Minuma

[Between the East Gate and the Northeast Gate, Outside the Walls]

"By the way, is it true that catfish cause earthquakes? As I recall, earthquakes happen when force builds up in the earth."

"Yes. Indeed, earthquakes happen when force builds up in the earth. However, the Nigōhanryō Marshland of old possessed a 'unique law' that let it release the force accumulated in the earth somewhat, shifting where it came out. In those days, our ancestors were, by all accounts, Named monsters of that dungeon."

"Which in the end does mean it was the catfish causing the earthquakes, doesn't it."

"That is what we were accused of, and persecuted for; but now that the Nigōhanryō Marshland is gone, our clan has no power to cause earthquakes."

"If you could cause earthquakes, you could set them off on purpose in places where no one lives, or fix a date and time and evacuate people first, you know. Going by the circumstances, most likely the dungeon recklessly triggered quakes to attack some town or other outside its sphere of influence, then ran out of dungeon energy and collapsed, something along those lines, I'd say."

"I wouldn't know about all that. I have, though, heard a legend that very long ago there was a disaster that engulfed both Musashi and Sō."

"And the particulars?"

"I don't know them. I'm sorry to be of so little help."

[Outside the Northeast Gate, Kannon-ji]

Marie and Yoshikawa went to the snake pond where the self-proclaimed dragon dwelt.

"Vasanti-san, you have a visitor. This is Yoshikawa-san, an ayu-catfish-beastfolk who will be living in the pond we're about to build here to the east."

"I'm Yoshikawa."

A rat snake came slithering out.

"I am Vasanti, daughter of Sharmishtha; a dragon, as you can plainly see. You would do well to worship me."

She looked like nothing more than an ordinary snake. Haughty, but neither venomous nor, for that matter, venom-tongued.

"I'm Yoshikawa. A catfish, as you can plainly see."

"Dragons and catfish are kindred beings, they say, so I'll take you on as a retainer. Pleased to have you."

"In that case, before you bring your clan over, Yoshikawa-san, we'll build the pond. You must be tired, so it might be best to stay the night today."

"No, I should like to bring the good news back as soon as I possibly can."

[Two *ri* Outside the Southeast Gate, Kishi Village]

Yoshikawa returned to his homeland, and Marie set off for Kishi Village.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Secretary-General-dono, ah, I mean Director of Books-sama. The rice-planting at Kishi Village is finished."

Kishi Harima-no-suke came out to greet her.

"There aren't many peasants yet, so the paddies are few as well. A great wave of migrants is sure to arrive this summer, and since the fief is rated at 5,000 koku with an assessed-yield rating of one koku per tan, next year you'll need 500 chō of paddy."

"For now it's only managed by the household and its retainers, after all."

"Kinran the Shiso, the Asura in charge of this district, will be arriving soon, so we'll lay out next year's paddies, sow the late soybeans and corn, and ready ourselves for winter. And from here on, besides drawing water from the canals, we'll be making rain fall as needed."

"Eh, rain, you say? I don't know what sort of contrivance it is, but if you make it rain in the desert, you'll set off flash floods."

"We've hired a dragon. It'll control the water from the dungeon and bring it down, so there's no cause for worry. And for that, the dragon needs a playground, a pond, so we'll dam up the valley that runs from the east of Kishi Village down to the south, collect the water supplied by the dungeon, and make a pond. At an area of 7,000 chō (70 km²), it'll be plenty large enough for a dragon to dwell in."

"And what'll you call it?"

"The shape is rather different, but bringing a name over from the otherworld, 'Minuma,' perhaps. By its position it would be the 'Urawa Racecourse Regulating Reservoir,' but calling something a racecourse when there are no horses about would be strange."

"Can you fish in it and the like?"

"Once the fish multiply we might, but then we need fish in the first place to multiply them, so who's to say. At the very least, the ayu-catfish-beastfolk will be living there."

"Catfish make for fine grilled-eel-style, hotpot, and fish cakes, but you can't eat them when they're beastfolk."

South of Kishi Village, at the point where the valley running from the east of the Library-City Dungeon down to the south of Kishi Village joins the larger dry valley west of the Library-City Dungeon, Marie built an embankment of earth and sand as dungeon structure, 500 meters long and just under 15 meters high (since it was under 15 meters, it was not a dam). Reservoirs run the risk of bursting from deterioration of the embankment body, or from earthquakes and floods, but a dungeon structure, so long as it's properly designed, can be used for as long as the dungeon endures, until it silts up with earth and sand.

Storage capacity 600 million m³, flooded area 70 km². With this much water, there was more than enough to make rain. For the time being, though, filling it would take a considerable number of days.