"I'm back~"

From a short distance, she shouted, arms windmilling above her head like kites in spring wind. Cute as a child—if she weren’t riding a colossal beast like a moving hill.

"Little one, mind explaining why you rode Edmund over like thunder on a ridge?"

Ling vaulted from Edmund’s back, three and a half spins in the air, then a cat‑soft, perfect landing.

"Because Edmund said he wanted to come~"

"Yes, Master. I heard you’d face danger, like clouds gathering over a cliff. I wish to go and, at the crucial moment, lay down my life."

Human and beast traded lines like reeds answering the breeze. Alicia wavered, heart tight as a drum, over carrying that vow of a life. In the end, she let it stand.

"Do you have the spell I asked for?"

"Here~"

She passed the grimoire over, pages whispering like leaves.

"Where’s that pervy dragon?"

Alicia began to parse the script, eyes like lanterns in fog, and answered Ling.

"He said the gas cylinder at home was leaking, like a hiss in dry grass, so he had to rush back."

Ling blinked, a pebble hitting still water, then nodded in quick ripples. "Got it, got it."

Snap!

The book Alicia had just opened shut like a handclap of thunder. Even iron‑nerved Ling startled, like a deer in brush.

"You finished reading?!"

"Mm? Of course. I speed‑read like lightning over the sea. Reading isn’t mastery; I’ll need practice. But do you have the mood to watch me practice?"

The words pricked true, like a needle under silk. Ling smiled, awkward as rain at a feast, and held her tongue.

They agreed, hearts in step like drums, and swung onto Edmund’s back in one breath.

"Going down?"

"Yeah, down we go."

"ROAR—!!"

With a battle cry like steel striking stone, Edmund leaped into the pitch‑black pit, a night well. Two girls and one beast fell, drawn deep like stars toward a whirlpool.

—— Loading… [Abyss] ——

"Whoosh!!"

An instant before landing, Alicia hurled an updraft, a geyser of wind from the ground. Edmund took fewer scrapes, like bark spared by rain, and no one complained.

They flipped down from Edmund. Feet met ground like mud laced with water, cold as swamp. Each step lifted with a sticky pull, like tar biting heels.

So gross…

Ling couldn’t love this place; her brow clouded like a wet sky. She glanced at Edmund. He understood, nodded like a slow wave, and crouched. She climbed back up, bright as a bird.

She asked Alicia too. Alicia shook her head, quiet as snow, and walked ahead to lead the way.

She coaxed fire mana, a small fireball blooming in her palm like a red flower, pushing back the dark. She left tiny flames behind on the right, fire crumbs like fireflies, so they wouldn’t get lost.

"Sis, didn’t that pervy dragon say there’d be lots of Undead here? We’ve walked forever, and nothing."

"I don’t know. It’s strange, like wind with no scent. By now we should’ve met one or two at least."

As if jinxed, the clack‑clack of bones came, clear as ice beads knocking in a bowl.

Alicia slid back, wary as a cat. Ling dropped from Edmund; she wasn’t a knight, and fighting mounted would tangle them like vines.

"♫~ It’s a beautiful day, birds are singing, flowers are blooming…"

A Skeleton rounded the corner, like a white branch stepping from shade. The song came from a throat with no cords, a ghost wind singing. It stopped on seeing two girls and a beast.

"Oh, my friends, what creatures wear human‑face masks down here, like autumn moons over scarecrows?"

The Skeleton didn’t open his mouth, only grinned, teeth bright as pebbles. Yet the voice rang in their ears like bells.

Strangeness piled on like snow. He didn’t match their idea of the Undead at all.

First, his size. Not tall like that first Skeleton; he stood only as high as Ling, like a sapling beside a pine.

Second, he wasn’t all bare bone. He dressed like a human: white sweater within, blue hoodie unzipped without, black pants with white stripes, and, worst, pink fluffy house slippers like cotton clouds.

What a strange Skeleton.

The thought rose in all three minds like the same moon over three ponds.

While they searched for words, the Skeleton offered a hand, simple as a branch extended, full of peace.

"Don’t you know how to greet a new friend?"

The hand reached to Alicia like a bridge over a stream.

Alicia hesitated, heart fluttering like a moth, then took it.

Pfffft~

The instant their palms met, a farting puff burst from their hands, like a frog in mud. Alicia froze; the Skeleton chuckled.

"Heh‑heh… a palm whoopee‑cushion prank—never gets old. Nice to meet you. I’m Sans, Skeleton Sans~"