Side Story 3: Visiting a Remote Island 03

「Wahoo!」

「Woof woof!」

『W-Wait, Fran! Urushi! We’re straying too far from the ship!』

「Urushi! Quick turn!」

「Wooooof!」

Seven days had passed since our departure.

Fran quickly got bored of fishing and lounging around on deck, so today, we decided to do something similar to wakeboarding.

I transformed into the board, and Urushi was in charge of pulling us.

Fran balanced on top of me while holding a set of magic threads attached to Urushi’s collar, skimming across the water’s surface as she bounced up and down with the waves.

On occasion, she jumped up and performed a spin in the air, thoroughly enjoying the wind and sea.

This actually does some damage to my durability, so I tried putting up a barrier earlier, but then Fran said that weakened the impact and made it no fun at all. So instead, I’m running self-repair at full power.

Of course, it’s not like we’re shirking our guard duties or anything. We made sure to keep the ship in range of our Presence Detection even while playing around. Well, I guess Fran sometimes drifted a little too far in her excitement.

Oh, and we didn’t invite Avenger and Jashin-chan to play with us. Or rather, we couldn’t.

A Genocide Ghoul like Avenger practically spews poison and impurities just by existing. There’s no way we can summon him on a cramped ship. An Evil God Fragment would be even worse.

It’s only safe to call them out on large battlefields, or in dungeons where it’s just us.

「Hmm? I sense a monster.」

「Arf!」

「Urushi, let’s go!」

「Woof woof!」

Urushi dashed off at Fran’s command, and we quickly curved around the ship like a pro wakeboarder.

We were going pretty fast, but Fran shifted her weight perfectly to change direction without a hint of danger.

『Fran, the monster is underwater!』

「Nn! Master! Underwater mode!」

『On it!』

Well, all I really need to do is cover us in a barrier combined with water and wind magic to let us breathe. Meanwhile, Urushi took a deep breath and plunged under the waves.

I also controlled the currents to suppress our buoyancy, so we dove down with surprisingly little resistance. The footholds created by Aerial Hop skill can be used underwater, so that helped too.

We couldn’t see the seafloor in the deep indigo waters, but we did make out a massive writhing shadow. This was no mere fish.

（Master, it’s a big turtle!）

『A Jumping Turtle! Take it down before it reaches the surface!』

（Got it!）

Apparently, this was a monster known for jumping out of the water to ambush ships and other sea creatures. This one didn’t seem very big though. Our ship would probably stay afloat even if it hits.

Still, it would definitely inflict some damage, and we don’t want it crashing onto the deck and injuring the crew.

Taking it down before it can leave the water is clearly the best approach.

Normally, I’d try to end it quickly with a Telekinetic Catapult, but I’m currently in board form, and Fran seems to want to keep it that way. She must really like this setup.

（Take this! Aqua Javelin!）

Fran used water magic. Our opponent was an aquatic monster with high resistance to water, but…

（Got it.）

『Yeah! Guess it couldn’t block that one.』

Fran poured an immense amount of mana into her spell, multiplying its power several times over. Even the high elemental resistance of a Jumping Turtle wasn’t enough to withstand it.

The spear of water easily pierced its hard shell and killed it in a single strike.

I expected as much from a weak monster like that one. But the battle wasn’t over yet.

『Fran! Below us!』

（There’s something bigger coming!）

Maybe it was lured by the scent of the Jumping Turtle’s blood? Right as we moved to collect the corpse, we sensed something approaching at tremendous speed.

A dark shadow rose from the murky waters, directly beneath the drifting body of the Jumping Turtle. It was so huge that I thought it might be a whale.

Just looking at it stirred up an unexplainable fear and unease within me. It felt like my whole body was tingling, even though I’m a sword. And yet, Fran seemed completely unfazed.

（It’s trying to steal our turtle! Urushi! Hurry!）

She was probably only thinking about her prey. Unable to tolerate losing the Jumping Turtle, Fran ordered Urushi to speed up.

（Arf!）

Urushi cloaked his limbs in darkness to increase his underwater speed. I supported him with magic as well.

As a result, Fran managed to store the Jumping Turtle’s corpse just in time. But before we could relax, we found the mysterious shadow right under us.

I heard something like the roar of a colossal beast, but this was the sound of something massive splitting the waters as it moved.

A grotesque monster burst forth from the lightless depths. It looked like a massive lump of rock, nearly twenty meters long.

『It’s a Rock Fish! And it’s huge!』

True to its name, this was a fish monster covered entirely in rock-like armor. Normal ones hardly reached ten meters in length, so it must have grown enormous by living for a long time.

The Rock Fish rushed at us, widening its gigantic maw capable of swallowing us whole, but Fran didn’t flinch in the slightest. If anything, she grinned and readied herself to meet it head-on.

「Hah!」

「…!!!」

Fran used wind magic this time. Or rather, she waited until Urushi narrowly dodged the Rock Fish’s bite, then performed a chop with her hand, cloaked in wind magic and divine energy.

That single chop was sharper than your average magic sword. She sliced through the thick, rock-hard armor like tofu, leaving a deep cut in the Rock Fish as they crossed paths.

By the time Fran completed her swing, the Rock Fish was reduced to a corpse that had been nearly cleaved in half. Its massive body began drifting towards the surface before Fran put it into storage.

（We got a fish.）

（Woof woof!）

『More importantly, let me heal you!』

The price of our victory was Fran’s badly injured hand. This was the natural outcome of putting such an insane amount of power on your bare hands, but Fran didn’t seem to mind at all.

（Master. Is this tasty?）

As usual, her appetite always comes first! But unfortunately, I’ve got some bad news for you, Fran.

『Uh, I hate to say it, but… this guy apparently tastes awful.』

（Eh…?）

『I heard the smell alone is enough to ruin anyone’s appetite. And if you actually put it in your mouth, it’s so bitter that your tongue goes numb.』

（No way…）

Y-You don’t need to look that devastated!

『B-But it seems the materials can make an armor that doesn’t sink in water, so I bet the Lucille Trade Association will pay a high price for it.』

（…Nn.）

（Arf…）

D-Don’t get so depressed! You’re making me feel like I’m the bad guy here!

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