Author: Ryuusen Hirotsugu | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2950 characters |
Translator: Nomad | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1361 words |
Editor(s): Fire |
Because of all those facts combined, the adventurers had not even imagined the possibility of showers being possible in a dungeon. It was almost like having a water spirit could break the implicit rules of dungeons. So Mira’s words shocked them, while also bewitching them.
(Good good, their impression of summoners is clearly improving. It’s on a pretty limited scope, but it’s something.)
It was not too long ago that she had been in the Ancient Underground City. During her time there, she had seen that out of everything she did, what garnered the most attention was a shower, as access to water was heavily restricted within dungeons.
「Summoners are actually amazing.』
「Yeah, I had no idea they could do stuff like that.』
The adventurers, especially the women amongst them, were quickly changing their perception of summoners. That was how much weight showers had for them.
(Good, do it more, praise us more.)
Seeing that the adventurers were showing appreciation for summoners faster than she had anticipated, Mira began to grin happily. She felt certain that she had improved the popularity of summoners.
「To put it bluntly, producing water for a shower is a piece of cake for water spirits.』
Wanting to really hammer the point home, Mira declared that loudly, when a large quantity of water suddenly poured on her from above.
「What was that?!』
Feeling that sudden downpour, Mira looked up at the sky, but there were no clouds in sight so it could not be rain. On top of that, none of the adventurers had gotten wet.
After examining her surroundings with a bit more care, she noticed that only the spot where she stood had gotten drenched.
It had been a shower produced by Undine. She had noticed that Mira made demonstrations with the cup and washing bag, so she tried to be of use to Mira by also making a demonstration of a shower.
The only difference was that showers were taken without clothes, but Undine did not seem to be fully aware of that fact.
As a result, Mira was left soaked all the way down to her underwear.
「Regardless, as you just saw, it’s easy for summoners to be of use. They can help with a lot of things unrelated to fighting.』
Mira began drying her clothes with Concept Magic, while trying to advertise summoners even more.
「Being able to take showers in a dungeon… That’s literally a dream come true.』
「And with the summon house from earlier too… It would really revolutionize life in dungeons.』
「Being able to use as much water as we want does sound nice. Especially because we won’t have to worry about lugging around a lot of water. I’m sure it could also be used to wash wounds so they can heal faster. It’s really promising from a sanitary perspective too.』
Even if they had different reasons to be impressed by it, they all had positive thoughts. Some were simply glad they would be able to take showers, but others were already theorizing all the different uses easy access to water could have.
It had not been the most glamorous ending for Mira, but at least it was safe to assume she had a positive effect. Mira watched how they were all discussing that, nodding satisfied seeing her plan bore fruit.
It was natural for them to think of all those possibilities, as that was often what adventurers did. The more they discussed, the more the idea of summoners being viable allies grew on them.
But then they realized that they would have to find a summoner who had formed a contract with a water spirit first.
Or even more importantly, they had to find a summoner, as they were already quite rare. And that was just the first step.
And then once they were lucky enough to find one, they had to hope it was someone who could summon a water spirit, making it even harder.
If they did not have such a contract, then they would just have to wait until they met another summoner, and check again.
That process seemed nearly endless for them, so it was hard to tell when they would be able to finally go to a dungeon with a summoner.
Realizing the obstacles in their path, various adventurers groups noticed something obvious, and all turned to look at Mira, their eyes beaming with hope.
「Ah…I’m quite busy myself, sorry.』
Saying that, Mira declined all the inviting stares, making all the adventurers look depressed nearly instantly. But they had likely already expected that response, so they quickly shook it off. Eventually one decided to ask a question, wondering exactly what a summoner had to do to form a contract with a water spirit, as Mira had only said that it was not very difficult.
In the end, the adventurers had resolved it was best to secure the few summoners that were out there, and then work with them so they would reach the point of being able to summon water spirits. It was actually a rather optimistic way to deal with their dilemma.
(And once again, I’ve procured the ideal outcome!)
Having such optimistic adventurers searching for summoners to work with them was all Mira could ask for. Not to mention that once those summoners improved, more people would see them in action, making them more popular, and eventually increase the number of active summoners. It was like an upwards spiral to greatness.
「Alright then, if that’s what you’d like to know, then let me tell you how to form contracts with water spirits!』
Mira’s voice was resolute, thinking of it as a challenge she had to overcome, as she had to reply to that in away that a regular adventurer could understand, while also making sure to account for the current state of affairs of the world, finding the best and easiest way to form a contract with a water spirit.
To begin with, there were largely two methods to form such a contract.
One was to visit places with a lot of water, like lakes or riversides, befriending the water spirits of the area and eventually reaching the point of forming a contract with one of them. Producing water for showers and such was a basic ability all water spirits could perform, so it did not really matter which water spirit they chose.
Speaking of which, there were various types of spirits which all fit under the water spirit category, but with different sets of abilities. Some were better suited for combat, while others had more supportive roles.
Talking to a spirit was usually enough to figure out which kind they were though.
The second method was to use a Spirit Crystal.
Spirit Crystals were rare gemstones, usually found deep underground, and contained the crystallized souls of ancient spirits.
If that item was released in a specific place filled with spiritual power, a baby spirit would be born. By nurturing and raising that baby spirit with care and love, they would eventually have a proper summon.
The main advantage of that method was that the summoner would be able to choose all the abilities and traits of the spirit. There were many places with the spiritual power necessary for that, and each had an effect on the spirits born there. The biggest difference was the spirit’s element, some leading to fire, wind, or water spirits, but there were more minute differences as well. There were sea, river, lake, or rain spirits, all of which were considered water spirits, but were unique in their own ways.
A summoner had to take that into account when selecting a place, making sure to choose one that would produce a water spirit that best aligned to their necessities.
「First of all, there’s water spirits that…』
Mira then went on to go into more detail about the different types of water spirits. Various adventurers quickly realized that was important information, so they took out notepads to write down what she was saying.