Chapter 32: Summer Event / The Thing Sleeping at the Bottom of the Lake

『――Modification complete. This unit has become amphibious. Crossing the lake is now possible.』

"We did it!"

"Yeah. Now we can cross the lake."

Day three of the vacation. Tetoma's modifications were finally complete.

It was more or less exactly as Tetoma had initially calculated.

Not only had its overall size increased by one stage, but apparently there had also been various changes to its finer details. With this, we could cross straight through the lake without taking on any water.

"But... somehow, I'm sad..."

"I know what you mean, nyah. It was completely chaotic, but it was pretty fun, nyah."

"It might be difficult right now, but let's all play together like this again someday! Right, Rene?"

"...! Yeah! It's a promise!"

"Of course! We'll all play together again!"

"By then, Rene needs to be able to swim, too."

"Then Mama will, too. Swim together."

"...Yes, that's right. I'd love to. And I'm not Mama."

"Then I shall teach you the art of swimming."

And so, everyone chatted about whatever was on their minds while getting ready to depart.

After a while, we all boarded Tetoma.

But I knew.

The event wasn't over yet.

"...! Something's coming! From the bottom of the lake...!"

The lake resounded with the sound of something unimaginably enormous approaching from beneath its surface.

And then—

"What is that, nyah!?"

"Hey, hey. Don't tell me that's the thing..."

"The Lord of the Lake...!"

A mountain grew out of the lake.

That was the most accurate way to describe it.

An enormous mass of water was pushed upward by the creature's colossal body, cascading downward as it formed a gigantic dome.

As the veil of water cleared, what appeared before us was—

"What the hell!? What kind of bizarre creature is that!?"

"It's transparent, nyah! You can see right through it!"

"A-a-a ghost!? We're gonna die! I gotta cover my belly button!"

"Pahal, that's how you're supposed to deal with lightning."

"Can we... eat it?"

"I don't think so, Rene."

"Unforgivable! I failed to detect its approach!"

It was transparent, with things resembling drooping arms.

Its bright-red heart and brain... or things resembling them... were completely exposed.

It looked like some bizarre creature that had evolved in every possible way incorrectly.

"OooooooNEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

That's right.

It was a clione.

Look, I know this is "Chaos," so I'm not going to question why a marine creature like a clione is living in a lake.

But I don't think cliones go "ONEEEE," you know? And seriously, it obviously doesn't even have vocal cords, right??? Where the hell is that voice coming from???

"Looks like we're going to have to fight it..."

This thing was the event boss of the very first Summer Event.

And from here on, it would become a mysterious existence that would suddenly show up in various future events as though someone had randomly remembered it existed.

Whether it was in midair, inside magma, in freshwater, or in seawater, this genuine mystery creature could appear anywhere.

The Clione-chan.

And now, the grand battle that would bring the Summer Event to its finale was about to begin―――!

I figured I couldn't possibly beat that certain sky-blue game's tuna in terms of sheer impact, so I went with one of my favorite creatures instead. They're cute, right? Except when they're feeding.

I did a quick search around, and I don't think any other mobile games have used one... right? At least, I looked around as much as I could, and I don't think there was one.

Next time, the final chapter of the Summer Event.

Long live the Summer Event.