Chapter 113: Let’s Build a Bridge

The family garden hovered above the river, drifting gently as if suspended in the sky.

Anii-san, terrified of heights, kept her gaze fixed firmly downward, refusing to look outside. Her small hands gripped the edges of the platform nervously, knuckles white.

Shifa-san, glancing at the broken bridge below, spoke quietly, her voice carrying a note of practicality.

“Not having a bridge is really inconvenient.”

“Yeah… it really is,” I murmured, echoing her concern.

Despite the shortage of supplies leaving the village in a precarious state, any attempt to transport goods was thwarted by the collapsed bridge. No one knew how long it would take to rebuild it, and until then, life would be constantly hampered by the disruption.

Suddenly, an idea struck me—a clever, if unconventional, solution.

“Geo?” Shifa-san prompted, noticing my expression.

“If we do this right… we might be able to build a bridge easily,” I said, my mind already racing through the plan.

After a little while, I stood back and nodded in satisfaction.

“There. With this, we should be able to cross the river without taking any detours.”

Beside the broken bridge, a brand-new structure now spanned the water.

It hadn’t taken more than a few minutes to complete, yet it seemed sturdier than the old one had ever been.

The method was simple, almost laughably so: I had extended the family garden like a long plank across the river, creating a makeshift bridge. On either side, small railings had been added to prevent anyone—or anything—from falling into the rushing water below.

Walking across it felt nearly identical to walking on solid ground, and I had made it wide enough for a horse-drawn cart to pass safely.

“Wow! Geo-san, that’s amazing!” Anii squealed, her fear momentarily forgotten.

“Yeah… incredible,” Shifa said, clearly impressed.

“Neigh-hin!” our horse echoed, stamping happily on the planks.

“…But… is this really okay?” Anii asked hesitantly, a worried frown creasing her face.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled.

“Look at it! There’s no way a bridge like this could exist! Normally, a bridge this long would have supports in the river!”

“Supports?”

“You know—the things under the bridge that hold it up!”

When she pointed it out, I noticed she was right. The previous bridge, now broken, had pillars or foundations in the water to bear its weight.

Of course, our makeshift family-garden bridge had nothing of the sort. It was just a straight plank spanning the river, simple and elegant in its audacity.

“I think it’s strong enough, so it should be fine,” I said, trying to reassure her. “And actually, having supports in the river could make it more vulnerable if the water rises or floods.”

“That’s not the point… people are going to ask how the heck a bridge like this even appeared. And really—any bridge suddenly showing up in such a short time is already weird.”

She had a point. Even I had to admit it sounded impossible if anyone saw it.

“Let’s just say it was already here when we arrived,” I suggested with a casual shrug. My secret weapon: pretend ignorance. Nobody’s looking, so it should be fine—right?

“Heyyy!”

A voice rang out suddenly, sharp and loud enough to make us snap our heads around. A middle-aged man, perhaps in his forties, was running toward us, his pace hurried and uneven.

Out of breath, he stopped a few meters away, panting heavily as he spoke.

“Did… did you build this bridge?!”

Wait—had we been seen?!

“Um… you are…?” I asked cautiously.

“I’m from the village up ahead! I came to inspect the broken bridge for repairs, and then—right in front of my eyes!—this strange new bridge just appeared across the river! I nearly fell over in shock!”

Excitedly, he stepped onto our garden-bridge, testing its strength.

“Whoa! This is solid! A horse-drawn cart could even cross this!”

Clearly, he was overjoyed. After a moment of hopping and testing the planks, he returned to us with a wide grin.

“Thank you! Truly! But… how did you build such a magnificent bridge? It looked like it moved and built itself right across the river!”

Apparently, he had seen the whole thing. I panicked for a split second.

“M-Magic! Yes, magic!” I blurted, pointing discreetly at Sarassa-san for backup.

“This adventurer is skilled in earth magic,” I explained quickly, improvising. “That’s how the bridge was made.”

“Your magic did this?! To build such a bridge in an instant? Incredible!” The man’s eyes gleamed with admiration as he looked at the confused Sarassa.

“Wait… what’s going on?” she whispered.

“Sorry! I didn’t know what else to say…” I muttered. Poor Sarassa-san, but I had to take the credit off myself. She specialized in lightning magic, but apparently could handle other types as well—at least that made the story plausible.

“I definitely couldn’t make a bridge like this…” she muttered under her breath, though a faint blush crossed her cheeks.

After that, we explained that we were adventurers delivering supplies to the village. The man’s joy only increased.

“Thank you, thank you! You are the village’s saviors! Yes, that’s right! I’ll run ahead and tell everyone! And then we’ll give you the grandest welcome!”

With that, he dashed off toward the village, leaving us watching his enthusiastic retreat.

“…That was quite the energetic person,” Shifa remarked.

“Y-Yeah… but I wonder if his ‘grand welcome’ will be much. The village barely has any supplies if they had to ask adventurers for help in the first place,” I noted.

“True,” Shifa agreed, frowning slightly.

Panting, he returned moments later.

“Haa… haa… haa… Hey! I’m back!”

“Huh? Weren’t you just going to check the bridge? Already back?”

“The bridge… it’s already built!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Not nonsense! A new bridge really is there! Thanks to the adventurers!”

The man turned to see us, eyes wide in shock.

“Wh-Why are you here already?!”

We had quietly followed him, moving fast enough without being noticed—after all, the family garden could move swiftly and stealthily.

“Here, your supplies,” I said, handing over the goods we were tasked to deliver.

The bridge was now complete, and thanks to a little ingenuity—and a lot of luck—the village would finally have a safe, sturdy way to cross the river.