It Reminds Me of the Old Days
"Seawater dungeons?"
"Yes."
Besk Lonhadia — chief administrator of Elbritte, and once one of the Eight Swords of the Empire — handed me a report with a visibly weary face.
Inside it was written that strange, unidentified portals had begun appearing all across the sea, here and there, in places no one could explain.
Places that users would recognize as what they call a dungeon.
But dungeons were something users dealt with. For Besk, a resident of this world, they were hardly a matter of grave concern.
"Dungeons show up all the time, don't they?"
"There are far too many of them. And…"
"And?"
Gulp.
"The energy within them is slowly leaking outward. It's transforming the sea around each portal into… something else."
That was absolutely not something to brush aside.
I infused mana into the report and flipped to the next page. The structure of the dungeons, an eerie horn-like bellowing, and seawater black as ink—
"It's the Kraken."
It matched, precisely, the Territorialization of the sea — the authority held by the Kraken.
A power of erosion, in a sense: the act of claiming the ground where its body descends as its own domain.
But one thing troubled me.
'Why already?'
Countermeasures and discussions about the Kraken had been ongoing for some time, yet it had never before influenced the world this openly. The Great Cataclysm hadn't even begun, and the Kraken itself had yet to show its face.
If it were only one or two portals, I could have shrugged and moved on — but the confirmed count alone exceeded thirty.
It was enough to make me wonder why we were only learning of this now.
"Yes. Elbritte doesn't border the sea, so we've suffered no damage — but kingdoms whose territories lie on the water are watching the portals very closely."
"And the Empire?"
"The Empire will… do what it always does, won't it?"
Ignore it, or take advantage of it.
Whichever way, the Empire always came out ahead.
"...Hm."
"Will you go and see it yourself?"
"Yes."
Let's go find out what's actually happening over there. Besides, the past month had been rather boring — the timing couldn't be better.
I read the report through to the end, then examined the map Besk had prepared for me.
Now, where would be best…
Of the many dungeons Besk had recorded, I chose one — deliberately picking a location where people were scarce.
The reasoning was simple. Places without people were the ones other users hadn't cleared yet, and if something went wrong inside the dungeon, an empty area would be far easier to deal with.
My final choice was Zulao — a small port city sitting at the southernmost edge of the continent.
It belonged to the territory of a minor kingdom, a harbor half-abandoned and left unmanaged for years.
A handful of people still lived there, but not many.
The moment I arrived at the port, I could feel it plainly — an ominous aura drifting in from beyond the horizon.
'The Kraken.'
Tak.
"LilHa~ welcome, everyone~."
I stood at the port and waved at the camera. The chat scrolled past, lively as ever.
Looking out at the sea reminded me of the time I ran the Crab Dungeon. That one had been floating out on the water, too.
"Today I'll be heading into a dungeon. A lot of them have been popping up near the ocean lately."
"Right. I'm going to clear it solo."
It was my first dungeon in a while, but I was going for verification as much as anything. No real need to drag anyone along.
I'd already shown plenty at the academy lectures and elsewhere, after all.
After chatting for about ten minutes while viewers filtered in, I crossed the water and arrived at the dungeon's entrance.
A dark blue circle loomed there, radiating an alien aura, with a faint sound of horn blasts carried on the wind.
Recommended Level: ?, Play Time: ?, Max Party Size: ?.
Do you wish to enter the Seawater Dungeon?
"Yes."
This dungeon is a multi-dungeon. Its nature will be determined at random.
Do you acknowledge this and wish to enter?
"...Random?"
There was a mechanic like this?
Besk's briefing had said nothing of the sort. As a resident who couldn't perceive the system, he simply may never have been able to detect it.
"Shall we, then?"
"Here I go."
The dark blue circle swallowed me whole.
Check the time frequently. Should the allotted date run out, an unstoppable calamity will arrive.
Day 1
07:15
Slosh~ Slosh~
The sound of waves washed in from every direction, carrying the scent of the sea.
Adults moved about the deck here and there, tending to the ship, and the sky above was a touch too dark. Around seven in the morning it wouldn't be strange for dawn to be creeping in, yet somehow it stayed gloomy.
Still, it'd be light out by the time we reached home, right?
"Lily. You came up without sleeping?"
"Yes!"
"Go get some more rest. The sun's still a long way from rising."
"Aren't we almost there, though?"
"We are, but it'll take time to anchor the ship and unload the cargo."
"Okay!"
At my uncle's words, I hurried back down to my cabin below deck. Gentle as his face looked, he was the ship's captain and a man whose voice carried real weight even in our village — an utterly dependable person!
Mom and Dad trusted him too, which was exactly why they'd let me take this trip to another continent.
And I'd bought presents in bulk, so the moment I got home I'd have to hand them all over.
With that thought, I lay down in my bunk.
'Oh, come to think of it, the room next door—'
There wasn't anything I could do about it right now. Just sleep.
.
Clunk, clunk!
— Hey! Careful carrying that over there!
— I know, Tom.
— Why's this one here? Who ordered it?
— How should I know.
Adults' voices drifted up to me.
It sounded like they were unloading the cargo.
'We're here already?'
I checked the wristwatch Dad had given me as a present. A peculiar shade of purple — apparently something not easily found in a place where there was nothing but sea.
10:30
I'd fallen asleep at seven, so that's three more hours? It had seemed so close, going by the distance.
'Did unloading the cargo take that long?'
A small question flickered through my mind, but I thought nothing of it, packed my things into my bag, and slung it over my shoulder.
Pat-pat-pat.
Hopping up the wooden stairs like skipping on tiptoe, I emerged onto the deck — and there, at last, was the brightened sky.
"Hnnnngh. Haaahh…"
Home really is the best.
I gulped down the air as though stuffing it straight into my body and stepped off the ship. Everyone looked so busy that neither my uncle nor any of the other adults paid me any particular attention.
Come to think of it, a few of my friends had been on the ship too…
"Lily!"
"Oh! Ness! Ahn!"
"You were the last one off. Hurry up."
Ness and Ahn — my inseparable friends in this sparsely populated city. One was a boy, the other a girl, and together with Bia, who'd stayed home with a cold, the four of us were the closest of friends here.
Ahn, the girl, looked me over.
"What's with all this stuff you're hauling around?"
"Nuh-uh~ none of it's for you two. These are for my mom and dad?"
"Tch. Who said I wanted any? I brought stuff back too, you know."
With that, Ahn turned her bag toward me with a flourish and showed it off.
…Huh. It really did look like a pretty respectable haul, actually.
"And you, Ness?"
"Ahem! Me? Uh. Food?"
"So typical. You didn't buy anything else?"
"Nothing really caught my eye."
"Lily, you gonna come out and play today?"
"Huh?"
Was I going to play?
Of course I was going to play!
Traveling to another continent had been fun in its own way, but nothing beat playing at home. And I hadn't been able to run around at all for days while stuck on that ship — so right this minute—!
…Well. Aren't I a little tired, though?
"......"
"Lily?"
"...Yeah. No, I'm kinda tired, actually."
"Huh? Didn't you sleep on the ship?"
"I did… maybe I just slept all stiff and awkward."
For some reason, I felt exhausted. I'd definitely slept a good ten hours or so, and even more after my uncle told me to keep resting — but something about it felt off…
Ahn shook her head, looking genuinely let down.
"Can't be helped, then. Ness — let's play, just the two of us."
"Got it. Tomorrow then, Lily!"
"Yeah. Good work on the trip, you two~"
"Bye~"
Ness and Ahn babbled their way off. Left alone, I trudged home, dragging my fatigue behind me.
The moment I arrived, Mom and Dad were there to welcome me.
I threw my arms around them both in a tight hug, then took out my presents one by one and handed them over. Delighted, the two of them laid out a veritable feast.
"Is it good?"
"Yes! It's so good!"
"Hehe. Eat slowly, you'll make yourself sick."
Mom stroked my head as I devoured the chicken.
But how was anyone supposed to hold back!
It was never this delicious in the other continent, I'm telling you!
Mom's cooking is the best food in the world! Today I'm eating my fill and then sleeping like a rock.
Once I'd eaten a reasonable amount, I headed back to my room.
"Lily?"
"Ahem! Thank you for the meal!"
"You're not eating more?"
"I ate plenty already. Hehe. This is more than enough."
"...? Well, all right."
Scrape— I pushed my chair back and stood up.
Dad, who had been making short work of the chicken I'd left behind, spoke up.
"You're home now, so get some good rest in your room."
"Yes. I will."
I went up to my room on the second floor, closed the door behind me, and sat down in the chair by the window, looking out.
What time was it now?
14:25
More time left than I'd expected. Normally I'd still be out playing at this hour, but I'd come home because I was tired, and now here I was.
'What should I do?'
Maybe I'd take a nap?
A nap? Yeah, I was tired anyway…
I lay down on the bed.
Naturally, being this tired, I should have drifted off without any trouble, and yet…
'There's no way I'm falling asleep.'
A gap of 2 hours and 25 minutes has occurred in 'Lily (Day 1)'.
Temporarily acquiring ownership of the body of 'Lily (Day 1)'.
Should any act unbecoming of 'Lily (Day 1)' be detected, ownership of the body will be revoked immediately.
Brrrrrr… Lily's body shuddered briefly, and the young girl's consciousness cut away like a snipped thread.
And into that gap, squeezing itself in, came another Lily.
The 'I' who had taken possession of 'Lily's body blinked.
"......."
Squirm.
Small hands. Soft, unblemished skin.
When I looked into the little mirror sitting beside the bed, it finally, truly sank in.
"It reminds me of the old days."
I had become twelve years old.