Chapter 371: What the...

At the edge of my vision was Khamsin, reaching out toward me with a desperate look on his face. Next to me was the figure of Arte, floating in mid-air along with me. And then, there were Panamera and Till, who had kicked off the deck and jumped……

Eh? Kicked off the deck?

If you don’t at least hold onto a rope or something when you jump, you’re going to fall into the sea, you know? Or rather, can those two even swim?

In the midst of this scene that looked like slow motion, I couldn’t help but retort in my mind. While that was happening, the bow that had been flipped upward began to descend. Behind Panamera and Till—who had jumped—and Arte and myself—who had been flung from the stern—the stern, which had been completely submerged, was rising up like a wall.

This is bad. No matter how I think about it, we are falling into the sea. And that giant magic beast is in the water. It is a desperate situation.

Water. Seawater. No good. I can’t gather hydrogen and have Panamera burn it. No, in the first place, there is no time to give any instructions. At the very least, I must get the three who fell after me back onto the ship.

In the split second that the ship tilted and we were thrown out, I thought at a speed I couldn’t believe myself, searching for a way for everyone to survive. However, I still couldn’t find an answer.

The moment my body touched the sea surface, the flow of time accelerated instantly. My body was swallowed by a violent water current, and I understood that I was spinning as if inside a vortex. Swimming was out of the question. The forceful flow of water was violent and allowed for no resistance whatsoever.

When I felt the light dimming vaguely after spinning two or three times underwater, I felt something on my right wrist. Opening my eyes underwater, I saw a fluttering white cloth swaying in my blurred vision.

And the sight of a giant black shadow approaching……

The wind caresses my cheek. The sensation of water touching my fingers. A gritty feeling on the back of my hand.

It is the sound of waves. Realizing this with a foggy mind, I slightly opened my eyes.

Blue sky came into view. After gazing at the sight of large white clouds drifting slowly by, I turned my neck to move my line of sight. Next to me was Till. She was a little distance away, but she was lying on her side with her eyes closed. Although torn in places, she was still wearing her maid outfit.

Even though waves were touching her from the waist down, albeit slightly, she didn’t wake up.

Is she alright? Worried, I tried to sit up and call Till’s name. Then, I noticed that Arte and Panamera were also lying behind Till. The four of us were lying in a row at equal intervals along the water’s edge.

Forcing my legs, which had no strength, to stand by hitting them with my fist, I started walking toward the three of them.

“……Till? Arte, Ms. Panamera……”

I tapped their shoulders one by one and called their names, confirming they were breathing. Thank goodness. Miraculously, everyone is safe. Furthermore, although their clothes are somewhat torn and dirty, there seem to be no major injuries.

“In that situation, how did we……”

An attack from underwater by a large magic beast. No, given its size, perhaps it simply bumped its body against the bottom of the ship, but the bow was flipped up, and we were brought to the brink of sinking in a single blow. Then, due to the recoil of the stern dropping to the very surface of the sea, we were thrown into the water. In a defenseless state, while in the sea, that giant magic beast should have definitely been heading toward us……

No matter how I think about it, we should have just been eaten without any room to counterattack. What could have possibly happened for us to survive in that state?

“……Don’t tell me Dee dove into the sea and subjugated the magic beast?”

I muttered it half-jokingly, but once I said it, it seemed like the most probable possibility, which was terrifying. If it is that Dee, he might actually do it.

However, if that’s the case, the current situation doesn’t make sense. This is a sandy beach, but if it were the beach of Tribute, the town should be visible from anywhere. Yet, nothing of the sort can be seen. Instead, pointed mountains I don’t recall and the green of trees are spreading out.

Did we drift with the current and wash up somewhere? But for that to happen, we fell in fully clothed and possessed no materials that float on the sea surface. Normally, even if we washed up, we should have drowned.

“……It’s no good. My brain isn’t working……?”

Holding the right side of my head with one hand, I shook my head side to side and muttered in a hoarse voice. However, in the middle of my sentence, I noticed something and swallowed my words.

On the surface of the sea, it looked like a human head was floating.

“Could it be, Khamsin……?”

Did Khamsin jump in late to try and save us?

Thinking that, I strained my eyes, but it seemed different. The round shadow that looked like a head made a faint sound and disappeared underwater. I feel like I have seen that sight somewhere. Where was it? I think I saw that sight just recently, but……

“……Ah, Mr. Ladavista?”

Finally remembering the existence of the apkallus, I said that. That’s right. When apkallus are wary, they show only their faces from the water surface to observe their surroundings. In other words, that should be Ladavista over there.

I thought so, but the head I saw for just a split second felt like a woman with long hair, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. No, even if it wasn’t a woman, I have a feeling it wasn’t Ladavista.

“……Who?”