Chapter 32
We started a fire with the dried-out firewood and dried the platform, too.
Once we rebuilt the collapsed bathroom partition, the settlement returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.
The ground was still wet, and there was always the worry that it might rain again──
But for now, sitting together in front of the warm fire felt cozy and nice.
"We've almost finished cleaning up the damage."
"Well, there wasn't much to begin with."
"Even that little bit would've taken ages if not for you, Mr. Woojin…."
Seoyun let out a relieved sigh and poked at the firewood with a fire poker.
"Being able to find dry firewood like this after the rain is thanks to you, too. Thank you."
"Feeling a little better, Assistant Manager?"
Remembering how she'd been slumped just a moment ago, the Assistant Manager's cheeks turned rosy.
"Yes! Now that we've rebuilt our base… shall we get back to it?!"
"はいはい~~~! Luka has an idea!"
Luka energetically raised her hand.
"Let's hear it."
"If it rains again, can't Oppa block it with wind? You can do that, right, Oppa? Whoosh!"
"Hmm… what do you think?"
Ordinary rain should be manageable.
"Yesterday's downpour might be tough, but I should be able to make a temporary roof."
"When did you become able to do that?"
"I leveled up after going hunting."
"…When you say that, Mr. Woojin, it sounds like a joke."
Of course, I don't have anything like a status window.
I control magic entirely by feel.
"We'll have to protect this ember from now on, too. Should we take turns keeping watch?"
"Eeeh."
Luka openly voiced her displeasure.
I didn't like night watch either. Even if I hated it, it seemed like we had to…
"Don't 'eeeh' me, Luka. There's barely any gas left in the lighter now, right?"
"That's true, but I don't think we need to worry about the fire anymore."
"Huh?"
I'd already cast the Glyph of Preservation on the ember.
I hadn't gotten the Glyph of Fire yet, so controlling flames and the like was out of reach, but simply "preserving" an ember
was no longer difficult for me.
"You could call it a new system."
"It's always hard to understand your explanations, Mr. Woojin."
Seoyun complained with her arms crossed, as if demanding that I explain in more detail.
"I acquired new magic. It broadened the range of what I can do with magic."
"Wow! Oppa, you're amazing!"
"Really?"
"I'll show you."
Given the Assistant Manager's personality, she'd still be worried even if I told her I could preserve the ember.
So I decided to demonstrate right away.
It was quicker to show them the mysteries of magic with their own eyes.
I summoned water into the palm of my hand.
A blue pattern whose meaning only I could understand appeared at my fingertips, and when I carefully understood and touched it, clear water welled up.
Splash.
The water pooling in my palm quivered, as if it might overflow at any moment.
Everyone watched my demonstration as if spellbound.
"It's amazing no matter how many times I see it."
"I'm not done yet."
I layered another pattern over the Glyph of Water.
Preservation.
I held the rippling water in place.
I preserved the water at this very moment, keeping it in a drinkable state.
At that moment, the water in my palm quietly rose into the air.
It no longer flowed downward or lost its shape. It formed into a sphere of water, with little ripples slowly swaying inside.
The outside was still, while only the water within seemed alive.
"This is…."
As if she'd realized this was a different kind of magic from usual, Seoyun's eyes widened.
"Want to press it?"
Seoyun came closer and tapped the water sphere with her finger.
A needle-sized opening appeared, and a thin stream of water flowed out.
Trickle, trickle……
I caught the stream in an empty water bottle.
"Now let go."
When the Assistant Manager lifted her finger, the stream stopped immediately.
The water disappeared, and the sphere returned to its perfectly round shape.
"See?"
"You can… store it? The water magic?"
"Yes. I've already cast the magic on the ember and preserved it, too."
Now, we wouldn't have to worry about a fire going out after lighting it.
That single spark from the lighter had been a precious stepping stone.
"But shouldn't we still keep watch? There seem to be quite a few wild animals on this island…."
Seoyun said, as if asking for my opinion.
"I think we probably should."
Boars were one thing, but we'd even seen a lizard like that.
With monster-class creatures of mysterious origins roaming the island, it wasn't as if we could just say the fire was taken care of and everyone could sleep soundly……
and leave it at that.
We might need a basic watch policy.
Maybe, until now, we'd been thinking too much like modern people with rose-colored glasses.
Though it's kind of funny to think that being stranded would suddenly turn us into survival experts──
It was day twelve now.
After getting screwed over by the island a few times, I couldn't help thinking, 'Fuck, I won't live out my natural lifespan at this rate.'
And that thought seemed to be turning into ways to survive.
"Then we'll decide on a watch schedule later. Oh, can you use the Water Pocket without a storage container?"
"Yes."
I floated a Water Pocket filled with a dense concentration of mana into the air.
Everyone's gaze followed the Water Pocket as it bobbed up.
"If I fill up Water Pockets, you can take water whenever you need it, and I can adjust the pressure, so you can even shower."
"That… really is convenient!"
"And! Don't be surprised."
The real thing was about to begin.
I pressed the Water Pocket firmly, like a button.
Fwoosh!!
The Water Pocket blasted water in a powerful stream in one direction.
"Did you see that?"
"…That's quite a strong stream. What about it?"
"It means I can make a bidet on a deserted island."
"……!!"
Hm?
I thought they'd react more enthusiastically.
Everyone seemed frozen in time.
"Well? Isn't it great?"
When I asked again, Seoyun slowly nodded and spoke with a solemn expression.
"Mr. Kim Woojin, you're the best. Take every award, Employee of the Month and all."
"Then I'll take them all for myself."
Yay~
I became Serin Cosmetics' Employee of the Month!
………
……
Does this even mean anything?
"Oppa's a genius…."
"A genius wizard."
"A genius wizard!! So cool!"
Our settlement had been wrecked once, but my magic had become even more refined.
Even if it couldn't solve everything at once, what would happen if we kept adding little improvements like this?
We might be able to live so comfortably it was hard to believe we were on a deserted island.
For that, I could put up with some hassle.
Putting up with hassle to make life easier.
Wasn't that a universal motivation for all humanity?
I want to be comfortable.
Even more than now!
"It's all great, but…."
Manager Han Jia said.
"This place is a little scary. We don't know when the water might rise…."
"Should we move somewhere a little higher?"
Everyone reacted to my suggestion.
"Higher ground?"
"Somewhere higher?"
"Since I can make water, I was thinking we could find a place with good drainage without worrying about being near a water source."
"That's a wonderful idea, Mr. Woojin!"
"Hmm, you're right."
Manager Han seemed very pleased.
"So could you put up with it just a little longer, Manager?"
"Yes…!"
They were all really responsive to the phrase "good drainage."
I couldn't even imagine how much trouble they'd gone through in last night's downpour.
"But… I don't want to burden you any more, Mr. Woojin…."
Seoyun hesitated.
"It's fine. I'm already carrying a log, so adding a few branches won't make any difference."
"Ghk……. Am I the log you're talking about?"
"Haha. You should be grateful I'm carrying you."
"Yes! I'm very grateful. But if you keep acting so smug…!"
Acting smug~?
"I-I might just learn magic, too!"
"Ooh~~ Go for it."
"……Ahem. Water!"
Seoyun shouted at the empty air.
Of course, nothing happened.
「水よー！ ルカの手に集まれー！(Water~! Gather in Luka's hand~!)」
Luka also joked around, imitating magic.
As if it were their turn next, everyone's gaze naturally shifted to the Manager.
"Oh my, I… Ahem. Spirit of water…? Please come out…?"
I conjured Water Pockets one after another.
"Oh my, oh my."
Seoyun's eyes narrowed.
"What is this, Mr. Woojin? Water magic to humor the Manager…."
"Manager Han summoned the water spirit, didn't she?"
"What a pretty water spirit~~. Thank you♡♡"
Haha!
Employee of the Month Kim Woojin is on fire!
"If you put in the effort, Assistant Manager, you could be an exemplary employee, too."
"Grr… That's an unnecessarily cheeky way to put it…."
I went on to create several Water Pockets for various uses around the settlement and floated them in the air.
Time to show off~!
"Just you wait. I'll make sure you take back what you said about me being a log."
Sway.
The Assistant Manager pushed out her chest, and her large breasts swayed.
She probably hadn't meant to, but it really was an alluring sway.
'Those breasts are already practically magical…."
I almost blurted out that I wanted to touch the Assistant Manager's breasts.
The line between reason and instinct was getting thinner and thinner—!
"Everyone, are you hungry?"
I took the bundle of raw meat from my bag.
"Ah…!!"
The women's eyes gleamed.
They must've been starving and exhausted after going a whole day without eating.
But the moment the meat appeared, Luka's energy visibly shot up!
"Oppa!! Are you a god? A deity!? You must be a god who descended to look after Luka!"
"Mr. Woojin… where did you get that?! Amazing~."
"You completed the job even in all that rain?"
"That's right."
Whatever else we do, food comes first.
Grrr.
Jia and Seoyun's stomachs rumbled loudly.
"You want to eat, don't you, Assistant Manager? You want to eat, huh? Hehehe!"
"……I-I do. Grr…."
"Say, 'Please let me eat.' Go on."
"Please let me eat!!"
Good. What an excellent attitude, ready to receive my largesse!
Heh, heh, heh.
Can't be helped.
I shall bestow upon you some delicious meat……
I'd cast Preservation on it early, in case it went bad on the way back.
Thanks to that, the meat was holding up well without its surface turning sticky.
"I'll get it ready to grill right away, Mr. Woojin~."
Manager Han Jia immediately started preparing the meal.
It was time for a happy meal.
After grilling the meat and filling ourselves up, Seoyun seemed to have gotten her energy back, too.
As I lay on the platform, enjoying the breeze and relaxing, Seoyun quietly came over.
"───Thank you, Mr. Woojin. I've been saying thank you a lot lately."
"It's better than not saying it."
"I'm even more grateful than I can express with the words I always use."
Seoyun said with a bright smile.
"Hmm, just words~?"
"Well, should I give you a deep bow?"
Assistant Manager Kang Seoyun bowing deeply?
That'd be a sight to see in its own way. It'd feel like I was a successful CEO with a beautiful secretary at my beck and call.
Assistant Manager Kang Seoyun was exactly that type.
Beautiful black hair and black eyes.
An aura bolstered by her sharp personality and fierce pride.
Even her lips, always firmly pressed together as if refusing to lose no matter what came her way, were attractive.
"Is there something you want from me?"
Seoyun came a little closer than usual, like someone who'd made up her mind.
"Pardon?"
The Assistant Manager was being strangely forward.
She wasn't drunk, so what was this?
Should I just pull out a condom and say, 'Sex! I want sex!'?
I imagined it for a moment, but all I could picture was her slapping me.
Besides, I'd used them all on Vitoria noona.
"If there's something you want?"
"I hate playing twenty questions, so say it clearly. Don't beat around the bush."
"Please let me lick your armpits!!"
"Um…."
The Assistant Manager flinched in surprise, then mumbled with her face red.
"W-wouldn't it have been okay to beat around the bush at least once…."