Chapter 94

"Ah, ah, um"

"Ha ha, are you okay, Kumi?"

"Um, yeah. Finally... Where is everyone..."

Having swallowed a considerable amount of seawater, Kumi coughed and looked around. She saw Aichi holding her around the waist and the white sandy beach. There was nothing else around, except for the lush, dense jungle visible in the distance, and the rippling water above, which seemed to be protected by a barrier to prevent seawater from entering. It was a very spacious area.

"They must have been scattered... I've already distributed the small storage rooms to everyone, so they should be able to manage."

"..."

Aichi released his grip on Kumi's waist and casually said, but Kumi still had a serious expression. Kumi, looking at Aichi who was openly changing clothes, couldn't help but recall what had just happened.

Aichi and the others intended to strategically retreat from the giant ice sea sprite.

The place they landed was a huge spherical space with dozens of holes, all spewing or drawing in seawater with incredible force, creating a chaotic storm-like current.

Even though they were tossed by the strong currents, Aichi and the others still tried to regroup with nearby companions. However, the currents did not allow them to do so. Tsuki used magic to manipulate the water, but due to the numerous variables in the flow, the results were unsatisfactory. Shizuka used her weight manipulation and the weight of Doruken to finally regroup with Tia.

They were supposed to take out the submarine and board it, but it was impossible in the strong currents. Aichi clenched his teeth and took out an ultra-heavy compressed mineral from the storage room, using its weight to break through the current like Shizuka.

At that moment, he saw Tsuki being carried by the current. If this continued, she should be able to regroup with Aichi. Shizuka and Tia had already been washed out through some hole.

Before they were separated, Aichi extended his hand to Tsuki, and his gaze caught Kumi being carried away below. Kumi's pained gaze met Aichi's. Tsuki, in front of him, still stared at Aichi.

A choice between two.

If he grabbed Tsuki, Kumi would likely be washed into some hole alone. Conversely, if he grabbed Kumi, Tsuki would be in the same situation. Aichi couldn't decide which hand to grab. In what could be described as an instant or an eternity, he exchanged glances with Tsuki and made his decision.

Aichi took out an ultra-heavy compressed mineral from the storage room and used its weight to sink quickly. Then, he skillfully grabbed Kumi, who was drifting in the water. Kumi's eyes widened in surprise, but they were soon swept away by the strong current and washed into a hole.

As they were being washed away, Aichi activated "Vajra" to protect Kumi in his arms, enduring the impact even when they hit the rock walls. They saw a light above where the current weakened and quickly surfaced. There, they found themselves on a broad, white sandy beach.

"...Hey, Aichi. Why... did you save me?"

"Huh?"

When Aichi heard Kumi's strange question while changing clothes, he tilted his head, wondering why she suddenly asked this.

"Why did you help me instead of Tsuki?"

"That's because Kumi was about to die, but Tsuki could handle it on her own. Tsuki's gaze also told me to help Kumi."

"...You trust her."

"Of course. We are partners, right?"

"..."

Kumi's expression darkened as she recalled what had just happened. Unintentionally, her shadow fell over her as she lowered her head.

What? Kumi, finding it strange, looked up, and Aichi's face was right in front of her. Really, right in front of her, just a little closer and they could kiss. Kumi was drawn to Aichi's eyes, and suddenly, her cheeks were pulled tight.

"Ouch! What are you doing!"

Kumi protested with tears in her eyes.

However, Aichi ignored Kumi's protest and, for a while, thoroughly teased her soft cheeks. Finally, Kumi, with her cheeks red, covered them with her hands and glared up at Aichi, but Aichi only snorted.

"If you have time to be down, get moving. This is a great dungeon, you know? How long do you plan to stay wet? Or do you want sympathy?"

Hearing Aichi's sharp words, Kumi's face turned bright red in an instant. It was embarrassment. Sensing the hidden meaning, she realized it was inappropriate to be in such a state here.

"No, that's not it! I was just spacing out a little. I'll change clothes right away. Sorry."

"..."

Kumi hurriedly stood up and took out a change of clothes from the small version of the "Storage Room (Mini Home Storage)" that Aichi had given everyone before leaving Enison. She started to take off her wet clothes. Aichi turned away as if nothing had happened. Normally, Kumi would be shy but still say, "You can look," but now she seemed to lack the composure and hurriedly finished changing.

"Done... What do we do next?"

"Well... Even if we go back to the seabed, we won't know where they are... We can only continue exploring deeper. They would do the same, right?"

Looking at the distant dense forest, Aichi turned back. Kumi nodded with a calm understanding smile. Aichi slightly narrowed his eyes at Kumi's smile and, in the end, said nothing and walked on.

Walking through the rustling white sand, they soon entered the dense forest. Aichi pushed aside the lush trees and weeds, and Kumi followed behind.

At that moment, Aichi suddenly stopped, turned to Kumi, and reached out as if to embrace her, touching the back of her head.

"Hey? Aichi, what are you doing? Suddenly..."

Kumi, blushing, saw the thing Aichi quickly pulled away and her face turned pale.

It was a spider. Small enough to fit in one hand, with twelve legs moving around, dripping purple liquid. Three pairs of legs were in normal positions, while the other three pairs were on the opposite side of its back, as if saying, "Both sides work! Haha!" It was truly disgusting.

"Don't be careless. The Great Dungeon is different from the surface of Orkus. If you treat it the same, you'll suffer."

"Um, yeah. Sorry. I'll be more careful."

"..."

The spider Aichi held had no magic stone, just a regular, disgusting venomous spider. The fact that she almost died from a non-magic creature and needed Aichi's help to deal with it made Kumi even more timid.

When she was with Hikari and the others, she could be very active, but in Aichi's team, she felt like she was completely useless. This fact made Kumi feel restless.

Kumi became more focused on her surroundings, so the conversation decreased, and the two moved through the forest in a subtle atmosphere.

In front of them...

"Is this... a ship graveyard?"

"Amazing... Even though they are just sailboats, their size is..."

After passing through the forest, they reached a rocky area where countless half-rotten sailboats lay. All of them were at least a hundred meters long, with the largest estimated to be three hundred meters.

Aichi and Kumi couldn't help but stop and be stunned by the unusual sight. However, they couldn't stay there forever, so they reorganized and stepped into the ship graveyard.

Crossing the gaps between the rocks, they occasionally walked on the ships to continue. Each ship was rotten, and it was difficult to determine the age of the wrecks just by touching them.

"By the way... They are all warships."

"Yeah. But the largest one looks like a passenger ship. The decorations are the most luxurious..."

The ships in the graveyard did not have gunports on their sides like Earth's warships (sailboats). However, Aichi concluded they were warships because each ship had clear signs of intense battle. From the outside, it looked like they had been attacked by magic. There were cut masts, burned decks, and petrified ropes and nets.

Without cannons, defeating distant enemies could only be done with magic, which could be imagined from these traces.

Then, Aichi's theory was proven when they reached the heart of the ship graveyard.

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