The Top of the Cliff

To extract the orange-colored stone embedded in the cliff—

And then, to reach the unexplored forest spreading across the top of the cliff, I decided to build footholds for climbing up using the steel pipes called single pipes, used for construction scaffolding.

First, I needed to make a foundation for the scaffolding. If I was going to put scaffolding there, I had to level it.

"Y○bo summon!"

I climbed into the heavy machinery I had summoned and began leveling the ground where I would build the scaffolding.

I had plenty of biodiesel fuel made with a magic tool.

Once the ground was level, I laid down boards and placed eight fixed bases for the single pipes—400 yen × 8 = 3,200 yen.

I would stand 3-meter single pipes there, but the width was 1 meter. In other words, I would stack nine box-shaped frames, each 3 m × 3 m and 1 m wide, to make the scaffolding.

To assemble the single pipes, I used yellow-plated single-pipe clamps, tightening their nuts with an electric screwdriver.

"What are you starting, nya?"

"I'm thinking of building scaffolding out of steel pipes so we can climb this cliff."

"Climb this cliff, nya?"

"I doubt anyone's ever climbed it, so there should be lots of medicinal herbs and the like."

"Are there monsters or game up there, nya?"

"I can't imagine monsters or animals being able to climb this cliff—but maybe there aren't any animals up there? Birds can fly, so I expect they live there."

Maybe they can jump over from tall trees? I wouldn't know what it was really like until I went to see, though.

"Sounds interesting, nya! I'll help, nya."

"Great, I'd appreciate it. Having strong Myaree around will be a big help."

I drew up a blueprint, just in case.

Twenty-four 1-meter single pipes at 2,000 yen each—48,000 yen

Forty-eight 3-meter single pipes at 3,000 yen each—144,000 yen

I wanted 4-meter single pipes for diagonal braces, but they didn't seem to sell them, so I decided to connect 2-meter pipes and use those.

Forty-two 2-meter single pipes at 2,500 yen each—105,000 yen

Then I'd need a mountain of joints and single-pipe clamps to connect the pipes—probably around 100,000 yen total.

Oh, right. I forgot the stairs for climbing up.

I would attach 2 m + 2 m single pipes at a 45-degree angle, then install boards called adjustable steps on them to make stairs.

Each flight needed ten boards—the stair materials should come to roughly 140,000 yen.

The scaffolding also needed horizontal boards—they apparently called them long scaffold planks. Eight of those cost 80,000 yen.

That made approximately 620,000 yen in materials, plus free labor.

An aerial work platform would cost four million yen, so this was quite cheap.

If I carved steps and such into the cliff rock, who knew when I would ever finish.

But with scaffolding made from these pipes, I could assemble it in a few days.

Ideally, I would build scaffolding all the way to the top, but if I made it any bigger, it wouldn't fit in my Item Box.

It would be a problem if I had to abandon this kind of overtechnology and flee.

I could choose not to do anything if I was so worried about every little thing—but even if I'm living a slow life, wouldn't that be boring?

There might be treasure in the forest above, too, not just the orange stone...

I bought another electric screwdriver and had Myaree try tightening the single-pipe clamps, but she handled the tool surprisingly well.

She seemed good at this sort of simple work. And she had no fear of climbing high places.

Even when I told her to wear a safety harness, she said she didn't need one—she seemed to have no fear of heights whatsoever.

"I want to help too!"

Anemone, who had been watching Myaree and me work, said she wanted to help too. Well, she could use an electric screwdriver to tighten bolts, at least.

Of course, I made Anemone wear a safety harness and carefully taught her how to use it.

I didn't want to coddle her just because she was a child; I needed to let her do what she could. I also had to trust her more.

Thanks to their help, the scaffolding was finished in three days.

For safety, I also drove anchors into the cliff and secured the scaffolding with ropes, but this was my first time building anything like this, so I had no idea whether it was actually safe...

"Hooray! We did it! It's finished! Well, where there's a will, there's a way."

"Nyaa!"

Myaree ran to the scaffolding and climbed upward along the iron pipes one after another, as though she were climbing a jungle gym.

"Myaaah! It's high up, nya!"

"I'm climbing too!"

Anemone climbed the stairs made from single pipes, then cheered alongside Myaree.

Before I knew it, Bell had come too and was inspecting every inch of the scaffolding.

I climbed the stairs as well and enjoyed the view from there, but—

"Crap! Is it this late already? Myaree! I'm going to pick up Primula."

I was so happy that the scaffolding was finished that I had gone a little past the time I was supposed to pick up Primula.

This world had no personal clocks, but you could get a rough idea of the time from the bells in town. Apparently, they used sundials and water clocks to measure the time and ring the bells.

They determined noon with a sundial, then set the water clocks accordingly.

I had set my own clock to this world's noon as well.

I hurriedly jumped on the motorcycle and went to pick her up, but Primula was already waiting on the main road.

"Sorry, Primula."

"No... Is the thing you were building on the cliff finished?"

"More or less."

"Hey there, boss!"

Nyamena was accompanying Primula as her guard today too.

"Mind if I come play again today?"

"Just so you know, I won't treat you as a guest anymore."

"Haha, I know, boss."

I went home with Nyamena and showed her the completed scaffolding.

"What in the world is this?"

Nyamena blurted that out, then ran to the scaffolding and climbed up one pipe after another, doing a kip like someone on a high bar, eventually looking down at us from above.

Beastfolk seemed to be a race that couldn't resist climbing things like this.

"I'm planning to climb to the top of the cliff from there!"

When I called up to Nyamena at the top of the scaffolding, she jumped down.

Her agility was incredible. It was like watching an action movie without any special effects.

"Climb up?"

"Have you ever heard of anyone climbing to the top of this cliff?"

"No, I haven't. We don't even know what's up there."

"There's a forest up there, and that waterfall is fed entirely by water from this highland. And—since it probably isn't connected to anywhere, there shouldn't be any monsters."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw it from the sky using magic."

"Huh...?"

Nyamena raised one palm in bewilderment. She probably didn't believe what I was saying.

"Um... Kenichi."

"What is it, Primula?"

"I've been meaning to ask for a while... Do you have lots of things like these steel pipes in your Item Box? And the soft bread we eat every day..."

"As expected of Primula, you noticed... Actually, I create them with magic."

"The bread too...?"

"That's right."

She looked as though she didn't believe my words either.

"See? You're starting to lose faith in me, aren't you? If you're going to leave, now's the time."

I pulled Primula close somewhat forcefully and kissed her.

She didn't seem to mind and accepted it, but—

"I'm not leaving..."

As she said it, I ran my hand from her waist down over her buttocks, stopping at her thigh.

"Boss—could you not do that sort of thing right in front of me? It's bad for my eyes."

"What, a fine woman like you doesn't have anyone?"

"Ha! I wouldn't touch some worthless man with a ten-foot pole."

"Kenichi~!"

"Nyaa~!"

Anemone and Myaree came out of the house, so we decided to go back inside.

After dinner, we all decided to take a bath. It was time for Anemone's magic again.

"But wait..."

The old man at the magic-tool shop had said that aluminum could be used as a catalyst to increase the output of magic.

Apparently, he had actually tried using it, and the power had increased as well...

Maybe I should have Anemone try using it too.

I bought an aluminum plate from Shangri-La and handed it to her.

"Anemone, hold this metal and try using magic."

"This?"

"Apparently, having this metal around increases magic's power."

"Yeah, the old magic-tool-shop guy said something like that too, nya."

Myaree's keen ears had apparently picked up our conversation.

"Okay, I'll try!"

I filled the two drum baths standing side by side with water, then Anemone stood in front of them and began concentrating.

I had also attached a simple step to the second drum bath, but I removed it to prepare for her magic.

As though responding to Anemone's concentration, sparkling blue light appeared in midair and began gathering.

'Mmm! Flames of Wrath—Fireball!'

The manifested flames transformed into a huge pillar of fire and enveloped the drum.

"Whoa! Hot, hot!"

That was an incredible amount of heat. The power was far too great! It would turn a Fang Bear into a charred corpse in one shot.

Then the fire suddenly vanished. That was what made it different from ordinary flames: it appeared suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly.

The drum went clank, clank, and I could tell it had been blasted with tremendous heat. It reminded me of the wood-burning stove I had used in my original world's house.

"Amazing, nya!"

"You're amazing for such a little girl! Even veteran adventurers rarely have magic this powerful."

Nyamena was a seasoned adventurer, so there was no reason to doubt her.

"I-I was startled!"

The person who had used the magic was the most startled of all.

"How did it feel? Did you use more mana than usual and get tired?"

"No, not really. About the same as before, I think?"

"Then if it has the same power as before, that means you can use more magic with less mana."

"Yeah, something like that..."

Apparently, this was an unfamiliar experience, so even Anemone was confused.

"Oh no! The water's way too hot, nya!"

Myaree stuck her hand into the bath, then jumped back up!

"Let's see. Ouch! It really is hot!"

It was too hot to get in. The magic had been powerful enough to boil a bath without using firewood.

"What should we do, nya?"

"Well, we can pour this hot water into the other bath and dilute it with cold water."

"Oh, right! You're so smart, Kenichi, nya."

It was hardly anything worth admiring me for.

In any case, one spell had boiled two baths. This was incredibly convenient. And I could get as much aluminum as I wanted from Shangri-La.

But the old man's magic had already shown me this—we needed to prevent aluminum from leaking out into the world.

I had planned to use an aluminum ladder to climb to the top of the cliff from the scaffolding, but perhaps I should abandon that idea...

If something happened and I couldn't retrieve the ladder, it could cause trouble.

If aluminum increased magic's power this much, there were bound to be people who would try to misuse it or use it in war.

If I gave it to anyone, I would have to choose the recipient very carefully.

As for reaching the top of the cliff, it seemed better to simply make another staircase out of single pipes set at a 45-degree angle.

If it wasn't integrated with the scaffolding, I should be able to store the two structures separately in my Item Box.

------◇◇◇------

――The next day.

When I asked Primula, she said she was taking the day off—apparently, she was curious about the scaffolding I had built.

After storing the bed where everyone slept in my Item Box, I brought out a table, and we all ate granola with milk.

"I mean, you're curious too, right?"

"I am too. Oh! This is crisp, sweet, and delicious. Can we really eat so much delicious food?"

Nyamena seemed to like the taste of the granola too.

"No one's climbed to the top of the cliff, right?"

"Of course not, boss. No one can build anything that amazing. Cutting steps into the rock would take a government project. At least, I've never heard of anyone doing it."

"The world is so vast that I think there should be at least one eccentric out there."

"You're the first such eccentric, boss."

"I see."

"That's right."

Apparently, Primula thought I was an eccentric too. In fact, I was an eccentric otherworlder, so I couldn't really blame her.

After we all finished breakfast, I got started on the final preparations.

I combined 1-meter and 3-meter single pipes with adjustable steps to make a staircase at a 45-degree angle, then placed it on top of the scaffolding.

The scaffolding was 9 meters high because I had used three 3-meter single pipes vertically, and a layer of orange stone ran diagonally at the same height as the top of the scaffolding.

I wanted to mine this stone. The transparent orange stone glittered brightly. I had installed the stairs so they wouldn't obstruct the mining.

"I want to dig out this stone. That's why I plan to use the scaffolding too."

"Huh—it's beautiful. Is it valuable?"

Nyamena looked at the orange stone with interest as well.

"I won't know until I dig it out."

"But digging it out with a hammer and chisel will be hard."

"Well, I've got a good magic tool. Don't mention it to anyone in the city."

"I understand. You take care of us, so why would I do something like that?"

Finally, all I had to do was lay four-meter-long scaffold planks from the top of the last staircase to the top of the cliff. One would have been narrow and dangerous, so I laid three side by side and secured them with ropes so they wouldn't slip.

That should keep us from falling.

I was about to cross it—but then—

――The top of the cliff was covered in tall grass... The long scaffold planks crossed the greenery to the other side, so they should have been firmly grounded, but...

I couldn't shake the vague feeling of unease.

"Nyaa!"

Myaree hopped along the planks and became the first to reach the top of the cliff.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, nya! Because you made it, Kenichi!"

She trusted me far too much. I envied the beastfolk their lack of fear a little—but I crossed the planks nervously and reached the top of the cliff too.

"We did it!"

The view from the top of the cliff was magnificent. I could see the glittering surface of the lake spread out below us.

But looking down revealed a sheer drop into the abyss. My balls tingled—that sensation was known as a ball-shrinker.

I had assumed women, who didn't have balls, wouldn't experience it, but apparently women felt something similar too.

"Wow! Great view!"

It was only two meters higher than the scaffolding, but the scenery somehow looked completely different.

As I was admiring the view, I heard a voice from below.

"Kenichi, I want to go over there too."

It was Anemone's voice, but I had to ask her to wait a little. The grass was completely overgrown, making it difficult to tell where the edge of the cliff was.

"Anemone, wait a moment. I'll cut the grass."

I took a brush cutter out of my Item Box and began mowing the grass with a loud rattling roar.

"What the heck is that sound?!"

Nyamena seemed confused by the deafening engine noise.

"It's the sound of a grass-cutting spell. It'll be over soon."

I mowed all around us until the edge of the cliff was visible. Then I drove a stake into the end of the scaffold planks and secured them so they couldn't move from our side either.

"Kenichi! Can I come over?"

"Sure. Be careful."

"Okay."

Anemone and Primula climbed the stairs on all fours, then timidly crossed the long planks. I caught Anemone in my arms when she reached me.

"Wow, amazing! We can see all the way to the edge of the lake."

"Yeah, and we can see Santanka Village over there. But apart from the village, I can't see any sign of people living around the lake."

The people of Santanka hadn't said anything to us since the Croton incident. They didn't seem interested in us at all.

They might have become even more isolationist after letting an outsider like Croton in and drawing trouble to themselves.

I didn't like interference, so if anything, that was convenient for me.

"I can't believe we really made it to the top of the cliff... Boss, you're incredible!"

"Keep it a secret."

"No one would believe this anyway."

Nyamena looked exasperated, but Primula laughed when she saw her expression.

"Heehee, you all say the same thing."

Primula was right.

Even if I told people that I had built scaffolding out of metal pipes in a few days and made stairs to climb to the top of a cliff, no one would believe me.

"Nyaa!"

Myaree ran joyfully into the forest—and a black shadow followed her.

It was Bell, who had climbed the stairs without anyone noticing.

Bell might not have been able to climb a ladder, but even a Forest Cat could manage these stairs.

"Hey, hey, be a little more careful!"

"Boss, I don't sense anything suspicious, though."

"Really?"

The beastfolk weren't on their guard, and neither was Bell—so it was probably safe.

Still, it would be a problem if they charged in and lured a huge monster back here.

"Kenichi! There's something good over here, nya! Come here, nya!"

"What is it?"

Drawn by Myaree's loud voice, I stepped into the forest.

It was dim inside, so little undergrowth grew there and the leaf mold was visible, just like in the forest below.

When I reached the place where Myaree was shouting, I saw a faint white ring around a large tree, with slender things growing from it.

"Nobi mushrooms, nya."

"So these are them."

When these slender stalks finished growing, they opened tiny caps and soon withered. That was why the ones that hadn't opened their caps yet were apparently best for harvesting.

"Let's pick them and use them for dinner tonight."

They really were easy to identify and spot.

When I returned from the mushroom patch, Anemone and Primula were searching for medicinal herbs.

"Kenichi! There was Red Dewgrass among the grass you cut!"

"Really? I didn't notice."

"I'll find more. If they're at our feet, I'll smell them right away."

Nyamena offered to help with her proud nose.

"Please do. I'll treat you to a delicious dinner with Nobi mushrooms."

"That sounds great."

It seemed the top of this cliff really was a jackpot.

"Anemone, Primula, don't go too close to the edge of the cliff. It could crumble and send you falling."

"Okay."

"Understood."

Still, sending a child to a dangerous place like this... Then again, in this world, people apparently started working and were treated as adults once they turned twelve...

Was treating her like a child really the wrong thing to do? I had never had anything to do with children, and then suddenly I was practically a father.

I had no idea how I was supposed to interact with her... It was a real dilemma.