"Good work, Miss Kogami. I saw everything."
On the other side of the barricade, right in front of the dungeon gate, Akai gave her a firm thumbs-up. Inari nodded, replying with a "Mm."
Though a part of her thought that if he’d seen it, he could’ve stepped in before she had to do anything… well, in that short a span, there wasn’t really time to intervene anyway.
"Feels like I just showed off how short-tempered I am… Still, it was bound to happen somewhere eventually, I reckon."
"That’s true. It’s something everyone acting as a mascot goes through at some point."
"Jealousy and resentment, eh. A bother, truly. No matter the era, such things overflow."
"Well, a man like that could never convey the kind of ‘cute fox’ we at the company are aiming for. His jealousy and resentment are completely off base."
"That’s the first I’ve heard of it, though…"
"Well, we are FoxPhone after all."
She wasn’t sure whether that explanation made sense or not, but Inari just nodded with a vague, "Well… I suppose?"
"Now then, I’d like to begin the pre-mission confirmation before you enter."
"Mm. I just need to head inside and clear it, aye?"
"Exactly. Though details vary, dungeons are usually cleared by defeating the boss. We’ve prepared one week’s worth of supplies, but if three days pass, we’ll send in a backup team under the guise of rescue."
As he spoke, Akai handed over a backpack. It was filled with emergency rations, water, and medical supplies. The large bag was promptly tossed by Inari into her Divine Concealment pocket.
"An item box…!"
"She can use a skill like that!?"
"Unbelievable… what a hidden ace…"
The surrounding people murmured in amazement, but Akai simply smiled.
She’d seen Divine Concealment back when they first met and asked what she could do. She was shocked at the time, of course, but now that it was the second time, she seemed able to maintain a poker face.
"There are no special orders from the clan. Do it however you like."
"Very well. I’ll take care of it quickly, then."
"We’ll be awaiting your return."
Nodding in return to Akai’s slight bow, Inari stepped into the gate. And the moment she did—
The ground vanished beneath her feet.
"Hyuh?"
No, that wasn’t quite right. There hadn’t been any ground to begin with past the gate. She dropped straight into water—a sea, apparently. As she accidentally swallowed some salty seawater, her eyes met those of a scaly, fish-faced man. Her eyes widened.
"GIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
"Gohbluh—ah, mm. So that’s what’s going on here."
Dodging a rapidly thrusting spear with incredible speed underwater, Inari tried to summon foxfire—but it fizzled out instantly, causing her to mutter "Ahh…" as she dodged a second strike.
"Well, we are underwater. Speaking down here is one thing, but fire… now that’s different."
Inari's divine power easily let her speak underwater, but lighting flames within it was another matter. Foxfire, after all, was still fire. Naturally, it couldn’t exist beneath the sea.
That left Kogetsu as her option—but swords or bows weren’t ideal underwater weapons either.
As she considered this, Inari nimbly evaded another spear thrust and wagged her finger at the confused fish-man.
"Thou didst think I was but prey fallen into the sea? Fie! Naive, far too naive. With mine divine power, moving and speaking underwater is as easy as breathing. Though, for the record, I have already had breakfast."
"GIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
"So that spear is thy sole technique, is it? Well, I suppose it sufficeth when dealing with landfolk."
Still, realistically speaking, most of Inari’s usual weapons and techniques were now unusable.
She could use Kogetsu, but again, wielding it underwater wasn’t very effective.
"Hmm… then there’s no helping it, I suppose."
Dodging yet another spear, Inari suddenly grabbed the fish-man’s face—and with a sharp crack, twisted it in an instant. With a strangled cry of "Gweh!", the enemy vanished, though the magic stone it dropped plummeted into the bottomless ocean below.
"Aahh… what a waste. Still, can’t be helped. Reinforcements would be impossible in a place like this… I’ll just have to defeat the boss quickly."
Thankfully, with her divine power, Inari could move underwater with relative ease. That left her only one option: relying on her unarmed martial arts, known as Kogami-ryu Aikijutsu.
“...Though, smiting an enemy in one blow doesn’t quite feel like aikijutsu… What exactly was that martial artist’s discipline, I wonder…”
There was no way to confirm that now, and even if there were, it wouldn't change anything.
The skill bore Inari's name now—meaning no other practitioner of that technique remained on the surface.
"GIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
"GIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
But there was no time for sentimentality. Two new fish-men were already rushing at her. And beyond them, the boss awaited. There was no time to dawdle.
"Come, then! Face me if thou darest! I shall lay waste to thee one by one!"