That afternoon, I decided to try a small experiment. First, I began digging around the debris, sectioning it off into roughly one-meter-square blocks.
“Shun-oniichan, what are you doing?”
“I’m trying to figure out a more efficient way to get the debris into the item box.”
Shiro watched me curiously, but I thought that if we could isolate the debris into smaller sections, it might fit into the boxes more easily.
The result…
“Ah! It went into Shun-oniichan’s item box!”
“The experiment worked! Now we don’t have to scoop out every single bit manually.”
We tested Ao’s item box the same way, and just like mine, it worked perfectly.
From here on, all that remained was for Ao and me to carry the debris and deposit it in the designated area.
“Oh, in that case, this method makes it much easier for us too!”
“Alright, let’s keep at it!”
The townspeople immediately caught the enthusiasm, and the landslide cleanup began progressing at an astonishing pace.
Even with the initial “one-man bulldozer” approach, I think it would’ve taken three days to clear all the debris—but the sooner this kind of thing is handled, the better.
Shiro and the others continued sectioning off the soil, while Ao and I carried it away to the designated disposal area.
“Phew… think that’s everything?”
“Yeah, somehow we managed to finish before evening.”
“““We’re done!”””
By late afternoon, all the debris had been cleared. It was my first time doing this kind of work, but finishing it brought a real sense of accomplishment. All that remained was to sweep the road so it would be easy to pass.
“Wow… you adventurers really are something else. To clear all this in such a short time—it’s truly incredible.”
“I made a nice meal for everyone. Dig in!”
“““Yey!”””
The townspeople had prepared a delicious dinner for us, and we all gathered together, sharing a lively meal with those who had helped in the cleanup.
As we ate, everyone praised our efforts and exchanged words of encouragement—“Well done!”—for a job well done.
Apparently, the heavy rain from the previous day had been unusually severe for the area, and landslides like this had never occurred before. It really had been a stroke of chance… and, thinking about it, it was just as much a coincidence that we happened to be in this post town at that exact time.
After dinner, we went to a nearby inn with a proper bath, cleaned up, and then returned to our original accommodations.
“Tonight, sleep in your own beds. The thunder won’t bother you anymore.”
I said this with a small smile, but everyone was so exhausted from the landslide cleanup that they fell asleep almost immediately.With the road restored, the path cleared, and everyone rested, our journey is ready to continue once more.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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