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The surface of the sea was quickly fading from view, becoming a distant blur. I thrashed my limbs desperately, but nothing I did slowed my descent. It felt like weights were dragging me down, pulling me toward the dark, abyssal seabed.

“—Kuo…blurgh…?”

My silent scream escaped as a stream of bubbles, saltwater forcing its way down my nose and throat. My consciousness, fighting to hold on against the invasion of seawater, began to fade, slipping away as reality itself started to blur.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

«…Gyahaha! C’mon, you can hold out longer than that! I’m putting all this effort into dunking your head, you know. I can hold my breath for five minutes, at least!»

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Ugh, horrible memories floated up in my mind.

Thinking back, didn’t my aversion to water start with my cousin’s relentless bullying? Or maybe it was because my uncle’s family never even got me a swimsuit. By the time I reached elementary and middle school, I’d missed every swimming class, always watching from the sidelines. Eventually, rumors started spreading that I was some kind of cross-dressing girl, and soon school became yet another place where I was bullied. Rgh, another unpleasant memory.

…Haaah. I should have known—water really was my Achilles’ heel.

Soon, my consciousness began to blur, teetering on the edge of oblivion. Just as darkness closed in, an arm wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling me into a secure embrace and rapidly swimming upward, toward the surface.

“—Fuaah!! Huff, are you alright, Miss Hiyuki!?”

Through my blurred, teary eyes, I managed to nod while coughing up water.

After a bout of violent coughing, I finally felt like I could breathe again. That’s when I noticed my position—one hand still gripping Gilles de Rais (surprisingly, I hadn’t dropped it), while the other was wrapped around Christoff’s neck. I quietly stowed my beloved sword back into my Inventory Space.

“Thank you, Christoff. You really saved me.”

I spoke sincerely, still close enough to feel his presence. He must have jumped in right when I was pulled under by Momongai, and it wasn’t just my imagination—I’d seen someone diving after me.

“It’s my pleasure. I’m just glad I could help,” Christoff replied with a bright smile.

Ugh, that smile—it was almost unfair. Such pure, genuine smiles made my own practiced ones feel fake by comparison. If any normal girl had been in my place, she’d probably have fallen for him on the spot.

“Princess! Are you alright!?”

Mikoto and Tanabata descended shortly after, their feathered and swan-like wings fully spread.

“Yeah… I’m okay. Christoff… he saved me…”

Wait—what the heck! How could I forget? This situation is exactly why I brought Kuon along in Pet Unison mode!

«Kuon! …Hey, wake up and say something!»
«……»
«KUUUUUONNNNN!»
«…Huh? Oh, yes?»

Great. That groggy response could only mean he’d just woken up.

«Oh, are we at sea? Nothing beats the sea breeze.»

Argh, he was truly hopeless… I should have brought a different water-oriented pet. Tengai or any one of the Four Heavenly Evil Kings would’ve been far better choices. I sighed, feeling the regret settle in.

Then, I remembered something and turned to Christoff. “By the way, do you know what happened to Momongai? You know, the pirate with the turban? He went down with me, if I recall correctly.”

“He—” Before Christoff could finish, I heard the unmistakable yell of a certain someone off in the distance.

“You’re sorely mistaken if you think you’ve woooonnnn!”

I turned toward the voice and saw Momongai, with a deeply irritated expression, shouting his defiant words as he made his way back to his ship atop a horned beast that looked like a giant sea lion.

“…Amazing. I didn’t think anyone could actually say something like that with a straight face.”

While I couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed by his resilience, Momongai finally reached his ship and hurried inside without a second’s pause. For a moment, I thought I glimpsed…a bunny girl greeting him? It had to be a trick of the eye. Why would he have a bunny maid on a battleship? I might still be feeling the effects of that near-drowning experience…

◆◇◆◇

“Welcome back, Master~.”

The usual rabbit-kin girl greeted Momongai, her tone and posture hinting at an atmosphere more fitting of, well, certain gentleman’s clubs. Ignoring her, Momongai stormed straight into his cabin.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Maste—ah, is that a slash wound on your back? Unbelievable.”

Following him, the girl noticed the single sword slash across Momongai’s back. Her eyes widened, but more in surprise than shock.

“Was there a formidable enemy, Master? I can hardly imagine who could have inflicted that wound on you.”

“You bet. An absolute menace—a wolf in sheep’s clothing, if you ask me—was among them! Her reputation alone comes with a dozen titles like ‘Abyssal One-Man Armageddon,’ ‘Diabolical Angel,’ and ‘Lethal Princess.’ The list goes on and on! That’s just how terrifying she is!”

His face pale with fear and his body trembling, Momongai turned as he recited the terrifying titles that Hiyuki was often called behind her back in the game—a list she herself had never even known about.

“Anyway, when you encounter that ‘morning star of calamity,’ the only thing that matters is a quick escape! You all need to get out of this sea region immediately! I’m going to teleport over to the «Kaitei-Ou» and deal with the Empire’s navy to clear the way before I make my exit. We’ll meet later at the tip of Ruce Cape.”

“Haa… so in the end, it comes down to using the «Kaitei-Ou», huh.” The rabbit-kin girl nodded vaguely, her expression subtly saying, “You really do change your mind quickly.”

“Hey, I’m no clairvoyant, alright! Anyway, once we regroup on the «Kaitei-Ou», we’re blowing up the «Testarotta». We’re running out of time, so get everything ready for a quick escape!”

“—Wait, destroy the «Testarotta»? You’re leaving right after you take down the Empire’s fleet, right?”

“Exactly! She’s that kind of calamity—she wouldn’t die even if I sank her along with the entire fleet!”

◆◇◆◇

“—Ah-choo!”

Even after changing into dry clothes, I couldn’t stop sneezing. Perhaps it was the colder water in these northern seas. Not that I should be catching a cold—I could always heal myself if it came to that. Oh well.

“Are you feeling unwell, Miss Hiyuki?”

Christoff glanced over with a look of concern. He had also changed clothes, though lacking any alternative to his academy uniform, he was now dressed in a non-commissioned officer’s uniform instead.

Upon returning to the magic ship Beluga, we focused on treating the wounded. However, I decided against using my resurrection ability on the deceased. I didn’t want to disrupt the fragile balance of power that the nations had been carefully maintaining, so it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

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