Chapter 4: The water of the Earth is the treasure of that world(4)

“…Hehe.”

I entered the cafe and stared blankly at the smiling girl.

‘Why is she suddenly smiling?’

I couldn’t help but wonder.

It wasn’t like I was arrogant enough to think, ‘How dare you smile in front of me?’

But, I came to this cafe with her in the first place because she looked like she was in danger.

She was crying.

It seemed like if she didn’t sit someone down and tell her story, she would do something dangerous.

So, I put aside my desire to go home early and came to the cafe with her.

But the girl who ordered the coffee just smiled at me without saying anything.

‘Is she okay now?’If so, that’s good.’

The girl opened her mouth.

“Brother… is it hard working as a gatherer?”

“It’s my first time doing it today, but it wasn’t that hard?”

Except for the fact that I had to go to a cafe with a kid who found my lost item, it could have been a sweeter part-time job.

“Really?That’s good…”

“Why?”

“I, um. I think I need to do this job too.”

I tilted my head.

“Aren’t you a hunter?”

“Ah, you thought I was a hunter?You can speak informally! I’m not a hunter… I’m an academy student.”

She was a student.

Come to think of it, she looked much younger than the other hunters.

“Then… can’t you just graduate from the academy and become a hunter?”

“That’s… I don’t think I can attend.”

Her expression became gloomy again.

“I was… a bit lazy, and I skipped classes…”

“It happens.”

I nodded casually.

“I was going to make up for it in this field practice, but the results were terrible… and I don’t think I’ll be able to use ‘fire spells’ for a while…”

“That doesn’t mean you’ll be expelled right away.”

“There’s a test for students at risk of expulsion in two weeks, and if you fail, you’re expelled. It’s… the timing is a bit bad.”

“Can’t you just take that?”

“It’s a practical test… because of the magic outburst, I can’t use spells for a while. There’s no way I can pass.”

She sighed gloomily.

“I’m sorry.”

“You gave me… courage, but when I cooled down and thought about it again, I don’t think it’s going to work-“

“Courage, what, I just found a lost item.”

“Still, you shouted around to return it…”

“If you heard it, you should have come out.”

“I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s not a big deal.”

If she’s a child, she might be a little confused or embarrassed.

It wasn’t an inconvenience that I couldn’t understand.

“If you can’t use spells, can’t you take the test with something else?”

“Well, I can still do things like wrap my fist in flames or shoot flames instead of bullets.”

The girl sighed deeply.

“But, the expulsion test isn’t that easy. I’m not confident in fighting with my body, and I can’t shoot a gun.”

“Have you tried?”

“Yes.”

“It didn’t work out.I can’t hit the target with a gun, and I’m not good at fighting… Hehe.”

She shook her head gloomily.

“Even if you leave the academy, you can still work as a hunter.I bet it pays better than being a gatherer.”

Shin Yuhwa’s eyes became even more depressed.

“It’s just… embarrassing.My classmates will all graduate and start working as hunters… and it’s a bit much for me, who got expelled, to be among them.”

“Don’t you want to be a hunter?”

“It’s not that… I just wonder if someone like me should be a hunter…”

“Then it would be better to do it.”

Unfortunately, I was not a model adult either.

I couldn’t give proper advice to the girl in front of me.

Still, I could tell her what I felt as someone who had lived a little longer.

“If you want to, do it.You’re still young? I don’t know what you did wrong, but if you still have lingering feelings, you should be a hunter.”

There was no need to tell a child like this the difference in annual salary between the lowest-level hunters, whose names people don’t even know, and gatherers.

It was an age to pursue something more fundamental.

“I haven’t done a lot of gathering work… but there’s not much of a future.”

“You just repeat the same thing.”

That’s how I was when I was an office worker.

If I didn’t awaken, I thought I would spend years, decades, doing similar work, commuting to the same company building, and enjoying the same leisure.

There was no challenge, no change.

A predictable future was waiting for me.

“You’re still young, so wouldn’t it be better to look a little higher?You can always work as a gatherer.”

“Ah…”

It bothered me a little.

I was taking on a new challenge.

I had gained the identity of a multi-dimensional merchant and was building infrastructure for the future.

I was trying to escape from the same life as yesterday and live a new life.

But this girl was jumping into that ‘same life as yesterday’.

That’s not a bad thing.

Most people live a life without challenges.

People don’t have to challenge and build rewards through work or their jobs.

But it wasn’t very pleasant to see someone’s dream being crushed in front of me.

“…Thank you, I’ll do it!”

“Huh?”

As a child, she readily accepted my advice.

“I’ll try my best not to give up!I’ll be a hunter!”

“For my Brother!”

“Why am I suddenly in this?”

I tried to interject, but the girl seemed to be lost in her own world.

“But, um.Expulsion is confirmed, I’ll have to leave the dormitory, ugh…”

I drank my coffee and briefly analysed her situation.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“If you pass that expulsion test, you won’t get expelled, right?”

The girl nodded.

“Yes.It’ll be hard, though.”

“You can take the test with a different subject other than magic, and you can at least make a flame bullet?”

“That’s right.The problem is I can’t hit anything.”

“Can’t you do something if you try from now on?”

“It’s… probably impossible.”

I tilted my head.

In summary, all she needed to stay in the academy was ‘a very small amount of shooting skill’.

“Do you have to use only designated firearms when taking the test?”

“No.There were no such restrictions.”

I fell into thought for a moment.

‘It might be possible?’

There was nothing I could be sure of.

But, I could create a positive variable in her test.

I looked at her with serious eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“Sh-Shin Yuhwa!”

“Okay.”

“Yuhwa. If I get you to pass the test, what can you do for me?”

“Yes… yes?”

She blushed, flustered.

“Anything-“

“Never mind.Sorry.”

I shook my head.

‘Well, you don’t have to live only for profit.What can I expect from a kid like her.’

Anyway, there was no risk on my part.

I had to get something from the [Wasteland 2] world, and even if I failed, there was no risk to me.

“Never mind.I don’t know if it will help… but give me your contact information for a moment.I might be able to get a useful item.”

“Yes!”

Yuhwa handed me her phone.

I called my number on it, and after confirming that the call went through, I returned the phone to her.

“I’ll contact you when I’m ready.”

“Yes!”

“S-See you later!”

“But…”

She hesitated, unable to continue.

“Why?”

“What’s your name, Brother?”

“Jeong Isu”

“Okay, Isu Brother!You have to contact me later!I’ll be counting on you!”

I shook my head.

“Nothing is certain, so look up how to get a hunter job after expulsion.”

“That’s too much!”

“If you don’t want to, look for a gatherer job.”

“If I work as a gatherer, can I work with you, Brother?”

“I can do that a few times… but I can’t say this is my main job.I don’t know when I’ll quit.”

“Yes?That would be nice!”

“You should be a hunter.”

“Geez…”

She pouted.

She seemed to be a very friendly child.

“Did you finish your coffee?”

“I’m leaving now.It’s late, so go home safely.Your mom will be worried.”

“I live alone, so it’s okay!”

“…Really?”

For a moment, I thought I might have touched a dark part.

“Yes.I entered the academy dormitory!”

“Ah, I see.”

It was a misunderstanding.

“Anyway, see you later.”

If I continued talking to her, the conversation wouldn’t end.

I got up from my seat and walked towards the subway station to go home.

‘A pistol… there’s a good one.’

Thinking of a new weapon that was perfect for the child.

****

“Stoneville has promised to cooperate!”

“Great!”

Lisa, who had established a base at the trading post, celebrated the victory with her subordinates.

The glass was filled with water, not precious liquor or cheap beer.

“Wow~ aren’t we living the good life? It’s a shame that only we can enjoy this…Those idiots, they should have held on a little longer…”

But the banquet held with that water was more luxurious than any banquet held with expensive alcohol.

Most alcohol was an inferior liquid made to make contaminated water a little more palatable.

“We need to prepare for the next trade…”

“Didn’t he say he would take anything?”

“…This trade is one-sided. If he cuts off the water supply now, the settlements will also cut off their cooperation with us.”

Lisa promised to provide drinking water to gain the cooperation of some settlements.

Even if that wasn’t the case, the moment the Rangers went to the settlements to get drinking water, most of the settlements would cut off their relationship with them.

In order for the Rangers to settle in this area, the drinking water he provided was essential.

“We need to find something that will help him, something that he can use.That way, we can maintain this base somehow.”

“Well, it’s something that we have a base.We should be thankful.”

“That was… lucky.The location of this trading post wasn’t bad.”

Fortunately, this trading post was built in the center of the surrounding settlements.

The immediate surroundings were just a desolate wasteland, but it was a suitable location to build the Ranger headquarters around it.

“Well, it will be difficult to find such an item right away, so for now-“

Before Lisa could finish, a man’s voice came from the speaker.

“Excuse me. Lisa.Are you there?”

“Y-Yes!I’m here! Just give the order!”

Lisa moved urgently.

She stood in front of his hologram as desperately as a believer who had received a call from God.

“Is it the next trade?”

“Ah, we can do that in about two days.I’m sorry.But don’t worry, we have prepared much more water than last time.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, how many-“

“20? 30?I’ll have to put it in to know for sure, but I think that much will fit.”

“Even at a low estimate, twice what you gave me last time…”

“Ah, no. Not 20 liters, but 20 units.Please think of it as at least 40 liters.”

“That’s!”

That much water could save many lives.

Lisa, with a trembling heart, carefully opened her mouth.

“Then, what can we give you in return?”

“Get me Gremlin pistols.As many as possible.Can you do that?Gremlin pistols?”

It was a material closer to waste than a resource.

It could be used as scrap metal if melted properly, or just thrown away.

“We’ll gather as many as we can!”

“You don’t have to overdo it, well, about five, considering the spare?Please make sure they are in working order.”

“Got it!”

“Yes, thank you.”

The communication was cut off.

Lisa shouted with enthusiasm.

“Everyone who drank water, get up! Get Gremlin pistols right away!”

“But it’s night-“

“There’s no time! Go around all the settlements and get everything you can! If we work hard, he can give us water!”

Water.

At the sound of that word, the eyes of the Rangers began to fill with motivation.

Because water was important.

“Got it!”

“Good.With that spirit! Let’s go!”

Lisa smiled brightly.

‘We can buy water with just Gremlin pistols?’

‘This is a great deal!’

Along with the thought that the value of ‘water’ he thought of was not as high as she had expected.