kscans

Chapter 198 - The Building in the Lake

Hayato, along with Esha and Relic, was heading for the lake in the center of the island.

Sonia's group was exploring the entire island, but they had yet to explore the lake. Hayato wanted to experience a bit of adventure himself, so he figured he would at least check out the untouched lake.

Yesterday afternoon, Relic had explored the forest surrounding the Campsite.

There were no dinosaurs in this area, and he had been able to gather materials with ease, so Hayato was also moving about freely. He didn't know what would happen when they got closer to the lake, but with Esha and Relic there, it wouldn't be a problem.

In the first place, if things got dangerous, he could just use a Ring of Teleportation to escape back to the Campsite. He didn't really need guards, but it would be lonely otherwise. And since his item bag had a limit, they were moving as a group of three to carry back more gathered items.

They gathered coconuts as they moved, walking north toward their destination, the lake.

Along the way, Esha finished what must have been her umpteenth Coconut Juice of the day. It was one Hayato had made while they were gathering.

"Coconut juice isn't bad, but it's no match for melon juice."

"That's your conclusion after drinking so much of it? We have some for Rosalie-san and her group, so try not to drink too much, okay?"

"This is for when the dinosaurs appear. I cannot let my Dinosaur Special Attack wear off."

"I told you, there are no dinosaurs around here. Besides, it lasts for thirty minutes, right?"

Drinking the juice made from the coconuts gathered on this island granted a special attack property against dinosaurs. Hayato didn't know how it was set up, but he figured this island had its own rules.

Coming from Diite-chan, there's probably some reason for it... though it might just be for game balance.

"Esha, you seem to enjoy eating and drinking as much as ever. Weren't you also eating the steak Hayato-sama made before we left?"

"The steak and hamburger made with dinosaur meat, yes. I thought it was a bit much for the morning, but I finished it in a flash. Did you not have any, Relic?"

"Just watching you eat was enough to give me an upset stomach, so I did not."

"How rude to get an upset stomach just by watching someone. In that case, I shall give you even more of an upset stomach. Master, I would like a refill, please."

"No, we already know that has a Dinosaur Special Attack property, so you don't need to eat any more. Besides, that only raises physical attack power, so it's meaningless for you, Esha."

The steak raised attack power, but it was an increase in physical attack, not magical attack. The attack from Esha's Beelzebub was treated as a magical attack, so raising her physical attack power was meaningless.

"There is meaning in the act of eating."

"There's a limited amount, so be patient. That said, everyone was really fired up today, so they might bring back a lot of monster materials. They were that excited."

Before heading out on their exploration, Sonia's group had formed a huddle and had gotten quite worked up. They were determined to circle the island today.

During yesterday's exploration, they hadn't even managed to explore a quarter of the island in half a day, so they had been a bit down. Seeing the equipment Hayato made must have made them feel that they could do it.

"Sonia was quite giddy for a woman of her age. I do hope she does not overdo it."

"I think they'll be fine. Everyone has Dinosaur Special Attack, so there's no way they'll lose."

"Now that you mention it, that is true. Unless a ridiculously powerful dinosaur appears, there should be no problem."

The Demon Lord and her retainers, the Black Rose, the Kokuryu clan that had reached A-rank in the Clan Wars, the dragon-hunting Dragon Busters, and the exploration-savvy members of the Treasure Hunter Guild.

To put it simply, it was a lineup that could explore anywhere. If they came back defeated, it would mean a monster of absurd proportions had appeared.

Hayato, thinking that sounded a bit like a bad omen, started walking north again.

Ten minutes later, they passed through the forest, and a giant lake spread out before them.

He hadn't felt it was that large when he saw it from the airship, but seeing it up close, it was a pretty big lake.

The water was very clear, and combined with the sunlight, the entire lake sparkled. It was so beautiful he felt like he was at a resort, and he thought that relaxing here on a nice day like today would be the perfect holiday.

However, he hadn't come here looking for a resort. He had come this far to see if there was anything interesting.

The three of them split up to check if there was anything in the surrounding area.

A few minutes later, they found that there was nothing in particular.

Relic lightly shook a bottle filled with lake water and looked at Hayato.

"It is just ordinary water, nothing particularly special. It feels a little cold, though."

"I agree. And from the airship, it looked like the entire lake was covered by a dome of glass, but it doesn't seem to be the case."

The glass-like substance covered the area about a hundred meters out from the water's edge, not the entire lake.

"However, Hayato-sama, what do you suppose that glass-like thing is? From the looks of it, it seems to be something that prevents entry."

"You think so too, Relic-san? I was thinking that's all it could be, but I thought I saw an island and a building inside. I'd love to go there, but I wonder how? Don't tell me we have to dive under it...?"

"Perhaps there is something somewhere that controls that glass. Let us place our hopes in Sonia and the others for that."

"You're right... Esha? What are you doing?"

Esha was holding her Beelzebub, peering through the scope. The direction she was looking was the center of the lake. She was looking at the building in the middle.

"That is a building, but it is not an island."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, please take a look. Hey, why are you trying to look in at the same time?"

"Huh? Because I can't equip the Beelzebub."

"You may not be able to equip it, but you can look through the scope. I will give it to you, so please look by yourself."

Hayato, with Esha seeming slightly flustered, was pushed the Beelzebub and looked through the scope. It was a weapon exclusive to Esha, so he couldn't equip it, but he could use it like that.

"I'm not entirely sure, but does that mean part of a building is sticking out of the lake? The part that looks like an island is also part of the building...?"

A circular white building looked like an island, with a black building on top of it. It wasn't so much that an island was floating in the lake, but that a building was jutting out of it.

"I thought so as well. Perhaps there is a building submerged in this lake?"

"That's very romantic. Does that mean if the water in this lake disappears, we can enter the building?"

"That black building appears to have something like an entrance, so perhaps we enter from there and go down. We could probably go by boat if it weren't for that glass-like thing."

"A boat... I can build a small one anywhere, so I feel like we could go with that. Either way, we have to do something about that glass."

Let's hope Sonia-san and her group find something. Alright, I'll put the glass thing aside for now. I've got plenty of other things to do.

Hayato returned the borrowed Beelzebub to Esha.

At that moment, Hayato noticed Relic covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking. His back was turned so he couldn't see his expression, but it seemed like he was holding back laughter.

"Relic-san? What's the matter?"

"N-no, I was just thinking that I had seen something rare."

"Something rare? What is it? Did you find some kind of item?"

Relic took a deep breath and looked at Hayato and Esha. His face was even more cheerful than usual.

"No, no, that is not it. Esha was so flustered, I found it quite rare and amusing."

"Relic, you can keep your unnecessary comments to yourself. My MP is full right now, so I can fire a Destroy at any time. You would be wise to watch your words."

Esha said this while holding her Beelzebub.

"How frightening. Well, I am confident I can dodge it, you know."

"Shall we test that?"

Esha and Relic's conversation continued after that, but Hayato didn't really understand what they were talking about.

Since they seemed to have settled down, Hayato took a fishing rod out of his item bag.

"Um, are you two done? Well then, here you go."

"Master, what is this?"

"A fishing rod. I can see the shadows of fish in the lake, so let's try to catch some. We might catch something interesting. You can both fish, right?"

Relic nodded with a smile.

"Please leave it to me. I am quite good at fishing. I enjoy concentrating on one thing."

"That's good. Esha?"

"I neither like it nor dislike it. Ah, but I do like eating the fish that are caught."

"I know that all too well. I'll make some fish dishes, so I'm counting on you."

"Understood. However, a butler, a maid, and a normal person fishing side-by-side. What kind of picture does that make?"

"I'm a normal person... well, whatever, but there's no one else here, so it's fine, right? Alright, let's start reeling them in."

Hayato said this, equipped his fishing rod, and cast his hook into the lake. Esha and Relic did the same.

The three of them spent a leisurely time fishing.