"The Water God is the culprit…? What do you mean by that?"
Sofia looked puzzled.
That was only natural — my reasoning was rather far-fetched. No ordinary person would think of it.
"I don’t know if there really was a ‘Water God,’ but I think there was something close to it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have survived in legend."
"That makes sense… I agree with you there."
It’s common for people to describe a disaster as the work of gods or spirits, and for those tales to be passed down through generations.
However, this time, the account was unusually specific.
It didn’t just compare the calamity to a god — it seemed more natural to assume that such an entity actually existed.
"For now, I’ll keep calling it ‘the Water God,’ but… I don’t think it intended to fight humans without reason."
Humans may seem weak, but they’re strong in their own way.
An individual can be easily defeated, but as a group, they can overwhelm with numbers.
And sometimes, an extraordinary person appears —
a person known as a hero.
Their power is worth a thousand soldiers —
and sometimes, it defies imagination.
Such people make for troublesome enemies.
That’s why the Water God likely thought: better to befriend humans than fight them.
"But even so, it still needed to satisfy its hunger. So the Water God came up with a plan."
"No way…"
"Yeah. It caused the storm itself, and demanded a sacrifice — saying that doing so would calm the storm."
That way, it could obtain sacrifices without turning humans into enemies.
In short — it was all staged.
"If that’s true, then this storm too…"
"…might be another of the Water God’s self-made disasters."
Why it would start doing that again now — that part was a mystery.
"If your reasoning is correct, Fate, then this is unforgivable."
"Yeah. But it’s just a theory for now — I need proof to back it up."
If it turned out to be a mistake, we’d look ridiculous.
Before acting, I needed solid evidence.
"But even if we want to investigate, we’re short on time…"
The city would sink in two or three days.
And outside, a violent storm raged.
There was no way research could make progress under such conditions.
"Then let’s find this so-called Water God and cut it down."
"Huh? But we don’t have proof—"
"We can look for proof afterward. If it’s your theory, Fate, then it can’t be wrong."
…What do I do now?
Sofia’s faith in me was so absolute it was honestly a little scary.
I mean, sure, it was nice that she trusted me — but slaying the Water God based on a maybe? Was that really okay?
"I heard everything!"
"Wah!?"
Suddenly, Licorice burst in.
She’d probably gotten bored and decided to follow us.
"Don’t just pop out of nowhere!"
"What about Aisha and Snow?"
"They fell asleep. The journey must’ve tired them out. Anyway, leave this to me!"
Licorice puffed out her chest proudly and smacked it with a loud thump.
"Cough, cough!"
Apparently she hit herself too hard — not reassuring at all.
"You’ve got a plan?"
"That ‘Water God’ is probably just a monster, right? Some of them live long enough to get smart — even learn to talk sometimes."
"Really?"
"Sure! So I’ll go talk to it myself."
"You will?"
…Will this be okay?
I couldn’t help but feel that she might make things worse instead.
That sense of unease came entirely from her usual behavior, of course.
"Just leave it to me!"
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