The monster’s body was about to fall onto the water surface when I quickly retrieved my sword and distanced myself from the monster.

Splash!!

If I had stayed close, I would have truly lost consciousness this time.

I landed on the shore before the creature could resurface.

Immediately, Karl ran over to me.

“Deputy Captain! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine. It’s almost over. Its neck is frozen, so it won’t last long. But before the monster comes back up, quickly use your ability.”

Karl instantly drew upon his power.

Soon, a white and warm orb of light began to rise from his hands.

The floating orb of light slowly approached me and was absorbed into my body.

Afterwards, my physical condition recovered at an astonishing speed.

The pain in my shoulder from hitting the water surface and the dizziness in my head all went away.

This was the healing ability that Karl possessed.

The power to miraculously heal any living being that comes into contact with the white orb of light he generates.

While receiving treatment from Karl, I squinted towards the water surface at the same time.

I thought the monster would immediately stick its head out, but contrary to expectations, the surface remained still.

Did it hide back underwater…?

It would be nice if I could use an item like before, but unfortunately, the one I used earlier was the last.

After all, it wasn’t easy to obtain two or three of such precious items.

So in the end, there was only one method left.

“I think I’ll have to go into the water myself.”

“You, Deputy Captain?!”

To the shocked Karl, I explained why it had to be done.

“That monster is more cautious than I thought. And now that it’s injured, it won’t recklessly come to the surface. I have no choice but to go underwater.”

“Using an item to lure it up like before….”

“The one I used earlier was the last. I don’t carry around many of such precious items.”

Listening to me, Karl twisted his eyes as if in pain.

That expression looked unfamiliar on someone who was always laughing.

He must be that worried about my well-being.

I reached out my still wet hand and ruffled Karl’s red hair.

“It will be alright. If I can stab it just one more time underwater, victory is mine.”

“…Still, it’s too dangerous. Facing an aquatic monster underwater is no different than saying you’ll die.”

“Karl.”

At the quiet call, Karl closed his mouth.

Using that opportunity, I continued in a low voice.

“I’ve survived tenaciously until now. I’ve almost been burned by monsters, nearly crushed to death. You may not know, but I’ve even drunk poison before.”

“P-poison?”

“There’s such a thing. Anyway, the important thing is, even after going through countless brushes with death, I’m still alive like this. That’s how resilient my life is.”

I withdrew the hand that had been ruffling his hair.

And with that withdrawn hand, I gripped my sword once more.

“Watch closely. How I’ve survived until now. How I will survive from now on.”

Faced with my stern attitude, Karl ultimately couldn’t dissuade me further.

Leaving behind Karl, who still looked worried, I slowly walked towards the water’s edge.

I couldn’t sense the monster’s presence underwater.

But it probably wasn’t dead.

It must be holding its breath, waiting for me to walk into the water on my own.

Even knowing that fact, there was no other way, so I moved my steps slowly.

Splash, splash.

Before I knew it, the water had submerged up to my calves.

But I kept walking without stopping.

Then, when the water reached my waist, I stuck my head underwater and examined below.

It was that moment.

“…!!”

Someone grabbed the back of my neck with a strong force and yanked me up above the surface.

“Puhak…! Cough, cough…!”

I accidentally swallowed some water from the surprise.

I immediately turned my head to see who had grabbed the back of my neck.

I thought it was too rough to be Karl, and I was right.

The one who pulled me out wasn’t Karl.

“C-Captain?!”

It was the Captain, who I had no idea why he was here, that had yanked me out.

There was no time to assess the situation further.

The Captain dragged me to shore, still holding onto me.

I had a feeling he seemed angry, and as expected, he practically threw me down on the sandy ground after dragging me.

“Are you, really out of your mind?”

“Why are you here, Captain?”

“Why I’m here isn’t the important thing right now, is it?”

Having said that, the Captain bent one knee to lower his body.

He matched eye level with me, who was still sitting on the ground, and reproached in an angry voice.

“There’s a limit to being reckless. Do you really want to die? Going in even though you know the monster is waiting below?”

“You were watching nearby…?”

Judging from how he knew the monster was underwater, it seemed he had been observing my battle.

The Captain readily admitted it.

“Yes, I saw. I wanted to see how well you fight after you boldly declared you’d be fine alone. But when I saw you stupidly going into the water to die, I couldn’t just stand by.”

He seemed very angry that I, the Deputy Captain, had done something reckless.

Still, I felt a bit wronged, so I timidly refuted the Captain’s words.

“There was no other way. I couldn’t just wait indefinitely for it to come out of the water….”

“What do you mean there’s no other way? You should have just given up, come back to me, and asked for help.”

“But there was no time for that-”

“Enough. Stop making excuses.”

Cutting off my excuse with those words, the Captain continued.

“Don’t ever thoughtlessly act on your own again. This isn’t a request, it’s an order.”

I fully understood that he was worried about us and was angry because of that.

But it felt unjust that he was reprimanding me without properly listening to what I had to say.

“…I admit my method was a bit reckless. As you ordered, I intend to refrain from solo actions as much as possible in the future. However, I cannot agree with what you said about how I should have asked for help this time.”

“….”

“Even if I had asked for your help, someone would have had to go underwater anyway. The explosion item I used earlier was the last one. In the end, to deal with the monster hiding underwater, someone would have to dive down.”

Hearing my words, the Captain silently looked down at me for a moment before speaking.

“Do you really think someone absolutely has to go into the water? I think differently.”

“…? Is there another way?”

“I guarantee there’s a better way than stupidly jumping into the water where the monster is hiding.”

“….”

Saying that, the Captain approached the water’s edge.

He then began to examine the nearby soil and rocks.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but ask.

“What are you doing?”

“Examining the soil. I need to know how this oasis was formed.”

“…?”

Even after uttering those incomprehensible words, the Captain examined the surrounding soil for a long time.

Curious about what he was trying to do, I waited for him in silence.

After quite a long time passed, he finally told me and Karl what he had found out.

“This oasis wasn’t formed by groundwater. You can tell by looking at the surrounding soil and rocks. It was probably created when heavy rain fell and the water pooled, or the monster lurking below used its ability to generate this oasis.”

“You mean….”

“The scale of the oasis is small, and the amount of water is limited.”

Hearing that, I finally understood what he was trying to do.

“…Don’t tell me you’re going to use your flame ability to boil this large amount of water all at once?”

“Your deduction skills are quite good? For an idiot who tried to walk into the water without a plan.”

“Your joke is going too far. No matter how limited the water is, it will require an immense power to heat up this much. You’ll collapse from overusing your ability.”

Even after hearing my concerned words, the Captain didn’t particularly react.

He only said this:

“If I feel like I’m going to collapse, I’ll stop.”

“….”

“Karl, if you see signs of me overusing my ability, use your healing ability.”

“Yes!”

Hearing Karl’s energetic reply, the Captain immediately dipped his hand in the water.

He really intends to boil this large amount of water.

But since it requires considerable power to do so, the probability of the Captain collapsing first before the monster floats up fully cooked was much higher.

So I tried to stop him, but he preempted me with his words.

“Are you worried I’ll collapse feebly? Don’t worry and just watch from the side.”