Chapter 377: Although It Is an Aquatic Magic Beast...

We had grown accustomed to life on the desert island by the time a week had passed. Till is hooked on researching dishes using salt and fruit juice, while Arte and I are fishing on the coast, securing our safety by building a wall around us. For bait, we find small bug-like things, pierce them on a hook, and drop them into the sea; however, every time Arte sees a bug, she lets out a weird “Eek!” sound. It seems she is not good with squirming bugs.

And Panamera seems to have made hunting deer in the forest her current obsession. She hides in the forest in clothes easy to move in, and has even taken down deer by throwing spears. It is completely the technique of a hunter-gatherer tribe. Furthermore, since she uses fire magic if they are about to escape, there is never a day she fails to catch prey. It is foul play.

“Hmm, the fish just aren’t biting…”

Resting at the table and chair set I made on the coast, I took out a five-meter rod and lightly twitched the bait dropped into the sea.

“But I think it is amazing that you catch at least one fish every day. You caught a very large fish yesterday, too.”

“Ah, that’s right. It was huge. I thought it might eat me. I managed to pull it up thanks to my swordsmanship training.”

“Since they rarely bite, it makes you happy when you catch one, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, it seems you have an aptitude for fishing too, Arte. Want to try?”

“A-Ah, I, um… the b-bugs are…”

I casually invited her to fish, but Arte turned pale and shook her head side to side in small, rapid movements. Giving a wry smile at that, I picked up the cup placed on the table. Inside was Till’s special fruit water. Bringing the cup to my mouth, I caught a faint scent, and taking a sip, a sweet and sour taste spread through my mouth.

“Even if we don’t catch anything, it’s fun like a picnic, isn’t it?”

I muttered that leisurely while gazing at the sea. Arte nodded with a beaming smile.

“Yes. The magic beasts were scary, but I love looking at the sea.”

Saying that, Arte also brought her cup to her mouth and enjoyed the fruit water.

At that moment, a small anomaly occurred on the sea surface. Just as I thought the waves spread out like ripples for an instant, a splashing sound immediately rang out on the surface, and water started spraying up in short bursts.

Then, before I knew it, the entire sea surface began to thrash violently. Wondering what had happened, I stood up from my chair and stared intently at the sea.

“F-Fish…?”

A massive amount of large fish had gathered at the coast, losing their place to go and jumping wildly on the sea surface. Even after realizing this, I couldn’t understand what was happening for a moment and stood frozen.

“W-Why are there so many fish…”

Arte muttered anxiously at the eerie sight, stood up from her chair, and came to my side. I took a step back to protect Arte, who was holding the hem of my clothes, while gazing at the sea.

“……For this many fish to gather, it must mean they are running away from something.”

I muttered that with a twitching cheek, filled with a bad premonition. Arte then trembled her shoulders and huddled close.

“……S-Something… what could it be…?”

As if using Arte’s words as a signal, another change occurred in the sea. A little further offshore, the sea surface swelled massively. Something was there. And it was something absurdly huge.

“W-We’re running!”

Now that I had realized it, action was the only option. I quickly removed the wall set up around us and started running away from the coast. I ran, pulling Arte by the hand, aiming for the forest.

I heard a loud sound of water behind me, followed by a roaring sound that seemed to shake the earth. Running, I felt anxious about what was behind me and looked back, catching sight of a huge black shadow. A round body like a mountain, and a massive mouth that looked like it could swallow a ship whole. It had a form similar to a whale, but the countless fangs and the long fins growing claws were ominous.

Seeing that figure, I realized that this was the thing that had attacked the large ship I built.

“Whoa, this is bad…!”

Is the coast quite shallow here? The monster whale seemed to have charged in forcefully to eat the fish, making a violent noise. However, its momentum did not stop; it continued to approach the land while eating the large fish.

“It’s already half out of the sea!?”

I threw in a retort mixed with astonishment. Isn’t that thing a fish? No, since it looks like a whale, perhaps it breathes with lungs.

Just as I thought that, I noticed the monster whale was looking at us. Its bright red eyes made it hard to tell where its focus lay. However, I don’t know why, but I could recognize that our eyes had met.

The monster whale opened its mouth wide and let out a roar that seemed to vibrate the atmosphere.

“Kyaa!?”

Arte screamed, covering her ears with both hands. I grabbed her shoulder and, giving myself over to the bad premonition, started running again.

This decision was the correct one. Immediately after we started running, the monster whale swung its huge tail fin so high you had to look up to see it, and slammed it against the sea surface. The momentum was tremendous, causing an impact that created the illusion of a major earthquake. And then, incredibly, the monster whale launched itself into the air.