CH 122

Surrounded by the women, I was immediately guided from the plaza to a back alley.

“Other people feel uncomfortable when you’re around.”

“Yes. Everyone seems to care about you.”

. . . .I see. Criticism of me being with everyone? I wonder if that’s it.

I understand. Everyone is very popular, I am ordinary.

Why do you think we are together? That’s true. . .

I can understand the feelings of the women in the harbor. Everyone is a wonderful person.

I could argue back and explain why we’re together, but I feel like saying that doesn’t change anything.

Rather, it will result in pouring oil on the fire.

So, when I was silently asking how things were going, a woman grabbed my hand tightly.

“Eh”

Why do you look so worried?

. . . .That? Is it different from what I thought?

That?

Eh?

“I was wondering why they were so concerned about you, but I understood it yesterday after talking with everyone.”

“You . . . I heard you were dancing with a kitchen knife.”

Eh?

“Dancing with a knife”

I’m so scared of that.

“Aren’t you tired?”

The woman holding my hand looks at me worriedly.

Tired. . .? What do you mean tired?

“I’m sure they’re kind people, so they’re worried about you.”

“Haa”

“There will be a lot of people in the central square today, and I think they will be watching.”

“Heh”

“If you were in that situation, wouldn’t you be more tired?”

“Hm”

“There is also a fire dance. If you dance with a kitchen knife, I’m sure it’ll be a big mess.”

“Ho”

It was a big mess.

If there was someone holding a kitchen knife and dancing next to the fire dance, I’m sure everyone would be surprised.

But why do you think I’ll start dancing with a kitchen knife. . .?

“I saw it. When the magic fish appeared, you were there holding a kitchen knife. . .”

“Eh”

In other words, she saw the place where the magic fish changed. . .!?

“You were holding a kitchen knife and dancing in front of the lobsters. . .”

Oh I see.

Oh, oh, I see, I see!

When I held the kitchen knife over the magic fish and it became a spiny lobster! And you saw me in high spirits!

Oh, I see! I see!

I was in high spirits, but it looked like I was dancing with a kitchen knife!

“What’s that? Scary.”

Too scary.

“Oh, um! I wasn’t dancing. . .!”

My desperate excuse.

The woman who held my hand listened to what I had to say and then looked straight at me.

“Then what were you doing?”

“That’s right. . .”

I was turning magic fish into delicious ingredients!!

. . . . . .

I can’t say that. . .

“. . . Uh. . . what. . . I. . .”

I can’t say it. . .

That’s it, it’s funny. . .

I can’t even come up with a good excuse. . .

At the wharf where a large number of magic fish appeared, I was having fun with a kitchen knife.

I can’t think of any good ideas to defend it.

“I. . . what was I doing. . .?”

It’s like a standard line to use when you have amnesia.

The woman who heard my ambiguous reply looked at each other and nodded.

“As expected, let’s go back to the inn today.”

“When you get back to the inn, I’ll deliver the meal from here.”

“It’s okay. I’ll explain it to the other people.”

“Let’s take a good rest today, okay?”

“Maybe we should stop by the wharf on our way back and then go home.”

“Yes. The sea is calming.”

“Because the sun is about to set.”

“You should look at the sea and calm down.”

The women speak to me one after another.

And then I was taken straight to the wharf.

“It’s beautiful. . . It’s a sunset. . .”

A large orange circle is swallowed by the waves and sways.

The emerald green sea reflected the orange light and showed a different expression, different from morning and night.

“I understand. . . the sea is calm. . .”

Yeah. . . It gently caresses this emptiness in my heart. . .

About half of the women I mentioned earlier are genuinely concerned about me, and half want to separate me from everyone else.

What I do know is that they all have a common understanding of ‘I am a woman who dances with a kitchen knife.”

“Is that why the uncle at the reception desk at the inn was weird at lunch. . .”

He said I would dance with the pot. . .

I agree. Since you’re dancing with a kitchen knife, there’s also the possibility that you’ll be dancing with a pot. . . . . . I wonder if there is. Did you think so. . .

“I knew everyone was amazing, but. . .”

Yes. I knew that.

I know it’s out of proportion, and that’s okay.

But. . . .

“A woman who dances with a kitchen knife. . .”

It’s kinda.

“That’s a little much!”

Cry of the soul.

It was swallowed up by the sound of the waves.

Mother sea. . .

Great sea. . .

I remember getting excited in front of the spiny lobster.

I have memories of jumping up and down and having a good time with my hands.

But not dancing.

I wasn’t dancing. . .

But I can’t even explain myself, and I can only look at the sea like this.

“Embarrassing. . .”

I cover my face with both hands and squat down on the spot.

I was seen. . . A playful figure.

I looked like I was dancing. . . A playful figure.

My. . . what is my playful appearance. . .?

“It’s embarrassing. . .”

The waves respond to the cries of my soul.

Yes. There is no one here, so the only answer is the sound of the waves.

“I want to meet you. . .I want to meet you. . .”

A small voice reached my ears.

His voice was trembling and mixed with snort sounds.

“Eh”

“I want to meet you. . . I want to meet you. . .”

Maybe because I noticed the voice, I could hear it more clearly this time.

A voice crying loudly.

. . . . Ah, this is something I’ve heard before.

My back is tingling. . .

I know. . . . ! I know it!

“I want to meet you. . . I want to meet you. . .”

Yes, yes! I heard the rumor!

A ghost that only sticks it’ upper body out of the sea and cries out, ‘I miss you, I miss you!’

“. . .Finally, I got it. . . I got it. . .!”

“. . . . . There!?”

Somehow the words have changed. And I heard it very close.

Just below the wharf where I’m standing. I hear voices from the sea!

“Let’s run away!”

Trying to get away from the wharf, I put a lot of strength into my legs and stand up quickly.

Then a voice called. . .

“. . .Shina-sama!”

“Hurst-san!”

What I heard was a reliable voice that always protects me.

He must have noticed that I wasn’t in the central square and headed for me right away.

When I look back quickly, Hurst-san was running down the slope.

I can tell by looking at his disheveled silver hair that he’s running with all his might.

Seeing that figure, I was relieved and let out a sigh of relief. . .

“No. . .! Don’t talk. . .!!”

. . . With a bang.

There was a sound of something big jumping from the waves.

At that moment, something was wrapped around my neck. . .

“Shina-sama!!”

Hurst-san’s face was impatient. And the voice that was called.

Eh? before I knew it, my body was pulled backwards.

And. . .

“Hmm. . .ugh. . .tsu, cold. . . eh. . .hmm”

Gravity disappeared from my body the moment I thought I heard a boom.

And water is poured all over my body.

No, I wasn’t splashed with water. . . I fell into the water. . .!?

“It’s salty. . .”

The salty taste spreads at once as the water on my face gets in my mouth.

At the same time, I breathed in through my nose, and it hurt like hell, probably because of the water.

The clothes I was wearing also soaked up the water, became heavy, and entangled with my body.

This is drowning. . .!

I don’t think I can swim with clothes on. . .! It’s just as Shizuku-chan was worried about. . .!

In the morning, Shizuku-chan, who was worried about drowning, crossed my mind.

I feel heavy.

It doesn’t work.

Because I inhaled water, it’s kind of hard to breath properly. . .

But I don’t know why, my head doesn’t sink at the last minute.

“Uh. . .?”

I’m not sure, but I have arms around my neck.

It doesn’t seem like I’ll sink thanks to this, but I can’t go on a rampage instead.

This is. . .

“Life, saver’s. . .how. . .”

A technique used by life savers to rescue drowning people.

“Shina-sama!!”

I can hear Hurst-san.

The overly salty taste of the seawater that enters my mouth, the clothes that stick to me after absorbing the water, the hands around my neck, and the orange sky that fills my field of vision.

At the wharf that I could barely see, Hurst-san came running in and had a really scary look on his face.

And Hurst-san didn’t stop at the wharf, he headed straight for the sea. . .

“Beautiful. . . Jump in. . .”

Thank you Hurst-san.

The way you fly is also beautiful.

That’s what I thought. . .

I lost consciousness.

Wow. Crap just got real. Does anyone remember when they were talking about having a picnic in the apocalypse? That may be happening soon.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!