Chapter 89

It has been a week since then.

The lake has successfully returned to its original water level, and the village's irrigation channels have been replenished.

When the giant water wheel started turning, the villagers and I were overjoyed. It felt like a festival.

Then, the villagers began to call me "Neko-sama" and would lower their eyes whenever they passed me. It seems that Samyū had preached that "directly looking at my form is disrespectful."

While walking through the village, I sent a telepathic message to Samyū.

"Samyū, isn't this a bit much?"

"To prevent anyone from remembering Lady Rini's face and drawing it, it's necessary. Since we've instilled such faith, it would be a waste not to use it."

"Drawing my face, huh..."

"That's correct. Look, over there."

"Huh?"

I turned my gaze in the direction Samyū indicated.

There, a villager was working on something with stones they had dug up.

"…a statue?"

"Yes. That is a statue of Lady Rini."

"Rini's… statue…?"

I was surprised by the unexpected words. A statue of me? Really?

I approached and watched the work closely.

A stone about my size. It was being carved. Though not yet complete, it seemed to be taking shape.

The triangle at the top of the statue… my cat ears. The fabric resting on the shoulders is the hood of the "Hermit's Robe." Yes, the hands are the "Cat's Hand Gloves."

The face part is blurry, but that's intentional.

Because Samyū has preached that the villagers must not see my face, that part is not carved.

The stonemason is very skilled, and the details are very intricate.

"It's me…"

Indeed, it is me. Everything except the face is me…

I muttered in astonishment, and Samyū nodded in satisfaction.

"This statue can only express a fraction of Lady Rini's greatness, nobility, and charm, but the intention behind it is admirable."

Her condescending gaze is as usual.

I was worried that the stonemason might feel uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind, even though he must have heard our conversation.

"--- This being, clad in white, will descend upon this land. With a wave of the hand, the earth is formed; with a clasp of the hand, water is created. Truly, it is the arrival of a miracle. We, the villagers, will be saved by this divine power. We will pass this story down to our descendants."

The stonemason said this dreamily and then returned to his work.

It seems that these words will be carved into the base of the statue.

"Big deal…"

Indeed, it's a big deal. It feels so grand…

In response to my shock, Samyū was giving the stonemason various instructions from the side, like "This hand should be fluffier" and "The ears should be more intellectual." The stonemason was responding to these requests.

Then—

"Let's go, battle!"

Forget about the statue!

A battle with the [Water Snake]!

"Hahaha! The [Water Snake] that can use water is strong!"

"Yep!"

We moved to the lake and faced the [Water Snake].

This [Water Snake] is different from the one I first saw, which lacked vitality. The current [Water Snake] is staring at me intently, its eyes gleaming with energy and vigor.

Mūtō is floating in the air, watching us and the [Water Snake] with a look of enjoyment. She's in spectator mode.

Samyū is standing next to me, drawing her bow with determination.

"Samyū!"

"Yes!"

The moment I called out, Samyū released an arrow.

The arrow, imbued with magic, flew toward the [Water Snake]. However—

"Such a thing! The [Water Snake] is protected by a water barrier, so it won't reach!"

The arrow was blocked by a wall of water before it could reach the [Water Snake].

The magic-infused arrow penetrated the first wall of water but couldn't break through all the successive walls. It was surrounded by the third wall and lost its power, being absorbed into the water and thrown to the shore.

"Wow…!"

This is the [Water Snake]. It can manipulate water and nullify attacks!

I couldn't help but look at the [Water Snake] with sparkling eyes, and the [Water Snake] responded with a proud grin.

Yes, this is it! This is the [Water Snake] I wanted to fight.

"Lady Rini! Next, I'll fire a series of arrows!"

"Yep! I'll join in!"

With excitement, I kicked off from the shore, matching the timing of Samyū's arrows.

"Jump!"

First, straight ahead!

"Cat Punch!"

I channeled the momentum of [Flight] into a punch!

In response to my decisive blow, the [Water Snake] let out a "Shaa!" sound.

At that moment, water rushed toward me, enveloping me.

"I won't lose."

But, it's okay!

Being enveloped by water won't stop me.

I continued moving toward the [Water Snake] even as I was enveloped by water. However, the water's force was strong, and my speed decreased. Then—

"Shaaah!"

The [Water Snake] suddenly spun its body.

In an instant, its tail collided with my body.

"Lady Rini?!"

I was sent flying by the force of the tail.

Samyū quickly ran to where I would land and caught me gently with the effect of the [Hare Rabbit Boots].

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No. I used my paw pads to absorb the impact, so I'm fine."

Indeed, at the moment the [Water Snake]'s tail hit me, I stopped my [Cat Punch] and used my paw pads to absorb the impact. However, the force was still strong, and I was pushed backward.

"It's strong…!"

"Yes. My arrows were also nullified."

Samyū said this with a hint of frustration.

It seems that Samyū's rapid-fire arrows were also blocked by the water walls, just like before.

"The [Water Snake] with water is almost invincible. Look, it's attacking again!"

Following Mūtō's voice, I saw several water blobs floating in the air.

Then, they started flying toward us.

"Water bullets, huh!"

"Samyū!"

"I'll handle it!!"

Samyū, still holding me, kicked off the ground.

The water bullets hit the ground where we had been standing and exploded, leaving craters that showed their power.

If we had been hit, both Samyū and I would have been in trouble.

"Shaaah!!"

The [Water Snake] let out another sound, and more water blobs floated in the air.

It can use them both as a wall for defense and as bullets for attack.

Seeing that we weren't attacking, the [Water Snake] launched the water blobs at us again.

"Such attacks won't hit Lady Rini and me!"

Samyū said this and kicked off the ground again.

There were more bullets this time, and they were chasing us in the air as well as on the ground. They seemed to be timed to our jumps. The bullets were closing in on our landing spots. If we continued like this, we would be hit… But—

"Haa!"

Samyū focused and her blue eyes sparkled.

At that moment, Samyū kicked off the air and changed her direction and landing spot.

The water bullets exploded in the empty space where we were supposed to land. The remaining bullets in the air were still chasing us, but Samyū kicked off the air again and jumped up high.

The low-flying bullets couldn't follow the sudden change in trajectory and hit the ground.

After confirming that the water bullets had disappeared, Samyū landed on a large tree branch.

"No matter how many you launch, it's the same!"

Samyū declared this boldly from the tree. She looks so cool!

"Samyū, amazing!"

"Yes! This is my new technique, [The Noble Form of Lady Rini]!"

"…Huh?"

Suddenly, I heard a word I didn't understand. I wasn't sure what it meant.

Surprised, I asked her to repeat it, and Samyū nodded with a smile.

"It's the name of the technique!"

"…The name of the technique?"

"Yes! I've used this technique once before, but I didn't name it. It's inspired by Lady Rini's [Double Jump], so I named it this."

"Okay…"

A cool technique where you kick off the air and twist your body. The name [The Noble Form of Lady Rini] sounds a bit odd, but since it's Samyū's technique, I guess she can name it whatever she wants…

"Shaaah!"

The [Water Snake] launched more water bullets.

Samyū twisted her body, kicked off the air, and dodged all the water bullets. Impressive.

With this, it would be better to let Samyū handle the dodging while I focus on attacking.

"Cat Claws!"

While being carried by Samyū, I extended my claws and launched a tornado at the [Water Snake]. Usually, this would knock it back and win the battle…

"Shaaah!"

The [Water Snake] let out a sound, and a giant whirlpool formed in the lake.

The tornado I created was sucked into the whirlpool. Then, it started to draw up the lake's water…

"It's gone…"

The tornado I created…

What can I say? It was swallowed by the water. The tornado, blocked by the whirlpool, lost its power while drawing up water. It couldn't escape the whirlpool.

"Samyū, I'm going in."

"Yes!"

Since the [Water Snake] was creating the whirlpool, it couldn't launch water bullets at the moment.

I seized this opportunity and asked Samyū to put me down.

Then, I kicked off the ground and flew toward the [Water Snake].

"Jump!"

However, the [Water Snake] seemed to notice me, and water blobs started floating in the air.

"I won't let you hit Lady Rini!"

Samyū said this and fired several arrows.

The water blobs formed a water wall to block the arrows, so they didn't turn into bullets aimed at me.

Water from the lake tried to envelop me. So—

"Cat Punch!"

I punched the water to prevent it from enveloping me!

The water that tried to envelop me exploded and fell. But it quickly gathered again and tried to envelop me.

"Cat Punch! Cat Punch! Cat Punch!!"

But, it's okay! I can punch as many times as needed! And when I got close to the [Water Snake]—

"Electric Oven!"

The magic [Electric Oven]!

I winked at the lake, and it bubbled up for a moment.

"What? In the end, are you going to dry up the lake to fight? That would negate the meaning of restoring the lake's water."

"Shaa?"

A disappointed voice came from the sky.

They probably thought I would boil the water and take it away from the [Water Snake], just like when I dried up the reservoir.

The [Water Snake] also noticed the change in the water. But—

"I'll use the water."

That's right! I'm not going to eliminate the water and render the [Water Snake] powerless. I'll use the water myself!

"Samyū! Hit the bottom of the [Water Snake]'s long body!"

"Understood!!"

While calling out to Samyū, I moved forward.

"Haa!!"

With Samyū's determined cry, several arrows were fired.

Of course, the [Water Snake] tried to block them with a water wall.

Most of the arrows were absorbed by the water wall, but one arrow pierced the surface of the water near the [Water Snake]'s massive body.

"Sorry, Lady Rini! Only one…!"

"A single arrow can't do anything!"

"Shaaah!"

An anxious voice, a disappointed voice, a confident voice.

No one expected anything to happen with this single arrow. But—

"It's enough."

What I needed was just a little shock!

"Explosion!"

With my voice, the lake suddenly bubbled up.

The bubbles were large and gathered around the [Water Snake]. Then—

"Blow away!"

Paaan