Third Outer World Story Series: Pumpkin Sorcerer - Chapter 42

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

“Whew. That took more time than I expected.”

After inserting the last wooden plank, Pumpkin took a break and looked back at the channel he had dug so far.

The channel consisted of wooden piles and planks on both sides to retain the walls and stones were placed on the bottom to prevent the soil from rising up.

That being said, the construction was done amateurishly, so once the water actually started to circulate, there would be plenty of issues that would come up. Though he will just fix them each time they arise.

“Thanks for all your hard work. All that is left to do now is to remove the wooden planks on the end part.”

“Oh, it’s you, Mizuki. Yeah, that’s right. The only thing left to do now is to actually let the water flow.”

Mizuki arrived at this point, and Pumpkin headed towards Lake Accumulate with her.

There were wooden planks, more solid than the others, that were inserted between the channel he had dug and Lake Accumulate.

What was to be done was simply to pull out the wooden planks, which would allow water to flow into the channel from Lake Accumulate, and the channel would be complete.

It took less than a month to create it, though! The high specs of this body never cease to amaze me!

In fact, even after working intensely for 12 hours a day, this body of his didn’t seem to get exhausted at all. The self-reinforcement by magic power may be one of the factors that contribute to the ease, but even more than that, the automatic recovery by photosynthesis was too convenient.

“Then, let’s take it out right away.”

“Hmm? Ah, of course.”

Since there was no point in being deeply moved forever, Pumpkin extended one of his vines to the wooden plank and touched it.

“[Resonance] [Overburst].”

“Wait!?”

Disregarding the incredulous Mizuki, a vast amount of magic power was infused into the wooden plank and it was exploded by [Overburst]. Simultaneously with the explosion, a profusion of water flowed into the channel, filling it with water.

“Pumpkin!? Why are you blowing up the wooden planks instead of pulling them out!?”

“I mean, it’s a hassle to pull out the wooden planks. Besides, even if there is someone downstream in the channel, they might notice the sound of the explosion.”

“Hah… as usual, you’re a reckless one…”

“Hahaha.”

Mizuki let out a sigh, but he laughed it off.

In reality, pulling it out would be a complicated process. The water pressure made it difficult to pull it out in the first place, and even if it were pulled out, there would still be the challenge of how to withstand such a volume of water. Considering this, the optimal solution would be to blow it up.

“Well, shall we walk to the confluence stream to ascertain if it is flowing as intended?”

“Oh, I’ll go with you. If there is a leak or something, I’ll be in trouble too.”

And just as Mizuki and Pumpkin were about to walk along the channel to check the channel’s condition…

[[[Tangosackkkkk!!]]]

From the forest… or rather from the end of the channel, Pumpkin heard screams that he had heard before.

“…”

“…”

Mizuki and Pumpkin exchanged a look at each other upon hearing those voices.

Mizuki had a bitter smile on her face, while Pumpkin probably had a very dejected expression on his face.

“I don’t want to go there, to be honest…”

“Give it up. This is our fault.”

And so they started to move along the channel.

———————-

“Cough, cough! That was a terrible experience…”

“That pumpkin didn’t even consider our side…”

“But what is this, a channel? What’s Pumpkin doing with all this stuff…?”

The hunters and other inhabitants of Maunpir Village… a village at the base of Lean Forest can be spotted, together with Crave and other adventurers, in the former crater that was created when the Anregirat was blown up by [Overburst] and which has now been transformed into a reservoir.

“But then again, what the hell did that pumpkin do?”

“Like with the last explosion, is he up to something dangerous?”

“Ah, ah…”

And, to be honest, it was very difficult to leave.

What can I say—not to mention the adventurers—I can sense the animosity from everyone in Maunpir Village. I mean, Crave, why don’t you deny their statements at that point? It would be smoother for me to move if you deny it there.

But I have no other choice but to go… If I don’t, the issue won’t be solved… Even Mizuki’s eyes are telling me to hurry up and get going. Sigh. I suppose I have to head to their side.

“Uh, I heard some yelling, are you okay?”

[[[!?]]]

“You’re here! My pumpkin!!”

“Oh. It’s you, Pumpkin.”

At any rate, he raised his hand in greeting towards Crave.

Well, the stares from everyone in the village of Maunpir are still stinging me. It’s a natural reaction, though.

“Do you have something against me, like you did back then, or this time!?”

“That wasn’t my intention though…”

On the day he was reincarnated as a pumpkin, a person who sought to harvest him… he was called Tangosack or something like that based on what Pumpkin can recollect.

Huh? That would mean this person should be my nurturing parent in terms of position, right? Ah, that makes me feel even more awkward.

“In any case, mind sharing with me what you did? Including the cause of the explosion that occurred roughly a month ago.”

“Even if you ask me that, all I did was excavate a channel and let the water flow through it. The explosion noise was the sound of the explosive-type magic that was used to create this reservoir. I guess I miscalculated the output and the power went up too high.”

“In short, you were researching magic?”

“That’s what I’m saying. There are other reasons for digging the channel, though.”

“?”

Pumpkin answered Crave’s question nonchalantly as he turned his attention to Mizuki.

He then asked Mizuki, “Should I tell him about you?” with his glance. Mizuki’s response was a shake of the head. In other words, she wanted him to keep it a secret.

“Look, you see Lake Accumulate? The water there tastes excellent, so I brought it down to my house.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

At his words, Crave and the rest of the adventurers were nodding in agreement.

The residents of Maunpir Village, including the hunters and Tangosack, continue to view him suspiciously. 

What’s going on… At any rate, I suppose I should ask why Crave and the others are here.

“So what brings Crave and the others to Lean Forest?”

“To investigate the sound of explosions and to escort the people of Maunpir Village. Oh, and the Maunpir villagers are out gathering edible wild plants in the spring and hunting for Clawling Boar.

“Oh, I see.”

It was true that at this season you can pick all kinds of edible wild plants… and if they had any doubts about their prowess against creatures like Clawling Boar and the like, operating alone in this forest was a recipe for doom. Having an escort was only sensible.

And at this point, Crave showed an appearance of contemplation. He then clapped his hands together as if an idea had just flashed across his mind, and made the following suggestion.

“Okay. Let’s just settle all the discord and stuff. So, Pumpkin, come to Maunpir Village for a while.”

[[[What!?]]]

His suggestion left most of the people present in a daze, and they unintentionally burst out exclaiming.