“I believe fish normally rot if you don’t start by removing their organs, but in any case, we can discuss this at another time,” said Haruka. “For now, let’s have some soup and onigiri.”
“I want another flying needlefish!” Touya exclaimed.
“Me too!” said Metea.
“I-I’d like one more as well,” said Mary.
“Sure, of course,” said Haruka. “And you, Yuki?”
“Nah, I think I’ve had enough,” said Yuki. “Just hit me with an onigiri and some soup.”
“I think I’ll have the same,” said Haruka.
She lined up some onigiri on the grill, then cleaned three extra needlefish while Yuki handed everyone bowls of soup and painted the onigiri with the inspiel sauce they’d made as a soy sauce substitute. Soon, a delicious fragrance filled the air.
“The onigiri smells really good,” said Mary.
“Oh, have we never served you grilled onigiri before, Mary?” asked Yuki. “Well, now you know how irresistible they smell!”
“Onigiri are very convenient,” said Haruka. “You can eat them as is, but I also appreciate how easy it is to cook them.”
“Nice distraction too,” said Yuki.
“Anyway, glad you’ve calmed down, Haruka,” Touya chimed in with a grin. “Good food really helped your mood.”
Haruka laughed, then began distributing the needlefish, which had finished cooking.
“Nao has Natsuki with him, so we don’t have to worry about them going hungry,” said Haruka.
“Yeah. I wish we knew what kind of situation they’re in right now, though,” said Touya. “Haruka, can’t you just use your long elf ears to reach Nao?”
“Please, they aren’t antennae,” said Haruka. “We could use the whistles to remain in contact, but that would be a waste of time. More importantly, it might attract new foes.”
“We didn’t hear any more whistles after the first two, so that probably means nothing bad has happened to them, right?” Yuki asked.
“I would assume so,” Haruka replied. “We’ll all just have to fend for ourselves.”
Although they hadn’t imagined it would actually prove necessary, Meikyo Shisui had discussed what to do in the event that the party was split or one member got lost. The five members seated around the campfire felt secure in the knowledge that Nao and Natsuki weren’t in immediate danger of being killed, and they had agreed beforehand that if their party was ever split in two, each group would do its best to survive. Back on Earth, rescue operations had to be carried out within forty-eight to seventy-two hours of a disaster, but that didn’t apply to Nao and Natsuki; both had magic bags, so they would survive as long as they could remain mobile.
“Honestly, I bet the two of them could survive a whole year on their own if they had to,” said Touya.
Touya was correct that it was difficult to imagine Nao and Natsuki quickly succumbing to the elements, but Haruka pouted at his assessment.
“I have no intention of taking that long to rescue them.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m just trying to say there’s no need to hurry or panic,” said Touya. “Let’s be cautious here. We can even afford to spend some time leveling up our skills if we have to.”
“I suppose you’re right,” said Haruka. “For now, our main priority is simply to return home safely. If we can’t manage that, we won’t be able to help Nao and Natsuki regardless of how badly they need it. Also, I’m sorry, but can you handle the first shift on lookout duty, Touya?”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Will you take the one after that, though?”
“I will. I think it would be best to let Yuki get as much rest as she can in order to recover her mana.”
“Appreciate it,” said Yuki, sounding awkward about it. “I really don’t have much gas left in the tank.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Touya. He grinned and flashed her a thumbs up. “I’m supposed to be the dude who does anything that takes stamina!”
★★★★★★★★★
It was the dead of night when Touya suddenly called, “We’re under attack!”
Haruka was the first to respond. “Yuki, cast Isolation Field!” she commanded.
“H-Huh? O-Okay! Isolation Field!”
Yuki was still half asleep, but she somehow managed to cast the spell properly. A barrier enveloped the pop-up tent, and soon, it shuddered with the sound of something ramming into a hard surface.
“Let’s go!” Haruka shouted.
“O-Okay!” said Yuki.
“Okay!” the sisters exclaimed in unison.
The four girls hastily grabbed their weapons and leaped out of the pop-up tent. The first thing they encountered was Touya. He was facing the waterfall with a serious expression, holding his weapon at the ready. Soon, however, he breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.
“Guess it’s over already,” said Touya. “I can’t detect any more hostiles.”
“I see,” said Haruka. “What exactly happened?”
“If you wanna know the answer, look over there,” said Touya, pointing at a spot in the dungeon floor where a few flying needlefish were wriggling around, apparently after they’d bounced off of the barriers that Yuki had erected. “Go check out the other walls too.”
Metea went around the side of the tent. “Oh, there’s a lot of fishes stuck here too!” she declared happily.
“Whoa, you’re right,” said Yuki, who’d tagged along with Metea. “I count over twenty, easy...” She sounded more startled than pleased, however.
“It seems like we would have been in big trouble if Touya-san couldn’t detect them,” said Mary.
“Haruka deserves a lot of the credit for reacting so fast too,” said Touya. “How’d you manage to figure out the perfect response, Haruka?”
“I was sleeping lightly,” said Haruka. “Yuki also deserves some credit for following my instructions so promptly.”
“Gotcha,” said Touya. “Well, anyway, I’m glad we managed to save that expensive-ass tent.”
It went without saying why Haruka hadn’t been able to sleep, but rather than point that out, Touya glanced at Yuki.
“Check it out—those walls you made helped a ton.”
“Yeah. I just made them to shield us from the wind. I didn’t expect them to be this useful!”
Isolation Field had completely enveloped the tent, but Touya had been standing outside the spell’s area of effect. Although he’d been able to detect the oncoming shoal of twenty needlefish in advance, it had been much more dangerous in the dark. Had he not been able to take cover behind the walls, he would have been in much greater peril.
“I don’t think I would have died, but no question in my mind I could have gotten really badly injured,” he said.
“I’m surprised that we were attacked in the middle of the night,” said Haruka. “I suppose it wouldn’t be unusual for normal monsters...”
“It’s a pretty nasty trick, huh?” said Yuki. “We assumed the plank trails and ledges would be safe ’cause of how things were during the day.”
“Mm. I don’t think we were inexcusably careless, but we were ambushed while totally exhausted,” said Haruka.
The dungeon had essentially lulled Meikyo Shisui into believing that the flying needlefish would only attack them while they were climbing the rock walls. In that way, it had caught them off guard during the night.
Moreover, unlike the arrowhead eagles, which were audible when they flapped their wings, needlefish flew in nearly complete silence apart from a faint whistling sound. Their slender bodies and muted colors also made them difficult to spot in the darkness.
“...Perhaps we should illuminate our surroundings just as a precaution,” said Haruka. She leaped out of the tent and swiftly cast Light.
Metea picked up one of the needlefish and held it under the light. “They’re shiny!”
Though they weren’t exceptionally lustrous, the needlefish—much like bluefish, which were known as somewhat shiny—did have a certain sparkle that would make them easier to identify in the dark.
“I’ll create a few more sources of light farther away from our tent in the direction of the waterfall,” said Haruka. “Luckily for us, the fish seem to come from the same direction every time, so they should be easy enough to predict.”
“I just hope we don’t get baited again,” said Touya. “Like, it would suck if they came at us from the opposite direction next time.”
Touya sounded like he was just joking around, but Haruka just grimaced. “Enough, please. Don’t jinx us.”
“Nah, there’s no way something like that would happen,” said Yuki. “Needlefish coming at us out of the waterfall is one thing, but there’s nothing except sky in the other direction! It’s not like they just spawn in midair!” Yuki began laughing, but then she suddenly interrupted herself with a serious look on her face. “Wait a second... Now that I think about it, we are in a dungeon right now, so...”
“I find it hard to imagine that the dungeon would be that merciless against adventurers,” said Haruka. “If that were the case, then we’d have to stay constantly alert to the possibility of monsters like lava boars materializing right on top of us.”
“Yeah, we’d be crushed instantly,” said Touya.
A lava boar weighed several tons. Meikyo Shisui had leveled up several times since their first encounter with a lava boar, but if one were to fall on them from overhead, it would be physically impossible for them to get out from under it.
“Even if a shoal of needlefish attacks us from the opposite direction, I’m sure we’ll be all right as long as we have the walls for cover,” said Haruka. “At any rate, this seems like a good time to change guard. I’ll take over from here, Touya. Tomorrow will be a rough day as well, so get some rest while you can.”
“Really? Guess I’ll take you up on that. I am actually pretty beat.”
Touya yawned as he entered the pop-up tent. After everything he’d been through, it was only natural that he would be tired.
“Everyone else should go back to sleep as well,” said Haruka.
Metea raised her hand. “Wait, lemme stay up with you—”