Mika? I could stay here forever… wait, Lady Mika?”
I moved closer to Felmaa and buried my face in her fur. Just as I thought.
“Felmaa, you smell wonderful.”
“I just got out of the bath.”
“No, that’s not it. There’s no smell of smoke from the campfire.”
Normally, with this much smoke, my eyes would sting, and my clothes would smell.
“Time for some Omniscient and Omnipotent (Internet) troubleshooting.”
～～～～～～
Holy Ash (extra)
→ Sacred ash created by the Vermilion Bird’s flames. It has purifying effects and can turn barren land into fertile ground.
～～～～～～
In other words, it can burn anything. Not just plants, but also stones and metals.
And… harmful substances too. I see, that’s why my eyes didn’t sting from the smoke…
“Hmm? Wait a minute. The flames of the Vermilion Bird… they might be incredibly useful. Satsuma-kun, come here.”
With a little hop, Satsuma-kun landed on my hand. I had lent him the Divine Hammer Mjolnir, gifted by the goddess Morrigan.
After listening to my vague instructions, he nodded and jumped off my shoulder.
“Lady Mika, are you going to have the familiars make something again?”
“Yeah. Something we need for daily life.”
“Ah, so the quality of life will improve again!”
“Exactly.”
After a short while, we moved to the backyard.
“Lady Mika, what is this?”
“It’s an incinerator for waste.”
It was that iron thing you often see at schools.
Yes… I had been living in the Log House, but naturally, waste accumulates in daily life.
Until now, I had been tossing garbage into the Item Box. But it didn’t feel good.
After all, I was putting food, clothes, and items in there, along with the garbage.
“Alright, Akahane. Just a little fire in the incinerator.”
“Pew!”
Akahane released a fireball into the incinerator.
“Felmaa, please help me put the garbage in.”
“Understood!”
With Felmaa in her human form, we cooperated to toss garbage bags into the incinerator. The bags were instantly burned to ashes within.
No black smoke rose from the chimney. It seemed we had successfully incinerated the waste completely.
“Impressive… Lady Mika! To come up with such an invention! You’re a genius!”
By the way, in this world, it’s common to throw garbage into the forest. It’s considered dirty, but slimes are said to eat the garbage and clean it up.
Slimes, being low-level monsters, are found all over the forest, so illegal dumping doesn’t lead to garbage piling up.
However, the monsters in the mountains where I lived were all high-level. There was no room for low-level monsters like slimes to enter.
Thus, garbage continued to accumulate in the forest.
“I’m always amazed by your creativity, Lady Mika!”
“No, no, it’s Akahane and Satsuma-kun who are amazing.”
I gently patted Akahane’s head, who was perched on my shoulder.
“Pew pew~♪”
“Meow!” “Mew!” “…!”
The Puppy Fenrirs protested, wanting to be petted too. They were so cute.
And then it happened.
“What in the world is this!?”
Fubuki’s voice rang out from the garden, from the very spot where we had just had the campfire. I was sure I had put out the fire properly…
Curious, we headed toward Fubuki…
“Eh, what is this…?”
“A tree…? Is that what it is?”
Right where we had the campfire, a magnificent tree had sprouted.
“Pee!”
Akahane flapped her wings excitedly. Following her gaze, I saw red fruits hanging from the branches.
“No way… apples…?”
Akahane took to the sky and pecked at the apples, causing them to fall. She happily munched on one, exclaiming, “Pee!”
“What… what’s going on…?”
“I don’t know… When I returned, a tree sprouted from the ashes.”
“Ashes…?”
Now that I thought about it, there had been a pile of white ash left after the campfire. When in doubt, I turned to the Omniscient and Omnipotent (Internet).
～～～～～～
Holy Ash (extra)
→ Sacred ash created by the Vermilion Bird’s flames. It has purifying effects and can turn barren land into fertile ground.
～～～～～～
“I see… this ash can be used as fertilizer.”
I had heard that the components in ash could enrich the soil. It seemed that ash created by the Vermilion Bird’s flames had even greater effects than regular ash.
“Hmm…? But why did a tree grow?”
I searched for answers with the Omniscient and Omnipotent (Internet). Ah, I see.
I placed the Holy Ash into my Item Box and made my way to a corner of the Dragon Vein Area. With a flourish, I scattered the ash.
“Whaaaaaaaah!”
“Many trees sprouted all at once!”
“Not just trees, but flowers too!? Is this… plant magic!?”
Just as I thought.
“By using the Holy Ash, it seems I can enhance the power to purify the land. As a result, I can grow plants even without seeds.”
I had amplified the purifying components contained in salt to create a Barrier. Holy Ash contains even more of those purifying components than salt.
So, what happens if I amplify that?
It seems I can not only purify but also grow plants like this.
“So, I can grow trees and other plants from the ash created by burning waste…?”
“Remarkable! Truly, you are a divine being! To create new life from discarded waste is nothing short of a miracle!”
I patted Akahane’s head once more.
“Thank you, Akahane. Thanks to your arrival, my life has become so much richer.”
“Pyuui! Mama is happy, and that makes me so glad!”
Yes, yes.
…Wait, what?
“Ah, huh? Akahane…? Did you just speak?”
“Pyuui? I spoke?”
Y-you spoke?!
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