Yggdrasil-san was bouncing up and down on a balance ball.
「How is it?」
「Hmm. It is intriguing」
「I see, intriguing」
Yggdrasil-san says that sometimes. 「Intriguing」. That’s how she describes the play equipment I make.
From the look of it, she seems to be enjoying it normally, but I guess she can’t exactly get overly excited and say something like 「This is fun」.
She probably thinks that would ruin her dignity.
「By the way, am I using it correctly noja?」
「I think so. I’m not entirely sure myself, but apparently bouncing like that is good for your health」
「I see」
And so, this is my Woodworking Series No. 66: 「Balance Ball」.
A balance ball, in other words, a large rubber ball. I had leftover wood shavings from preparing for the journey, so I made it using the shaved wood + varnish method.
「It won’t burst, will it?」
「It’s fine. I conducted durability tests properly」
「Durability tests?」
「I had Father get on it and jump on it with full force dozens of times」
「You did something like that…」
I asked him to do that for me.
Still, he was surprisingly scared. Even if the ball burst and he fell to the floor, he wouldn’t get hurt at all, but I guess scary things are still scary. I ended up putting him through quite a bit.
Anyway, it passed such a tough test. There’s no need to worry about it bursting.
「So, you can use it however you like」
「I see. ――Like this?」
「Oh, nice one, Yggdrasil-san」
Yggdrasil-san lifted both her feet off the floor and balanced on the ball using only her hips.
That’s some impressive balance. As expected of Yggdrasil-san.
「But that move can actually be dangerous, so please be careful」
「Hmm?」
「I tried the same thing and ended up flipping over and hitting my head hard」
「I see… Very well, I’ll be careful」
She replied that, but she seemed confident she wouldn’t make such a clumsy mistake, and continued bouncing with just her hips.
That’s fine, but really, be careful, okay?
「Now then, Alec」
「Yes?」
「So in the end, are you not setting out on your journey until summer?」
「Ah, yeah. It’s a promise I made with Ralina-chan」
Well, to be precise, that wasn’t exactly the promise I made.
What I told Ralina-chan was――
『I’m going on a journey, so even when summer comes, we won’t be able to ride a boat together』
『When I get back, let’s ride a boat together』
――those were my words.
But somehow, it turned into――
『Since you’ve already come back, let’s ride a boat together when summer comes』
『Until summer, you’re not allowed to leave the village』
――something like that.
It was a rather questionable Ralina-chan logic, but… I accepted those terms.
And in return, I asked that when the time comes for me to leave again, she would send me off properly.
I specifically asked her to see me off with a normal smile, without doing anything scary.
After a long negotiation, well, since Ralina-chan could only say 「Muu」, the negotiation was bound to take a while, we somehow reached an agreement between the two of us.
「So, with that, I’ll be staying in the village for a while longer」
「Hmm. And this all happened a week ago?」
「Yeah, about a week ago」
I set out on the journey, came back, and negotiated with Ralina-chan, that was all about a week ago.
「You could have informed me sooner」
「Well… I was actually wondering whether this was even something I should report…」
Today, a week after returning, I borrowed a communication magic tool and sent a message to the church headquarters, asking them to inform Yggdrasil-sama that I had returned.
I hesitated, but figured I should at least let her know.
――and Yggdrasil-san came to the village the very same day.
The first thing she said when she arrived was, 「…Wasn’t that a bit fast?」
「What have you been doing this past week?」
「This past week? Well, lying around in bed, tinkering with the dungeon while looking at the menu, playing in the yard with Momo-chan the giant rat, making a balance ball… I’ve mostly been staying at home」
I was planning to stay shut in until we set out again anyway…
But now that the departure has been pushed back to summer, about two months away, it’s no longer realistic to stay shut in that long.
A week is one thing, but there’s no way I can stay inside for two whole months.
That said, I still didn’t feel like going outside, so I ended up making things like the balance ball.
It’s not like I was trying to fix my lack of exercise or anything, just… on a whim.
「Actually, today was the first time I went out in a week」
「I see, you felt you should contact me, did you not?」
「…Huh? Ah, yes, that’s right」
That wasn’t really the reason, but there’s no need to deny it either.
「I did want to contact you, Yggdrasil-san, but I was also planning to meet with Jisrare-san」
「Jisrare?」
「Jisrare-san, who had gone on a solo trip for practice, apparently returned today」
Originally, we were supposed to set out again as soon as Jisrare-san came back, but the departure has now been pushed back by two months.
I figured I should tell her as soon as possible. And also apologize for deciding that on my own.
「So, I went to Jisrare’s clinic to inform her about the new departure date, 」
「Knowing you, you probably paid her and started chatting again noja」
「Well, um, yes, that did happen…」
I did end up doing that. I also got to hear about her solo journey, so it was actually quite worthwhile.
By the way, when Jisrare-san heard that the next departure would be in two months, she said she would go on another trip.
This time, she plans to spend two months traveling all the way to the human capital.
「But I did actually get treated as well, you know?」
「Hmm? What kind of treatment?」
「I hit my head on the balance ball」
「I see…」
「What? Is that bad?」
「Not bad, exactly…」
Hmm… based on my past life’s common sense, that’s definitely something worth getting checked.
But people in this world have much tougher bodies…
「Still, head injuries are scary, you know」
「That is true」
I mean, I actually died from that once…
I hit my head in my previous life and died…
「So anyway, you should be careful too, Yggdrasil-san」
「Hmm. I shall be careful」
Even as she said that, she seemed convinced she wouldn’t make such a clumsy mistake, and lay face-down on the balance ball, bouncing up and down using just her stomach.
Well, she probably won’t fall, and even if she does, she wouldn’t get hurt anyway, so I guess it’s fine…
next chapter: Woodworking Series No. 68 「Candy」
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