The river flowing west of our house runs from north to south.
In other words, the further we follow the river upstream, the closer we get to its source.
Where exactly the river begins is uncertain. For now, we decided to go as far as we could.
And so, the next day—
「Ex-plo-re! Ex-plo-re！」
「Bark!」
「Mint, watch your step.」
We set off on our exploration upstream.
Our party consisted of me, Karen, Mint, and Chocola.
Since Karen and Mint were eager to go, Mother volunteered to stay behind with Pochi.
The moment Mint heard the word “exploration,” she was too excited to contain herself. Singing cheerfully, she marched ahead through the forest, pushing aside the undergrowth, climbing steep paths without hesitation, leaping across rocky terrain with ease, and facing sheer cliffs as if they were nothing.
Of course, Chocola stuck close to Mint, while Karen and I followed from behind, keeping an eye on them.
「But honestly, this feels more like hiking than an exploration…」
「Hmm. As long as Mint’s having fun, that’s all that matters.」
That said, once the terrain became more rugged, our “hike” quickly turned into full-blown parkour.
To an outsider, our journey must have looked ridiculously acrobatic.
Yet here we were, humming casually as we went. Our pace was surprisingly fast, and in about an hour, we had covered nearly twenty kilometers.
「Sui, over there… boar.」
「We’re not here to hunt this time. Let’s go around.」
「It’s drinking water.」
「Well, rivers are gathering spots for all sorts of creatures.」
This is one of the reasons why drinking directly from a river is a bad idea.
Upstream, wild animals drink from it—and sometimes, they even leave their droppings behind. No matter how clear a river looks, it’s never safe to drink as is.
「If we can make it to a spring, though, the water should be drinkable.」
I wasn’t sure if we’d get that far, but I couldn’t help but hope.
—After more than two hours of trekking upstream…
The flat terrain gradually gave way to a slope, turning our journey into a full-fledged mountain climb. Pushing through the dense, primeval forest that spread across the mountainside, we followed the river as it grew smaller and thinner—until at last, we discovered a shallow pool, encircled by rocks.
「There’s no other water source beyond this point. This must be the river’s origin.」
The air here was cool and crisp. Beneath the crystal-clear surface of the pool, pebbles shimmered as the gentle currents stirred them. From the gaps between the rocks, fresh water bubbled up ceaselessly.
「Amazing! Water out ground… It’s so pretty.」
「This water might be safe to drink. Let’s check it first.」
Scooping up some water, I channeled dark-attribute magic through it.
Carefully, I searched for any harmful substances—anything that could pose a danger to us—but it seemed completely fine.
Taking a mug from my backpack, I filled it with the spring water and handed it to Mint.
「It’s safe to drink. Here, go ahead.」
「Fuwooooo…」
Her eyes sparkled as she pressed the cup to her lips, tilting it back eagerly. She gulped down nearly half in one go before breaking into a beaming smile.
「Delicious! Cold! Everyone, drink some!」
「Then how about we have lunch here? We can rest while we eat.」
「My bento, can!?」
「Go ahead. We can all sit over on those rocks.」
Mint eagerly untied the cloth bundle slung across her chest, holding it carefully in both hands.
It was the same bento box I had used back in my school days—one I had gifted to Mint. Ever since then, she had treasured it like it was something precious, always treating it with the utmost care.
She had insisted on carrying it herself instead of letting it be packed with the shared supplies, so Mother had tied it securely to her body before we left.
「Sui, hurry! Itadakimasu, okay?」
「No need to rush. Take your time—the food isn’t going anywhere.」
「Uuuu…」
Perched on a rock, Mint clutched the bento tightly to her chest, glancing up at me with pleading eyes. Adorable.
Feeling a warmth spread through me at the sight, I reached into my backpack and pulled out the woven basket I had packed.
※※※
「Thanks for the food! Karen, bento, take.」
「Hmm, give it to me.」
And just like that, our fun lunchtime came to an end.
Mint had gotten excited just from opening the lid, then again for each side dish, and again for every rice ball—so much so that I almost felt like thanking her for her enthusiasm. Even after finishing her meal, she carefully closed the lid and handed the bento box to Karen with great reverence.
「Arms up. …Alright, one more turn. There.」
「Uuー！」
Just like before, Karen wrapped the bento box securely in its cloth sling and tied it tightly to ensure it wouldn’t come undone. Mint beamed with delight.
「Chocola, feeling refreshed?」
「Bark!」
Chocola barked energetically after quenching his thirst with milk and fresh spring water.
With Karen and I having satisfied our hunger with sandwiches, we were all set for the journey back.
「Sui, how did the river look on the way up? Think there might be any ayu?」
「I spotted three places that seemed promising. Let’s check them out on our way back.」
On the way up, we had prioritized reaching the source of the river. I figured it would be more efficient to mark potential spots on the ascent and investigate them on the return trip.
To be honest, the odds weren’t exactly in our favor.
Ayu were originally found only in the Asian region back on Earth, and the chances of a similar species existing in this world’s forests weren’t exactly high.
That said, we had already found a trout species resembling yamame. Plus, this world had been experiencing boundary erosion phenomena for ages, causing things from Earth to occasionally transfer over. And not just people, animals, and plants—even entire pieces of land had seemingly made the jump.
Considering all that, I couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility.
「Well, guess we’ll just have to wait and see.」
With that, we started walking along the river.
Our first destination was about five kilometers downstream—
a clear, rocky-bottomed stream that looked just like the kind of place ayu might be found.
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