finlpp

The next day...

9:30 A.M. \ Overcast

Rhodes Island Boarding Ramp

Look what time it is... How come Purestream isn't here yet?

*sigh* She seemed to really like that pear, so I thought I'd bring her a few more to bring home for her friends and family.

But where did she go?

Weird, I don't see her anywhere... Did she leave already?

Man, I'm beat... From here on out, I'm turning down all field missions in Sargon! It's hot as hell there, and the local clients look down on me because of my tail. Sheesh...

Say, why don't we ever get missions in Siesta or Dossoles? If only we had some kind of observation mission that needed us diving in the waters there. You know I'd finish all my duties without issue.

You might as well just say you want to go swimming in the sea. But it's already fall. You'll get joint pain if you soak too long.

Little illnesses ain't nothing to be worried about. Big illnesses, well, there's no way to avoid them, so why worry either? Right... didn't the captain say the landship's bath house got renovated? I think I'll head there right now.

Forget it. I just saw the announcements on my terminal. They stopped the water.

Huh? No way—

Did they say... they stopped the water?

Does that mean...

Meanwhile, in a dark corner of Rhodes Island—

Okay, I finished checking all the pipes in this area. None of them show any major issues. Next up...

Hm, if I remember correctly, there's still the area around the bath—

Do you need to check the communal bath's piping, too? It's just reopened.

Hmm...

Let's take a look there, just to be safe.

This will do. All done!

I'm not too familiar with the new pipe system's routing yet. There are so many twists and turns here. If I had to work on this by myself, who knows how long it would have taken me? Thanks for helping me with the directions, Weedy—

It's okay. I didn't do much...

Really, though, the waterway system under the communal bath is so amazing~ It hasn't been that long, but there's already such a thick layer of dirt here, just like—

Stop, stop, stop! No need to go into detail.

Looking at it now, the water usage lately has been quite high. Looks like the new bath's really popular~ There's even a natural water circulation system. I guess wishes really do come true!

Huh? Wish? Did you toss a coin into the pool, too?

O-Of course not! You can't throw coins into pools! No, you can't throw <i>anything</i> into pools!

By 'wish,' I mean... Do you remember when you asked me what new facilities I wanted to see?

Actually, I'm not too familiar with bathing facilities... So I just thought it'd be nice if, just like the river back home, I could swim around freely. Flip and turn in the water as I want.

It was just a whim since I knew there's limited space in the bath, but I didn't expect it to actually come true! Not to mention the circulation system is also helping keep it clean...

This is all thanks to you and everyone at the Engineering Department... Hehe, I'm so fortunate I get to live aboard Rhodes Island~

We can't take all the credit.

If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found all of the problems with the old piping system. Besides, haven't you been taking care of the cleaning during the construction?

Mhm~ It's what I'm good at, after all! It's nothing, really! N-Nothing at all!

Hmm...

What's that noise...? Why is the transmission coming in so broken...?

W-Weedy... What's my position right now?

That's... the passage from the bath to the dorms.

What's wrong? What happened?

It looks like something's stuck here... It could get flushed out if there's a sudden surge of water.

Hm... It's kinda hard to get out...

It's fine. Don't worry about it and come back. I noted the position, and I'll let the Engineering operators in charge of maintenance know to check on it later.

It's okay. Let me take it out first, then we'll—

Hm... That's a loud surge of water...

Did you get it out?

Purestream?

Purestream? Purestream! Hello? Can you hear me?

Oh no... She's not responding at all... Is it because of that sudden surge of water...?

If the water pressure's too high, a sudden impact could...

Leaf, hurry! Head to the waterways and take a look—

Phew—Wow, that hurts my mouth so much...

I didn't expect this to be so heavy...

You...

Hey, Weedy! Don't worry. I've got it all taken care of. I brought the thing back with me!

At the entrance to the waterway, Purestream pokes her head out and waves what she removed from the pipes at the anxious Weedy.

So... You weren't talking because you were holding it in your mouth?

Yep, the water was really strong, and I still had my staff and my cleaning tools, so I had to hold it with my mouth—It wasn't until I heard your voice through my terminal that I realized I couldn't talk.

Sheesh, you could've told me! I was so scared—

Oh, it's okay. Don't worry! Thanks to my Arts, I can breathe normally underwater, and it keeps me from being affected by any impurities too. Though the taste of the wastewater is a little...

That's not the problem!

Hehe... Sorry. I forgot.

Alright, as long as you're okay.

Now hurry up.

Mmhmm!

Purestream climbs up from the waterway, flicks off all the water on her, and steps onto the ladder.

Just as she is climbing onto the deck, she seems to suddenly slip and starts to fall backwards.

Whoa—

W-Watch out!

Before Purestream completely loses her balance, Leaf props her up from behind.

In the spur of the moment, Weedy reaches out and grabs Purestream's hand, helping her climb onto the deck.

Phew... That was close! I almost slipped...

Thanks, Weedy... and Leaf!

Purestream notices that Weedy is holding her wrist tightly.

Right before their eyes, a drop of grayish water flows down Purestream's arm and onto Weedy's finger.

Um... Weedy, I'm a little dirty right now. I thought you didn't like...

Ah, it's fine.

I'm not going to the lab today. This doesn't violate its sterile—

Huh?

Weedy... You're getting bumps on your skin. Maybe we should take you to Medical to get them checked out?

Oh... It's fine. Maybe it's just because it's a little cold here in the lower decks. Don't worry.

I found them! They're here!

Purestream! And... Weedy and Leaf?

Hm? Mul? What are you doing here?

You're asking me...? Isn't today the day you're going home? Why are you still here—

Didn't you say you were leaving at noon?

Yeah, but there's still a long time until...

Huh?! It's almost ten?

I didn't notice at all... Time goes by so fast~

Hm? Purestream... You were leaving for home today?

You could've told me sooner. I would've had the maintenance operators come fix this... Although they probably wouldn't have cleaned it as quickly and thoroughly as you.

What... No way. You two worked all night?! Right up till now?

Ahaha...

I didn't expect time to go by so fast, either...

Last night, I noticed there was a bit of wastewater flowing backwards through the pipes, so I thought I'd inspect it again before I left.

Good thing there weren't any major issues with the sewage system~

But if it's just a little bit of wastewater flowing in reverse... That's not really urgent, is it? If we followed the regular maintenance schedule—

No, that won't do. We should trust our water treatment specialist.

A-Actually... under normal circumstances, we really wouldn't have to take care of it so quickly.