Chapter 203: Encounter with the A Clay Figure
The murky, blackish gray lake is actually a beautiful shade of deep azure when I look up while underwater. Is it because of the light from above?
After several rounds of discussions and consolidating the ideas coming from the spirits, I decided to wrap myself in a thin film and dove right in. I swam while replacing it with the oxygen dissolved in water. This is quite convenient, plus I don’t feel the water pressure that much.
Spirits that look like mermaids and fishes with fins like pale floating silk swam around me. There are also small bird-like figures among them, maybe they’re the spirit of the air? It reminds me of a scene of mackerels or some other small fish swimming in spirals synchronously as if they’re all one living creature.
「Excuse me, can you please move aside for a bit, it’s hard to see what’s in front of me, thanks. 」
They listened to my request by sliding from my waist to my toes.
I dived through the submerged black trees and saw some reddish seaweeds and green moss clinging to the outstretched branches of the dark woods. Normally, these water plants are found in shallow parts of the water where the light reaches them, but it’s different here. The submerged forest is teeming with the kin of the spirits of trees as well as the spirits of verdure that gather here because they’re charmed by the place. The deeper it is, the lusher the vegetation.
Fresh verdure greeted me when I reached the bottom of the lake. Fish that looked like neon tetras darted in unison and they hid in the shadows of the aquatic plants. Probably surprised.
The trees were tall and straight while different kinds of aquatic vegetation swayed with the water current. Their leaves seem softer, thinner and more delicate than the ones on land.
Lots of bubbles clung to water plants with soft yellow-green leaves. Photosynthesis? I’m not sure if it’s oxygen produced by photosynthesis or not, but this place sure is dimly lit when it should be dark since only a little sunlight reaches this place. Maybe it’s because of the faint light coming from the luminous mosses and aquatic plants.
I tried touching them. The leaves released them and a stream of fine bubbles climbed upward. I’m not sure what’s the principle or theory behind it, but somehow, some of the plants have bubbles the size of my face. It’s actually fun popping them.
I came here to gather timber but ended up playing around
Oh, a huge clay figure that looks like a shakouki dogū peered at me. Ehhh, is this place the Kizukuri Station of the Gono Line!? — Oh, this dogū has both feet intact, huh.
Couldn’t see its eyes so I wasn’t really sure, but it seemed to be staring at me from the shadow of the tree that couldn’t conceal its body entirely. I pretended not to notice it and tried to slowly inch away from its vision, when it suddenly turned its entire body to face me without so much as a creak.
Hey, how is it moving? Oh, it must have a spirit moving it using water current, just like me.
It’s a spirit, right? I didn’t sense any hostility from it, but maybe it’s better to greet it just in case? I associate shakouki dogū with volcanoes and lava, but why underwater?
「Uhm, hello. Did I bother you? 」
Ah, even if you turn sideways, that tree can’t completely cover your body given your width, you know.
Its joints didn’t move, nor did it have any sort of expression on its face, but I could totally see that it’s flustered. Eh, are you a shut-in!?
「Please rest assured, I will not harm you nor will I force you to come out. I want to make some furniture, so can I please have two to three trees? 」
I respectfully said what I wanted because it’s probably the current lord of this place based on that size alone.
「Ah, this is some soil from the farm… 」
I secretly asked about the dogū’s preferences from the spirits around me, then took the soil I was keeping in 【Storage】out and gave the jute bag to the clay figure. It’s the soil I prepared for the hanging garden in the tower and it has Pal’s power in it.
As soon as I took the jute bag out, the current enveloped it and brought it to the dogū, who then sucked the bag into its eye slit. Eh, there!?
The jute bag slowly drifted back toward me. Dull vibrations filled the surrounding water the moment I took the bag, then suddenly, four or five trees were uprooted around the dogū. The soil from the black roots slowly disintegrated back to the bottom of the lake.
「Er, will it be alright if I get those? 」
The surrounding spirits gave the affirmative in dogū’s stead.
「Thanks. 」
After I gave my thanks, bubbles rose from the dogū then it moved away with an unimaginable speed. It’s actually weird since it doesn’t really move.
「Thanks, Dogū. 」
That saved me the trouble of pulling the trees out. I thanked him again while staring at the trail of bubbles it left behind.
I put the drifting wood into【Storage】 right then and there before getting out of the water. The depth is enough to cause an acute decompression syndrome, but I already handled it properly. It was unexpectedly fun.
I thanked the spirits and now it’s time for lunch!
***
I take the sandwiches out; they’re similar to the egg sandwiches I gave Chris and the guys. Crunchy grilled tomatoes with plenty of eggs. Oh, but theirs are probably cold by now so they won’t be crispy anymore.
The warmth is such a treat in this bitter cold so I eat with relish. Next up is borscht, the star of this course. The impact of the bright crimson color is really something else, probably because I added the beets properly. I also added some white sour cream. It’s eaten by taking a scoop with a spoon and mixing it before taking a mouthful.
If you ask my preferences then I’ll tell you that I like beef stew, pot-au-feu and minestrone more than this, but it’s also nice enjoying this from time to time.
I munch on the fried prawn rolled sandwiches, then enjoy a cup of coffee after the meal. Enjoying great food, my entire body is also warmed, ahh this feels so great.
Alright, this place is huge so it’s easier to handle the trees here; I can freely remove the branches in the open space and 【Store 】the timber again.
I take the five huge trees that I just received and ‘fixed’ them with 『Zanzenken 』. Tall straight ones, gnarly ones with huge bumps — I heard the part with bumps has complex grains so it’s great as a material. Dogū chose them for me in her own way, huh.
The branches are thick so I can probably use them too. Thoughts of how amazing it is filled my mind, when I suddenly sense someone’s presence nearby.
Notes
shakouki dogū (遮光器土偶), small humanoid figurines made of clay from the Jomon Period, and they’re usually fashioned after pregnant women as a symbol of fertility.
Kizukuri Station (Gono Line, a railway line in Japan):
The shakouki dogu here has only one leg 😀
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I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
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Thanks for the treat.