I just need to get up there first, okay?

　I repaired the trousers that were thrown to me, neatly tucked the Mother Hydra medallion that I had obtained into my pochette, and walked down the sheer cliff face of the huge rock.

You're not going to know if you fall off that way. Wouldn't it be better to just jump in?
I'll be fine. All adventurers deserve to be able to do this.

　Garnett is giving me a suspicious look, with only the upper half of his body sticking out of the water.

　The reason why it's like a cliff is because it's a near-vertical cross-section, and the height itself is only enough to twist your ankle, even if the land below is land.

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get away with it, but I'm sure I'm going to be able to get away with it, because it's a lake right underneath me.

　...... Was it wrong to let my guard down like this?

　Or was it that the fight just now had worn out more than expected?

　I'm not sure if it's because of my bare hands or because of the damp moss on the surface that my right arm, which I extended to grab the protruding rock, slipped and fell to the surface of the lake.

'Whoa......!

　The stinging coldness of the lake's water almost takes your breath away.

　But as my initial surprise subsided, the beauty of the lake's surface, seen from the water, took my breath away.

　The light pouring down from the ceiling onto the surface of the lake diffuses and creates a glow as if it were covered with countless blue jewels.

　And against the background of the light that changes its shape to match the shimmering surface of the water, a silhouette comes down, waving its long tail.

　No - since we're in the water, it's just diving towards us from the surface of the lake.

　The golden hair sways along the flow of water.

　The thick, sturdy dragon leather jacket does not lose its thickness under water, hiding your slender figure without sticking to your body.

　But in contrast, from the waist down, instead of legs, a large fish- or sea-beast-like tail is exposed, sparing no effort to show off its supple movements as it circles around me as I slowly sink.

　I can't hear its voice because it's underwater, but just by looking at its expression, I can clearly see that it's stunned.

　Is this dumbfounded face a response to the fact that I fell as expected, or is it a response to the fact that I fell into the water and didn't panic, and was admiring Garnett, who was wearing the monster factor?

　Garnett caught me as if holding me up from underneath, then moved her tail powerfully and returned to the surface in a straight line.

'...... pfft!'
'Look, I don't need to tell you. You'd rather have jumped off than slipped off.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, ...... I accidentally slipped up.

　With each up and down movement of its large finned feet, the garnets holding me move forward, without taking on the weight of two human beings.

　In the end, it didn't take long for us to have a conversation, but we were carried to a rocky area where the difference in elevation was better, and then quickly climbed onto a suitable rock.

'That's a lot better than I expected, that medallion. It doesn't bother you at all underwater, does it?
Yeah. But I'm not going to use it anymore. Let someone else do the job. Anyway, I don't think so.

　Garnett rested his back against the rocky ground, resting his elbows on the edge as he would if he were relaxing in a hot tub, and spat it out.

　I don't need to be told why, but I know exactly why.

　No matter how much freedom of movement he could have in the water, it would be impossible to get Garnett to use it on a regular basis if his clothes were torn like this.

　It goes without saying that the main reason for this is not only that, but I personally am not happy about it either.

　Fusing a medallion with a human body is something that only I can do at the moment, but the people who fuse are not limited to Garnett.

　Now that I have four medallions in my hand, it wouldn't be a problem to operate on the premise of using one or two of them for something other than Garnet.

I'll separate the Dagon medallions for now. We can't go back like this, you know.
Hey, wait a minute!

　Garnett dove into the lake in a panic and then extended one arm with only his head in the water.

'......n'

　With a faint blush on her cheeks, Garnett glares up at me.

　If you are asking me to separate them in this state?

'You guessed it: ...... When the water is this transparent ...... well, you have a problem ......
...... You don't have to worry about it, they won't peek.

　If I put Garnett's body back together without thinking about it, he would almost certainly end up in the state he's worried about.

　But I can imagine that much too, and I've been thinking about it from the start, with the intention of taking it into consideration.

　It is a privilege for young people to be able to innocently forget themselves in these situations.

'Look, you're soaking wet anyway, so why don't you just wrap this thing around your waist and hide it?

　I hand over the trousers I just [restored] and make sure Garnet wrapped them around my waist before popping my hand on the golden head floating on the water.

　He then activates the skill and reifies Dagon's medallion in his hand.

　The aquatic creature-like lower half of his body, covered in smooth scales, instantly returns to his supple white legs.

　In this battle, I expressed the demonic beast factor through the irregular method of indirect skill exercise, but I was able to properly restore it to its original state without any aftereffects.

　To be honest, this achievement was quite significant.

　From now on, there will be a huge range of ways to fight.

I'll be over there waiting for you. Give me a shout when you're done.
Oh, I'm sorry.

　No sooner had I left the rocky shore of the surf than I felt Garnett trying to put on his pants while he was still in the water.

　But perhaps it was my attempt at dexterity in the unfamiliar water that caused me to lose my balance and tip over upside down with the sound of water.

　I knew it was a good idea to leave the lakeside.

　I smiled and decided to wait for Garnett behind a suitable rock.