Had a dream.

In the dream, there is no filth, no shrines, and no priestesses.

I live in a city full of tall buildings, leading an ordinary life. I need to go to a place called "school" to receive education, and live a repetitive and fun life with my friends.

In that world, he didn't need to face monsters, get involved in conflicts, or be polluted by the world.

But at this moment, a voice sounded in his ears.

"You are Amber, the most powerful priestess in the world. You must be the chief priestess for the sake of all the people in the world. Only you can save them."

The voice is a mixture of oldness, youth, immaturity, sighs, expectations and helplessness.

This voice comes from family, from mentors, and from myself.

Since I was a child, I have used this reason to tell myself to persevere.

Only I can save the world, so no matter how painful the practice is, no matter how severe the backlash brought by the words is, I will not give up.

Because this is something only you can do.

However, perhaps it was in this situation, in this dying state, that she hesitated.

The thought of retreating and giving up arises.

If I keep sinking like this...will I be able to reach a world without pain, a world that is mediocre and monotonous, but full of hope and happiness?

He exhaled like this, allowing the cold, salty, and blood-tinged sea water to flow into his throat and lungs, completely submerging him.

A force grabbed her wrist tightly.

Then, that force pulled the amber out of the sea.

"puff--"

The instinct for survival made Amber spit out the sea water, and her weak body began to perform healing rituals, repairing all the traces of pollution and the necrosis caused by drowning.

Even if it means death, it won't be that easy for a witch.

While Amber was sighing, she had already been thrown onto a wooden board.

"This is a bit troublesome."

Amber heard a familiar voice. She turned around and saw it was the man from before. His name was... Lu Ban?

"All the ships were destroyed. I should be thankful that I could at least escape?"

Lu Ban glanced at Amber lying on the broken wooden board of an unknown ship.

"You better hold on tight."

"What?"

Before Amber could react, Lu Ban materialized [Last Words] and fired at the wooden board beneath him.

The board immediately began to move at a very high speed, riding the wind and waves, as if it was equipped with a state-of-the-art engine.

Amber spat out a few mouthfuls of water, she raised her head, her wet hair stuck to the side of her face, the cold sea water was taking away her body temperature, but what she saw before her shocked her even more.

A huge tower stands above the sea.

The tall tower seemed to be made up of countless tentacles, constantly wriggling and twisting. The black body seemed to be made up of shadows. Anything that came into contact with it would be covered by the darkness and merged into one.

On the sea around the tower, countless fragments of ships were floating, but not a single corpse was to be seen.

When Amber thought of a possibility, she felt her body getting colder.

"Were they all eaten?"

Amber looked at the huge monster. Never in her life had she felt so afraid of the world as she did at that moment.

"It looks like it's full, we're lucky."

Lu Ban didn't tell her that he had fired ten bullets loaded with the great being's whispering words into that thing to keep it in its current state.

A black object suddenly emerged from the sea surface on one side.

"Wait a moment."

Lu Ban screamed, and the black thing immediately fell under the water again.

Although Amber didn't have time to take a closer look, she could still vaguely see at a glance that it was a mass of something that looked like flesh, eyes, and tentacles.

The next moment, Laika, who had turned into a corgi, jumped onto the fast-moving wooden board.

“…You didn’t see anything just now, did you?”

Lu Ban asked.

"...Of course not."

Amber chose to follow her heart.

On this sea, the only one he could rely on was Lu Ban.

When she confirmed this fact, she felt unexpectedly relieved for some reason.

Perhaps deep down in her heart, she had always hoped to escape from her duties, her duties as a priestess, due to force majeure.

"Now there is good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

Lu Ban asked.

"Bad news?"

Amber hugged her shoulders. Her clothes were soaked. Once soaked in water, the silk clothes would stick to her skin and could not keep her warm. She curled up into a ball, her lips turned pale and she shivered.

Seeing this, Leica moved closer to Amber.

I don't know when the water stains on its body disappeared, leaving only a warm and furry touch.

Even though she seemed to have discovered Laika's secret just now, under this warm body, Amber still chose to stay close to Laika for warmth.

“Ouch!”

Leica snuggled into Amber's arms as if she was enjoying it very much.

"The bad news is that the boat is gone and we don't have any sea charts. Although I can use this thing to move around, I don't know the way."

Lu Ban glanced at the dog and said.

"What about the good news?"

Amber felt her body warm up a little, and she asked.

"The good news is there's no more bad news for now."

Lu Ban smiled.

As for food, Laika can at least catch fish and replenish water through fish meat, so they don’t have to worry about starving to death for the time being.

The most critical issue is really navigation.

Lu Ban could use this wooden board to take Amber to He Island, but without knowing the route, he didn't know which way to go. He was lucky to be able to turn back to Narcissus Island. The worst thing he feared was rushing directly into the Sea of ​​Ashes. Even if Lu Ban himself was fine, Amber might not survive.

"But I remember looking at the sea charts before. There are some uninhabited islands nearby. If we're lucky, we can find one before dawn."

Lu Ban said.

"Why did you save me?"

Under the starry sky, Amber suddenly asked.

"Under these circumstances, I will definitely not be able to make it to the Watashima Shrine, nor will I be able to become the chief priestess. Everything you and your companions have been pursuing will be in vain. There is absolutely no need for you to save me. It would even be better if you could give me to those people to collect the bounty."

She is very curious.

Although Amber had hardly ever been out, she had read a lot of books and knew that everyone was motivated by profit. These mercenaries only protected themselves for the sake of profit, but now, she was obviously not so valuable.

"I will send you to the Wajima Taisha Shrine and make you the head priestess."

Lu Ban looked into the distance, searching for a possible uninhabited island.

"I told you that you can always trust me."