On This Island, I

Author: Iwashi-zukushi
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3388fm/36/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

“Kuu~~, this lemon water is good again!”

Nora raised her voice, looking thoroughly pleased.
After that we had dried our hair thoroughly, and we were each sitting in chairs in the rest room, drinking lemon water.

“You sweat quite a bit in the bath. It’s better for the body to drink lemon water properly.
Ah, when you drink, drink slowly, a little at a time.”

As I said it I put my mouth to the lemon water as well.
Yes. Moisture soaked into a just-bathed body; it was truly delicious.
When it went into full operation, Elma’s shop and the eateries around here were scheduled to put out drinks and simple food, but for today’s pre-opening nothing was prepared.
But honestly, this lemon water alone was delicious enough.
Well, if I had to say…

“Hmm… it would be even better if we could chill it with ice…
Is magic that produces ice quite hard?”
“For someone with the aptitude it is not that difficult.
Dominas and her like are good at it. Or rather, that one has no attributes she is poor at…”
“Eh, isn’t that ridiculously amazing??”

From what I had picked up, what magic you can and cannot use is fairly clearly decided by each person’s talent.
I cannot use it at all, and Kira is good at the water type. Well, and a special type called desiccation seems to be what she is best at.
Gerda is wind and its derivative, lightning. The Demon King is the strongest in the world at wind, and is said to be good at water as well.
And Lady Dominas can use the four attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind, and the dark attribute, and their various derivatives, all without being poor at any.
She cannot use the light attribute, apparently, as one would expect.

“As far as I know there is no one else who can do anything with magic like that one.
Well… because she can manage most things, she does not seem to have ideas like yours when it comes to how to use them.”

Gerda said it with a shrug.
Hmh.

“You’re quite sharp-tongued about Lady Dominas, Gerda. Are you close?”
“Hm? …No, well, it is not that we are on bad terms… we are childhood friends of the irredeemable-bond sort, so I may end up speaking that way.”
“I see. Fufu. That’s nice.”

I swallowed I don’t have as I was about to say it. …Had I dodged it?
There was no change in Gerda’s expression… hmm, knowing Gerda, she might have taken it and not let it show.
I do not mind that much myself, so I would rather she not mind it either.

“Then shall I get close enough that you’ll talk about me that way too, Gerda?”
“Haha. If it is you, Asha, you are welcome. Though it seems it would take a slightly different shape from Dominas.”

…Yes. It looks like a meaningful gaze, but I am sure it is not.
I know about this.

“Yes. I’m not a childhood friend, after all.”
“Ah, that’s so. That is a little unfortunate.”

I tried to laugh it off, and Gerda let it flow as it was.
…That it rather felt like she was in earnest—was that only me?

I was thinking that when my sleeve was tugged, twice.

“Me? Will you… be close with me too?”
“Of course! Or rather, I already think we’re quite close~”
“Yes. That’s… so.”

When I answered that, Kira showed a limp, relieved sort of smile.
Damn, cute.

“What about me? Am I only a work acquaintance?”
“No, no, of course I’d be glad if we can be close!”

Nora piled on as well.
Wait, what kind of situation is this?

“Hmh. Dorothea, what about you? Do you wish to be close with Asha?”
“Your Majesty, you jest… I will not deny it, however.”

Stop, Demon King, stop egging people on, looking like you’re enjoying it.
Dorothea, stop getting on the joke too, it’s hard on the heart.

“Ah, honestly, I want to be close with all of you. I look forward to working with you from here on as well!”

I said it through, a little desperately.
…No, I don’t mean come at me, all of you.
Friends. Friends only. Probably. Surely.

“That aside, the first talk: ice.
I can hardly have Lady Dominas deliver ice every day like an ice-seller.
And there is no place to keep ice to begin with.”

Needless to say, there are no freezers in this world.
If people who can use ice magic produce it each time, that would work, and if they came to earn a little extra it would help considerably.
But then the unit cost would go up.

If we could make a stainless bottle with a hollow vacuum structure I would like that, but even for dwarves that would be impossible.
Or rather, first, there is no stainless steel.

“If I ordered it, I could have Dominas come every day, you know?”
“No, I am very grateful, but there are other facilities besides this one…”

The Demon King had been about to invoke authority all of a sudden, but I declined that, as one would expect.

But, huh?
Perhaps that method might work??

“Gerda, could you introduce me to Lady Dominas next time?”
“Hmh. That face looks as if you have thought of something.
Of course. Leave it to me.”

Gerda agreed readily, as I had known she would.
I knew, but I found myself shy at that smile.
But I was honestly quite grateful, so I took her at her word.

With summer coming on from now, I wanted to be able to do something about ice and freezers and the like.
There are a good many elderly people as well, so I wanted to be able to install cooling too.
This island’s summer would probably be hard on people from the north.
Even without that, there are many people and monsters who do physical labor outside; I wanted to prepare against heatstroke from now.
I hoped what I had thought of would go well.

“Asha, please do not sink into thought alone.
Her Majesty is generous. She will answer your consultation in earnest.”

Dorothea called to me as I was sunk in thought. And smiled at me besides.
…In today alone, my impression of her had changed quite a bit.

“Thank you, Dorothea.
Yes. I’m not alone, am I.”

I nodded, yes, and looked around.
Kira, Gerda, Nora.
Of course the Demon King and Dorothea as well nodded, yes.

I was not alone.
Surely what I could do alone was limited.
But now there were this many people who would help me.

…If I said I have comrades, what faces would they make.
That I felt they would be glad—was that conceit?

I had been abandoned and sent as a sacrifice.
And on this island, I had been able to obtain something very precious.
So I wanted to return, more and more, what I had been given.

“So, everyone, I look forward to working with you from here on as well!”

So saying, I bowed my head toward them all.