Chapter 264: Bug (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 264: Bug (3)
I was walking over a precarious canyon. I was in the lead, my tank assistant Iron Bear was heading up the rear, and the rest were clustered together in the center.
"Keeek!"
With every step we took, I could hear the shriek of ghost-type monsters beyond the darkness. This was a distinct feature of one of the four routes connecting to the sixth floor, the Canyon of Ghosts.
[You have entered a special area. Field Effect – Canyon of Ghosts has activated.]
The ground beneath us shook vigorously every few minutes and the eerie moans of ghosts served as background music on our journey.
[Status effect Restligeist is now active. Your Dark Resistance and Physical Resistance have decreased by -100.]
And that wasn't even mentioning the strange, unpleasant feeling that our skin had grown thinner.
It seems creepier now that I can't see other adventurers.
It had already been one day since we'd entered the Canyon of Ghosts but we still hadn't run into anyone else from the industry yet. The only things we'd encountered so far were monsters.
[You have defeated a Curse Stone. EXP +4]
[You have defeated a Corrupted Creature. EXP +2]
[You have defeated a Bloodshot Ghost. EXP +5]
[You have defeated a Dakirion. EXP +5]
[You have defeated an Ancient Spider. EXP +2]
Well, still, that was more a pro than a con. We were able to obtain most of the experience points available on this route in just one quest.
I think we'll just need to pass through here one more time to find the ones we couldn't this time around...
"Be careful not to fall."
Aside from stopping each time the ground shook, we invested all of our time in combat and travel. We only rested when we made camp. It was a bit of a tight schedule, but oh well. Since we'd recovered quite a bit of stamina on the fourth floor, we would be fine for a few days.
"That's fascinating. I thought the next district would be Frost Canyon."
"Back then, we weren't ready to move on to the sixth floor. This route is the most direct route to the sixth floor."
"Hmm, I did hear something like that... But if that's why we're going this way, wouldn't it be better to pass through Hellfire Gorge, which we're familiar with, instead of this place we've never been to before?"
"But we've collected all the achievements there." I'd given Raven all kinds of explanations for why I'd brought us here, but in truth, I had a different reason for taking this route.
Because I already got the essence I wanted from Frost Canyon.
The essence I'd originally intended to give Missha had been awarded to her by the palace.
And more importantly, that guy spawns here.
The monster we'd have to track down and overcome if we wanted to enter the sixth floor appeared on this route. Of course, I couldn't flat-out say that guy was our objective. If I did, I'd have to answer the question of how we were going to find it, and I didn't have a good explanation for that. It was best to let them write it off as luck.
"Mister."
Huh?
"We have to go this way."
Setting those thoughts aside and looking ahead, I saw a three-pronged fork in the road in our way. Actually, it would be inaccurate to call it a "road."
"The gap is bigger this time. I'll go over first and throw the rope."
Jumping over thirty yards in one go using Leap, I tossed the rope I had prepared to the opposite side of the cliff. This was the fun thing about the fifth floor's Great Demon Realm. The number of available routes increased depending on your character's abilities.
"It's secure! We're coming over now!"
When they finished securing the rope, the other members of the party crossed the canyon to where I was. Thanks to the slope, it was no sweat. You just had to hook onto the rope and slide down.
"Then I'll be back."
Once everyone had crossed over, I used Leap to jump back over to the other side and retrieve the rope. You couldn't just use these like they were disposable, after all. It cost a lot of money to get a specially-made rope of this length.
"Erwen, how far down are we now?"
"About one-seventh of the way."
"So we'll be able to reach the sixth floor in a week."
"Yes. As long as we can maintain our current speed."
With Erwen's continued guidance, we quickly progressed down the trail. Her approach to navigation was different from mine—she didn't make any maps, but she also never got lost or wandered in circles.
"The elf girl is very good at finding her way."
"I haven't been to the sixth floor myself yet, but I went down all four routes while working with a clan. And this is the bare minimum of what I should be able to do considering you're directing us to the portals, Mr. Abman!"
"Please, knowing the location of a portal means nothing on the fifth floor. You should have more confidence in yourself."
Although they never thought badly of her, Erwen proved her own worth, making the team see her in an even better light. Lately, her relationship with Missha had improved quite a bit too.
"Sis! Come more inside. It can be dangerous walking on the outside..."
"Okay, thanks."
Anyway, following Erwen's directions and moving along the shortest route, it soon came time to find a campsite and rest.
"This looks good."
The location I chose for our camp was near the edge of a cliff, a spot where you only had to guard one side and where even if something went wrong, you could just jump over to the side road about fifteen feet away. Oh, and of course, the order of the night watch didn't really matter.
"Bjorn, wake up."
"Another monster?"
Because monsters appeared every twenty minutes with regularity, we had to pick up our weapons mid-sleep. This included Raven, who lacked stamina. We tried to avoid waking her up for the smaller groups as much as possible, but when dozens of monsters rushed in at once, we had no choice.
"...I'm going back to sleep." Raven yawned.
"Yeah, you worked hard."
Raven didn't answer with anything other than a quiet snore. It was kind of funny to watch. She'd become a real adventurer now.
"Ha, she doesn't even wake at the slightest sound anymorrre."
"No, I think she does wake whenever there is a sound. But if it doesn't seem like a big deal, she just falls asleep again."
"That's kind of cool. That's actually the hardest thing to do."
"Even if it's hard, it's about time she adapted."
"The gap is bigger this time. I'll go over first and throw the rope."
Jumping over thirty yards in one go using Leap, I tossed the rope I had prepared to the opposite side of the cliff. This was the fun thing about the fifth floor's Great Demon Realm. The number of available routes increased depending on your character's abilities.
"It's secure! We're coming over now!"
When they finished securing the rope, the other members of the party crossed the canyon to where I was. Thanks to the slope, it was no sweat. You just had to hook onto the rope and slide down.
"Then I'll be back."
Once everyone had crossed over, I used Leap to jump back over to the other side and retrieve the rope. You couldn't just use these like they were disposable, after all. It cost a lot of money to get a specially-made rope of this length.
"Erwen, how far down are we now?"
"About one-seventh of the way."
"So we'll be able to reach the sixth floor in a week."
"Yes. As long as we can maintain our current speed."
With Erwen's continued guidance, we quickly progressed down the trail. Her approach to navigation was different from mine—she didn't make any maps, but she also never got lost or wandered in circles.
"The elf girl is very good at finding her way."
"I haven't been to the sixth floor myself yet, but I went down all four routes while working with a clan. And this is the bare minimum of what I should be able to do considering you're directing us to the portals, Mr. Abman!"
"Please, knowing the location of a portal means nothing on the fifth floor. You should have more confidence in yourself."
Although they never thought badly of her, Erwen proved her own worth, making the team see her in an even better light. Lately, her relationship with Missha had improved quite a bit too.
"Sis! Come more inside. It can be dangerous walking on the outside..."
"Okay, thanks."
Anyway, following Erwen's directions and moving along the shortest route, it soon came time to find a campsite and rest.
"This looks good."
The location I chose for our camp was near the edge of a cliff, a spot where you only had to guard one side and where even if something went wrong, you could just jump over to the side road about fifteen feet away. Oh, and of course, the order of the night watch didn't really matter.
"Bjorn, wake up."
"Another monster?"
Because monsters appeared every twenty minutes with regularity, we had to pick up our weapons mid-sleep. This included Raven, who lacked stamina. We tried to avoid waking her up for the smaller groups as much as possible, but when dozens of monsters rushed in at once, we had no choice.
"...I'm going back to sleep." Raven yawned.
"Yeah, you worked hard."
Raven didn't answer with anything other than a quiet snore. It was kind of funny to watch. She'd become a real adventurer now.
"Ha, she doesn't even wake at the slightest sound anymorrre."
"No, I think she does wake whenever there is a sound. But if it doesn't seem like a big deal, she just falls asleep again."
"That's kind of cool. That's actually the hardest thing to do."
"Even if it's hard, it's about time she adapted."
"Yeah, that's rrright... In the end, you can adapt to anything..."
Just like my relationship with Missha. Just like how it had been awkward for a while after entering the labyrinth but we could now have a conversation without too much discomfort, you could get used to anything with enough time.
"Anyway, you should sleep too. I'll stand watch."
"There's still a few minutes until your turrrn, though."
"It'd be more annoying to wake up again."
"Mm, but I feel bad, though..."
What was there to feel bad about? We had to wake up in twenty minutes to fight again, anyway.
***
After that, the expedition continued and ten days had passed since we entered the fifth floor. However, we were still on the fifth floor.
"How long until we get to the sixth floor?" I asked.
"I think it will take about a day," Erwin answered.
"At this speed?"
"Yes."
"Let's call it two days to be safe."
Unfortunately, the longer the expedition got, the more our speed decreased. That was because we were gradually reaching the limits of our stamina. Well, it would have been stranger if we were somehow fine despite fighting all day without proper sleep. Adventurers were not superhuman. They were just much more capable than ordinary people.
Well, still. We managed to take that guy down yesterday.
Although we were taking longer than expected, we'd already achieved one of the sub-goals of our quest. The rare rank-five monster Soul Eater was a very unique monster in many ways. For one thing, only one of these guys appeared each time the labyrinth opened.
[You have defeated a Soul Eater. EXP +177]
For another, the experience points it gave you was ridiculous. When I saw the XP log after killing one for the first time, I assumed it was a bug. How could I have known that there would be a monster that randomly gave you between one hundred and two hundred EXP the first time you killed it?
I wonder how much I received.
Thanks to the fact that Soul Eater gave you a random value, I wouldn't be able to accurately track my XP from now on, but I had no regrets. With this, I finally hit level six.
[You have leveled up. Your Soul Power has increased by +30. The maximum number of essences you can absorb has increased by +1.]
Between the Corpse Golem, Orc Hero, Ogre, Manticore, and the essence of the Bayon I had gotten as a reward from the palace, my essence slots were full with a total of five essences. But there was a reason I had entered the labyrinth without erasing the Corpse Golem's essence to free up a slot—since I'd been doing quite a bit of EXP copying lately, I figured I'd be able to level up just by catching this guy.
"No matter how few adventurers there are up here, I never dreamed we would run into this guy. We were extremely lucky."
"Haha, I've told you several times. Luck follows this team."
What luck? You don't know how much effort I put into fulfilling all the spawn conditions without you guys knowing.
"Aruru, this is not a team anymore, it's a clan!"
"Ah, right... Sure, sure."
"Cut the chit-chat and focus."
As the party's leader—no, clan chief, now—I ensured everyone stayed relatively on task as we kept moving. Excluding the delay, the expedition seemed to be proceeding smoothly, but it wasn't without its fair share of close calls. Our forces exceeded fifth-rank thanks to the rewards from the palace, but had stats ever been the end-all and be-all?
"Yeah, that's rrright... In the end, you can adapt to anything..."
Just like my relationship with Missha. Just like how it had been awkward for a while after entering the labyrinth but we could now have a conversation without too much discomfort, you could get used to anything with enough time.
"Anyway, you should sleep too. I'll stand watch."
"There's still a few minutes until your turrrn, though."
"It'd be more annoying to wake up again."
"Mm, but I feel bad, though..."
What was there to feel bad about? We had to wake up in twenty minutes to fight again, anyway.
***
After that, the expedition continued and ten days had passed since we entered the fifth floor. However, we were still on the fifth floor.
"How long until we get to the sixth floor?" I asked.
"I think it will take about a day," Erwin answered.
"At this speed?"
"Yes."
"Let's call it two days to be safe."
Unfortunately, the longer the expedition got, the more our speed decreased. That was because we were gradually reaching the limits of our stamina. Well, it would have been stranger if we were somehow fine despite fighting all day without proper sleep. Adventurers were not superhuman. They were just much more capable than ordinary people.
Well, still. We managed to take that guy down yesterday.
Although we were taking longer than expected, we'd already achieved one of the sub-goals of our quest. The rare rank-five monster Soul Eater was a very unique monster in many ways. For one thing, only one of these guys appeared each time the labyrinth opened.
[You have defeated a Soul Eater. EXP +177]
For another, the experience points it gave you was ridiculous. When I saw the XP log after killing one for the first time, I assumed it was a bug. How could I have known that there would be a monster that randomly gave you between one hundred and two hundred EXP the first time you killed it?
I wonder how much I received.
Thanks to the fact that Soul Eater gave you a random value, I wouldn't be able to accurately track my XP from now on, but I had no regrets. With this, I finally hit level six.
[You have leveled up. Your Soul Power has increased by +30. The maximum number of essences you can absorb has increased by +1.]
Between the Corpse Golem, Orc Hero, Ogre, Manticore, and the essence of the Bayon I had gotten as a reward from the palace, my essence slots were full with a total of five essences. But there was a reason I had entered the labyrinth without erasing the Corpse Golem's essence to free up a slot—since I'd been doing quite a bit of EXP copying lately, I figured I'd be able to level up just by catching this guy.
"No matter how few adventurers there are up here, I never dreamed we would run into this guy. We were extremely lucky."
"Haha, I've told you several times. Luck follows this team."
What luck? You don't know how much effort I put into fulfilling all the spawn conditions without you guys knowing.
"Aruru, this is not a team anymore, it's a clan!"
"Ah, right... Sure, sure."
"Cut the chit-chat and focus."
As the party's leader—no, clan chief, now—I ensured everyone stayed relatively on task as we kept moving. Excluding the delay, the expedition seemed to be proceeding smoothly, but it wasn't without its fair share of close calls. Our forces exceeded fifth-rank thanks to the rewards from the palace, but had stats ever been the end-all and be-all?
"Miss Karlstein, looks like we'll need to repair your armor as soon as we get out."
"Ah, rrright... Ugh, honestly. It hasn't even been long since I bought it. Such a waste."
There was an incident where Missha was struck head-on by a spear summoned by the Soul Eater. Of course, she got out completely unscathed, but...
"Missha, in what way is it a waste? If it weren't for your armor, you would have died yesterday."
The blade sunk deep into Missha's armor right around her heart. If it had penetrated even the width of a finger deeper, the injury could have been life-threatening. Even just remembering it left me lightheaded. If she were still wearing the grade-two leather armor she had obtained from killing Jencia, who was our first Player Kill opponent, she wouldn't have even lasted long enough to heal.
I'm so glad I spent the extra money to get rank-five leather armor instead of rank-four leather.
"I mean, a waste is still a waste..."
Huh, she still hasn't seen sense.
"Enough. Don't even think about skimping to save money on equipment in the future."
"Okay..."
This was why low Physical Resistance equipment was unacceptable. You just couldn't rest easy.
"Ahem, this is heartwarming and all, but why don't we keep moving?" said Mr. Bear.
After a brief moment of awkwardness following the scolding I gave Missha, we resumed our expedition. About a day later, we traversed the entire Canyon of Ghosts to reach the bottom level, and after traveling down there for another half a day, a portal appeared.
"Wow, we're really going to the sixth floor..."
"This will be my first time up there, too."
"I'm getting really excited for some reason. I've heard so many things about this place."
As was appropriate for the moment right before you first stepped foot on a new floor, everyone let out exclamations of excitement. I of course felt the same way.
I finally made it to the sixth floor.
The first time I ever saw tax delinquents getting executed in the square, I thought this: in order to live in a house with a kitchen, receive medical treatment when needed, and be able to live a leisurely life with three puppies following retirement at age fifty, I needed to get to the sixth floor. Even here, I'd have to work and save up like a dog until I retired. That was why... As for how to get home, I'd need to worry about that later.
I didn't expect to get here before two years were up, though.
I was over three years ahead of schedule, but I wouldn't say that I had been lucky. It'd been thirteen months since I'd woken up in this body. You could say that wasn't all that long, but too many things had happened to me in that time. I'd struggled hard but still lost someone, and with that legacy on my shoulders, I'd grown into the person I was today.
"Bjorn?"
"Oh, I was just lost in thought for a second."
"You go in first. You're the one who brought us here." Mr. Bear patted me on the shoulder.
Raven poked me in the side with her wand. "Yes. He's right. If it weren't for you, Mr. Yandel, I wouldn't have entered the labyrinth in the first place."
Oh, don't rush me.
"Then let's go in."
I started walking toward the portal.
"Miss Karlstein, looks like we'll need to repair your armor as soon as we get out."
"Ah, rrright... Ugh, honestly. It hasn't even been long since I bought it. Such a waste."
There was an incident where Missha was struck head-on by a spear summoned by the Soul Eater. Of course, she got out completely unscathed, but...
"Missha, in what way is it a waste? If it weren't for your armor, you would have died yesterday."
The blade sunk deep into Missha's armor right around her heart. If it had penetrated even the width of a finger deeper, the injury could have been life-threatening. Even just remembering it left me lightheaded. If she were still wearing the grade-two leather armor she had obtained from killing Jencia, who was our first Player Kill opponent, she wouldn't have even lasted long enough to heal.
I'm so glad I spent the extra money to get rank-five leather armor instead of rank-four leather.
"I mean, a waste is still a waste..."
Huh, she still hasn't seen sense.
"Enough. Don't even think about skimping to save money on equipment in the future."
"Okay..."
This was why low Physical Resistance equipment was unacceptable. You just couldn't rest easy.
"Ahem, this is heartwarming and all, but why don't we keep moving?" said Mr. Bear.
After a brief moment of awkwardness following the scolding I gave Missha, we resumed our expedition. About a day later, we traversed the entire Canyon of Ghosts to reach the bottom level, and after traveling down there for another half a day, a portal appeared.
"Wow, we're really going to the sixth floor..."
"This will be my first time up there, too."
"I'm getting really excited for some reason. I've heard so many things about this place."
As was appropriate for the moment right before you first stepped foot on a new floor, everyone let out exclamations of excitement. I of course felt the same way.
I finally made it to the sixth floor.
The first time I ever saw tax delinquents getting executed in the square, I thought this: in order to live in a house with a kitchen, receive medical treatment when needed, and be able to live a leisurely life with three puppies following retirement at age fifty, I needed to get to the sixth floor. Even here, I'd have to work and save up like a dog until I retired. That was why... As for how to get home, I'd need to worry about that later.
I didn't expect to get here before two years were up, though.
I was over three years ahead of schedule, but I wouldn't say that I had been lucky. It'd been thirteen months since I'd woken up in this body. You could say that wasn't all that long, but too many things had happened to me in that time. I'd struggled hard but still lost someone, and with that legacy on my shoulders, I'd grown into the person I was today.
"Bjorn?"
"Oh, I was just lost in thought for a second."
"You go in first. You're the one who brought us here." Mr. Bear patted me on the shoulder.
Raven poked me in the side with her wand. "Yes. He's right. If it weren't for you, Mr. Yandel, I wouldn't have entered the labyrinth in the first place."
Oh, don't rush me.
"Then let's go in."
I started walking toward the portal.
[You have entered the Great Sea on the sixth floor.]
Blue sky and beating sun, the smell of salt carried on the wind, and the sound of crashing waves.
Shaaaaaa!
When I found my balance in mid-air and landed, the first thing I saw was a wide, sandy beach. The sand was almost white, and beyond the water-soaked sediment stretched an emerald-colored sea.
"Wow..."
Everyone was mesmerized by the sight. I wasn't much different, either. That was how beautiful it all was. But unlike my teammates, who were seeing the sea for the first time, I was moved in a different sense.
We stood there in a daze, gazing out at the horizon like people who had lost all sense of time. Or, well, I actually came to my senses a while ago.
There's no need to interrupt the moment, though.
Taking my eyes off the sea, I looked around and studied our surroundings. The starting point on the sixth floor was Laemia, the Island of Beginnings. In the game, it had always been full of people, but there was no one around now.
Well, by this time, they would have already set sail.
I turned my head to the sea again and walked over to Missha to speak to her. "Missha."
A brief call of her name was enough. "Ah, yeah. Rrright. We need to start with that..." Realizing what I was asking her for straight away, Missha pulled out an item she had been holding dear.
Raven tilted her head. "What's that stored inside the glass bottle? Looks like an adventurer's badge..."
"An adventurer's badge is right."
"Oh. Could it be..."
"Yes, it's Dwalkie's."
When Team Half-Wit held our simple, private funeral for Dwalkie, we burned most of his belongings but left this intact. It had been the dwarf's suggestion.
"I heard that place is so mysterious that time flows separately there and it even has seasons, even though it's inside the labyrinth. Please, do this for him. I'm sure he'll be grateful."
"...Even though he's never been there before?"
"That's why he'll like it. Dwalkie definitely will."
Now, I wondered how he'd really feel. I couldn't be sure, but here I was.
"Could you wait a minute?"
"Of course. Go ahead." Raven didn't argue and stepped back with our other teammates to give us privacy.
"Missha."
"Yeah."
Missha and I made our way past the sandy beach toward the sea.
Chwaaaaaa!
Like a beating heart, the waves rose and fell rhythmically. Missha bent over and dipped her fingers in the ocean. "It's colderrr than I thought it would be..."
"I see."
"It would've been nice if we could have all come here together..."
"Yeah." It really would have. Even when we first got to the third floor, he had been as giddy as a child.
"...I think I can sort of understand now why adventurers always call it a big world."
Just a little longer. If only he'd gotten to spend a little longer with us, then he could have seen the real night sky spreading for miles in all directions instead of a Milky Way projected on a rock ceiling.
"Give it to me."
"Huh? But..."
"If we put it down here, it'll definitely sink down."
"Oh, that's trrrue..."
Without needing any scientific explanations, Missha understood what I was talking about just by looking at the waves. And so I took the specially-made glass bottle from Missha and waded into the sea. The shallow water gradually deepened, and I moved as far away from the island as possible.
"...This should be far enough."
Even after turning on Giantization, the water rose to right under my neck. I threw the glass bottle as far as I could.
Splash!
Before long, the bottle dropped into the water and bobbed to the surface before beginning to ride the waves to the other side of the island. Okay, got it on the first try. If that didn't work, I was going to take a boat out.
"Anyway, I tried to make it work with Missha, but it didn't," I said, watching the glass bottle float away. Then I chuckled because it was kind of funny. What was I doing? "Get some rest."
I swallowed all the words bubbling up in my throat and turned around. It wasn't like he would hear any of it, anyway. But even as I told myself that, I thought this: what would Dwalkie think of me now?
He probably would have been happy.
Even if this may have been an act more for those left behind than anything else, that guy would have smiled. No, he would've liked it even more because we were doing it for ourselves. That was the kind of guy he was.
Chwaaaaaa!
Feeling the waves pushing against my back, I glanced back again and said a brief prayer. I didn't know where that glass bottle would end up.
Chwaaaaaa!
But I prayed that these rolling waves would lead it wherever he desired.
[You have entered the Great Sea on the sixth floor.]
Blue sky and beating sun, the smell of salt carried on the wind, and the sound of crashing waves.
Shaaaaaa!
When I found my balance in mid-air and landed, the first thing I saw was a wide, sandy beach. The sand was almost white, and beyond the water-soaked sediment stretched an emerald-colored sea.
"Wow..."
Everyone was mesmerized by the sight. I wasn't much different, either. That was how beautiful it all was. But unlike my teammates, who were seeing the sea for the first time, I was moved in a different sense.
We stood there in a daze, gazing out at the horizon like people who had lost all sense of time. Or, well, I actually came to my senses a while ago.
There's no need to interrupt the moment, though.
Taking my eyes off the sea, I looked around and studied our surroundings. The starting point on the sixth floor was Laemia, the Island of Beginnings. In the game, it had always been full of people, but there was no one around now.
Well, by this time, they would have already set sail.
I turned my head to the sea again and walked over to Missha to speak to her. "Missha."
A brief call of her name was enough. "Ah, yeah. Rrright. We need to start with that..." Realizing what I was asking her for straight away, Missha pulled out an item she had been holding dear.
Raven tilted her head. "What's that stored inside the glass bottle? Looks like an adventurer's badge..."
"An adventurer's badge is right."
"Oh. Could it be..."
"Yes, it's Dwalkie's."
When Team Half-Wit held our simple, private funeral for Dwalkie, we burned most of his belongings but left this intact. It had been the dwarf's suggestion.
"I heard that place is so mysterious that time flows separately there and it even has seasons, even though it's inside the labyrinth. Please, do this for him. I'm sure he'll be grateful."
"...Even though he's never been there before?"
"That's why he'll like it. Dwalkie definitely will."
Now, I wondered how he'd really feel. I couldn't be sure, but here I was.
"Could you wait a minute?"
"Of course. Go ahead." Raven didn't argue and stepped back with our other teammates to give us privacy.
"Missha."
"Yeah."
Missha and I made our way past the sandy beach toward the sea.
Chwaaaaaa!
Like a beating heart, the waves rose and fell rhythmically. Missha bent over and dipped her fingers in the ocean. "It's colderrr than I thought it would be..."
"I see."
"It would've been nice if we could have all come here together..."
"Yeah." It really would have. Even when we first got to the third floor, he had been as giddy as a child.
"...I think I can sort of understand now why adventurers always call it a big world."
Just a little longer. If only he'd gotten to spend a little longer with us, then he could have seen the real night sky spreading for miles in all directions instead of a Milky Way projected on a rock ceiling.
"Give it to me."
"Huh? But..."
"If we put it down here, it'll definitely sink down."
"Oh, that's trrrue..."
Without needing any scientific explanations, Missha understood what I was talking about just by looking at the waves. And so I took the specially-made glass bottle from Missha and waded into the sea. The shallow water gradually deepened, and I moved as far away from the island as possible.
"...This should be far enough."
Even after turning on Giantization, the water rose to right under my neck. I threw the glass bottle as far as I could.
Splash!
Before long, the bottle dropped into the water and bobbed to the surface before beginning to ride the waves to the other side of the island. Okay, got it on the first try. If that didn't work, I was going to take a boat out.
"Anyway, I tried to make it work with Missha, but it didn't," I said, watching the glass bottle float away. Then I chuckled because it was kind of funny. What was I doing? "Get some rest."
I swallowed all the words bubbling up in my throat and turned around. It wasn't like he would hear any of it, anyway. But even as I told myself that, I thought this: what would Dwalkie think of me now?
He probably would have been happy.
Even if this may have been an act more for those left behind than anything else, that guy would have smiled. No, he would've liked it even more because we were doing it for ourselves. That was the kind of guy he was.
Chwaaaaaa!
Feeling the waves pushing against my back, I glanced back again and said a brief prayer. I didn't know where that glass bottle would end up.
Chwaaaaaa!
But I prayed that these rolling waves would lead it wherever he desired.