story_finlpp_1_1

7:00 PM \ Cloudy

Mid-Level Deck Hallway, Rhodes Island

...Weird.

Where did Purestream go?

She's not in the wastewater processing area, the pipe system monitoring room, or the bioengineering lab—

I don't even see her in the communal bath...

Phew—This is awesome. A brand spanking new communal bath! What do they usually say about this stuff again? Technology really improves our lives.

Automatic showers, always heated pools, steam saunas...

That water massage bed is especially amazing. It changes its pressure and direction so finely it's like you're getting an actual massage!

Should've expected nothing less from a new facility born from Weedy's bioengineering research... Feels like all the stress I've accumulated since I was born has disappeared!

Hey, what stress do you even have? Actually, how long has it been since the last time you and I were on a field mission? All we've been doing is hanging around on the ship. I'm almost ashamed to enjoy this.

A good number of field operators are coming back to the ship the next few days. That's the only reason Engineering has been rushing to finish renovating the bath.

You and I, we're just riding on their coattails.

It's just as I thought. The newly renovated bath's packed.

And here I thought Purestream would be one of the first to hop in once it was open—

I mean, she and the others at Engineering spent months of hard work on it.

Wh-What?

You're heading home? And you asked Closure for a long vacation?

Yeah... Actually, I've been on vacation since the day before yesterday. It's just that I've been spending my time in the records room...

Sorry, Mul. Even though I promised we'd soak together in the bath for days after the renovation was over.

Oh... I-It's not a problem. I just thought it was a little sudden...

I mean, you were so busy not too long ago. You were cooped up inside the pipelines almost every day, inspecting the existing pipes and preparing the new drainage system for the renovation.

You even said we should all take a bath together once you were done...

Did something happen between you and the other engineers? Did you have a fight?

Did you forget to go through the disinfection procedures after coming back from the wastewater tanks, and Weedy—

No, that's not it. Everyone at Engineering has been nothing but kind, and Weedy in particular has been taking good care of me. She even asked me what kind of facilities I wanted to see in the communal bath!

I-Is it me, then? Did I do something to upset you so much that you're going home?

O-Of course not! Actually, I should really thank you! There were a few times I was so busy I forgot to eat, and you brought me some Yanese wraps from the cafeteria!

Mm, actually I just wanted some extras for mys— Uh, no, I mean... you seemed so busy, and I thought you should at least eat something.

I know, I know~ The wraps you brought back were so tasty!

Then why are you suddenly—

Hm, it's here. So fast~

Let me get the door.

Huh? What's here?

Purestream, I have brought the requested data regarding Dusk City meteorological and hydrological observations and the rafting team.

This data transfer has been authorized by the 'lovely Ms. Closure.' Please connect your terminal to me, and I will begin the transfer.

Alright! Let's see... I just need to set it down here, right?

Correct. Please set it down as stably as you can—Please confirm.

Okay, I got it... These pictures are so clear! The river water seems to have a little too much silt. Looks like we'll need to keep an eye on the runoff volume and change in sediment discharge rates.

But overall, based solely on the data we have on hand, this doesn't look so bad!

The weather forecast looks good, too. It's practically sunny days all the way through~ Looks like this river rafting trip will go really well!

Thank you, Lancet-2! You've been a great help!

No need to thank me, but I must note that such requests are outside the scope of my ordinary medical duties.

If you require any additional data, please file your request with the 'lovely Ms. Closure.'

Rafting? Do you mean that famous Dusk River Rafting Team?

I saw in the newspaper a few days ago that they're going to take on a feeder river somewhere downstream... I think it was called Wuwu River?

Supposedly nobody has 'conquered' it yet?

Right! Wuwu is the river that passes through my hometown. The name makes it sound murky, but the waters are actually very clear!

The old men in the village said it's called the Wuwu because it's full of black pebbles on the bottom, making the whole river look black.

So... Did you apply for your vacation to join the Dusk River Rafting Team at the Wuwu? You even looked up the meteorological and hydrological data...

N-No, that's not why! I don't know the first thing about rafting. It's not as simple as swimming, where you just have to keep paddling forward...

Uh... Swimming is pretty difficult too, isn't it?

Swimming is just the basics! The people on the rafting team are much more amazing! They're all athletes who have rafted hundreds of times.

As for the meteorological and hydrological data... I'm just a little worried about the river back home. It's been so long since I last went back. I don't know if the villagers and the people upstream have been taking good care of it...

I just hope that when the Wuwu shows up in the newspapers, it'll be in its purest form~

Huh? Newspapers?

Oh, right! Take a look at these!

Are these... pictures of the rafting team?

That's right. This is the Guantou River, this is the Tufang River, and this is Shanyu River... All of them have graced the front page of the papers before!

And now my hometown's Wuwu River is going to make it too! Of course I have to go back to witness this historic moment!

Is... having your hometown's river show up in the papers really something to be so happy about? You must really love it there.

Of course! Don't you always pick your hometown's dishes in the cafeteria too?

Th-That's just because I think other cuisines don't add enough seasoning...

Hm? They're not so bad... Back home, the villagers love making their food bland. It tastes just like the Wuwu River~

Maybe that's why I think it's okay for food to be bland. It's good for your health~

Tastes like the Wuwu River?

Yep! Back home, everyone cooked with the river water~

Must be a really clean river...

Hehe~ That's thanks to everyone working together to keep it that way. Once, we had some really dirty stuff floating down from upstream. It made everyone so mad!

Huh? Was it caused by a Catastrophe?

(Shakes head) Nope.

Then... industrial wastewater?

Yeah.

No way... Even a village's river...?

We put in so much effort to make sure our natural lakes and rivers aren't irreversibly damaged by Catastrophes, but we still can't escape industrial pollution.

I get it. Industries need to expand too. It's not really something that we can do anything about... And if only a few contaminants make it into the rivers, then maybe nature itself can still purify them...

But if we don't bring the pollution under control, they're only going to accumulate, and then—

When you put at it like that, the rivers in these pictures are all maintained pretty well. Although you can still see the mark of Catastrophes...

I suppose our waterway management work has really made a difference.

Yep, yep! But my hometown's management of the Wuwu is even better!

If the Wuwu River makes it into the newspapers with the rafting team, even more people will know that there are still such pure streams out there~

That way, maybe people will stop dumping all that dirty stuff into their rivers!

Wh-What's the matter? Did I say something funny?

No... It just occurred to me all of a sudden that you have a really ambitious dream!

It's extraordinary.

I-I'm not really doing anything! The rafting team chose to challenge the Wuwu River because they want to let more people know about the importance of protecting the rivers' ecosystems.

And rafting's so dangerous and cool! Everyone's gonna be cheering them on—They're the ones making a difference.

(This makes me wonder... What would the river bordering Jiangqi look like clean?)

(Was it once just as pure as these, years ago?)

Mul. Mul? Something on your mind?

Ah! Sorry, I spaced out a bit...

Oh, I almost forgot... I'm here to give you this—it's a ginger pear my parents sent me. They're a specialty from my hometown! I've been looking for you everywhere because I wanted you to have a taste.

Hmmhmmhmm~♪

Soon, I'll be home to see the rafting team~ Yay!

Mul gave me a huge pear, too~ Yay!

What kind of local specialty should I bring back for her as a souvenir?

...Huh?

This...

The water that came out of that pipe seemed... just a little dirty, I think?

Looks like it's back to normal... Yeah, it tastes...

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.

It's just... I heard we'll have more and more operators coming back from their field missions over the next few days. I'm sure everyone wants to try out the new bath, so I figured the water usage would shoot up in the short term.

That's why I...

It's not a problem, Purestream. The thing you found jamming the waterway proves you made the right call.

If there were a surge of water volume, the high water pressure could also flush any loose parts. If any were to get caught in the narrower pipes and cause grime to accumulate, it could lead to serious issues down the line.

Right, right! Back when I cleaned the river back home, we had situations like this plenty of times!

You can't ignore even the slightest abnormality in the river. If you get a multi-day rain—

Even the tiniest thing could unleash its mighty powers~

Phew—The bath's so great! Now both the waterways and my body are sparkling clean~

Taking a bath after work is the best!

Purestream... I'm a little curious.

How exactly did you fall asleep in that pool with the water currents?

It gets pretty rocky in there, doesn't it? I tried it out for a little bit, but felt so dizzy—

Huh? No way... It felt so good in there! Weedy spent a lot of time experimenting in order to recreate how an actual river moves!

Just soaking in it reminds me of the Wuwu back home.

It's a good thing we still have time. Not only did I finish my work, I got to clean myself up in the new bath, too!

But if you're looking forward to going home so much, didn't it cross your mind that you could miss your ride? You might not have made it home before the rafting team takes on the Wuwu River!

Hmm... it did cross my mind, actually.

It'd be a shame if I missed the rafting team, but the villagers are bound to have lots of pictures to show me!

But I also wouldn't be able to go home with a carefree heart if I didn't check the landship's waterways before I left.

Each waterway is like a natural river to me. Even though it's in the ship right now, the water will return to nature at some point, no?

Even though Rhodes Island's water quality and wastewater disposal both exceed standards because of how strict Weedy is, it's always best to investigate as soon as you find something.

I mean, 'dirty stuff' tends to accumulate~

Besides...

When everyone's back from their field missions, they won't have to worry about having no water or dirty water. They'll get to soak in a hot bath without a thing on their minds. That's what my work means to me~

Purestream...

I think...

Oh... Looks like the car is here. Off I go now!

Thanks, Mul, for all the huge pears~! The villagers will love them!

Yep! Have a nice trip! I look forward to seeing you and the rafting team in the same picture in the newspaper!

Huh? Th-That's not going to happen! You'll probably only see the Wuwu River...

But if I make it home before the rafting challenge begins, maybe I can still help everyone clean up the river first!

Hehe, I sure hope I'll be able to help the rafting team!

You're on vacation; get some rest!

Got it, Mul~

I'll bring you some of my hometown specialties, too!

See you later~

*sigh*

There she goes...

I don't think she realizes just how extraordinary what she's doing is.

It's no less noble than the rafting team, or the researchers.

I'll tell her that directly when she gets back!

But... when is she coming back again?