Chapter 166: Yarikiri! 3
Three weeks passed.
The elves Yeonseo had taken in managed to terraform over half of Yeonseo's desert dungeon into lush greenery in less than two weeks, earning it a new name: [The Great Forest of the Elves].
Originally, the elves could only use their spirit magic under the blessing of their Mother World Tree.
However, in their previous world, the elves' World Tree had been burned by Yujin, and since Olgania was saved by the Saintess of the Dead, Shia, even the fake World Tree that had bound the spirits vanished completely.
Thus, the blessings of the Great Forest and the spirits returned entirely to the elves.
Thanks to the release of the spirits, a certain weapon known as the “Spirit Nuke,” also called ‘Green and Lush like Your Rivers and Mountains,’ was born—an impossible weapon created from the momentum of such snowballing events.
Weapons and technologies capable of causing wide-scale disasters generally use mana, holy power, or aura as their source of energy to achieve the result of 'destruction.'
As destruction ensues, the fuel burns away on the spot, but even though the Spirit Nuke of the elves was driven by spirits, they were not consumed.
As long as life exists, spirits can reside anywhere and be born from anywhere.
Thanks to this, after just four days, the spirits used in the impulsive detonation of the Spirit Nuke by the young Olga returned to the elves.
Anyway, with the spirits used for the Spirit Nuke back in place, the elves pressed ahead with the desert terraforming project.
The way the elves approached terraforming was more grueling and laborious than one might think.
"Sisters, please start with the vine anchor line on that side."
"The level is set."
"Hey, this isn’t even level!"
"Can’t you speak nicely?!"
First, they used a tough, high-tensile vine from the Great Forest to measure lengths like a tape measure and drew up a simple plan.
Next, they aligned the edges of the vines and used a fixed frame to anchor the vines into the ground, securing them with arrows.
Once level, they planted a water spirit at that spot to create a stable foundation in the desert sand.
For reference, starting the terraforming meant detailed work, so the elves wore minimal clothing.
They wore close-fitting outfits with the least coverage, going without underwear to avoid accidentally touching the spirits while working in their designated spaces.
Of course, the extreme heat of the desert dungeon also meant that without such scant clothing, they might just overheat and die.
While they did have a natural air conditioner in the form of water, ice, and wind spirits surrounding the atmosphere, it couldn’t combat the body heat generated from intense labor.
"Over here, we need four water spirits, one earth spirit, and one fire spirit."
"Eh, why do we need a fire spirit? It’s already hot enough here..."
"We need the fire spirit now so we can evaporate the water later; otherwise, the foundation will collapse."
"Oh, really?"
"Hey, is this your first time with Great Forest terraforming?"
"Yes..."
"Sigh, back in my day, we couldn’t even use spirits, so we had to dig up the earth with the sisters, flipping over ground and mountains, and we’d sometimes even fight with those dwarf shorties who’d pop up in the middle of it."
"Wow, unnie, you sound like Lady Olgania."
Repeating the task of planting spirits in each designated area according to the plan about a hundred times finally began to breathe life into the sands, transforming an area the size of a large soccer field.
However, the spirits' resistance could be quite fierce.
While spirits generally listened to elves and were obedient, they were as pure and childlike as children, which meant a spirit could suddenly decide it was bored with this and wreck the entire project on a whim.
Because one spirit’s whim could ruin days of work, the elves had to prepare spare spirits and anchor them with sand and wind, constantly praying to make the land, air, wind, and moisture in the atmosphere pleasing to the spirits.
"So, Lirisia-senpai! We're counting on you! Onegaishimasu!"
"...Could you please stop calling me senpai?"
The one in charge of that job was naturally Lirisia.
Though once the Witch of the Dark Star, now beyond hunger, the essence of her former saintliness had not disappeared.
Lirisia, having been appointed as foreman and senior by the elves, carried out her role daily, praying, engraving, and branding the spirits to keep the terraforming work progressing smoothly.
"Yes! Hai! Iyadesu! No way! Kore ga… genjitsu desu...!!"
"......."
Damn, this irritating woman...
For reference, the red-haired, infuriating fallen elf sticking close to Lirisia was named Brivie Miliar.
This elf, who called herself “Little Bubi Elf,” had a reputation for spouting bizarre things, but she was, unexpectedly, a senior with a long history in the Great Forest.
When Shia had visited the Great Forest last time, Brivie had been at the front lines blocking the Chaos Ants, so she hadn’t met her.
Anyway, for someone who spouted nonsense constantly, Brivie was surprisingly good at her work.
Her physical strength was substantial, and despite Lirisia burying her headfirst in the desert out of frustration more than four times, she would somehow crawl back out and resume irritating Lirisia.
Eventually, Lirisia, finally admitting defeat, sighed and prayed to the spirits.
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Starlight, I pray. Oh, children of all things, spirits, please let me not have to do this again by quietly remaining still."
"Senpai! If you say that, the spirits will get mad-desu!"
"...If you don’t want to be eaten by me, please just stay calm."
"Senpaii! If the spirits lose motivation, today’s work will be screwed-desu!"
"Leader! The spirit anchoring work is complete!"
"Huh...?"
Just then, an elf from afar, who had been restraining the spirits’ activity zones with vines, waved her hand, and Brivie tilted her head.
"How did you do it? The spirits aren’t budging at all!"
Typically, to restrain the spirits, they would have to pray intensely or offer the Uplata fruit from the Great Forest to win their favor.
Yet the spirits, in response to Lirisia’s prayer, stayed completely still, as rigid as soldiers.
Instead of earning the spirits' favor, instilling them with the fear of possibly being eaten was surprisingly effective.
"As expected, senpai is super sugoi-desu!"
"It’s nothing...."
"Koitsu www derekusai ne www patpatpa www"
"...Ah, I’m about to lose my mind."
Once the spirits were gathered and anchored, the basic foundation of the area was complete.
Then the elves returned to hauling desert sand to cover the foundational ground.
Transporting the sand required physical strength, so Lirisia, Brivie, and the other elves loaded, pushed, and dragged the sand, covering themselves in it from head to toe.
"Ugh..."
"Huff, it’s exhausting."
"It would be better not to wear clothes; the sand keeps getting inside..."
"Sister, would you like me to wash you off if you feel uncomfortable?"
"Thank you, but I can only use earth spirits..."
"With thirty years of patience, you too could become friends with water spirits, sister."
"If you have time to chat, just get back to work."
"Hey, foreman, can you let us take a break to wash up?"
"Sure, washing up is fine, but better to avoid using water spirits."
"Oh, why?"
"Because if water gets on your body, even more sand will stick to it. If you're hot, just shake it off with wind."
"Ugh, you're right..."
While the elves were carrying sand loads bit by bit, Lirisia used her massive tentacles like construction equipment, moving several tons of sand at once.
Even elves with average A-rank Hunter strength took around an hour to transport sand, but with a few movements of Lirisia's tentacles, the task finished in under fifteen minutes.
"Senpai! Arrow anchors confirmed!"
"...Could you just talk normally? Never mind. Just shoot."
"Hai!"
Thud, thud!
Once the sand was transferred, they used an elf's arrow as a temporary anchor.
The elf’s life-imbued arrow lodged firmly into the ground, and then, they laid the vines from the initial blueprint over it, securing it again with more arrows.
For reference, only elite elves with at least 500 years of experience could shoot arrows sturdy enough to be used as anchors or supports.
That meant, despite her eccentric behavior, this Bubi Elf was actually a crucial high-level asset.
"Alright, everyone, hurry up before it solidifies."
"Hai, senpai!"
"Yes, yes."
"Moving in. Be careful."
To keep the arrows from bending, they alternated placing water and fire spirits to reinforce the supports, then once again planted water, earth, and fire spirits in a 4:1:1 ratio.
And if the spirits didn’t permeate as intended, they used physical force—a fist, a tentacle, or even a blade—to press down and align the level.
Finally, they planted trees.
They couldn’t plant fully grown trees.
They needed to plant young saplings so their roots would grow deep into the spirit-infused soil, allowing the spirits to move freely through the layers and establish a sustainable environment.
Once they accelerated the sapling’s growth enough to stabilize the ground, a basic forest the size of a soccer field would form.
"Hey!!! What’s the green base doing over there?!"
Just then, an elf working on a different project on the opposite side quickly descended, carried by a wind spirit.
This elf handled the underground work, in charge of the Great Forest's electricity, Wi-Fi, water, and telecommunications systems.
"Oh, Sister, you’re here? We just finished terraforming this area."
"No way, damn it! We still need to install the water and electrical pipes here—what are we supposed to do if you finish it all off like this?!"
"Ah...."
"Ah? Really, 'Ah?' Hey! Who’s your senior here? Bring your lead sister over!"
With a sigh, Lirisia threw off the towel from her neck and approached the noisy elf.
"It’s me, you little shit."
"Ah... Lirisia, the forewoman..."
"...Ugh..."
Although now harmless, Lirisia’s dark aura from her days as the Witch of the Dark Star hadn’t entirely vanished. Standing tall, shadowed eyes glaring down, she exuded such intense pressure that the elf, who had come to argue, couldn’t easily open his mouth.
"Heh... huff... Do you think I’ll get scared if you glare at me like that? Just because you’re the forewoman!?"
"Quit yelling and just tell me the problem."
"I... I... I need to install water and electrical pipes for each house! But with the whole ground terraformed here, I can’t do anything! It's hard enough to pierce through sand with earth spirits, so how do you expect me to drill into this finished greenery?!"
"Why not just use it as farmland?"
"You think farms don’t need irrigation? Even if it’s farmland, we still need to lay pipes!"
"So what do you want me to do? Dig a long hole in the ground like an anthill?"
"That’d work, but do you think it's that easy? Drilling into land that already has spirits mixed in with earth spirits is extremely difficult..."
Crash!
Not wanting to hear any more, Lirisia’s tentacle, which had been wriggling at her side, forcefully drilled into the finished greenery.
Not only was the tentacle powerful in raw physical strength, but it was also enhanced by Lirisia’s holy power, piercing the earth like a hot knife through butter, creating a deep, wide hole.
"Get that done, and cover it back up yourselves."
"...Ah, y-yes..."
Yawning as if exhausted, Lirisia plopped down in the shade.
"Man, this is exhausting..."
"Senpai, you've worked hard-desu. It’s almost snack time-desu."
"Snack time? Then our morning shift is over."
"Hai, senpai!"
"Sisters! Work’s finished!"
"Yarikiri!"
"Yarikiri!!"
"By the way, what does ‘yarikiri’ mean?"
"Brivie-sister mentioned that humans use it on construction sites. It’s what they say when they complete a day’s work."
"Oh..."
"Got a nice ring to it."
"Yarikiri!"
That’s Japanese, you damn brats.
Ah, well, it doesn’t matter to you guys.
With a sigh, Lirisia wiped her face with the towel.
‘Come to think of it... when was the last time I sweated from working…?’
A few hundred... no, maybe a thousand years...
She’d lost count.
On the first day, Lirisia, once the Witch of the Dark Star with countless sins and karma, had felt a bit of doubt—was it really okay for her to enjoy such peace?
Is it really alright for me to be doing this?
Should I maybe just end my life here?
Can I really live like this?
But, those dark thoughts only lingered briefly.
Now, as a part of Yeonseo’s high-powered tentacle cabbage-picking squad, leading the elves in green terrain terraforming, and earning the title of ‘Senpai’ and ‘Forewoman,’ she toiled over twelve hours each day, erasing any negative thoughts from her mind long ago.
Yeah, let’s not think about complicated things.
"It’s snack time!"
In the distance, Elanar and a few elves from the catering team came carrying trays covered with large leaves to protect the food from dust.
Surely, the food would taste amazing after such intense labor…
"Today’s menu is Sister Zelkova’s vegan special!"
"You goddamn brats!!!!"
Lirisia flipped her tray over.