Part 10
---Izayoi's premonition was definitely right on spot.
The wind that blew from the top of the mountain stung in his nostrils while leaving his skin moist and gritty as it blew pass them. The clear waters that seem to spring from the melting pot of life was very refreshing and gave off a nostalgic feel to the surroundings.
The azure blue waterline extended all the way to the horizon.
What stood before them after scaling the mountain was---a vast expanse of water stretching to the horizons.
"Ha…Haha! It really is the world of Little Garden! I had guessed that there was a sea nearby but I didn't expect ……The sea to be on the Mountain!" Izayoi gesticulated from the beach with his arms as he shouted at the azure blue sea before him.
---Izayoi had observed the fishes that rested in the shallows of Tritonis Waterfall[77] before and though there were slight changes in appearance, they were actually a type of Jack Mackerel that were supposed to inhabit the seas. Out of curiosity, Izayoi had gone to investigate the water quality and found that it had a similar composition as that of seawater.
Due to that previous reference, Izayoi had thought that it might have been the incursion of sea water somewhere upstream but never did he expect to see the origin to be from the big sea on top of the mountain.
[In other words, the closer it is to the upper echelons of Little Garden, the higher the altitude? If it is water that I see all along the horizon, would that mean that part of the region is completely submerged under the sea?]
"Izayoi-san! There's a tree growing out of the surface of the sea! It should be that tree right?"
Izayoi who was deep in thought was pulled back to reality by Asuka's shout.
A jumble of trees of different heights were growing along the beach and the sea surface where Asuka was pointing to. The fruits on the tree were red and ripe and seemed more delicious in the way they looked in the sunlight.
"Oooh…. Looks good. It would seem that this was worth the anticipation."
The sweet fragrance of the fruits were even a match for the sea breeze as Izayoi climbed the tree happily to pluck a fruit. After the both of them place the fruit into a little bag, they turned their backs on the horizon that stretched behind them.
"Actually, I still want to play here for a while longer…"
"KayKay, Let's come another time. Now let's prioritize on the game."
Izayoi reluctantly ran along the beach after getting a rare chiding from Asuka.[78]
Having travelled upstream for the journey to the checkpoint, the return journey to [Underwood] was very much easier with the flow of the river in their favor. Griffith of [Two Wings] had already retired from the game and the other strong---
"---Izayoi-san! She's here!"
Tucking away her relaxed mood, Asuka prepared for battle. Faceless was rapidly closing in from a different route that she chose to come up from and the water frothed violently under the gallop.
Seeing Asuka and Izayoi as she came to the top of the mountain, Faceless's mouth twitched up at the corners.
"……It seems that only you guys managed to reach the checkpoint."
Summoning her favorite whip sword from her Gift Card, she swiped a fruit off the tree in a moment and removed the lead that [No Name] had on her instantly.
"Izayoi-san, see? This is all your fault for only caring about sightseeing!"
"Nn. It's my bad this time, sorry."
Izayoi offered a sincere apology since it was his negligence. No matter how you looked at it, the responsibility for the loss of much precious time was Izayoi and Izayoi's alone. Easily feeling nostalgic and admiring an amazing scenery might be his biggest weakness.
Unlocking a mechanism in her whip sword at the hilt, Faceless turned her sword to face Asuka while holding her reins tightly while fierce determination seemed to roll off that expressionless masked rider. The atmosphere of the situation became very testy in a short while.
Both sides were waiting for the opportune timing.
If they weren't alert enough, Faceless would be toppled over or Asuka may be stripped naked.
"Eh?"
At this moment, there was a huge change in the seaside.
Land and sea began to rock rhythmically and the sea breezes had become violent gusts that battered against them. Assuming that it was a tsunami caused by an earthquake, Asuka and Izayoi had heightened their senses for an emergency. But it was soon proved wrong to them.
Only Faceless had guessed correctly the first time and her eyes grew wide at the approaching threat.
"…It can't be… That guy who's often laughed as the 'floating withered log', actually makes his move for such a child's play?!"
The tone of surprise and disbelieve was totally unlike the usual her.
The source of the tremor was from the foot of the waterfall and a following a loud explosion, the person and his steed appeared like a tephra thrown into the air by a volcano, he stood on top of a pillar of water that shot up into the sky. Realizing that the reversal of water flow was due to this loud explosion of water, they were seriously shaken by the stunt shown to them.
"Oops, this is quite a problem! I've only just woken up due to oversleeping past the event time! And even asking The Lord of White Night to add me to the list of participants. I guess I've troubled her again."
Though it was still the same fake Kansai slang that he always use, the feeling that he exudes from his presence was less friendly than the other night. The last contestant that appeared out of nowhere---Saurian Demon King swept his wet hair soaked by water spray back as he calmly regarded the group before him.
"It's fortunate that you guys are taking your time here that I managed to catch up so easily---I guess it shouldn't be too difficult for me to obtain the victory like this."
Saurian Demon King declared in a domineering and confident voice.
The race finally arrived at the second half as the strongest and last contestant took the stage in [Hippocamp Riders].
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