Little Pink Starfish

It was a word both unfamiliar and strangely familiar, something that evoked a vague sense of fear. But no matter how much he searched his memory, Nyne couldn’t recall anything specific. He soon shook his head. It was likely knowledge he had once possessed clearly, but had been blurred or erased by Ossen Iyad’s ritual.

“No, I don’t know. But… is it like a crocodile? Or a hippopotamus? Both are very dangerous beasts to humans.”

“But battle priests are capable of hunting crocodiles and hippos, aren’t they? Then surely there could be someone capable of defeating a dragon. Someone like a warrior… or a knight.”

“Such beings wouldn’t be common.”

Nyne’s voice turned sharp with irritation, and Gwen simply smiled gently. He poured a new glass of pomegranate tea to replace the one that had gone lukewarm, and spoke.

“You’re right, Sha Nyne. It’s just a legendary tale, after all.”

The story had felt absurd, full of unfamiliar terms, and not particularly interesting. Nyne shook his head and lifted the tea again. But even though it was just tea, something about it left him feeling oddly unsettled—his stomach felt slightly nauseous.

…Because he had a sense of what Gwen had been implying with that selfish, greedy dragon.

Having already decided to favor Gwen freely, Nyne moved quickly. He refused Popo’s earnest request that he meet with Amon before the demonic beast hunt. Instead, he summoned Gwen to the lakeside shrine.

Enjoying the breeze beneath the shrine’s shade, Nyne turned his head when he sensed someone approaching. Gwen and Priest Paira Sero were walking toward him under the glaring sun. Usually, Gwen would arrive quickly even when called from the distant sanctuary, but today he was somewhat late. The strange bundle the two carried seemed to be the reason. Nyne didn’t even acknowledge their greeting and spoke coldly.

“You dare come late when I summoned you.”

“We beg your forgiveness, Sha Nyne. We were delayed because we brought something fun for you. Please, grant us your mercy.”

Something fun? Nyne’s curious gaze drifted to the bulging cloth bag. Everything Gwen had shown him so far had been interesting—so he was very curious about what was in that bag. But instead of showing it, he replied loftily,

“To come late when I summon you is a crime worthy of flogging—but in recognition of your devotion, I will grant you mercy.”

“Thank you for your grace, Sha.”

Gwen bowed respectfully, his broad back glistening in the sun. He must have applied scented oil with care—the breeze carried a fragrant aroma.

He wasn’t wearing the usual modest kalasiris today, but a loincloth, boldly revealing his well-muscled upper body. Even a couple of attending priests who peeked stole a glance turned slightly red. Nyne found himself wondering why Gwen—unlike other priests and mages with their thin frames—had such a striking appearance. Did magical power scale with physical beauty?

“So? What is that bundle?”

“I will show you right away, Sha.”

Gwen pulled out something long and unfamiliar from the cloth bag. Nyne tilted his head—it was hard to describe, but if he had to, it looked like a club with a handle. It was pure white, and the long cylindrical barrel gleamed in the sunlight with metallic sheen.

“What… is that?”

“This is a water gun, Sha. A kind of toy from another continent.”

Water gun? So, something that uses water? Nyne furrowed his brow. Seinka Hoan, who was on guard with Iyu today, took the object and inspected it thoroughly with hawk-like eyes. Only after confirming it wasn’t a magic device nor dangerous did he kneel and present it politely to Nyne.

The object was surprisingly light. Nyne examined it, but beyond noticing that the barrel could be removed, he still couldn’t understand what it did.

“May this servant demonstrate how it is used?”

“Go ahead. I have no idea what it’s for.”

Gwen took the water gun from Nyne and separated the barrel. He walked to the lake, filled the barrel with water, then returned. Holding it in both hands, he aimed and pulled the long rod beneath it toward himself.

A stream of water shot out, striking a flower blooming in the grass. Then Gwen turned and aimed at Seinka Hoan. A jet of water hit his shoes, and a wrinkle appeared on Seinka’s brow. Though clearly annoyed, he said nothing and simply let the water dry in the sun. Gwen, undisturbed, smiled brightly.

“This is a game where you aim at others and get them wet. Perfect for a hot day like today. Would you like to try, Sha?”

Nyne, intrigued, took the “water gun” from Gwen. He pulled the rod as Gwen had done—a long, cool stream shot forth. He fired a few more times, soaking the grass. Iyu, who had been watching closely, finally nodded as if remembering something.

“I think I’ve seen something like this before. Made of bamboo…”

His voice trailed off, and his gaze moved to the other items Gwen had just taken out. Sure enough, the bag was full of bamboo-made water guns. Compared to Nyne’s—gracefully curved, easy to hold, and elegant—they were bulkier and simpler. Naturally, the Sha must be given the finest, so no one complained, though some seemed to be bothered in… other ways.

“This game isn’t fun if played alone.”

With a smiling face, Gwen handed water guns to the reluctant battle priests on guard. Iyu accepted his eagerly, but Seinka Hoan’s brow furrowed even more deeply. Nyne wondered if Seinka had ever played with toys as a child.

“By the way, what is mine made of? It’s not wood or stone. It’s light but sturdy… Papyrus? No, not that…”

“It’s made from a rare and valuable material—plastic. It’s derived from petroleum, or bitumen, which is extracted and refined.”

Nyne knew bitumen—a precious substance used in medicine or waterproofing ships. But to think that foul-smelling black sludge from a swamp could become this… He looked again at his water gun in disbelief.

“Because of the demonic beasts, oil drilling is… difficult. If you dig even slightly deep, they swarm out like wasps… But of course, this one was made for you, Nyne-nim, so it wasn’t a waste at all.”

Gwen smoothly slipped into a more familiar tone, calling Nyne by name, as he pulled out two small pouches. He shook them—both filled with expensive dyes.

“Shall we split into two teams? Whoever ends up wetter—clothes and body—loses?”

The battle priests maintained their stern, solemn expressions, showing no reaction. Still, it was clear they weren’t exactly thrilled to be used for such a game while on sacred duty guarding the Sha.

“To make it more interesting, how about this: The losing team becomes the errand-runners for the winners… for three days?”

At that suggestion, the previously indifferent battle priests suddenly raised their heads.

They took the water fight very seriously. With Nyne’s permission, they brought in barrels for water supply and wooden boards for cover. Then they dove and rolled and launched a full-scale war.

Iyu and Gwen were captains of one team—with Nyne as leader. The other team was led by Seinka Hoan. Facing the harsh reality of having to engage in a childish game, despite being a noble-born commander of the royal guard, Seinka closed his eyes momentarily. Then he quietly took a water gun and walked to his position—silently and diligently soaking his opponents with pink water.

Naturally, in this chaos of pink and blue streams flying everywhere, Nyne’s white loincloth remained untouched. No one dared to shoot the Sha. If the battle priests hadn’t been holding back, Nyne—with his average abilities—would’ve been drenched in pink long ago.

The top performers were, of course, the best two fighters: Seinka Hoan and Iyu.

When a stream of water came flying toward him, Iyu leapt into the lake. As he dived, pink dye sliced through the air above. Whatever Gwen had used for dye, it didn’t wash off easily—even when fully soaked. That made the lake a perfect cover.

Iyu suddenly surfaced and blasted a priest in the back of the head. By the time the priest turned around, Iyu had already rolled behind cover. Meanwhile, Seinka—silent and elusive—was methodically painting his opponents pink. It was less of a game and more like actual combat.