After watching Cara leave, I head to the river and take it easy fishing like I was going to before I found her.
Unlike monsters, fish aren’t sensitive to my presence, so they sometimes take the bait.
After I snag the fifth fish, I see something big I’m not used to seeing coming down the river.
“What’s that?”
I can’t see it very well yet, it’s too far. But the river brings it to me, and I soon get a better look.
“…Katima?”
That’s how it normally goes, but no. Actually, it’s Katima, Tiltue, Luna, and Snow on an ice raft.
There’s even a flag and everything, so it’s pretty impressive for something kids made.
They probably drew inspiration from a book Reina has, but it came out pretty well.
I’m impressed, and then Snow sees me and waves with both arms.
“It’s so cute how she hops.”
I wave back, and she looks really happy.
Tiltue and Luna wave too, and I wave back again.
“Daddy daddy! Look look!”
I keep watching, and they eventually get close enough for me to hear.
The ice raft doesn’t go against the current, and slowly passes by me.
I’m sure they’re going to continue having fun cruising along.
“Hn?”
Or so I thought. After a bit, it suddenly and unnaturally starts coming back this way.
This movement goes against the natural flow. What happened?
They pass by me again, moving in the opposite direction this time, and I see Katima kicking to push the raft back.
“…”
Once they are up the river again, Katima gets back on the raft. They let the river take them again, and pass by slowly again.
“Yahoo!”
“Wah!”
They wave at me again, and I wave back.
I feel like a parent watching a merry-go-round in an amusement park. And Katima looks a little tired.
If someone with her stamina is breathing heavy, they must have done this multiple times.
Was she unable to stop because the others would get sad if she did?
“Katima, do you want me to take over!?”
I ask from the shore, and she looks like she’s thinking, but shakes her head.
She’s going to keep at it a little more.
I feel like serving a great spirit like Snow is an incredibly important role to her.
She has a hard time sometimes, but I couldn’t ask for someone better to look after her.
“…I should treat Katima to something tasty later.”
I watch the ice raft get back up against the river, and go back to fishing.
I feel like I have a pretty nice haul, but just as I’m about to call it…
“Nooo!”
“Hn?”
I hear screaming coming from the forest, and turn around.
“That voice… Cara?”
She was all excited about riding Chorus into the forest and taking down monsters, so what happened?
It sounds like she’s in a lot of trouble, so I rush to the forest.
“D-don’t come this way!”
I was in earshot anyway, so it doesn’t take me long to find her.
Chorus is in tatters, so I can tell something beat it.
But as I wonder what happened, I see it was attacked by Krr and Grr.
“Hum…”
What happened here? I wonder, so I walk over to Elga, who I’m sure knows.
“Ou, Arata.”
Why did Krr and Grr attack Cara?”
“Ah…”
Elga scratches his head, looking like he saw something he didn’t really want to see.
He turns his eyes to Krr and Grr for a moment, and after a big sigh, explains.
“Apparently that mantichoras is their enemy…”
“…Eh? So was it…”
“The one from that time.”
Yes, when they were found, Luna chased it away, but didn’t beat it.
Luna said bloody wolves are very strong, so not many monsters would beat them. But it makes sense for mantichoras to be on that list.
“They were babies. How come they remember…”
“Apparently they do, ’cause I brought them here to train and they jumped on it when they saw it.”
Krr and Grr are still young, but with Elga’s training, they’re stronger than other bloody wolves and more than strong enough to hunt their own food.
I doubt they can beat a mantichoras one on one, but apparently they can overwhelm it together.
“A-Arata!? P-please save me!”
Cara notices me and asks for help, although I’m sure Krr and Grr don’t care about her, and are only after Chorus.
And even if they were frenzied and wouldn’t stop, Elga would stop them.
“…So what now?”
“What now!? Hey, just save it! You were involved in making Chorus my pet, so take responsibility!”
“Even so…”
When I hesitate, Chorus and Cara look at me like I’m cruel.
If I had to pick between them, I’d pick Krr and Grr immediately. They’ve been my friends since not long after I got here.
And it’s survival of the fittest on this island.
I won’t blame Chorus for attacking a bloody wolf, but nature’s providence also means the opposite can happen.
Not that I’d allow anything to hurt my friends or family.
“H-hurry! It looks like you’re thinking about it, but these wolves are drawing closer! Hurry up and save us!”
“So? If you’re gonna stop them, I’ll help.”
“…”
Cara isn’t wrong…
I was involved in making Chorus her pet, and if I don’t do something that everyone can accept, it might evolve into a deep rift.
“Let’s stop Krr and Grr for now.”
“Got it.”
Elga doesn’t ask why, and quickly disappears, appearing again with both in his arms.
“Krr!”
“Grr!”
“Hey, settle down. It doesn’t matter how much you bite me.”
They’re terribly worked up, pawing at Elga and trying to bite him. But they can barely move, as Elga holds them tightly.
Thanks for the treat.