Chapter 07
Rosebel went down into the ditch.
Her eyes caught the thick green moss clinging to stones that didn’t seem to have any moisture at all.
Moss could survive with just a little water, but this was far too much.
By the time her breath was up to her throat and her calves started to ache, she reached a wall made of small stones. It looked as if someone had carefully fitted them together like a puzzle, blocking the waterway.
“Logically speaking, wouldn’t five or six grown men be able to pry this open with levers?”
There was no way the workers hadn’t thought the same thing. But Rosebel was someone who had possessed another body.
“If it was blocked on purpose, then there must be a way to remove these stones somehow…”
Dragging her tired legs, she stood in front of the stones. The soft-looking moss was overflowing with vitality.
Thinking it would feel fluffy if she touched it, she reached out her hand.
That was the moment it happened.
A strange sensation spread through her whole body. Rosebel tried to pull her hand back, but it wouldn’t move. At the same time, the golden sparkles that had once looked like dust gathered together like a swarm of bees.
—You’re here! I thought you’d never come!
A child’s voice echoed inside Rosebel’s head. Goosebumps ran over her body, and nausea rose up.
—Rose! Don’t move!
Because the children’s voices sounded clear, pure, and firm—as if they were singing together—Rosebel froze in place. Then something happened that made her doubt her own eyes.
The rock that hadn’t budged even when grown men tried to lift it melted into soft mud and flowed away. Round clumps of mud, like morning dew resting on moss, surrounded Rosebel.
She couldn’t understand what was happening.
She knew this wasn’t a world that acted within the limits of common sense.
But this was something no one would ever believe, no matter how much she explained it.
Eyes and mouths appeared on the round mud clumps, and they smiled happily.
“What… is this supposed to be?”
Ignoring Rosebel’s shock, the mud clumps chattered excitedly.
—I’m a gnome. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. But some strange guy kept hanging around here, so I was scared to death!
“A strange guy?”
—Yeah!
Among the many mud dolls in her sight, it seemed like only one of them was actually speaking.
“Why were you waiting for me? I’m just an ordinary person.”
—You have our scent on you…
Without thinking, Rosebel lifted her arm and sniffed it. The mud dolls burst into laughter like amused children.
“Don’t laugh! And if I smell, it’s just because I was sweating earlier!”
She washed several times a day, but thanks to these mud clumps, she was suddenly treated like someone who didn’t bathe. Irritated, she stated her original purpose.
“I need water. So give me water!”
—Make a contract with me! Then I’ll give you what you want! You won’t have to struggle plowing fields anymore!
Rosebel felt like she was being scammed over the phone. The word contract only made her more suspicious.
It sounded like she’d have to pay a terrible price.
“What’s the price?”
—The price? Hmm… Maybe protecting us until the four of you are all gone?
Protect them until death? You never knew what tomorrow would bring. It was ridiculous.
“How do I protect you?”
—Live the way you’ve been living so far—within soil, water, and nature. That’s how you protect us.
“I had terrible luck with work in my past life too. Looks like that hasn’t changed here.”
Rosebel took off her hat with an empty expression and bit her lip. The mud dolls, however, bounced in place, unable to hide their excitement. Watching them look so happy while she wasn’t, she let out a sigh.
From the moment she realized she had possessed someone else, her goal had been clear: protect her own life and the orchard.
If she could even get help from a spirit, achieving that goal would be easier.
The conclusion was obvious. If she made the contract, the drought would be solved, and she’d gain a secret ability.
“But if we make a contract, where does the water come from—ah! That’s cold. What was that all of a sudden?”
Because the mud dolls had been so distracting, she hadn’t thought about what would happen after the rock disappeared.
—Something you need!
“I need it, sure, but couldn’t you at least warn me? For someone begging for a contract, you’re incredibly rude!”
Her tone from her past life slipped out naturally.
—But! We waited a really long time too! You’ll do it, right? Let’s do the contract! If you do, you can use the power of a cute earth spirit!
“What part of you is cute… ha, damn it. You are kind of cute.”
—We waited just for you! Rose, make a contract with me~ Please?
“Stop acting cute!”
—You’ll do it, right? You will, right~
The mud clump’s overly cute tone made the corner of Rosebel’s mouth twitch. Someone once said that the moment something looked cute, it was already over.
“What if I say no?”
She didn’t mean it, but the mud clump made what seemed to be a threatening face. To her eyes, it just looked soft and squishy.
—I’ll just burst that thing!
It was like poking a water-filled plastic bag with a needle so the water slowly leaked out.
If all that water poured out at once, her orchard and vegetable patch would be flooded.
“…Nothing is ever easy, is it?”
Forced by what was essentially a threat disguised as a proposal, Rosebel had no choice but to accept the contract.
She had to protect the orchard to prevent her family’s ruin. And maybe the sparkles she’d seen in the apple storage were a sign meant to lure her here.
“Fine, let’s make a contract! What do I do? A blood oath or something?”
—Where did you learn something so weird?! We don’t do that!
Watching the gnome shout in disgust, Rosebel held back a laugh and spoke.
“Then… ah!”
A fresh, deep scent of soil wrapped around her entire body.
Rosebel took a deep breath and tightly shut her eyes. She held her breath until she reached her limit, as if she’d forgotten she needed to exhale.
When she finally let it out and quickly inhaled again, the familiar scent of damp earth, like morning dew, filled her lungs.
—You’ll have a lot to do from now on. Ask the child you brought with you about how to use mana. Maybe meeting that child was the will of the gods—or fate!
Before Rosebel could ask what that meant, she felt the ground vibrate slightly and froze.
She worried that an earthquake had started the moment she signed the contract.
But that wasn’t the case.
Instead of flooding out, the water flowed at a steady pace, like a faucet turned on just right.
Rosebel quickly climbed back up from the ditch. She was so focused on not slipping on the moss that she couldn’t pay attention to her surroundings.
As the water began to flow, everything around her felt clearer and more vivid.
—Come a little farther back!
“What? Where are you?”
Hearing the gnome’s voice, which she thought had disappeared, Rosebel hesitated and stepped back.
At that moment, a slightly thicker stream of water poured out. As the water splashed, a small rainbow appeared.
Water droplets splashed against her face, and the corners of Rosebel’s lips naturally curved upward.
—Make good use of the young magician beside you.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
—How do you think you were able to talk to me, when all you ever saw before was a bit of sparkling dust?
Rosebel nodded in agreement. What had once been nothing more than glittering specks, barely the size of fireflies, now stood clearly before her.
On top of a round mud body, like a perfectly shaped rice cake, moss sat like a little hat.
She almost said cute out loud, but a heavy feeling hit her chest, and she held her breath.
“Ugh! Hoo… my chest… Is this a stomach cramp?”
It felt just like the stomach spasms every modern person seemed to get.
—That’s because you made a contract with me. If you don’t want to hurt like this, you have to learn how to use mana properly. Got it? I’m not disappearing by choice—this is because of your mana control. So make sure you learn!
After calmly saying only what it wanted to say, the mud clump disappeared. Rosebel curled up and spoke urgently.
“How do I learn? Hey! Why aren’t you answering?!”
Her voice scattered into the empty air.
A young magician. The child she brought.
She realized it meant Aren.
But there was a problem.
She only knew the important plot points of this novel through reviews.
“Aren is a magician… So that’s why his body felt cold?”
She was now sure that meeting Aren hadn’t been a coincidence.
“…This is my punishment for skimming reviews and putting off reading the novel properly.”
Muttering to herself, Rosebel went back down to the ditch, where a clear waterway had formed.
She stared blankly at the sunlight reflecting on the water, then dipped both hands in. Cold energy crept up from her fingertips, and suddenly a fierce thirst overwhelmed her.
“Ahh, that’s refreshing!”
She felt the chill spread through her whole body. And at last, she felt the need to organize everything that had happened so far.
