The water level rose, and by the time I noticed, I couldn’t turn back.
My vision tilted upwards, and muddy water flowed into my mouth. I felt a slight saltiness, but that wasn’t the main concern.
“Cough, cough! A crocodile! I’ve been bitten by a crocodile! Someone help!”
I screamed desperately, heedless of my appearance. If this continued, Piyo and Pauline would become its prey too. I kicked my legs, struggling to keep my posture.
From behind me, in the midst of my desperate struggle for survival, I heard a woman’s laughter, completely out of place. Was someone laughing at my ridiculous situation? Was it Karubene? But the voice was clearly different. At the same moment I felt something brush past my feet, a woman appeared from the muddy water.
“Hahaha, what are you doing out here?”
She was a young woman with healthy, tan skin. Her long hair was tied back. She was laughing, seemingly unfazed by the water.
“W-what do you mean, I’m drowning,” I replied.
Hearing my words, she started laughing again. It wasn’t mocking, but rather like she’d found something unusual.
“Ah, people do drown around here sometimes. Explorers who come in without knowing, for example.”
With that, the woman took Piyo and Pauline from my arms. They looked anxious.
“You’re carrying such heavy luggage, and isn’t there too many of you? Hold onto that nearby tree for a bit, I’ll go get a boat.”
She guided us to a nearby tree and then disappeared into the water. With Piyo and Pauline holding onto my hands, I managed to grab onto the tree. Looking around, everyone else seemed to have already evacuated to nearby trees.
A little while later, a slender, canoe-like boat weaved through the trees. The woman from before poked her head out of the water.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Hop on. Though, with this many people, it might be tight.”
“Could you give me a favor and let these two on first? And Lauren over there too.”
Lauren was clinging to a tree, soaking wet.
“Okay, got it. One by one.”
The woman took the two aboard and then paddled towards Lauren’s rescue. After that, she rescued Cecilia and Karubene and took them somewhere.
“I wonder who she is. She was swimming so easily in the water.”
“Don’t know. She seems nice, but we should be careful.”
As Philiana and Nina were talking, the woman returned, pushing the boat. I got into the canoe with my wet luggage. Philiana, being large, had trouble getting in.
“Hey, aren’t you going to help me?”
As I was about to be ignored, Nina called out. The woman looked surprised.
“Eh, you can’t swim? I didn’t know there were clumsy Naga. Ah, I mean, that you were clumsy.”
She got her own punchline and laughed. Why did she assume only Nina couldn’t swim? Are all the Naga in this region good swimmers? Or could this woman be a Naga herself?
“I can swim, I’m just tired,” Nina replied.
Nina let go of the tree and held onto the side of the canoe.
