CH 54

"Glup glup."

SharkBoy was swimming placidly in the fountain.

As soon as you look at him, he comes towards you, and will open his mouth repeatedly as if trying to tell you something.

"Well, what can you do?"

"Glup?"

I can't understand a word he says.

Nor does the expression on his face tell me anything.

It's like I get sleepy every time I see him.

Haha, perhaps that's his special power!

...Or not. The silly look on his face makes me forget things.

In case you're wondering, Kaede told me that he's a type of underwater escort, but she didn't tell me what exactly he can do.

In other words, every time we make an assessment of him, it yields no data.

It would be simpler if we put his skills to the test, but there are no abundant sources of water anywhere near here.

"How is everything?"

"Oh, you're back."

Orlos just happened to show up.

Bax was also at his side, accompanying him this time.

I've been coming here quite often the last few days.

I have received many invitations from them to participate in "quests", but we just end up drinking sake.

At first, he ordered his vice leader, Poloa, to get along with us. He did so reluctantly, but when he learned that I like sake as much as Orlos, something inside him crumbled.

In addition, Orlos was in a similar situation to mine.

A man who came out of a small country town and came to the city.

His parents died and he's been living alone all this time.

His friends are made up of younger childhood friends, so he's probably proud to be their older brother.

It's just like me, but with a few differences.

Orlos sits on the edge of the fountain and extends the bottle of sake he was carrying.

This guy... He's drinking during the day.

If you look closely, his face is a little red.

"What did you come here for today?"

"I came to invite you on a quest."

"Actually, there is a lake a few distances from here. It's a very safe place, there are no monsters, or any aquatic animals that are dangerous. If you want, you can join us today. “

"Are you guys working too?"

"Half work, and half rest. Well, it's to pass the time."

Well, they did say they were going to do some work near the lake.

I guess it's not such a bad idea.

These days, both Kaede and Frau are in a state of distraction, having been confined to the mansion.

This could be a good distraction.

In addition, it would be very beneficial for us to be able to see SharkBoy's abilities.

"When will you be going?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be ready by then."

I have to buy a swimsuit.

"Whoooooa! This is huge!"

Frau shouts as soon as we arrive at our destination.

She flew towards the lake with a twinkle in her eyes.

Lately, she keeps saying; "I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored", so it's normal for her to be excited now.

Today the weather is fine, the surrounding area is covered with trees sporting greenish-yellow leaves and the surface of the lake reflects the light with a brilliant shine.

"Master, I'll have the camp ready in a moment."

Kaede said this with a simple smile, but her tail was wagging furiously and she seemed to be itching to play in the water as soon as possible.

When I pat her on the head, her white fox ears droop.

"I'll take care of the preparations, you take care of the food. Okay, first we have to get water."

"Water!"

Her expression becomes brighter and her fox ears perk up.

She was so happy that she pulled out a bucket and ran to the lake right away.

But she came right back and hugged me.

She rubbed her face against my chest and sniffed me lightly, then ran back to the lake.

I think she went skipping.

You've been waiting for this for a long time... Right Kaede? Fufu.

My slave is cute even today.

"We'll go complete our work. We'll be back a couple of hours when everything is settled."

"Be careful. I don't want you to die along the way."

"Oh, if possible, catch something to eat when we get back."

The flame axe gang waved lightly and walked into the forest.

They were going to hunt trolls.

Details are unknown, but the troll is a large monster that can reach up to 5 meters, it is very important to be alert against such an enemy.

I don't think there's any need to worry, since they're an S-rank party.

I quickly set up a tent and began preparing our camp.

By the time I got started, Kaede had already returned and was preparing lunch.

Frau hasn't come back yet...

I don't mind her wandering off, it's not the first time she's done so.

"I'd better go do some fishing. I'll leave you in charge for a while."

"Okay, be careful."

"Kyui!"

Panda came out of the seal and stood next to Kaede.

He would rather relax here with Kaede than go with me.

Sometimes it's hard to tell who his master is.

He seems loyal to me, but he also acts too freely to be with whomever he pleases.

Rosuke acts according to my orders.

After all, each familiar beast has its own personality.

"It's nice, and it's cold."

I took off my boots and dipped my feet in the water.

The lake is blue and undulating.

Clarity is decent. You can't see the bottom, but the top layer is crystal clear and beautiful.

It seems to be a pretty deep place.

Now I just have to figure out how to catch something.

A fishing rod is good, but it's hard to throw it with a speargun.

Using a net is also another possibility...

I am prepared for all uses. So I could use any of them.

We should aim big here.

And the fishing method that best suits my level is spearfishing.

Hmm, on second thought, I think it's better to use SharkBoy.

Is it okay to dive here?

"SharkBoy"

"Glup!"

SharkBoy left the seal.

I don't really know if it's a male or a female, so I'm going by my intuition that it's a male.

If I am wrong, I will change the name.

I took off my clothes and put on my swimsuit.

Then I jumped into the lake with a harpoon.

"Glup glup."

Sharkboy happily approaches and rubs his body against mine.

Once I stroke him, he swims back around and rubs against me wanting me to stroke him again.

The surface of SharkBoy's body is rough, probably due to his shark-like body.

Most creatures would scrape their skin if they were hit by something like this.

"Glup glup!"

“!?”

A fin appeared on the upper part of SharkBoy's body.

...Are you telling me to grab it?

When I grabbed it, SharkBoy started swimming.

This is very fast.

Much faster than swimming on my own.

I wonder if this is his top speed.

My thoughts must have been transmitted, because SharkBoy's speed increased dramatically.

Wait!

Slow down!

The speed slows down.

SharkBoy, you are dangerous.

If we were at sea, the speed he can achieve would be extraordinary.

I'll have him take me to the deepest part of the lake and see what it's like.

I held the harpoon in my left hand, any animal that appeared would die instantly.

...This place is very deep.

I think I've already dived about 3 meters, but now I can't see anything at all.

4 meters.

5 meters.

6 meters.

7 meters.

We reached the bottom which was covered by long aquatic plants.

As soon as I set my feet, the accumulated mud rose up like dust.

I can still keep holding my breath. I trained hard for this.

I think I may be down here longer than expected.

Fwish

A large fish passed in front of me.

It didn't even realize we were here, the [Great Thief] skill works even on fish.

I wonder if sharks are the same, so I quietly approach one from behind.

Fu!

I identified the fish's weak points with the [Dragon Knight] skill and threw the harpoon at it at high speed.

It was more than fifty centimeters long, I think that one fish like that for every throw is enough.

I would like to catch five more of these.

At that moment, a huge net coming from the lateral direction abducts SharkBoy and me along with the fish.

zaab

The net was lifted and I was face down.

"With this, the Lord will be pleased! Doing this was an amazing idea!"

"Kyu! Kyui!"

Frau was pulling the net together with Panda.

However, when Panda noticed that I was in the net, he left Frau and fled to land at high speed.

"Huh? Hey, why are you leaving all of a sudden?"

"Frau… We'll discuss this later."

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Frau shuddered with a pale face.