Chapter 372 : Spirit Wood
Before going to Delica’s house, the three of us strolled around the southern district for a while. I wanted to show Pamella this area since she rarely came here.
After walking around the area, we eventually came across Delica’s house, which is also her father’s wood workshop. We could see a signboard saying, “Gauche Construction” in front of the house.
The surrounding buildings were mostly built of stone, but Delica’s house was the only one built of wood on this street. It also had a huge yard. It was quite conspicuous compared to the other houses because of that.
「Here’s the place. Let’s go.」(Mark)
「Un.」(Pamella)
ーRasp-swoosh-rasp-swooshーー
As soon as we stepped into the front yard, I could hear the sound of someone sawing wood coming from the other side of the house.
Without entering the house, we passed through the front yard and headed to the back of the house where the sound came from.
Next to the house, there was a storage hut to store wood materials. I could see so many logs and lumber neatly piled there.
And next to the hut, there was the workshop where Delica’s father, Gauche oji-san, spent most of his time every day.
I saw the familiar muscular man stepping on the edge of a piece of wood with one foot while cutting the middle part of the wood with a saw. His stance and movements looked very strong and stable, just as expected from a professional carpenter.
He looked so focused and didn’t seem to notice us, so I approached him and greeted him.
「Hello, Gauche oji-san.」(Mark)
「Hm? Oh, Mark-kun!」(Gauche)
He stopped moving his hand and put away the saw as soon as he noticed me.
「I’ve been waiting for you. Are you on your way home from school?」(Gauche)
「Yes. I met Delica on the way.」(Mark)
「I see. Nicola-chan and Pamella-chan, you’re here too.」(Gauche)
「Good day, Gauche oji-chan!」(Nicola)
「He, hello…」(Pamella)
Nicola greeted him with a big smile while Pamella bowed her head politely.
「Haha! Welcome, welcome! By the way, Pamela-chan, I sometimes see you in Iris Bar, but this is the first time I’ve seen you in my house.」(Gauche)
「Umm… Mark-kun took me here…」(Pamella)
「I see. You’re quiet as always, unlike my daughter. Hahh… If only Delica could be as quiet and polite as you.」(Gauche)
After mentioning her daughter’s name, Gauche oji-san crouched down and whispered to me with a suspicious grin on his face.
「Say, Mark-kun, which one do you prefer? A quiet and shy girl like Pamella-chan, or a cheerful and tomboy girl like Delica?」(Gauche)
This old man…
「Hm? I don’t know what you mean. More importantly, have you learned anything about the wood I gave you?」(Mark)
I know the meaning of his question, but I chose to pretend not to understand and changed the subject.
Seeing my reaction, he sighed and scratched his head.
「Hahh… You know what I mean, don’t you? You’re hard to tease as always… Delica would have funny reactions when I ask this kind of question, you know? Oh, well… Your mysterious wood, was it? Wait a sec.」(Gauche)
Giving up on teasing me, he went to the house through the back door and returned with the light-colored piece of wood I had handed to him the other day.
「I asked my friend who has more knowledge about wood, but…」(Gauche)
「Does he know this wood?」(Mark)
「Unfortunately, no. He was surprised when I showed him this piece. Even he, the most knowledgeable carpenter in this region, doesn’t know what type of wood this is. Look. It’s very smooth and has a beautiful color. On top of that, it smells really good. He has never seen a piece of wood this perfect before.」(Gauche)
「I see…」(Mark)
「Since we couldn’t figure out what kind of wood this is, we came to a conclusion. Mark-kun, you created it with magic, didn’t you?」(Gauche)
As expected from professional carpenters. They have noticed it.
「That’s right. I used tree spirit magic to create it.」(Mark)
「I knew it!」(Gauche)
「I imagined a tree without specifying what kind of tree it was. I thought this tree existed, but…」(Mark)
「Well, this world is huge. It may exist somewhere, but not in this country, at least, since my friend couldn’t figure it out. Let’s just call it spirit wood for now. Say, Mark, would you show me how you create it with magic?」(Gauche)
「Eh? Umm…」(Mark)
He wants to see my tree spirit magic, but… the last time I performed it, I accidentally created a giant tree and almost destroyed my backyard.
No, wait… This might be the perfect chance to practice it. This backyard is huge, and there are no tall buildings around, so it should be safe. But first, I need to get Gauche oji-san’s permission.
「I can show you, but I haven’t fully mastered it yet. I might ruin your backyard.」(Mark)
「But even if you messed up, you could clean up the mess with magic, right?」(Gauche)
「Well, yeah.」(Mark)
「Then I don’t mind. Please, I want to see the magic.」(Gauche)
「Alright, if you insist.」(Mark)
I stepped away from the three and stood in the middle of the backyard. I then put on the twig bracelet and whispered to it.
「Diadora, can I borrow your mana a little?」(Mark)
Diadora then replied to me with telepathy.
『Hm…? Are you going to perform spirit magic…?』(Diadora)
「Yeah, if you don’t mind. I promise I won’t mess up this time.」(Mark)
『Alright… I believe in you… Go ahead…』(Diadora)
「Thanks. I’ll give you extra tomatoes tomorrow morning.」(Mark)
『Yaay~ More snacks…!』(Diadora)
Alright. Let’s do it.
I stretched my hands toward the ground and took a deep breath.
Last time, Celine said that I accidentally used too much mana because my mana bowl was much larger than normal people’s, so this time I will try to use as little mana as possible.
Let’s see… I think I will imagine a ball and consider it as the volume of mana I will use. Let’s say that I used mana as big as a basketball last time, so this time, I’ll try to imagine a tennis ballー no, a golf ball.
That’s right… I have to control it… Focus… As little mana as possible… Calm and steady…
While maintaining my focus, I began to send my earth-attributed mana into the bracelet. To be exact, I’m sending it to Diadora, but not directly. Soon after, I felt the wood-attributed mana coming from Diadora in return.
Then, I imagined a tree. A small tree. Not a big tree like the other day. A small and firm one.
「…Here we go!」(Mark)
ーBrrrrrr….!
Soon after, the ground started shaking, and then a tree began to grow from the ground.
However, unlike the last time, the tree stopped growing when it reached the same height as Delica’s house. It was three times smaller than the giant tree I created the other day.
「I… did it… Diadora, are you okay?」(Mark)
『Yes… I’m good… You did it, Mark…』(Diadora)
「Phew…」(Mark)
I immediately whispered to the bracelet to check Diadora’s condition. She lost consciousness last time because I used too much of her mana, but she seemed to be fine this time.
「Whoaaa…!」(Gauche)
「Waahh…」(Pamella)
As expected, Gauche oji-san looked surprised. They looked up at the tree with their mouths wide open.
However, Pamella didn’t look as surprised as Gauche oji-san because she already knew about Diadora.
「There you go.」(Mark)
「I know you’re an extraordinary kid, but, man… You’re impressive as always!」(Gauche)
After complimenting me, he approached the tree. He then tapped the trunk and smelled it like Delica did to the giant tree the other day.
「Hmm… I see, I see… It’s really sturdy, but at the same time, it’s also sticky, meaning that it has elasticity and can be bent. It also has water resistance, and on top of that, this smell… It’s really good…」(Gauche)
He can tell that much from just observing it for a few seconds? That’s impressive!
But… Hold on… He said it was sturdy, elastic, and resistant to water…?
Wait… I think I know what to build with this wood!
That’s right! This is the thing I’ve wanted for a long time! I can finally build it!
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Oh boy, it is that isn’t?