第２５１堀：フラグは乱立し水も滴る (Part4)
"Well, I didn't expect it to go perfectly from the start. We're going to keep doing this until you get it right. Next is a large Water Ball. If you can't maintain it, Eoid, you're going to get drenched."
"What!?"
"Don't think you can learn anything the easy way. Here we go!!"
"Wait, wait! Time out!!"
"No excuses!"
And so began the 'wet scene' of the handsome protagonist—a development that gave me absolutely no joy. Well, he was certainly getting wet in a literal sense. It wasn't exactly cold, but walking around in soaked clothes without drying off would drain his stamina. He'd probably be freezing soon.
Hang in there, Eoid. You're the protagonist! This is that classic training arc!
"Yuki-san."
"What is it, Ria?"
"Would you... like to get wet too?"
"Eh? No. Why?"
"I just think it would be so cool to see you walking around all soaked, Yuki-san!"
"...I'll do it for you when we're not working, so could you please put away that massive water sphere you're hovering over us?"
While Ria was stating her desires, she was manifesting a sphere of water so large it made Eoid’s training ball look like a pebble. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement; if I turned her down poorly, I’d end up in the same state as Eoid.
"Really?"
"Really, really. So, let's just... toss that away, okay?"
"…Understood. I would literally die if you hated me, so I shall restrain myself. Heave-ho!"
With that, Ria hurled the massive sphere of water into the distance.
*Splooooosh! CRACK! BOOM! GYAAAAH!*
Wait, exactly how much water was in that thing? I heard the sound of trees snapping, and I could have sworn I heard a strange cry at the end. As I stared at the sky in the direction of the noise, the source of that strange cry revealed itself.
"Oh, it hit a wyvern."
"Ah... sorry."
Talk about bad luck, Mr. Wyvern. Just be glad you're still alive.
As I watched the wyvern circling in the air, a scream echoed from somewhere in the distance. Reacting to the sound, the wyvern let out a roar and began to descend toward the source of the voice.
"W-What should we do!?"
"Ria, in the future, please dispel your magic in a way that doesn't cause collateral damage."
"…I’m sorry."
Ria looked dejected. Well, we reaped what we sowed, so we had to do something before anyone got hurt. I intended to quickly explain the situation to Taiki and Eoid and go help, but...
"Yuki-san! A wyvern just—!"
"Yeah, I saw."
Eoid rushed over to us, his face pale with panic. I certainly couldn't tell him that we were the cause.
"I heard Amanda and Samantha screaming! Please! Lend me your strength!"
"..."
Taiki, who had just caught up, froze along with the rest of us at Eoid's words.
"Eris-san and the others are with them, so they should be holding out! Normally we should run, but I don't want to abandon Amanda and Samantha! Please!"
Without giving him a verbal answer, we immediately broke into a sprint toward the direction of the wyvern's roar and the screams.
"Th-Thank you!"
Taking our sudden movement as a sign of rescue, Eoid thanked us joyfully and chased after us. However, our motivation was entirely different. I didn't know what that wyvern's temperament was like, but there was no way Eris and her group would lose to it.
The problem was that the group included Aslin, who absolutely loved monsters—and the idiots who treated Aslin like a princess and swore their undying loyalty to her.
*AWOOOOOOOO!*
"..."
The howl of an oversized wolf echoed through the forest. Realizing we might already be too late to stop a total overkill, we pushed ourselves to run even faster.
Dammit, this whole event is our fault!
***
**Author's Note:**
Well, be happy. You got the protagonist's wet scene and a drenched wyvern.
Lately, it seems like when I take a few days off, my word counts jump from the usual 4,000 to 8,000. My apologies to those who find it too long.
Regarding the "Free-form Delusional Wizardry" I mentioned in the 250th dig, I've summarized the details in the activity report. Since some people responded to it in the comments, let's let our imaginations run wild over there!
Until next time.