Shark in the Pond (3)
Ripples spread across the water's surface.
Was the lord of Wani Numa Pond finally revealing itself?
‘A koi? A pirarucu? Since it's a mythical fish, it must be flashy, right?’
What could it be? My heart was pounding.
A triangular fin broke the surface.
An automatic BGM started playing in my head with a dramatic *ba-bam*.
Hey, hey. This has to be a joke, right?
The ruler of this pond was a shark?
Dangerous! I need to get out of here right now!
The shark's going to eat me—!!! Only a small fry would panic like that.
Listen up. Sharks are actually peaceful fish that love tranquility.
It's all because of the movies that the terror of man-eating sharks spread so widely. In reality, sharks rarely attack humans first.
On the contrary, we pathetic humans are the ones mercilessly overfishing those poor sharks.
‘Hmm.’
Still, even if blobfish are a comedy species, a shark in a pond is way too much!
From a rom-com perspective (※It wasn't too much?!)
‘The production team of *Silent Story*. Just how well do they understand romance tropes?!’
I had completely seen through the intentions of the *SaSu* production staff. A shiver ran through my body.
There was no ocean, so they were making do with a pond?
This was the perfect time to introduce the Three Umi-da Musketeers (Umi-da Three Musketeers?).
I was referring to the iconic supporting animals from rom-com beach episodes.
The one that snips bikini straps clean off with its claws! The crab!
(In R-18 games, it pinches somewhere else.)
The one that satisfies the demand for tentacle play in broad daylight! The octopus!
(A time-honored play that has even appeared in spring pictures.)
And then, the shark.
The rom-com device that stirs up trouble on the beach alongside the predatory golden sun!
The shark that always shows up at beaches crowded with beautiful women in bikinis and causes mischief.
The classic scene where the heroine is in danger, the protagonist saves her, and then gives the unconscious heroine mouth-to-mouth and a chest-compression massage... (the rest is omitted).
‘A shark-attribute beautiful girl would be pretty great too.’
Sharp teeth. Fierce eyes. A sleek tail.
A cold shark lady, or maybe a character that leans into cuteness instead. Yeah, yeah.
“Later, when I bring a beautiful girl here, she'll have to do WWE with me, so until then, you can't get caught by those Chinese people hunting for shark fins, okay?”
I am a man of common sense. I know you can't catch a shark with a fishing rod.
That was the moment I reeled in my fishing rod and greeted the shark.
“Huh?”
The fin was sinking. A shadow was rapidly approaching from underwater. Then—*thud!!!*
It slammed into the pedal boat I was riding. The hull rocked violently from the impact. I nearly flipped over.
“Uwaah!?”
It might have been an optical illusion, but the shadow looked four to five times larger than a normal shark as it circled round and round.
As if it were watching for an opportunity.
OH-NO—! Spielberg, you were right! The idea that sharks are actually gentle is complete bullshit.
“I was going to let you go, but now I'm going to scoop the caviar right out of that body of yours~.”
I raised my fishing rod.
It went against the principles of fishing, but the other side had crossed the line first.
I tied the plastic sword that could cut through anything—Akame—to the fishing line and dipped it into the water. Then I'd slice that insolent shark in half. Perfect!
“Huh?”
I boldly searched for Akame, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Uh... why...?
In that instant, a memory filled my mind.
It was right after I had reborn Mary as a Japanese doll last night. We were taking concept photos.
“This spot looks perfect.”
A square recessed decorative alcove in the corner of the room.
You know, the kind where they hang scrolls or display flower arrangements and swords in Japanese media?
I excitedly decorated Mary and Akame there.
Riding the momentum, I even made a scroll that said [COMPLETE CONQUEST] to pray for conquering all the heroines in *SaSu* before the game even started.
Of course, I wrote it with crayons instead of a calligraphy brush.
Anyway, I had left it there!
I had no means to fight the shark! This was a critical emergency—!
The circling shadow paused for a moment before ramming the boat again.
—*Kwaaaaaang!!*
The impact was far stronger than before. The boat lifted into the air with a *whoosh*.
The bucket full of caught fish spilled everywhere.
The fish inside began falling back into the pond one by one. I desperately reached out.
‘My salmon!’
*Splash.* The salmon returned to the pond.
Goodbye, my pretty pink smoked salmon.
‘My trout!’
Next was the trout.
Your true happiness isn't flopping around in the water—it's getting perfectly grilled over a fire!
‘My sweetfish! No!’
The sweetfish followed after the salmon and trout.
Damn it! You were supposed to become the rich broth for that luxurious sweetfish ramen that only true connoisseurs get to enjoy!
The other fish also failed to fulfill their dreams of becoming delicious dishes and returned to the water one after another.
‘Just how far are you planning to crush our dreams!!’
My eyes met with the falling blobfish. Huh?
*⁂((✪⥎✪))⁂*
The blobfish's ugly face suddenly felt reassuring.
Even if everyone else left, it seemed determined to stay by my side.
‘No. You can get lost. I don't need you.’
*Plop—* A slimy sensation stuck to my head.
The blobfish had latched firmly onto my scalp. The mucus felt disgusting.
If it were Kaguya-chan, maybe, but I never wanted this kind of fusion! I was about to shake it off when a lightbulb went off above my head.
‘If I have a blobfish on me, won't Yuuki-kun's handsome face stand out even more?’
OK. Let's roll with it!
I deliberately left the blobfish where it was.
Instead of getting distracted, I needed to stay on the boat. After all... I couldn't swim.
‘This time it's seriously dangerous.’
The Japanese Yuuki-kun might not know, but during Korean Shin Chang-shin's school days, there was no fancy school swimming pool and no hot swimming club advisor teacher.
—*Kwaaaaaaaaang!!*
It collided with the thing underwater once more.
This impact completely shattered the pedal boat.
I couldn't hold on any longer and was thrown off. I fell into the water—aaaaah!!!!!
I squeezed my eyes shut, but I didn't fall into the water.
“What the...?”
I landed on the water with one foot. I was standing.
Had I lived such a good life that I awakened as Jesus?
No. It was the boots I'd caught earlier. The soles of the commemorative boots I had put on were pushing against the water's surface.
Boots that let you walk on water? Could this be...!
‘A lost item!’
Those items that were occasionally found in Utsuro Village!
There was the toy sword that could cut through anything, or melon bread that tasted like melon.
I had wondered why such things would exist in a rom-com visual novel, but I'd found a clear answer.
—Why *shouldn't* there be lost items in a rom-com?
It's common to raise favorability by +1 by feeding someone cake-like items. What about hypnosis apps?
Even the plastic sword Akame that I left at home was the same.
“Kyaaaaah. I'm naked now? Yuuki-kun, what kind of perverted thing did you do?”
“Ehh? I just touched it with the toy, why are my clothes cut?”
“You saw my bare skin, so there's no helping it. Marry me!”
“Ehhhhhhhhh!?”
It was probably for lucky pervert moments. The effect was just a bit too strong.
Anyway, it was a huge relief that the boots were a lost item. But there was a problem.
There was only one boot.
The moment I put my other foot down, I'd lose my balance and fall into the water. I ended up in a one-legged stance.
‘I need to get out of the water.’
This was the center of the pond.
The distance to the edge of the reservoir was quite far.
With only one foot I could use, could I really make it?
◿
Suddenly, the shark's dorsal fin rose again.
It had been waiting for me to fall in, but when there was no sign of me, it came to check personally.
It must have spotted me, because it cut through the water and swam rapidly toward me. It would arrive any second.
“Ready?”
[Guuuu...eh...]
The blobfish let out a groan above my head.
Good. We're ready. Everyone, prepare for takeoff!
“Yuuki-kun. Jump!”
*Boing—* I leaped from where I stood.
The sun... was way too bright!
***
1949.
After its defeat in the Pacific War, Japan fell under the military administration of the Allied GHQ.
During GHQ's land survey, they discovered a region with customary autonomy.
After interrogating those involved, it was revealed that the area was a place called the Hollow—or Utsuro Village.
Unlike the Japanese who called themselves descendants of the sun, the people of Utsuro Village referred to themselves as descendants of the moon and rejected outsiders.
It was said that a legend existed there about evil gods living in the area.
GHQ determined that superior beings existed in the region.
Based on their experience subjugating a wolf-like superior being in Hokkaido,
they dispatched troops, liberated the village, and carried out the Utsuro Village Great Subjugation (1949) to exterminate the superior beings.
“It’s fine. We have slain many superior beings before. They are not gods, merely monsters. You are all free now.”
Our unit efficiently suppressed the resisting villagers and began searching for the superior beings.
We discovered a reservoir that the locals called Wani Numa Pond.
Despite being freshwater, it had the peculiarity of containing saltwater fish.
“It burst! The fish exploded! Aaaargh!”
Furthermore, some of the fish displayed bizarre traits.
After an incident where one soldier suffered burns and was sent back (in hindsight, that was the greatest stroke of luck for him),
we smoothly discovered it.
A monster that looked like a cross between a shark and a needlefish. After a fierce battle using firearms, we killed it.
“It seems weak to firearms.”
“We didn’t even need to use an Elder Sign. Poor country bumpkins. To think they were scared of a fish like this.”
Our unit took the creature’s corpse and showed it to the villagers, as we always did.
“Now. The superior being is dead. There is no need to be afraid anymore.”
“This is not a god of Utsuro Village. It is merely a monster. There should be one more.”
An old man wearing a mask stepped forward and warned us.
“Western outsiders. Stop this. If you anger the divine spirits beyond the mist, a fate more terrible than death awaits you...”
⸻
In the region, it was known as *Isonade*.
Or *Oguchi-wani*—Great-Mouthed Crocodile. It seemed to be called ‘the shark with the large mouth.’
The attached photograph is provided.
