The Fishmen Who Control Water
The Fishmen Who Control Water
Water Walk was a spell that let you walk on water.
As long as the mage maintained concentration, anyone affected by the spell could walk across the water's surface as if it were solid ground.
"Water Walk."
I cast the Water Walk spell—learned on the spot—on my lovers, on Bella, on Hannah, and on the horses that had pulled our carriage all this way.
"The carriage itself can be shrunk via its self-contained function, but the horses have no such option. To bring them along, you will need to cast the spell on them, Adventurer."
The two horses that had been pulling the large carriage.
A specially bred pair—exactly the sort of beasts you'd expect to haul an eight-ton carriage without breaking a sweat.
I'd heard the breed was infused with monster blood, giving them stamina and muscle strength several times that of ordinary horses.
Fweee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-heeng!!
Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-heeng!!!
The sound of their whinnying was loud enough to rival a bomb blast.
Honestly, a single kick from those hind legs would kill a person on the spot.
The muscle-bound horses had been released from the carriage harness and now stood free, ready to cross the river.
Knowing the animals were unrestrained and could go berserk at any moment made my heart pound.
Cold sweat beading on my skin, I asked Hannah, who was holding the horses.
"They're not going to kick anyone the second you let them loose, right?"
"These horses are gentle-natured and do not harm people. You may cast your magic without worry."
"Then I'm trusting you with the horse-wrangling, Hannah."
I cast Water Walk on the enormous horses exactly as I had on the humans.
"All right, let's cross! Don't run or rush—if you break my concentration, you'll end up in the water, so stay careful."
Once everyone in the group was under Water Walk, I took the lead and began crossing the river.
Behind me, the four women and the horses followed in single file, like kindergarteners crossing a crosswalk.
As an aside, Hannah had shrunk the large carriage down to toy size and was carrying it tucked at her side.
Splash! Splash!
How long had we been walking?
A familiar woman's voice rang out from behind me.
"L-Luke! This really does keep you from falling in, right? It feels like my feet keep dipping into the water!"
"That's just your imagination. As long as I keep my concentration, nobody falls in."
"It does not feel like my imagination!"
Of everyone in the group, Bella was by far the most terrified of walking on water for the first time in her life.
My lovers and Hannah walked along perfectly composed, but Bella's reaction was almost comical.
"Eeeek!"
With every step she took on the water's surface, she trembled and shivered—behavior completely unbecoming of the vice guild master who was always so charismatic back at the guild.
Splash! Splash!
"W-Walk with me, Luke!"
"What?"
"If I fall into the water, you're the only person I can count on. Now, let's go!"
Before I knew it, Bella had closed the distance at a hurried pace and was striding right alongside me.
The way she struggled to match my long stride, practically forcing herself to keep up, was ridiculously funny.
That was because Bella, straining with the effort, had her face screwed up like a grumpy old crone.
"Seriously, what's with that expression, Bella?"
"My face always does this when I concentrate."
"So you're telling me you wear that expression every day in your office?"
"Yes."
Her eyebrows scrunched into a ハ shape—it was just too funny.
I kept sneaking glances at her and finally couldn't hold back a burst of laughter.
"Hahaha."
Ah, fuck!
Laughing was a mistake—I'm screwed!
She's not going to think I was mocking her, is she?
"What was that laugh just now?!"
"Hic."
She definitely caught my quiet little laugh.
Bella fixed me with a cold glare.
"You were laughing at me, weren't you? Be honest. If you lie, I will never come to another one of your performances again."
"What? How am I supposed to perform without my mascot?"
"Then tell me why you laughed. Mr. Crow-Commanding Mage."
Spoken like a true noble lady—her pride was no joke.
For a moment, I deliberated over whether to answer her honestly.
If I were honest, the words that would come out of my mouth were definitely:
— I laughed because your scrunched-up eyebrows were cute! Who knew Bella had such an adorable side?
Cringe! Cringe!
Just imagining myself saying those words out loud made me cringe so hard I felt like space-time itself might collapse.
A line only a social butterfly could pull off—if a socially awkward loser incubus like me actually said it, the atmosphere would freeze over instantly.
So I deflected with something neutral.
"I was just remembering the old days. Back when I was a rookie adventurer, there was this funny thing that happened..."
"Do not try to distract me with some pointless funny story. Stop thinking about the old days."
"Yes, ma'am. Boss Bella."
With that sharp retort from Bella, I obediently shut my mouth.
Beside me, Bella was still walking along with her eyebrows scrunched up adorably, but I used every ounce of willpower to pretend I didn't notice.
'Let's think sad thoughts. I'll just remember being rejected at party interview after party interview. That'll do it.'
Fortunately, my head was stuffed full of shitty memories that worked like a laugh-dampening device.
I walked across the water with my face just as screwed up as Bella's.
The two of us, both marching at the front with our faces utterly wrecked—anyone watching might mistake this for a funeral procession.
"We've all arrived. Please come up onto the land one at a time!"
In no time at all, my entire party had crossed the river and reached the shore.
They'd crossed a river as wide as the Han River on foot, and not a single person's body was wet.
'The power of magic really is incredible!'
Once all four women and the horses were safely on solid ground, I dispelled Water Walk from each of them.
"Luke. Let's rest here a moment before we depart."
"Understood."
Following Bella's instruction, we decided to take a break before resuming the journey.
Hannah restored the shrunken carriage to its original size and tethered the horses.
Our destination, the port city, wasn't far now.
'Nothing'll happen before we get there, right? Even if monsters show up, I can handle them fine by myself.'
It was right as I leaned my back against the carriage and let myself relax a little.
From upstream on the Terek River, right next to where we were, blue forms came drifting down the current.
Chirrrrrrrr!
Chirrrrrrrrrrr!
A cry that sounded unpleasant just to hear!
I realized immediately: those blue forms were fishmen.
Which meant they were the same species as Banner, the fishman who had scammed us and fled.
"Fish-people! Again!"
Rebecca exclaimed as she watched the fishmen floating down the river's flow.
Looking closer, I saw they weren't just drifting—they were swimming in a school, moving with purpose.
Bella, still glued to my side, told me who they were.
"Those are the fishmen who work as ferrymen on the Terek River. They live in a tribal settlement here, downriver. It's the Blue Claw tribe—the Banner we met earlier is most likely acting as chieftain of those fishmen."
"You're telling me the fishman who scammed us and ran is their chieftain."
I conjured in my mind the image of Banner, the fishman with those rotten pollack eyes.
Just thinking about the bastard who scammed us made fury boil up inside me again.
I wanted to fillet him into sashimi, but unfortunately, Banner was nowhere among the fishmen swimming toward us.
It was right as I stood silently, suppressing my rage.
Chirrrrr!
The swimming fishmen spotted us and began murmuring amongst themselves.
"Humans! There are humans here."
"Chieftain Banner said so. He said we must not leave the humans alone."
The eight fishmen immediately altered course and headed straight for us.
At first, I didn't know why they were approaching.
But then, from the carriage I was leaning against, a loud warning alarm blared out.
Wiiiiiiiiiiing!
"Enemy!"
"A-Are they monsters?"
A warning alarm meant a hostile lifeform was approaching.
Rebecca and Kate gripped their weapons and scanned the surroundings.
But no matter where we looked, the fishmen were the only ones closing in on us.
"Chirrrrrrk! Four human women, all looking so delicious!"
"Over there—a descendant of Lignote! Strike the bitch down first!"
In the blink of an eye, the fishmen climbed ashore right at the riverbank where we had been resting.
Bella stared at the bloodthirsty fishmen with an expression of disbelief.
"What in the world is the meaning of this, fishmen?! When we met last time, you gave us no trouble at all—why are you acting like this?!"
Bella, it seemed, had used the fishmen's ferry service before.
She must have been acquainted with the fishmen who worked as boatmen.
And yet now, for some reason, the fishmen had transformed into murderers.
"Shut your mouth!"
"Die, humans!"
Shwaaaaaaaak!
The eight fishmen shouted and activated their psychic abilities.
Water from the flowing river was drawn into the fishmen's hands, then morphed into something resembling whips.
"W-Water Whips! Those bastards are using the same weapon as Luke!"
Just as a shocked Rebecca had shouted, the fishmen's Water Whips were exactly the same as the one I wielded with magic.
But there was nothing to be surprised about.
The truth was, the fishmen were the originators of the combat style that used water as a whip.
I'd only unconsciously recreated the Water Whip after watching the fishmen fight.
"Liquid Ring!"
Now I was facing the originators, but I felt no dread whatsoever.
From the moment I became a Third-Rate Mage, my skill at controlling water had been the greater.
Shwaaaaaaaak━!
A magic wave surged up from the river and swept over the fishmen.
Under the water pressure of the wave, their formation collapsed instantly. Yet not a single fishman died, even after taking the full, direct force of the wave.
Battered and wounded, they still scrambled to their feet in an instant and lunged at us.
"Chirrrr! There's a mage among them who controls water!"
"Deal with the incubus brat first! The mana stench comes from him!"
All eight fishmen lashed their Water Whips at me. The writhing, undulating Water Whips tore through the air as they flew. I, the mage, had become their target. But I wasn't the only mage among our group.
"Stone Wall!"
Hannah brandished her pen-shaped magic staff and uttered the incantation.
In an instant, a massive stone wall erupted in front of me and blocked the Water Whips.
"Ah, right—you're a mage too, Hannah!"
"That is correct! The element I command is earth!"
A mage who controlled the earth element!
Earth magic was specialized for defense—erecting stone walls and the like to protect people. As Hannah recited a new spell, a strange phenomenon unfolded around the carriage where the group was gathered.
"Barricade! Fence! Stone Spike!"
Kugugugugung!
Obstacles made of earth element materialized in the blink of an eye, blocking the fishmen's paths of movement.
Iron walls, mud fences, and traps of sharp stone spikes.
"Aaaagh!"
One fishman running at the front screamed when he saw the stone spikes suddenly erupting from the ground. Unable to overcome his momentum, he crashed straight into them head-on.
Shunk! The sharp spikes pierced his belly, and the fishman flopped like a fish skewered by a harpoon, meeting his end.
"Adventurers! Leave the young lady's protection to me and deal with the fishmen, please!"
Thanks to Hannah, who built a defensive line, I was able to move freely.
I summoned magic waves to sweep up any fishmen I could catch, firing mana spheres as I went.
"Chirrrr! You dare face us fishmen with water magic?!"
"Your mouth reeks of fish—shut it!"
"Chiryaaaak-!"
Since they were river-dwelling fishmen, they definitely had some resistance to being swept by waves.
But if they were that resistant, I'd just keep sweeping them with waves until they died.
The magic wave, with a massive two-meter breadth, assaulted the fishmen without mercy.
Swept away and sent tumbling along the ground, the fishmen flailed helplessly, unable to regain their senses.
I launched mana spheres to snipe their fish heads.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The refreshing sound of skulls cracking rang out, and their numbers dwindled one by one.
The last surviving fishman leaped high into the air and lashed out with his Water Whip.
At that exact moment, Rebecca also leaped into the air, her crimson hair streaming behind her.
"Hi-yahp!"
The fishman with the Water Whip and Rebecca with the curved blade crossed paths in midair, then each rolled to land on the ground.
Unlike Rebecca, who landed unscathed, the fishman had a massive slash wound across his chest.
Shwaaak! The fishman died like a fish being gutted, his blood scattering from the split chest.
"Hmph!"
Rebecca gave a small smirk and puffed out her chest.
She was looking at me with a face that was practically bragging.
"Martial Artist Rebecca has arrived━."
"Hm?"
"So, what do you think of my swordsmanship, cutting down a fishman in a single stroke? Amazing, right?"
The midair-crossing action had definitely been flashy, I'd give her that.
I offered her my honest reaction.
"Your swordsmanship is amazing. Third-Rate Martial Artist Rebecca."
"Eh? Uh... yeah..."
But her reaction was a little off.
"What? Is there something else you wanted to hear? Third-Rate Martial Artist Rebecca?"
"Ah, n-no, it's not that..."
"What's not that, Third-Rate Martial Artist Rebecca."
Rebecca, with an embarrassed expression, added one more thing.
"...Could you maybe drop the 'Third-Rate' part in front of 'Martial Artist'? It makes me look weak for no reason."
I granted Rebecca's request.
Martial arts and sex.
She was my girlfriend, third-rate in both, but her pride was strong.
"All right! Martial Artist Rebecca is super strong. So amazinggg."
"Thank you! Heehee!"