CHAPTER 58: THE LAKE WHERE THE HYDRA SLEEPS

Laura and I flew through the sky using Magic Arrow.

We’ve passed the peak of summer, but there was still some lingering heat. The breeze flowing past us felt pleasant.

We finally took care of all the request papers.

“Thank you very much!”

“You’re the village benefactor!”

“I’ll never forget about you!”

We received lots of thanks.

I felt happy when I thought of how the Luminous territory got a little more peaceful.

That’s because this power of mine was useful.

I had a lot to gain from this journey as well. I’m sure everything I’ve learned will be helpful when I become the feudal lord one day.

Having finished everything up, we were now headed towards the Luminous capital.

Just then—

“Ah! Albert! There’s rain!”

Dark clouds hung overhead, creating a sort of boundary line between the clear sky and the falling rain ahead of us.

“Laura, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes!”

Laura took out a small wand.

“Wind Curtain!”

Right after she spoke, a curtain of wind covered our bodies.

The wind deflected the rain.

“You’re a huge help.”

“Please leave the support to me!”

When we were flying through the rain doing this and that…

“There’s a huge lake over there!”

“Aah, that’s right…”

It wasn’t as big as Bjarnu Lake, but a lake that looked to be around a kilometer in diameter laid in our sights.

“…Huh?”

Laura squinted her eyes and looked downwards.

I called out to her.

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s a boat right in the middle of the lake.”

Just as Laura said, there was a small, lone boat dead center in the excessively wide lake.

“…Looks like there’s a person riding it…”

“Yes. That’s…strange, isn’t it?”

A small boat was floating adrift in the middle of this rain, and it wasn’t attempting to move anywhere.

Under normal circumstances, this smelled like trouble.

“…Guess we gotta help…”

I landed at the lake shore.

Next, Laura used a spell.

“Water Walking!”

Thanks to Laura’s spell, both of us were able to walk on the water’s surface.

The boat was 500 meters away.

It wasn’t that far of a walk.

Laura and I headed towards the boat and began our small trek.

“Hm…?”

Laura let out a puzzled voice.

“Albert, isn’t something about that boat kinda off?”

“…What is?”

“It looks kinda… low.”

“Low?”

“Compared to the water’s surface, it’s… sinking!?”

Just as Laura said, around half of the boat was submerged underwater.

That’s dangerous!

Panicking, we broke into a sprint.

“HEEY, YOU OVER THERE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?”

I raised my voice and yelled.

The person that had their back turned to us until now looked over their shoulder. It was a young girl with long hair, and she had a startled look on her face as she looked at us.

…Guess I can’t blame her.

After all, we’re running on water…

“Don’t worry! It’s alright, we’ll help you!”

Contrary to what I said, the woman loudly screamed.

“DON’T COME!”

Huh…?

You really aren’t in the position to be saying that, though.

Laura and I exchanged glances.

“…For now… let’s help her, I guess…”

She might have some sort of special circumstances, but I shouldn’t just abandon her.

We arrived at the small boat.

The insides of the boat were filled with the ever-pouring rain. The girl’s knees were completely submerged in the water.

However, what surprised me the most was her foot. A small iron ball was chained to her right foot to prevent escape.

I lost my breath for a moment.

“T-This is…!”

The woman shouted, shaking her head and disheveling her hair, which was soaked from the rain.

“Never mind me! Don’t get in the way!”

“…Why are you doing this…?”

“This doesn’t involve you! Screw off somewhere else!”

…I want to hear her circumstances, though…

It seems like she’s agitated, and it doesn’t look like the best time to be talking right now. Besides, she’d without a doubt end up sinking along with the boat at this rate.

“Laura.”

“…Let’s help her!”

That was probably the correct thing to do.

In the first place, I can’t just ignore someone about to die before my very eyes.

I held out my right hand.

“Magic Arrow.”

A white flash of light smashed the iron ball connected to her foot.

“Sorry about this.”

I extended both hands in an attempt to carry her. The woman waved her arms and legs around while screaming “Stop it! Stop it!”.

…You’d have ended up dead for sure at that rate, though…

Just then—

“Sleep!”

Laura cast a sleep spell.

Immediately after, the woman staggered, wavering left to right. Her eyes glazed over, and before long, her body lost strength.

“…I’m sorry…”

Laura apologized to the collapsed young woman.

“We didn’t have a choice. For starters, we gotta get her out of this mess.”

Once I lifted the woman into my arms, we returned to the lakefront. 

The rain had yet to subside.

Having taken shelter under a tree suitable for cover, I laid down the girl I had been carrying. She was young—she was probably slightly older than Laura. She wore white clothing, which completely covered her body. 

She made quiet breathing noises as she slept.

The situation settled down, so I exchanged looks with Laura.

“Laura.”

“Yes.”

Laura nodded and gently shook the woman’s shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes.

Then—

“Huh… I…”

The woman slowly raised her body up. She looked at the lake, then at us.

Then, she suddenly realized what happened.

“…D-Did… did you two… save me…?”

Her voice was not that of joy.

The emotions that filled her voice were unrest and astonishment.

“…Yeah, and? Is there some sort of problem with that?”

“…What have you done… Even though I finally resolved myself to die, you…”

The woman cast her gaze at the lake.

“I can still make it…!”

The woman said that and broke into a sprint. I grabbed her arm in a panic.

“What are you saying!? What’s going on!?”

The woman looked daggers at me and declared like so:

“I’m a sacrifice meant to appease the Hydra! If I don’t die, the village will be in trouble!”