>"Oh, is the cellar flooding out?"
> The hermit looks over her shoulder.
> "Ah. There you are." She has a rather serious expression on her face. "I noticed that water from the pond was seeping into the basement here, so I got these girls to help me out."
> Wait, doesn't that hermit talk to animals?
> Ohhh. She does. In fact...ah, it's one of your other big donors. She's still a frequent visitor to the shrine so it's not unusual to see her here.
> At the moment, she's taking the box off of Akyuu's and the faerie's hands. She hefts it up on one shoulder and carries it over to the pile, moving the small box out of the way so she can set the other one down. She holds the small box in her arms, turning it this way and that.
> "It's not completely underwater," she's saying, "But some of the boxes' contents might still be damaged. I think this one is fine, though."
> _