Sitting on the deck of the ghost ship dungeon, I slouched and hung my fishing line.
"Hey~, Master." (Shii)
"Oh, what's wrong?" (Yuki)
"Fishy, is this worm for bait?" (Shii)
Only Shii was next to me.
She asked this question while poking at the worms in the bait box.
When I asked her if she was going to play with Illuna and the others, she replied, "Today, I'm going to be with the Master!" She said that with a giggle. How cute.
"Well, that's mostly what they are for. They're related to earthworms, you see." (Yuki)
"He~, you're a worm-san! Yes, they both look wriggly, and they are both twitchy! Is Shii, who can also wiggle, a relative of earthworms?" (Shii)
"Ah, well, if you wiggle a lot, then you're probably related!" (Yuki)
"Hehe, I see! Shii, a member of the worm family, will aim to be the best!" (Shii)
"Oh, I'm certain that Shii, as a wiggly creature, will be the best in the world. You can even win the Tenkaichi Budokai." (Yuki)
"Hehe, I hope so. Then maybe Shii can do the Kamehame beam of the great one. Shii will definitely be able to do Kamehame too!" (Shii)
"Oh, I guess you're right. I suppose I'll have to shoot out a Kamehame beam, too." (Yuki)
"Master, how can I make a beam? Enne and Master can shoot beams, right?" (Shii)
"Oh, I'm sure that you'll be able to do it when you get bigger and have more magic power." (Yuki)
"Oh, I see, when I get bigger. I'll have lots of fun every day, and lots of fun in the future, too!" (Shii)
"That's right…" (Yuki)
"…You guys are talking nonsense again." (Lefi)
While Shii and I were relaxing, we heard Lefi's voice from behind us, who seemed to have arrived here before we knew it.
"Oh, onee-chan! I'm just now learning about the heart of the sea ooze as a worm relative!" (Shii)
"I see. But I like you better now than when you were wiggling, so I'd like you to keep it that way." (Lefi)
"Really? Then I'm happy to be a normal Shii! And Shii too~ love you as usual!" (Shii)
Shii smiled and hugged Lefi, while my wife patted her head and sat down next to me with Shii attached to her.
"Have you caught anything?" (Lefi)
"No, I haven't caught a single fish so far." (Yuki)
"I see." (Lefi)
For a few moments, we didn't speak to each other, only the sound of the waves echoing off the shore.
Shii, who had been talking so much, seemed to have fallen into a trance, and lay down with her head in Lefi's lap.
My wife began to caress the light-blue little girl's head as if combing it – and then she asked.
"…So, Yuki. What's wrong this time?"
"What do you mean, what's wrong?"
"Since you heard about the myth, you seem to be thinking about something. Although it doesn't seem serious, there must be something bothering you to make you think like that, right?"
As usual, she was a very observant person.
"Lefi, what should I do if I really want to meet the Spirit King Old Man?" (Yuki)
"Well, that's not easy… He has really been wandering around the world. Moreover, he basically avoids human settlements and walks from one unexplored region to another. In fact, it is more likely that he will come to our house on a whim than if we were to go looking for him." (Lefi)
"Hmm, I see. Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see." (Yuki)
"What's the matter? You want to ask him something?" (Lefi)
Lefi turned to me.
"Yeah, I wanted to know more about the dungeon and the myths. That man… if he is even a man? Well, I guess he seems to know many things." (Yuki)
"Well, I'm sure he knows much more than what Layla knows, since he is a true monster with the same level of inquisitiveness as Layla, but who has lived far longer than the Dragons. Is there a connection between dungeons and mythology?" (Lefi)
"Apparently so, and it's not an easy thing to explain. It's a very deep connection. In fact, when Layla told me about the myth, the dungeon, which usually leaves everything to me and says nothing to me, reacted on its own." (Yuki)
"…I see. So, that's why you've been thinking so much about it." (Lefi)
"Well, I don't know what's going on yet. I don't know if I'm even authorized to do this, but I'm really only getting bits and pieces of information. That's why I wanted to know. As the master of this dungeon." (Yuki)
There was no doubt that there was something called a 'God' in this world.
Right, a God.
A higher being.
Or a system.
Something that worked in a different realm and with a different logic than ours.
I thought that the relationship between the dungeon and the demon king might be more than just a symbiotic relationship in the natural world.
Surely, there was a deeper reason that brought the two together.
Well, it was not like I'm going to do anything about it now that I know… I was simply curious.
I was not on the same level as Layla, but it wouldn't be so strange for me to want to know more about the dungeon, which was a part of my life.
When I mentioned this to Lefi, she also looked as if she was thinking about it.
"Hmmm… that's certainly something to be curious about. You are a very strange man, so that doesn't mean that the dungeon would be strange as well."
"Oh, you are speaking to your husband, like that. Well, I won't deny it this time." (Yuki)
"Kaka, don't worry. I love you for that, as well." (Lefi)
…
"…Lefi, you want to go fishing?" (Yuki)
"Nah, I'm good." (Lefi)
Lefi then rested her head on my shoulder, with Shii on her lap.
I just accepted the warmth and continued to dangle the line with no response as I talked to her.