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Volume 5 Prologue Part 11

「In that case, this definitely has to be a sacred place. I see that there are also paved roads here, so it is more likely than not that some of the locals might be nearby, and if we are to meet them, then we absolutely cannot face them while looking like that.」

 

Asuka pointed at her clothes which were soaked all over, and then she made a gesture as if she was trying to wipe the hem of her skirt, which caused not only it, but also everything that she was currently wearing, to dry in the blink of an eye. The exactly same thing happened to Suzuka’s clothes as well. They were so wet that she was willing to bet that drying them up completely was going to take at least two full days, but now they were as dry and clean as if that unfortunate fall into the lake of theirs never happened in the first place. Surprised at this wonderful phenomenon she rubbed her eyes for a few solid seconds to see if they were not playing any sort of tricks on her, but it was nothing of the sort. Delighted that she was not going to be doomed to walk around in soaking wet clothes and underwear, Suzuka spun around in delight with a cheerful, delighted smile blooming all over her face.

 

「Uwaaaah. . . . . . . ! This magic trick would definitely come in handy during the rainy days!」

 

「Fufu, I appreciate the compliement, but there is just one thing that I will allow myself to correct you on. This is not something a simple as a magic trick, but rather something that one of my friends is very good at. . .   Come now, Galatea, there is no need to be scared. Come on out and say hello.」

 

Suzuka tilted her head to the side, wondering who Asuka was talking to, until she saw a small Spirit peeking out shyly from behind the veil of Asuka’s long hair. Galatea, a small Spirit with braided, flax-colored hair that were so long that they were hanging all the way down to her waist stared at Suzuka while maintaining the maximum amount of alertness, but as soon as Suzuka saw her, her eyes began to sparkle like a child’s that was enchanted by a new toy, and she jumped to Asuka’s side in one swift motion While proclaiming enthusiastically:

 

「Is. . . . . . . is that a Dwarf!? Oh my God she is so cute, like, how is this even possible to be this adorable?!」

 

「This little cutie-pie here is a Dwarf Spirit. In Greek Mythology, she and the other Dwarf Spirits just like her are called Nymphs.」

 

In the Greek folklore, Nymphs, a type of superior Nature Spirits, often made their appearance while serving various roles and purposes, and many of them were actually counted among the ranks of Divine Spirits rather than regular Spirits. Suzuka, who felt as if she was going to faint from the overload of Galatea’s cuteness, had to use all of her will power to stop herself from putting her hands together in a gesture of worship. Instead:

 

「C-C-Can I touch her?! Or more specifically, can I hold her in the palms of my hands, snuggle up to her and push all of her oh-so-soft looking spots?!」

 

「Hmm, now, I do not know about that? What do you say, Galatea? You all right with that?」

 

「N-Na-ah!」

 

Asuka asked her Spirit friend while laughing, which earned her a slap on the neck by bewildered Galatea, whose cheeks got crimson red before she retreated deeper into the cascade of Asuka’s hair. So apparently she is a shy Spirit who does not fancy being around strangers all that much, because once she removed herself from Suzuka’s view she stuck into the back of Asuka’s neck and refused to move even an inch away from it.

 

「*Sigh* Goodness gracious Galatea. . . . . . . . . .  I am sorry on her behalf, Miss Suzuka. She is normally much more friendly, but I guess she is still pretty scared from our fall, and that is why she refuses to leave my side.」

 

「No, no no, do not worry about it! I was pretty scared there myself, you know? So once things settle down a bit, let us use that chance to have a proper introduction and try to get along with each other, okay? Also, that ability of yours is pretty amazing, Galatea! Are all Spirits capable of drying wet clothes in an instant like that?」

 

「No, she is the only one capable of doing something like that because she is a Waterside Spirit. A while ago, Scylla. . . . . . . . . .」

 

「Scylla?」

 

「Uhm. . . . . .she is a Waterfront Spirit same as Galatea, an one of my newest companions. A little while ago she asked me to go and get rid of a certain witch, and ever since then, that little cutie got quite attached to me. And thanks to her being with me all the time, I no longer have to be afraid of all the traps that cause you to fall, which are actually quite common here in Little Garden, and she always informs me if the bodies of water that I am approaching are safe or harmful.」

 

「. . .  Hmmmm? ? ?」

 

Listening to their conversation from the sidelines, Lamia felt that her eyebrows began to twitch. She assumed that when the three of them fell into the lake, they would have been pretty helpless without Almathea being there for them, but apparently Kudou Asuka would have managed to get out of it on her own just fine. And speaking of Alma, while the girls were busy talking and getting their clothes dry, she seemed to have been busy looking for something and apparently she just found it, because she returned to Asuka’s side and reported:

 

「Master. There appears to be stone monument much the same as the one Miss Lamia touched before on the shore over there.」

 

「That is my Alma for you. You are always a fast worker.」

 

「Hey, before you go anywhere near it, I am calling dibs on touching it first, got it?!」

 

Lamia shouted and proceeded to run after Asuka and Company after they made their way towards the monument that Alma just found. Unlike the one in the previous cave, this one also had letters engraved upon it. Standing behind Lamia, who was vehement about being in the frontmost position in the group, Asuka and the others looked at the monument and began reading the inscription that has been placed upon it.

 

『Lost Atlantis Fastmission』

『Thou who hath visited the old hero』

『Thou hath proven thy wisdom, opening the gateway to a new trial』

『Thou shalt slay the Demon of the Sea』

『Proving thy strength thusly』

 

The moment they finished reading the words on the monument, the waters of the underground lake began to violently stir and swell up. At the same time, a number of tentacles shot out from beneath the surface and made their way toward the stalactites at the cave’s ceiling and grabbing a hold of them and tearing them off from their spots as if they were made of clay, causing them to rain down below like a deadly rain, which was promptly stopped by Alma transformed herself into a steel tent that cover the rest of the girls, protecting them from harm. Taking the chance given to her by this cover, Asuka peeked from the side of it to focus her gaze on the enemy has emerged from the depths of the underground lake.

 

「. . .  I see. The first part of the challenge was meant to test our wisdom, so the next quality in line that has to be put to the test is physical strength. Say what you will about the way it is being executed, but I think that it fits the overall concept of the Gift Games quite nicely.」

 

「I-Is this really the best moment to be saying such things?! If you have the time to be spouting such nonsense, then use it to run deeper into the cave, and be quick about it while you are at it! If we do not hurry, these gross things are going to catch us for sure!」