When the Count returned and I asked him to inspect the bath, he was stunned.
"Incredible! I never imagined it could be this clean again."
"It is as if time itself has been turned back," Pigu added.
The effort we had all put into scrubbing away the mineral deposits had clearly paid off. Both the Count and Pigu, who remembered the bath from years ago, looked genuinely delighted.
"Thank you, Ryoma-kun," the Count said.
"Now I can finally hold my head up before the Former Lord," Pigu remarked.
"I’m just glad it meets your satisfaction," I replied.
However, there was one specific spot I had been told not to clean, and it was still bothering me.
"Are you absolutely certain about leaving the water intake as it is?" I asked.
The outlet where the hot spring water flowed into the bath remained almost exactly as we had found it. Thick crystals of calcium carbonate clung to the opening, visibly obstructing the flow.
"I couldn't possibly ask for more; we wouldn't finish in a single day if you tackled that too," the Count explained. "The pipes for drawing the water stretch all the way back to the source. Besides... though it feels a bit wrong to say this after you've worked so hard, I likely won't use this facility very often myself. I simply wanted to restore it as a tribute to my father’s legacy, as close to its original state as possible. It is perfect as it is. If I were to wish for anything else, it would be that the view from here were visible, but the bamboo has encroached so far..."
"The thicket was left neglected for far too long," Pigu noted.
"So the bamboo hasn't always been here?" I asked.
"That’s right. My father brought some bamboo from somewhere and planted it a short distance away years ago. He used to let me eat freshly dug bamboo shoots all the time. But without maintenance, it grew out of control until it reached this state."
"In the old days, you could see the scenery below quite clearly from here..."
Over decades of neglect, the bamboo had spread right up to the edge of the open-air bath, and the tall stalks now completely blocked the horizon.
I felt a series of silent stares coming from the entrance of the changing room. It was the crew from Shikumu's Pier.
So that’s how it is? You guys want to do this? Well, if that was the case...
"In that case, let’s clear away a bit of the bamboo near the bath so you can enjoy the view again. We'll make that the final touch."
"Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply you should... are you sure?"
"The success reward we discussed was ten small gold coins, so consider this a complimentary service. Besides, it looks like the five guys behind me are raring to go."
"Wh—?!"
"Hey!"
When I turned to look at them, the five were visibly flustered. Honestly, they didn't need to be so secretive about it. Their panicked reactions were actually making it—ah, the Count went over to talk to them. While they were busy being stiff and embarrassed, I figured I should get ready.
I pulled a Wire Slime and a long pole from my Dimension Home. Then, I prepared a sturdy rope to serve as a safety line for the descent...
"Ryoma-kun, that was a low blow!"
"We aren't used to dealing with high-ranking nobles like you are..."
Kei and Kai draped their arms over my shoulders as soon as the Count stepped away.
"The Count seems like a good person," I said. "If you just act natural, you'll be fine."
"You’ve got a real set of stones on you for a kid your age," Kai muttered.
"I almost thought we were just being country bumpkins, but it's not just us, is it?" Kei asked.
How rude. Even I wasn't fond of dealing with powerful people, and I’d been plenty nervous the first time I met a noble.
Regardless, it was time to get to work. The method wasn't particularly complicated.
"The slime and I will handle the bulk of the clearing. It’s efficient but a bit messy, so there will probably be some stumps and debris left behind. I’ll leave the finishing touches to you guys. Since we’ll be working on a steep slope, please use this rope for safety."
That was all it took to convince them. Their trust in my slimes had grown significantly throughout the day.
As the crew scrambled to get ready, I headed to the edge of the bath, climbed over the safety railing, and descended onto the slope.
"Alright, I'm counting on you."
The Wire Slime was eager. It extended its body through the bamboo thicket, thinning itself out into a long, serrated wire. Its range was about forty meters, but for this task, I asked it to use two strands and stop at twenty meters.
Once I confirmed the strands were stretched out along the ground, I had it connect the ends to form a large loop. The Wire Slime’s core, which couldn't change shape, gripped the tip of my pole with its excess thread. Finally, I channeled Qi through the pole into the slime, reinforcing its wire-saw body.
"Parallel to the ground and as close to the roots as possible. Ready... go!"
At my signal, the Wire Slime retracted the loop. The slack wire snapped taut, and the serrated edge bit deep into the bamboo stalks caught within the circle. The slime then began to rapidly expand and contract, vibrating the taut wire back and forth.
The Qi-reinforced serrations were incredibly sharp. They sliced through the bamboo instantly, the loop shrinking as it moved from one stalk to the next. In less than twenty seconds, every bit of bamboo and brush inside the loop had been severed.
"I thought this during my experiments after it evolved, but this really is like a chainsaw... I feel like I've created something terrifying. Oh."
A shadow fell over me. I looked up to see the Count staring down with a look of pure shock.
"Are slimes truly supposed to be capable of such things?"
"Uh, well, I think the slimes Ryoma-kun keeps are just... special," one of the crew replied.
"The other day, he was clearing massive amounts of trees around the village for an 'experiment,'" another added.
"Yeah, and the old folks who saw it were saying they wanted one for themselves. Said it would save them the hassle of gathering firewood."
Even the village elders? Well, I couldn't blame them; the cutting power was immense. I was using a pole specifically because I didn't want to get anywhere near that vibrating wire myself.
"I'm going to keep moving down, so be ready to step in soon!" I called up to the five onlookers.
I cleared another twenty-meter section in the opposite direction. Then, I took a step down the slope and repeated the process. By moving methodically, I cleared a forty-meter-wide swath centered on myself as I descended.
The severed bamboo stalks tumbled toward the base of the hill, initially getting snagged on the remaining leaves and branches, but eventually, the weight became too much. The ground was becoming cluttered with fallen stalks; I had to be careful not to get pinned.
In the manga and light novels of my previous life, "thread users" often appeared as powerful combatants. I wondered if I could replicate those techniques with the Wire Slime. My current method was a bit different, but it was certainly effective at clearing a forest.
If I use this right, it could even work for mobility...
I imagined a zip-line—hanging from a pulley on a stretched wire and sliding down. No, that was more like a children's obstacle course. Still, with my current physical abilities, it would probably be fun. It took a long time to get from the top of the abandoned mine to the base; if I could use a zip-line for even one direction, it would be a huge time-saver. I decided to try building one when I got home.
Wait, what was I thinking about before the obstacle course? Right, the Wire Slime. I’d been thinking about those thread users from stories... It was funny; those characters were almost always top-tier fighters, whether they were friends or foes. I don't think I’d ever seen a thread user who was weak or used for non-combat support. In battle manga, there are usually plenty of characters who just provide commentary, but I’d never seen a thread user in that role.
"Whoops."
As I was lost in thought, the view finally opened up. A little further down, the bamboo gave way to a normal forest of trees. From my position on the slope, I could see quite a bit; that meant the view from the open-air bath must have been fully restored. This seemed like enough clearing. However...
As I looked out over the horizon, that sense of unease returned. I kept my eyes on the landscape as I climbed back up toward the bath.
Then, it hit me.
"Ah, right. That’s it."
I finally understood the source of my initial unease. It was the orientation.
Generally, an open-air bath is built to face the best possible scenery. This bath followed that rule, with no wall on the side facing the slope. Because of that, I had subconsciously assumed it would overlook the beautiful Lake Latoin.
But in reality, the bath was facing the exact opposite direction of the lake. The view from here was of a vast wetland and deep forest. My sense of direction had been skewed by the winding mountain paths, and seeing the map earlier had almost triggered the realization.
Because Pigu was a reliable guide, I hadn't worried about getting lost. Even if I had, I could have used the Rimur Birds to find the city's direction, so I hadn't been paying much attention to my compass. I made a mental note to be more careful in the future.
The real question was: why this direction? The view wasn't bad, but it was the same scenery I’d seen throughout the territory. Was it because of the location of the spring?
I climbed back into the bath area and received a satisfied nod from the Count. I took the opportunity to ask about the spring’s location and learned it was actually closer to the lake side. They had gone out of their way to pipe the water to this specific spot. If so, there had to be a reason.
I felt a nagging curiosity about that "reason," so I let the guys from Shikumu's Pier handle the final cleanup while I took a moment to gaze at the scenery and think.
Why had the Former Lord built the bath exactly here?
"...Wait. Look at the materials, and the way this was constructed..."
I thought about what I’d heard of the Former Lord’s personality. A hypothesis began to form—just a "maybe" for now—but I let my imagination run with it.
It was just a guess, but...
"Pigu-san," I called out.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Earlier, you mentioned that the Former Lord’s grave is at the summit of this mountain, correct?"
"Indeed I did. Why do you ask?"
"Is it possible that the grave is—"
I asked a question based on my hunch, and Pigu’s eyes widened in genuine shock.
"How could you possibly know that? It is just as you say; there is almost nothing surrounding the Former Lord’s grave. It sits exposed to the elements, a fact that has always pained us... but his will contained incredibly specific instructions, from the exact burial site to the precise way the surrounding trees were to be trimmed. We had no choice but to obey."
I was fairly certain I was right now.
"Thank you, Pigu-san. Thanks to you, I think I’ve found a lead for the Count’s other request as well."
"I am... glad if I could be of service," he replied, though he looked utterly bewildered.
I might have been a bit light on the explanation, but my mind was already racing, focused on how to take this sudden inspiration and turn it into something tangible.