By the way… when one thought of a seaside town, seafood often came to mind. Many people held that image. It was not exactly wrong, but after the Monster Disaster, the sea had become a far more dangerous place than land.
Because of the monsters pouring out from the Pacific Ocean’s dungeon gate, the list of causes of death at sea now included “killed by monsters.” It was not rare for mermen to follow after haul-net fishing or fixed-net fishing, and accidents resulting in death or injury were frequent. Even vertical-line fishing could attract monsters. The incident in Tokyo Bay reminded fishermen that “even with awakener escorts, one could still die.”
In other words, what that brought about was…
“Oh, dried fish? That looks delicious.”
“My apologies. For the past several days, fishermen have gone on strike, and so we could not procure fresh fish…”
Naturally, it affected the dinner table. Strikes occurred due to strengthened safety measures and wage negotiations by fishermen, who once again felt the threat to their lives. As a result, there was no fresh fish arriving. Consequently, even though Inari was staying at a hot spring inn in Atami, there was not a single sashimi dish on her dinner table.
“Think nothing of it. Dried fish is tasty. It goes well with rice.”
For Inari, who loved rice above all, such things posed no problem. Whether it was sashimi or dried fish, they were things she did not usually eat anyway, and as long as it went with rice, she had no complaints. Even if all she had were rice and seaweed, Inari would eat with a smile.
“Yet, a strike… if I recall, it was a method of protest by refusing to work? If it started these past days, then mayhap it is not due to the matter at Tokyo Bay.”
“We only heard secondhand as well, so we cannot be sure… but rumors say mermen appeared, or demon fish appeared…”
“Hmm.”
It had only been a short while since Inari temporarily erased the interference of The One Who Dwells in the Deep Abyss. It was possible that the entity had already recovered and was scheming again. Possible… but something felt off.
Perhaps it was simply that schools of aquatic monsters had gathered. That was also a possibility, though without investigation, nothing could be said for certain.
Around ten o’clock at night, after finishing her meal, Inari walked down to the beach. It was the Atami Sun Beach, once a place for seaside leisure… but now, playing in the sea was little more than a perilous test of courage. At this hour, not a soul was on the shore.
And what was Inari doing there? She was gazing at Kogetsu, the shining white orb that floated and spun playfully beside her.
“If Nenokirimaru hath not flown forth… then none with suspicious schemes art present, I reckon.”
Inari released the technique of Secret Sword: Nenokirimaru and caught Kogetsu in her hand. That technique carried the power to detect wide-ranging influences and fly straight to their source. Thus, if Nenokirimaru did not react, then the matter she had just heard about was unlikely to be anyone’s scheme.
But if that were true, was it really just coincidence?
Even Inari could not fathom the minds of aquatic monsters, so there was no answer to be found. At that moment, however, she recalled what the inn staff had said.
“…Now that I think of it, I heard of no casualties.”
Yes, she had heard that aquatic monsters appeared, but not that anyone had been killed or seriously harmed. Which meant that the awakener escorts had handled it. With no clear cause, it might have been a “stray one.” If so, there was no need for Inari to go on a rampage here and now. What people wanted was not a fight but a sure sense of safety. That was not logic, but emotion.
“Then, for now, it is not my turn, is it?”
If they asked her, she would act. But to intervene unbidden would not ease anyone’s fears. Thus, Inari turned back toward the inn. There was nothing she could do at this very moment.
Instead, she had to focus on tomorrow’s conquest of Shizuoka Dungeon No. 1. For that, she needed rest.
“Perhaps I worried too much. Well then, time for sleep.”
As Inari suspected, this matter indeed stemmed from a “stray monster.” Monsters overflowing from dungeons scattered wherever their instincts took them, occasionally resulting in a “stray” phenomenon where some appeared in random places.
The scale varied depending on the stray, but rarely did it become a large horde. Especially with aquatic monsters, the sea was vast… and rarely would many gather in one spot.
Which was why this truly might have been Inari worrying too much.
Perhaps. Yet whether that was so or not… at this moment, no one could say.