The forest remained humid, untouched by the sun, and carried a slight chill.
Xenon shrugged his shoulders as he looked around, while Samuel calmly surveyed the forest. Palides was guarding me from behind.
Tristan took the lead in guiding us through the forest, with Zigor and Minte following behind.
[There is a pond over there.]
Minte said, stretching his neck and gazing forward. True to his words, the moist, fishy smell of water reached my nose.
"Have you already found it?"
Xenon asked in puzzlement at my appearance, moving forward without hesitation as if I had a set destination in mind.
"No, I haven't found it."
It was just my assumption that if Tristan couldn't find it even after mobilizing the insects, it probably wasn't above ground.
So I planned to search first around areas where water had collected.
Not long after, a moderately sized pond revealed itself before our eyes. The ducks that were so commonly seen along the Lindea River were nowhere to be found here.
After contemplating for a moment, I summoned Ganik from my bracelet.
[Boss!]
"Ganik, you're a sea turtle, right?"
[Yes, that is correct!]
"Can you go into freshwater too?"
[……Yes?]
"I suppose that would be difficult, wouldn't it?"
Why would a sea turtle be called a sea turtle? It lives in the sea, so it's a sea turtle.
Looking at Ganik with regretful eyes, I glanced at the pond. I thought fish might live in a pond of this size.
'Fish are vertebrates too, so I should be able to communicate with them…….'
The deep underwater situation should be asked to animals that live in water, shouldn't it? With that thought, I tried to contact the fish, but upon arriving at the pond, I was at a loss as to how to call them out.
I couldn't go in myself, and I couldn't send Ganik in either, so what was I to do?
As I was looking at the pond in distress, Samuel, who had been watching from the side, suddenly spoke up.
"This baby Lizardman should be able to go into the water."
"Hmm?"
Come to think of it, the baby Lizardman was also a monster that lived near water. Holding Ganik tightly, I stared into the eyes of the baby Lizardman who was looking up at me.
[Kyu?]
"I don't think it'll work."
I can't communicate with this one. If I ask for something, can it even understand?
When I looked at the baby Lizardman with untrusting eyes, for some reason Ganik flapped its legs and enthusiastically defended the baby Lizardman.
[He is a smart child! He is quick-witted and has good comprehension, so he will understand if you speak to him!]
"Really?"
With skeptical eyes, I bent my knees to match eye level with the baby Lizardman.
"Can you catch just one fish from that water?"
"No, if you explain it like that, he won't understand."
Xenon, who was watching from behind, squatted down next to me. Then he started mimicking a fish swimming with his hands.
"This thing. Something that moves like this in that water, catch it like this."
The baby Lizardman, looking back and forth between me and Xenon, blinked his eyes. Then he put Ganik down and immediately jumped into the pond.
[Jump slowly, you will fall!]
Leaving behind Ganik's urgent cry, the baby Lizardman plunged into the water with a splash. Along with the spray, the calm pond surface began to ripple.
His tail, which always dragged on the ground, wagged more vigorously than ever, and his webbed feet skillfully cut through the water.
And after a while.
[Kyuu!]
The baby Lizardman emerged with a proud face, a half-eaten fish clamped in his mouth.
"……No, not that, no. That's right, but don't eat it. You need to catch it alive like this."
Xenon, at a loss for words, started explaining again while drawing shapes in the air with his hand. The baby Lizardman, watching Xenon's actions, soon slipped back into the water.
And after another while.
[Kyu kyu!]
"That's…… no, wait. You're holding it too tight."
The baby Lizardman held out the fish he was gripping tightly to Xenon. Xenon's face turned pale as he faced the fish's eyes that had lost their light.
In contrast, Ganik watched this scene with proud eyes as if the baby Lizardman were his own child.
[Isn't he smart? He is very good at hunting too! I am glad he seems like he will adapt well to the pack!]
"……Uh, thanks for the dead fish too. Can you bring a live one next time?"
As Xenon waved his arms wildly to depict a lively fish, the baby Lizardman, watching intently, nodded as if he understood.
And not long after, the baby Lizardman reappeared along with air bubbles.
The baby Lizardman raised his hand high, gripping something that was wriggling and thrashing about. Thanks to that, everyone could see it.
"Aaaah! That's not a fish, that's a water snake!"
As Xenon recoiled in shock, Mori, who had been poking just his head out of the silk pouch, shouted in a welcoming voice.
[Ah, brother!]
[Aaack! Save the water snake!]
[Kyu kyu kyu!]
[You will grow up to be a brave Lizardman! Hahaha!]
……Well, in short, it was chaos.
* * *
The water snake, which had nearly been torn in two by the baby Lizardman's terrifying grip, began wriggling to escape as soon as we rescued it.
If Mori hadn't come out of the pouch and quickly approached to greet it, it seemed like it would have just left without even looking back at its lifesaver.
[Mori has good affinity with many animals.]
Zigor smiled awkwardly as he defended Mori. Mori, who had been busy exchanging greetings with the water snake, finally turned to look at me.
[He is the brother who taught me many things when I opened my eyes as a snake.]
You're a Dullahan. How can a water snake be your brother?
I barely swallowed the words that had risen to my throat and looked at the water snake. The water snake, looking thoroughly exhausted, flicked its tongue, but hesitated when it saw me.
"You live in this pond? Then I have something to ask."
[Me?]
"Yes. Have you seen any monsters that look like humans around here?"
The water snake looked at me, Xenon, and Samuel with wary eyes, then pulled its head back.
[There aren't any here.]
"Are you saying there are in other places?"
[Well…… animals that had their habitat taken away have been coming to our pond.]
As it continued speaking, the water snake regained its energy, straightened its body a bit, and boasted, "Thanks to that, I have been eating well."
But immediately after meeting eyes with the baby Lizardman, it quickly curled up again.
Watching the water snake bristling with nerves, fearing it might get caught again, I asked slowly.
"Where is this habitat that was taken away?"
The water snake, flicking its tongue, looked somewhere.
It was a point deep inside the pitch-black forest.
* * *
The baby Lizardman, who had performed his role excellently, returned to the subspace holding the beef jerky he received as a reward, hugging Ganik.
We resumed our halted steps. The place the water snake told us about was deep inside the forest.
On the way, the trees were dense and there was nothing that could be called a path, so Samuel and Palides cut through the brush with their swords to make a way.
Naturally, it was also difficult to summon the Dullahan. Thanks to that, I couldn't even think of summoning the large ones.
Xenon, tearing at the tangled vines with his hands, sighed and grumbled.
"The one who was said to be at the river ran quite far."
"They say Rusalka is very wary. Must have been scared."
A ridiculous sight for someone who boldly touched the Empress.
Having cut away the grass that had wrapped around my ankles with a short dagger, I strode inward. As they said, animals' habitats had been taken away, and indeed, the surroundings were quiet.
Rippling water began to appear beyond the drooping leaves. I stopped for a moment and looked back at Samuel and Xenon.
"Just in case, Xenon and Sir Samuel, stay back."
"What?"
"It's dangerous."
"They say she steals dreams. It would be troublesome if you become a target unnecessarily."
Since it was an environment where summoning the Dullahan was difficult, if something happened, there was a high possibility I would need to borrow Xenon and Samuel's power. So it was better to leave the two behind if possible.
Instead, I had Palides.
"Palides."
Palides, who had been guarding the rear all this time, stepped forward boldly as if he had been waiting.
"Don't worry, Boss! Whatever comes out, I will cut it down with a single stroke!"
With Palides leading the way, we moved again, and before long, another pond hidden by lush brush appeared. It was much larger than the one where the water snake had been.
Sunlight falling between the leaves illuminated the water surface here and there, and I could see branches hanging low enough to be slightly submerged in the water.
[I will take a look around!]
Zigor flew and circled around the water's surface. I unconsciously tensed up thinking something dangerous might pop out, but fortunately, the water surface was calm.
I thought the pendant might emit light if it was in the water, but nothing particularly caught my eye.
'Should I call out the baby Lizardman again?'
I was having such thoughts when,
"Boss, get back!"
At Palides' words, I quickly pulled my body back. In an instant, Xenon's translucent barrier enveloped my front, and Samuel's sword, infused with divine power, pointed forward.
[There is something in the water.]
At Minte's quiet words, my gaze turned to the water's surface. I could see the leaves floating on the surface moving slightly.
[Boss! I will try to persuade it!]
Mori quickly revealed himself. His small, round snake eyes looked up at me pleadingly.
"Can you persuade it?"
[Yes! He is not a bad one!]
[You foolish Mori!]
Zigor shouted, but Mori only repeated that he wasn't a bad one.
There was no time for a long argument. Anyway, persuasion would be better if possible, so I willingly set Mori down on the ground.
[I have come! Are you here?]
Mori, wiggling his small body as he diligently approached the water's edge, raised his head.
The leaves on the water's surface moved slowly, neither fast nor slow. At first glance, it looked like they were being pushed by the wind.
However, I, who had been staring at the water's surface the whole time, could confirm that very small concentric circles were spreading across the surface.
[This person is not scary! We just came to talk!]
……Actually, depending on the situation, we might have to kill it, but there's no need to tell them that.
There was no answer returning from the pond. Only the concentric circles that had been spreading from far away could be seen getting closer little by little. The leaves that had been moving slowly now spun noticeably.
[I am Mori!]
Mori must have forgotten that he got hit on the back of the head by that monster. Actually, the reason Mori got scammed so easily might be because he has a bad memory, right?
As I glanced at Mori with concern and was about to open my lips, I heard Xenon gasp.
"Hah."
Something floated up smoothly onto the calm water's surface.
Below the thoroughly soaked crown of the head, drooping hair could be seen undulating on the water's surface as if it were alive.
Those two eyes, protruding and looking this way, were probably Rusalka. However……
"There are no eyeballs."
It had a very bizarre appearance.